The despicable Alex Rodriguez has been used as a dartboard by the Jays, fittingly, as retaliation for his horseshit move earlier in the season. Tonight, Clemens retaliated for the retaliation, and he and Torre were ejected. Oh, I'm sorry, I must've offended you, as 60 percent of you "like" Alex Rodriguez, and 90 percent of you would like to see him become the all-time home run king. At least according to this poll. Wake up, America. (Note to ESPN: terrible job not giving any other choices on that second question.)

Unfortunately, the Jays have been worrying more about that than winning. We need a win to stay six up on the puppy-assaulters. We're tied with the Angels 1-1 in the third.

Remember hearing about how Bill Buckner was still wearing his old Cubs batting glove during the '86 World Series? (Much like how Wily Mo Pena is still wearing his Cincinnati Reds "26" wristbands now.) Well, at least it was his own item. Check out Ellis Burks, above, circa '87, with a Bill Buckner wristband!

(Look closely at the Buckner pic in the linked article and you can see the same wristband on Buckner's wrist. I always thought those wristbands with your own face and signature were weird....)

I think a good name for a debate hall would be "Divide and Concur."

Remember when Lugo screwed up Schilling's no-hitter? It was quite fitting that after Schill goes through all this rehabbing, he gets back, and the first batter he faces hits a ball to Lugo...who promptly lets it go by him. I don't feel bad about blaming everything that went wrong from that point on on Lugo. He's "Edgar 2: Electric Boogalugo." He's "Renteria: Havana Nights." Just like Edgar, he got here and literally forgot how to be anywhere near a good baseball player. And we have to watch O-Cab on the other side, to rub it in....

Manny didn't show up the ump. You can't eject a guy for walking away (not walking away from an argument, just walking away), no matter what he says about your mom. But these are same umps who, tonight, called a foul ball fair, and said strike three to Lowell didn't hit the dirt. (What did it bounce off of, Steinbrenner's wallet? Oh, right.) Oh, and let's not forget the play Manny was tossed on. He didn't swing, but umpy didn't even appeal, he just called him out.

When Schill reached up with his hand, I could tell problems were ahead. Then he had to cover on the non-DP, and he started the heavy-breathing. I almost always feel I can will us to do well, but in that case, you could see Schilling giving up the runs. And he did.

How many runners can we strand. Two on, one out, two innings in a row, no runs. Later, two on, NO out. We didn't even get a runner to third....

On the Ortiz ball, I was surpised they didn't intentionally walk him and pitch to Moss (they also could've done this in ninth)--and he hits this ball that deflects off a glove, and goes to O-Cab, who throws him out. Frustration city. Gotta give Moss credit for stepping in, and having to be up against Krod with 2 outs in the ninth with the tying runs on. Krod: No need to yell and scream in celebration toward whoever your god is. It was the guy's first game. Maybe act like you're supposed to come out on top in that spot. Besides, if there's a god, I guarantee you she was rooting for the rookie....

My whole life I've wondered this: Let's say it's a tie game, bottom of the ninth, runner on third, less than two outs. You're in the outfield. Fly ball to you. Why not purposely bat the ball up in the air, keep bobbling it while running in toward the infield? When you get close enough, make the catch, and the runner who had to wait on third until you fully caught the ball wouldn't try to score. You save the game. Legal? Answer: No. Tonight, Brandon Moss bobbled a fly ball in left. The runner left as soon as the Moss made contact with the ball. By the time he caught it, the runner was halfway home. The Sox appealed to third, but the ump said safe. Remy was right on it, telling us that as soon as contact is made, the runner can leave the base. I guess I should've known there's a rule against purposely bobbling the ball. But I didn't know that if you accidentally do it, the runner can just take off as soon as he thinks you made the catch, i.e. when it reaches/makes contact with the fielder. Makes sense. (They actually DID used to do my little theory. Joy of Sox says "I read that Sox RF Harry Hooper used to bat the ball in the air with his glove until he was near the infield, since the runner couldn't leave third until he actually caught it.")

