A LONG Wind UP- er - A Long Winded Post... Post Game GAB Thursday 9/14/12

Let's hear it for little girls at a ball game with their dad! Yay!!!! Here's how it went:
Setting: Reserve Level. Dodger Vision [jumbo screen] is showing a brief clip of Sandy Koufax.
Little Girl (approx. 7 years old): Who's that?
Dad: (matter of factly) That's Sandy Koufax.
Little Girl: (instantly wide eyed) It iiiisss? Wow!

OMG! I love this kid!I never spoke to her. I just listened carefully. And watched out of the corner of my eye. She watched the game. She understood it. She was mildly upset when the Cardinals pulled ahead. She asked questions about the Cubs (apparently that's "Mom's team"... Mom was absent from the game tonight), but I think the funny part came when she asked about the stadium itself: Remember, Dad is about in his late 30s...

Little Girl: Did they always play here?
Dad: They used to play in Brooklyn. That's in New York. They were the Brooklyn Dodgers back then.Then they came to L.A. in 58. (note: he said 58. Not 1958. To a  kid. Funny to me...)
Little Girl: Oh. (beat) Did you come to see the games then? 
Dad: I wasn't born then! I'm not THAT old!

Ah the 58 Thunderbird.. my dad had a '57, but that wouldn't make any sense in this post...

Anyway, sitting next to this daughter and dad made me happy. It's awesome to see a little girl get into the game and being introduced not only to the Dodgers, but clearly two teams (too bad both teams are heart breakers) as well. 

There was a cotton candy run involved, and she knew when to call out "Cruuuuuzzzz!" When it got a little chilly, she draped her swag Dodger fleece blanket over herself, resettled, and never pulled attention away from the game from what I could tell. Good for her. And kudos to Dad for bringing his daughter and raising her right (insert grin).








Ok, so the game went like this: We led, then they tied, then we lost. OPINION ALERT!!: I'm sure Mattingly is a genius, right? 

Let's get their hopes up, AND THEN tomorrow we'll come up with a sneak attack... we've got 'em right where we ant 'em! It's ALL part of the plan! 










CENSOR ALERT: AAAAUUURRRGHGH!!$#!#@!#!#@!!#$!?#!?#!!

Seriously? Bottom of the 7th Mattingly sends in Dee Gordon COLD OFF THE BENCH to pinch run for Cruz therefore taking CRUZ OUT OF THE GAME... the one consistent hitter we have??? OPINION ALERT: Speaking of consistent, at least we can usually or at least quite often count on Victorino to be the third out, even in the 9th. Continued OPINION ALERT BUT IN QUESTION FORM: Why was Beckett pulled and replaced with Paco Rodriguez???? What the--?? Ok, well, he was charged with the loss in the end. But when Randy Choate came in for the 9th, I figured even Mattingly knew it was a lost cause. He was just giving away mound time at this point. And Nick Punto at 3rd to replace the now missing Cruz... It's all part of the plan, right?! 
Ok. Here is where I stop just complaining and offer up what I would do and would have done differently:
Left Beckett in till the 8th. He was fine. Belesario closes the 9th. Regardless of who is leading- with a one-run  game, this plan would have been reasonable.
And here is the line up- MY suggested line-up (gotta think OUTSIDE THE BOX- The BATTER'S box...)

1. A.J. Ellis
2. Cruz
3. Mark Ellis
4. Ramirez
5. Ethier
6. Gonzalez 
7. Kemp
8. Pitcher
9. Victorino

Here is why: Ramirez produces when others get on base. It gets him goin'. And Kemp hasn't been getting on base lately. Bump him down. Ellis and Ellis ARE swinging their bats. Let Ramirez follow them. Gonzalez is on-n-off/hot-cold/hit-n-miss. So he goes 6th. I think Ethier gets fired up when he follows good stuff- like Ramirez. And Victorino can often be counted on for an out- he goes 9th. HE should be trying to steal a base or two... IF he can get on.

So with all that said, here it is: PEOPLE TALK (Girls talk about everything so I am calling tonight's usual "Girl Talk" People Talk):
Expect the worst, hope for the best. That's all we can do sometimes. Whether it's baseball or life... family, friends, relationships, work...
I was given a puzzled look by some other Ravine Regulars tonight: "You're not your usual bubbly self."
Well, it's mid September and it's clear we're not going anywhere. I am already starting withdrawals. Add to that, disturbing family news- disruptive to anyone's thought process to say the least. That said, there's a lot on my mind. I come to the game to escape stuff sometimes, but also to help me put things into perspective. And to be honest, even when we lose, it still helps me see things in a different light. 

With any loss, I appreciate that tomorrow is another game. And tomorrow we always have a chance to get things right. Even on the last day of the season, there will always be next season. Now in "life" (sorry to sound all esoteric) we don't always get another chance. Tomorrow isn't promised. So we absolutely have to play life like every game counts. Every day matters. Because today is the most special day of our lives. So make it count. 

And never give up on your team. Ever. ESPECIALLY if you root for the Cubs... or the Dodgers. May we all find that wide eyed glimmer of hope every day, with a fluffy bundle of cotton candy and a stadium blanket. GO BLUE!