Last Night Game of the Season Game Report

Newman was kind enough to invite me to the game with one of his extra seats for tonight's last night game of the year.

The Cubs won 3-2 on Hank White's walk off single in the bottom of the 9th.

Just a couple observations from the game:

On Clark there's a huge local cell telephone manufacturer's add with Dusty featured. How long will that last after he's fired?

The neighborhood was dead today and pre-game, it looked like a typical non-baseball fall weekend evening. Same as its been for the past 11 out of 12 years here.

I really enjoy sitting in the grand stand seats. Everyone has their preference, but I think I can have a more meaningful baseball related conversation there than with some drunk 20-something frat boy in the bleachers. Some people like the bleachers, I just grew up and decided that my preference is the grand stand seats.

Note to the person that books the "talent" for the 7th inning stretch. If the best you can do for the last night game is the head of the Chicago Public Schools, maybe you want to rethink the "tradition". I've tired of it as I'm sure have many Cub fans. I don't want nostalgia, I want winning baseball.

At the stretch we decided to head out and check out some of the local color of the neighborhood. Barcelona on Clark (3474 N. Clark) was featuring $2 bottled beers which they have been doing all season (one of the few bars that hold their specials regardless of whether the Cubs are in town or not). Congrats to them to have a little class amongst some of the bottom line money grubbing bars that charge upwards of $4 for a can of beer. I'll take a cold bottle served by a friendly bartender any day.

Loved the "Hendry Sucks" sign that was showing during the 9th inning. Yes, you couldn't see it from the grandstand, but you'd need binoculars to see it from the bleachers. Seeing that on television with the other 7 fans that watched the game tonight must have been priceless.

Overall, a good evening and a fun time at the ballpark. The team won, which I guess is good if you want to gloss over the fact that they are 17 games out of first and haven't been watchable since May. But for a AAAA team, it sure was fun without having to go to Iowa.