Unbefreakinglievable

All photos in this entry were taken by me on August 12, 2008

Bill Lee! Right in front of me!

I woke up this morning almost convinced that last night was a dream.

The whole thing was surreal. I had a really good seat (about 8 rows off the field) and the weather was 100 times better than I expected. While KellyO (who had tickets for this game long before I did) and I stood watching the field and having a beer before the game, I was approached by a man asking “Are you Cyn?” (turns out he and I have mutual friends…I’m still not positive how he spotted me though!) And then a man asked me to take a picture of his son (first time at Fenway) and when I refused to let him “pay” me for it, he went and bought me a beer. Woot! Free beer! How much better could the night get?

I’ll tell you how much better…Bill Lee winked at me. 😆 He was walking around our section and ended up in the row ahead of me (and the the section next to me) for a few innings (he bolted when the rain, which only lasted about ten minutes, started).

Obligatory shot of my man Mike!

I have pictures, but my card reader is acting up this morning so I’ll have to add them later (and I will!).

Photos are now added!

Mike Timlin in sepia tones. It was just that kind of night.

Watching the first inning was like being in the best baseball dream ever. I kept thinking that Charlie Zink was just about bouncing off the bench waiting to get back out on the field while also loving all the run support. (And Jon Lester was probably flipping out thinking that they were using up all their offensive power the night BEFORE he goes out to pitch!)

Javy and Aardsma…before the suck set in.

Even with the run support, Charlie struggled. But I still wasn’t totally unimpressed with him. See, the bullpen freaked me out too much to focus on Charlie’s miscues last night. As my friend Emmie so eloquently put it in a text to me last night, “the bullpen seems to be like Christmas lights. One goes out, they all go out!”. Ah yes, sucking in the name of solidarity. Let’s put a freaking stop to that huh?

Charlie’s first pitch in the Bigs. Given I was near Pesky’s Pole, this came out much better than I expected.

Okajima and Papelbon did just that. Huge kudos to Oki for his work last night. He kept the team in the game and made it possible for the comeback (I know, I know! How the hell should you have to “come back” from a first inning 10-0 lead????) AND he got the win. Yay Oki!

I had great people around me too. The guys from Detroit who had never been to Fenway. The family (Mom, Dad, son and “Granddad”) behind me bringing “Granddad” to Fenway for the first time in forty years! Hell, even the two drunk guys in front of us who didn’t stop cheering the team…really loudly…all night were loads of fun. It was good to be around such optimistic folks. Our part of the park never lost hope and were rewarded for it greatly!

The view of JD was nice.

Seeing Big Papi hit two, three-run homeruns in the first inning is now my favorite Fenway moment. From my angle, I couldn’t see if he took a curtain call (they were certainly screaming for him) but knowing how Papi is, and not having heard the fans lose it, I’m guessing he didn’t. Youk striking out twice and then hitting two homeruns – including the game-winner – that probably is a close second on the list!

(Some photos of Charlie before the game)

Checking out the crowd

Focusing

In the bullpen

Taking “The Walk”

A game that KellyO and I expected to be short, ran about 4 hours. Again, the folks in my section were great and no one wanted to leave. More folks than usual seemed to be staying, singing and taking pictures. The security guys didn’t even boot us out like they usually end up doing. No one wanted to leave.

To top off my night, I didn’t even have to wait for a cab. Jumped in one while walking toward Kenmore. Anyone who’s ever tried to get a cab after a Red Sox game knows that getting one that quickly is akin to hitting the number. Game over around 11:05pm – Cyn home by midnight. Woot!

I’m still not overjoyed at the acquisition of Paul Byrd and I’m bummed about Charlie’s first MLB outing (especially since he’s been optioned back to Pawtucket to make room for Byrd) and worried about Mike Lowell’s “injured oblique”…but that stuff will work itself out. Right now I’m still high from last night to focus on anything negative!

I’ll have more on the game later on (real life calls!) – tonight, Jon Lester is on the mound (and will probably have to throw another no-hitter given how many relief pitchers were used last night – regardless of what Amalie tells us, Masterson and Timlin were left, not just Masterson!) and I’ll be there with KellyJ!

Justin Masterson waits for the call that will never come.

Have a fabulous day, folks!