Cubs Win, er, Lose in Dramatic Fashion...Again

Every year for the last 3 or 4 years a couple of guys from my work and I drive to a baseball game at one of the "close" major league ballparks near Las Vegas and catch a game. I say close, but the trips are generally 5 plus hours one direction and after the game we climb back into our van(s) and head back home (mainly because we are masticates).

Our core group consists of a Dodger's fan, a Yankee's fan, and two Cub's fans. We've hit Dodger's Stadium, Bank One Park, and this year we hit Petco Park. This year's match-up featured the Padre's vs the Cubs and, as one of our group's Cub's fans, I was looking forward to it - though I almost didn't get there.

Yes, that same demon that makes the Cubs perpetually lose, chose to pick on the two Cub fans for this trip. The demon chose to take out my wife's van's water pump 5 minutes before I was supposed to head out to the trip rendezvous point, while the other Cub fan's wife went through a miscarriage. As I wouldn't wish the latter scenario on anyone, especially not a fellow Cub fan, my heart went out to them, and still does.

Despite the demonic tampering, I managed to square away the water pump situation and then was able to continue on with the rest of the group and my daughter, Fred, to the game.

The game itself was quite uneventful for the first 7 innings. Then, in the eighth, the Cubs managed to break through (after leaving something like 10 men on base) and scored a run. Going into the 9th, the Cubs were still on top, one to nothing. Our closer came in, Kevin Gregg, and started to work on the Padre's line-up. After walking one Padre and getting two others out, Kevin started to work on his fourth Padre batter. Kevin worked the count full to three balls and two strikes.

So there we were, sitting in Petco Park, the Cubs one pitch away from winning the game. Lucy from Peanuts couldn't have thought of a better scenario to mess with our heads. Surely we'd get a strikeout or a pop-up...and then Kevin Gregg pitched...you guessed it, a grapefruit. The batter jumped on that pitch and hit a double between the left and center fielders - Lucy was pulling the football away from Charlie Brown yet again. The runner on first base had a great jump as he was in motion due to there being a full count and two outs - that jump enabled him to score from first to home on that double.

The Padre's then sent in a pinch hitter and the Cubs chose to walk him as no one was on first base and that made it so the Cubs could get a force out at first, second, or third.

At that point, I sat back and thought, "We can still get them in extra innings." Just like Charlie Brown, an eternal optimist.

Up comes the next Padre batter; Kevin throws him a strike and a ball. So the count is one ball and one strike, there are two outs (Lucy is dangling that football a little again) and then Kevin Gregg pitches up another grapefruit, the batter swings and sends the pitch over the deepest part of the ballpark (400 plus feet) - homerun, and the Cubs have once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Oh well, at least I've got 5 plus hours to listen to Yankee fan and Dodger fan ridicule the Cubbies...


Quote of the night:

Fred, "Where's the Green Giant?"
Me, "What do you mean?" I'm wondering if someone told her about the Jolly one.
Fred, "You know, the Green Giant...isn't it supposed to be here?"
Me, "Oh, you mean the 'Green Monster'."
Fred, "Yeah, where is it?"
Me, "Boston."
Fred, "Oh, I want to go to Boston Dad." Grandpa would be proud!