I was more excited than usual for Wrigley. Courtney, who I met during my first year at ISU and was my companion for this one, lives all the way out in Huntley. It would have been a hassle if she were to meet me in Schaumburg before heading to the game, especially since we had Bleachers.
Fortunately, she felt comfortable enough to take her Metra line downtown and shoot up the Red Line by herself. I told her not to rush, and the game started at 1:20. This situation made the day so much better for me.
See, I've never gone to a game alone. I always have a least one person with me. This was the first time where I would be going completely solo for almost the entire time before the game. I've always been worried about boring my guest or making them feel unwanted when I bolt away from them to try to grab another ball. Today, I would have well over an hour to run wherever I wanted with no hesitation.
Being able to roam free was something I was extra thankful for today. I wanted a ball from the Astros more than I had ever wanted any ball before. This would be my last chance to catch a commemorative ball for myself this season. (It's not like commemorative balls are incredibly rare, it's just there was an usual amount of them this year. Six teams were using them in 2012, and this would be my fourth game with a chance for one. Maybe even more than that; BP balls get all switched around, and I may have caught a team coming in from a park that has plentiful amounts of the special balls.)
The Astros were celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2012.
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There was also one MORE thing that made this game unusual. The Astros are switching to the American League next year to make the AL and NL symmetrical with three 5 team divisions in each league. Since there will be an odd number of teams in each league in 2013, the scheduling is expected to be all over the place, with inter-league games being played all season long. I'm not sure what I think about that idea yet, but I was sad this would be the last time I would see the Astros at Wrigley as a division foe. Without even checking the numbers, I know I've seen Houston at Wrigley more than any other team. I was in a weird mood, because of that fact, but more because I was thinking about the big changes that could happen next season.
I was 99% sure the cage would be out. It was an average game the night before. Seeing this only got my head more in the game:
It was about 10:45, and the bleacher line wasn't extraordinarily long; maybe 15 people at most.
By the way, look what came in the mail the day before:
It's my new best buddy! The glove that got stolen from me will never be forgotten; mostly because of the glove trick successes in St.Louis.
Wal-Mart had the same exact model online for only $25. He wasn't completely broken in yet, but I would make due for the day.
Wal-Mart had the same exact model online for only $25. He wasn't completely broken in yet, but I would make due for the day.
My plan remained the same; right field, Easter Eggs, early homers, yada yada yada. That never really happened, and it was more or less a normal first few minutes. I was incredibly focused and ready to snatch a lot of balls, and it kinda bummed me out that I didn't. I felt like I wasn't taking advantage of my last Bleacher game of the year.
I had to get on the board quick while I still had the chance. I scampered down to the first row, and these guys were closest:
Eventually, the guy on the left jogged to get a ball rolling to the wall in right-center.
Now, this was starting to be the time of year where player's names escape even the most obsessed fans. Number 55 MAY have been Alberto Cabrera, but he wasn't the one going for the ball. Damn...who could it be?
Now, this was starting to be the time of year where player's names escape even the most obsessed fans. Number 55 MAY have been Alberto Cabrera, but he wasn't the one going for the ball. Damn...who could it be?
He backed up to the warning track, with his back turned to me. "Hey man, can..."
Oh for God's sake. It was Carlos Marmol, and I just called him "man". Get your shit together, Ryan!
"...OH! Carlos! What's up?"
"Uh, hey". *looking at me like I'm being way too friendly with him*
"Think you could toss me that ball?"
Not another word was said as he lofted it over the basket.
Nothing feels as good as the first ball of the day:
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| I did it perfect once, but I want the field to be blurry with the focus on my glove. I hate when pictures turn out just bad enough for you to notice and bug you. |
After watching some guys take hacks for a minute, I got fidgety. There had to be something coming. I was the only one who would chase a ball if it made it to the seats. I felt like it was only a matter of time until I could get to one and snag number two on the day.
Minutes came and went with no homers hit towards me. A lot more balls in general were going to left, and every time another one did, I groaned. I didn't want to leave because it was so wide open. But, this is the time of year where it's pretty open up until game time, and left field wasn't as crowded as it typically was either. Off I went.
This was about three times the amount of people here compared to right field:
My anxiousness grew again, and the hitters weren't helping. It was extremely lame. Almost every single ball was a grounder. I'm not mad about the lack of power as much as the lack of decent contact. Get a few to the outfield so your relievers can give me one!
Someone must have heard my complaining:
A liner to the shortstop area got through, and was retrieved by Shawn Camp (#54 below). I promised myself I would give a minimum effort yell, then go back to right field when he didn't give it to me. Regular fans were starting to come in, and I knew I still had a better chance in right.
