BaseBlog: Game 7- Road Trip

For my first major league game outside of Chicago this year, I headed up to good old Miller Park with Kyra. The first game I saw there was in 2003, and I haven’t stopped going since. This visit would make it my 9th consecutive season I visited.

All things considered, it’s not that much of a journey. I figure an hour is a good estimate to get to Wrigley, and that’s without traffic. The past 3 seasons, I’ve made it up to the dairy state in an hour and a half. It’s a mini road trip, and always a good time to see someplace a little different.

I think we made it to Wisconsin...

Whenever I head up there, I feel like I’m in a totally different world. I’m used to seeing games in a 98 year old ballpark, nudged right into a neighborhood. Less than two hours away, I’m at a monstrous STADIUM that’s barley a decade old, with parking lots as far as the eye could see.

The day game made for yet another early morning, but we got our first view of the park from the interstate at 9:45.

The cars were already lined up to get into the parking lot. Why the urgency? All Wisconsin-ites love to tailgate, even if there are 81 chances a year.

Kyra was nice enough to let me go for balls and give up the pre-game party. The gates opened an hour after the lots did, so after a few pictures, we started heading towards the stadium.

I love the walk from the lot to the gates at this particular park. You can see the stadium looming the whole time, and get some nice scenery too.

I can say this next view is one of my favorites every season.

Since I’ve been going in for balls, it’s not as great as it used to be. But when you’re walking in 20 minutes before the game with the tailgate crowd and you see the people in those upper deck seats, it really gets you pumped up for the game.

We walked closer and got a view inside. The retractable roof adds to the “new world” thing I mentioned before.

I’ve seen 2.5 games under the dome here; it closed mid-game one time in 2006 when a thunderstorm rolled in. When the stadium first opened, they displayed the roof to the fans and closed it after every game. Since then, it’s become more fragile, and it’s only closed when it’s needed. The stacked panel design makes it one of a kind. When the park opened in 2001, it was already the 6th MLB stadium with a retractable roof. (If you’re more interested in the stadium than the games, I’ll take more pictures of the architectural side of the building for my next game up there).

I took a peek inside, and I could see a good portion of the field.

Uh oh. Well…it was still about half an hour until gates opened. I hoped the Brewers HAD hit so I could find some Easter Eggs. Even pitchers playing catch would work for toss ups.

I went with my regular Wrigley strategy here, too. I would run into the less popular right field bleachers and use the open space to my advantage before moving to left.

There were about 5 turnstiles and 20 people in line when the gates were about to open. Ergo, I was 4th in line. The users were nice enough to let us inside the door to get out of the heat, and it also personally calmed me down a little bit. I got to look at a small glimpse of the field for the last 10 minutes of our wait. I was possibly within earshot to hear cracks of the bat, but the stadium music was too loud.

Yikes. I was starting to worry, but just a little bit.

When they let me in, as Kyra said, “Off he goes!”

I realized I had a problem when I got to the bleachers. Miller Park had two levels of seats in the outfield. Many homers got to the second level, any regular lefty could get one up there. If there was any chance to have one stay on the first level, it was either getting stuck in the bullpen restaurant, or staying in the visiting bullpen. By the time I had finished that thought, I was already in the lower level front row. Whoops.

I checked the visitor’s bullpen for any easy glove tricks. I can’t remember if there was a ball in there at all, but I can say that the trick wasn't an option after quickly checking.

I figured I would get at least a couple looks when Cubs players saw my jersey and hat. Usually I try to match team colors with a t-shirt and backwards hat for visiting teams. Today I was all decked out and actually of fan, not a faker.

These guys were the closest to the wall. They seemed to be working with Wellington Castillo, who was practicing hypothetical throws down to second. They took this break and talked….and talked….and talked. When they spread out again to continue, I officially gave up.

On to left field I went.

The Cubs looked like they were going to start hitting. My day was saved, for the time being.

There was a pretty sweet corner spot created due to one section of the bleachers being smaller than another. I posted up there before anyone else could get to it. I liked that I had all the space in the world to my left to reach and give an easy target for toss ups.

