August 21, 2014 – Nationals 1, Diamondbacks 0 – Nationals Park

Oops, they did it again

Umpires: HP: James Hoye. 1B: Bob Davidson. 2B: John Tumpane. 3B: Bill Welke.

Weather: 87 degrees, overcast.

Wind: 3 mph, Out to RF.

T: 2:51.

Att: 32,311.

Well, if you have to be in a rut, a 10-game winning streak with 5 walk-off wins in the last 6 games isn’t a bad rut to be in. The latter hasn’t happened since July of 1986, when the Astros somehow managed 5 walk-off victories in a row.

The starting pitching was extremely effective on both sides. (Stop me if you’ve heard this before.) Gio Gonzalez, who was shaky in his previous outing on Saturday, matched Tanner Roark’s effort the night before with seven scoreless and mostly drama-free innings.

Meanwhile, the Nats collected 8 hits and 6 walks (one of which was intentional) off Arizona starter Wade Miley in his 6.2 innings of work, but somehow managed not to score a single run, wasting opportunity after opportunity. As destiny would have it, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the ninth, when Denard Span singled with one out, stole second base, and scored when Diamondbacks third baseman Jordan Pacheco threw away Anthony Rendon’s ground ball.

This 4:05 game was not in our regular plan, so Terry and I were in our “bobblehead section” (107, EE, 12-13). We headed down early, had a leisurely lunch at Nando’s, and then walked down to the Park. We found our old friends (and former section-mates) the Schroeders waiting in line for the Ian Desmond bobbleheads, so spent some time socializing with them before the game began. Weather.com had claimed that there wouldn’t be any rain before 7pm, but it actually started around 5:00, ranging from light to somewhat less light. It never got heavy enough to stop the game, but we got tired enough of it by the fifth inning or so that we decided to find some unoccupied covered seats in our usual upper-level section. We still had some Washington Post coupons to use up, so filled up on $1 ice cream bars and souvenir sodas (and refills of same).

August 20, 2014 – Nationals 3, Diamondbacks 2 – Nationals Park

Ho hum, another walk-off win

Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: James Hoye. 2B: Bob Davidson. 3B: John Tumpane.

Weather: 74 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 4 mph, Out to RF.

T: 3:04 (:12 delay).

Att: 24,113.

After scoring the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, and the bottom of the eleventh inning on Sunday and Monday, the Nats somehow put together an easy 8-1 victory behind Strasburg on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, however, they were back to their old tricks.

Like Sunday’s game, it started out as a pitcher’s duel, this time between Tanner Roark and Arizona’s Trevor Cahill. Roark was outstanding despite a high pitch count in the first couple of innings, holding the D-Backs scoreless through seven on just five hits and a single walk. Meanwhile, the Nats cobbled together a second-inning when with one out Desmond singled, took second on Harper’s single, stole third, and scored on a Wilson Ramos grounder when Harper’s hard takeout slide prevented Arizona from turning the inning-ending double play. They added a second run in the sixth on consecutive doubles by Asdrubal Cabrera and Jayson Werth.

Given the Nats’ recent history, however, late-inning dramatics shouldn’t have been surprising. The normally-reliable Tyler Clippard entered in the eighth and yielded his second game-tying homer in as many appearances, this one by light-hitting D-Backs centerfielder Ender Inciarte after a walk to the leadoff hitter. After neither team threatened in the next two half-innings, Harper led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and moved to third on a one-out single by Kevin Frandsen, in the lineup at third base to give Anthony Rendon a well-deserved rest. Fortunately, that meant that Rendon was available to pinch-hit for Rafael Soriano, and he lined a ball just inside the third base line to send almost everyone in the relatively sparse crowd home happy.

It was raining in Rockville when we left shortly after 5:00, and kept raining throughout the drive, although it had pretty much stopped (and fortunately did not resume) by the time we got inside the stadium. Decided to try the Arizona Quesadillas in honor of the visiting team – not bad, but somewhat on the sloppy side for eating in the stands, and the salsa was packed too tightly for convenient dipping.

#33 I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better -- The Byrds (1965)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIpAeLpIjVk

Unbelievably, one of the Byrds’ best songs ever – Rolling Stone put it at #237 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time – didn’t even break into the top 100 when it came out, “bubbling under” at #103. Naturally, there’s a story to that. Like “Ain’t No Way”, “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” was released as a B-side, in this case paired with Bob Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do”, which was expected to be a sure-shot follow-up to their chart-topping version of Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man”. Ironically enough, a version of “All I Really Want To Do” by Cher was released as a single at the same time, and had a lot more success than the Byrds’ rendition. “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better”, despite its lack of initial chart success, became a classic of 12-string-guitar jangle-pop, spawning cover versions by Tom Petty and countless others.

