Waiting for the Cubs

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

I just heard the news.

By coincidence, I went to the McDonald’s across the street from the ballpark for lunch today. I hadn’t heard the news.

There was a crew from CBS. There was a crew from NBC.

I wondered why.

Two flagpoles, one to either side of the red marquee, flew Ron Santo flags.

I wondered why.

I hadn’t heard the news.

First anniversary of Ron’s death, I surmised.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

One year ago I went to the ballpark and cried.

One year ago my brother called me and cried.

He’s a Sox fan.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

They wouldn’t let him in because he clicked his heels.

They wouldn’t let him in because his son made a film.

They wouldn’t let him in because he had diabetes.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

Some say he was the sixth best third baseman of all time.

They wouldn’t let him in while he was still alive.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

I just heard the news.

I guess it’s time to celebrate.  They say Ron would have wanted us to.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

I feel as sad as when I heard the news that he died.

But Minnie is still alive, so there’s someone else that is still denied.

Congratulations.

Ron Santo is in the Hall of Fame.

Sign on Sheffield Ave. rooftop

Got to ballpark early Wednesday — not long after the gates opened at 11:20AM.  Decided to walk the park, taking in the scene for the last time this year.

The Brewers were taking batting practice, so I watched a while from down close …

… and from up in the 200’s …

… and from WAY up in the upper deck …

Everyone there was especially friendly.  Total strangers said hello and smiled, and not just the ushers. Speaking of which, I stopped and chatted with both Tom Reeves, who was working between the 100s and 200s down the right field line, and Margaret Wichmann, who was about as far down the left field line. By the time I write this on Friday, Tom is no doubt a grandfather for the first time!  His daughter-in-law was due to deliver a baby girl even as we chatted in section 137. Congrats, Tom!

The PA announcer reminded us fans that all food and beverage, except beer, was 25% off until 12:20, so I made my way to the beef and brat stand on the terrace above the main gate.

The nice woman who took my order was very friendly and chatty, too! We talked about the cost of scorecards and how the Cubs ran out of their signature souvenir Cubs pencils weeks ago and instead of reordering they substituted stubby little, plain blue miniature golf pencils.

BOGUS!  What kind of souvenir is that?! Maybe the money they saved will help pay Soriano’s salary … about 20 seconds worth.

There was no one else in line, but my brat was getting cold, and I was getting hungry just smelling the grilled onions, so we exchanged “Have a great day”s and I moved over to a table to eat.  Yum!

I found a seat in 433 (although I bought a 533 ticket — shame on me!) with the intent of moving around a bit more. A guy behind me came with his own snacks, not even willing to save 25% before 12:20!

He had a plastic Jewel Foods bag full of stuff (you can see the bag at the very bottom of the photo above). There he sat, munching away, and I thought to myself, “Now there’s a stand-up fan! Comes to the park alone with his own can of Pringles.”

But then another guy arrived and sat next to him. The first guy reached into that Jewel bag and produced … another can of Pringles for his friend!

That’s being prepared for a ballgame!

It was Fan Appreciation Day. A Cub employee made the rounds of the stands with a big blue bag full of fresh new baseballs. He gave one to every kid he saw. My instinct was to throw myself on his mercy, as in “I’ve been coming to games since 1958 and have never snagged a ball, and twice almost died trying! Can’t I have just one …” But I stopped myself.

This family included three kids, each of whom received a ball.

Nice!

The Milwaukee TV announcers finished their pre-game show right below me …

… and the grounds crew finished laying the chalk lines, and raking and hosing the infield dirt. It was time to play ball for the last time at Wrigley Field for 2011.

And it was a great game, except for knuckleheaded baserunning and a couple of horrifying errors. The Cubs won 7-1, finally scoring some runs for Matt Garza, who went the distance.

And speaking of the grounds crew, they sang the seventh inning stretch, and did a bang-up job of it to wild cheering and applause.

A great time was had by all, except for the thousands of Brewers fans who made the trip down from Milwaukee.

When it was over, the Cubs congratulated each other on the field for the last time at home …

… as the crowd sang “Go Cubs Go.” But even after the song ended and the Cubs disappeared into the dugout, no one wanted to leave.

We all took one last, long look at the old ball yard and then shuffled off to the exits, counting the days ’til April 5, 2012 (opening day AND Wife of Admin’s birthday!).

Last photo of the ballpark for 2011.

There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, except for this pitiful wisp that appeared and disappeared within moments!

But it was cold. We moved down from the upper deck 500s to the first row of the 400s where there was still sun and so reasonably comfortable. EVERYONE else in the upper deck did the same, so it looked like a full house …

… at least in the first row. But here’s what it looked like right behind us …

… in the cold seats.