Right before the first Cub stepped in the cage, Yovani Gallardo started a side session down in the Brewers bullpen.

I gave a few yells to Jeff Irish, James Russell, Shawn Camp, and Casey Coleman, but they didn’t even acknowledge my existence. Ouch.

I thought I was set when Tony Campana, Bryan LaHair, and Steve Clevenger showed up right below me in left.

As you can see, LaHair and Clevenger didn’t have their numbers showing. I felt like nobody knew who exactly Clevenger was since he was a rather new addition to the team this season. I had a shot with LaHair as well . Fans have heard his name, but I was sure many didn’t know his face.

Once again, it’s like I was invisible. Campana gave the cold shoulder to a lot of people, but still got some balls to cute kids. I realized very quickly that I did NOT like these bleachers one bit for BP. Until my first ball is in my hands, I treat toss up chances like my only chances. It was impossible to get the close interactions like you do at Wrigley. Look how freaking far away I was!

I was getting very worried, but in a different than normal way. In the past, it would go something like “Damn, I’m running out of chances. The streak was nice while it lasted…still something to be proud of”. But what I was REALLY saying was “Okay, you have to make something happen. Where can you move? Who can you yell to? What’s the best spot? Is there ANYTHING I could do to even SLIGHTY better my chances?”. I was thinking like a Ballahawk.

If you’re one of my close friends, you’ll want to read this part more than anything. What happened next was a true Ryan Mortenson moment.

FINALLY after what seemed like forever, a right handed Cub got a hold of one. I was lined up well, and in a second or two I realized I was in a damn good line with it. Now I had to judge the distance. Earlier in the season, I would have spazzed out and ran/shuffled/stumbled God knows where and actually put myself in a worse position. But this time, I just froze. I watched, judged, and thought for a minute.

“Okay, you’ve seen this before. You’ve gotten a few by just being close. Play it off the bounce and hope for the best. Don’t make yourself look like an ass and knock someone over when the ball is nowhere near them”.

I still didn’t move, until I realized the distance was nearly perfect as well. Not taking my eye off the ball, I took 3 slow steps backwards up the aisle. The people around me collectively held their breath and braced for the impact. I still felt no emotion or adrenaline, and I just stuck my glove hand up there. I felt like I wasn’t that close, but my reflexes thought otherwise.

I defiantly felt contact on the inside of my glove. It took me by surprise; I can’t believe that just happened. Did I have it? I moved my hand and squeezed a little to assure it was in the pocket.

(Insert Ron Santo’s “OHHHHHHH NOOOOOO” and Pat Hughes “He dropped the ball!” clips here).

What the hell?! I looked behind me; I saw no scramble, no ball, and no other fans with it. I look to the field- there’s no ball that could have been that one. I hear a chuckle from below, just to my left. I lean over to look, and Yovani Gallardo is looking directly up at me.

“Hey! I caught it!” he says to me, showing me the ball in his glove.

According to the fans watching the whole thing behind me, it popped out of my glove and Gallardo really did catch it on the fly. I held my glove out, and before I could even make a sound, he threw it up to me. Sweet relief. Thanks for being a fun guy with a personality, Yovani.

There was a lot of BP after that, but nothing too interesting. Some 10 year old in the first row, surrounded by all his friends jostling for position, caught a homer on the fly. That made me feel like a loser that he could come up with one when I couldn’t, but it also showed me that it’s not that hard at all, and all it takes is luck to be in the right spot.

We took our seats in the right field upper level bleachers.

It’s a nice elevation above the field for watching a game. I found I like it best when I’m not at field level so I can oversee everything equally.

I would like to switch gears from Ballahawk to Cub fan for a moment. If there is one team I can’t stand, it’s the Brewers. Their stadium is great, and their players bother me (with the exception of Ryan Braun and Nyjer Morgan), but the fans are idiots. I hate nothing more in the world of sports than Brewer fans.

