For my full description of the day (featuring 5th ball photo!), click here. Click all pics below to enlarginate.

An interesting view of the Citgo sign. But also note that this whole are of Fenway used to look nothing like this. Right beyond this brick wall is the Big Concourse, behind right field. This whole area used to be "the laundry." The spiral staircase, the huge green thing with the Sox logo on it, that bridge, the big green structure on the right--none of that was there when I was little. You can also see, just to the left of the Citgo sign, the very top right corner of the bleachers, which extend up a few rows farther than the grandstand which is right next to them. See map below of where I took this shot from (and click on it for the descriptions of what all the stuff on there means). Wow, now I know I was standing 1,300 feet from the Citgo sign. Google Maps is the best.


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Okay, like I said, Doris Kearns Goodwin was there. She seemed to be walking aimlessly, checking in with Gate D, then being sent off, back around the park. I was following her for a little bit, thinking about how I'd go about an autograph request. Then I gave up, and settled for this picture of her. Don't worry, she never knew she was being stalked. (Oh, and my pics of Yaz' now right-side up 8 are in this Uniwatch post!)

Inside the park now. View of the top of the Pru peeking over the top of the bleachers.

Youk practicing his golf/baseball swing.

Love the shadows here. Didn't get all that many shots while out here, as I was busy trying to get a ball, which I did, as you know. See map below:

You can also see my seat from here. There's a guy sitting two seats away. When I got there later, that seat and the one next to it were in the down position, and there was an M&Ms wrapper on the seat next to mine. Oh, and I was in the first row of blue seats, despite being in row 2 of the grandstand. That's kind of explained elsewhere in this post.

From the Big Concourse, looking toward home plate. Look very closely and you can see the left handed A's hitter in the cage.

The unmistakable Dan Haren. Wait, he's totally mistakable in this shot, but he is the tall figure on the left. The one on the right is an A's coach, walking Haren through the bowels of Fenway, from the trainer's room to the A's clubhouse. I shot from the hip, and missed. Oh well. It's cool when players are just walking around in uniform past the concession stands and stuff.

So now I'm way over in left field, shooting A's. I find Lenny DiNardo and start shooting, a feet feet back from the fence, through two people who've left me with a clean shot. It looks like he's looking right at me. But note, one of the people to the side and in front of me was a woman, a Lenny-hunter. She was bending at the waist, leaning on the fence in the way only a female is flexible enough to do. You know, the way that makes Gene Simmons forget his name. So, if her shirt had even the slightest V-neck, I'm sure the guy next to Lenny easily could've said, "Get a good look, Costanza?" So he may have been looking at her. Oh wait, it's Lenny DiNardo. He was totally looking at me. Or is he not gay? Have we ever figured it out? Yes, we have. He's straight. I forgot.

Piazza at right.

The view from my seat, right by the section 3 pole. Got a single for this game, so I was by myself.

Looking to my right. The color and style of seats is always a mishmash right by the first rows of the grandstand. The normal set-up is: Grandstand: old, blue, wooden seats. Box seats: new, red, plastic seats. However, as some of the wooden seats in the closest grandstand rows have been severely weathered due to being just on the edge of the roof-covered area, they've been replaced by newer seats. But some of those seats, as you can kind of tell here, are green, a seat color normally reserved for the bleachers. Sometimes you'll see blue plastic seats, or red plastic that have red plastic armrests, where as most red plastics have the old, metal, blue armrests. I could go on, but then you'd click over to Surviving Grady or whatever.

And looking to the left, which also provides a cool view of the right field boxes, where everyone has to look 90 degrees to their left to see the action.

Man, that Wally creeps me out.

Lowell checks out Papi as he's getting stretched.

Jacoby & Myers, aka the Ellsbury Gough Boy as some folks are calling him.

Now Jacoby talks to Papi.

The Citgo sign from my seat.

I'm keepin' my eye on you, rake.

Tavarez clowning with fans as usual.

Manny returns to the lineup and gets a mega-standing O.

Manny singles in his first at bat back. Now Papi is up.

The Dooblah at second with a you-know-what.

&Myers swings away.

Youk returns! Pinch hitting to a huge ovation.

The night-view from my seat.

Lugo against Lugo! Aaarrrghhh!

The guy who wears socks on his ears and plays a kazoo and gets people to cheer. Still haven't figured this guy out yet.



Two shots of Papi's dong. Sounds like a drink order at a Red Sox bar.

For the ninth, I sat here. Corey on the mound (This "on the bump" thing has really taken off. Sickening. I hate trends. I guess they're "scuffling" to come up with new terminology.), trying to eff up my perfect day.

Scutaro up.

Lowell at third. ou get the "good" shots from down here, have you noticed?

Shannon Stewart ended the game as he hit a bloop to Pedroia, who doubled off the runner at second. I bolted out toward the back stairs before many people knew the game was over.

By the way, trivia buffs, Gene Simmons' name is Chaim Witz.