Game 16 – Cubs vs. White Sox

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Heather & Julie

We decided to take in a Thursday afternoon Cubs/Sox game.  This is always risky because there are always crazy/weird people at these games.  As Heather put it, these games bring out the trashy people from both sides of town. 

It was 0-0 when I left the house in the bottom of the 2^nd inning, and by the time I got there in the 4^th inning it was 2-1 Cubs.  I made it there in time to see Travis Wood smack a Grand Slam to the left field bleachers!  It was a line-drive homer that I thought was going to bounce off the wall.  But over the fence it went.  Yea!!! 

From my gal Carrie Muskat:

Cubs pitchers now have 19 RBIs in May, a National League record for most RBIs in a calendar month by pitchers. The 1940 Tigers, who played without a designated hitter, hold the Major League mark of 20 RBIs.

Back on 5/21/13, after Sean Camp gave up a grand slam in the loss to the Pirates, this was Sveum’s quote: “We still struggled scoring runs.  Two of our runs were driven in by our pitcher again.” 

He didn’t seem happy with his hitters…  The losing pitcher for the Sox was Peavy, who I really dislike (although honestly, I can’t tell you why).  He left after the 4^th inning and 69 pitches, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits and striking out 3.  Wood threw 88 pitches, followed by Russell and then some new guy named Putnam (who has the bullpen hair already), Marmol (whose ERA went below 4!!), and Gregg. 

Kevin Gregg came in for the 9^th, and gave up 1 run, finally putting some numbers on his ERA (which was 0.00 going into game).  With 2 outs in the 9^th, he also walked a guy.  Then we hear the thunder rumbling and saw a lightning flash, and we’re like HURRY UP!!!  He finally got the out, and we booked it out of there.  Made it to Bernie’s just as the skies opened up and they were scrambling to put the tent over the beer garden. 

Carrie also wrote this:  The Cubs players drank out of the silver cup presented to the winner of the intracity series.

Really???  Who is this Cup important to?  BP??

Recap:

Cubs win 8-3

My season record:  Visitors 10, Cubs 6

Parking update: $30/spot. Despite it being the Sox, it took awhile to fill the spots!

Mole de Mayo

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Mole de Mayo!

Heather, Wigs, Ross, Elizabeth, Trish, OB, Kevin & Julie

This isn’t going on the official restaurant count, but I wanted to share the pictures from the Mexican wrestling that went on at Mole de Mayo! 

We went last year to this fest, and it was hot as could be.  This year was the total opposite – we wore jeans and coats!  We met Heather & Wigs on the Ashland bus and then walked down 18^th Street to the fest.   It was waaaaay more crowded this year than last.  I’d say probably 5-6 times more people this year.  There were more food stands too, but the lines were insane!  Really long and some stands had run out of items (and we got there around 2!).  And no sangria this year – only beer.  Ross and Elizabeth showed up later (Kev’s work friends), and then Trish & OB a little later. 

We hung out for a while, grabbed some grub, drank a couple beers and then the Mexican wrestling began!  Cracked me up.  Match #1 was the full costume – tights and masks and all.  Ha ha.  Here are some pictures. 

Match # 2 there weren’t any masks, and one of the wrestlers who was there last year was also here this year.  He was the “Scholar”, and we recognized him because he was reading a book as he came into the ring.  Ha ha ha. 

I have no idea who won any of these matches.  We left during the 3^rd match, and went to Los Colores for some Sangria.  After one drink, we left Kev with his work friends and headed north.  The rest of the gang went to Matt & Monica’s, while I went home.  (Been out of town for 3 weeks, and really needed a night at home!) 

Hawks win Monday night to force Game 7 on Wednesday.  Go Hawks!!!!!!!

And Cubs win 7-0 over the White Sox.  Not that this has any meaning, and both teams are pretty bad, but it's still nice to win when they play on the South Side.  Smardz pitched great - his first complete game!  He only had like 84 pitches when I checked in the 8th inning.  OK, just looked it up and it was 108 total for the game (65 for strikes).  And it was the Cubs first shut out all year (just heard this on the radio).  Really??  Huh. 

More games/restaurants later this week! 

Restaurant 9 – Ruxpin

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Restaurant 9 – Ruxpin, Heather, Wigs, Kevin & Julie

We’ve been wanting to go to this BYOB restaurant for a long time, and thought Memorial Day weekend might be a good time to try it, as maybe it wouldn’t be so crowded.  They open at 5:30, and we’ve read that there is always a line when the doors open.  So our goal was to get there around 5. 

Kevin & Wigs spent the day working on Wigs’ front porch – digging holes, mixing and pouring concrete, cutting wood.  Kevin probably could’ve used a nap after the hard work and yesterday’s long golf outing, but he had to move it to shower when he got home so we could get to Ruxpin by 5.  We ended up cabbing it there, as the bus times weren’t working out.  Heather/Wigs took the blue line.  (Restaurant on Ashland, near Chicago.) 

