Good food, good music, and good baseball

After listening to me rave all last year about The Schmitter, my girlfriend finally took the plunge last night. She was duly impressed, though it was tough to tell which she enjoyed more, the sandwich or the view from our seats -- which are in Section 143, directly behind Pat Burrell. A quick tip of the cap to David Bell and/or the Phillies public address staff for choosing the Weezer song "Take Control" as Bell's intro song when he came to bat in the third inning. As for the game itself, there were several things to note: the taunting of Brewers' left fielder Carlos Lee, the National League RBI leader, by the (mostly) soused fans in the back of sections 142 and 143, and his acknowledgment thereof; the mixtured reaction for Ugueth Urbina, making his second appearance as a Phillie -- his first after being shellacked on Thursday; that Charlie Manuel did NOT have closer Billy Wagner warming up in the bullpen in the ninth inning in case Urbina got in trouble; he chose instead to have Robinson Tejada warm up; the lack of a deafening crescendo of boos as Geoff Geary left the game having given up the lead; any other previous season -- hell, even earlier THIS season -- and Geary would have had to leave the field under police protection; that, despite Geary coughing up the lead, not only did the team not get down on itself but neither did the fans; apparently this new attitude the Phillies have has rubbed off on the crowd as well; the standing ovation -- by sections 142, 143, and 144 -- given to Burrell upon taking up his position in left field in the top of the eighth inning, after crushing the first pitch he saw from former Phillie Ricky Bottalico into the seats in 142 to give the Phillies back the lead for good; that I came this close to catching the ball that Burrell tossed into the stands after getting that applause. All in all, it was a good night. I was able to enjoy a night out with my girlfriend, visit with some family, enjoy fantastic food -- the Schmitter has to be one of the top five ballpark sandwiches in the country, right? -- drink, and an all too brief spot of good music, and watch my hometown team win their 5th game in a row -- their 11th win in the last 12 games.