Still, I have a feeling that one day, this will happen to the Yanks, and the umps will get the call wrong in that case, going in the Yanks' favor. And A-Rod will be involved.

You know what I'm worried about? Lugo in the postseason. The weird mental plane he lives on could cost us big if he goes and gets picked off in a Game 7 or something.

So, we're six up. Today wasn't as crazy as that recent mega-crazy day, but it was a frustrating one--and this time, both games went the wrong way. And many Yankee fans probably missed the day game because they were at work, and missed the late game because it was too late. While I suffer through both. That's the worst part--they look at the paper tomorrow, and my seven hours of agony, to them, is two seconds of "Oh, good, we gained a game. Yankees, baby!"

Let's not forget that we still have the best record. Yanks are gaining ground because they're playing nobody. They will have gone from July 9th to August 9th without playing a single team with a winning record. We've got the schedule advantage the rest of the way.

They keep showing this Papelbon moose hunt footage. Tonight, they showed him and the other dude using logs to fill a hole in the road so they can pass in their small-penis mobile. Now, don't get me wrong, what makes me sick, above anything about this, is the fact that they're out to kill innocent animals, and that it's celebrated. But, Jesus, should our closer really be lifting heavy logs in his spare time? Can we get Gagne to lift the freakin' logs for him, if he lifts logs two days in a row? This is the guy they baby because he has arm problems, remember? By the way, I now know that Yankee fans' "moose calls" are way off!

Finally, in poppy, dual-gender band news, we've got Mates of State in an AT&T commercial, and Imperial Teen in a Pizzeria Uno ad. ("It's the best that you did...") It took me a while, but I found out that's from their album "On," and it's called "First." I didn't get that album, but I had the first and second ones, and I liked them a lot. As a Faith No More fan, I had to get their stuff when they first came out, as this was the keyboard player's new project. Now they've got a new album coming out August 21st. I hate the fact that it will be a pizza ad that got me back into IT, but, whatever. I wouldn't put my song in an ad, but it's their call, and I still am a fan. And I've told you a little about Mates of State before. I'm sure they're ad money is going to the raising of their kid....

You don't have to be a die-hard know about the hat the Sox wore at times during the '74 season--blue with the red panel on the front. (middle hat here)

But I swear I've never seen a pic of it actually being worn. Until now:

This is the '75 yearbook, featuring pics from '74. You can see the hat on everybody, with the blue sides especially visible on Fisk. Also, in the action shots, you can see how there are no stripes on the stirrups, as is also noted in the Uni database linked above. This isn't the uni-related mystery I was talking about earlier--I'm still working on that. This is just an aside.

But here's another one for you. Sent in by reader pweezil:

"...noticed that when Jose Lopez pinch hit for Broussard on Sunday, that he was the third batter in a row with the first name Jose. He followed Vidro and Guillen."

I'll probably try to figure out if this is the first time three people with the same first name batted in a row. Or if it ever happened with four....or if three or more same-last-names batted in a row. But if anyone else wants to look it up, too, let me know what you come up with.

Note: Updates below! (But don't even read them. The shitty Yanks end up with a shitty win.)

Yanks losing to the Jays 3-1 after five. Jays had second and third, no out in the fifth, and could only get one. Frustrating. Two guys struck out with a runner on third and less than two outs. These guys need to get the bat on the ball in that situation.

Update, 3:10 PM: What's that take, ten minutes? 4-3 Yanks. Stupid Blue Jays. What did I say? Can't be leaving runners on. Can't be swinging for the fucking fences with a guy on third when a lazy fly will get him home. They don't deserve to win this game. If they happen to win, I'll take it. But I'm not counting on those fools. Hope they play like shit when we play 'em, too. Now 5-3. Why don't you give the Yanks lovely parting gifts at the end of the game, too? Shake their hands, even bow down to them? Maybe the Rogers Centre could set off fireworks after the game, in honor of the American Yankee kings honoring them with their presence?

Update, 3:26 PM: Did you know the Yanks cut Mike Myers? And they didn't call up that Jojoba guy, instead going with Jim Brower, who just came into the game with two on, two out. Let's see if Reed Johnson can "solve" Jim Brower.... of course not. Line out. Still 5-3 Luck Dragons after 6.

