 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
|
|
| Eventually we are asked to decide, and I spend $50 on a tour of the island tomorrow. This seems a sensible way of seeing a bit of the place in the short time I have here, and ends at 4.00, giving me time to get to the game in the evening. Or so I thought. I walk back to my hotel and ask the desk clerk how I might get to the stadium. He says a bus is my best bet, although it will take an hour and a half each way. But then he discovers there are none returning late in the evening. A taxi, he informs me, will cost $100 each way. He suggests I rent a car. I call Hawaii Winter Baseball to see if they have any suggestions – like giving me a lift – but they don't rise to the challenge. They do, however, give me their corporate account number for Enterprise, so that I can get their rate when I rent my car. I walk a couple of hundred metres to the Enterprise office, and arrange a car hire. They quote me $30, which is a slight improvement. Back to the hotel, and I e-mail Hawaii Baseball's publicist, and the local paper, in case they are interested in me. The publicist calls back within the hour, is very interested, and offers me a lift to the game tomorrow!! Enterprise is very understanding when I cancel the car rental. Meanwhile the play off game has started on TV, so I settle down to watch. Colorado appears to have the momentum from their recent successful run, and takes an early two run lead. In the second a Torrealba home run makes it three. Then, from out of nowhere, San Diego loads the bases in the third, and Gonzalez hits a grand slam to put his team ahead. They add one more later in the inning to make it 5-3. The stadium in Denver, being a mile above sea level, has a reputation as a hitter's park, as the thin air helps the ball travel further. This theory is borne out in the bottom of the third, when Helton hits the third home run of the game to cut the deficit to one. Colorado squares it in the fifth with a couple of good hits. In the bottom of the sixth a relatively unknown pinch hitter called Seth Smith hits a towering triple, and a sacrifice fly brings him home. Tulowicki hits a second triple, but can't get home, so it stays at 6-5. In the top of the eighth, a misfield in the outfield leads to a San Diego run, and the game is tied at six. As sudden death play offs go, this is getting quite exciting. And it stays that way, nail biting with no further score. This is getting worse; they can't decide who's best after 162 games, so they have a play off, and they can't decide that within the normal frame. When it gets to the eleventh, I decide to give up, or else I won't get to see Waikiki at all. So I stroll along the beach, have a beer at a beach bar, and then turn into town. It's a bit like Oxford Street, only with a beach running parallel; lots of big designer shops, interspersed with cheap gift shops, and people thrusting leaflets at you for restaurants, trips and massage parlours. There's a lot that's tacky and stereotypical, and it's a little disappointing. I head out of the crowd and nearer to my hotel before eating. I had spotted a Thai place with seats outside, and it proves a wise choice. Back at the hotel, I check the result, and it seems I was wise to leave when I did. There was no more score until the thirteenth, when another homer gave San Diego a two run lead. But the Rockies came back with two doubles and a triple to tie the game, and a sacrifice fly drove in the winning run; Colorado wins 9-8. So the line up for the Divisional Series is complete; in the American League it's Anaheim against Boston and the Yankees against Cleveland; in the National League the Cubs play Arizona and Colorado plays Philadelphia. Each is a best of five series, with the second named team having home advantage. This means they host the first two games, travel to the next two, and come home again for the fifth. Once one team has won three the series ends. |
|
|
|
||||||