And then the sun continued to move west, as it is want to do, and the fans bolted, so our row looked like this …

We sat in the last section down the left field line. At one point I mentioned to Wife of Admin that perhaps we should move south to maybe aisle 413 to improve our chances of finally getting a foul ball. And, as if ordained by the baseball gods, Aramis Ramirez got around on a pitch and drove it deep into our upper deck section! Typically, however, it landed a few rows behind us and was run down by a guy of about my age. He gave it to a cute little guy who had no idea what was up. Turns out it was the kid’s first ever Cubs game! And he gets a foul ball!

He seemed suitably unimpressed so I told him, and his sister and grandparents, that I first went to a game at Wrigley Field when I was just a little older than him and have, to this day, NEVER shagged down a foul ball, or a batting practice home run, or a ball tossed into the crowd by a bored player, or any kind of game day baseball of any kind! He didn’t understand and asked for a hot dog.

On the way out of the ballpark, as Steve Goodman’s song played on, I noticed the center field scoreboard message board exclaiming that the Cubs had won game #4000!

Photo by Katie Casey

I thought it must have meant in all of Cubs history. But that doesn’t make sense, as simple arithmetic should have told me. But who does math as he or she strolls down the ramp from aisle 403 to aisle 206 and out through Gate K?

The win marked 4000 regular season victories at Wrigley Field, not total for the franchise. Still cool to have been there, though! We grasp at anything, us Cub fans.

We were at that game!

First, what the heck were Admin and Son of Admin doing in these seats?

Total face value:  $100.80.  How’d we snag these tickets? By the way, what’s up with the prominent Toyota piece of crud in the photo on the ticket? Part of their deal with the Cubs? Looks like it’s the Toyota Cubs instead of the Chicago Cubs. More on that later.

We met before the game for some dinner at a favorite spot — Sheffield’s.

I had a perfectly delicious, homemade sausage with peppers, plus baked beans, while Son of Admin worked his iPhone to find something at a reasonable price. He doesn’t just have a guy, he’s got, like, 6 guys. “No way we’re paying face value tonight,” he said. A sign of the horrible no-show problem the Cubs have for less-than-marquee games.

We met three of his guys at the corner of Addison and Sheffield. Fists full of tickets were fanned before our eyes!

One guy says, “I can give you these 200’s, row 4, no obstructed view, and I’ll GIVE them to you. As in FREE. Or, I got these 16’s where you can sit with the Ricketts for $40 each.

Now, Admin and Wife of Admin had just turned down similar seats from Tom Ricketts himself (see previous blog)! Why would I want these tonight? Especially when FREE seemed like a good price.

Because Son of Admin was popping for them, that’s why. Woo hoo! Plus, it wasn’t a sellout so SRO wasn’t an option.

We passed Ron’s new statue …

… and headed in through Gate D. We ran into usher friends Tom …

… and Margaret …

… both of whom were amazed by our $100 tickets. They were used to seeing us way up at the top of 206, which, by the way, was a loooong way away from these seats. Our usual spot in standing room isn’t even visible below, somewhere in the dark void below the luxury boxes to the right.

But it was a fine night with a dramatic sky …

(photo by Son of Admin)

And we were close. How close were we? Check out Aramis Ramirez standing right in front of us as he prepares to hit one of his 5 hits for the game (3 singles, 2 doubles).

And we were so close that everybody in the section was holding up fancy phones taking pictures, just like us …

photo by Son of Admin

But what about the Governor? Down in those seats, Cub management seats, there was tons of schmoozing going on. Marketing guru Wally Hayward …

… sat two rows below us with a contingent of potential somethings … sponsors, like maybe the Toyota guys responsible for the abomination that stands above the left field bleachers (see photo on ticket above). Two other Cub marketing types arrived and spent their time with their backs to the game pitching something or other, neither of them seeing a single real baseball “pitch.” In fact, it looked dangerous. If a left-handed batter had hit a line drive foul ball in their direction, neither would have had a chance as the ball would have drilled either in the back of the head.

Son of Admin heard these words spoken by a Cub employee (I wrote them down on my scorecard at the time): ” … anything that will lead to the merging of our two brands together.” Scary. Something like the “Toyota Cubs”?

Then the guy in the white shirt arrived and the schmoozing intensified. Standing up and delivering hand shakes all around, during an inning! That’s when Admin and Son of Admin, with no rehearsal, screamed in perfect unison, “DOWN IN FRONT!!”

“Who is that guy?” I asked two fans in front of us.

“Governor Quinn.”

“Ha!” I replied, not exactly embarrassed by my ignorance due to a long-standing policy of ignoring all state political news, mostly because so many Illinois governors go from the State House to the “big house.” Not that Governor Quinn is headed in that direction.

Wally left early. Laura Ricketts was there and left early (I tried to get a photo of her but none came out well — my bad). But the Governor stayed until the bitter, very bitter (Braves 5, Cubs 4) end. Son of Admin escorted him from the section.

Somewhere along the way the Governor lost his glasses. That’s how it goes at the old ball yard!

What a glorious afternoon at the old ball yard! The place was packed. Fans hung from the rafters, or at least the ramps, in standing room.

