Rain postponed Chicklet's cool b-day present (again), but I do have a bloggable story from Thursday to share. My Dad always said that every time you go to the ballpark, you'll see something new, and boy was that true last week.
Back in April, I noted that the my baseball team, the Orioles, were going to be in-town, playing the Yankees during the last week of the season. So I snagged to cheap seats in the hopes that there would be exciting pennant races this time of year. Well, as the "baseball gods" would have it, the American League was devoid of September excitement this season, leaving me with two tickets to a meaningless game.
Naomi was nice enough to accompany me to the ballpark, however, so the tix did not go to waste. I left Princeton on Thursday at 4:30pm, plenty of time for the 7:05pm start -- or so I thought. About 15 minutes into our train ride, the train breaks down. We lost power and were just sitting there on the tracks. Apparently, Microsoft build the engine, because all the conductor had to do was "restart" the machine for it to get up and running again. But, this process took about a half hour, and another NJT train passed by us just before we got moving again.
With our train out of place in the schedule, we were stuck in "train traffic" and the ride into NYC took over two hours. Hopping off the train at 6:45pm, I rushed to the subway, where I caught an E train to an express A train, which just got caught behind a D train, which was the train I really needed. The A train took me to the top of Manhattan, but I needed a B or a D into the Bronx. The MTA claims they run B trains over the river until 8pm, but they are a bunch of liars since at 7:10, a B train was sitting at 145th St, not moving. So I had to wait another 20 minutes fro the next D train.
But, finally I arrived at Yankee stadium and met up with Naomi. We got in just in time to see the end of the 2nd inning, so we didn't miss much. The O's were already up 2-0. By the end of the fourth, it was 5-0, and I looked over at the scoreboard and noticed something interesting: the Oriole pitcher, Daniel Cabrera, was throwing a no-hitter. I commented this to Naomi (who didn't seem to understand the significance -- the last Oriole no-hitter was in 1969), and immediate realized I had probably just jinxed the whole affair by mentioning it.
Even if I did jinx it, my blunder didn't manifest itself until much later, as Cabrera kept retiring Yankee batters in order. And when he did walk hitters, he would get subsequent batters to ground into double plays, keeping his pitch count down. Pretty soon, he was over half-way to the no hitter; soon after, two-thirds of the way.
In the seventh, Cabrera's defense completely let him down. An error by the second baseman allowed Abreu to get aboard. Then, two passed balls advanced Abreu to third! But there were two outs at that point, and Cabrera could pitch from the wind-up again (since the lone runner was on third), so I wasn't too concerned. Indeed, Cabrera got Sheffield to ground to third, but Melvin Mora (playing third base for the O's) boots the ball, and a very unearned run scores--as the Yanks didn't get the ball out of the infield.
So, Cabrera now has two innings to go, and things are getting pretty exciting. When the Orioles commit a blooper, the entire stadium gets quiet and looks to the scoreboard for the official ruling. A collective groan goes up each time the mistake gets scored as an error. Of course, I cheer wildly all three (!) times it occurred. For the last out of eight D. Cabrera strikes out Yankee pitch hitter M. Cabrera, to take the no-hitter into the ninth.
At this point, I realize that I'm not keeping score! I always keep score at games, for two reasons. One, it's fun, and usually a learning experience for those around me. Two, something really cool might happen (such as a no-hitter!) and I'd like a complete recording of such an event. But I wasn't scoring this game because we arrived late; I was about to strangle the first NJT employee I saw I was so pissed off. But, I quickly collected myself, and raced into the concession area and bought a $7 (!) program to keep score with for the ninth, figuring I'll fill in the rest of the game later (using ESPN).
The O's add a pair of runs in the top of the ninth, and everyone gets ready for the Yankees' last set of at-bats. The entire stadium is standing, while I am jumping up and down, "giddy as a school boy" as Dr. Elsa would say. Damon is first up, and he grounds easily to first: two outs left. "Giddy" would now be an understatement of my mood. Cabrera gets one strike on the next batter Cano, but then the Yankee slaps a line drive into left field. For just an instant, it looks like Fiorentino has a shot to catch the ball, but it falls in for a base hit. Heartbreak. So close. One double-play later and we leave the stadium with thoughts of "what if." Still, one of the coolest (if not the coolest) game I've ever been to.
And may my Jewish readers have a reflective Yom Kippur and a beneficial fast.
