People that write about baseball do it in a romantic fashion I can't duplicate. It doesn't come naturally to me for whatever reason. I always feel awkward writing about the game. So many predecessors with so much talent have covered the game better than I ever will. I'm in a mood though, what the hell.
July 4th is a baseball holiday. It falls in the middle of the summer when the air conditioner is your life line. Nobody works, although I've had many jobs where working July 4th was commonplace. The kids are out of school and have been running wild outside all summer long. July 4th provides the perfect backdrop for our national past time. Our nation's birthday belongs to baseball. They were meant for each other.
My beloved White Sox happened to play what I would call just a cool baseball game this year on the 4th. A wild, back and forth affair that was full of emotion. Toss in the bizarre conclusion and this one automatically gets saved in the memory bank.
It's been one wild ride for White Sox designated hitter Adam Troy Dunn. How should I put this? Mr. Reinsdorf is paying Adam Dunn $12 million dollars this year to do a job he's not doing. The south side isn't happy with Dunn's 1 hit against left handed pitching all season long. He hasn't homered since June 12th. His batting average is comparable to that of a National League pitcher. He hasn't worked out. The fans are booing him at home. All the while Dunn remains self effacing.
We want him to get better. After all, we're married to him until he's 34 and that salary will just keep getting bigger because of the way it's structured. Sox fans are like the guy who married a crazy bat, but is still in that "give it some time" stage.
That stage ended on July 4th. Sox fans are in love with Dunn once again. As long as there are no more 1 for 53's in his immediate future.
It really was a cool moment at 1st base yesterday afternoon. Dunn, in the midst of a career changing slump, sits on a 1-0 count in the bottom of the 4th. He faces the left handed Jeff Francis of Kansas City. And then it happens.
Dunn leans over the plate and pulls a breaking pitch to right field. The ball is tailing rapidly as it's tracked by Kansas City right fielder Jeff Francoeur. Running all out to his left Francoeur gets to his spot and positions his glove to make the tough out. The ball hits his glove and bounces out.
Dunn had done it. A base hit. A virtual miracle for Adam in this torturous campaign. The crowd at the Cell reacts positively to our good fortune. Then it seems to dawn on them who had gotten on base. The crescendo builds to a roar as the south side faithful stand to recognize the accomplishment. Dunn, to his credit, handles himself very well in a professional sense. He flashes a big smile to the dugout exposing 10 pieces of gum balled up in his mouth. Dunn even removes his cap acknowledging his new fans in a heart felt gesture. It was a baseball moment those romantic writers call "warm and fuzzy".
My July 4th would have been set with just the base hit. The slump is so bad I'm usually satisfied if Dunn just avoids a strikeout. I'm sick of getting tweets from Mark D. Gonzales that read, 101,102,103 (signifying the number of Dunn K's on the year)
I would never have believed Dunn could top the would be miracle of his 4th inning single. In the 8th inning, he did.
After taking one of his patented bad swings at a 1-0 fastball Dunn's face bares the expression of discomfort. This is how his at bats look this season. The crowd seems to sense the he's uncomfortable this time. It's the 8th inning. We're down 3-2 to a division rival. We're battling the .500 mark yet have a reasonable playoff chance. This is a big at bat. The crowd hums with a slight rally cry. They're getting behind Adam Dunn as he looks at the 1-1 from Aaron Crow.
He catches one flush. With a swing resembling Paul Bunyan swinging an ax Dunn catches one. He finally catches one. An uppercut type swing that lifts the ball high into the south Chicago sky. The noise from the crowd is remarkable. An audible gasp followed by 25,000 people yelling at an inanimate object to fly farther. Hawk Harelson desperately screams,
"Stretch, STRETCH, STRETCH!!!" Corny to everyone but life long Sox fans, I know.
After an eternity, the ball reaches the apex of it's parabola and falls to earth. It lands just beyond the right field wall in the Miller Lite Bullpen Bar. 4-3 White Sox. Adam Dunn had been resurrected. He's a fan favorite one more time and a player that passed Joe DiMaggio on the home run list with the blast.
Chicago has ridden Dunn hard all summer. This was a great moment for the embattled slugger. He's handled everything so well it stings me to hear the boos. His guys obviously have his back too. Following the home run, as the crowd stood in joy, Paul Konerko refused to step into the batters box to resume the game until his man came out and took his curtain call. Class act that Paul Konerko. One of those subtle team work type plays you can't measure in baseball.
Now equipped with a sheer intimidation factor, Dunn came to the plate again with the game on the line in the 9th. Kansas City's Aaron Crow had been victimized in the previous inning by our canyon of a DH. Now he was wary. His focus has been broken by the mountain of Adam Dunn. Crow starts towards the plate, then rocks to his back shoulder. A hitch in delivery only noticed by the ever annoying A.J. Pierzynski who stands on 3rd base. The ump took the bait and balked home the winning run. Can't say I've ever seen that in my 23 years watching the game.
What a fun game on the holiday! Now let's go get that division boys!