Update, 3:50 PM: Note to Jays fans--realize that as soon as your team comes back or beats the Yanks tomorrow or whatever, I'll go right back to them (as with anyone else who plays the Yanks) being my second-favorite team. Nothing personal. Or...team-al. But anyway, I'm still pissed at them, as they waste a leadoff single. A DP by Thomas ends the seventh. 5-3 Dirt-tasters. My least favorite thing about Gameday--it'll say "in play, out(s)." Then, while you're you're waiting for them to tell you exactly what happens, you inevitably think of the possibility of a double play, thanks to that "(s)". So it's agonizing, waiting, fully thinking of a DP in your mind. Then, there it is, and you wanna kill yourself for thinking DP, when it was THEM who suggested it. That's what just happened with Thomas.

Update, 3:55 PM: Ha! Yankee fans go through same ordeal, as Cano ends top 8 with a DP. Gotta score, Jays. Watch for Mariano for more than 3 outs here.

U, 4:00: On the other hand, the BEST thing about Gameday is when there's no one on base, and you see "in play, run (s)," because you know what that means. That's right, the ol' four-base error. Or, a home run, which is what Hill just hit. 5-4 now. Too bad they got Glaus before him, even though he had a 3-0 count....now 3-2 to Zaun....and he's out, two down in the eighth.

U, 4:09: Overbay walks, Stairs HBP. Two on, two out. They're stickin' with Vizcaino!

U, 4:13: Reed Johnson grounds softly to the pitcher. Come effing on. 5-4 NY, we go to the ninth.

U, 4:20: We go bottom 9. Rios, Wells, and Thomas against Mo. Let's do some "in play, run(s)"-ing! Rios goes down swining on three pitches, as if Mo was ten years younger. Don't be afraid, stupid Jays.... Wells staying alive---ahhh! They say "foul tip", and then all of a sudden they "ammend" that to "Wells strikes out on foul tip." Bastards. Somebody needs to fix Gameday. They're too busy with frills for us to get the basics, as is every other American company. Can we get a ball in play, Thomas? 2-2 now. Full count now. And he looks at strike three to end the game. Unbelievable. Yankee fans, you all deserve to see your team not win for a seventh consecutive season. They're shit. Absolute shit. Somebody's gotta step up and beat their sorry asses. If they play us, we'll know to make fucking contact with a man on third and two outs. How sad is it when you know a team has lost when they're up 3-1? It was guaranteed. You don't leave runners on like that. I said it at the time. The whole Blue Jays team should be fired. And then Vizcaino is hitting and walking you, begging you to take the game back, and you still don't do it. I want 9 new Jays out there tomorrow.

When did the "batter's eye" start at Fenway? I mean, when did they start to cover up those first two sections of bleachers during day games? I don't remember that happening when I was a kid. It seems pretty recent to me. I think they always thought the high wall out there did the job, unlike Yankee Stadium, which was re-built for the '76 season with a place for bleachers--which was immediately painted black, with no actual seating ever added.

NESN showed a Fenway day game from June 23rd, 1990, the other day. People were sitting in those seats. Just like they were in pictures I've seen from various years in the 70s and 80s. (Including a postcard I got when I was, like, four, which had a photo probably taken in the late 70s. It was actually two postcards: Fenway by day, Fenway by night. And I don't remember those seats being blacked out.)

I do remember reading about how when Tony Conigliaro made his comeback from being hit in the eye, the fans in that area all wore green shirts, to help him see the ball. (Shaun Kelly and Prime/Nowlin have written about it.) While doing a search on that--I found the answer to my question:

From this 2004 Projo article:

The area of the park is known as Conig's Corner, for Tony Conigliaro, who, after returning in 1969 from his 1967 eye injury, said he had trouble seeing the ball from that area during day games. Conigliaro was traded in 1970, and the seats were available from 1971 to 1997, when hitters again complained.