It was Cubs-Cardinals, always a big draw. On the way to the ballpark I received a text from a childhood friend …

BLING:  Hey.  What up? At game with whole crew plus brothers Dave and Jimmy.

The Cahills were in town from New York! I texted back that we would be in standing room, and our friend texted back that they were in the last row of 218, so they’d be easy to find and maybe we could stand behind them.

So upon arriving at the game I strolled along the concourse above the seats and there they were!

Standing room behind 218 was already full with no room for both myself and Wife of Admin, so we agreed to meet in our usual spot above 205-206.

What a scene it was back at our ramp! To our left stood a family of six, five of whom were Cardinal fans. The sixth, a boy of about ten, was a Cub fan! How he survived his family’s onslaughts I’ll never know. They gave each other no end of good-natured grief. The five Red Bird fans all wore red Cardinals gear while the boy wore a blue “Dead Birds” shirt. When Cardinal Jon Jay slid into second for a lead-off double in the top of the first, the boy screamed that he was out by a mile, while his father claimed that he beat the tag. Then in the bottom of the fourth inning when Carlos Pena slid into third for a triple, the tables were turned and the debate raged. I just had to chime in that if Pena was out at third then Jay had been out at second. The father laughed and agreed. “You got jobbed on that Jay call!” he said.

And then Cubs owner Tom Ricketts showed up! We’ve seen him walk by several times before, but he always seemed to be on his way somewhere else, like the bleachers or the upper deck. This time he stopped and chatted and had his picture taken with lots of SRO fans.

Tom Ricketts (left) with SRO fans.

And then he stopped to chat with us!

“Hi …” he said to me, shaking my hand. Did he call me by name? He said Hi and then something else. I thought he said my name. Does he read this pitiful blog??

Neither Wife of Admin nor I had the heart to bring up anything about the horrors of this season, like Psycho Z or Hendry’s departure. Why bother? Both have been covered, or maybe over-covered, elsewhere. We just mentioned that it turned out to be a beautiful day when earlier thunderstorms made it look like the game may be postponed.

“I know!” he replied. “I got to the ballpark early, when it looked horrible out. I made a couple of calls and then came out and the sky was clear!” He smiled and gave the thumbs up.

Turning to move on he said, “Nice to see you, …” He said something after that farewell, too.  Did he say, “Nice to see you, (Admin)? Couldn’t be. I asked Wife of Admin. She didn’t hear him say my name either at the start of our conversation or at the end. I must be hearing things. But then why did he say, “Nice to see you” as if he had seen us before, or knew us, or … no way. Couldn’t be. I’m losing it.

He made his way through standing room, chatting with more SRO fans, and then headed down aisle 205. At that moment a security guard walked up and asked if he could stand with us. He stood right between myself and Wife of Admin, watching Ricketts closely.

“You his bodyguard or something?” we asked.

“No,” he replied, smiling. “Not really.” Then as Ricketts moved down into the grandstands, the security guy followed at a tasteful distance and kept his eye on his boss from the landing in front of the elevator, talking into his radio all the time.  Not really his bodyguard? Ha!

Security (in white hat with shades on bill) watching Tom Ricketts’ back

I don’t blame them. Who knows what a frustrated, and lubricated, Cub fan may do after this miserable season? But all was well and Tom returned to SRO and approached us. “Are you standing room?” he asked.

“Yes,” we replied.

“Here,” he said, fanning out a small stack of tickets. “Let me give you some better seats.”

Now, we know where Tom and the other Ricketts sit. You can see them on TV right behind the Cubs’ on-deck circle. But Wife of Admin looked at me and gently shook her head.

“Uh, we’re good,” I said.  ”Thanks.  Why don’t you give them to some other fans? We like it here.” He looked at us kinda strange, but smiled and said, “Sure. No problem.” Then he gave six tickets to the family of Cardinal fans with the ten-year-old Cub fan. They were thrilled!

“Do you know who that was?” the boy asked his Dad. “That was the Cubs’ owner!”

Just as the Cards fans and Tom Ricketts left SRO, our friends from New York appeared!  We hung out for a couple innings …

… and then agreed to meet at the ramp after the game to join their kids, who were in the bleachers, on Waveland Avenue and proceed on to a local watering hole.

There were signs everywhere, like this one, which I never got to read …

… but our friends told us that it said something like , “I just got engaged but I’ll break it off if I can kiss Mark Grace!” Apparently Gracie was doing the game’s broadcast for a network.

And then our favorite usher Margaret stopped by to say hello. She said she was stationed across the park along the first base line, but was on break and decided to stroll around the ballpark. We wished she was assigned to 206. We could have used some clearing out of fans who didn’t seem to notice that there were people in SRO watching the game.

Our favorite beer guy was doing a brisk business …

When I went to his station for the first time he recognized me saying, “Hey, Bud! How are you doing? Glad to see you.”

