Take Me Out...
Jun. 21st, 2006 08:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowThursday. The Padres/Dodgers game was scheduled for 12:30. Antsiness seems to run in the family; Dad got us on the road well ahead of time. D has a new GPS navigator in his car, and is still at the gee-wow stage about it. I was more interested in the audio, specifically in the pronunciation of the word "left". As part of the phrase "keep left", it sounded normal, but in "turn left"... well, my ear kept insisting it was hearing "bleft". Close, careful listening reveals no "b", but the illusion persists. I'm guessing that they're using only one recording of "left", probably from the former phrase, and that the problem has to do with the onset of the /l/. (Say the words "black" and "lack", and pay attention to your tongue. Any /l/ sound involves the blade of the tongue making momentary contact with the teeth on both sides; in "black", the contact is quite brief, while in "lack" it's noticeably longer. The word "left", pronounced in isolation, is more like the latter. In continuous speech, though, the /p/ in "keep left" has the same effect as the /b/ in "black"; the /n/ in "turn left" does not, and hearing a clipped /l/ in that phrase, the ear makes up a /b/ that really isn't there. Or so I'm guessing.
Anyway, we got to the vicinity of the park early, and had a bite at a nearby Subway. At the park, I picked up a souvenir program, and also bought a Padres shirt. (Normally I wouldn't, but C had said that everyone at the party Sunday would be expected to wear some piece of baseball clothing, so...) The game itself wasn't bad; Chris Young pitched six good innings, and left with the score tied. Unfortunately, the first two relievers, Sikorski and Adkins, couldn't keep the lid on; the Dodgers scored four times in the seventh and went on to a 7-3 win. I can't complain too much, though. During my visit, the Padres did well enough to regain a share of the division lead (and as of this writing are alone in first, a game ahead of the Evil Blue Empire). The park is very nice; we had good seats, down in the left-field corner, and a clear view of every pitch. Maybe next time I'll actually get to see them win. (Also, maybe next time I'll get a chance to see Khalil Greene live. He'd been slumping, and Bochy decided to give him the day off in favor of Geoff Blum.)
Anyway, we got to the vicinity of the park early, and had a bite at a nearby Subway. At the park, I picked up a souvenir program, and also bought a Padres shirt. (Normally I wouldn't, but C had said that everyone at the party Sunday would be expected to wear some piece of baseball clothing, so...) The game itself wasn't bad; Chris Young pitched six good innings, and left with the score tied. Unfortunately, the first two relievers, Sikorski and Adkins, couldn't keep the lid on; the Dodgers scored four times in the seventh and went on to a 7-3 win. I can't complain too much, though. During my visit, the Padres did well enough to regain a share of the division lead (and as of this writing are alone in first, a game ahead of the Evil Blue Empire). The park is very nice; we had good seats, down in the left-field corner, and a clear view of every pitch. Maybe next time I'll actually get to see them win. (Also, maybe next time I'll get a chance to see Khalil Greene live. He'd been slumping, and Bochy decided to give him the day off in favor of Geoff Blum.)
