Full disclosure: I was born and raised in Hamilton - the Hammer! I first came to this ballpark some 20 years ago as a precocious youngster. I spent most of the time chasing foul balls hit into the parking lot rather than watching the action inside Bernie Arbour Stadium. I still have one of those balls here at home.
My best friend still lives in Hamilton, so I called him up to see if he'd be interested in going to a Cardinals game. I explained to him this blog thing I'm doing, as I follow the Toronto Maple Leafs and do little write ups with photos after each game.
"Yeah, I'm down for that," my friend said. "I could do some sketching during the game."
"Seriously? That's awesome."
"Yeah, I've been doing a lot of it lately. Sounds like the perfect place for it."
So we met up at the park. Southpaw Marc-Andre Major was making his season debut for the Maple Leafs against Tim Black. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead, extended it to blowout proportions, then hung on to prevent a late Toronto comeback for a 10-6 win.
The stadium on Hamilton's mountain hadn't changed much in 20 years. The Cardinals have given the place a new coat of paint. Huge team logos adorn the exterior walls. Inside, the grandstand seats beam bright red.
It was a fast moving game, interrupted by the occasional outburst of scoring. I did my usual photo-snapping and note-taking. My friend gazed at the field impassively.
"Weren't you going to do some sketching?" I asked.
"What?"
"You were excited about sketching at the game."
"Oh, no. I said STRETCHING," he rose from his seat and began pulling his arms behind his head.
"Can't you do that at home?"
"Nah, there's never sufficient time. You've got to give it justice." He began tilting side to side at the waist. "With all the home reno, and the backyard, and the girls, and the dog, and the basement, I can never get in a minute of free time. It's great here, there's not much going on."
That was true enough from the Leafs' point of view. They'd get on base, strand a few, give up a few. They just weren't clicking.
My friend leaned back and grasped the seat he had been sitting on, making a weird shape with his body.
"Uh... I'm going to walk around for a bit and take photos from different angles."
"Cool. I'm going to work the lower body next."
I wandered off to one side of the grandstand then the other, then down along the right field baseline where there was more bench seating. I glanced back at the grandstand and spotted my friend. He'd turned his back to the field, bent over and grasped his ankles, ass high in the air. Jesus God, man.
As for the Leafs, they made a contest of it late, but too late. They have found their scoring touch again, but on this night they gave up too many runs.
Recap:
The Hamilton Cardinals gave a rude welcome to Toronto Maple Leafs starter Marc-Andre Major, who was making his season debut. The Cards led off with a pair of singles, then DH Daniel Jagdeo belted a home run to give the home side a 3-0 lead right away.
Major settled down and pitched four scoreless innings after that. He was matched for goose eggs by Hamilton starter Tim Black until Black was relieved in the 5th by Tim Krawczyk.
The Leafs got on the board in the top of the 6th. Centerfielder Glenn Jackson singled and stole second, and was driven home by rightfielder Jon Waltenbury.
But the wheels came off for Toronto in the bottom of the frame. Reliever Cam Grey gave up six runs on six hits and a walk, and was relieved by Jas Shergill after 2/3 of an inning. Another bad moment came for the Leafs that inning when Glenn Jackson went down hard chasing a flyball to short center. He stayed down for a few minutes as his teammates and the team trainer gathered round. Jackson was helped to his feet and walked off the field favouring his right leg. 9-1 Hamilton after the 6th.
The Leafs started climbing back into it in the top of the 7th. Krawczyk gave up walks to first baseman Damon Topolie and third baseman Sean Mattson. Justin Gianfrancesco, who had subbed in for Jackson, hit a double to right field, scoring the two runners ahead of him, and by the time the Cardinals fielders got the ball back in, Gianfrancesco had motored around to third base. He scored on a ground out by second baseman Dan Marra and it was 9-4 Cardinals going into the bottom of the 7th.
Shergill gave up a leadoff home run to first baseman Zack Ranta that made it 10-4 Cardinals after the 7th. Time was running out for the Leafs, but they weren't done yet.
In the top of the 8th, first baseman Will Richards hit a hard shot off the right field fence for a double. He advanced to third on a ground out by shortstop Cody Mombourquette, and raced home on a wild pitch by Krawczyk.
In the top of the 9th, Sean Mattson walked and was driven home on a single by Dan Marra, but Cardinals reliever Nino Fasulo was able to get the final outs and the game ended 10-6 Hamilton.
The Maple Leafs are now 6-9, 8 games behind the league leading Brantford Red Sox. Their next game is June 15 at the Burlington Bandits.
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