We got in line about 5:10, and there were maybe 15-20 people in front of us.  As we were waiting, we learned there were 32 seats, and so we were all counting to see if we’d make it in.  The 3-tops would be the unknown here.  If you don’t make it for the first seating, they will take your name & #, and then call you for the second seating when your table is close to ready.   Of course we wanted the first seating since the Hawks were playing at 7, and we wanted to see the game.  For future reference, you could totally get in line at 5:30 and if you don’t make the first seating, it sounds like you are pretty sure to get the 2^nd seating.  Just go somewhere for a few drinks, and then have dinner at a normal time, vs. the senior citizen time. 

So we got in, as did the couple behind us.  I don’t know if one more couple after them did or not, but it was close.  They stagger the seating too so that you don’t have 32 people sitting right at 5:30, which would slam the servers and the kitchen.  We probably sat around 5:50. 

Very cool space – lots of reclaimed/reused stuff.  Ceiling was lined with cookbook pages.  Seat backs were made from seat belts.  There were also old school desktops, painted warehouse racking – very cool décor.  Right away we were given popcorn dusted with salt, sugar and something else (herbs??) to snack on while we perused the menu.  Heather/wigs brought a bottle of white, so we started with that, and later moved on to the red wine that we brought. 

We started with the Crudo special – Alaskan salmon with homemade potato chips.  This was really, really good – even for those of us who don’t care for salmon (Kevin, Wigs, Julie – even Heather??).  Very fresh and flavorful.  We also had the grilled octopus, with chickpeas, pickled green onions, radish, black soybean, grapes in a ginger-scallion vinaigrette.  This was delicious.  You could really taste the grilled flavor.  Next came the pork belly with cornbread (LOVE cornbread), jicama, grapefruit, cheese in a citrus vinaigrette.  Also delish.  Heather also ordered the carrot soup, and we all tried a spoonful.  I didn’t care for it – just not a cooked carrot fan.  But everyone else loved it.  It was very carrot-y. 

For dinner, Kevin & Wigs continued on their date and shared the 20 oz bone-in Lamb (was it a shank??), while Heather had the Agnolotti (pasta), and I had the Hangar steak.  The boys loved their lamb, and probably could’ve eaten even more (after their big day of hard labor).  Heather’s pasta came with an “onsen” egg, that when broken made a velvety-rich sauce.  My hangar steak came with potatoes, greens and had chimichurri sauce.  Yum.  Both the lamb and hangar steak were prepared medium rare (no option to change). 

We decided to pass on dessert since the Hawks game was underway.  We took the #9 bus down to Wrightwood, and went to Augie’s to watch the end of the game.  Hawks win 4-1.  Yea!!!!  Now we have to come back here for future games, as it is the only place we’ve been (other than South Dakota and Pittsburgh) where I’ve seen them win.  Go Hawks!!!

Restaurant 8 – Bread & Wine

Friday, May 24, 2013 - Happy Memorial Day!!!

Restaurant 8 – Bread & Wine, Heather, Wigs & Julie

This one has been on the list as we always drive by it on the way out of town.  It’s 3732 W. Irving Park Road, between Hamlin and Ridgeway.  For those drivers, it even has a parking lot! No Kevin tonight as he was at his Stinger (hockey team) golf outing. 

When I got there, Heather was drinking fancy champagne and Wigs had a fancy tequila drink, so I had a fancy whiskey drink.  Yum.  Kevin was a little afraid when I later told him that I think I need start to drinking more whiskey…  They also have a wine shop so you can buy wine and go, or drink it at the table ($10 corkage fee). 

We started with a charcuterie plate, which included 3 kinds of cheese, (and baby gherkins – love those!!) some ham and pigface pancetta and an order of duck balls, which were fried and served on a wooden cutting board smeared with buttermilk.  The waiter recommended a special amber beer to go with the duck balls (don’t remember the name, but it was “Coq” something – pronounced “cock” by the waiter.  Ok, got it – cock and balls…  you don’t need to keep hitting us over the head with it).  Wigs got the beer and Heather and I moved on to red wine (cotes du rhone, I think..). 

After the charcuterie, we decided to do three small plates and one large plate and share everything.  We ordered sunchokes, octopus, corned beef tongue for the small plates and pappardelle as the large.  The sunchokes were served with pickled egg, mixed greens, and potato in a brown mustard dressing.  The octopus came with a ramen dumpling and tasso ham in a smoky shellfish broth.  The corned beef tongue was not what I expected.  It was like a hard-shell mini pot-pie stuffed with the corned beef, and served with brown mustard.  Not that it was bad, just the shell threw me off.  The pappardelle was my favorite – it came with config lamb neck, asparagus, queso fresco and served in natural au jus.  It was really yummy.   All was very good, and we weren’t over-stuffed (probably could’ve had one more plate), but I’d rather be comfy full vs. over-full! 

After dinner, we wanted to have another cocktail, but you’re kind of in no-mans land out there.  We ended up at C Manny’s, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants at Irving and Elston.  They were clearly closing down, but since we were just drinking it was OK.  So we had a quick beer and that was it.  

