17 May 2005Jury duty ended today, at last! We ended up not being able to make a decision in the criminal case, which would require a unanimous decision by the jury. We started deliberating last Friday with a 7-5 vote favoring "not guilty." The final vote was 9-3 favoring the "guilty" verdict, but the three on the other side wanted neither to budge,nor continue trying to convince the rest of us to vote their way. So, the judge declared a mistrial and the case goes back to the parties involved. Susan, Matt, Scott, and I went to see the Padres play against the Braves tonight. We sat right next to the opponent's bullpen, so we got to see their starting pitcher, John Smoltz, warming up before the game. Last time we saw the Braves play here was a playoff game, I think in 1998, when Smoltz beat the Padres. I remember seeing him in the bullpen that time too. His pitches seem to sizzle as the travel toward the catcher's mitt, then make a popping sound as it hits. The sound reminds me of bacon cooking. Anyway, this year was no different, and he was throwing 94 mph fastballs for the first 8 innings, keeping all but a couple of our Padres from getting past first base. In the 8th, Khalil Greene doubled to left, then scored after a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly. 2-1 Braves, going to the bottom of the ninth... DWL |
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