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Dex and I went to the game last night. We went with an old friend from High School, who we call Schmitty. Her company has sick seats 3 rows back from the Padres Dugout. The dugout was so close, if I had a ten foot pole, I'd totally touch it. I hadn't seen Schmitty since High School but I remember distinctly that she said "We should go see a baseball game in a few decades."
Upon arrival Dex's kids were hungry and they wouldn't let us forget it. So Dex got in line to buy us pizza and I talked to Gaslamp Baller gwynfan11 and one, Johnathan Weisbarth. I always see Weisbarth using his iPad to score the game. I asked him which app he uses. It's called GameChanger and it's free. The one thing he doesn't like is that it's hard to reference more than 3 innings at a time, so he can't look to it quickly during a broadcast like he can with a traditional scorecard. He says he'll probably move back to using a pencil. Technology has failed him.
Once in our seats we had a delightful time. The face value of the seats was only $76, which is an incredible deal for the location, though I wonder if the face value is a discounted because it's part of a season ticket package. Where else in the Major Leagues can you sit that close to the field for so cheap? Answer: Nowhere.
The Padres scored three but they should have blown the game wide open when they loaded the bases in the 4th with no outs and failed to score.
As you can tell everybody was having a great time until it became someone's bed time and that meant Dex had to leave.
But the Padres were winning 3-0, and Heath Bell was coming in for his record setting 42nd save, what could go wrong?
Speaking of Bell, I got a better picture of the Heath Bell video graphics when he appeared in the game. As Heath Bell sprints out of the bullpen to his awful entrance music, Breaking Benjamin's "Blow Me Away", they put graphics up on the video screens circling the Toyota Terrace level. There is a shadowy graphic of Heath Bell's intimidating eyes and the words "Heath Bell Blow Me". Then you have to look over to the next segment of the video screen to see "Away". Crude.
Bell was all over the place and couldn't find the plate. I forget exactly what happened, there was a walk and a single and then somehow there were runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs. Part of me thinks that Bell subconsciously didn't want to take the consecutive saves record from Trevor Hoffman. He's been so insistent in the press that he's happy to play second fiddle to him.
I decided to video the last out of the game to record the record setting save for posterity. Then this happened:
Chase Headley threw the ball into the dirt and Hawpe was unable to hold onto it. Heath had this to say later:
"I made a lot of bad throws before Chase," said Bell
That sent us to extras. In the 11th inning I got up from my seat. I was sooo tired. I considered leaving and going home. Then I saw Pad Squad Loxie and she convinced me to stay one more inning, telling me that the Padres would win it. "They better!" I snapped back at her.
For some reason the Pad Squad always stops squadding in the 9th and in extra innings and congregate behind home plate to do cheers. They were getting really loopy by the 11th. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.
Luckly the Padres were able to load the bases with the help of walks and catchers interference. That's when Chase Headley drew a walk off walk that ended the game and this happened:
Ka-boom! Mutha Effers!
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