Game 6---Brewers 16 Cubs 2

Product---Peanuts
Temperature---60 degrees, light rain

Before we get in to today’s beat-down in the Observations section, I’d like to share with you some of the highlights from my experience in the bleachers on Friday afternoon with my friend Brian.

-The ‘Who? Jacque Jones!’ chant.
-The guy behind us who knew about as much baseball as Isaiah Thomas does about assembling a good basketball team. First he asked if the Cubs best players was still Sammy Sosa, and then he asked why the players have to warm up every inning. Though annoying, he was quite amusing to overhear.
-The people in front of us where even more entertaining. There was about five of them, and they seemed like they were there more for the atmosphere then the baseball. One of the gentlemen wanted to know more about baseball, so he kept on turning around and asking Brian and I questions, which led to him eventually calling us ‘The analysts’. Another of the guys had about six Mai Tai’s. I don’t really know what a Mai Tai is, but as Sam Jackson says, ‘It’ll get ya drunk!’. It sure did a number on this guy, since by the end of the game he was asking the crowd to join him in a ‘Lee loves anal’ chant to Brewer’s LF Carlos Lee. And a third guy in the group had some sort of hookup with one of the hot dog carts, because twice he came back from the concession area with a cardboard box filled with dogs. The first time the food was for he and his friends, but the second time, he was just handing them out to people who wanted one. Brian and some others grabbed one, but there was still about four left. Then, the idiot behind us (see above) offers to buy a hot dog for five bucks. The guy looks at his box, looks at the idiot, thinks about it for a second, and says ‘OK’. I don’t know what the dude behind us was paying attention to, because it was hard to miss the hot dog guy asking if anybody wanted one. But he stepped up and bought it. It provided some nice entertainment.
-Greg Maddux is amazing. Simply remarkable. As Meth, RZA, Raekwon and the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan ask, ‘Can it be that it’s all so simple?’ Maddux throws pitches that he knows will get hit, and he trusts his fielders to make plays. A fine example of this took place in the fifth inning. After Brady Clark flied out to start the inning, the Brewer pitcher Dave Bush singles, followed base hits by Rickie Weeks and JJ Hardy to load the bases. Number three hitter Geoff Jenkins makes it four hits in a row, a run scores, and it looks like the Brew Crew is going to take the lead. Not with Mad Dog on the hill. After working Carlos Lee with some inside fastballs, Maddux throws a changeup on the outside corner, which Lee hits to shortstop Ronny Cedeno’s right. Cedeno steps over, makes a nice throw to second basemen Neifi Perez, who guns it to Todd Walker. 6-4-3, inning over. The Cubs may struggle without Derek Lee, but every fifth day, they are must-see TV.

Observations:
I took peanuts today for four reasons. 1) I got horribly sun-burnt yesterday and I didn’t think that holding a large metal case with a flame underneath was smart. 2) I pulled #149 out of 150 (Vendors who started in 2003, such as me, can be anywhere between 100 and 150), so I wouldn’t have been able to get jumbo’s in the right field commissary. 3) It was drizzling all day, and nuts do better in the rain then hot dogs do. and 4) I forgot my hot dog strap at home so I had to come up with three reasons to persuade myself to be excited about nuts…Though they don’t make as much money as hot dogs do (I made 118.27 today selling 118 bags), peanuts are fun for multiple reasons. They are much lighter then dogs, so they give your shoulders a break. It gives vendors a fair excuse to make crude jokes (“Don’t be afraid to grab your nuts” is my personal favorite). And best of all, the can be thrown. I don’t mean to brag, but I consider myself the Tom Brady of peanut tossers. My completion percentage was almost 100%, and the only incompletion was due to a dropped pass, not my fault…Speaking of throwing bags of peanuts, that’s where today’s quote of the day comes from. After tossing a bag to a man wearing a #92 Reggie White jersey, the guy a row behind him goes, “That’s he best catch I’ve ever seen anybody wearing a Packer jersey make.” It’s always football season when Bears and Packers fans get together…If Glendon Rusch is still in the rotation in five days, then something is seriously wrong with Dusty Baker…Big Z has to pitch well tomorrow and give the Cubs the series win.