Game 15 – Sunday, May 18, 2013

Cubs vs. Mets, 12:00 – Kevin & Julie

Date Day at the ballpark!  Or alternatively, Bad Ink Day at the Ballpark!  OK, I promise to stop with the incomplete sentence headlines. 

Just Kevin & I at the ballpark today on another beautiful day!  It was actually downright hot and felt like summer.  No complaints – it’s about time!! 

Travis Wood on the bump today, and he has been a bright spot in our starting rotation this year.  From Cash Kruth of mlb.com “Sunday's marked Wood's ninth straight quality start, making him the first Cubs pitcher to open a season with that many since Mordecai Brown did so in 1908.  He's also the first Cubs starter to turn in nine quality starts at any point in a season since 1994, when Steve Trachsel spun off 11 straight from June 5 to Aug. 9.”  Interesting! 

Wood also hit a 2-run homer to Waveland in the 5^th.  There was no doubt about it as soon as he hit it.  I always like seeing a pitcher hit a homer to help his own cause. And when it leaves the park?  Gravy.  Again from Cash Kruth “This was Wood's fourth career home run and the second time in the past four games a Cubs pitcher has gone deep, following Jeff Samardzija's two-run homer on May 15. Overall, Cubs starting pitchers 5-for-12 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs on the six-game homestand.”  Go Cub Pitchers!!!

Ryan Sweeney started in left (in place of Soriano), and had a good day.  He hit what should have been a triple in the 4^th, but was called out sliding into third (so they gave him a double and caught stealing, I assume??).  According to the response from the crowd on the replay, he must have been safe.  He also hit a homer and had a walk. 

Disappointing game, as Wood looked pretty good, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. And then Fujikawa came in and first pitch is a homer.  On the plus side, Marmol looked really good.  Right field fans were chanting “Carlos Marmol”, clap-clap, clap-clap-clap, for his first two batters, and he struck them out on 6 pitches!  I don’t know why they stopped chanting, cuz then Carlos walked a guy.  He did get the third guy out, and so his ERA may get below 5.5!  Woo hoo!!

Re: the Ink – there were some seriously awful tattoos at the park today.  Granted, probably any given day at the park, there are a crapload of bad tattoos.  But with the warm weather, they were all on display.  Once again, I really need to work on my spy techniques so I can get some pictures.  Here’s one example:  a girl had two red bows on the back of each of her thighs, just below her Daisy Duke lines.  Really????  They were like little girl bows you’d put in a child's hair, not like Christmas bows.  Weird. 

We went home after the game where Kevin made Fajitas before his hockey game.  Not sure when the next game will be, so hopefully we’ll do some catch up on our restaurants.  Happy May everyone!!  And Happy 9^th Birthday Declan (aka Stewie…). 

Recap:

Cubs lose 4-3 (another one-run game; I’ll need to look up these stats….).

My season record:  Visitors 10, Cubs 5

Parking update: I don’t have an update!  But they are at almost $1K for the season!!!

Game 14 – Saturday, May 18, 2013

Cubs vs. Mets, 12:00 – Cindy, Kevin, Julie

Mets fans infiltrate Wrigley! 

Beautiful day at the ballpark.  Sun is shining and temps in the mid 70’s.  Absolutely gorgeous and perfect temps.  Sadly, the Hawks were also playing at Noon, so we were going to miss either a beautiful day or the Hawks game.  Pick your poison.  Cindy & I started at the game, while Kevin was home waiting for the washing machine repairman (Be there between 12:30 and 2:30…).   He already dealt with the oven repairman earlier in the day.  (Who showed up at 9:30 while I wasn’t ready for him – wearing my PJ’s and sitting on the couch doing some work.  So I run upstairs and wake Kevin from a dead sleep to tell him he has to answer the door.  He was so confused – poor guy.  But it would’ve taken longer for me to put clothes/bra on than him to throw some shorts on, so he drew short straw.  I did later apologize to him for the fire drill….Ha ha.)

So anyways, met Cindy at the park, while Kev waited at home and watched the Hawks/Red Wings game.  Here is Cindy modeling the Cubs watch giveaway:

Kev was texting with Hawk updates and got there in the 4^th inning.  Joe’s son Charles and girlfriend Maggie were there, as was Dan (from hot dog incident a couple weeks ago).  Dan said his friend is fine, and the hot dog finally worked its way down the feeding tube and no extraction or forced push down was needed.  Phew. 

There were a crapload of Met's fans in left field.  Check this out - they had almost an entire left field section - all the orange shirts to the left of the junipers:

They were singing and chanting "Let's go Met's!" in the first few innings.  The Cubs were able to quiet things down with their pitching and their bats!!! 

