BaseBlog: Game 13- Quick Turnaround

Two days ago, I was in Milwaukee, getting shut out yet again. It was good to be back home.

I was with Sean for the second game in a row. Luckily, this worked out to where we could make it to BP if we left right after he got off work. It went down to the wire; the time stamp on that picture was 4:54, with just over 10 minutes until the gates opened.

I ran around to the left field gate, while Sean ran to 7-11 to grab us some water and hot dogs. The dogs don't taste the greatest, but they get the job done. (You can actually bring anything you want into Wrigley. Your plastic bottle has to be sealed though. You can even fill up a double Big Gulp, and they'll let you right in).

In reality, the line to get in wasn't that long:

After being shut out twice, I expected the worst from every situation. I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable if there was only ONE person in front of me. I don't remember being more nervous than anxious, but now that I look at my pictures, there's a decent amount that are blurry. I usually get an adrenaline rush right after I get inside a park, which causes my hands to shake just a little bit. For most of the season, it hasn't been an issue. But this time, it peaked before the gates even opened, and was a lot worse than usual. I had a lot of stress built up.

I rushed inside and THANK GOD- there was action on the field.

I immediately targeted Alfonz over there on the left. What a way to get back on track, right? He was getting too much attention from the Bleachers, and never looked my way. That guy a little farther back and to the left is Rafeal Dolis. For both him and Alfonz, I asked for one in Spanish. Again, not even a look.

By now, 10 minutes had passed. There was more competition than I was used to since I hadn't been at this type of game too many times this season.

Gloves on gloves on gloves. Yikes.

The second the Cubs started jogging off the field, I bolted to the third base dugout. I was stuck 11 rows back. I suffered a bit of information overload, because when the guys were coming in, I couldn't say a word. I was busy looking for anyone with a ball in their hands, and it all went really fast. All I really did was flap my glove, hoping a ball would pop up and fly towards me.

I then noticed an usher wasn't watching the section, so I moseyed on down to the third row.

My target was that big ol' bag of balls. I didn't know the name of the Cubs coach bringing them in, so I asked for one without saying his name. He acted like I didn't exist, and I started to move onto the Marlins side.

But hang on a minute, this guy looks kind of familiar:

Wow. Theo Epstein in the flesh, just 15 feet away from me. I thought that was Jed Hoyer talking to him at first, but I'm pretty sure it's CSN anchor Luke Stuckmeyer. Let's hope Theo hangs around the dugout often so I can get him to sign a ball sometime soon.

With Sean still wondering where I ran off to, I started heading over to the Marlins side. The media was clamoring over Carlos Zambrano's return to Wrigley. A few may be there because it was Ozzie Guillen's first game back in Chicago as well. Z wasn't starting in the series, but I still chose to wear my Cub jersey with his name on the back. How many more chances am I going to get to put that thing on?

Some pitchers were coming out right as I got over to the wall in right field.

That bag in foul territory had some balls in it, and I freaked out a little bit when I looked inside.

Do you see it?! Right there on top was the commemorative ball I drove all the way up to Milwaukee for! They were using them right in front of me! This was fantastic, all I would need to do was get lucky, and I was set.

I felt like I saw these relief pitchers on a daily basis. From looking up their names so many times in Milwaukee, I remembered all their first names immediately. Another good sign; didn't have to risk one of them seeing me use the roster.

I was trying to focus on getting ANY ball from them. That would give me a little leverage, because if it wasn't commemorative, I would ask to trade. Would that work? Well, why wouldn't it? A ball is a ball to them.

I fought the sun for a good 20 minutes and tried to keep track of every batted ball along with the ones the pitchers were throwing with.

I then realized I was still wearing my bright blue Cubs jersey. Crap. I brought a grey shirt and black hat, but I was so eager to get to the next spot, I never stopped and switched. I hoped this wouldn't hurt my chances. It's not like I would have been decked out in Marlins apparel, so I wasn't very mad for very long.

The next guy that came out was Heath Bell. Here we go, this HAS to happen. I figured this day was filled with lots of positives, so I figured another one would be on it's way.

"Hey Heath, could you spare a ball for a fellow Zack Hample fan?" (Long story short if you didn't read the July 5th entry- Heath and Zack are good friends. Bell always hooks him up and talks to him at games).

After a few more steps away from me and a pause, he replied with a quiet an snarky "Nooo...". I was shocked, let down, and pissed. I didn't expect him to be a jerk (it was more on that side than the nice side), and I really wanted that ball. "Well, why not?" I said with a smile, trying to start any sort of conversation. He continued walking, and that was the end of it. You're an ass, Heath.

