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sunshine jen: Opening Daze
Sometimes, life sucks rocks, but sometimes, life is just too darn good. Sometimes, it all comes together, and I wonder, how did I get so lucky?
Not only was this weekend my birthday, but I went to two opening days for baseball season. That's two opening days. In my years of baseball attendance, I've never been to a single opening day, and this year, I went to two.
On Friday, I amtraked down to San Diego to see the Padres take on the Colorado Rockies on their opening day. We were twelve rows behind first base, and Greg Maddux was conducting a masters seminar on pitch location.
San Diego fans are weird. First of all, they can't seem to agree on what the team colors are. Second, they're very bouncy–-maybe it's from the abundance of frozen lemonade. Petco Park (aka The Litter Box) is one of those new stadiums that looks like a set from the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
As for the game, Maddux hit a batter then later gave up a home run. Still, before it all went bad, he looked really sharp. He also kept things moving at a nice clip. I mean, what can I say, he's a first ballot hall of famer in the twilight of his career. Still, he's Maddux. There's a mystique.
Pitching for Colorado was this kid named Jason Hirsch, and the Padres just could not figure him out. He also threw junk and the Padres swung at it. Basically, the Padres lost. It didn't bother me too much.
On Monday afternoon, the Dodgers had their home opener and played the Colorado Rockies. We had great seats in the Reserve section right behind home plate (the faded green seats). I sat with the blue crew and applied sunscreen as Navy Seals landed in the outfield and Nomar Garciaparra got the Comeback Player of 2006 award.
Jason Schmidt, acquired in the off-season from San Francisco, was the starter for LA. In the third inning, he hit a solo home run. He left the game in the fifth with sore hamstrings.
I'll just cut to the chase. The Dodgers lost too. Jeff Francis from Colorado threw a slider that freaked everyone out, and Colorado just kept scoring gosh darn runs. It happens. At least, we're all not in Cleveland.
So yes, baseball season has started. All is good in my world.
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