Nomar, nets, Maddux, & more

August 1, 2004. Andrea and I had tickets for the Cubs game. I bought them back on the first day they went on sale. We were excited to see Maddux go for his 300th win. But, I nearly passed out while driving to the game when we heard on the radio that the Cubs traded for Nomar Garciaparra. HOLY COW!

Oh, and this was the third game since they put up the nets below the upper deck. I took a few photos. It was interesting. The nets don’t do much for the aesthetics. Then again, maybe it does. Wrigley is a run-down, old ballpark. This adds to the charm. That’s baseball, man. I should have gone to the game covered in a giant net.

Click here to see the collage I threw together of photos I took during the game.

We also saw several Cubs personalities in the concession stand halls and ramps. We saw Chip Carey and Steve Stone while at a hot dog stand. I yelled out, “Hey Chippie!” He waved. He actually waved. In the past when I’ve seen Chip and Steve and yelled out for Chip, the best reaction came from Steve. Finally I received some acknowledgement from Chip. Ron Santo was on his cart going up a ramp. There was no one else around (except Ron’s chaeffeur). I said, “Hi Ron. We have Nomar! We’re in good shape.” He said, “Yep, we are.” His cart got stuck on the ramp and the driver kept shifting gears. It was like the scene in Austin Powers. Lee Smith was walking towards the entrance to the press box. I yelled out, “Hey Leeeeee”. No response. Pat Hughes exited the press box after the game. I didn’t say anything. It was kinda expected to see him leaving the press box.

Wimpy Greg Maddux must have pulled himself from the game. He was pitching solidly, but pulled himself too early. He gave up two runs in the first and settled down the rest of the way only giving up an additional run. I think his pitch count only reached 84. If he would have kept his sorry a55 in the game he would have had the win when the Cubs rallied.
I never really was a big fan of Maddux. He seems to be pretty smug. Even in the early days when he had that teenage moustache he seemed quite full of himself. Oh well. And he was a freakin’ Brave for all those years with PunkFace Chipper Jones.

Maddux will be the 22nd pitcher to get 300 wins. I did some research and found out that he will be only the 11th pitcher since 1924 to get 300 wins. That counts for something I guess. Though wins are COMPLETELY overrated. Pitchers only win games when their team scores for them. Poor Matt Clement should be 14-6 so far instead of 7-10. He hasn’t received any run support. So Maddux’s 300 wins really says that he’s a good pitcher who had alot of runs support in his career.

I was in Milwaukee to see Maddux get his 299th win. It would have been quite a feat to see Maddux get 299 and 300. Oh well. It was an exciting game nonetheless. The Cubs won. That’s what matters most. Not pompous Mad Ducks Maddux.