6.4.00 ANAHEIM ANGELS vs LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Today's themes: heat, sweat, sunblock, more bad relief pitching, more screaming Chris Damore. Shit.
Of course, on Saturday, the game we skipped, Chan Ho Park behaved himself and the Dodgers waxed their Orange County foes 8-3. And I'll admit it: heading into the rubber game (a term borrowed from bridge, for all of you wondering about the etymology of that suddenly fashionable phrase), we were a bit cocky, my brother and I, and we delighted in subjecting Damore to his usual dose of obligatory pre-game abuse. Our confidence was only bolstered once the game started and the Dodgers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first on a three-run Eric Karros homer and an RBI double by Chad Kreuter.
Things ran steadily downhill from there, although we were slow to recognize it. Damore had gotten us first-row seats way out in right field, which seemed cool enough at first, but really what this meant was that the only shade we would see during the course of the one o'clock game would be while standing in concessions lines, and that the only breeze that might provide any relief from the relentless sun would come from a guy a few seats down who'd brought a kind of squirt-bottle-with-a-propeller-attached device. My wife, smarter than most people (and smarter than her husband and his friends by a long shot), bailed early and watched the balance of the game from the comfort of a seat in the shade, just up from first base. We, steadfast, resolute—morons, basically—stuck it out where we were, slowly reddening, dehydrating, and developing stiff necks from watching an entire baseball game with our heads turned at 90 degrees.
Imagine sitting in your living room and watching a baseball game on TV with your chair turned perpendicularly to the television, and the television placed about twenty feet from where you're sitting. Now, forget the living room, and imagine doing the same thing in the middle of the street on a 95° day with no clouds. Genius.
The never-convincing Carlos Perez left the game after six innings, clinging to a 7-5 lead. We still thought everything was going to be okay. I mean, the Dodgers had led the whole game. It was theirs to lose, right? Well, yeah. Matt Herges came in and gave up singles to Tim Salmon, Garrett Anderson, and Bengie Molina in the eighth, tying the game at 7-up. Shawn Green singled in the ninth, but Gary Sheffield grounded into a double-play to end the top half of the inning and then, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, it was déjà vu all over again. Antonio Osuna took the mound and promptly walked Kevin Stocker, hit Tim Salmon with a pitch, walked Troy Glaus to load the bases, and—shudder—walked Orlando Palmeiro on four pitches. “Whooooo0o-oooooooo!” hollered Damore, arms outstretched. The horrah.
FINAL SCORE: ANGELS 8, DODGERS 7
MEMORABLE HECKLE:
None. I don't know what the deal is, if the mid-season blahs have set in already,
but it's kind of bummin' me out, this spectatorial lameness. Here's hoping
things pick up soon.
