So, after a bad half-day at the office, I went home, picked-up Carol, and drove down to "The Cell". Being a weekday, traffic on the Kennedy was a mess. We still got there just before the gates opened for the day. Today, however, was a new experience.

All vehicles were being searched. We had to stop, open the trunk, and had police inspect inside the car. The real disturbing part, however, was a gentleman who scanned the car with a geiger counter. Once inside the park, you see more stepped-up security - lots of Chicago Police plus un-uniformed security with dogs (shepherds, so it was more attack and control than say a beagle for smelling for specific things). I saw people from different departments, including U.S. Marshals. It was the first time that I realized how big of a national event this really was, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of my mind - was there a specific or non-specific threat that warranted this much security?

The day starts with the Pepsi Pitch, Hit & Run National Finals. Hardly anyone is in the park to support the kids, but it was a nice event for them.

It was workout day, so the next event was American League and National League Batting Practice. Being out in the outfield is the perfect place for today's events. Unfortunately, Carol got bowled-over by a guy a few seats next to her who came our way after a ball that he wasn't too close to. She was pissed and yelled at the guy for slamming into her for a ball he couldn't get to. A brief ugly moment.

One thing that was noticeable - hardly anybody from the NL hit any homers.

At 7 o'clock, it was time for the Century 21 Home Run Derby. Now THAT was LOTS of fun. It started with another mini-concert - this time it was The Ataris playing their version of Don Henley's "The Boys Of Summer" (it started-off the ESPN broadcast). The place was pretty packed (only a few seats open), but, in general, people behaved going for balls. There was a ball that went into the section next to us, and all of a sudden a fishing net came out of nowhere and snagged the ball. The place went nuts, mostly because no one noticed the net before, and well, he used a net to catch the ball and not a glove.

Man, this week is so friggin' cool...

Bad day at the office, good night at the ball park...