Playing "Dumb Ball"
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Today was glorious. Perfect weather for a game, and fortune smiled down upon me. In February, I bought tickets to a game in May. It was one of the only games that still had bleacher seats available, and so I snapped them up with no guarantee that I would actually be able to attend the game.
With a little creative schedule engineering, I managed to come up to Chicago today and catch my first game in the bleachers. I've been to Wrigley field probably 30 or 40 times over the years, but never in the bleachers. Did I mention the weather was perfect?
My friend Chris and I sat next to Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue and Scott Lange of Northside Lounge. Both guys are really nice and enjoyable to be around. We had some great discussions throughout the day. It really was one of the best experiences I've ever had in the stands.
The game on the field was a different story. Carlos Zambrano pitched well but had trouble getting the third out in a few innings, and so he had his pitch count up early. He left after seven innings, having allowed three runs. Although Cliff Bartosh and Joe Borowski each gave up solo shots, it wouldn't have made a difference if they had hemmoraged 20 runs apiece.
The Cubs offense was not all that interested in playing today, and that manifested itself in 'aggressive' hitting. Lots of first pitch swinging, infield pop-flys, and ground balls to Todd Helton later, the Cubs made Jason Jennings look like a Cy Young candidate. This team needs some patience.
On the way back, I was on the Red-Line discussing the Cubs season with a friendly fellow, and he made a comment that struck a nerve. He said the Cubs were playing "Dumb Ball."
In contrasting the two sides of town, we cast our eyes to the south and see Ozzie Guillen's squad playing small-ball... or "smart ball" as Ozzie likes to call it. The Cubs? "Dumb Ball" is about the best way I could describe it.
Posted by Byron at May 26, 2005 10:10 PM
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