A mid-September night at Citizens Bank Park

Three weeks after Hurricane Irene interfered with the last hurrah of summer we were back on the road to Philadelphia for the Phillies-Marlins game that was cancelled in late August when Irene threatened the Delaware Valley.  

A cold night at CBP

We went back and forth for the better part of two weeks - do we return the tickets for a refund or do we take the kids out of school for a day and enjoy one last trip to the ballpark.  In the end, baseball won.

One of the great things about the kids is their unbelievable enthusiasm for the sport.  They know the players, have favorites; they understand the rules of the game, and importantly, they have staying power; both will make it as late in the game as I want to stay.  In April, we left at the bottom of the 8th inning (though only because, by that point in the night, it was just me and the kids and I really wanted to beat the crowd out of the stadium).  In June, at PNC Park, we not only stayed through the bottom of the 9th, but we spent an hour in line waiting to run the bases.  This time around?  10 innings!  A new record.  

When we made the decision to go to the game, the Phillies still hadn't announced their pitchers.  But, with Roy Halladay scheduled for the Wednesday game, I assumed Cliff Lee would take the afternoon game and I'd miss seeing him play by just a few hours.  So you can imagine how happy I was when Kyle Kendrick got the start for the early game, leaving Lee to pitch the nightcap!!!

Cliff Lee on the mound before the 1st inning starts

Lee pitched a beautiful game.  Eight shutout innings.  Double-digit strikeouts.  Two outs in the 9th, the Phillies holding a 1-0 lead.  I had honestly just leaned over to Rich and said to him: "this is why Lee should win the Cy Young."  Seriously... he was nothing short of amazing in August and he'd continued that into September.  His wins, not too far behind Halladay or Clayton Kershaw, his other statistics (ERA, strikeouts, shutouts) near the top of the league.  And then it happened: a solo home-run that tied the game at 1-1.  One less complete-game shutout on Lee's resume.  And extra innings.  Damn, was I disappointed.

By now, the kids were pretty tired.  Cathy kept telling me "I'm ready to go" and I was just about ready to call it a night when Ryan Howard (who did not start the game) came out to play first base.  Approaching the bottom of the line-up, it seemed pretty clear the Phillies were positioning him to bat in Cliff Lee's spot.  Immediately, Cathy was back in the game.  Howard's her guy and she was happy to see him!  Michael Schwimmer came out and pitched the top half of the 10th inning.  And then, despite Howard's presence in the game, I had not one, but two kids are telling me they were tired and ready to go home.  I promised that when the 10th inning was over, we'd leave, whether the game was over or not. 

Michael Martinez walked to start the bottom of the inning and then Howard came to the plate.  He blasted a 3-1 pitch deep toward center field, scoring Martinez.  While Martinez may have scored the winning run, Howard was the hero and Cathy knew it.  She jumped up and down, arms in the air, as excited as I've ever seen her.  In that moment, I was so thankful that Cliff Lee blew the win.  And so, so glad we went to the game!  Sometimes the best possible things follow disappointment.

As the season is winding down, the kids and I are spending more and more nights curled up in bed watching the Phillies play on TV.  Quite honestly, it's my favorite part of the day.  While there's nothing like the excitement of the crowd at Citizens Bank Park, there's nothing better than our cheering section of three.

Here's hoping for a long October.  11 wins.  And a trip to Broad Street.