It was a long day.

I spent most of today sitting on my couch watching TV. Today is Saturday. A fine, spring like Saturday. A weirdly warm sunny Saturday. And I haven’t gone outside except to take in the newspaper early this morning. Now, perhaps just to make me feel a bit better, I must point out that I did put in an hour this morning– and nearly five miles –walking on the treadmill in the basement. I say that to show you and me that I am not an official slug. I am, instead a Chicago Cubs fan and because today’s game didn’t start until mid afternoon, I spent the day in front of the TV waiting.

I started watching by a tour of central Europe on a river cruiser splashing along the Rhine river. I already knew that Budapest is actually two towns named Buda and Pest but it was good to be reminded. Then I moved on to a cooking show. I like to cook and when the cooks at America’s Test Kitchen started in on Chicago style Baby Back Ribs I was hooked. Next I slid into Antiques Road Show and watched as one overly large guy almost growled when he found out the Chinese carved ivory he has was made in the 1950’s. I’m not sure what I like better – the people who believe their stuff is worth millions and try not to melt down when they find out it’s not, or the people who are shocked to find out that the crap they almost threw away that morning is really an example of some seldom seen obscure but highly collectable crap worth a billion. Today there was an aging baby boomer woman who kept saying “oh wow” so that I wanted to slug her who found out that the strange horn she bought when she was in college was from the Civil War. Antiques Road Show always makes me think about all the junk I have in the garage and wonder why I didn’t get something “I just had to have” when I was younger that today is worth some amazing, “What? You’re kidding??? Would you say that again????” amount of money. I know I would look great on Antiques Road Show. I would chuckle when the expert made a dumb joke about how fortunate I am, and then I would almost drop trow when I found out what it “for insurance purposes” should be valued at. But I didn’t. I also didn’t get hit by a garbage truck while chasing a foul ball into the street as a ten-year old. So I guess I’m still ahead of the game

Speaking of which, before I got to the Cubs game I had a bit of lunch and saw that the Chicago Bulls were playing their first NBA playoff game. I’m not that much of a Bulls fan but it was encouraging to see them beat the Boston Celtics – last year’s champs – in double overtime. By then I knew I was in a groove and would not move from the couch again. What I didn’t know was that this game was an indicator of what was yet to come.

The Cubs started the game in fairly typical early season form - good pitching and no hitting. But by the 4th inning they were losing 4-0. The Cubs played St. Louis today. The Cardinals. If you don’t know it, the Cardinals are really named the Hated Cardinals. More so, even than the Despised Milwaukee Brewers. Losing to the Cardinals would be even would be a terrible insult. Yes, it’s early in the season. And yes, tomorrow’s another day. And yes, they’ll play the Hated Cardinals several more times before the summer is over. But still. Watching Cardinal slugger Albert Pujols come to the plate gives me heartburn. And when he doesn’t get on base three times in a row it makes me even more nervous when he comes to the plate for his fourth try. Then when our pitcher walks even one batter in an inning I moan. And when we give up even one run, let alone 4, my wife shouts up the stairs to see if I haven’t fallen and can’t get up. Of course, when The Cubs tie the score on a Derrick Lee double and later go ahead on a hit by former St. Louis player now Cub Aaron Miles I leap high into the air and gently float down as the runners gracefully race to home plate.

Sadly, St. Louis tied the game at 5 each and no matter how hard the Cubs tried they couldn’t score a run again. Until the 11th inning. Until after the Cubs’ had loaded the bases and left all the base runners stranded like sailors on a deserted South Pacific island. Until after St. Louis blew a scoring chance of their own. Until Aramis Rameriz stepped to the plate. Rameriz hadn’t had a hit all day. None the less he is a dangerous hitter. Here let me say that I could milk this for a lot more than it’s really worth and take you through the entire pitch count. But I won’t. I will just point out that sitting on a couch isn’t always what you think. It can be exhausting. It can wear away at you from the inside. It can have you twisting and turning and sitting up and lying down. It can also serve up the perfect relief as, with one man on base, the ball sails over the right field wall and the Cubs win 7-5.