Notes From The Bleachers

- Chien Ming Wang has now pitched 54 big league games and has a career 3.78 ERA. I have been waiting for the other shoe to drop for a while, but it's probably about time to stop worrying about the fact that he doesn't strike a lot of batters out.

- By the end of the fifth inning, the whole stadium was aware that Wang had a perfect game going, but nobody was mentioning it directly. Even I was discussing it in roundabout ways with my friends, as if it were their teenage sister's unwanted pregnancy. I am not remotely superstitious, but I didn't want to be accused of jinxing the no-no. Of course I find the whole thing ridiculous. I want to tell everyone to stop acting like some Italian grandmother who thinks somebody gave her the mal occhio, because her tomato plants didn't yield as much as usual. But, I guess you have to pick your battles.

- Is there another potentially historic sports achievement that is verboten to discuss while it is in progress? I can't think of one, but add your two-cents in the comments section.

- A group of Taiwanese nationals sat two rows in front of me at the game today. They wear all wearing Wang jerseys and proudly splayed their nation's flag above their heads after every out. With every extra perfect inning from Wang, they got a little more giddy. They became the stars of our section. Strangers were slapping them five and asking them to wave their flag more. It was really a beautiful moment. I wanted Wang to throw a perfect game for them almost as much as for me. Finally after 7 1/3 inning, Wang gave a solo homerun and within minutes the Taiwanese group packed up their flag and went home. I went from loving those guys to hating them almost instantly. I can't believe I allowed myself to feel thrilled for a bunch of fair-weather fans that split to beat traffic the moment their countryman lost his perfect game. In fact, if Red China wants to reclaim their former island, I say we let them. (Perhaps I'm overreacting)