[2008 Baseball Tour] Part 1: Wrigley Field (Pittsburgh Pirates at Chicago Cubs)
Whew. Well after 2 days worth of traveling, I'm finally back at my hotel room. Went with pyroh to a Cubs game, mainly because a business trip took me over here to near where she lived, and she's a Cubs fan, so I had this crazy idea to go up north to watch the game. XD (Had I not had that business trip, I would have driven my own car from Ann Arbor, but I would have had to find someone else to go to the game with. XD;) But after several detours in Indiana and ACCIDENTALLY TAKING A WRONG TURN AND USING GARY TO TURN AROUND, we finally made it in to Chicago at about 1 AM. Keep in mind, noon start time. XD;
Before the game:
-Got to Wrigley Field at about 11 AM after much traffic, but I still can't believe we found free parking. XD We had to walk about a mile, but it's better than paying $15-$40 for parking.
-Didn't see anyone selling what I was looking for (a Fukudome jersey), but I eventually did buy something (a "Bow to your sensei!" T-shirt with the Cub in the logo wearing a Fukudome hachimaki XD)
-I assume I was the only guy wearing Dragons gear. Although a nearby bar had a picture of Kosuke from back in Nagoya Dome. (It was an ad for Sapporo beer.)
-Eventually got to our seats, and... damn. A pillar blocked me from seeing part of the action (I couldn't see the shortstop), but at least we weren't DIRECTLY behind it.
-Made sure to cheer loudly when Kosuke was announced. A few Cubs fans complimented me, although most of them didn't know I wasn't a Cubs fan, just a guy cheering on a former Dragon. XD
-Um... let's just go to the game recap. Today's starting pitchers: Chicago's Jason Marquis vs. Pittsburgh's Tom Gorzelanny.
Bottom 1st: After a nondescript top of the 1st, Ryan Theriot got the Cubs their first baserunner with a 1-out single, then Derrek Lee blasted one into the left field bleachers for a 2-run homer! I was very excited, because it meant that Kosuke would get up in that inning. XD When he did, pyroh and I tried to start a Kosuke chant, but it didn't get over. And he struck out to end the inning. Cubs 2, Pirates 0
Top 2nd: The Pirates got 2 runners on with 2 out, but they got to the pitcher slot and couldn't do anything. I wanted to keep count of how many hits they got without scoring a run (possibly they could beat the Twins' record of 13, or beat out Hiroshima's 11, which happened last week thank you Kazuki Yoshimi ^_^), but it never really became a factor.
Bottom 2nd: Mark DeRosa walked, and Geovany Soto doubled him home. That's all that's noteworthy. Cubs 3, Pirates 0
Bottom 3rd: With one out, Aramis Ramirez singled, then Kosuke singled Ramirez over to 3rd! Kosuke's first (turned out to be only) hit of the day! DeRosa singled Ramirez home to make it 1st/2nd 1 out, but with Soto up, the Cubs called a double steal! Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit tried to get Kosuke out at 3rd, but he overthrew the 3rd baseman, bringing Kosuke in to score and DeRosa to 3rd! After a popout by Soto, DeRosa scored on a wild pitch. After a walk by Ronny Cedeno, Jason Marquis (the PITCHER!) doubled home Cedeno, and that was it for Gorzelanny. The inning ended with a groundout by Reed Johnson (in for the injured Alfonso Soriano). Cubs 7, Pirates 0
Bottom 4th: All that's noteworthy here is that Kosuke walked.
Top 5th: Nate McLouth got a 2-out double, and with him running home on a fly ball by Freddy Sanchez, Mark DeRosa made an incredible diving catch! Or did he? The umps ruled that the ball hit the ground first! But McLouth scored on the play, and the Pirates were finally on the board. Cubs 7, Pirates 1
Bottom 6th: BASES LOADED FOR KOSUKE FUKUDOME. I really wanted to see a grand slam... but he ended up taking a 4-pitch walk to bring in a run. DeRosa followed that up with a sac fly to bring in Daryle Ward (in for Derrek Lee), then ANOTHER walk later, the Pirates decide to bring another pitcher in, as well as a sub in 3rd... YES! DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ! I loved that guy when he was a Twin; his falling-out with the club was pretty bad (the Twins basically said "Who needs you? Morneau's ready now"), but he was a fan favorite up until then. But anyways, bases loaded, 2 out, Ronny Cedeno singled to bring Ramirez and Kosuke home (Yes! Double digits!), and that's all the Cubs could get. Cubs 11, Pirates 1
Bottom 7th: After the rousing rendition of Take Me Out To the Ball Game, I went to the bathroom. Line was so long I missed the whole half-inning. Including a 2-run homer by Ward and Kosuke grounding out to the pitcher. XD; Cubs 13, Pirates 1
Top 8th: A lot of fans left after this, because it was starting to rain (eh, it really just sprinkled), but it REALLY got boring this inning. The Pirates managed to load the bases, but hitting for the pitcher... former Twin Luis Rivas. XD I wanted him to do something positive, but knew damn well he'd be unable to. And he grounded out to end the inning. :P
Top 9th: 1-2-3 inning. Cue Go Cubs Go, and we're out! FINAL SCORE: Cubs 13, Pirates 1
Whew! And after a nice dinner at a restaurant pyroh's mom worked at, SEVERAL detours going back too (seriously, WTF northern Indiana), and a VERY dense fog (JESUS CHRIST IT'S THE FOG! GET IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE!) we managed to get back at about 1:30 AM. Only to do it all again tomorrow! This time for the Reds, as they play the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pictures are here, 77 in all.