I glanced at the clock after a little while, and there appeared to be less than half an hour of BP left. My time was running out. I have to say, though, I was extremely happy. After being at such disappointing games with nothing going on, it felt great to get back to the way I wanted things to be; back to normal.

Once again, I took off for the dugout when these guys started jogging in. I ran right down to the dugout until the usher backed me up. I played dumb with her, but she eventually told me the rule, and I had no choice but to stand in row 11.

Most everyone was gone. I was staring right in the face of a Ballhawk losing streak.

Out of nowhere, a Marlins coach walked down into the dugout and underhanded a ball that barley missed skidding on the dugout roof. I panicked, tried to glove it, but it smacked against the seat in row 8. It rolled down 4 steps to almost row 3. I think this was the fastest I had moved in a long time. It was far enough away that someone else could snatch it up before me. "Crap crap crap!" I said out loud as I jumped all 5 stairs at once and lunged to get my prize. YES.

I looked back to see if Sean saw my snag, and he was laughing at me. I guess it did look goofy, but I got the job done.

It was over, I was back in the elite group that got to bring a ball home that day.

I took a minute to enjoy the moment I hadn't felt since more than a month ago at Busch Stadium. A WHOLE MONTH! If I had known it would be this long, I would have given up hope for the season back in June.

The stadium was still fairly empty, and Sean has no shame when it comes to getting kicked out of seats by someone. That's one of the reasons why I love going with him.

I was feeling like lower level tonight. I directed him around to left field, where it looked the emptiest and had no poles. After faking looking at our tickets to check the seat numbers, we plopped down here in section 204.

This is one of my favorite sections in all of Wrigley. You're a little elevated just enough above the field level to see everything, but you're still really close to the outfield grass.

Basically, it's a weird contrast of views. It's almost like Bleachers from a different angle.

Travis Wood was starting for the Cubs, going up against Anibal Sanchez. Sometimes these two are good, sometimes they're terrible. I had no idea what was coming.

The forecast called for a little bit of rain right around the time BP was in full swing (HA!). I was actually considering skipping it for that very reason. Since the cold streak was still active, I decided I had nothing to lose. Here's the obvious rain cloud that missed us:

Escaping by just a few miles.

The sun cast a beautiful set of shadows on the field. This is one of the reasons I like night games....sometimes. It's just so relaxing and pretty, not to mention a lot cooler than the scorching afternoon.

Here's the first pitch from Wood to Jose Reyes:

Reyes is still with the team, but since this game, Hanley Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers. The new look Marlins were picked by a large number of people to win the division based on their off-season acquisitions. I was absolutely shocked to see Ramirez get traded. He was one of the best shortstops in the league for a few years, and was the centerpiece management started building around. I can't even imagine how the Miami fans feel with this being the first year of the new stadium, and all the optimism being thrown out the window before the first season was over.

The first couple innings were uneventful, and no one scored. I meant to mention this in my July 5th entry, but El Caballo, Carlos Lee, was traded from Houston to Miami a couple weeks ago.

Good for him. He was stuck in Houston forever, enduring losing season after losing season. Even though the Marlins aren't making the playoffs, I'm glad he got out of that hell hole that is the Astros organization.

We asked a large group of guys behind us to snap a picture:

After talking to them for a minute, they told us they were from New York, and in the middle of a baseball expedition of their own. Most of them were in their mid 20's, with a few Dads and Uncles. They were in the middle of seeing games at Yankee Stadium, Comerica Park, Wrigley, Miller Park, Great American Ballpark, and PNC Park in just a week. That's one hell of a road trip. We asked them what they thought of Detroit and Wrigley. They were happy to be here, but only gave it a 6/10. I was slightly offended, but they spoke the truth with their reasoning.

In the 4th, the Marlins got three runs, two of which came from an absolute bomb from Omar Infante to left center. This year, three runs is pretty much the threshold for a Cubs comeback. The next inning, they got FIVE more runs, including a three run homer by Lee. (God dammit, send him back to Houston!)

These Marlins fans actually caught Lee's homer:

They didn't throw it back, and embraced the jeering. Almost the whole stadium joined in when the guy in the middle stood up to reveal he was wearing a LeBron t-shirt. They even got interviewed by a reporter for the Miami TV broadcast. (Who cares, they're still assholes).

The Cubs got one each in the 5th and 6th, then had a nice three run rally in the bottom of the 8th, but it was good for nothing. They still lost 9-5.