REDS @ CUBS, 04/26: I nearly forgot I had these tickets, and after how the game went I’m – still glad I remembered them. Though the game was quite the annoying rollercoaster – all we were missing was LaTroy coming in with a one run lead.
First game there of this season (and last season too, I think.) Hot Chocolate was good. I didn’t get enough of easily screwup-able things to find out if the new food vendor was as improved as promised. I hope so.
Seats were up the third base line, a section in from the Cubs bullpen. Pretty nice, if people weren’t standing up in the aisle and blocking your view. Also, we got to see a lot of action near up close, what with everyone in the pen warming up at least once. (They ran out of people to protect the bullpen catcher! Such a tragedy.)
Zambrano didn’t seem to be finishing off his pitches in the second, leaving a lot low and only getting beach balls in the zone. He was pretty ticked. I couldn’t believe the Reds let Zambrano off the hook by stealing on him, especially as good as Barrett’s been throwing guys out early. Zambrano was tiring in the fifth when Dunn got the home run, and they ought to have had someone warming up as soon as it left the park, but Carlos was pretty hot headed to plunk Kearns when they didn’t. (And he totally did it on purpose, though people around me didn’t want to believe it.)
I thought Dubios might have worked his way into a decent amount of at bats with the home run, and then figured he didn’t when he dropped an easy sac fly because he was worried about the throw. Didn’t actually cost the team anything but really deflated things after the big inning. Corey’s big error did end up costing at least one run, and was so dumb.
It was a sad moment when we realized Wuertz was in the game because LaTroy was back as closer. It was sadder when Wuertz didn’t have anything.
Dusty’s predilection for the double switch gave us Henry Blanco and Ronny Cedeno in key at bats, and made Ben Grieve unusable, which is not the way I would’ve gone. It was the typical manager who was worrying about having enough guys in the 12th at the cost of not putting your best people out there in 8th and 9th.
The team feels pretty much in disarray even though they’re .500, like we’re just about to slip into a “wheel are coming off” 5 or 6 game losing streak. Not a good feeling for April.