SB Nation User Blog: BozCardsFanSF

Bay Area Cards fans heading to the game tomorrow?

BozCardsFanSF — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:31:20 -0000

Any VEB regulars heading to the game tomorrow? It's the only night game of what is a short two game set.

I'm going to the game with the wife and kids, but they are invariably late; so I can grab a drink before the game.

I wondered if anyone would be interested in meeting up before the game. I have no professed regular pre-game spot, though I consistently find myself at 21st Amendment on 2nd St.

Let me know.

Cardinals by the Bay

BozCardsFanSF — Wed, 24 May 2006 17:11:11 -0000

Great game last night. Got to see Pujols hit a shot in the first and almost take another one out later in the game. Anywhere else and that's a HR.

Juan had one good hit, made to look all the better by Barry "Statue" Bonds. Bonds is so abysmal in the field now, he is cheating on balls to try to get a jump. He took two steps in on Jenc's line drive and couldn't recover. He made good contact a couple of times, but the shift robbed him. Good.

The Giants line up and defense is just not major league caliber. Although Finley looks good - a triple and a great catch (he's playing two positions - CF and LF as Barry lets the grass grow around his feet). And all while he's moving past 40. That's because he's fueled with Saluki Power.

Count the number of Giants starters under 30 years old. Trick question - there aren't any! (At least I think that is true).

Pujols looked good at first last night, scooping a couple of plays. I was sitting with a friend of mine who is a Mets fans and might as well be the head of the Carlos Delgado fan club. I made sure to point out every good defensive play Pujols made.

Jenc's second hit was terrible. A seeing eye grounder through the middle. That came right after Edmonds dribbler that started foul and wound up fair. Edmonds was lucky on that one - he didn't start out of the box for few seconds.

Marquis' curve looked good at times, and he had some smooth innings, but he drives me crazy. He's destined for a bad 1st inning, and then at least one more trouble spot each game.

The weather cooperated last night and the crowd was mellow. Got to meet my esteemed VEB collegue lb3000 last night, so it was an occassion when VEB worlds collide.

Left after the 8th, so as to avoid any Izzy inspired heartburn. Hey, I have to be at work at market hours at 5:30 every morning, so leaving at 9:30 is late for me.

Taking the wife and kids (3 and 2) to the game today - and wearing the official VEB t-shirt. Will probably not post another diary tomorrow as I fear my kids won't last more than 6 innings. And half that will be walking around trying to entertain them.

But they are well rehearsed for their "Let's Go Cardinals" and "Albert Pujols, clap clap clapclapclap" chants. Indoctrinate them while they are young.

Changing my tune re: Cubs fans

BozCardsFanSF — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 17:33:06 -0000

I saw Brock20's post about his trip to Wrigley this year and it prompted me to write about my experience this year, albeit decidedly late.

I went to Opening Day at Wrigley and game 2. I was on a business trip to Boston and Chicago and made sure it would coincide with Cubs/Cards. This was also my first trip to Wrigley and I went to the games by myself.

I wore my Pujols jersey to both games and did not know what to expect. I've attended games at Yankee Stadium and Dodgers/Giants games at both Candlestick and Pac Bell that were full of vitriol and fistfights.

For Game 1, I actually shared a cab with a Cubs fan from our hotel downtown and then had a few beers with several of his Cub fan friends at the Cubbie Bear (what a great bar). Had tickets on the third base side toward the outfield wall. Bought an Old Style when I walked in the door. Froze my tail off - 37 degrees at game time with a 25 mph wind. I wore only longjohns, a T-shirt, a Pujols jersey, jeans and a hat. A Northern California guy like me is not ready for that weather (it's been 25 years since I lived in the cold of Granite City)

I sat between 4 young Cub fans from Moline and two middle aged guys from Kankakee (Gino and Johnny). I told them it was my first trip to Wrigley and they both said since I was a guest in their park, the beers were on them. They literally would not let me buy a beer all game long. I went to John Barleycorn after the game with the young guys and had a great time. Met a few jerk fans, but people inside the bar were just having fun, no fights or anything.

For Game 2 I sat in the right center field bleachers. Got there 2 hours before game time and was confornted by a completed sauced Cubs fan who wanted to show me her Cubs tattoo on her bikini line. The crowd would cheer any time the sun shone through the fog.

Got to witness a guy carry his girlfriend up the bleacher stairs like a fireman after she vomited and passed out - 30 minutes BEFORE THE GAME! The vomiting happened 3 more times around me - you could tell when it was happening by the loud unified cry and everyone backing away furiously.

Loved the banter between left field and right field. The people were getting on Edmonds ("Edmonds - how's your wife and my kids?"). Or "Edmonds takes it in the Pujols". Good natured if crass, and a few comments went over the line, but the crowd was also getting on Jacque Jones.

Cubs fans around me sung the same tune as Friday - you're a guest and we won't let you buy beers. Had 7 beers bought for me over the 2 games. Went with a group to the Hi-Top bar after the game before I had to head out to O'Hare to fly back to San Francisco.

I came away with a much different impression of Cubs fans - they are a great group, with only a couple bad apples lurking in Wrigley. The biggest grup of bad apples were the two rows of Cardinal fans in center field under the scoreboard that spent the last two innings taunting everyone and getting in fights. I don't know if that kind of hospitality for a fan of the rival team would happen in Boston, New York, LA or San Francisco. I don't expect it would.

Kudos to the Cubs fans I met. I had a great time and you are a great group.

I still want the Cardinals to beat you every game we play and I won't ever be able to root for your team as a lifelong Cards fan. BUt here's to you.

Now about the complete lack of bathrooms at Wrigley...