 

#34 Ain't No Way -- Aretha Franklin (1968)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6HhtnxA4F0

 

Everyone knows about Aretha, of course, but she also had two younger sisters with musical inclinations. Erma Franklin hit the charts in late 1967 with “Piece Of My Heart”, several months before the better-known version by Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin) came out as a single. Carolyn Franklin never hit the top 100 as a performer, but she wrote my two all-time favorite Aretha songs: “Ain’t No Way” and “Angel”, both of which are great ballads. Of course, Aretha was so hot in 1967 and 1968 that “Ain’t No Way” didn’t even get its own release, coming out as the B-side of “Since You’ve Been Gone”.

 

August 17, 2014 – Nationals 6, Pirates 5 (11 innings) – Nationals Park

Winning ugly is sweet

Umpires: HP: Andy Fletcher. 1B: Mike Muchlinski. 2B: Tom Woodring. 3B: Mark Wegner.

Weather: 87 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 3 mph, Out to RF.

T: 3:42.

Att: 34,430.

“Winning ugly is sweet” is the name of one of the ice cream stands at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, where I had seen a White Sox game two days earlier. It certainly applied to Sunday’s game, with its unusual 5:05 start time. Both teams took turns self-destructing, with the Nats falling behind, taking the lead, falling behind again after a 3-run top of the ninth, tying the game in the bottom of the ninth, and finally winning it in the eleventh. Each team committed two errors and tossed two wild pitches. It was a long, ugly victory, but we’ll certainly take it, along with the sweep of the typically-troublesome Pirates.

The first five innings moved along briskly, with Fister and Volquez giving up two hits each and neither one allowing a runner to get as far as third base. Things started getting weird in the top of the sixth – five batters in, the Bucs had scored twice and had the bases loaded with no outs, partially due to an error by Desmond on the Pittsburgh leadoff batter and a bad throw by Rendon two batters later. Fister managed to get two consecutive batters to ground into force outs at home, and escaped the inning without further damage.

Washington cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Desmond, who at least partially atoned for his error and two previous strikeouts. After the seventh-inning stretch, the Pirates reciprocated Washington’s earlier generosity. The Nats loaded the bases with one out, when Michael Taylor was ruled to have been hit by a pitch following a successful replay challenge, and pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen and Denard Span followed with singles. Jared Hughes came in to relieve Volquez and did his job by inducing ground balls from Cabrera and Rendon. Unfortunately for the Bucs, the grounders resulted in wild throws home by Ike Davis and then by Pedro Alvarez, allowing all three inherited runners to score.

With a 4-2 lead, Tyler Clippard shut down the Pirates in the eighth, but Rafael Soriano produced an ugly top of the ninth all by himself, hitting the first batter and eventually allowing one run to score on a wild pitch and two more on a double by Gregory Polanco.

The Nationals, however, were far from done. Against Pittsburgh closer Mark Melancon, Jayson Werth pinch-hit, drew a one-out walk, and scored the tying run on singles by Span and Asdrubal Cabera. After remaining in the game to play right, Werth struck again in the bottom of the eleventh with a leadoff double. Span advanced him to third on a grounder, and Scott Hairston (pinch-hitting for winning pitcher Ross Detweiler) hit a fly ball to left that was plenty deep enough to score Werth and win the game.

I drove down unnecessarily early to get a Bill Taft bobblehead – despite being delayed 5-10 minutes by slow traffic on the 270 spur and a stretch of the Outer Loop, still got to the parking lot around 3:00. Given the hot weather, I grabbed a lemon chill before heading upstairs, saving my sub for a little later in the day.

Shuffle #24 (August 18, 2014)

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – The Animals

4^th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) – Bruce Springsteen

500 Miles – Peter, Paul & Mary

You Hear Me Call Your Name – The Association

This Land Is Your Land – Peter, Paul & Mary

Two Angels – The Jayhawks

In The Still Of The Nite – Boyz II Men

Mood To Move – The Radiators

Waltz For Lumumba – The Spencer Davis Group

Stone Cold Sober – Del Amitri

Serendipity #19

Something’s Always Wrong – Toad the Wet Sprocket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcCJQP5iggU

Heard 8/17/2014 around 12:15pm, at Boston Market (Gaithersburg)

August 15, 2014 – White Sox 11, Blue Jays 5 – U.S. Cellular Field

2 big innings = 1 win

Umpires: HP: Tim Welke. 1B: Todd Tichenor. 2B: Clint Fagan. 3B: Tim Timmons.

