Spring Cleaning

Everyone needs to get rid of their junk and a couple of years ago, the Cubs threw out Sammy Sosa and this year, at yesterday's Wrigley Field Garage Sale, they were selling heaps of old Slummin' Sammy shirts and bobble-heads, among other knick-knacks.

By the time I got there, at 1pm or so, all the good stuff -- remnants from the bleachers construction available (benches, bricks) -- was gone. In addition to the Sosa cast-offs, there were shirts commemorating the NLCS against the Marlins from 2003, shirts won by vendors in past years, flags and pennants previously flown from the top of the centrefield scoreboard and rafters and grab bags. I left with a couple of shirts ($5 each) and a stack of cards commemorating Greg Maddux's 300th victory last year (free, but enthusiastically pressed into my hands), and didn't give the grab bags a second look -- I've already had enough uncalled-for surprises this year with the team, the most recent being Derrek Lee's fractured wrist bones.

But, the best part about the garage sale wasn't the opportunity to tote home mis-matched pieces of Wrigley's past, but an open tour of the new bleachers. Not one to enjoy sitting in the bleachers since my college days, it's been a while since I took in a view of the ballpark from the northeast corner. And you know you've got a nice ballpark when it looks good even when empty, from all corners, tarp on the infield dirt, no W sign blowing.

Without a game going on, the bleachers would actually be a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon, basking or trying to get over feeling extremely bummed about D-Lee on the D-L, seeing as how we've played comparatively well without Mark Prior and Kerry Wood and with Juan Pierre, Jacque Jones and Aramis Ramirez not yet playing like they should. Yesterday's loss to the Cardinals was the first consecutive loss this season, and maybe not a true test of how the team will weather this trauma since we traditionally don't do well in St. Louis, new or old Busch Stadium.

It was fun to get under the scoreboard and check out the new nook and crannies they put in this winter. Now that I've explored the new additions inside and out, I'll have to tip my cap and say that they've certainly preserved the spirit of the ballpark's tradition well despite the smaller patch of vegetation in straightaway centrefield and the crazy batter's eye terraced walk-through. Funny, it takes a day when there's no game and no one around to remember again what a beautiful park we have.