All it took was a very loud "HEY SHAWN" and a wave when he turned around. He lofted it over 10 rows and many people, all of which looked very jealous when I caught it.
Camp gets a round of applause from me. Not for only being one of the most solid parts of the bullpen all year, but for hooking me up with my first, and possibly last, ball of the season (I'll get to that part at the end.)
Alright, that's all I needed from the Cubs. I actually planned ahead and ran back to right, and would maybe even catch the pitchers throwing over on the foul line.
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| The wind was howling out too. Did this not have all the right conditions to be a big day for me? |
This was an intense situation. Every ball on that field could be the one I was looking for. I had a great chance out here, but the Astros were the worst team in all the majors. Needless to say, there wasn't much power on this roster.
I was a little more uneasy about how crowded it was, since toss ups seemed to be the only chance here.
I stood there for a LONG time, mostly around the same spot. I was trying to hold down the corner in case one was pulled down the line.
I contemplated approaching people that got balls from the Astros to see if they were actually using them and handing them out. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF THEY WERE OUT THERE!
A small ray of hope appeared when I recognized the guy on the left in the following picture:
Armando Gallaraga, Mr.(near) Perfect. Just then, some lefties stepped in. This had to be the moment I knew was coming all morning.
Then my phone rang. It was Courtney. CRAP! I still had her ticket, which I would need to hand to her through the gate.
I didn't want to be rude, so I said I would meet her at the VIP gate in just a minute. She wasn't there when I went down, so I called her again. She was around the front by the marquee somewhere. I rushed back up to the seats and got another 30 seconds to watch before she called again. Back down I went.
She finally found her way to me, and we caught up ever so briefly before I ran away from her. I apologized for escaping, and told her where I would be hanging out. I had no idea what happened when I wasn't watching. Not knowing was killing me. I didn't lose more than 5 minutes, but it sure felt like a lot longer.
As more people filled the seats, I moved around periodically while trying to stick somewhere around Courtney. I ended up getting down to the third or fourth row for a shorter range toss up. Houston was throwing up a few more than before, but it was to groups of drunk guys or random people who didn't even look like they wanted one.
I made a bonehead move when Gallaraga's buddy threw one over my head to an elderly man four rows behind us. It hit off the seats when he missed it with his hands, and it was rolling down and away from me. I wasn't going to try to beat this guy out for a ball that was meant for him, so I just watched without perusing, staying close. In a matter of two seconds, he gestured an "Oh well" sign with his hands, and then a girl farther down my row picked it up. Curse my endearing nature.
The next time that happened, I was basically breathing down a girl's neck, waiting to pounce. She made the barehanded play. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
As you could have guessed, I was unsuccessful in my commemorative quest. It would have been a cool addition, but I didn't have much else to look down on today.
Now came the issue of choosing where to sit. Mostly everything was wide open at 12:40. I've mentioned before I like to shake it up whenever I'm out here so I don't get too bored of one spot. The sun was out, and still pretty hot. I noticed for years (mostly when it was raining and people would scamper for cover) that there were a few rows tucked underneath the scoreboard.
The final decision maker was how much I paid for the tickets; just a mere $15 each. I used to laugh at the people who would pay $65 and get stuck up here when the Cubs were winning games and the Bleachers were packed on a regular basis. What I paid was chump change, so there couldn't have been a better day to try it.
We were in the first row of full shade, which ended up being really nice. It got pretty crowded up there in those few rows, but nobody sat in the row in front of us the entire game.
This was very weird. I felt like I could oversee all, yet still not see the scoreboard at all.
Usually teams have some sort of armed forces presenting the flag, but Ricketts wanted to spice things up a little bit.
You can't get more bad-ass than a patriotic sky-diver.
Almost everything looked different from up here. The most noticeable was a little thing; players warming up in shallow right field.
It just felt like there was so much extra space between us.
I went on a mini field trip during my pre-game hot dog run:
I made it back just in time to see the Cubs take the field. I'm not going to say it was an exciting moment, but it wasn't painful quite yet. It was still warm out, and some names were familiar. It was a very laid back day overall.
One bright spot was having Brett Jackson play right down in front of us in center field.
He sort of stunk up the already rotten smell of talent at Wrigley in the second half of 2012. So, was this even really a bright spot at all? I still think so. He's suffering from the same thing Rizzo did. Rizzo did terrible in his first Major League call up in 2011.
Jackson (along with Josh Vitters and a few pitchers) just weren't ready this year. Send these prospects back down to Des Moines for two years max, and they'll be fine players. The best part is that they'll be getting even BETTER after they're ready for the majors, just like Rizzo is doing now.
