Wednesday, October 1, 2003
At Work, With Fingernails Bleeding
2:13 p.m. It's been a good day so far at the Bell. The Marlins got a first-inning run that could have been avoided had Ponson not uncorked a wild pitch to take away the double play situation--guess what kind of grounder Lee hit a few pitches later. But then...cue the Superman theme...Barry hit a double down the right-field line scoring Durham to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, made a sliding catch of a sinking liner to left, and then walked and followed Aurilia home on yet another double to deep center by Alfonzo. Another run scored on an infield grounder and it's now 4-1.
2:25 p.m. Hold it, hold it. God dammit. It's now 4-4, thanks to a scrappy Marlins rally in the very next half-inning. God dammit, I say! We just got that lead. Can't we keep it for a while? I don't like this. This is the kind of game where you lose your lead and then you collapse. You don't get it back. Let's hope I'm wrong.
2:28 p.m. All right, G-Men, lemme tell ya what Feliz already knows: A leadoff triple in a tie ballgame will go a long way to appease E.K.
2:29 p.m. Just don't get picked off, Pedro!
2:34 p.m. Attakid, J.T.! Way to get that run home...and look, there's Barry now, in the on-deck circle...Now that Aurilia has popped up, let's see how they approach Bonds. Four wide ones, or four in the dirt "unintentionally"? Wow: Four wide. Here comes Fonz with his second career postseason grand slam...ya think?
2:38 p.m. Okay, the Marlins are bringing in some relief help, in the form of Pavano. I seem to recall Edgardo hitting a grand slam off a just-brought-in pitcher a couple of weeks ago in Houston.
2:41 p.m. But he popped it up this time. Ughhh.
2:43 p.m. Okay, that was three goddamn pop-ups in the same inning. Two with the bases loaded. That pisses me off.
2:49 p.m. What is this, Be Kind To The Marlins Day? Tied again, and there goes Conine with a base hit. I hate this game.
2:58 p.m. Cruz tripped and fell. So help me he fucking tripped and fell.
3:04 p.m. Okay, so they got a double play on a fly ball to end the inning. Ask me later how I feel about this experience.
3:09 p.m. The Marlins are up for 20 minutes, and the Giants get back up to the plate and make three quick outs. It's times like these when I have moments of clarity. This one is telling me that the Marlins were a second-place team and do not deserve to be in the playoffs in the first place.
3:16 p.m. Second and third again for the Fish after J.T.'s horrific error, one out, seventh inning. Lunch is coming back up; I had tuna. For all intents and porpoises, we're tied one game apiece. I don't even have to watch anymore.
3:45 p.m. These chumps are playing like Little Leaguers out there. Hits 'em right in the glove and eight runs score.
