“What I am going to do today?”
I did not know how to answer. Perhaps taking a nap to rid myself of the mini-hangover I had the night before, but eating some breakfast alleviated that bad feeling. The Yankees game was not coming on until seven at night, so there was nothing specific to do.
I then said to myself:
“Let me take in a game at Wrigley”.
Surely most people do not get to make these last minute decisions. Most that decide to go to games planned this outing and they look at it as an event. “I’m going to the Cubs game today!” is something that the person may announce to their family and friends as a sense of excitement fill them.
Not me.
Being at Wrigley so many times living in Chicago, I look at it as just another place. Very few people will ever be able to understand this. The place has an odd odor, the bathrooms are hideous (taking a leak with five other guys together in a family stall is not fun), and the food selection is lacking. Besides that, everything is fine.
I went online to the Cubs website to see if tickets were available. I had messed up when I did not go to their last Sunday home game and I missed seeing Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants pitching. This time, I would make up for it.
Besides, I needed to now. My good friend Nicole has a small lead on me in "games seen in person”. By unofficial count, she is leading nine to seven. Stacy, my other friend, has been to her share as well this season; including the last three games (she is Cubs fan, so that really does not count). Like the Yankees, I too needed to make up some ground in the standings and close the gap. Certainly, I will be making up for in the next two weeks when I go Yankee Stadium for the weekend, but why not cut into the deficit.
A seat was available right in the infield in section 213 on the infield for $36. Good deal. An hour later, I was out of the door and making the short ten-minute trip to the park.
I left the Yankees cap at home for the game. My feeling has always been that you never wear your favorite baseball teams’ gear to a park when your team is not playing. Why some fans deem it acceptable to purposely pimp their team gear at opposing stadiums is something I will never understand. Whenever I go to Yankees games on the road, my two brown eyes will see denizens sporting Red Sox or Mets caps as they are representing their “Yankees Suck” mentality (or as I refer to them “mental midgets”) by accentuating that fact that they are a fan of that specific team.
I think the idea to do it goes like this:
Idiot Red Sox/Mets fan: Yeah guys, I going to the Yankee game tonight. You know I'm going to do? I am going to wear my Red Sox (or Mets) gear so I can let them know what fan I am as I chant “Yankees Suck!” I'm going to look great!
No, you look like a moron.
This is not some isolated incident. It happens ALL the time. Not to sound like a snob, but I look down on these people. There has to be a sense of personal insecurity to do that. Maybe a visit to the doctor may help.
(SIDE NOTE – Cubs fans are just as guilty as well of doing this at White Sox games whenever I am at that park to see the Yankees. It as if they want to attract attention and be “that guy”. To be fair, they look like fools too.)
There was still about 40 minutes before game time and I took in the view from my seat. As I waited for the game, I decided to pick up a scorecard and pencil along with some food. Unreal to find that the beer is only $6.25 there. What a deal! Go to Shea and Yankee Stadium and it is running you $8.50 (It was $9.50 if you went to the All Star Game two weeks ago). Perhaps I should tell the beer vendor that, but I think that will make him upset that he is undercharging.
As the game was getting underway, my mind was still on the Yankee win from Saturday against the Red Sox. The trade that they had made on Friday was still on my brain and so I decided to use the “Documents to Go” on my Treo to jot down a few thoughts that I would use for a story I would work on during the game.
In the first inning, starter Jason Marquis gave up a three-run homer to Mike Jacobs to give the Marlins a quick 3-0 lead. The fans in the crowd quickly began to groan. Losing their last two and seeing the Milwaukee Brewers now tied with them in the standings were making them a bit antsy.
Rarely do you see the Cubs fan in this dynamic. They rarely win, so they have very few “big games” or “agita moments” in a season. This time it is different and “Cubs angst” appears to be in full effect.
Looking around, I happen to be sitting next to a season ticket holder of over 20 years to my right. And a man who was tipping the scales above 400 pounds to my left. My arm was feeling numb because I could not stretch it out due to his girth. It reminded me of the policy one of the airlines wanted to enforce where if you weighed over a certain limit; you had to purchase an additional ticket. You could have implemented that rule in this instance.
A strange thing I saw was in the bottom half of the inning after Alfonso Soriano singled and was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Theriot. The crowd applauded in acceptance of the play. I was stunned. Perhaps none of the Cub fans have studied Bill James and sabermetrics correctly. I asked the fan next to me why they are cheering and he told that it was because he (Theriot) gave himself up for the team. Does he realize that you do NOT use a .320 hitter to bunt and give up an out in the first inning? It is stupid. Who cares if you are having problems scoring runs? The game is not going to end 1-0 with the bad pitching both teams had on the mound, so it was pointless. They ended up not scoring in the inning anyway which made the decision even crazier.
Jacobs hit another homerun in the second to make it 5-0. The crowd was in full riot mode now. People around me were asking why he (Marquis) was even in the rotation and why isn’t the bullpen warming up. Apparently, they do not realize that Marquis, despite the fact he is horrible, is not any worse than your normal fifth starter.
