A Cubbie afternoon in late June

1:05PM - I just settled into my seat with a hotdog, a beer and a scorecard. I'm ready to go. At this point I cast my gaze towards the field and see Tony the Tiger throwing out the First Pitch. He's 6'8" if he's and inch. He throws what looks like a back door slider (similar to the one Eckersley famously threw to Gibson to end Game One of the 1988 World Series) with a tremendous amount of zip considering he's in giant orange cat costume. Depending on who's behind the plate, that's a borderline strike and a definite out-pitch. These are the moments when my sober brain becomes aware of itself and is grateful it's not currently impaired by hallucinogens.

It's a humid day, the wind is gusting out to right field at a steady pace and it's cloudy but not entirely ominous. I have a feeling like if the Cubs are up in the 4th and the rain starts coming down, we're going to have a collective Bishop Pickering moment, screaming up to the heavens, "BUT THE GOOD LORD WOULD NEVER DISRUPT THE GREATEST WINNING STREAK OF THE SEASON!!!" The beer is cold and the sweat on the back of my neck invigorates me every time a gentle wind brushes past. The prospect of two straight sweeps going into a weekend series against the Brewers at home has everyone bouncing on their soles, maneuvering through the crowds with purpose...

1:15PM - Wayne Messmer dominates another rendition of the National Anthem (again). He's the best. Whenever Mr. Messmer sings and the ivy is pulsing along the outfield wall and the azure skies are peeking out behind clouds, hinting at another glorious day at the ballpark... well, it's hard not to get emotional.

1:29PM - Zambrano easily retires the first two batters and then almost loads the bases on walks before Atkins pops out lazily to second base. The guys in front of me are pissed off because Big Z is pissed off... or something... I couldn't really follow their serpentine logic. I'm fighting the urge to get their attention and give them the hands out, palms down, universal "relax, guys" signal while exaggeratedly shrugging my shoulders and raising my eyebrows in mock sincerity.

1:38PM - In between innings I glanced up to the rooftops past right field and noticed the signs "Eamus Catuli" and "AC 036198". I use the word "notice" because they've been there for so long that I don't mentally acknowledge them, just like elevator music or those plug-in air fresheners. The picture I've attached here is from the 2000 season. Don't get it? Don’t worry, I don't either, but I'll attempt to explain. EAMUS CATULI is Latin for "Go Cubs". AC is supposed to stand for Anno Catuli or "The Year of Our Cubs"... I know what you're thinking, pretty clever, huh? It gets better. The following pairs of numbers represent the years since we've won our Division (2003 or 03 years), won the NL pennant (1945 or 61 years) and won the World Series (1908 or 98 years). Wasn't that fun? Are we going to add another digit in two years to make it 100? Will that be depressing enough? I just wish we could win it all, not for the simple joy of winning anymore... but just because I want to be able to shut up about it (as a fanbase).

1:46PM - This is Zambrano's pitch sequence to end the top of the 2nd inning against Yorvit Torrealba: 66mph (strike looking), 91mph (strike looking), 92 mph (ball high), 94 mph (swinging helplessly and missing).

1:55PM - Cubs 1, Rockies 0. Bottom 2nd. Derosa scored from 3rd base on a Theriot single up the middle. Through two innings, Jason Hirsh has given up 3 hits, 2 wild pitches and a walk.

2:15PM - The centerfield scoreboard shows Houston has just pulled even with the Brewers in the 4th inning in Milwaukee. I haven't pulled this hard for the Ass-hos since the World Series two years ago.





















2:24PM - Cubs 4, Rockies 0. Bottom 3rd. After walking Lee and Floyd, Hirsh gives up a 3-run jack to DeRosa. He then walks Hill on four straight pitches and finally ends the inning with a monster warning track shot to Theriot. Looking REAL SHAKY. I don't really know anything about Rockies pitchers because it's generally a wasteland for fantasy baseball purposes (thin air in Denver causing the ball to travel further i.e. more homeruns). I scanned the rosters included with my scorecard and saw some names I barely recognized and some numbers that made me sad. I decided that when I got home, I was going to check the (home/away) ERA splits because this whole series has been peppered by some consistently suspect pitching on their part. I posit that the difference won't be THAT pronounced. Here's what I found:

Aaron Cook (6.43/3.60): 104 innings pitched and 33 strikeouts. 33! Also he's owned in 2.2% of ESPN Fantasy leagues. I think he has a big family and they all draft him and bench him. You know, for moral support.
Josh Fogg (5.46/4.37): and a WHIP of 1.51
Jeff Francis (3.94/3.60): the definition of a good hitting team is when Jeff Francis is the ace of your staff and you're still only two games below .500
Rodrigo Lopez (3.27/5.60): 50 inning pitched and 26 strikeouts with a WHIP of 1.40 and it could be argued that he's their second best starter.
Jason Hirsh (5.63/4.49): Our boy.

