The Epic-ness of Jon Lester

Now THAT was the Jon Lester I expected to see this season... none of that fifth inning implosion shenanigans. As far as games I've been to, that one definitely ranks first in epic pitching... however in terms of excitement at the end, it has to fall short of Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS. After Game 5, random strangers were embracing in the streets of Boston. Had Lester not given up that double to Young, I have no doubt that Fenway had the potential to become a giant raucous party.

And why did said party not happen? I think I know. In the top of the seventh inning, with one out, a twenty-something girl across the aisle from me said the words that you must never utter during a perfect game bid: "He's like, throwing a, what's it called? No-hitter?" Now, those of us who had heard her immediately stood up and chastised her - she had made this announcement at a high (beer aided) volume, and around twenty people had clearly heard her. Sure enough, the very next batter was Young, who bashed a no-doubt double into the gap in left-center. Those of us who know better stood up and pointed at her... the girl got angry.

"Why," she demanded, "are they pointing at me?! It's not like it's my fault!" Deep down, we all knew that she was technically correct: one fan's words do not affect the outcome of a game, but come on. At the time, everyone at Fenway was witnessing history. Obviously the young woman who made such a boneheaded pronouncement had no grasp of - or respect for - baseball traditions. The guy in front of me decided that there was probably a pink hat within her group. There wasn't, and I don't hold with that stereotype, but when the four of them got up to leave (in the eighth inning), I counted one sparkly hat, one baby blue hat, three Ellsbury shirts, and one rhinestoned Boston tanktop. I also glanced over at the space where they were sitting, and estimated that the four young women had consumed upwards of twenty beers.

Girls like that are the reason I do not own an Ellsbury shirt. Youkilis? Yep. Varitek? Of course. Pedroia? I have three. But until Ellsbury is slightly less attractive to the drunken obnoxious bandwagon fans, or until his performance is so improved that I can't justify this boycott, I will not buy a #46 shirt. (One of the more impressive performances I saw last night was Jacoby actually taking a walk.)

Most of the fans at the park last night were excellent examples of the Red Sox faithful: after Ortiz's dinger, we chanted "Papi! Papi!" until the big man came out for a curtain call. Sox fans will never turn on David Ortiz, and I am so very proud of this fact.

All in all, last night was the best time I've had since my summer vacation started, even though my mother and I got lost for an hour after the game and didn't get home until 1:30am. Six and one third perfect innings, and a two hit complete game from Lester; two hits, including a homerun, by Big Papi; a Mikey Lowell jack; and an actual WALK by Ellsbury (this was probably the most unexpected event of the night for me).

Finally, I should apologize for being so atrocious at updating lately. I know there's no excuse, but I've been working full-time as a one on one aide at an elementary school, and my student is exhausting. However, I promise to be better.

Oh Papi...

Okay. So that was a tough loss. But there were lots of pretty awesome things within the tough loss. First of all, who was that wearing #23, and what have they done with Julio Lugo? Secondly, may we keep the replacement? In all seriousness, Lugo notched five hits, including a double and a run scored. The best part of his performance? A leaping grab of a liner accompanied by a zero in the errors column.

Dustin Pedroia made a leaping catch of his own, and also collected four hits. Pedey is hitting .336 on the season. The downside of the second baseman's day came in extra innings, when he struck out with the bases loaded on a foul tip into the catchers mitt. Having seen the collection of items he slammed around in the dugout, I can only imagine the colorful language he treated the bench crew to. In years past, his anxiety might have been tempered somewhat by the fact that Big Papi hits behind him. Not so this year, as Ortiz is still waiting for his first homerun of 2009. David Ortiz set an AL record and matched an MLB record today, but unfortunately the category has limited glory: twelve men left on base by a single player in a single game. Ouch.