There you go. The "new eye" started in '97. And the "old" Conig's Corner (the new one is up on the right field roof, and doesn't involve audience participation) lasted from '69 to '70. So, forget I asked. I do have another Sox-related mystery that I'll hit you with soon. (It's uniform-related.)

Picture key: Top photo taken by me in April. 34 and 35 are the two bleacher sections covered by the tarp during day games. (This was taken before the start of a night game.) You'll note Cyn, aka Red Sox Chick, is in the photo. We were sitting together but arrived at the park separately, so at one point before the game, I was way on the other side of the park, and snapped a shot of her out in our seats, continuing my lifelong dream of taking pictures of people I know from really far away... The second shot is the new Conigliaro's Corner, as taken from the old one, on the same night--after I'd joined Cyn there. The third shot is another view from that night, a better view of the new CC from the old. Final pic: the batter's eye seats covered by the tarp for a day game, Father's Day, 2007. All pix by Jere.



[Update on Gagne's accent: It was brought up in the UniWatch Sunday open thread, and people provided examples of Gagne having an accent on both his Dodgers and Rangers jersey. Although at first he didn't have it on there with LA. Still wondering about the positioning--the way it's above the nameplate, and if it's sewn on or drawn on or what.]

NESN keeps telling us that the Sox have just won their first series in Seattle since 1999. That's wrong. We won one there in 2000.

July 31st: Red Sox 8, Mariners 5
August 1st: Mariners 5, Red Sox 4 (19 inn.)
August 2nd: Red Sox 5, Mariners 2

I checked the news to see who else reported it incorrectly. There was this ProJo article from before the series, although they got it right--we hadn't won a season series in Seattle since 1999. Maybe that's where NESN got it from, and they left out a key word. But, wait--we didn't win this season's series, we only won this second of two series, losing the season series there 4-2. Just sayin', take a peek at the records, NESN. It takes, like, a few minutes. So, the final, official truth is: We just won our first series in Seattle since 2000. We still haven't won a season series there since 1999, though two of those seasons we tied, and three others consisted of three games total.

Anyway, the Sox, up until '98, kicked butt in Seattle against the Ms. From the start of the Mariners' existence in '77 til '97, we won 23 series, and lost 12, with four ties. We swept them nine times, and were swept four (though three of those were two-game series.) We were 71-50 overall in Seattle. After 1997, though, they've beat us in 10 series in Seattle, and we've beat them in three, with three ties, two of those in 2004. They're 29-19 against us in that span. Making the total record 90 wins for us, 79 for them, in Seattle. That is, if I did the math correctly....

Good win today, with Josh being on, Manny doing the Baby Bull charge in the dugout, and Coco almost getting killed by a moose on an ATV. We're still 7 ahead, going to Anaheim.

Happy birthday to Spike and Tabatha, who would've been 23 today.

Updates:

Hinske: will be away from team for three days, due to wife having difficult pregnancy. Still waiting to see if Moss can come up. Also, Lopez will go to Pawtucket to make room for Schilling, who pitches Monday night.

Gagne's accent: From commenter el cerdo ignatius:

The accent over the e in Gagné's name indicates how to pronounce the e, not which syllable to stress (as might be the case with certain accents in Spanish or Greek words). The e with un accent aigu - i.e., é - is always pronounced approximately as a long A is pronounced in English. Oh, and the infinitive form of Eric's last name, gagner, means "to win". The word "gagné" means "won". Heh. (You probably knew this already.) Go Sox... and toothaches, sprains, strains, pains and uncountable losses to the Yanks.

Love the last line. Still wondering about the positioning of the accent on the uni. It's definitely above the nameplate. I can't remember if this is the usual way we do it. Like, is Pena's accent mark on the nameplate or above it?

From Edes on Extra Bases:

Pawtucket outfielder Brandon Moss will be joining the Red Sox tomorrow in Anaheim. He will temporarily take the place of Eric Hinske, who will be away from the club for three days for personal reasons. Moss has been taking ground balls at first base for the last couple of weeks, evidently in anticipation of such a move. There may be further details later.

So a couple of weeks ago, it was determined that Eric Hinske would have a personal issue a couple of weeks later? Is he getting his tonsils out? What's going on here?

