Take me out to the ballgame

Last week, the Twins were in town. Typically, this would be at U.S. Cellular field. However, for about 1 time in 6 years, they played at Wrigley field. What timing!

Game 1: The Twins won! Unfortunately, I missed the game. If you were a Milton Bradley fan (not the game company), this would have been a painful one.

Game 2: Standing room only ticket, $15. Not bad for Wrigley. Getting in is the big thing. The day started off quite rainy and it was postponed for a few minutes. But, as the weatherpeople predicted, the weather cleared off. It turned into a beautiful day for a great game. I heartily enjoyed the day, though this was another painful one for Cubs fans. I don't know what's worse:
- Being the first team to lose a home series vs. the Twins all year (it's mid-June) OR
- Being shut-out by a pitcher who is subsequently sent to the minors.
- The visiting crowd being louder than the home crowd for most all the game

Game 3: The Cubs get revenge.
Quick side story: For those of you who aren't familiar with baseball in Chicago, getting tickets at a Cubs game is not the easiest task in the world. They are typically sold out. Every day. Ahead of time. There's standing-room only which you can get, which isn't a bad option. So, I'm on my way to the game, without a ticket. Scalpers abound, but they are charging decently high prices (i.e. about twice face value). Typically the best deals are found by seeing someone selling tickets who just has one ticket, rather than someone yelling out with a fistful of tickets. Anyway, I ran into such a person. Bleacher seat for face value. Yes! The guy behind me, who tried to get in on it, was envious. "Those are going for $100 today." So, I'm standing in line for the bleachers (which are general admission). Deciding to look at my ticket, it reads: "Cubs vs. Indians." What!? Fortunately, it wasn't a complete dud as that was a game next Sunday. So, I get in line to by a ticket from the box office. There were actually seats available. All in all, it ended up being a spendy day. But both were pretty good deals. There's worse things that can happen than going to an extra Cubs game. (By the way, the Cubs/Indians game was this past Sunday, and it turned out to be beautiful weather for getting a sunburn, but also a great game.)
So, I'm sitting down. Here's my seat:


Not bad for the cheapest seat available ($36), eh? There was a beam in the way, but it wasn't very obstructive. The man in the picture right behind the hitter is Carlos Gomez. His batting practice was like a home run derby. He was crushing the ball. He ended up having his best game of the year to date, with a HR and a double. Gomez might have contributed all the Twins offense of the game, if my memory serves me correctly.
The game was really quite a thriller. It was a classic pitchers' duel. The conclusion was in the 9th, when both Mauer and Morneau didn't come through with RISP (suppose they are still humans) which could have brought Nathan in to close the 9th. Instead, Theriot came through for the Cubs with a 1 out, bases-loaded single to win it. While I was quite disappointed, seeing the whole Wrigley field erupt is quite a sight to see.