But really, it was an excellent game to witness firsthand. First, my seats were spectacular, just 4 rows back and 5 feet to the left (if facing from centerfield) from home plate – you could see me throughout the local broadcast and, for about 0.2 seconds you can see my ink-stained shorts on Sportscenter. That’s right, I am the man.
Second, the game was exciting, even if Glavine was essentially bitchslapped after starting the game with a promising strikeout against Soriano, who later exacted his revenge with a crushing HR. Ramirez also hit a bomb that was a no-doubter from the moment it left his bat. The Cubs were fierce all throughout the night, scoring two or more runs in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 7th innings and threatening a few other times.
The Braves were no slouches, though. Kotsay, who, in the 5th, lost a ball in the lights my ten-year old brother could have caught, went 5-5 and hit for the cycle, the first Brave to do so since 1987. Believe me, shit was wild when he hit that double, completing the cycle; he seemed nonplussed about the whole thing, possibly because the Braves were down or maybe because he botched that easy-ass catch earlier, who knows, but the Braves fans, even if we were in the minority, loved it and gave him a standing ovation. He acknowledged it with some rodeo/surfing hand gesture and a grim face.
Francoeur had quite the game as well. I went expecting to see him hit into a bases-loaded, inning-ending double play, but he completely subverted my expectations. He went 3-5(!) with a monster 3-R home run (!!!) in the 7th. I hereby promise not to talk shit about him for at least a week.
In the fifth, that fuck Ted Lilly (6IP, 4 ER) pelted Escobar in the elbow and he, Escobar, freaked out. He tried to charge the mound, had to be restrained by both Soto and the homeplate umpire, and eventually both dugouts and bullpens cleared. Nothing much happened after that other than me standing up and screaming at Yunel to go out there and beat the piss out of Lilly, which he very easily would have; however, it just wasn’t meant to be. In a related note, there is no reason for the bullpen to come all the way to the infield for something that hasn’t even escalated past a yelling match. It would be one thing if they came charging down field in a dead sprint, furious and shouting, but they were barely jogging, making the whole act seem obligatory and silly instead of intimidating and team-oriented.
Alas, the Braves lost. And not only did they lose, they suffered the indignity of losing at home while the 15,000 + Cubs fans in attendance berated them with chants of, “Let’s go Cubbies!!” Blue hats and Sandberg jerseys were everywhere, and I was ashamed not at losing but at how pitiful their outspoken and excellent fandom made us Braves fans look. Next to their chants, their signs and their evil, beady little eyes, we seemed downright timid and confused. Well, except for the drunk girl three seats down who would, completely without provocation, yell, at no one in particular, “Cubs suck!”
Her, I appreciated. The rest of us? Not so much.