Scott (not Corey) Feldman on the mound, and he has been really good lately.  The Cubs had a great 4^th inning where they scored 4 runs.  It was a nice little series of hits:  Rizzo singled and then Soriano was hit by pitch.  Schierholtz singled to load the bases, followed by a Luis Valbuena sacrifice fly to right.  Welington (one “L” Castillo – which I just noticed today) doubled to score Soriano.  Feldman came to the plate and I said to Charles – “he’s hit a double already this year”, after which Feldman hit a double!!  Schierholtz and Castillo scored to make it 4-zip.  Yippee!!  Then Rizzo hit his 10^th home run of the year in the bottom of the 5^th to make it 5-0.    

Meanwhile, the Hawks were losing 2-1 at the end of the 2^nd period.  Since the Cubs seemed to have things in hand, we decided to go to Bernie’s to watch the 3^rd period.  We went upstairs where Johnny and Katie were working.  It was pretty empty, so we had the place to ourselves.  Hawks lost 4-1.  Boo.  They really looked off.  I’m hoping this was a wakeup call that they can’t take anything for granted. 

After Hawks game, we went downstairs to go outside on patio before the throngs of fans showed up after the Cub game.  My niece Courteney stopped by for a quick hello – they were on a rooftop on Waveland for a Bachelorette party, and were heading back to the burbs for dinner.  We also saw Patti for the first time this year.  She said she still has her season tickets this year, but didn’t say how many games she’s been to. 

Then we braved the 20-somethings south of Addison to head over to Trish & John’s for the first BBQ of summer.  Good crowd, including Carrie, Claire, Hoppe’s and Linda, Joe/Shelly, Lyletta, Collleen. Matt/Monica stopped by for a bit before going to dinner. I’m sure I’m missing someone (and sorry!!).  It was good to catch up with everyone.  John was smoking some pork shoulder and grilled some chicken and brats.  Everything was delicious - thanks Trish & John!!!

Recap:

Cubs win 8-2

My season record:  Visitors 9, Cubs 5

Parking update: both spots at $30 each

Game 13 – Friday, May 17, 2013

Cubs vs. Mets, 1:20 – Heather, Kathleen, Julie

Drama Day at the Ballpark!!!  More on that later.

Mets got out to a quick 1-0 in the first inning (homer by David Wright that I missed while coming into the park), but the Cubs came back with 2 in the bottom of the 1^st.  Mets tied it in the 4^th (homer by Murphy) and then went ahead by 1 in the 7^th.  Reading about the game after the fact, I found that apparently this is the Mets “young phenom”, Matt Harvey, who hasn’t lost yet this year (5-0 w/1.55 ERA).  After the first inning, he retired 21 of the last 23 batters he faced.  The Cubs had a chance in the 8^th, with Darwin Barney being waved home on a DeJesus hit to right field, but a throw by Marlon Byrd (who came in the 7^th), nailed him at the plate.  (Paper said by about 12 feet.)  He didn’t even try to slide.  Jackson was the Cubs starter, and I feel like he’s had really rough outings, but this one was one of his best.  Another one-run loss.  Where is my friend Carrie Muskat to tell me how many one-run games this is?  Or less than 3-run games?

Marlon Byrd was well-received in his return to Wrigley, although a few fans yelled comments about his weight.  He flexed his right arm muscle in response.  Ha ha.  He was very chatty with the fans, and smiling, etc.  He’s good with the fans.  I wish Shierholtz and Hairston would learn from him! 

Back to the drama – Couple #1 sat a couple rows behind us, but didn’t show up until the 5^th or 6^th inning.  She seemed like she was hammered, and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying.  (Charlie Brown’s teacher talking…)  They were arguing about something (maybe leaving her friends back at the bar??), and then finally left after he said “fine, let’s go see them”.  Buh-bye.  Couple #2 was 3 or 4 rows back and across the aisle.  They were totally arguing, but who knows about what.  He was gesturing madly and looked like he was pleading, while she was staring straight ahead.  When he left (to go get more beer???), she was clearly sobbing, shoulders shaking and all.  While on the phone texting.  And a big snot hanging from her nose.  I really wanted to hand her a tissue…  He came back (without beer, so maybe it was a bathroom break), and continued to plead his case, while she continued to cry.  Heather thought she looked pissed.  After the game ended, they were still there “talking it out”.  Yowsa – that’s when we coined it “Drama Day at the Ballpark!”. 

On the way out of the park, the bleacher fans received a Cubs Pitcher and Cup set.  Nothing special, but it was funny that they gave it to people on the way out of the park.  I’m sure it was to prevent people from throwing them on the field if something bad happened.  We went over to Bernies, and some chick on the patio was like “That pitcher is awesome – are you willing to sell it?”  Heather said “Julie might”, and I’m like “Hell Yes!”.  She said “$20 bucks?”.  Again, “Hell Yes!!”.  Followed by her saying “don’t tell my husband”.  She sneakily gives me $20 and then turns around to her husband and friends and says “Look what I got!”.  We then moved to the side patio with our new beer money!!! 

