Spending a Nice April Night at Wrigley Field

1) There was a real buzz in the building: I moved to Chicago in August of 2009. I estimate that I’ve been to about 40 Cubs games since then. I’ve never seen Wrigley be so plugged into the team. There’s a palpable sense of excitement about this core of players.

It’s WAY early, and any crowd will pop for a team that twice comes from behind and wins in extra innings, but this was as into baseball (as opposed to just the drinking) as I can remember seeing Cubs fans. If this keeps up, and Kris Bryant is as advertised, I will no longer be able to buy $9 tickets and mosey my way into the seats above when the weather gets really nice. Every silver lining’s got a touch of gray.

2) The new pace of game rules are great: The game started at 7:05. There were 13 runs, it went extra innings, and it ended at 10:08. If not for a pitching change right before the final batter, it would’ve ended in under three hours. Last year the average game lasted 3 hours and 8 minutes; last night would’ve been over in about 2:45 if it were just nine innings. It’s impossible to overstate how much more pleasant it is for me personally for the game to move along like that.

(I’m not sure whether or not last night’s game was an anomaly in this regard, but it sure felt deliberate.)

3) I had no issue with the bathrooms: In three trips, I never had to wait. The Port-O-Potties sufficed in eliminating the absurd lines, at least when the stadium is about 75% full. It’s baffling that it took a night of profound national embarrassment for the Cubs to figure that one out.

4) The new video board enhances the experience as opposed to detracting from it: When photos were taken of the mock-ups, it seemed like the new jumbotron was gonna blot out the sky. It is probably a little bit bigger than it needs to be, but it’s already hugely helpful to be able to see replays. I’ll admit that I thought it was gonna be distasteful, and that I was wrong.

5) The aesthetics are going to be weird until the bleachers are done: There’s no way around it. That construction can’t get done soon enough. The Cubs can’t be bothered to put out those Ernie Banks banners, which looked fantastic on Opening Day, anymore. It’s probably just gonna be an eyesore until July. That’s a double dagger as tickets are gonna go way up in demand before they’re finished as it starts to get warm outside if the Cubs stay exciting. Such is life.

6) The ball FLIES off of Jorge Soler’s bat: He is appointment television.

7) Folks are gonna be real salty about Jon Lester’s pick-off Yips: I’m not a huge baseball fan or anything, but I had no idea he’d gone like two years without even attempting a pick-off before last night. How did he get away with that in Boston? Fans are already grumbling about it here, and it just feels like the sort of subplot that will continually screw over the Cubs over in big spots. It’s certainly worth monitoring.