I have faith in these guys, I really do. Baez, Soler, Vitters, Jackson, Rizzo and a plethora of good young arms. If they can all live up to most of their hype and potential, the Cubs will surely be out of the cellar in 2014. Maybe no playoffs, but .500? I think it's very possible.
The elevated view of the first pitch from Justin Germano to Jose Altuve:
This was the only game this year where the Cubs weren't the underdog. The Astros were in dead last place, and the Cubs were a very close second. I was very excited to see them get pummeled today.
Jackson got the Cubs started with a line drive triple to center, which scored Starlin Castro to put the Cubs up one in the 2nd.
In the 3rd, David DeJesus led off with a homer to right field. I was walking to the bathroom at the time, and froze for a second because I thought I could have the slightest of chances to get to where it would land. I didn't, but I was still happy.
Just as soon as I got back to my seat, Castro blasted another homer to left center, and made the score 4-1. Having consistent offense feels so good!
A slight breeze and the warm reflection of sun from the metal Bleachers made this day much more enjoyable than it could have been otherwise.
DeJesus added another homer in the 4th to put the Cubs up five.
Two batters later, Astros starter Bud Norris left with an injury, but the damage was already too severe.
Carlos Marmol came in with a 5 run lead to lock it up in the 9th....
And held it down to let me see only my second Cubs win live in 2012. (Both of them were when I was in the Bleachers. Huh...)
Here's me and Courtney, followed by me with my balls for the day:
STATS
Usually teams have some sort of armed forces presenting the flag, but Ricketts wanted to spice things up a little bit.
You can't get more bad-ass than a patriotic sky-diver.
Almost everything looked different from up here. The most noticeable was a little thing; players warming up in shallow right field.
It just felt like there was so much extra space between us.
I went on a mini field trip during my pre-game hot dog run:
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| The closest you can get to watching on TV out here- right next to the camera hut. |
I made it back just in time to see the Cubs take the field. I'm not going to say it was an exciting moment, but it wasn't painful quite yet. It was still warm out, and some names were familiar. It was a very laid back day overall.
One bright spot was having Brett Jackson play right down in front of us in center field.
He sort of stunk up the already rotten smell of talent at Wrigley in the second half of 2012. So, was this even really a bright spot at all? I still think so. He's suffering from the same thing Rizzo did. Rizzo did terrible in his first Major League call up in 2011.
Jackson (along with Josh Vitters and a few pitchers) just weren't ready this year. Send these prospects back down to Des Moines for two years max, and they'll be fine players. The best part is that they'll be getting even BETTER after they're ready for the majors, just like Rizzo is doing now.
I have faith in these guys, I really do. Baez, Soler, Vitters, Jackson, Rizzo and a plethora of good young arms. If they can all live up to most of their hype and potential, the Cubs will surely be out of the cellar in 2014. Maybe no playoffs, but .500? I think it's very possible.
The elevated view of the first pitch from Justin Germano to Jose Altuve:
This was the only game this year where the Cubs weren't the underdog. The Astros were in dead last place, and the Cubs were a very close second. I was very excited to see them get pummeled today.
Jackson got the Cubs started with a line drive triple to center, which scored Starlin Castro to put the Cubs up one in the 2nd.
In the 3rd, David DeJesus led off with a homer to right field. I was walking to the bathroom at the time, and froze for a second because I thought I could have the slightest of chances to get to where it would land. I didn't, but I was still happy.
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| Just finishing up his trip around the bases. |
A slight breeze and the warm reflection of sun from the metal Bleachers made this day much more enjoyable than it could have been otherwise.
DeJesus added another homer in the 4th to put the Cubs up five.
Two batters later, Astros starter Bud Norris left with an injury, but the damage was already too severe.
Carlos Marmol came in with a 5 run lead to lock it up in the 9th....
And held it down to let me see only my second Cubs win live in 2012. (Both of them were when I was in the Bleachers. Huh...)
Here's me and Courtney, followed by me with my balls for the day:
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| AGAIN, just blurry enough to bother me. This would have been profile picture worthy had it turned out better. |
- 2 balls at this game
- 21 balls total this season
- 2 consecutive games with a ball (while avidly Ballhawking)
- 3 consecutive games with a ball in Chicago
- 31 lifetime balls
The W looked majestic as we walked out. At the moment, I didn't have a ticket for another game at Wrigley. This could be my last game of the year. A plan was in the works for me to come home for a weekend and catch a game in September, but it's hard to plan a month ahead when school starts.
Notice, though, I said GAME. Baseball may have been done for me, but I was still coming back in just about three weeks.
I was going to see one of the most heart stopping, fun loving, hard rocking, booty shaking, love making, LEGENDARY event in Wrigley Field history.
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