I came about my tickets in an awkward way (won them in an auction, supposed to have seen batting practice, didn't want to come at 1:30, batting practice some other time...) so it didn't occur to me just where my seats would be until I got there and just 10 feet in front of me were Shelley Duncan and Asdrubal Cabrera (and, like, Grady Sizemore and Lonnie Chisenhall. Whatever...)
Oh, how I longed for a Sharpie. How I longed for a ball. My Asdrubal sign. A "Batter's Up" magazine. Anything! But alas, I was ill-prepared. I simply shouted "SHELLEY DUNCAN YOU ROCK!!!" He didn't hear me tho. Or maybe he did but he was getting ready for the game as he ran by. Then, I had the privilege of being close enough to tell him how much he rocked between every inning. I know he cares. In the 5th or 6th inning, some kids in the bleachers were like "HEY SHELLEY DUNCAN" between pitches and he turned around to wave. What a guy!
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| Hey kids! |
I think they purposely pump up the audio in the stadium between innings so you can't harass the players as they run to the dugout. What do you think?
Side note - not only were there like 3000 people at this game but also John Adams was NOT THERE. I can't believe I was at a game he wasn't at. I can't believe he skipped a game! My uncle and I decided he must have come to the original PPD game and thus counts that as being "at" the game and today he was at home, enjoying the game on television. At least we hope that's how it went down because that would be the best. John Adams just not showing up is unacceptable. And the Patron Saint Of This Blog would never do such a thing!
Anyway so yeah - I was in the 4th row, right behind the tarp. It rained the entire time I was there. I was with my uncle from Phoenix. I told him that tonight's game would be unlike any he would ever go to in Phoenix - cold and wet. I didn't disappoint!
We spent most of the game keeping our eyes on the ball, being terrified that we might get hit by a foul ball. But then we hoped one would bounce in one of the 200 empty seats around us and land softly in our laps. Neither thing happened.
So David Huff...well, he's taken a permanent detour to Sucksville it would seem. The dream is over, I think. Nine runs in 2 2/3 innings?
Ok, 4 un-earned runs. But still, 5 runs? Bro. It was wet yes but...
Although Durbin couldn't get his shit together, either. Two more runs from him. One from Hermann. Good job Hagadone, at least.
Lonnie Chisenhall was working hard today. I know he was cuz I was RIGHT BEHIND HIM. He caught a couple of foul balls JUST NEXT TO ME. Awesome!
But he had an error. His 10th of the year in just 53 games. Tsk tsk.
Batting was pretty fun tonight! (apparently, for Seattle too...)
Jason Donald was hitting 2nd and playing 2nd today, and he went 3 for 4! He came in to score twice, too.
Of course, since the guy in front of Asdrubal was kicking ass, so was ASDRUBAL himself! And I didn't have my sign...ARGH! It was just too wet. I want to use the sign for seasons to come so I wasn't ready to sacrifice it to the weather.
Some enterprising fans out in center field had laminated signs. GO YOU GUYS!!!
Speaking of Asdrubal, another reader has come out of the woodwork and left a comment! Holla Libby! She's another huge Asdrubal fan so she understands the EXCITEMENT of Indians baseball!
Anyway so Asdrubal...hit for the near cycle (who knows...had the game not been truncated...) with a single, homer and double. That's 3 more RBI for him. If you aren't following along (WHY AREN'T YOU FOLLOWING ALONG?!) that's 7 hits and 4 RBI for him in his last 2 games. Asdrubal is going out with a BANG!
Oh and BTW... OMG ASDRUBAL!!! Homer #23!! Once again I was not stationed to announce this on Facebook or Twitter. My friend Doug, who I don't think actually follows baseball in any meaningful way, posted "OMG Asdrubal # Whatever!!!! (btw, it was # 23)." on his Facebook wall. This is much better than a few weeks ago when he randomly posted "OMG ASDRUBAL #88!" on his wall on a day there wasn't even a game. Much improved, Doug.
So anyway, not to be outdone, Carlos Santana got himself a homer too, right after Asdrubal's homer. Almost in the same spot, too! No complaints here. Also, he NOW holds the record for the most switch-hitting home runs by an Indians player, 26. Before I said he held it (he was tied) and I wasn't sure if it was just Indians or what. Just Indians.
Hafner and Sizemore both went 1 for 3, which is nice to see in person. You know, cuz they're like team mascots so it's nice when they do stuff. We also want them to leave the season reminding us that they're healthy and 2012 is their YEAR, BABY! Or at least that the value of my autographed Sizemore bat won't go down too much.
That's about all that happened in the baseball game, other than my uncle and his buddy leaving me "for a beer" and me sitting by myself in the rain for 2 innings (all the people in my section left) and singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" by myself. It was all right. I had an Emergency Rain Poncho.
Then all of a sudden a large group of young men came dashing towards me and hopping up into the seats. I mean, on to the tarp. Just like the SWAT team in The Blues Bothers. The lead groundsman was like "go, go, go!" and they rolled the tarp out.
That sort of sucked because really, it wasn't raining much. Then this girl who had more makeup than sense bounded down the stairs and asked me what was going on. I had to explain rain delays. Then she asked if I knew how long it would be. I told her until it stopped raining. Then she started yelling at the grounds crew "Hey, hey Indians!...Do you know any of their names?" "Well, no, they're not the Indians..."
That was weird. Later, she got one of the bullpen crew to come over and chat with her, because she is blond and she was there.
Anyway before I departed, a mess of beard and hair and batting-practice-hat came strolling past me and I was like "HI CHRIS PEREZ!" and this time he turned and waved and smiled! THANK YOU CHRIS PEREZ!
Lou Marson must have talked some sense into him.
So that was my time at the game tonight. Pretty eventful considering it only lasted 7 innings and we lost by 6 runs. But we GOT 6 runs so that was awesome and Chris Perez said "Hi" to me so whatever else happened, I'm oblivious.
I had to leave work early today to go to the game, and apparently right after I left the network went down for 2 or 3 hours and I totally missed it all. This may have truly been the best game of the year!
I've got a pounding headache so no Radio Chatter tonight. I gotta go to bed, I can't listen to the game.
TOMORROW we've got a super treat - a double-header! 1:05 and 7:05 versus the White Sox. So much baseball in so little time!
See you there!
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