Looking through the windows of a firehouse, Friday night in New Bedford, Mass. My girlfriend gets credit for suggesting I shoot this. My idea to crop it like this. More about what we were doing in NB at the end of this post.

Nice job by Dice-K tonight. We had to sweat a little, with both Gagne and Pap, but we held on for a one-run win, the first at Safeco in quite some time. We remain 7-Up, the Uncola.

I say this all the time, but I love the late-night games. Especially the wins. I shall leave a note for the Skipper. We have burned the midnight oil, and the ship remains secure. I have kept watch over my flock by night, as Linus once said.

I noticed that Gagne has an accent over his E. And it lies above the nameplate. Weird. So they've sewn it on. Or he just grabbed a Sharpie, I couldn't really tell. I checked photos of him in other unis, and I didn't see any sign of an accent. So, does this mean it should be pronounced "Gahn-YAY" as oppsed to "GAHN-yay"?

So, Friday night we saw that all-female Zeppelin cover band, Lez Zeppelin, again. We didn't drive all the way down to New Bedford just for them, but we fit it into our schedule. They were playing the big, annual Portuguese feast. It was funny to see these very old people in their little chairs, waiting for the band. I guess they just watch, whoever it is. I give them credit--they didn't run away when the loud guitars started blaring. In fact, I think they stayed for the whole show. It's also weird to think that people who were, say, 30, when Zeppelin came out, are pushing 70 now. 70! So it makes sense to see people of all ages at a performance like this.

Anyway, I just read my review of the show we saw them play in '05. I noticed I said they were all lesbians. That may or may not be true. In fact, that's not even the point. They just named it Lez Zeppelin because it fits an all-female Zeppelin group. The guitarist said, in a recent Globe piece, "If they want to think we’re all lesbians, that’s fine with us. If they want to try to figure out who is and who isn’t, it’s all in good fun. It’s all part of the mystery."

I also said that the singer didn't have blonde, curly hair, and didn't sing in the primal voice Plant sang in. This is all still true, but she gets credit for making it her own thing, and using the great voice she has for something like this, rather than some crappy pop group or something.

The Page woman was the star again. She didn't have the bow this time, but she topped it:

That's right, she broke out the theremin for Whole Lotta Love. (I know, I cut the video right as the music kicks back in--but I just wanted to get the theremin part.) Terrible job by the person calling for "Moby Dick"--during "Whole Lotta Love." There are ten minutes left of this song, buddy! Also, terrible job by the dude repeatedly yelling for the singer to show him her belly button. I'd love to see these guys try this crap without an entire crowd to hide in.

Bonds hits number 755. If there is to be an assassin, he's probably just rolling out of bed now, about to head out to the ballpark. After a coffee run. You know, because he's San Diegan. And they're all laid back and stuff. "Is Barry Bonds here? I'm here to assassinate him." "Sorry, son, Barry's gone home, the game ended an hour ago." "That's cool. Whatevs."

Someone else reached a milestone today. The guy who's so selfish, he'll "swing up" to try to get a homer, risking his own team's fate, just to try to reach a milestone that really only exists in this base-10 society we live in. (Proof--all the fly balls he's been hitting, and the virtual pop-up home run for number 500. Have you ever seen him hit a homer that looked like that one before? And the fact that he was celebrating like he'd just won the World Series (would've been his first) on a home run in the first inning.) And I think he's still standing at home plate, looking at the ball, like some kind of...San Diegan assassin. If Manny acts anything like this on his 500th, you'll hear about it. But, still, seriously, how sweet is it that Barry ends up getting 755 a few hours after the A-Rod bloop-dong? And if A-Rod's 500th isn't forgotten about by Monday, it will be when Bonds hits number 756. He just can't win, that Alex. And that's the way it should be.

Last night I missed the first half of the game, tuning in just in time for Timlin's wacky, mistake-filled inning. One rule-related thing, which NESN made no mention of, at least at the time: The Lugo unassisted double play. Bases loaded, one out. Line drive, short-hopped by Lugo at short. He runs over toward second. He touches the bag, and also tags Ichiro, who had been on second, and who has come off the bag, looking unsure of what to do.

