And the inability to hit a strike. Pie, anyone?

I had a seat at the very end of the left-center bleachers, 3rd row. The relievers all looked over at us occasionally as if we were from the planet X and then as if they were gorillas and we weren’t allowed to feed them, like at the Zoo. I saw Marshall sitting there to my surprise and later got the nerve to ask him, “Marshall, did you get called up today or yesterday?” He pointed to the ground and said, “today.” To which, I replied, “Awesome, glad to have you back.” He finished up our deep conversation with, “Thanks”.

There were a bunch of Phillies fans heckling the Cubs bullpen most of the night (No, I don’t know why stupid Phillies fans were at a Pirates game…), and Jon Lieber apparently got annoyed, because he told the guard stationed in the bullpen something and pointed at those annoying bastards. The guard jumped up, called security, and those losers were out of there in a New York minute.

There was a father and a kid that couldn’t have been older than 4 years old that walked down by my seats. They were Pirates fans and didn’t appear to know much about who was who. I figured they wanted the famous folk, so I pointed out that Kerry Wood was that beast of a man sitting on the chair facing us, but looking dejected down at the floor (this is about the 6th inning or so). He got his boy to say “Hi Kerry!” and Kerry looked up as if it was Christmas morning and waved to the little tyke immediately. Then the little guy asked for a ball, and Kerry nodded and said, “sure.” He jumped up from his seat an instant latter and spent about 5 minutes rummaging around for a spare ball and threw it over the fence for the kid. That little kid will have quite a story to tell his kids someday. Kerry Wood, what a class act.

I forget his name now because I’m too tired to look it up, but the Hispanic bullpen catcher walked up by my seat just beyond the wall to toss me a ball at the very end of the night. I think he was trying to say thanks for sticking with them the entire game in the annoying masses of Pirates fans. I’m also sort of a loud-mouth and I was starting loud chants of “LETS GO CUB-BIES” pretty much from the 8th inning on through the end of the game. It was just sort of cool for me, that’s all.

I also told nearly every Pittsburgh reliever “no pressure man, NO PRESSURE!” as they walked through the door onto the field right next to me. It probably did nothing, but it got a good laugh from all surrounding me.

I grew up just west of O’Hare in Elk Grove Village. After I graduated from college in ’06 I moved out to Pittsburgh to take a job. My first Cubs game at PNC was when Juan Pierre hit that lead off homer, and D Lee played his first game back from the wrist injury in ’06. The Cubs proceeded to get swept in that series, but not before first taking the lead in the 2nd and 3rd games in the 11th innings to only lose it in the bottom of the very same inning…sort of like last night, but worse. The only games I’ve missed were the 3 last September because I was in Japan.

Awesome seats at PNC cost only $25 or so; people think I’m crazy for buying the “good seats” here…they don’t realize that is just over half what it costs for the bleachers at Wrigley!