I saw the St. Louis Cardinals play the Seattle Mariners, Part One

What I saw: the St. Louis Cardinals play the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle. The Mariners won, 4-3, on a 9th inning walk-off three run home run by Adam Lind off Trevor Rosenthal.

 

What I wore: newish grey Nike sneakers, tan Levi's jeans (most comfortable pair of pants I own), unremarkable blue polo shirt, black Helly Hansen rain jacket, faded blue Cardinals hat

What I did beforehand: waited at my apartment for my friend Pete to arrive from work on his bike; drove him in my truck over to his house to drop off his bike; drove over to the Beacon Hill light rail station and parked my truck; took light rail to the stadium.

Who went with me: my friend Pete (see above). I took him to the game in honor of his birthday which was the previous week.

How I got tickets: the last time the Cardinals were in Seattle was back in 2002. I had always promised myself that I would go to every game in the series the next time the Redbirds returned. When I saw this three game series on the schedule, I took the light rail down to the Safeco Field ticket office to buy tickets to all three games (to save on service charges and delivery fees which typically add a sizable amount to any online ticket order). At the time that I bought the tickets, I had no idea who would be going with me to each game.

Why I saw this game: I grew up in St. Louis,  where everyone (except one or two crackpots in my family who claimed to originally be Browns fans) roots for the Cardinals pretty much from birth. Many of the most memorably traumatic moments of my life revolve around Cardinals losses, starting in 1974 with the time I cried inconsolably after Cubs catcher Steve Swisher dropped a third strike to allow the Pittsburgh Pirates to clinch the NL East title and knock the Cardinals out of playoff contention. I was six years old.

Where I sat: section 109, row 37, seat 7. One of my favorite places to sit-- easy access from the south-east gate at Safeco Field; on the first level of the outfield so there's a realistic chance of catching a home run ball. The other fans in our section were friendly, rowdy (but not drunk), profane, and knowledgeable-- can't really ask for more (except for fans to refrain from shouting out racist insults-- see below).

Things that were sad: the Cardinals held a 3-1 lead going into the 9th inning but lost.

Things that were funny: from where we were seated, we could not see the Tyranno-Vision screen, so we did not have a lot of information about players and stats (nor were we close enough to see the players faces clearly). I haven't followed the Cardinals quite as closely in the past few years as I have in previous years, so I don't know all the numbers of the players. Because of this, I somehow convinced myself the Cardinals were pitching Michael Wacha instead of Carlos Martinez. It was only in about the sixth inning that I finally figured out my mistake.

 

 Wacha (left) and Martinez (right)

Things that were not funny: at one point early in the game, the Mariner's Dae-Ho Lee, an enormous south Korean slugger who has become something a fan favorite this year, came up to bat. In the section around me, several people made racist comments, most notably the guy behind us who shouted out, "Konnichwa, motherfucker!!!!" Once again, Seattle's self-annointed reputation for open-mindedness and tolerance is shown to not actually be the case. 

What it is: a sport, played by professionals, in front of a crowd of paying customers (and others watching on television).

Who should see it: Cardinals fans, Mariners fans, baseball fans, and even people who aren't baseball fans-- this was a game that almost anyone who have found enthralling.

What I saw on the way home: the most erraticly-driven light rail train I've ever ridden on. 

(Thanks to How Way Leads On To Way for the inspiration.)

What I have been reading lately #52

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man-- James Weldon Johnson

I was assigned this in college but never actually read it. It was different from what I expected (and, I'm pretty sure, not all that autobiographical). James Weldon Johnson is perhaps better known as the author of the lyrics to "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (aka "The Negro National Anthem", aka "The Black National Anthem").

The Neighborhood of Baseball-- Barry Gifford

This book is a memoir of one man's relationship with the Chicago Cubs. I've read it several times and have always enjoyed it.

Another Day of Life-- Ryszard Kapuscinski

A Polish journalist's account of the last days of Portuguese colonial rule in Angola. Another book that I've read several times and enjoyed.

There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom-- Louis Sachar

My daughter Alexandra recommended that I read this to my fourth grade class. They enjoyed it very much.

Time for Outrage (Indignez-vous!)-- Stephane Hessel

This book was written recently by a former French resistance fighter about the need to return to the old-fashioned values of liberty, equality, struggle against oppression, etc. A good book, and it only took a few minutes to read.

Change-- Mo Yan

Mo Yan is an author I have enjoyed reading in the past, and I enjoyed this book as well. It is a short memoir of his life growing up during the Cultural Revolution and in the People's Liberation Army.

Moving Through Here-- Don McNeill

This is a collection of article from the Village Voice about the hippies, Yippies, and other assorted folks in New York City and California during the 1960s. McNeill died at a young age in a drowning accident.

Fugitive Days: A Memoir-- Bill Ayers

This is an account of Bill Ayers journey from being an student anti-war activist to helping to found the Weather Underground and spending the better part of the 1970s as a fugitive from the FBI. It was very interesting.

Out of the Whale-- Jonah Raskin

Jonah Raskin wrote this book in the mid-1970s about his life. His parents were members of the Communist Party USA; he became a college professor and then a left-wing radical and Yippie. I enjoyed reading this book.

Update on the beer-throwing Cubs fan

As reported earlier, on Wednesday night a Cubs fan threw beer at Philadelphia Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino. Another fan was blamed for the incident, which allowed the real culprit to escape. Later, however, he turned himself in to police and now faces some kind of criminal charges.

The fan's name is Johnny Macchione, and he has been very apologetic about what happened. At least one public relations expert thinks that Macchione has done a very good job at handling the incident. The fan who was inaccurately blamed for the incident is actually the cousin of Macchione's friend. Both men have subsequently spoken to Chicago media about what happened.

Last night's Phillies-Cubs game

The Cubs were losing again, and the fans were angry. Someone threw a beer at Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino while Victorino was trying to catch a fly ball. Cubs security guards grabbed the wrong guy, and now the police are looking for the real beer thrower.

For video of the incident, click here. For predictable world-wide reaction, click here.

Update (later the same day): The wanted beer-thrower has turned himself in to police.

Two different players stole home today in two different games

The California Angels completed a three game sweep today of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The highlight was when Angels outfielder Gary Matthews, Jr. stole home. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the White Sox beat the Cubs 6-0. In the 6th inning, the White Sox were trying a suicide squeeze, but Cubs' pitcher Carlos Zambrano threw the ball away and Chris Getz scored easily. Matthews' steal was for real; Getz's was more of a squeeze bunt/wild pitch/stolen base kind of situation.

Meanwhile, according to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen (below): "Our fans are not stupid like Cubs fans."

Best day of the baseball season

This year it took longer than most, but, once again, the Chicago Cubs will not be winning the World Series. Let's all give thanks to those Los Angeles Dodgers! (I never thought I'd be rooting for Joe Torre again.)





The last time the Cubs won the World Series, there were no favorite television shows, because the television had not yet been invented, and the President was Theodore Roosevelt. In the election that fall, Republican William Howard Taft defeated the Democrat William Jennings Bryan.


27th President of the United States,
William Howard Taft