Hung out there for a while talking to Tommy Peak and friends.  (Where I also found out Saturday’s games were selling for $68 on StubHub – ugh!)  Then we went to Deleece for dinner.  This can’t be part of the restaurant count since Kevin and/or Wigs wasn’t there, and this is on Kev & I’s regular rotation.  Wigs’ friend Jimmy was also in town and they went to El Maya for dinner (Restaurant #3 for those keeping track).  Kevin was out with Ross the Boss until very, very late. 

Recap:

Cubs lose 3-2

My season record:  Visitors 9, Cubs 4

Parking update: both spots at $25 each. 

Week of May 13th, 2013

Week of May 13^th, 2013

Spent in Pittsburgh, PA.  Boo – more missed Cub games and it looked like it was the nicest week of the year. 

The Penguins played at home, and the stadium is right across the street from my office and hotel.  So before the Pens game, the hotel was mobbed with people – probably at least 150-200 people hanging in and outside the hotel lobby.  They even had 2 beer tubs set up outside!  Which kind of cracked me up.  Those 'burgher's really know how to whoop it up!!  Pens won 4-1. 

Wednesday night was the Hawks turn.  Heather & Wigs went to the game – we were bummed to have missed it L  Hawks win 4-1!!!  (I know – lame recap.) 

Thursday night was “Beer Under Glass” a craft beer festival at the Garfield Park Conservatory.  (The event sells out in like 2 minutes, so we were johnny on the spot with buying tickets.)  Heather, Wigs & I went.  I had a moment of panic when Wigs showed me his ticket.  I'm like "I didn't get a real ticket; all I have is an email."  All was fine; I'm just greener than Wigs J  You basically walk around all the plants and sections (fern room, desert room, kids room, etc.) and there are beer booths all over with craft breweries from a bunch of different places.  Lots of different styles.  Wigs liked the Vanilla one, but I thought it was too vanilla-y.  Grossest was Strawberry Sour.  It was sour.  And awful.  There was a porter that smelled like coffee – loved the smell, didn’t like the taste.  I mostly stuck to the pale ales, but tried a couple IPA’s.  It was fun.  We saw Kevin’s hockey buddy James at the end of the event.  We were in much better shape than he was J  Even after getting shut out of all the food options right when we got to the front of the line!  No wonder everyone was getting in the food lines right away.   The fern room was our favorite last time we went cuz it was very humid and very tropical feeling.  However, after the big hail storm a couple years ago, a lot of the glass ceiling pieces were broken and they are still recovering.  So not nearly as humid (or warm) as last time. 

That’s it – back to the games tomorrow!!

Week of May 6th and May 13, 2013

Monday, May 6, 2013

 So I’ve been lax about doing updates to games I don’t go to.  I think 40 games may be a stretch for me this year, based on what’s going on w/work (arrgh… Work always ruins things!!  I thought last year would be tough to make 40 games, but this year is going to be tougher).  Anyways, it would be too hard for me to keep track of everyone else’s game counts, let alone mine.  So if Heather/Wigs are keeping game counts, I can include that in my recap.  I already lost count of Kevin games (and I guess I could figure it out if we want to go that way).  So this thing is evolving, and for anyone who is sticking around – thanks!!

Cubs vs. Texas Rangers (rainout makeup date from 4/17/2013)

Kevin & Wigs, Randy and assorted friends (I think Kat & Scott)

I was in SD, as in South Dakota sadly, not San Diego.  Heather was in FL.  So it was a rare Boys Night Out at the ballpark as Kevin was in town.  And Randy Was going to a night game.  He’s more of a day-game guy. 

Funny Story – Randy , Heather & I are pretty reliable for Friday games, and we’ve met a lot of his friends, co-workers, office-sharing mates, etc..  On Monday night, Randy was introducing Kevin/Wigs to his friends and said something along the lines of “You remember Heather/Julie from Friday games?  These are their Husbands.”  Ha ha – cracked me up. 

While I was enjoying dinner at Minerva’s in Yankton, SD, Kev, Wigs, et al were at the Cubs/Rangers makeup game (from rainout on April 17).  Cubs win 9-2!  Kev was under-dressed for the cold weather (really?? In this crappy spring, how does this happen??), and said he left early.  Not sure on any details of anything L  Sorry…

Recap:

Cubs win 9-2.  Not including the games I don’t go to in my recap W-L record. 

Parking update:  Today was a quick one: $25 a spot, and Trish and I filled them in about 15 minutes.

I sold my Monday extra ticket on Stub Hub for $11.47 (net of StubHub charges; face value $30.24).  I sold the Tuesday ticket for $24.22; face value $42.56.  Wednesday went unsold). 

Rest of the week:  Cubs/St. Louis on Tues/Weds night.  Both Kev and I out of town, and not sure if Wigs went. 

Meanwhile - we were monitoring the OMG fascinating events in Cleveland:
http://globalgrind.com/news/charles-ramsey-neighbor-hero-amanda-berry-gina-dejesus-video-photos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZcRU0Op5P4

Update to Sunday's game 12

So we have learned that the girl who collapsed on Sunday eventually died.  She choked on a hotdog and went into cardiac arrest.  wow.  Article is below. 