Before the game:
-Got to Wrigley Field at about 11 AM after much traffic, but I still can't believe we found free parking. XD We had to walk about a mile, but it's better than paying $15-$40 for parking.
-Didn't see anyone selling what I was looking for (a Fukudome jersey), but I eventually did buy something (a "Bow to your sensei!" T-shirt with the Cub in the logo wearing a Fukudome hachimaki XD)
-I assume I was the only guy wearing Dragons gear. Although a nearby bar had a picture of Kosuke from back in Nagoya Dome. (It was an ad for Sapporo beer.)
-Eventually got to our seats, and... damn. A pillar blocked me from seeing part of the action (I couldn't see the shortstop), but at least we weren't DIRECTLY behind it.
-Made sure to cheer loudly when Kosuke was announced. A few Cubs fans complimented me, although most of them didn't know I wasn't a Cubs fan, just a guy cheering on a former Dragon. XD
-Um... let's just go to the game recap. Today's starting pitchers: Chicago's Jason Marquis vs. Pittsburgh's Tom Gorzelanny.
Bottom 1st: After a nondescript top of the 1st, Ryan Theriot got the Cubs their first baserunner with a 1-out single, then Derrek Lee blasted one into the left field bleachers for a 2-run homer! I was very excited, because it meant that Kosuke would get up in that inning. XD When he did, pyroh and I tried to start a Kosuke chant, but it didn't get over. And he struck out to end the inning. Cubs 2, Pirates 0
Top 2nd: The Pirates got 2 runners on with 2 out, but they got to the pitcher slot and couldn't do anything. I wanted to keep count of how many hits they got without scoring a run (possibly they could beat the Twins' record of 13, or beat out Hiroshima's 11, which happened last week thank you Kazuki Yoshimi ^_^), but it never really became a factor.
Bottom 2nd: Mark DeRosa walked, and Geovany Soto doubled him home. That's all that's noteworthy. Cubs 3, Pirates 0
Bottom 3rd: With one out, Aramis Ramirez singled, then Kosuke singled Ramirez over to 3rd! Kosuke's first (turned out to be only) hit of the day! DeRosa singled Ramirez home to make it 1st/2nd 1 out, but with Soto up, the Cubs called a double steal! Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit tried to get Kosuke out at 3rd, but he overthrew the 3rd baseman, bringing Kosuke in to score and DeRosa to 3rd! After a popout by Soto, DeRosa scored on a wild pitch. After a walk by Ronny Cedeno, Jason Marquis (the PITCHER!) doubled home Cedeno, and that was it for Gorzelanny. The inning ended with a groundout by Reed Johnson (in for the injured Alfonso Soriano). Cubs 7, Pirates 0
Bottom 4th: All that's noteworthy here is that Kosuke walked.
Top 5th: Nate McLouth got a 2-out double, and with him running home on a fly ball by Freddy Sanchez, Mark DeRosa made an incredible diving catch! Or did he? The umps ruled that the ball hit the ground first! But McLouth scored on the play, and the Pirates were finally on the board. Cubs 7, Pirates 1
Bottom 6th: BASES LOADED FOR KOSUKE FUKUDOME. I really wanted to see a grand slam... but he ended up taking a 4-pitch walk to bring in a run. DeRosa followed that up with a sac fly to bring in Daryle Ward (in for Derrek Lee), then ANOTHER walk later, the Pirates decide to bring another pitcher in, as well as a sub in 3rd... YES! DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ! I loved that guy when he was a Twin; his falling-out with the club was pretty bad (the Twins basically said "Who needs you? Morneau's ready now"), but he was a fan favorite up until then. But anyways, bases loaded, 2 out, Ronny Cedeno singled to bring Ramirez and Kosuke home (Yes! Double digits!), and that's all the Cubs could get. Cubs 11, Pirates 1
Bottom 7th: After the rousing rendition of Take Me Out To the Ball Game, I went to the bathroom. Line was so long I missed the whole half-inning. Including a 2-run homer by Ward and Kosuke grounding out to the pitcher. XD; Cubs 13, Pirates 1
Top 8th: A lot of fans left after this, because it was starting to rain (eh, it really just sprinkled), but it REALLY got boring this inning. The Pirates managed to load the bases, but hitting for the pitcher... former Twin Luis Rivas. XD I wanted him to do something positive, but knew damn well he'd be unable to. And he grounded out to end the inning. :P
Top 9th: 1-2-3 inning. Cue Go Cubs Go, and we're out! FINAL SCORE: Cubs 13, Pirates 1
Whew! And after a nice dinner at a restaurant pyroh's mom worked at, SEVERAL detours going back too (seriously, WTF northern Indiana), and a VERY dense fog (JESUS CHRIST IT'S THE FOG! GET IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE!) we managed to get back at about 1:30 AM. Only to do it all again tomorrow! This time for the Reds, as they play the Milwaukee Brewers.
Pictures are here, 77 in all.