Now, had Lugo touched the bag first, that forces out the runner from first, but it cancels the force at third. So if Ichiro had stayed on the bag, and had Lugo touched the bag before tagging Ichiro, Ichiro would've been safe, remaining on second, while the runners at home and first would've also been safe.

What Lugo should've done, just in case, would be to tag the runner first. (He'd be out even if he's standing on his original base, as the force is still in effect.) Then step on second to force the runner coming from first, to complete the double play.

Honestly, I don't remember which Lugo did first, but it didn't matter since Ichiro came off the bag. He's out as soon as he's tagged in that case, and the force at second stays on regardless, so Lugo's able to get that out, too, by stepping on the bag.

I'd think NESN would've mentioned something about this.

We currently lead 2-1 over Seattle in the 6th. Yanks have won today, despite giving up eight runs to KC, so we need a win to stay 7 up.

George Steinbrenner, as we knew, ain't doin' so hot.

Sometimes you hear about really good people getting awful diseases and you think about how wrong it is, and how they don't deserve such a fate.

Other times, you hear about a convicted felon who ruined baseball having the same thing happen to them, and you think, "Yeah. That seems just about right."

And you know that all is right with the world.

I was actually a little surprised at first to hear the New York tabloids slamming George's appearance, as if he could control what happens to the face of an old, deteriorating man. Then I remembered the treatment the events surrounding Ted Williams' death got in the media.

The playoff schedule, in case you missed it.

Day off between game four and five of the ALCS and NLCS. They've also made it so there will be a day off after game four of the DS's, which now start later. And all this means game seven of the World Series would be on November 1st. Fox only has the ALCS (lucky us) and the World Series. The NLCS and all of the DS games will be on TBS/TNT.

Hard to believe there are only 54 games left (as my dad points out). And we're eight games up. I like the way that looks. We can't do that whole "we're tired from the trip so we're gonna shit the bed for the next few days" thing, though. At Seattle this weekend, then down to LA, then to Baltimore. Yanks home for KC, then they go to Toronto and Cleveland.

This day isn't quite as crazy as Butch's in Pulp Fiction, but it's close.

We ended up winning, with Gagne pitching the ninth. I really needed this, to at least ensure the Yanks don't gain on a day when they went down 8-0.

Now, the ChiSox are up 11-9 in the seventh. White Sox. Please. Come on, now.

That Mirabelli play. Wow. He leaves early, then goes back to re-tag, and gets thrown out at the plate. Good thing he redeemed himself. 7.5 up at the moment. Today's events have been (and are still being) captured in this comment thread at Joy of Sox.

Update: Yanks waste their 8-run comeback and lose, 13-9. Like I said, this is an awesome day. 8 games up.

Is this all really happening?

Yanks were down 8-0, Sox were up 3-0, now 8-8 and 3-3. I feel like I'm bipolar. I ask myself almost every day: How do we survive 162 games of this? Every year???

Jon Garland should be taken out back and put down. They give him 8 runs in the top of the second, he gives up 6 before getting the second out in the bottom. This is no longer an awesome day.

And now they're tied at 8. The fucking 8-0 lead lasted exactly zero innings. All White Sox dead to me, til end of time. 8-8 after 2.

Fortunately, the RED Sox lead the O's 3-0.

Roger faces 12 batters in the second and finally gets pulled. 8-0 White Sox. This is an awesome day.

I love it, 8-0, two on, two out, and Joe puts in Myers for the lefty-lefty matchup! And Myers walks the guy! And then they go to Karstens. It's eight to nothing, Joe!

This is what happens when you sit Jeter. Ha! He must not be cheering hard enough from that classiest of all dugout steps, the top one.

"I enjoy watchin' your little second baseman." --Bobby Doerr

That was cool--that they not only honored Bobby, and gave him a new TV, but that they let him speak. I was hoping to get to this game today, but didn't make it.

Speaking of the little second baseman, he's leading off today. Sweet. Remember when he "became the new leadoff hitter," did awesome, and then they put Drew there the next day, and never went back to Dustin? And then started putting Lugo back there? Terrible job since that day--glad Dustin's back where he belongs.