Weather: 75 degrees, partly cloudy.

Wind: 8 mph, R to L.

T: 3:22.

Att: 22,739.

In front of a relatively sparse Friday night crowd, both teams’ offenses started off louder than the fireworks planned for after the game. The first two innings took well over an hour to play, winding up with the White Sox up 6-4. Toronto drew first blood in the top of the first off Hector Noesi, but the Sox responded with a vengeance in the bottom of the inning, scoring 5 runs on 5 hits and a HBP and knocking out Toronto starter Marcus Stroman before he could record the third out. Toronto battled back with 3 in the top of the second, keyed by Melky Cabrera’s two-run homer, but the White Sox added four singles and a run in the bottom of the frame.

Things quieted down for a while until the home team struck again in the bottom of the fifth, starting the inning off with six consecutive singles, followed by a wild pitch and a walk. Toronto reliever Todd Redmond was mercifully taken out before the White Sox had made an out in the inning, and the second five-run inning by the Sox were more than enough to put the game away.

Unbeknownst to me, this was “Country Music Night” at the game. Easton Corbin put on a decent-enough 20 minute show shortly before the game started, although I could have done without the constant country music ditties during breaks throughout the game.

Section 128, Row 33, Seat 13 – pretty much behind home plate, on an aisle (hooray!), lower level, although not as close to the field as my Wednesday seat at Wrigley (cheaper, however). U.S. Cellular is a decent place to see a baseball game in terms of amenities, although it certainly doesn’t bring much in terms of character or distinguishing features. The pork chop sandwich ($9.50) was quite good; the $4.25 soft-serve ice cream was cheaper than at Nats Park but not quite as good. As with Wrigley, the access via public transportation is excellent – less than 15 minutes on the L, take the bridge across the Dan Ryan, and you’re there.

August 14, 2014 – Brewers 6, Cubs 2 – Wrigley Field

Fiers away 

Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Tim Welke. 2B: Todd Tichenor. 3B: Clint Fagan.

Weather: 67 degrees, sunny.

Wind: 5 mph, In from CF.

T: 3:06.

Att: 38,157.

I was glad the Cubbies won last night, because Edwin Jackson was pitching for them this afternoon, which is almost always bad news for the Wrigley faithful. Jackson has been consistently mediocre throughout his career, including 2012 with the Nats, but degenerated to truly terrible after signing a long-term contract with Chicago after that season, leading the NL with 18 losses in 2013 and carrying a 5+ ERA for most of 2014. He certainly lived down to his reputation today, starting with two first-inning walks followed by a two-run Scooter Gennett double. Things didn’t improve thereafter, until he was mercifully lifted with 2 outs in the fifth, after 93 pitches and 5 runs allowed, despite the absence of Braun, Ramirez, and Segura from the Milwaukee lineup.

Meanwhile, Brewers starter Mike Fiers, who is only modestly endowed stuff-wise, completely baffled the Cubs during his six shutout innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while fanning 14 of the 22 batters he faced. For comparison purposes, the only other pitchers with 14 or more Ks in a game this season are Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Jon Lester, Jose Fernandez, and Max Scherzer – quite heady company for a guy who was exiled to AAA for much of the season.

After some effective long relief by recent Cubs pickup Jacob Turner, the home team did make things somewhat interesting in the bottom of the seventh, plating two unearned runs off Zach Duke on a Chris Valaika pinch single. But Mark Reynolds hit one out in the eighth off Kyuji Fujikawa, and the Cubs went down 1-2-3 in both the eighth and ninth.

Nobody parachuted onto the field today, but there was plenty of non-baseball activity in the middle innings, as jets practicing for an upcoming air show were regularly buzzing over the ballpark. Since Jackson had pretty much ended the competitive part of the afternoon by then, this proved to be a welcome diversion for both fans and photographers alike.

