Monday started with breakfast again at Mimi’s. Like I said, it’s the best AM restaurant in Mesa. We headed over to the park with football in hand ready to kill an hour or two before the game started. Of course this was the game we changed our plans for. We usually are in Mesa for Thursday – Sunday stay but since the Cubs were playing the world champion White Sox (damn, that’s really hard to write) we decided to stay Saturday – Tuesday. As we parked the car we noticed something was different. There was a ton of Sox fans. There were even people with Cubs shirts and Sox hats. What’s wrong with these people? You can’t be a Cubs fan and a Sox fan. Or even vice-versa. It’s like saying I’m a Yankees and Red Sox fan. Or better yet, I love FSU and Miami. Or even, I’m proud to be an American and a Bin Laden supporter. You can’t be both. My guess is that these people have a serious psychological disorder let’s call it Can’tMakeADecisionIfMyLifeDependedOnIt-itis. Maybe Lisa can help these people out. Being the last week of spring baseball the starters are going to go a bit longer. So I was expecting a really good game. I did notice a strange anomaly. The Sox had a DH while the Cubs didn’t. So the Black Sox cheating starts already. Future hall of famer Greg Maddux was got the start but it didn’t bode well for him. The Sox were hitting him…hard. In all he gave up three runs on nine hits not his best especially with the season seven days away. The Cubs were down 3-1 when Maddux left after five complete innings. Later, Thome hit his second home run of the game putting the Sox up 4-1. In the bottom of the eight the Cubs was able to close the gap to 4-2. After holding the Sox scoreless in the top half of the ninth the Cubs were able to score again on back-to-back doubles. Then they tied it up on a Nefi Perez single. Unable to score any more runs the crowd was excited to be heading into extra innings or so we thought. Moments after the last out the PA announcer boomed over the loudspeaker declaring the game over. It was a tie 4-4. Boos from the crowd ensued. As we shuffled out the gates murmurs over how the Sox sucked and were “scared to lose.” Of course I declared how the White Sox couldn’t beat the Cubs even though they had the DH and we didn’t. The tie further proves my thesis that the Sox suck.
That night, our last night in Mesa, we headed over to Mi Tia’s, er, Tia Rosa’s again for some fine Mexican vittles. Unfortunately, they were closed. We ended up at Chevy’s for some truly detestable food. Afterwards, we headed out to Golfland for some miniature golf action. My Dad suggested it. I guess he wanted to lose at something and I was more that happy to oblige. I beat him by seven strokes. The tide turned on holes nine and ten where his one stroke lead turned into a four stroke deficit. Thanks to a hole in one by myself and a six stroke brew-ha-ha on hole ten for him. After that flogging the losing wasn’t done for him. I beat him in six straight games of Pop-A-Shot. Can’t beat the master.
Overall, it was a good trip. I have loads of trepidations about this year’s Cubs. Can Prior and Wood get off of the DL and contribute. Will the up-the-middle defense be good enough? Will the bottom of the order or even the number two batter be effective? Can the bullpen do something other than blow the game? All interesting questions that I have no answer for. I guess that’s why they play the games. Go Cubs.