36,000 of my closest friends...

This morning, I went to the dining hall to get a quick brunch before I head off to Boston for the game, and I managed to become best friends with half of the workers, and mortal enemies with the rest.

I was sporting my "Fenway is Where I Pray" shirt, and one of them told me he liked it: "You should wear that every day," he said. I replied that it was, after all, Easter, which was good for a hearty laugh. Now, being in Connecticut means that I'm smack in the middle of the divide between Red Sox and Yankee Country, so there are a fair amount of fans on both sides working at and attending Trinity College.


At this point, one of the Yankee fans chimed in. "You'll be crying tonight," he told me with a grin. I decided not to get into CC Sabathia's April statistics, or the fact that Mark Teixeira is a notoriously slow starter. Instead, I went with something short and sweet:


"Nope. I'll be at Fenway Park, on my feet cheering with 36,000 of my closest friends."

See you there!

Stop teasing me, Connecticut!

Today, it was fifty degrees and pouring rain in Hartford. There's no snow to be found; indeed, there's even green grass. All these things conspire to make me feel like baseball is closer than it truly is, and I'm not a fan.

As of tonight, there are twenty-three days until Spring Training. There are more than two months left until Opening Day [Night?] on April 4th.

I don't know about you guys, but as much as I try to distract myself with basketball, football, and hockey, the reality is that I spend the entire winter counting down the hours until I get to see baseball again. Winter break is a temporary respite, as I can take solace in the MLB Network, but all too soon I have to return to Trinity College and the realm of basic cable.


I got some good baseball books and movies for Christmas, and I received some Red Sox themed games for my birthday, but there's nothing like the real thing. I even stooped to the level of watching Sportscenter's "All Favre, All the Time" coverage for half an hour just to hear the thirty second blurb about Johnny Damon (but that's another post).

The moral of the story? It was rainy and miserable all day, Hartford is trying to trick me, and there's no baseball in sight, so if any of you have any quick cures for the offseason blues, please let me know!

Panic!

There is entirely too much going on in my life this week.  It's finals week here at Trinity College (the home of basic cable and no NESNplus), and I have four of them (English tomorrow at noon, Constitutional Law Thursday at nine, American Political Thought Thursday at noon, and Urban Politics Friday at 3).  Yes, I have the very last final, all but ensuring that, by the time it's over, I won't be able to leave Hartford in time to catch the Sox play Tampa Bay once I get home (maybe that's a good thing, judging by this past series....).

Am I truly expected to be able to focus on studying when the Sox just lost three of four down at the Trop, and are now heading to New York to play a pair in that brand new launching pad in the Bronx?  I mean, in the grand scheme of things, what's more important: Charles Dickens' Bleak House or the fact that David Ortiz went approximately 0-for-5,084 this weekend?  The evolution of the Supreme Court's interpretation of privacy or our starting rotation possessing a 5.50 ERA?  I mean, I can see where the whole "right to privacy" debate might affect me, but the only Bleak House I'm worried about is Fenway Park if Ortiz doesn't stop impersonating Mo Vaughn - and fast.

Alright, the Yankees series will be over after my English final, but then there's Cleveland, and then Tampa Bay (luckily at friendly Fenway), and If you think I'll be able to focus while watching Justin Masterson try to get back on track (Wednesday night), or hoping Tim Wakefield continues his torrid pace (Thursday night), then you haven't been paying attention.  This could be a problem.  However, if the Sox can win 3-4 games out of their next five, and I escape the semester with a 3.4ish GPA, I'll consider this week a success... If I can even get through it.

My friend Becca and me at the new Yankee Stadium during their exhibition against the Cubs on April 4... Yes, she's the Yankee fan.