Would you rather have Sidney Ponson starting? He is pitching for the Yankees tonight and I am scared to death. Believe me, it CAN be worse.
I know the Cubs wasted 20 million on his sorry self (Marquis was bad before they signed him, so this is no surprise), but try looking for a pitcher on the market that will duplicate his numbers and I bet you that you will not.
At this point, even though I was keeping score and tracking the pitches, like Manny Ramirez, I had mentally checked out. I started blogging away on this story for about three innings. The big man sitting to my left was checking in to see what I could be writing that would take close to an hour.
If I were wearing Cubs gear, I would have fit the stereotype of the fan that is there to just take in the atmosphere and playing with the cell phone. The thing I would have been lacking would have been the pink hat. Only my activity had a much different purpose.
Marquis was still being booed in the fourth inning as he pitched into trouble again. These were not normal boos, these were “Dammit, you suck. Why are you still in the game pitching like crap” boos. Fans kept asking why manager Lou Piniella had yet to take him out of the game. If they had been watching the last two games, they probably would have realized that the bullpen had thrown about 12 innings and needed a rest in the worst way. Are they not paying attention? He needed to get as far as he could with him without getting completely killed.
For some strange reason, the Marlins starter walked Marquis in the bottom half of the inning. Babe Ruth he is not. Unbelievable. I predicted the next hitter would go deep just to make the pitcher pay. Soriano came up and promptly drilled a three-run homer to tie the game at five. Surprised? No. Karma is a bitch. The crowd, that was ready to riot earlier was now alive and back in the game.
One thing their fans have to work on is their chants. It seemed as if they were trying too hard to be “East Coast” and simply lacked creativity. A Cubs fan went as far as to add “Marlins Suck” to their “Let’s go Cubbies,” cheer. I am sure that in ballparks all over baseball, the chant “Marlins Suck” has never been chanted. Their fans have been forced to be quiet for so long because of all the losing and now that they have a chance to break out and start talking, intelligence and creativity is lacking.
(SIDE NOTE – It may appear as if I have something against Cubs fans, but I do not. Nothing against Cubs fans personally, but they do annoy me. Maybe I am just reading it wrong, but all their losing and talking up of “curses” and “goats” are nothing more than excuses to justify losing. It is my view that many fans of theirs believe that they are somehow owed World Series championship because of how long they have “suffered”. You are not owed anything. This is why in some way it would be better if they did not win a title. Dealing with insufferable Red Sox fans over the last four year has been bad enough, but it will be even worse if it ever happened to the Cubs. You don’t believe me? Wait until that day comes.)
As I was finishing my Yankees trade story, my friend Stacy texted me wondering who the New York Giants kicker was (answer: Lawrence Tynes). When I saw the question, I was stunned she did not know considering she is probably one of the two biggest football fans that I know who are not guys. She knows just about everything Giants (and probably everything else – though she gets a little homer when it comes to the U of Arizona), but came up with a brain cramp that usually crops up around the offseason.
(SIDE NOTE: Stacy was able to take my mind off the game and back on football for a moment as I continued to blog. It hit me that training camp was really happening and the season was not too far away. Just counting the days until September 4 against the Redskins.)
In the bottom of the seventh, the Cubs took the lead 9-6 when pinch hitter Mike Fontenot hit a three run double to the left field corner. The crowd went crazy as they could exhale and now feel good about their chances of winning. Even better was the fact that the Brewers were losing to the Astros.
Newcomer Jeff Samardzija (he used to play wide receiver at Notre Dame) came in to pitch the final two innings to close the game as the Cubs went on to win. Samardzija was blowing hitters away with his 99 MPH stuff, reminding me slightly of when Joba Chamberlain came up as a novice with the Yankees last year.
As customary during wins at home, the fans begin to sing the lyrics to the song “Go Cubs Go”. By far, it is the cheesiest, most annoying song I have ever heard, worthy of Mitch Albom’s “Bad Song Prison”. Less than 30 seconds in, I was looking for earplugs as the only thing I could do was roll my eyes as I heard people acting as if it was karaoke night. Give me “I Love LA”, “New York State of Mind” or “Dirty Water” (which I cannot stand either, but it’s workable) any day over this song.
I also noticed two signs. One was a white flag with a “W” on it. After each win, the crew at Wrigley Field will hang that up for all to see. Well, let’s just say there have been many instances where that “W” has sat in a box in one of their closets. The other was a sign that read “It’s Gonna Happen”. Maybe that is some code language I am not aware of, but that needs explaining. Unless I am just naïve and not implying its meaning.
In all, it was a great day at Wrigley and even better game to enjoy. The people sitting next me were great people after all and we shared baseball stories and the like. No craziness took place and it was a family atmosphere. My evaluation of their fans is that they are still a little wet behind the ears. Their "in game" knowledge is still lacking and they are a bit when it comes to the opinion they have of their own players.
The experience was still fun, and I plan to make several more appearances before the end the season.
As long they do not conflict with any Yankees games.
No comments:
Post a Comment