Yesterday, in the bottom of the ninth inning, Padres batter Chris Denorfia faced flame-throwing Cuban Aroldis Chapman as the Padres were tied 3-3 with Cincinnati. Chapman seems unable to throw a fastball under 100 mph. But Denorfia hit a double that scored Chase Headley all the way from first base to win the game. The spirit and excitement of the home crowd was transcendent as the Padres retook first in their division.
And I wasn’t there to feel it.
I was at Petco Park yesterday to see that game and I stayed though the end of the eighth. But I left early – something to do with shopping for a dinner party I had planned that night. It doesn’t matter. The fact is I didn’t insist we stay until the end, even though the game was tied.
Worse yet, as I was leaving the stadium I heard myself thinking, “This game will just go to extra innings and last forever.” And, “The Padres will find some way to blow it and I’ll just be bummed.”
So I got what I deserved when I learned I missed a game end that would have been among the best I’d ever seen, and I would have actually been in the stadium to be a part of it.
This is a Padres team that has been underestimated all season. We’ve just been waiting for them to collapse and we’ve been so sure it’s inevitable. They may yet collapse. But that tired old expression that says you’ve got to believe seems to apply here.
Reason and logic only get you so far in life. In the end you’ve got to believe that your spouse will be faithful to you. You've got to believe that you won’t be fired from your job on a whim and that Murphy’s Law is a bunch of crap. So go team! Next time I promise to stay to the bitter or the glorious end.
