Day 7
Smoltz, Stottlemyre got a bit testy
St. Louis -- Sometimes things happen in a game that the average fan doesn't see. Tuesday night was a good example.
The game was tied, Cardinals pitcher Todd Stottlemyre was up at the plate and there were two outs and John [Smoltz] had an 0-2 count on him. Everybody knows Todd can hit, so Smoltz threw a pitch inside at the knees and it upset Todd. Well, John wasn't throwing at him, he was just trying to get him with a good pitch inside. And there is nothing wrong with that; remember, there are two sides of the plate.
But Todd thought he was throwing at him, and sure enough the next inning, with Smoltz at the plate, he retaliated and threw one inside at John. Well, Todd was trying to hit him, and now John was mad. He came to the dugout and threw his helmet. I think that fired up the rest of the team. We ended up winning the game, and now we've got a chance to sweep these guys at home again.
After the game I went back to the hotel and met an old teammate of mine, Grant Brittian, who is now scouting the Midwest for the Pirates. I played with Grant in Macon and Durham, and we sat in my hotel room with Ed [Giovanola] and swapped war stories.
The trip is starting to get a little monotonous, and I got up Wednesday and went to lunch with Grant. We went to an Italian restaurant called Joseph's, but I didn't recognize anything on the menu so I just ordered a turkey and cheese hoagie and then to the ballpark for some more early batting practice.
It's on to San Francisco after this, which should be fun because my wife is meeting me out there. I guess we'll do some shopping. Candlestick Park can be a tough place to play because of the weather. It can be the middle of the summer and those nights can be cold as winter. You always bring a coat.
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