First, I’d like to say that this weekend’s games were important to me because for as long as I can remember liking baseball I’ve been a huge fan of the Padres and the Cincinnati Reds. Chris Sabo, Eric Davis, The Nasty Boys… these things mean a lot to me. I was very excited to write a running diary for this game. Now…
…This season I’m trying to do a “running” diary every Sunday. Usually this isn’t an issue because, although I work from 1am to 5am on Sundays, I’m able to get enough sleep before the one o’clock start times. However, today’s game started at 10am and this caused the following to happen:
5:21am - I get home from work and set my alarm for 9:30am to give myself enough time to brush my teeth, grab a cup of coffee and find a place to watch the game.
Side note: After a heated argument with Cox Cable (in which I figured out how they got their name) my house decided we would go without cable. This now forces me to find a location to watch Padres games.
9:30am - Snooze button.
9:40am - I get a text from Josh asking me if I’m coming over and telling me that he might have to leave at noon. I reply yes, I’ll be over in a few.
10:09am - Josh: “Are you coming over?”
10:20am - Me: “I’ll see. I’m tired.”
11:00am - Me: “So, are you gonna leave at noon?”
11:06am - Josh: “No.”
11:25am - Me: “Dude, I cannot stay awake. Too late for the diary.”
11:36am - I am officially woken up by dogs and realize that I am starving. I hop up and decide on an omelet.
11: 45am - I leave the house on my way to the Caffe Carpe Diem in North Park.
11:55am - I get to Carpe Diem and realize how close I am to my buddy, and fellow Kept Faith contributor, Sean’s house and ask if I can come over and watch the very close Padres V. Reds game which is now in the 6th inning.
Some things you should know about Caffe Carpe Diem:
1) They have good food.
2) They will six times out of ten (not an exaggeration) make your drink incorrectly. This is not from lack of trying.
3) When they do make it correctly, it’s really, really good.
4) It’s better than Starbucks.
12:02pm - Sean says I can come over.
12:10pm - I arrive at Sean’s, food and coffee in hand, just in time for the bottom of the 7th inning.
BOTTOM OF THE 7TH INNING
- I walk in to Luke Gregerson warming up while the grounds crew is trying to clean up the mud around the base paths. It’s been raining. I had no idea.
- Dick Enberg is awesome. How did we get him? I mean Jerry Coleman is the star of San Diego broadcasting but I really hope Enberg sticks around for a few seasons.
- I’m focusing on my omelet and nothing really matters because I’m starving. Gregerson sits down the side with some nasty nasty.
END OF THE 7TH: PADS - 4 REDS - 3
This is my first chance to see all the new Channel 4 Padres commercials. They are terrible. However, oddly enough, Mark Grant is good in them. He has comic timing and seems to understand the fact that he is a joke. His life now, much like his career, is a big fat neck roll of a joke. Sorry, I got a little mean there. I actually like Grant. J/K K.I.T. BFF’s!
TOP OF THE 8TH INNING
- Arthur Rhodes has been announced as the pitcher and Enberg tells us that Rhodes is 40 years of age and making his 748th appearance in the major leagues. He was drafted in 1988. Just as a comparison, I’ve been hosting shows at Sea World since 1999 and have made over 4,000 appearances and have a much lower career ERA- so eat it Rhodes!
- He strikes out everybody who is anybody.
BOTTOM OF THE 8TH
- The pitcher I like the most is on the mound for the Padres - Mike Adams.
- Ah crap. Right after Enberg says the Pads are 5 outs away from 9 in a row, the wheels come off.
- Rolen singles.
- Bruce doubles, A-Gonz misplays the throw (trade his ass already), Adams decides that backing up the throw should be someone else’s job and disappears (presumably to the dug out) and Rolen runs home. Bruce to third.
- Tie game.
- Former Friar, Ramon Hernandez, singles in Bruce. I yell. This begs the question: If you scream in a house full of Giants fans, does anyone hear it?
- Adams has really unraveled. Walks two in a row.
- Votto up with the bases-loaded. Now, here is where fantasy baseball takes over. I have Votto and a grand slam would secure my win this week. I am now conflicted. I choose not to watch and hope for happiness on either end.
- Votto strikes out. Phew. (Damn).
END OF THE 8TH: PADS - 4 REDS - 5
TOP OF THE 9TH INNING
- The Reds closer Francisco Cordero is on the mound - another one of my fantasy players. I don’t need a save from him to win this week. In fact even if he gets the loss I’ll be okay.
- Blanks gets robbed of a single! ROBBED! The umpires in Cincy have been pretty terrible from what I’ve seen so far. I know it’s raining and you want to go home, but come on!
- Matt Stairs up to pinch hit. Whatever.
- Enberg: “And now it is really raining seriously.”
- Hundley draws a damp walk.
- Cabrera pinch running for Hundley steals 2nd and reaches 3rd on an error.
- Tony Gwynn JUNIOR draws a walk.
- Jerry Hairston Jr reaches down and hits a long fly ball. That’s game.
END OF GAME: PADS - 4 REDS - 5
At a moment like this I don’t know what to write. Being a fan of both teams and watching the Padres snap an 8-game winning streak is confusing. You can’t be upset because at least we kept it close and have been playing beyond expectations. I also am happy because I want the Reds to compete in the Central at some point and a game like this is a sign that could happen sooner than later. It’s a win-win lose-lose kiss-kiss bang-bang. Oh well, let’s just hope this doesn’t lead to an 8-game losing streak.
1:30pm - I’m driving home and see a horribly offensive billboard that reads, “Divorce the BETTER way.” After I get past the shock and sadness I start to think. It reminds me of how divorce has actually stalled the Padres growth in the past couple seasons. It’s funny how one relationship can affect literally thousands of others. I’m glad we are transitioning into new ownership, but it feels weird. It’s like John Moores is our ex-wife and Jeff Moorad is the new, hot, young girlfriend. We feel bad because in the beginning our ex-wife was great and really supported us all the way to the top. But, as relationships often do, it went south and as Billy Joel said, “They started to fight when the money got tight and they just didn’t count on the tears, whoa oh whoa, whoa oh whoa, yeah rock and roll.” We look to Moorad to make us feel young again and prove that we can still believe in love. But it’s still too new, still rocky. We’re still feeling each other out and making sure this is true and not some silly rebound we get stuck with and end up hating more than our ex. Let’s face it we can’t be in first place forever, but for now the sex is great.
1 comment:
Enberg is so great. I marvel at his quick-wittedness, considering he's a million years old.
Post a Comment