Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Back in the day (before Mr. Right became Mr. Right), he and I took the train to Chicago, then the L to beautiful Wrigley Field almost every week. Ahhh good times. He was such a Cub fan and I became kind of a fan too. I'm a fan in that I like when they win but when they lose, I'm such a sore loser. I ask him things like, "Isn't it hard to be a Cub fan?" and I always blame the umpires. I'm just sure that as long as the Cubs keep their fan attendance up, they'll NEVER get the calls. I always convince myself that one bad ball/strike call can and does take the pitcher (or the batter for that matter) right out of his game. And if the hurler's money pitch is the outside corner and the umpire calls it a ball, he's screwed. Good-bye ball game. And if the first pitch that the batter sees is a terrible pitch that is called a strike, he has to protect the plate against the unknown calls and he's out of his game. See? I'm a terrible fan.

But last Friday we went to the ball game. We took the train, then the L; and, when we got to Wrigley Field we ate outside at one of the many bars in close proximity to the field.

Our seats were upper deck, front row, between home plate and first base. I never had to worry about a head in front of me when I took a picture and eventually I started to relax enough that my feet quit tingling when I looked down. After all, the only thing between us and the lower deck was a little fence.

But I sure could get some pictures!

For example, I could clearly see where the Pirates liked to carry their bats.

I saw Soriano and his new batting coach heading to the under-the-bleachers batting practice area for a little extra instruction before the game (which by the way did pay off for him).

I saw the WGN sportscasters, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly getting ready for the game.

I saw American Idol's Lee DeWyze throw the first pitch. I was a fan of his before the game but now I'm a really a fan of his.

We saw Wayne Messmer sing the National Anthem and the girlfriend of the guy next to us called to say that we were on TV. Boy, was I glad I recorded it. But then, wouldn't you know it, all I had really recorded was the 10 minute pregame show and I didn't get us at all. That was the only disappointment of the day - except for the Cubs losing again of course.

I saw how Soto gets the bat ready for the hitter who just knocked a foul ball that wasn't caught.

I got some pretty good shots of Cubs swinging the bat.

And Cubs after they hit the ball.

I saw Marlon Byrd put the final emphasis on his home run trot.

Except Marlon Byrd doesn't have a home run trot. Marlon Byrd RUNS all the way around the bases even when he hits it out of the park. We love everything about Marlon Byrd because he does everything 100%. Here are a couple of shots of him warming up.

So what, you might say? They all warm up. Not so much. Only a few were out there just before the game started and only one caught my eye. And he caught my eye because he was the one guy out there who seemed to be warming up 100%. Go Marlon.

Here's a little bit of what might go on when you're watching a commercial during the game.

We got our share of hits and that was fun.

But eventually, some fans got bored.

The birds took the field (and not the Marlon kind).

And the Cubs lost 10-6. But it was a beautiful day for a ballgame (it always is at Wrigley Field) and we had a good time as usual.

Maybe you didn't really want to go to the WHOLE game with me but once I got started, I couldn't stop sharing. There were just so many interesting things to see.

Aren't you glad I didn't share the other 486 pictures I took that day?