Home Opener 2008

Fenway Park, in Boston, is a lyric little bandbox of a ballpark. Everything is painted green and seems in curiously sharp focus, like the inside of an old-fashioned peeping-type Easter egg. It was built in 1912 and rebuilt in 1934, and offers, as do most Boston artifacts, a compromise between Man’s Euclidian determinations and Nature’s beguiling irregularities. Its right field is one of the deepest in the American League, while its left field is the shortest; the high left-field wall, three hundred and fifteen feet from home plate along the foul line, virtually thrusts its surface at right-handed hitters.

from John Updike’s essay Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu

The Big Tizzle is Back

so it took roughly 3 1/2 games and some dozen at bats but Big Papi is back! of course he never really left, despite what mark simon and the rest of the baseball tonight crew would have you believe... sure he was 0 for the season coming in to today's game but a ringing single in the 5th was followed by a drive over the rightfield fence off lefty (and old friend) alan embree. That ended a scoreless tie and sent the Red Sox to their second straight victory over the A's and provided Jon Lester the run support needed to pick up his first win of the season.

lester looked strong over 6.2 innings, papi got his stroke back and even the captain kicked in a homerun in the 9th for insurance. a positive day all around for the nation - tomorrow's an off-day and then another 3 days out of country before returning to the lyric little bandbox for the Home Opener and trophy presentation on April 8th... can't wait for this year's festivities!

*still amazes me that i am able to compare world series trophy presentation ceremonies at fenway park