Is this a good thing? Anyway, each time I returned (Wife of Admin and I split beers, so it’s not as bad as it sounds), he would catch my eye and pull my draft even as he was waiting on fans ahead of me in line. We are very comfortable indeed in our little corner of the ballpark.

When the Cardinals fans strolled happily off to their box seats, a fair amount of space opened up to our left. Nonetheless, I noticed an elderly gentleman (look who’s talking!) nudging his way nearer to us. Why? Because Wife of Admin and I always keep score. He was curious about a stat that you can’t find on the scoreboard. With David Freese batting for the Cardinals in the top of the seventh, he asked: “How many strikeouts does Garza have?”

I counted them up and said, “Six.” Then Freese whiffed and I updated the count.  ”I mean seven.”

The man’s name is Burt …

… and he lives in Los Alamos, NM.

“You in the ‘industry’?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “Those folks are nuts. I’m just a school teacher. Retired teacher, that is.”

He travels to Chicago several times a year, just to see the Cubs. “I grew up in Plymouth, Indiana,” he said, “listening to the Cubs broadcasts on the radio. That’s how I got to be a Cub fan.”

He stayed and chatted with us through a boisterous seventh inning stretch …

… singing and counting the “one, two, three strikes YOU’RE OUT!” heartily, and then celebrating with us and the rest of the Cub fans in the crowd when the Cubs held on to shut out the Cards 3-0.

Burt turned to leave, but then paused and waved to us, smiling broadly. Maybe we’ll see him again in SRO when he comes back to Chicago for another Cubs home stand.

After Steve Goodman’s song ended, we met the Cahills and headed down the ramp ourselves …

… to meet the rest of their brood on Waveland Ave.

A hilarious time was had by all.

This is Vines Joy:

… especially when the Cubs win, as they did today for their seventh in a row, downing the Reds 11-3.

This is Vinejoy:

… Son of Admin sporting his new Chip Baltimore shirt! He’s happy because two of his wines arrived this week, Fiction (a Chicago-favorite red blend) and Vinjoy’s new The Shakedown …

… a red and a white, made by Andrew Jones who also brings you Fiction, and a label designed by Daughter of Admin. Coming soon to an independent wine shop near you!

But enough promoting the family products and back to the ballpark.

We walked east on Waveland, passing Son of Admin’s old apartment building, rife with Reds fans waiting to be let onto the roof. It’s called Beyond the Ivy now. Back when Son of Admin would put his TV in the window so passing fans, or fans who couldn’t get into sold out games, could follow the action on the other side of the bleachers wall, it was only 1010 West Waveland Avenue.

The wives of the Cubs stood in front of Gate D collecting non-perishables for a local food pantry. We dropped off a couple of Trader Joe’s bags and said hello to Ryan Dempster’s wife Jenny, whom Wife of Admin met for the first time. I introduced “WoA” as “the woman who gave up her seat in our car to your husband so we could drive him to the Avis office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.” Both of you who read Waiting for the Cubs are familiar with the crazy story told in the Epilogue. If you’re not familiar with it, come on! Buy the book! (see link above right)

Jenny laughed and asked, “Did you have to crowd into the back seat?”

Wife of Admin replied, “I thought I was going to be left on the curb.” Jenny laughed again. We took a picture, said our farewells and headed into the ballpark.

It was already crowded in SRO, more than an hour before game time, so we expected a big crowd (paid attendance: 41,978). As always, we had nothing but fun meeting fans, both of the Cubs and the Reds.

One particularly entertaining drama unfolded just to our right. This woman is breaking ballpark law …

Fans aren’t allowed to sit on the railing. A very friendly usher stopped to flirt … I mean, ask politely that she not sit there.

He even explained that the rule is in the books to protect children who might climb up on the pipe railings and fall and get hurt and sue the Cubs, although he didn’t mention that last part. He didn’t need to.

The young woman hopped down, but got right back up as soon as he was gone. He returned every other inning, the upper concourse being part of his responsibility, and the dance repeated itself. The young woman kept an eye out for all ushers, at one point spotting one near aisle 205.

“They’ve stationed one over there,” she said, again jumping down from the railing. Toward the end of the game our friendly usher caught her one more time and, feigning sadness, said something like:  ”You’ve let me down! I thought we were friends.”

“You’re no friend of mine,” she replied, somewhat coolly. Deflated, or maybe shot down, the usher ignored her for the rest of the game. He had tried to do his job in a fun, pleasant way, to no avail.

But the real fun came in the last inning when two Reds fans to our left commented about how cool they thought it was that we kept score. “Don’t see that much anymore,” said one. We were about to point out that you see it a lot in SRO. In fact before the Reds fans arrived we debated several calls with a row of fans who all kept score, including one youngster who missed a play and asked Wife of Admin to fill him in.