Our thoughts and prayers with her family. 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wrigley-field-choke-20130508,0,5549966.story

Game 12 – Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cubs vs. Cincinnati 1:20 PM – Kevin, Wigs, Kristen & Julie

Another beautiful day, which means it’s not raining and the sun is out.  Yea!!  It was kind of chilly with a cool wind blowing, but once the bleachers filled in, short sleeves were fine.  Heather out of town, so Kristen took her ticket. 

Scary incident that makes yesterday’s hot dog caught in feeding tube appear tame.  Before the game started, a girl in our row collapsed.  She was probably in her mid 20’s and we didn’t see exactly what happened.   First security showed up, then ballpark paramedics and then other paramedics and lastly firemen.  This poor girl was not moving.  Before anyone got there, a woman and another guy were doing chest compressions on her.  After the rescue workers got there, they continued with the compressions, and then started with the shocks.  They had that breathing plastic thing (you know, that looks like a liter Coke container). She never regained consciousness that we saw.  Eventually, they got her out of there on one of those orange boards.  Wow.  Kev asked the aisle security guy if there was any update on her, and he said she had a heart attack, and did finally regain consciousness.  I’ll have to ask other sources if that’s what they heard too.  I feel like security was told to say this to anyone who asked.  Freaky.  When we mentioned this to Jonna later at Bernie’s (who works in the ER), her first thought was when it’s someone that young, you suspect cocaine.  Really – do people still do that drug??  I thought that got left behind with the 80’s.  But clearly I’m not up on my pop drug culture. 

So now we all turn our attention to the game.  It felt weird.  Edwin Jackson going for 1^st win of season.  Unfortunately, he didn’t get it.  He has yet to make it to the 7^th inning this year.  Cubs were swept by the Reds.  Darwin Barney hasn’t had a hit in like 5 games. 

We only stayed until the 5^th inning (Kevin wanted a complete game), so that we could go to Bernie’s and watch the Hawks.   That didn’t turn out so well either.  Duncan Keith tied it up just before the end of regulation, and they went into overtime.  Again.  Minnesota scored 2:15 into overtime.  Ugh.  I hope this fires them up to come out skating on Tuesday.   

There was an unusually large contingent of Jewish fans/teenagers in the bleachers today, some of whom had on Cubbie-blue yarmulkes.  There was some sort of writing on it, but I couldn’t make it out.  And I couldn’t get a picture.  Really need to work on my spy skills.  I wonder if it was a bar mitzvah party or something. 

Cubs demoted Sappelt to Iowa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YEA!!!  We’ll see how Ryan Sweeney does as his replacement.  He was batting .327 in Iowa with 6 HR’s and 16 RBI.  He’s 28.  Sveum said “He’s another guy on the bench who can hit and hit the ball out of the ballpark.”  This annoys me.  It seems like everyone is always trying to hit it out of the park.  Even when the wind is blowing in.  How about stringing a few hits together vs. always trying to hit a HR???? 

They also recalled Rafeal Dolis and DFA’d Kameron Loe (the 6’8” dude). 

Recap: 

Cubs lose 7-4

Trish & John sold parking for $25 each.   They actually sold an extra spot since they were on separate corners (or streets??), and had to turn someone away. 

My season record:  Visitors 8, Cubs 4

This was the 26^th game out of 31 decided by less than 3 runs.    

Game 11 – Saturday, May 4, 2013

Cubs vs. Cincinnati 12:05 PM – Cindy & Julie

Derby Day at the ballpark!  Cubs gave away fun derby hats.  Here’s me and Cindy:

Kevin had to work, Heather had other plans, and so Wigs listed their tickets on Stub Hub and found a buyer.  So just us girls today J 

It was the nicest day yet this year – sunny and warm.  One of those days where you know it’s 10 degrees warmer in the bleachers than the rest of the stadium.  It was also the most crowded I’ve seen since Opening Day.  Trish’s friend Paul’s friend Dan was sitting behind us, and friends of Jon sat right next to us.  Good crowd, beautiful day.  Except that a lefty was pitching for Cincy, so that means all the slugs were in (I'm talking to you Sappelt and Hairston). 

1^st pitch of the day by Smardz – HR to left field basket.  Oh boy.  He managed to get out of the inning without further damage.  Soriano hit two 2-run homers (both to left field), one in the 1^st and one in the 3^rd to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead.  Smardz was going for his 1^st win since Opening Day.  Huh.  He struck out 5, giving him 52 K’s on the year.  And then they bring in Marmol in the 8^th.  Uh-oh.  He walked the first two guys and hit the 3^rd guy.  Bases loaded and nobody out.  Awesome.  A single brought in a run, and a sacrifice fly brought in another.  An intentional walk to load the bases, and then….. he walks in the go ahead run.  Ugh.  Another sacrifice fly makes it 6-4.  Marmol’s really bad this year.  He threw 14 pitches, and only 4 were strikes!!!!!  I think they keep hoping he’ll have a good outing so they can trade him.  Yea, not gonna happen.  From my girlfriend Carrie Muskat:

·         In 14 appearances, Marmol has given up 11 hits, walked 12 and hit three batters over 11 2/3 innings. He lost his job as the closer after the first week of the season, and now has a 6.17 ERA. What's wrong?