Was almost on the field today – Club Box Infield, Aisle 33, Row 1, Seat 106, just beyond first base. Just past the visiting team dugout is an area three rows deep with about 10 folding chairs, mainly for press photographers. My seat was just behind and beyond this section, meaning that close attention to every pitch was a must to avoid potentially great bodily harm. We did notice that the security guy who was in the reserved area near us along with the photographers was wearing a batting helmet. On the other hand, a couple of the photographers sitting in the very front of that area had laptops on which they were frequently typing. Since the sun would have made it nearly impossible to see the screen, they draped what looked like large towels over both the laptop screens and their heads to do their work, leaving them with no view at all of any possible flying objects heading towards them. You could not pay me enough to be in that position.

While fortunately there weren’t any liners into the section, it did finally turn out to be a great place for getting baseballs. In the bottom of the seventh, Brewers shortstop Elian Herrera fielded a grounder and threw it past first base near the Brewers dugout. At the end of the play, Cubs first base coach Eric Hinske got the ball and tossed it into our section, where it was caught by the guy sitting right next to me. (After a bit of gentle prodding, he then generously gave it to a young woman nearby who had also been trying to get it.) A batter or two later saw a foul pop find its way near us. Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo tossed another ball our way after finishing warmups an inning later, and someone else tossed a fourth ball in before the game was over.

I got a bargain for lunch at Wrigley’s Decade Diner. When I ordered the blackened tilapia po’ boy sandwhich, the cashier asked whether I had a MasterCard. Although I didn’t, she apparently still gave me the MasterCard discount, which meant I got the sandwich, fries (which I didn’t expect and didn’t especially want), and two pickle spears for $8.65, rather than the listed price of $11.50. Although the sandwich was messy and not very quick to arrive (15 minutes), it was quite good, and tables were still available. Also wound up getting a $7.00 souvenir soda – it is the 100^th anniversary of Wrigley, after all – and a $4.50 lemon chill, an item which is much easier to find at Wrigley than it is in Washington.

August 13, 2014 – Cubs 4, Brewers 2 – Wrigley Field

Go, Cubs, Go!

Umpires: HP: Clint Fagan. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Todd Tichenor.

Weather: 70 degrees, clear.

Wind: 7 mph, In from RF.

T: 2:36.

Att: 31,191.

My first of two games in Wrigley proved to be successful for the home team, as the Cubs jumped on Kyle Lohse for a quick 4-0 lead and hung on to beat the first-place Brewers for a second straight night. Lohse has apparently been pitching with a slightly sprained ankle, and he definitely wasn’t himself this evening. After a leadoff double by Chris Coghlan and a single by Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo knocked in one run with a sac fly, and Starlin Castro followed with a single to drive in Baez.

The Cubs resumed their assault in the bottom of the third. The recently-recalled Baez led off with the first of what probably will be many Wrigley Field homers, a no-doubt-about-it shot to left that wound up on Waveland Avenue. Not to be outdone, Anthony Rizzo hit Lohse’s next pitch out to right. The Milwaukee trainer came out to visit Lohse later in the frame; he completed the inning by striking out the side but did not return for the fourth, giving way to Marco Estrada, who kept the Cubs off the board for the next 4 innings. (For the game, the first four hitters in the Cubs’ batting order accounted for all of their 9 hits, runs scored, and RBI.)

Meanwhile, Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada blanked the hard-hitting visitors until giving up back-to-back homers to Rickie Weeks and Martin Maldonado with two outs in the top of the seventh. The Cubbies bullpen took it from there, allowing only one baserunner the rest of the way. The heavily-booed Ryan Braun went 0-4, as did Carlos Gomez.

During the singing of the National Anthem, 4 Navy Seals parachuted onto the field, one of them carrying an American flag. Quite exciting, although perhaps somewhat unfair competition for the poor woman who was singing the anthem.

Was in Aisle 120, Row 7, Seat 6, directly behind home plate. “Field Box infield” is not the closest section to the field, but it nevertheless was a great lower-level seat, much better than I could get at Nationals Park for anything close to $71.00 (plus various charges, of course). Had a Chicago Dog ($6.50) in honor of the location, plus a $7.50 draft Bud and a $4.00 soft pretzel.

Based on this single visit, I’ve concluded that the Cubbies long-time woes are due primarily to a lack of overall confidence, whether by the team, its fan base, or both. Apparently after every home victory they play a ditty (written by the inimitable Steve Goodman) called Go Cubs Go (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9XtDyDUjIU), whose key lyric is “Hey, Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today.” Think about that for a moment. A team with any confidence might play that before every game, or as part of the seventh-inning stretch. The Cubs, however, don’t play a song saying the Cubs “are gonna win today” until AFTER THEY HAVE ALREADY WON!