But instead of talking scorekeeping at Wrigley Field we mentioned that we used to live in Cincinnati. As we chatted the fellows mentioned that they went to high school in Springboro, Ohio, with Tony Campana! How cool is that! In fact, one of them, Tyler Greene (seen below right with his friend Dan Wainright) used to drive Tony to school!!

If you read this, Dan and Tyler, sorry I couldn’t post the shot of Dan giving the “thumbs up” sign. One of you had your eyes closed.

We chatted about Cincinnati. They told us that Tony and his family are all truly nice, humble, regular folks, and that they never knew anyone who worked as hard as Tony. We replied that you could see that in the way he plays the game.

We learned that Dan had just moved to Chicago a month ago and was living near Irving and Southport. We expect we’ll see him in SRO again. The two of them loved it — the relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

With the last 5-3 putout of Todd Frazier in the top of the 9th, we shook hands and wished each other well. They headed down the ramp to our right as the strains of “Go Cubs Go” began to blare over the P.A. system. I wished I had told them to exit to the left. That last left field ramp feeds right into the exit at Gate K so you avoid the inevitable crush in the lower concourse.

And just outside Gate K, Wrigleyville was well on its way to a Saturday night of hilarity.

Eight in a row tomorrow? Why not? As the accountant at my job put it yesterday, the Cubs have no pressure on them and nothing at all to lose.

It sure is a lot more fun at the ballpark when they win, though.

That’s my theory.

Over 4th of July weekend, Foreign Correspondent and Friend were in town for four days. You’re familiar with their contirbutions to Waiting for the Cubs from their recent coverage of games and ballparks in Philadelphia and Miami. On Saturday we decided to make a full Chicago day of it with a trip to you-know-where as the centerpiece event of our adventures.

We started the day on the Brown Line, aka Ravenswood, heading to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park.

We got off the Ravenswood at Armitage and walked east, pausing to refresh at a convenient hydrant …

We breakfasted at the market on fresh cider donuts, lamb and pork fiadone (meat pies), strawberry and raspberry smoothies, samples of marinated portobello mushrooms with freshly baked baguette, apple puff pastries and other treats …

and then bought a sack o’ fresh cherries to go …

and headed east across Lincoln Park past the South Lagoon …

and the ball fields …

to North Avenue Beach where the two correspondents wanted to take a quick dip in the refreshingly cold fresh water of Lake Michigan …

And then it was time to head to Wrigley Field. We caught a bus in the park …

and took it up to Addison where we walked to the ballpark, approaching from the east for the first time in three seasons! (We live 1.6 miles west.)

But upon arrival, about two hours before the scheduled 3:05 first pitch, we were told by a guy behind a ticket window that there was no standing room and only expensive single seats were left. We were certain we were being jived; that the Cubs were trying to up-sell us, preying on our desperation. What to do next?

“I need a dog,” said Friend of Foreign Correspondent.  Brilliant!  We retired to Wrigleysville Dogs to consider our next move.

I made a call. Our friend Chris, who was in Ohio at a wedding with Son of Admin and Wife of Son of Admin, in turn made some more calls only to find out that nothing below $80 was available on the street. Glum, we decided to call the ticket office’s bluff.

“Any standing room?”

“Sure!” said the same guy who ninety minutes before told us SRO was sold out. “How many you need?”

It was thumbs up and high fives all around as we strolled happily toward Waveland Avenue to our usual entrance at Gate K.

Up at our favorite SRO spot it felt to Foreign Correspondent and Friend as if they had returned home after a lengthy exile.  Except that it was Friend of Foreign Correspondent’s first time in SRO! He thought he had strolled into Waiting4Cubs come alive!

We had a blast, meeting fans, like this young fella who wanted to compare scorecards with Foreign Correspondent …

Next to Wife of Admin stood a Sox fan with a number 11 jersey with no name above the number.

I asked politely if he was wearing a Luis Aparicio shirt. He confirmed that he was indeed wearing a number that he thought should be retired by the White Sox instead of letting it be desecrated by lesser players and even outright bums. I thought it curious because he was much too young to have been alive when Aparicio played shortstop for the Go-Go White Sox of 1959 pennant fame.  Nonetheless, I offered, “I loved Luis Aparicio!” … and it’s true!  I did! We got along great for the rest of the game. We even saved his and his friend’s (Cub fan) spot along the rail while they went in search of the men’s room, or beers, or probably both.

And then he appeared.  Magically.  Miraculously. Standing on the ramp behind us.

A ghostly figure, a shadow lost in the glare of the late afternoon sun shining in from over West Lakeview.

Was he finally going to join us peons in standing room after a couple of years of much publicized sitting in the upper deck, in the grandstands, box seats and bleachers??? Was he with us to extend a personal welcome to Friend of Foreign Correspondent and a welcome home to Foreign Correspondent?????

Should I give him heat about the Cubs SRO policies that almost had us on the 152 bus heading home to watch on TV??????

