22's 'Norfolk Tides' Experience

After the Mets great victory yesterday in which Randy Johnson was very hittable, the Mets were relentless, and Koo doubled deep of RJ, there is not much to say. So, to change it up a bit, here is a loyal reader 22's account of going to a Norfolk game in Indianapolis last week.

At about 4pm Friday night it was raining fairly heavily here in Indianapolis, In. I bought my tickets for the Indy/Norfolk game a few weeks ahead of time and had been looking forward to the game. My heart was slowly breaking with every drop of rain that fell.
The Tides in Indy are as close to seeing the Mets in person as I'm gonna get.

After work I went to the batting cage. Dropped $10 for 160 swings and didn't feel like I solved anything.

The rain had stopped while I was in the cage. Maybe they will play ball...

I was the first one through the gates at 5:30pm. The very first one. The first thing I see is Jae Seo and other pitchers doing their "running." There was a baseball history film running on the big screen and most of the players "running" were actually watching the movie and laughing at Tommy Lasorda's antics.

It was a really cool feeling to be about 50 ft away from the players.

I was ridiculously early, so I walked around the concourse for a few. Victory Field has to be one of the nicest minor league fields in the country. It's absolutely beautiful.

I found the nights starting lineup. I was disappointed to see Keppinger was getting the night off. Happy to see Luis Garcia and Angel Pagan were playing. Scobie is the scheduled starter.

I'm halfway through my lap when I see two other Met fans. Of course I'm wearing one of my Mets caps and it was nice to see those two decked out in Mets gear.
We exchanged hellos and how thankful we were that we're not alone!

I took my seat about an hour before game time. It was interesting to see watch the ground crew take the tarp off the field.

How did a hot blonde in a tight T-shirt and even tighter/shorter pink shorts get on the ground crew?
Interesting...

I watched all of Scobie's warm-up session in the bullpen. I was surprised how quickly he warmed up.

Scobie was impressive for most of the night. He has excellent control and kept the Indians hitters off balance for most of the night. It didn't seem like he was throwing very hard, but he had a good idea of what he was doing out there. Despite facing a lineup stacked with lefthanders.

His only mistake was to Pirates prospect Ryan Doumit.
The big left-handed hitter took a Scobie breaking ball 420 feet. No doubter.

Angel Pagan certainly does have some skills. His first two at bats he hit the ball very hard for a couple of singles.

He was also picked off first both times in mirror image plays. Zach Duke, the Indians pitcher, is one of their better lefthanders with a decent move. Angel would take off to steal on first movement. 1-3-6.
Two times in a row.

After the second time he was picked off, Angel was obviously pissed. It's good to see that fire, but he was obviously affected.

I was impressed with Ron Calloway's leadership. After Pagan was picked off the second time, Calloway walked him out to Right Field. Calloway had his arm over Pagan's shoulder and was trying to encourage him.

I was very impressed with Calloway. Not only did he seem to be the leader on the field, but he made a few spectacular catches in Center. He also hit the ball very hard, including a double. Then a steal of third.

Difelice looked awful. He might have caught a hot streak for a while, but it isn't gonna last. He swung at pitches over his head and in the dirt. I can see how major league pitchers could eat him up alive.

Daubauch was just the opposite. He is locked in. You can just tell. It's surprising to me he doesn't have a major league job SOMEWHERE. I like that guy.

After Daubach grounded out on a pitch in on the hands.
He shook is "handful of bees" and looked directly at me. I smiled at him as if to say, "got one of the hands, eh? I been there..." He kinda smiled back at me. It was cool.

In the top of the eighth the rain started coming down again. Luis Garcia hit a hard grounder between 3rd and short. The Indians stalled and the umps decided to get everyone off the field.

Here is where the comedy began. Remember when the DC ground crew couldn't cover the field in time? This was the minor league version of that. It was absolutely HILARIOUS!!!

The crew was running with one end of the tarp. Just RUNNING hard...when the tarp just wouldn't go any further and SNAP!!! How there were no dislocated shoulders, I have no idea. The tarp just wouldn't move! They pulled and pulled and struggled, but they made no progress at all. They only had to cover the third base line and home plate, so they didn't have far to go. But the tarp just wouldn't budge!

And it's raining HARD at this time. The more the rain fell, the heavier the tarp became. The Indians players in the third base dugout were coordinating the efforts. "HEAVE....HO.....HEAVE....HO..."

And the blonde ground crew member in the tight shirt and pink shorts was now wearing a tight WET shirt and tight/short WET shorts. It was beautiful.

Eventually they got the baseline covered, but not home plate. After the rain had finally stopped 45 minutes after it started, the ump came out, saw the muddy home plate area, and called the game.

With no outs and a man on first and the Tides down by one run...

by 22