Fabulous Start to the Holiday Weekend

It was the perfect night for a ballgame. No rain. Sunny. Warm. July. Finally. TV Stevie bought me a Molsons and a Dinosaur pulled-pork sandwich. Awesome.

Before the game, Tug Hulett and Chris Marrero were signing autographs for fans over by the dugout. I love watching the players interact with the kids like that.

Confirming last night's speculation, Ankiel is back with the Nats and Detwiler was called up.

BTW, the Chiefs are having a Patriotic Picnic on Monday.

FIRST BASE COACH CHEER

• Gregor Blanco grinned and waved
• I missed Michael Aubrey both times he coached first
• Tug waved, too.
• No first base coach in the ninth inning

JERSEY RAFFLE: Pink. I bought 10 tickets. I still didn't win.

A little kid -- maybe two or three -- really wanted my bat-shaped rattle. Twice.

There was a group of adolescent girls sitting in section 107 who were rowdy in a funny way. They really loved Scooch and Pops.



Pops and his groupies



There was a new game: Are you Smarter than an Intern? It was . . . strange. No, Montreal is not a Canadian province.

SCARY MOMENT OF THE GAME

Steve Lombardozzi was rounding second and slid. He had the presence of mind to go back to 2nd. Otherwise, he would have been out. I don't like it when the Chiefs slip while running bases.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

There were several great moments tonight.

• JD Martin caught a ball Bowker lined to him, fell, but managed to get a throw off to Marrero at first, who tagged the runner trying to get back to first.
• (Cesar) Valdez pitching to (Jesus) Valdez. Jesus always beats Cesar. Base hit. Add Jesus Flores with another hit and the Chiefs pulled within one.
• Bottom of the ninth. Indianapolis is up by 1. Two outs. Runners at 1st and 2nd. Jesus Valdez steps up to the plate and belts one down the middle. THE CHIEFS WIN!!! We haven't seen an ending like that in a long time.

SOMETHING I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE:

In the middle of an inning, Michael Aubrey was recalled from coaching first base so he could pinch hit. Tug replaced him at first.

Molly & Sandee showcase Chiefs flipflops

SOMETHING WE NOTICED
Chris Marrero at first base is a true team player. Once first base is out of the action, Chris is ready to help where he's needed, backing up the pitcher, catcher, second baseman, right fielder. We see him everywhere. YAY CHRIS MARRERO!

Dog Days and Jacket Man

The stadium literally went to the dogs tonight, to quote Dave Anthony. People could bring their pooches to the game tonight, so they did. Fortunately, they were way down first base line, close to the visiting team bull pen. And it was $1 hot dog night. Mmmm. Hot dogs.

Jacket Man, The Mysterious First Base Coach



FIRST BASE COACH CHEER:

• Tug Hulett waved and smiled
• Jhonatan Solano waved and smiled
• Gregor Blanco ignored us
• And the Mystery Man, now re-named JACKET MAN, well he doesn't know we're waving to him.

QUEST OF THE NIGHT:
Who is Jacket Man? If you can identify him from this photo, please let us know.  And why does he always wear a jacket (which conceals his number)? Is he from the tropics and cold? Has he heard and believe all those nasty rumors about Syracuse weather, particularly the snow?

JERSEY RAFFLE OF THE NIGHT: PINK!



The Coveted Pink Game-worn Jersey

 

I have been trying to win one of these since Mothers Day 2010, when they were worn in the game. No luck tonight. Sandee & Anthony kindly bought me an extra ticket, too.





PLAY OF THE GAME
An Indianapolis player (Watt) hit a long ball to right field. I thought it went over the fence. A lot of people thought it was a home run. Including Watt. But Jesus Valdez scooped up the ball and threw it to second in time to get Watt, who was doing a home-run trot around the bases He over ran 2nd, and Seth Bynum nabbed him.

CURIOSITY OF THE GAME

Ross Detwiler pitched only the first two innings. Brad Meyers replaced him in the third. Conjecture is that Detwiler was called up and will pitch for the Nationals tomorrow. According to the Maven, Meyers was scheduled to pitch for Syracuse tomorrow, so was throwing on only 4 days rest.

FRUSTRATING MOMENT

I mean besides the BIGS sitting next to Sandee in the first inning. Who didn't have tickets for those seats. There was a controversial play at first base. The Indianapolis runner was clearly out, but the ump called him safe. Seconds later, the same thing happened at home plate. K-Daddy held up his eye chart to see if the umps could see that. Sandee and I like to quote Suspect: "You need a new phone! You're making bad calls!"

THE ODDITY OF THE GAME

It's Throwback Thursday, where the Chiefs wear a historical-style uniform. This year, it's a pinstripe with an Old English "S". For some reason, Rick Ankiel wasn't in pinstriped pants.