Sara’s Diary: Day 25 without baseball

It’s Day 25 since baseball was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has called on Chicago’s sports teams to help her keep people at home.

While that is absolutely the right call it highlights that we are in stay at home mode for a while and there is no end in sight. I admit I got a bit pensive and melancholy about this over the weekend, so today I’m trying a different angle: distraction.

For the first, and likely only, time in my life I would like to thank Yadier Molina. Yes. That guy. The St. Louis Cardinals catcher. Really.

You see, as I logged on this morning to see what distractions baseball had in store for me today I was absolutely thrilled to see this note in Duane Pesice’s “Baseball History Unpacked:”

2017 - Cardinals C Yadier Molina loses a ball when it bounces in the dirt and then gets stuck to his chest protector, allowing Cubs PH Matt Szczur to reach base on a dropped third strike in the seventh inning while Molina is frantically looking around to find the disappeared spheroid. The bizarre play turns out to be instrumental, as Brett Cecil walks the next batter, Jon Jay, and Kyle Schwarber follows with a three-run homer and Chicago wins, 6-4. (3)

Admit it, you want to see it again. So do I [VIDEO].

Gee, I wonder how a ball just defies gravity and winds up stuck to a catcher’s gear. I’m sure it’s nothing though. It’s not like it’s definitive proof that a catcher who’s built most of his reputation on his defense has a few tricks up his sleeve (on his chest?), but I digress. Because as strange as that moment was the best part of it is that it set up an epic Cubs comeback win. From Al’s recap of that game:

Just when I had my head down at Busch Stadium thinking sad thoughts about losing the season-opening series to the Cardinals, the Cubs come up with one of their patented crazy rallies and beat their division rivals 6-4, taking two of three in a playoff-intensity type of series.

The big blow was Kyle Schwarber’s three-run homer, and of course you’d like to see it again!

That was Schwarber’s first home run since blowing out his knee in 2016, and it was a monster 404 foot bomb to right. Let’s watch it again [VIDEO].

Still beautiful.

There may not be new baseball games right now but we’ll always have Sticky Yadi Day. Happy Sticky Yadi anniversary, Cubs fans! Let us know how you’re celebrating in the comments.