Astros nearly ready to go wild
Susan got free tickets to last night’s Astros-Rockies game, arguably the most important game of the year for the hometown nine. The game was every bit as good as advertised, and the out-of-town scoreboard watching was pretty good also.
The Astros put the game out of reach early, much to the sellout crowd’s delight. What really made things interesting, though, was the out-of-town scoreboard on the left field wall. By the time Roy Oswalt threw the game’s first pitch, the Giants-Dodgers game was already into the fifth or sixth inning, with the Giants leading 3-0. Things were not looking good.
A parade of zeroes kept getting posted on the scoreboard, and the Giants and Dodgers went to the bottom of the ninth with the score still 3-0 Giants. For what seemed an eternity, the Dodgers’ half of the inning was blank. Suddenly, a yellow “1” went up on the Dodgers’ half, which meant that they were still at bat.
More waiting ensued (and yes, the Astros and Rockies were still playing)…and then a yellow “3” went up on the board. Extra innings at the very least! The sellout crowd went nuts. Then…yet more waiting.
We waited and we waited and we waited. This, I surmised, could mean only two things. Either the Dodgers were still at bat, which could only be a good thing, or California had finally broken loose and fallen into the ocean. That, of course, would not have been such a good thing…depending on your point of view, of course.
Suddenly, after what seemed an interminably long period of time, a yellow “7” went up on the Dodgers’ half of the ninth. GOOD NIGHT, GAME OVER, DRIVE HOME SAFELY!!! As it turned out, just moments before this took place, my friend Jeremy, who came to the game with us, turned to me and said, “Just watch…LA will hit a walk-off grand slam….” Sho’ ‘nuff….
The crowd went nuts. The only eight people in the stadium who didn’t know what was going on were the Astros defense, who were on the field and had their backs turned to the scoreboard. It was an amazing, magical moment. The only time I’ve experienced anything similar was the night that Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run against the Astros at then-Enron Field. The electricity in the ball park at that moment was phenomenal…I get goosebumps just thinking about it. Last night was equally exciting, and yet very different. This time, there’s a playoff spot on the line. The Astros have won 17 in a row at home, and they are 35-10 since August 15th. Unbelievable.
Today is my “become one with the couch” day. It’s going to be a challege trying to figure out what to watch: the Texans-Raiders at noon, or the Astros-Rockies at 1.05pm. Of course, our 51” television DOES have picture-in-picture. Hello, remote control!!
Damn, it’s good to be King….
