Readers, it was a great night for baseball yesterday at beautiful Louisville Slugger Field: the Bats defeated the Durham Bulls in the first of the 5 game series. Whoever comes out on top will own the title of best in the International League, and then get to go on to play the winners of the Pacific Northwest league next week.
It was looking a little bad at first: the Bulls scored two runs early and the Bats seemed a bit shaky. I have to admit, Durham is pretty sharp looking, both in their manner of play and in their uniforms: they are really the only team I've seen who actually all wear their socks/pants properly (i.e. knicker length, with visible socks/stockings covering the entire calf). I'm a little obsessed with men's hem lengths these days, both on and off the baseball field...is it just me, or do guys seem to have no idea how to wear their pants? And lest you think I'm treading fuddy-duddy territory here: I'm not strictly talking about the trend of "sagging," I'm just saying what's the appeal of having a big puddle of fabric around your ankles? It looks terrible generally, and in baseball it seems terribly un-athletic. Wouldn't they be more mobile and have a better range of motion if their pants didn't extend to their ankles? Marge Schott is probably rolling in her grave over the yards of wasted fabric billowing over Johnny Cueto's cleats. ha-rumph!
Anyway, you can read the play-by-play here, but check out that picture up there! nice seats, eh? And check out that ballpark! Easily the finest you'll see in the minor leagues, incorporating the original red brick facade of the old Louisville Gas & Electric Co. building, offering nice views and breeze from the Ohio river. And hey: that's real Ky bluegrass on the field--the original grass that was laid down in 2000, the year it opened (unusual since most ballparks re-sod before each new season). A beautiful evening and a very exciting game: lots of hits, a few homers, and steller pitching from our boys made for a good night out at the ballpark. My only complaint? Man, the $1 hotdogs were GODAWFUL! Buddy Bat was on his best behavior, so no drama there (although a couple rowdy fans did heckle the nearest umpire every time there was a close play by invoking the name of the recently-ejected mascot...this, unfortunately, elicited no response).
It seemed like most of the familiar names were absent from the lineup: the Reds apparently called many Bats up before the end-of-season deadline in order to use them for their own impeding playoffs. This meant, sadly, we had to do without the mustachioed majesty of perennial favorite Corky Miller. Oh, well--that might mean a post-season appearance for him in Cincinnati, which would be pretty great. Go, Porky!
And also: go Bats!
Posts
