At a point early in the game tonight, when some player failed to hit a fly ball with no outs, the guy behind me said, "They're not moving the runners over." "They can't bunt either," I added, as Dave Roberts failed to bunt the run over to 2nd.
The Giants played a rare night game tonight, losing to the Cubs 4-2. You get the feeling that just a few pieces are missing. Starting pitching by Kevin Correia wasn't really bad, but at one point he did allow 4 hits in a row. The Giants matched the Cubs run for run, but couldn't put it all together. Actually, what they couldn't do is sacrifice, play small ball. In the first inning, Lou Piniella's team only had one hit but they scored a run. That's how it's done.
Dave Roberts, a good leadoff hitter, had 2 hits. Ray Durham had 2 hits and is hitting over .400 in spring training. And the defense looked pretty darn good. I have to say, though, there were a lot of players I didn't recognize. I don't know who's a roster vs. a non-roster player.
It was a very pleasant night at Scottsdale Stadium. I went two hours early and found that free parking lot right next door. There were only about 10 spots remaining when I parked my car and walked on down to the park. All the seats were in the shade when I arrive and, of course, it was nighttime when the game started at 7 pm. This is the best time of day to see a game when the temperature is in the 80's in Phoenix.
A wonderful day of baseball: two games.
The last scene I witnessed was Scott Eyre taking the mound for the Cubbies. Scott has obviously lost a few pounds this year. He used to pitch for the Giants before he was traded away over a year ago. He looks fit, and still has that funny little wiggle before the windup, where he lets everything hang loose before he lets it fly. I couldn't help remember meeting Scott at Don and Charlie's Restaurant in Scottsdale when Rick and I ate next to him; Scott had dinner with his nephew and his nephew's friend, and then they all ordered sundaes. Scott declared at the time to anybody who would listen: Hey, I'll just run a few more laps. Apparently, Scott kept running.
What a pleasure.
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