I'll miss you, Busch and KMOX

BozCardsFanSF — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:02:51 -0000

It started so well. Every time the Pujols homer was replayed, my oldest son (3 years old) would shout, "He hit it! Pujols hit it!". My two yeard old began copying his older brother and I was looking forward to a great game.

Just didn't happen.

Soon, my kids wanted to watch dinosaur videos and my wife took them upstairs. They didn't come down much except to say good night because I think my wife could sense the dark cloud pervading our living room as I watched the game. Very quiet and very sullen, I could only respond with monosyllabic grunts by the end of the game.

Oswalt was too powerful and the Cards' bats looked slow. They consistently looked overmatched on his fastball. Wouldn't you think they would be sitting dead red after a while? Edmonds, Sanders and Walker looked very old this series (excpet for Walker's double last night and Reggie's HR in Game 1) and it was sad to see so many breakdowns in fundamentals from the OF to Molina. And Mulder choked on the bunt. He should have thrown to third and was rattled after that.

I had an uneasy feeling about him - saw it first hand out here too many times in Game 5s when the A's played the Yankees. I wish he had proven me wrong.

With the end of the season, so comes the end of Busch as we all know. I wasn't aware that the Cards were leaving KMOX until I saw the posts. And I loved the Mad Lithuanian's post on the last night at Busch.

Busch is special for me because it's where my Dad and my grandmother introduced me to the game. My birthday comes in early April, so the three of us (or 4 with my little sister sometimes) would go to an early season game when the Cardinals were in town to celebrate it.

The love of Cardinals baseball was engrained in me early. My grandmother was deaf and she enjoyed watching sports as it was purely a visual experience - no dialogue necessary to follow the story. My grandfather would have the radio on in the kitchen and he would have coffee and I would have dessert as we listened to Jack Buck and Mike Shannon. My dad would listen to Cards games on the radion when he would drive. These are the sights, sounds and scents of my childhood.

Those things meant so much to me that when I turned 30, I flew my Dad and me back to St. Louis for the opening weekend vs. Milwaukee in 2000. We watched games just like we did when I was a kid. Only the seats were a lot better than the bleacher seats we had when I was young.

I'll miss Busch with the arches at the top to signify it was a St. Louis specific structure. I thought the recent renovations made it a great park to watch a game - green paint instead of blue, seats closer to the field and as a result, smaller foul ball areas. The manual scoreboards and penants and retired jerseys.

I'm probably overly sentimental, especially because the last game was not a triumphant one. But I see enough ersatz retro designs at Pac Bell Park here in San Francisco. After a while, it seems gimmicky and soulless, although the view from Pac Bell is phenomenal. Perhaps I feel that way because I watch a team play there that I care nothing about. I am a Cardinals fan and that means there's no room for any other team.

Ah well, I have a Giants fan in the office here for turning me on to this site and I look forward to all the hot stove activity.

For the record, I say keep Grudzielanek and Suppan. Let Morris and Tavarez go and let's go with Anthony Reyes and Wainwright to see what they can do. Go after Brian Giles in free agency and shore up the hitting as I think Edmonds is in a steep career decline.

Oh to be a Dad and a Cardinal Fan

BozCardsFanSF — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 23:01:26 -0000

I haven't been that ecstatic in 20 years. In 1985, I was 15 and a rabid Cards fan when Ozzie and Jack hit their shots and I went nuts.

Last night, I find myself a 35 year old married father of two little boys (ages 3 and 2) living in Northern California. They were on the couch next to me in their Cardinal shirts and i was there in my Pujols jersey and hat through the whole game. It was long past their bedtime but I couldn't put them to bed, they have to experience life in Cardinal Nation.

I taught both kids a chant for Pujols (Al-Bert Pu-jols clap clap clapclapclap) and we'd clap. Throughout the game we'd cheer for the Cards and I had to be careful not to curse or they'd pick it up, but that game was gut wrenching. We were doing the chant for Pujols in the ninth inning and I was thinking, hey, this is as much as you could ask - Carpenter on the mound in the game and Pujols at bat with a chance to win the game. You couldn't say they were cheated.

Anyway, Pujols hit his shot and I went nuts. I let out a reflexive yelp on first contact and then screamed to the top of my lungs, running around the living room and kitchen. As I said, I hadn't been that excited in 20 years.

I looked back at my kids and they were both terrified and crying hysterically. They had never seen their Dad out of control like that. I had to settle down and explain how happy I was. Reality check.

I have no idea how the rest of the games will go, Oswalt is a solid pitcher, as is Mulder, though I don't know why I have this small uneasy feeling deep in my sub-conscious. Clemens vs. the entire staff echoes last year. But regardless of what happens, this is a magical moment that I will remember forever.

I came to work today in a state of euphoria. All my co-workers, here in San Francisco and from our other offices in LA, New York, Boston and even Chicago and London called to wish me well. I think I must be one of the more vocal Cardinal fans in the company of 11,000 employees. My office is a shrine to the Cardinals, from coffee mugs from 1982, 85 and 87 to a framed, signed poster of Stan Musial.

At least we get to enjoy Busch one more time. I will miss that place. I took the wife and kids there this Memorial Day and we take the kids to the games the Cards play in San Francisco every year.

I can only hope the new ballpark has some St. Louis specific charm to it, beyond serving toasted ravioli and the best pizza on the planet. Where are the arches in the architecture? Is there anything, beyond the view to signify this is a St. Louis ball park?

We'll see, but right now I'm just going to enjoy this. And as I told my wife last night after she got home from work (she missed the game). If we have a third son, his middle name will be Albert.