I've been thinking about this bridge collapse in Minneapolis. It's the old "Chief Brody & the Mayor" syndrome. People knew the bridge wasn't in good shape, but they didn't do anything about it. Why? Because of money. It's people admitting that they care more about money than about other people.

If you look on craigslist right now, you can see this in action, as people try to sell tickets to today's Sox game at prices that sound like some kind of sick joke. "It's 10:45, gates open at 11, get to the game for ONLY 75 dollars. Standing room!"

Look at this post title over there:

Great RED SOX seats for TONIGHT! Roof Deck! Home Plate CLub!

This just pisses me off. Can you see something that gives away the fact that this person is not just some innocent dude with a few seats he's trying to get rid of? No, besides the exclamation points. Right--the fact that it's a DAY GAME today. They don't know this, because they're a faceless ticket agency, who probably puts this same ad up every day. You call them, and you get your 12-dollar bleacher seats for 75 bucks, plus a 20 dollar service charge.

All these evil ticket agencies have turned the regular people into ruthless businessmen. You don't have a friend you can sell the tickets to for face value? You're not even content to get just a little more than what you paid? It's horrible. A longer post on this is on the way.

In what could be called a "related story," my mom just alerted me to this article about Johnny Damon. "Sorry, Johnny, I meant to tell you you were out of the lineup for tonight, but I couldn't find you. You understand."

Finally some clutch hitting. A comeback win that we needed. Still up seven.

Two nights in a row now, a ball in the first inning hits the top of a wall and bounces way up and back into the crowd. And two nights in a row, Orsillo doesn't notice. This isn't a crucial mistake (especially tonight, on Pedroia's foul ball), but, man, I keep getting the feeling the announcers aren't seeing what we're seeing.

I have to say, nice sacrifice by Wily Mo in the third. You don't remember it? Well, at our house, when Wily Mo's up with a runner on first and less than two outs, we hope he makes one out instead of two. If he only makes one, he's "sacrificing" a possible two outs whenever he only makes one. Nice job, Wily Mo! Then he did it again in the eighth. Although in that spot, maybe a fly ball to the outfield instead of a popup, as an insurance run would've been big there. Seriously, what is this guy doing on the Boston Red Sox?

Could see on TV a guy in the crowd at Fenway wearing this monstrosity.

For the Yanks, after four tonight, they'd had 18 extra base in their last 15 innings. Ridiculous.

I am loving this A-Rod thing. Since hitting his 499th homer, he hasn't been able to connect for a long ball in 21 at bats. But that's not all--he hasn't been able to get a hit in those 21 at bats. Swingin' up, going for the dong, and flying out, over and over. (Hey, didn't I say something about him never getting another hit?) Any amount of pressure, and this guy chokes. But it's extra embarrassing when you're putting that pressure on yourself to reach a personal milestone, during a pennant race, and it's making you a detriment to the team. Well, it would if the rest of the Yanks would stop hitting! I think they've had 500 homers combined since Alex got his 499th....

Update, 12:26 AM: I've got the SF-LA game on, and I'm lovin' this Connecticut kid, Rajai Davis. Born in Norwich, went to HS in New London, college in Groton. (Which MLB calls "Groten"--but, hey, they also say his current status is "minor leagues.) Fast as hell. Should be good for whatever the hell it is they do over in the NL. Assman was just pitching for LA. Bonds on deck. If I haven't added to this post by morning, it means he didn't homer.

In this post, I tried to find the exact date of Dick Stuart's supposed inside-the-park homer off the ladder on the Green Monster. Why didn't I try to find the other ITPHR mentioned, the Jim Lemon one? Well, I have now. Shaughnessy claims it took place in "the 50s," and Ted Williams was in left, and Jim Piersall was in center. I looked at Jim Lemon's career, and the only years in the 50s that retrosheet has game-by-game, play-by-play stats for are '57-'59. Lemon only got real playing time from '57-'59. So I was able to check those years.

No homers for Lemon at Fenway in '57.