But alas, as happened so often before, he was in SRO on his way somewhere else. He had paused only to chat (with some animation on both parts) with an usher. And then he was gone, up the ramp to the upper deck.

Ah well, back to the game.

And what a game!  A classic pitchers’ duel.  Matt Garza pitched brilliantly, giving up only one run.  In fact, he had a no-hitter going into the sixth. But the Cubs scored ZERO runs — having two on with no outs three times only to have the nascent rallies squelched by double plays. Sox starter Philip Humber pitched seven shutout innings and got the win. Garza went the distance and received a standing ovation when he left the mound after the top of the ninth, but got the loss.

Cursing the Cubs’ lack of clutch hitting, we made our way out of the ballpark, getting our picture taken by a fan on the ramp! Who knows where that photo ended up? Maybe we’re on her FaceBook page!

What next? Direction: north to Andersonville. Goal: Great Lake Pizza, rated by no less than GQ, as quoted in the New York Times, as the best pizza in America.

Our friend Lydia at Great Lake told us that they probably didn’t have enough dough (literally — not “dough” as in bucks) to make pizzas for us. Saddened, we stood out on Balmoral Street, again wondering about our next move. But then the door opened and Lydia rushed out to tell us that we were in luck and would be seated in two hours. You see, Son of Admin regularly tips the good folks at Great Lake with not only a generous percentage over the tab, but a bottle or two of his best Vinejoy selections. It’s good to have friends in high places, like the finest pizza joint anywhere. Lydia wrote my name down as “Dad of Son of Admin,” in so many words, and said she’d call my cell phone when our half of the one big table in the little storefront was ready.

But two hours? NO PROBLEM!

We happily retired to the patio behind In Fine Spirits on Clark Street for a refreshment or two or three as we awaited the call from Lydia.

And then the phone rang and we returned to Great Lake for two of the most delicious pizzas in the history of western civilization, washed down with a bottle of Vinejoy’s Goundwork Grenache.  Heaven …

What a great Chicago day! Except for the Cubs, of course. But as we headed home in a cab …

… we decided to return to the ballpark the next day for game three of the Cubs-Sox series. But this time we would be smart and get there when standing room was actually available much closer to the start of the game.

Which we did, only to be told by the ticket guy that SRO was sold out. “They’re jiving us again!” we thought. So we waited until game time and tried again. Ha! Joke’s on us! They were not lying to us this time. SRO was indeed sold out. Bummed, we checked a couple of brokers who wanted $50 and $60 for standing room tickets (face value: $15+tax). No way. In spite of the fact that I once spent $100 per ticket for standing room for a Cubs-Sox game (see Waiting for the Cubs, the book), we weren’t going to pay that kind of dough (as in “bucks”) again.

So we hopped on the 152 and went home to watch the rest of the game on TV.  Cubs won! We celebrated with a nice risotto and some more great Vinejoy selections. Life is good in Chicago.

(photo by Son of Admin)

We used to almost live up there, under the scoreboard in the usually empty center field bleachers. But because of ridiculous price increases — it only cost $1 way back when we first started sitting in the section — we hadn’t been back since May 9, 1982 when, to celebrate Mother’s Day, Wife of Admin requested that we take in a ball game! So we gathered up our three kids (two Daughters of Admin and Son of Admin), ages 4, 2 and 11 months, hopped on the Ravenswood El (now called the Brown Line) and headed to the corner of Waveland and Sheffield. Neither of us would return to the bleachers for decades. Why? Because the bleachers rapidly evolved from cheap seats to ridiculously expensive seats, as many of you know.

Last year Admin was lucky enough to return in order to celebrate Son of Admin’s bachelor party. This year it was Wife of Admin’s turn! Why? Perhaps the Cubs decided to return to more reasonable bleacher ticket pricing?? Look closely at the ticket below …

Actually, Admin’s new employer, Tag (www.tag2u.com) bought a block of bleacher tickets as a donation to a charity.  No, the charity was not the baseball team — insert your own joke here. Tag bought the tickets from The Common Pantry, a wonderful food bank on North Damen (http://www.commonpantry.org/index.htm). The Cubs donated the tickets to The Common Pantry to use as a fund raiser. That’s why the price printed on the above ticket looks so crazy. Tag in turn gave the tickets to their employees, including three to Admin!

So off we went, Wife of Admin, Son of Admin and Admin! The ramp up to the seats — the same 1937 ramp because the center field bleachers structure was not demolished during the 2005 renovations — seemed longer and steeper, but we finally made it and saw all kinds of cool stuff like the view behind the center field camera …

And the TV guys, Dave Kaplan and Todd Hollandsworth, doing their pregame routine from the bleachers. We watched from maybe two feet away! Okay, we were behind chain link fencing, but still …

We sat near where we usually sat, right under the scoreboard, but closer to the aisle for easy access to the beer guy at the top of the section …

… and so got ready for the big game!

