Since this is Chipper Jones' last season, I wanted to see him play in person and get a chance to interact as many times as possible. So I went back to the park. Angela had a hot date before the game so of course she looked gorgeous compared to my homelessness.
We got into the park and watched BP. Look at how starry-eyed Darwin is.
Kerry Wood shagging balls. I just love him.
Theo Epstein made an appearance.
Studly Ian Stewart
A pensive Joe Mather.
Chipper.
Can we just talk about the lovely and kind Sarah Kustok? I usually only see her at Sox games, so it was a special treat to see her at a Cubs game. She's a former college hoops star for Northwestern turned broadcaster. I don't like pretty women, but I love this one.
Even this bird was like, "I just want to stand near third base where Chipper Jones stands."
Chipper was very talkative during BP, chatting it up with me and Angela. But, sadly, he never came over. He did, however, make some spectacular plays.
Now, if you want to see a bunch of hillbilly baseball plays go gaga, you should've been at this game when pro-wrestler CM Punk threw out the first pitch. He's a hometown boy and Cubs fan, so he frequents Wrigley when he has breaks from his career. My family is HUGE into wrestling--not me, of course, although I have watched a match or two for camaraderie and obviously know CM Punk, best in the world, straightedge superstar. Here Ian Stewart talks it up with him.
Look at this girl on the right. Classic googoo eyes about Punk.
The boys began stretching.
Even as they stretched, they kept looking over at Punk. I had never seen the boys care so much about a first pitch.
Here's Ryan Dempster. I adore him and I was super excited to watch him pitch.
Tony Campana signing autographs as always. Steve Clevenger was down rehabbing in Iowa and we missed him.
Here's that Punk pitch. I bet there was a fight over who got to catch it.
Lendy caught it.
The bullpen boys.
And the game begins, and Ryan Dempster is amazing. He pitched seven innings, allowing only six hits and one run in the fourth inning.
Chipper Jones actually robbed Dempster of a hit in the third inning with a diving play. The man's still got it.
All the men salivated at the idea of seeing Punk again in the seventh inning.
The game was a great pitcher's duel--my favorite kind of game, between Dempster and the young Randall Delgado. David DeJesus hit a sweet double in the fourth inning that ultimately went to waste.
Here you see Adrian Cardenas. He would become a favorite of ours as he went back and forth between the bigs and AAA. Angela was just worried that they were trying to rid Barney of his rightful place. I tried to explain to her that everyone needs a day off but she was not interested. If you have ever tried to argue with Angela about the Cubs or Darwin you would know that she would likely fight you if you talk bad about her boys.
Here, Starlin spits some sunflower seeds.
Starlin reached on an error in the fourth by Chipper.
He reached second on a LaHair groundout. But Delgado kept striking everyone out and Castro was stranded.
Here's some studs warming up:
James Russell
Kerry Wood.
Here's Angela and the amazing Mike Bruce. Mike is a former student of mine who I am positive will become a successful PR expert. I want him to work for the Cubs because I am selfish.
The first run came in the fifth inning for the dumb Braves. In the bottom of the sixth, Tony tried to get things started with a single. He moved to second on a groundout. Here's the thing about Campy--if he's on base, he's moving. He'll take chances--and I think the Cubs are in a position where they have to be aggressive on the bases. His uniform is always dirty.
Campana scored on a Soriano double and the game was tied.
Soriano appears to be arguing something but maybe they're just chatting.
And then CM Punk sang the stretch. If you're not a Cubs person, you may not understand the way it works at Wrigley. Whenever I take people for their first time at Wrigley--and I do that a lot--I have to explain this. While other parks have an organist playing and the words on some big screen, Wrigley makes the stretch come to life. Harry Caray started it back in the day, singing his lively, off-key, maybe-inebriated version of the stretch. Since his death, celebrities come in and are guest conductors. Most of them can't carry a tune, but nobody cares because we're all belting it out at the top of our lungs. And it's always "root, root, root for the CUBBIES!" not just some lame "home team." And at the end of the song, especially when we're losing and we usually are, the conductor yells Harry's words: "Let's get some runs!"
Now I have to talk about something sad.
My whole feeling on the Kerry Wood situation was already blogged about at http://baseballgirl23.blogspot.com/2012/05/goodbye-mr-wood.html. However, I will talk about the part that pertains to this game now.
Kerry Wood came out to pitch at the top of the eighth. And it wasn't a terrible inning. There was a single and some walks, but there was also a sweet pick off. But the Braves scored two runs. There were boos, because that is how ungrateful Cubs fans are. And at the end of the inning, Kerry threw his hat and glove into the stands in disgust. And after I got over the initial jealousy of not getting the hat and glove, I remained very sad.
Mike Bruce and I talked about how much we loved Kerry. I would never forget how unhittable he had been back in the early years. And when he left for other lands, it was heartbroken. We were so glad to have him back. And even after his injuries and surgeries, we were so happy to have him. But things were different now. We knew that.
He did get Chipper to foul out. That was good.
Marmol is all smiles. Very different player than Wood. He can have a terrible game and keep smiling.
I'm sure Dale was arguing something here.
Campy reached on a bunt FC in the bottom of the eighth. He was stranded.
But Craig Kimbrel closed it out and it was all over.
Braves won 3-1.
Joe Mather signed autographs, as usual.
Jeff Samardzija signed as well. He signs a lot. He gets a lot of flack for being unapproachable, but I disagree.
David DeJesus signed. Usually I am opposed to posing by someone in their car. That just screams out stalker. But I was desperate for a photo with David and finally settled for this.
All my photos from this game may be found at: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150879425888786.414497.511233785&type=3
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