Obviously something is not right. I would like to give Ortiz the benefit of the doubt just a little longer. I can accept that Papi will probably never be his old self, but I would like for him to at least hit his weight. He is the absolute last person I want at the plate right now with the game on the line. (My list, if you're interested, goes Bay, Youk, Pedroia, Drew, Lowell, Varitek, Van Every... Pesky, Ortiz.) There's been some speculation, since the Manny bombshell, that Ortiz was a user, and now that he's stopped, his production has, too. Of course, there have always been whisperings, but now that quiet minority has become a mob, brandishing their pitchforks and demanding blood. David Ortiz has never been connected to steroids, has never tested positive for any PED, but, contrary to American ideals, the perception seems to be that he's guilty (by Manny association) until proven innocent.

It appalls me that Red Sox fans could behave this way. I understand that there is no proof either way, and the circumstancial evidence looks rather damning. However, I say Ortiz deserves our support until there is irrefutable evidence that he did something wrong. Sure, the man looks like a shell of himself (0-for-7 tonight), barely above the Mendoza line, but he was the hero of that magical run in 2004. How can people turn on him like this? Of course, if/when he snaps out of this, he'll have to prove his effectiveness all over again. But he deserves a chance to prove himself, and to clear his name.

Five Minute Musings

I've been really bad about updating the last few days. My apologies, I made my trek home from Hartford Friday, went to the Sox game Saturday (more on that in a second), did the whole Mother's Day thing Sunday, and went to the doctor's yesterday. Today, I have a meeting with a stockbroker (seriously), but I figured I should squeeze in time to write. This edition of FMM will center around ballpark etiquette, paritcularly the bad behavior I noted during my trip on Saturday.

1.) Don't drink to excess, especially at a day game. Saturday's start time was 3:40, sort of an awkward half day/half night game dictated by those idiots over at FOX. Beyond the usual idocy of having a beer an inning (that adds up to around $60), I was sitting in an alcohol free section, and a set of parents with their children were asked to leave with their drinks, so they left their 8ish-year-old children sitting alone while they went off to finish boozing. Keeping it classy.

2.) Don't boo the Red Sox players. Julio Lugo really got it hard on Saturday, as most of the Tampa Bay hits in their big inning found holes on his side of the diamond. In all fairness, there was at least one that should have been an out, but he deserves the support of the fans regardless. When you support the Red Sox, you support all of them, through the bad times and the good. Sure it's fine to pick favorites (I sure do), but booing your own player makes you look no better then a fairweather fan... and if you're a fairweather fan, stop taking up seats at Fenway so the real fans can get in.

3.) Keep your cellphone conversations short, or go talk in the concourse. I didn't pay these obscene ticket prices so I could hear you gush about little Johnny's fist word. Is there really no better time you can think of to talk to your mother in law than in the third inning with two on and nobody out? There was this one really obnoxious girl behind me on Saturday who spent a good two innings on the phone catching up on gossip with her girlfriends, screeching and yelling and giggling at the top of her voice. Don't be that girl.

4.)Don't scream obscenities - be more creative! There was one man on Saturday who was absolutely vulgar, especially towards Mr. Lugo (I think he had also been violating #1). There are children at the games, and beyond that, spouting swear words makes Sox fans look ignorant of the game. Lambast BJ Upton about his dismal OBP, not about what his mother may or may not have been doing last night, and the heckling is rather more acceptable.

5.) Try to limit your bathroom/snack/phone breaks. No one likes having to stand up and have you squeezeby them in those crowded rows at Fenway. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to the bathroom, but maybe if you had 2 beers instead of 4, you wouldn't have to get up every half-inning. Also, most food in the concouses is available from the vendors walking around. One to three times is expected (though I try not to leave at all - I don't like to miss anything!!), but more than four or five is really annoying.

There you have it - my Fenway Five. We all pay ridiculous amounts of money to be at the park, and it's a shame when someone else ruins your experience. Even a blowout like Saturday's can be fun if you decide it will be... heck, we got to witness Julio Lugo's first homerun of the season!