The game, unfortunately, was like so many others “back in the day” when we might be among only a handful of fans in the center field bleachers. And so by the late innings, when most of the fans had given up and left the ballpark, the scene felt very familiar indeed.

… until finally, the Cubs being for the birds, the birds themselves arrived and soon outnumbered the fans.

The gulls seemed to be enjoying themselves, eating hot dogs and slurping spilled beer. Everybody loves the bleachers!

We recently received two reports from Cub fans in remote corners of the East Coast. Braving the wilds of the National League East, Friend of Foreign Correspondent in Miami and Foreign Correspondent herself in Philadelphia bring us into the lairs of the opposition to document the experiences of Cub fans in strange lands.

The first story details a recent game during the last ever Cubs visit to — what the heck is the latest name of that concrete monstrosity in South Florida??

Eight years ago that ballpark was the site of an excruciating road trip for us. It was October of 2003 and Cubs needed only one game to clinch … but you read about that in our previous blog and hopefully in the book.

Below Friend of Foreign Correspondent bids adieu and good riddance for all of us to the current home of the Fish.

A Cub Fan Lands in Miami

By Friend of Foreign Correspondent

I didn’t know what to expect when I was given a free ticket to go to Miami for a few days with my mother’s sister and her two parents (my aunt and grandparents). I went on a whim. After two days of what seemed like endless shopping and navigating my way through crazy Miami, I am fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time. The Chicago Cubs baseball team is in South Florida to play the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night in the first game of a two-game series. I know that the stadium, Sun Life Stadium, is not very close to the city limits but quickly find out while driving up I-95 that there is a reason why no one goes to watch the Marlins: the stadium is too far!

(All photos by Friend of Foreign Correspondent)

As I am dropped off following a rather mediocre dinner on South Beach’s Ocean Drive, I walk through the massive parking lots outside the stadium to find many Cubs fans tailgating prior to the first pitch. It’s a beautiful thing. I go to the box office, hoping to strike a good deal, and come away with a $12 outfield ticket. Not bad for a team much better than the Cubs. I make my way through the enormous Sun Life Stadium, formerly known as Land Shark, Pro Player, and before that Joe Robbie, into my seat. This would be the first baseball game I attend by myself. Luckily, in Admin and Foreign Correspondent tradition, I purchase a scorecard and plan to keep score throughout the duration of the game.

Despite sitting alone, my seat is in a section filled with Cubs fans young, old, and in-between. At about 7:08pm EDT, I would say the stadium is only about 20% full. Of those 20%, the plurality backs the Cubs. Marlins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco strikes out Kosuke Fukudome and Starlin Castro in the first inning. The successful top third of the order goes down and then it is Ryan Dempster who takes the hill for the visiting team. Dempster gives up a solo home run to the struggling Hanley Ramirez in the bottom of the first to allow the Marlins to take the early 1-0 lead. Dempster then walks Logan Morrison but manages to get Gaby Sanchez out on a fly-out to Pena, and then strikes out Greg Dobbs.

The Cubs don’t record a hit until the third inning when Koyie Hill lines a 2-2 pitch into left field. Hill would eventually score on a Darwin Barney sacrifice, tying the game at 1-1. In the fifth inning, the Cubs score again on a Barney sacrifice with Hill coming into score, followed by a Castro RBI single that brings in Fukudome. Dempster heads into the bottom of the fifth with a two-run lead, but alas proceeds to hit pitcher Ricky Nolasco. Nolasco would then score on a Gaby Sanchez RBI single. The next batter, Greg Dobbs, knocks in Ramirez and Sanchez to give the Marlins the lead. A Mike Stanton RBI single would end the scoring for the Marlins, and heading into the sixth inning the game is now in favor of Florida with a 5-3 lead.

That is the end of Ryan Dempster, as the former Marlin lasted five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, two walks, while striking out three. The top of the sixth proceeds to be very much like the Cubs we have watched thus far: a Marlon Byrd fly out to right followed by an Alfonso Soriano groundout to second. With two outs, Koyie Hill manages to get a single with Dempster scheduled to bat after him. Mike Quade substitutes Reed “Poop” Johnson to pinch-hit for the pitcher and Johnson hits a two-run home run to left-center field. The Cubs are back in it!  They proceed to the bottom of the sixth with a tied ballgame and Jeff Samardzija relieving Dempster of his pitching duties.

Before I wrap-up with the climactic and consequently anti-climactic ending, I would like to make some observations of my time spent at Sun Life Stadium. I would like to acknowledge the peanut vendor in the outfield of Sun Life Stadium who not only was bizarrely dressed but carried around several tennis balls to throw to his customers after they caught bags of peanuts. I also would like to make notice that the Florida Marlins were the first and hopefully the last professional baseball club to hire team dancers: The Marlins’ Mermaids. They also have not one, but TWO team DJs: Petey and Vertigo! It ruins baseball, but what do you expect? It is South Florida after all! I also want to make note that in devastatingly non-Sullivan form, I give up keeping score following the conclusion of the fourth inning. After doing it for so long in high school while managing the varsity team, I simply grew tired. Admin and Foreign Correspondent shake their heads in disgust as they read this, I know it!

