wishin' & hopin'

ok. so yesterday's game.

i wish we knew what was wrong with our knuckleballer. i'm worried about Wakey. he's not himself. and if a loss at The Trop doesn't prove that, i don't know what does.

i wish i understood what some of those defensive decisions were all about. namely JFL's (which. thankfully, ended up in a run-down between home & third) & Julian's throw to home (which i know was an attempt to save a run, but it appeared from where i was sitting, that there was no chance of that happening, and that he should have thrown to second for a sure out -- instead we got no outs & the run still scored; split second decision required, i know, but this time it was not the right one).

i also wish that people who attended yesterday's game would learn to sit.the hell.down.
good grief. for fifty-plus dollars to sit in the section i was in, i have never seen so many people walk back & forth in my life. it was ridiculous. and always just as a pitch was released. might have been funny if i hadn't been, oh gee, i don't know... trying to watch the game?!

then there was the couple right behind me. it was like they were a short recording that would play out, rewind, and play again. over & over. first she would complain about the pitching & how Wakefield was terrible & get him out of there (until we got him out of there & she started complaining about Julian & how poor Wakey's back is hurting him). then Coco Crisp would come up & he would laugh & say "makes me want some cereal. Coco Crisp. hahahaha." to which the woman would announce to no one in particular "he's from Philadelphia, what does he know." they also wanted someone to pinch hit for Hinske. which would be nice & all in key situations, but hello! he is our only option at first base right now with Youk out, unless we think risking Papi at first is a better plan. ::rolling eyes::

and of course the Yankees-Jays game that started a full forty minutes before the Sox-Rays... and somehow by the time we were in the second inning, we were already deeper into our game than they were into theirs.

but enough of that.

let's talk about what was great about yesterday.
like the fact that the Sox battled hard, even if they lost.
and my seats.

i may detest baseball in a dome, but you can't argue with seats like these for what is really dirt cheap to see the Sox play.


while the third base "Sox" side of the field provided a better view of Mike Lowell may have been more animated & vocal during the game, the first base side offers a peek into the Red Sox dugout. here you may witness the likes of a deeply engrossed Dustin Pedroia in conversation with Jon Lester... Clay Buchholz staring out at the field... and Youk & Bobby Kielty hanging out over the rail.


oh look... Mike Lowell is batting... wait. what were we talking about now?

oh, Wakefield! i've never seen him pitch live before. it is crazy how slow that knuckle ball is. you don't get the cool camera angles that show you the flutter when you're actually at the game, but you get a real sense for just how much slower that pitch is.


let's see what's going on back in the dugout again. now Lester & Buchholz are having a discussion of their own, while Manny hangs out with someone i can't seem to recognize -- Royce Clayton perhaps? can't wait to see some Manny on Tuesday, let me tell you. hopefully he will be just the charge the Sox need for the remaining few games, and he'll have his swing locked in for October ball.


hmmm... what have we here...

ummm... oh! right!
here we have one Speedy McEllsbury on first base, chatting with Carlos "Why-Did-We-Let-This-Guy-Go-Again?" Pena. i had a great shot until Alicea decided to cut through it at the last second.


bases loaded for Big Papi in the sixth.

...and the Big Man on first base...

...where he prepares to break into a show tune?


finally, some Mike Timlin, because who knows how much longer we'll be able to enjoy our dwindling wearers of correct socks.

and this, my friends, is what happens when you are focused on said Mike Timlin, zoomed in nice & close... and he turns to fire a pick-off attempt at first that makes you jump because suddenly it looks like he's right in your face. =P


anyway. back to a game-and-a-half lead. Sox rest (which is good for our beaten up boys) while the Jays try to stick it to Satan's Minions one more time to hopefully split the series. the good news is that AJ Burnett is pitching for Toronto this afternoon, and he's been pretty impressive since he came back from the DL -- as he showed us last week. with any luck, he'll keep it up against Rog-ah today, and we will get the better end of that lingering half-game difference that separates the Sox from the Yankees.

buckle up. this last week of baseball is going to be a battle in the AL East, it appears.
the home stretch approacheth.
here we go, Red Sox, here we go!