·         "He's not executing," Sveum said. "He's not throwing the ball over the plate. It doesn't matter what pitch is called."

Ya think???  A new stat to start tracking:  25 out of 30 games decided by less than 3 runs.

Carrie also said that Smardz is in the top 3 in K’s in NL, but the only pitcher in the top 10 with a losing record.  Sigh…  We knew it would be a loooong season this year, but I wasn’t expecting the games to be so close.

Craziest story of the day:

Dan’s friend took a bite of his hot dog (in 1^st inning), and it apparently got stuck in his feeding tube.  (That’s a real body part – not a tube going into him.)  It made it past his air pipe (? or is it wind pipe?) because he could breathe.  But he couldn’t drink anything and it was just stuck.  They went to the First Aid office (near home plate), and hung out there for a while.  The nurse (??) there said they’ve seen this before, and it is more common in men than women.  Apparently we chew.  She said it would eventually work its way down, and if it didn’t, then he’d have to go to the “real” ER and they’d either force it down or extract it.  Dan came back about the 6^th inning (we had no idea where he was and why he was gone so long), and told us the story and that his friend was driving home.  Post-game at Bernie’s, we learned he made it home, and was able to drink a little water.  I’ll keep you posted on the updates.  So weird!! 

Recap: 

Cubs lose 6-4

Trish & John sold parking for $25 each.  Saving up for a new laptop!!

My season record:  Visitors 7, Cubs 4

Game 10, Restaurant 7 - Cafe Ciaio

Game 10 – Friday, May 3, 2013

Cubs vs. Cincinnati 1:20 PM – Heather & Julie

Restaurant 7 – Café Ciaio, Heather & Wigs, Kevin & Julie

Back to snow boots and winter coat.  Ugh.  I got to the game about an hour late (work – stop getting in the way!!).  Walking down to the park, it was really nice to be walking when no one else was heading there.  No slow people getting in my way.  It was drizzling almost the whole way, and then by the time I got there, it was really coming down.  Good grief – will this weather never turn for good?!

Heather was all decked out in winter coat and rain poncho.  I brought her a beer and popped my umbrella and settled in.  (5^th inning maybe?)  Cubs were losing 2-0 and it quickly became 4-0.  They scored 2 in the bottom of the 6^th, but then the Reds added one more each in the 8^th and 9^th.  They rallied back with 3 runs in the bottom of the 9^th (against Chapman of all people!  Who was 6 for 6 in Save opportunities) but came up short.  Villanueva didn’t look all that sharp.  Actually the Cubs in general didn’t look that sharp.  They had 15 hits, but left 12 men on base.  They loaded the bases 3 times, and didn’t score.

Tidbits from Carrie Muskat:

·         Friday was the 24^th game (out of 29) to be decided by 3 runs or less. 

·         They are 9-15 in those games. 

·         Eleven of those losses have been by 2 runs or less. 

I guess we need to get used to this.

This will waste your time:

http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl

Sea gulls were all over the bleachers today (because it was pretty darn empty) and I was keeping my umbrella up so I wouldn’t get pooped on.  Ick. 

Observation:  Sea gulls have webbed feet (like ducks) and pigeons have regular bird feet.  Huh. 

After the game, we met Kevin at Bernie’s.  Wigs picked us up and we headed towards the United Center.  We found Café Ciaio via Yelp; ii’s just east of UC at 939 W. Madison.  Tiny place – maybe only 5 or 6 tables.  We started with appetizers of bacon-wrapped figs, meatballs and mac & cheese.  Kevin & Heather had Rigatoni w/Sausage (spicy!), Wigs had angel hair pasta w/tomatoes, basil and shrimp, and I had the same angel hair pasta, but with chicken.  Everything was really good.  I think the kitchen was like one guy and one pan – wigs & my dinners were piping hot, while Kev/Heather’s were just warm.  A couple bottles of wine completed the meal. 
Dinner update:  Heather asked for hers to be wrapped.  Wigs finally opened it on Tuesday for leftovers, and found that they scooped ALL of our leftovers into one big container.  He found shrimp, chicken, angel hair and rigatoni.  Weird.  He ate it anyways.   

Then we drove to Kevin’s secret parking spot (since Wigs’ was taken), and into the Hawks game.  Great game!  The Hawks had 48 shots on goal.  Holy cow!  They outshot them 17-7 in the first period alone.  Two goals by Frolik (one a shortie), two by Sharp and an empty-netter by Bickell summed up Hawks scoring.  In between periods (the “party” as we like to call it), we saw Wigs’ brother and then another guy Heather and crew play softball with. 

Good times all around.  We headed home after the game since Kevin had to work early on Saturday. 