I also want to thank all the Cubs fans there. Specifically, the gentleman sitting behind me who has been living in South Florida for at least the past ten years, who lived in Riverside, Illinois, and went to many Bulls games at Chicago Stadium. He knew statistic after statistic and was a pleasure to chat with! I was also greeted by another Cub fan who loved my socks (a gift from Wife of Admin and Admin) and wanted to buy them off my then-sweaty feet. Perhaps the most interesting encounter was with a neutral fan who admired my Bulls hat and later went on to say that he hoped the Bulls would sweep the Heat. Sadly, the Bulls would lose that night to the Heat in Chicago.

But back to the game!

At this point, a small crowd of teenage Marlins fans from Fort Lauderdale are shut up and their insults towards the city of Chicago and its deep dish pizza are not spoken again. Samardzija in the bottom of the sixth manages to get out of the inning despite allowing two men to advance to third and second. As Cubs fans, we’ll take it. The top of the seventh then sees Castro and Aramis Ramirez get on base only to have the ten million-dollar man Carlos Pena ground into a double play. The Cubs leave two men on. At this point in the ballgame, I receive a BlackBerry Message from my grandma saying they are coming to pick me up. I have not left a sporting event early since the Kansas-Temple men’s basketball game in Philadelphia in January of 2010. It was at this moment that I realized I can’t possibly be a Sullivan: no scorekeeping and leaving the game early. Disgusting. (Admin’s note:  We understand when one is forced to leave a game early.  See Waiting for the Cubs/Don Cardwell)

After a relatively quick bottom of the seventh, I stand up to watch the last possible plays I can at Sun Life Stadium. Marlon Byrd knocks a solo shot over the left field wall and I depart the stadium at least with the knowledge that the Cubs took the lead, 6-5. As I exit the stadium, I weep at the nature of me leaving a sporting event early, knowing that I also missed a streaker running on the field while I went to go grab a Pepsi at the concession stand.

Driving down I-95, I check the GameCast from my phone to see that the Cubs scored again on a Baker sacrifice. The final would be 7-5. I realize thereafter how much fun I had at the game by myself. While that will probably be my only game at Sun Life Stadium, I enjoyed the experience. Being a Cubs fan is great and I look forward to going to my first Cubs home game next month in Chicago. The Cubs are still playing mediocre baseball (Admin note:  ”mediocre baseball” is a generous assessment), but it is that mediocrity that allures me into continuing to support them!

The View From SRO.  Citizens Bank Park Version, Episode II

By Foreign Correspondent

Admin Note:  Last year Foreign Correspondent filed a report covering a Cubs-Phillies game in Philadelphia. This season she returned to Citizens Bank Park for another Cubs disaster.

The Cubs currently have the dubious distinction of being the only major league team to have not won three games in a row this season.  So when they salvaged one game against the Reds on Sunday, and then won an exciting game against the Phillies in the 11^th inning on Monday, I went to Citizens Bank Park for game two of the four game series with hopeful enthusiasm.  It was a beautiful night for baseball and two of the league’s best were slated to pitch, Roy Halladay and Carlos Zambrano.  How could baseball get any better?  Pick up a copy of Waiting for the Cubs to learn why this optimism is futile.

With seven sympathetic friends in tow, I headed to the ballpark for a little pre-game tailgating.

(best part of the night)

Being Orioles fans, the friends understand what it’s like to cheer for a losing team, and so they gamely agreed to root for the Cubs.  In fact, having five ex-Cubs in the organization (Derrek Lee, Cesar Izturis, Felix Pie, Kevin Gregg and Jake Fox) may have something to do with the Orioles’ bad luck.  Regardless, everyone loves Derrek Lee, and two brave friends even suited up in D. Lee Cubs shirts!

It was nice to have support for the Cubs on the road, especially at the sometimes-tempestuous Citizens Bank Park.  But alas, Carlos Zambrano did not live up to his side of the pitchers-duel hype.  Although he struck out Jimmy Rollins in the 4^th inning to reach his 1,500^th career strikeout, Big Z’s night was otherwise dominated by unlucky number seven: he walked 7 and gave up 7 hits and 7 runs over 7 innings.  Roy Halladay, meanwhile, pitched seven scoreless innings.  Typical.

(view from SRO)

We cheered our heads off in the top of the 8^th inning when the Cubs came back and scored 5 runs on a string of base hits.  But of course, they fell short in the top of the 9^th, despite bringing the potential tying run to the plate.  And so we returned to our car with our heads hung low, as the Cubs returned to their losing ways.

Given the agony of watching the Cubs lose again and again, why would we want to drive 13 hours to Chicago next week to see them play the Brewers at Wrigley Field?  I’m not sure, but we can’t wait.