From the Press Box
This is my first post to Fungoes. I decided to become a contributor because I am a card-carrying member of the BBWAA and, as such, have the opportunity to watch games from the press box and call it work. I will be posting, the good lord willing, after every game I am able to watch in person.
Last night, the Cubs beat the Cards, 3-1, in a game whose start was delayed 82 minutes by rain. Actually, the grounds crew began rolling out the tarp at 5:21 and began removing it at 7:00. The game started at 7:32. Those of us hoping for a full night’s sleep forgot to take Mother Nature into account.
The press box at Busch Stadium has three levels of seats. The lowest level is reserved for beat reporters from St. Louis and the visiting city, the official scorer, and the Cardinals’ media relations staff. The second level has seats for other local folks, and the third level is for out-of-towners, including scouts. As an editor at the Sporting News, I get to sit on the second level. We have two assigned seats just to the left of home plate and right behind the media relations guys. It’s a good view, but we can’t see much of the sky except through the arches that adorn the top of the ballpark. Still, we’re out of the rain.
Press box food varies from place to place, and Busch’s fare is not at the top of my list. Many years ago, the press ate for free, and my employer wrote a check to the club at the end of the season so that we were not beholden to anyone. These days, we pay for our meals, $7.00 a pop, and take what is offered. There is a grill in the press lounge where hot dogs, brats and burgers are sometimes cooking, but not last night. The menu included a small salad bar, toasted ravioli, and what my wife would call “hamburgers in gravy,” plus broccoli and steak fries.
A couple of things from the game:
1. David Eckstein, he of the weak arm, warms up each inning at a spot deep in the hole. Most shortstops stand near second base and make 95-foot throws to first. Eckstein is very much closer to Rolen and takes what must be 130-foot throws. Does this help? Who knows?
2. Carlos Zambrano is a switch-hitter. He batted lefthanded three times last night and righthanded once. His righthanded swing looks better, but he tripled from the left side in the second. It was his first career triple and drove in the Cubs’ second run. It was also a ball that scooted by the shallow Edmonds.
3. Manager La Russa started three substitutes, and two of them made mistakes in the very first inning. Mabry dropped Perez’ fly for an error, and then Nunez bobbled Lee’s grounder, turning two outs into one. That cost a run.
4. The announced crowd was 44,855, a “sell-out,” but the actual turnstile count was only 41,XXX. There were in truth thousands of empty seats, and lots of folks who were there left early even though the game was never out of hand. Perhaps the rain delay upset peoples’ plans, or perhaps the fact that it was a school night sent folks scurrying home. Opening Day’s crowd was over 50,000, and it was a “sellout,” too.
5. The Cubs left 13 on base, at least one in every inning, and three in the ninth when another run or two would have helped them mightily.
Until next time,
Press Box Phil.