Updated. For my own beneift, I guess. This article is almost entirely self-serving, so feel free to ignore.  But hey, it's a diary right?

I'm driving from Boston to Indy, taking a little less than a week.  Here's what I've settled on:

Friday night in Philadelphia.  Phillies v. Mets (with friends)

Saturday night in Pittsburgh.  Pirates v. Nationals (just me)

Sunday in Cleveland.  Indians vs. Rays (with family)

Tuesday night in Detroit.  Tigers vs. Indians (just me)

Obviously, it's a bit of a zig-zag, but you understand.  And when else am I going to get to see the Rays, Pirates, and Nationals in the same week?? I assume I can get a great ticket for the Pittsburgh game.  If you see some dork in the rows behind home plate talking on a cell phone and ferociously waving at the camera, that's me. Actually, it should be a good mix of meaningful and meaningless games.

As I've gotten older, I've found I'm comfortable watching a game in different ways.  I like going with a fun group, even if they are totally unconcerned with the game.  Nor do I mind spending a game answering a string of little questions. ("Those are the uniform numbers of the pitchers.")  I'll also listen to 3 hours of fantasy talk.  And I don't mind going alone, upon which I turn into a Steve Bartman-style baseball nerd. (Although one who would understand the context of a foul ball.)

Also, I'm in a life-long race with my father to see who can reach the most stadiums.  I feel pretty confident about my chances, because, you know, he's 30 years older than me.

You can define the goal in two different ways.  I like to think of it as trying to see a home game for every team.  If so, I'm at 17.  

You can also define it as individual stadiums, which means the goal keeps moving as new stadiums are built.  It also makes me wish I had gotten a chance to see old Tiger Stadium, or the Vet.

I could have been every more aggressive with my schedule, and tried to fit in Baltimore (never been) and Cincy (haven't seen new park).  But that would have required completely blowing off family and friends along the way.

My biggest debate was whether to take a more Northerly route.  This would have allowed me to see the Aeros, Bisons, and Scrappers (hey Beau!), all of whom are on the road in NY and PA.  That would have been great.  I mainly decided against it because of my friend in Philly, and the fact the Blue Jays are out of town.

Of course, if you are going to be at one of these games, let me know.  We can find each other with binoculars and wave from afar.  Except for the Detroit game.  In that case I think we should find each other and make a fort out of souvenirs, programs, car keys, and broken cup holders.  We'll arm ourselves with mini bats.