So what have we learned? Well, besides the fact that I like to rip on pitching from Colorado?

That's right. Nothing.

2:33PM - Zambrano ends the top of the 4th inning with a strikeout. He's got two 1-2-3 innings to his credit and 6 K's. He's all pumped up and I watch him walk off the field to a raucous ovation while giving his traditional "point to the sky" gesture right as he gets to the dugout steps. What does that feel like? What is the equivalent of that sensation in other sports? In basketball, I think it would be a point guard backpedaling down the court and pounding his chest after threading the needle on a backdoor pass that's certain to be a SportsCenter Top Play. In football, it would be a wide receiver catching a crucial third-and-long ball in traffic, absorbing the other teams best hit and popping up while motioning "first down" as the defensive players just kinda stand around looking at each other. In hockey? I dunno, not really a big fan... something like this I’d imagine.

2:40PM - Cubs 5, Rockies 0. Bottom 4th. Fontenot grooves a 0-1 pitch 415 feet to straight away right. I think this kid may be our starting 2nd basemen for the next 10 years and I'm not even kidding. He's been up a month and I'm already completely sold.

2:49PM - DeRosa barehands a chopper down the 3rd baseline and guns out Tulowitski by a half a step. He's basically been in the well documented "I do what I want" mode for the past couple of innings.

3:00PM- Hirsh's first 1-2-3 inning in the 5th. I think he's starting to settle down.

3:14PM - Cubs 5, Rockies 2. Top 6th. Zambrano gives up a two out, bases loaded single to Hawpe before getting his final out.

3:18PM - Jacque Jones comes in to pinch hit for Big Z to a smattering of boos. I think it's a bad position for JJ to be in because all month he's been the subject of trade talks and he never starts anymore with these young guys tearing the cover off the ball. The court of public opinion has taken its stand and now he's up in a "yeah, but" pinch hit appearance. Even if he hits a homerun, everyone will say, "Yeah, but he's still hitting .234 and throws like a special needs child." He works the count to 2-2 and then grounds out to first. By the way he lopes back to the dugout you can tell he hates Chicago and wants out.

3:24PM - Cubs reliever Billy Petrick makes his major league debut in the top of the 7th. I like this move because he's facing Torrealba, Taveras (hitting for Hirsh) and Sullivan with a 3-run lead. Pinella starts the inning with action in the bullpen incase the kid unravels. Limited pressure. Let's see what he's got...

Petrick is ahead of every batter he faces. Torreabla grounds out to second. Then Taveras strikesout looking and people start yelling, "Come on Billy!". He touches 94 twice against Sullivan who finally strikes out swinging. The crowd erupts and he walks off to a standing ovation which bleeds into "Take me out to the ball game". A great Wrigley moment I'm sure he'll never forget.















3:30PM - Cubs 6, Rockies 2. Bottom 7th. Fontenot scores from 3rd base on a Floyd sacrafice fly. The weather has officially turned. Big sweaty droplets of rain could come crashing down at any moment and a thick, cool wind is now blowing in from center field.

3:40PM - Cubs 6, Rockies 4. Top 8th. Petrick, being just one strike from getting out of the inning, gives up a LINE DRIVE 2-run jack to Atkins. That ball took literally three seconds to travel 365 feet into the left field basket. Still, a memorable debut.

3:55PM - A drunk Cubs fan infront of me is heckling Hill after an awkward swinging strikeout, "This guy’s a BUM!!! We want Giovani Soto!!!"

Never been said before. Ever.

(even though I kinda agree with him)

4:05PM - Marmol throws up two backwards K's before this happens:



4:20PM - The torrential downpour begins as I'm putting my key in my front door. I'm reminded of an Ice Cube song as I push through into the entryway.

Bring on the Brewers...