Matt Kemp Hits a Walk-Off and What a Great Sports Weekend!

Two weeks ago, I saw the Dodgers in Colorado. Three runs down to the Rockies, the whole team seemed to go numb. They quit having good at-bats. They seemed to go through the motions, despite their pitchers keeping them in the game and allowing only three runs.

On Sunday afternoon, the Dodgers pitching again held up their end. Chad Billingsley didn’t allow any runs through eight innings. Unfortunately, the scene was all-too familiar. Including the game in Colorado, I had seen the Dodgers score exactly zero runs through the first 17 innings I watched live this year.

I saw Juan Uribe swing at pitches I quit swinging at when I was 11 years old. I saw Matt Kemp thrown out trying to steal on Yadier Molina. I watched horrible at-bats from Rafael Furcal, Tony Gwynn, and even Andre Ethier. A few guys got to third base. Rod Barajas’ 400 foot foul ball in Colorado was the highlight through almost two games.

In the top of the ninth inning on Sunday, Jonathan Broxton brought my Dodgers happiness to rock-bottom. I hadn’t been high on them (in case you haven’t noticed), but I was about to reach a new low in watching them get shut out 3-0 and 1-0 in consecutive games I’d seen in-person.

Then Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp brought me back from the brink. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ethier led off with a double. Not trying to do too much with the ball, Ethier drove it into the right field corner and hustled to second base. After a pitching change, Kemp continued his patient approach. After working the count in his favor, Kemp drove a pitch over the left-center field wall. All my frustration with the Dodgers, momentarily at least, vanished. I jumped around in circles in the aisles at Dodger Stadium and screamed like a girl. One swing. And all was well again.

And it was as hot as it looks...

It was as hot as it looks....

As Kemp came to the plate, the thought did cross my mind to take out my Droid and start videotaping the at-bat. I have done that in the past with no positive effect on what happened in the game. Instead of doing so, I put myself in the moment. Too often I’ve tried to record things only to have them come out worse than expected. And then I’m left with a compromised fan experience.

So I watched as Kemp hit his home run. And I wasn’t any less excited that I couldn’t show it to my readers- sorry folks. I’m sure you can see the highlight on MLB.com if you really want to. It was pretty awesome.

___________________

But enough about the Dodgers. We are in my FAVORITE sports time of the year. March through the beginning of June. March Madness, the start of baseball season (with the promise of Spring), 40 games in 40 nights, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis 500, the Masters, the NHL Playoffs, the beginning of MLS, and so many other great sporting events dominate evenings and weekend days.

Especially when you’re on the Central Coast, the option is always there to stay outside all day in the sun and then spend the evening relaxing with a cold beverage and enjoying some of the best sports times of the year. And I’m loving every minute of it. I’ll say it again- what a great time to be a sports fan.