Schilling vs. Smoltz

On the way to Kroger Sunday afternoon I glanced at the clock, and noted the Turner Field gates were opening for the 8 pm Braves – Red Sox game. It would be nice to relax and watch some of the game on ESPN. But when I got home, Will game running out in his red Braves jersey. We had tickets!

Our friends the Stubbs had two tickets available, so we hurried downtown. Was tired as we were, I might’ve considered turning them down, but it was Curt Schilling pitching against John Smoltz, the home game of the year. I knew the stands would be full of Boston fans, so I wore my royal blue Hank Aaron-era Braves jersey for the first time. We had fun with the Boston fan sitting next to us the first five innings, several rows behind the Braves dugout. The rest of the game we sat with the Stubbs, behind the Red Sox dugout, just closer.

The number of Red Sox fans in the standing room only crowd was amazing. For a while I thought there were many more Sox fans, until the Braves fans began cheering themselves, letting the Boston fans know whose house it was. Got to see all-stars David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez hit home runs.

Before Sunday games Little Leaguers run out to the positions in the field, to await the Braves before the first inning. A little girl ran out to left field…and kept running. Everyone was laughing and pointing, and it took me a while to find her…standing next to the fence. Her dad was in centerfield, waving for her to come closer. She would only take one step at a time. She was still near the warning track when the Braves took the field. Rookie Scott Thorman was playing his first ever major league game. He ran to his position, took a knee, and gently waved for the girl to come to him. She finally made it.

The JumboTron showed another little girl in rightfield, getting Jeff Francoeur’s autograph. Francoeur gave her a hug. His 7th inning home run put the Braves ahead 5-3, but the bullpen blew it again, and they lost 10-7. At least management isn’t sitting pat…they’ve brought in four new players in the past few days, including three pitchers.

There was a special 6th-inning stretch for Father’s Day, and they played ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’. They had the 7th-inning stretch as well, when they played the Sunday standard ‘God Bless America.’ Got home around 1 am, listening to Miami beat Dallas in OT on the way.