1. Today's MLB.TV free game came on in the early afternoon from Wrigley Field in Chicago. I settled in and enjoyed watching the sun slowly descend as the game progressed, watching the shadow cast by the grandstands creep toward the pitcher's mound, watching hitters struggle a bit as pitches came out of the sunlight of the mound into the shadow that reached about thirty feet in front of home plate. It's the sight I most miss in the World Series now that teams play all games at night. I love watching autumn baseball in the golden light of mid-September on into October.
Today's game was kind of old-fashioned. The Cubs won 1-0. Not one player homered. The Cubs scratched out their only run in the bottom of the sixth when Javier Baez singled on an infield hit, advanced to second on a grounder to third base, and scored on Wilson Contreras' weakly struck bleeder through the infield to right field. Small ball doesn't get much tinier than that.
The Reds' Cody Reed pitched five innings and struck out ten Cubs. The Cubs' John Lester was equally masterful, pitching seven innings, surrendering only two hits, and striking out nine.
The game ended in a relatively swift 2 hours and 39 minutes.
2. I got a text from Cas from the Inland Lounge announcing that Don Knott was in the house, so the Deke and I piled in the Sube and dashed uptown. The Deke strolled up to Radio Brewing for a bite to eat and I joined Don, his brother Norm (whom I hadn't seen for about 50 years), his sister Shelley, and niece Marcy in a booth. They were getting ready to feast on food from Wah Hing -- Wah Hing adjoins the Inland Lounge and happily serves diners who want to eat in the Lounge.
We had a great time talking about what's happening these days with everyone and remembering this and that from the good old days. It was an awesome time.
3. Don stayed put for a while when Shelley took Norm up to Wardner and we chewed more fat and soon Shelley returned and picked up Don.
When Cas learned I hadn't eaten dinner yet, he invited me into a back room at the Lounge where Tracy had set up a taco bar for the two of them to snack at and invited me to make myself some tacos. So I plunged into the back room taco bar and nourished myself very gratefully. By this time the Deke meandered in. She got to meet Jerry and Sue Wise -- so now she's met three of the guys I have breakfast with on Friday mornings at Sam's.
It was another stellar evening at the Lounge. A couple or three drinks. A lot of ice water. Tacos. Good friends. The Deke and I loved it.
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