Recap:

Cubs lose 6-5

Hawks win 5-2

Trish & John sold parking for $20 and $25.  Prices were low due to the bad weather.  But in retrospect I probably could have gotten 25 for both. With Friday, they have topped $500!

My season record:  Visitors 6, Cubs 4

Thursday parking update:  I tried to sell spots Thursday.  I was only able to sell one, for $20.  I did have a pair of women drive back ready to park, but they balked at the last minute.  They thought something was fishy, I guess? They asked if it was my garage, as if I stole garage openers and tried to flip spots that weren't mine, or something.  But anyway, another $20 for Thursday.

Game 9 – Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Cubs vs. Padres 7:05 – Heather, Wigs, Kevin, Julie

May Day!  Another beautiful night in Chicago.  Temps were in the 70’s today/tonight.  Our friend Jon (fellow season ticketholder & my spring training pal) also showed up with Girl #1.  I think we need to start tracking his Girl #’s too – I’ve never seen him with the same girl twice at a game. 

Corey, er Scott Feldman was pitching, and he pitched a gem (even in his baggy pants).  This was a fun game to watch.  At one point he had struck out 7 in a row, and retired 18 in a row.  He ended up with a complete game (his first one - after arguing with Sveum to stay in the game at 100 pitches), and had a career high 12 K’s.  And he had a double! 

The Padres had former Cub Andrew Cashner on the mound, making his first start as a visitor at Wrigley.  We got Rizzo as a result of the Cashner  trade.  I’m thinking we got the better end of this deal.

Game Tidbits:

·         Feldman was born in Kailua, HI and is 6’7”.  His salary is $6,000,000. 

·         We've been on Ivy-watch all week, and last night Wigs spotted one tiny little ivy leaf so far.  I tried to get a picture but it was too far away.  I should’ve had Wigs take one with his new fancy phone.

·         Fans started the wave in each game this week.  Monday night, it was in the 6^th.  Tuesday and night was in the 5^th.  So in the 3^rd, Wigs says “wave in the 4^th tonight”.  And sure enough, right on cue in the 4^th inning, the dumb fans tried to start the wave.  Monday and Tuesday night, the wave got stopped by the Cubs hitting a home run.  Last night, it seemed to be more of a lack of interest.  No wave-ending HR.

·         Kevin got side-tracked trying to figure out if a pitcher has ever hit for the cycle.  It was some dude from 1888.

·         Jon was talking about seeing something on Yahoo ranking the Stadium Beer Prices.  I found this link:

http://www.businessinsider.com/beer-prices-at-every-major-league-baseball-game-sports-chart-of-the-day-2013-4

Although I think they need to break this down by cost per ounce so we can really gauge the pricing.  Fine Business Insider, I’ll do this for you (using your data):

Rank Team oz cost cost/ounce 1 Red Sox 12 7.25 0.60 2 Cards 12 6.75 0.56 3 Blue Jays 14 7.34 0.52 4 Nats 16 8.25 0.52 5 Yankees 12 6.00 0.50 6 Mets 12 5.75 0.48 7 Mariners 12 5.50 0.46 8 Reds 12 5.50 0.46 9 Braves 16 7.25 0.45 10 Cubs 16 7.25 0.45 11 Giants 16 6.75 0.42 12 Rays 12 5.00 0.42 13 Tigers 12 5.00 0.42 14 Royals 16 6.50 0.41 15 White Sox 16 6.50 0.41 16 Marlins 20 8.00 0.40 17 Dodgers 16 6.25 0.39 18 Brewers 16 6.00 0.38 19 O's 18 6.75 0.38 20 Rockies 16 6.00 0.38 21 Twins 20 7.50 0.38 22 Philly 21 7.75 0.37 23 A's 14 5.00 0.36 24 Astros 14 5.00 0.36 25 Padres 14 5.00 0.36 26 Pirates 16 5.50 0.34 27 Indians 12 4.00 0.33 28 Rangers 16 5.00 0.31 29 Dbacks 14 4.00 0.29 30 Angels 16 4.50 0.28

 Looks like we need to hit the Angels park after all this year!!

Funniest thing of the night:  drunk guy in front row with his box of nachos who was really unsteady and kind of waving his nachos around.  I said “I really want him to drop his nachos.”  Sure enough, 5 minutes later, he did.  Nachos into the basket, and chips onto the field.  We were cracking up.  He eventually got tossed, but I'm not sure why, because it wasn't until 10-15 minutes after the nachos. 

Here’s the box and the cheese in the basket:

Here’s the chips on the field.  Hahahahaha. 

Recap:

Cubs win 6-2!!!

Weather was beautiful and warm.

Trish & John Parking Update: $20 and $25.  From JO:  One was only $20 as the driver haggled a bit, and I think the alley parking operation just north of us (between Eddy and Addison/Racine and Lakewood) was only charging $20, so I took it as a 'bird in the hand'

Jon Girl Count:  1

My season record:  Visitors 5, Cubs 4