Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. two years ago I went to a game with my mother, one of her friends, and the friend's grandson, who now plays Little League. It was with the Giants and turned out to be a thrilling pitching duel that Cole Hamels won 1-0. My mother's friend spent much of the game counting airplanes overhead and chatting with my mother. The same friend invited us all to a game this year, which happened to be last night. She opined before the game that this time she was looking forward to seeing some action, not like the boring game we had last seen together. She got action of sorts, in a pitching match-up between Shawn Marcum of the Brewers and Joe Blanton. If last night is any indication, Blanton is on his way back. He was solid for seven, allowing just two runs and staying out of the 'big inning' that ruined his previous starts. But Marcum was more than a match for Blanton and the Phillies, who got their runs pretty much gift-wrapped. In truth, it was not a crisp game on either side, with errors, bad throws, missed cut-off men, and such. The Phillies tied it in the 9th but lost it in the 12th when Kyle Kendrick came in, walked the first man he faced, then threw a ball away at 1st base. The Brewers scored three runs on one hit. By then we were long gone. In fact, the game ended just before we reached home.
My mother's friend still thought it was a better game than the one two years ago with the Giants. My reaction to last night was a yawn. Our seats were good, the park was packed, and it was good times with the grandson and all, but the game was not my cuppa. At one point, there was even a 'wave' running around the park. Enough said.