I know I’m not one to talk about winning, but you’ve always sucked. Prior to 2008, you were only in the playoffs ONCE. Hell, last year was your first division championship EVER. You have nothing to be proud of.
You have no baseball history. I never see highlights or hear how great Robin Yount and Paul Molitor were. It’s like you barley existed until you got the new stadium built. Bud Selig is from Milwaukee, which is kind of cool, but that’s the only reason other fans know you exist.
You’re all drunks. Again, not one to talk being a Wrigley native, but it really is true. Just watch the people in the parking lots after a game. Last year I saw a guy passed out in a pickup bed, a guy who looked like he had a stroke that couldn’t walk or speak (AND wanted to drive home), and a kid straight up piss in the parking lot right out in the open, not even behind a car or bush.
Your city sucks. Baseball aside, what the hell is there to do in downtown Milwaukee, besides the Potawatomi? In fact, your entire state is just overflow for Chicago when we want to go on vacation. Don’t even try to say Chicago sucks. We out number you by more than 4 to 1, so shut your mouth.

Moving on. This guy sucks, too.

The game was scoreless until that guy, Norichika Aoki, hit his second homer of the year. It barely made it over the fence right below us. That was just the first hit Matt Garza gave up on the day, too. Brewers lead 1-0.

Between the 6th, the famous Miller Park Sausage Race took place. I was pulling for Italian, even though the Chorizo had a commanding lead on the season. It was close the whole way, but Chorizo continued its domination.

In the bottom half, Corey Hart blasted a two out double, and was then knocked in by George Kottaras. It was now 2-0, and I was pissed. The Brewers bullpen is lights out, having multiple 7th and 8th inning men and two great closers. I saw no chance for a comeback.

Randy Wolf threw a gem for the Crew. It looked like he was going to make it out of the 7^th with the shutout intact, but Koyie Hill (of all guys) knocked in Jeff Baker with a double. The next pitch, Wolf beaned David DeJesus with a pitch, and that was the end of his day after 6 and two thirds innings.

Earlier in the game, Garza hit a double that went 300 feet on the fly and landed nearly right on the foul line. It seemed to be like some supernatural hitting force was on our side at this point. Garza went 6 strong as well. These days, giving up two runs usually means a loss.

Shawn Camp worked the bottom of the 7th flawlessly. With two outs in the 8th, Alfosnso Soriano lined a single to left. Bryan LaHair then pinch hit for Baker. I wanted to wish that something would happen, but it would be just too perfect if he hit a homer to put the Cubs ahead 3-2.

The supernatural force came through again, and he did just that. I made it blatantly clear to Brewer fans with my obnoxious over cheering that they were about to lose to the worst team in the league.

Aoki led off the bottom of the 8th with a weak single. With two outs AGAIN (this seemed to be the theme of the day) Hart hit a ground rule double, and we were tied at 3.

Somehow during the later innings, both fan bases convinced the right fielders to throw their warm up balls into the crowd. Before the top of the 9th, Aoki was looking in my direction. I moved down to an empty-ish row to have some room to move. He threw it up, and it went right to where I thought it would go. I moved down and into a row, and stuck my hand out. I was the only one that had a play on it. I had my scorecard in my left hand, so all I could do was hope for the best with my bare right hand.

Note to self: DROP THE SCORECARD NEXT TIME, DUMBASS.

I didn’t get it. I did some weird swatting motion and it rolled down the row in front of me. I had a nice red, bleeding scrape on my leg to remind me for the whole next week. It was very nice of Norichika to throw it, don’t get me wrong. But by now, I hated this guy with a passion. He directly caused me anguish multiple times today.

Nobody got on base for the entire 9th inning, and it was on to extras.

If we were going to win, we had to score in the top of the 10th. If we didn’t, Milwaukee would have the momentum and mount a comeback with the talent that the Cubs obviously don’t have. Brewers closer John Axford came out again and threw his second perfect inning of the day.

Want to guess who led off the bottom of the 10th? Want to guess what happened?

God. Dammit.

That was his second homer of the game, and only his third of the season. His first one was even an INSIDE THE PARKER. Why today? WHY? Oh God, this was the most infuriating game so far. How did they manage to blow it? All I could do was walk away, and hope the people in my section didn’t give me shit for cheering so loud earlier.

Kyra and I walked out in front to get some pictures. After multiple tries from a very drunk businessman…