One in '58 (August 7th). No mention of it being inside-the-park, but Williams was in left and Piersall was in center.

'58 was Piersall's last year in Boston. So the play either took place on the above-mentioned 8/7/58, or at some point in 1956--a year in which Lemon hit 27 homers. (With a slim chance it was one of the five homers he hit from 1950 to 1955.)

However, I checked 1959, just to see if Lemon had any Fenway homers, even though it wouldn't be Jimmy Piersall in center. He did, on May 23rd. I clicked on the boxscore, and saw this:

Lemon (11,11th inning off Wall 1 on 1 out).

That's it, I thought. I scrolled down to the play-by-play, and saw only this:

Lemon homered [Killebrew scored];

That's odd, no mention of the wall here. Then I read on, and two doubles (to left field, ironically enough) later, the Sox made a pitching change:

FORNIELES REPLACED WALL (PITCHING);

Jim Lemon didn't homer off The Wall. He homered off Murray Wall.

Anyway....

I guess we've still got no proof of either of these ladder-ific home runs. But people love to quote that Shaughnessy article when talking about the Monster. They'll mention the ladder and say "on at least two occasions..." the ladder caused an inside-the-parker, citing Dan's piece. Both Stuart and Lemon have died in the past five years, so we may never know. Jimmy Piersall and Vic Davalillo (whose noggin was involved in the Stuart homer) are alive, though. I'd really like to get a definitive record of all balls that hit the ladder. I've seen at least one in person.

The latest article to essentially cut-and-paste wikipedia's Monster entry (which took from the Shaughnessy article) is this one, from The (Toronto) Star. I remember seeing this linked at Joy of Sox, but I didn't click because, like Joy said, every visiting reporter does the same article about going inside the Green Monster at some point. But it came up when I was looking into Citgo sign articles. The reason I was doing this was because someone commented on an earlier post of mine, saying how he couldn't figure out why the Citgo sign looks so close to Fenway on TV, but when he was in the Monster Seats, it looked so far away. Here's the shot he was commenting on, from my July 15th gallery:

This was taken from atop the Monster. I started thinking, "I bet a lot of people think the sign is atop the Wall, or just beyond it." (The guy in the Star article did! As did many of us when we were very young kids.) I searched the web for evidence of this, and only found one instance. A British site said the sign was "across the street." (I assure you, I signed up for their site just so I could correct them.) So I guess it's pretty well-known that it's far from Fenway Park. But I measured it on a map site, and it's about 700 feet beyond the Monster. That Star article guy said he paced it off and came up with this:

And it's about 1,800 feet behind the Monster.

Way off, buddy.

Hey, any chance anybody's gonna do my "yell red during the national anthem at the rockets' red glare part" idea tonight? Or next weekend in Baltimore? I still say we do this, to combat the O's fans shouting "O" on oh say does that star-spangled....

If anybody's got a better idea, let's hear it. (I was also thinking of taking their "O" and turning it into a "Go" and putting a "Sox" after it....)

Oh, and if you're thinking "it's dumb that they do that, let's just let them do it and be classy and yadda yadda yadda," well, that's no fun!

But back to more important stuff, like Dana Levangie. I've mentioned him here before--he was the Sox' bullpen catcher for many years. Having gone to a lot of games during his time in uniform (and often sitting out by the bullpen, being at the game way early, etc.), I got used to him being out on the field. After the 2004 season, he was, sadly, let go by the team, and that was the last I'd heard of him.

Yesterday I was watching Brendan Donnelly getting interviewed about his TJ surgery (Tommy John, not terrible job, though I grew up watching and listening to Tommy, and can report that he committed his fair share of TJs, including the time he made three errors on one play and later blamed it on the ions in his athletic supporter), and behind him was a locker nameplate that read "Claus/Levangie." I thought, Oh my god, Dana's back! Dropped down the chimney by Santa! So I did a little research, and TOMMY JOHN by me, because Dana's been back since 2006. Here's where Gordon Edes mentioned his imminent return, as a scout. He and former Sea Dogs manager Todd Claus are split-advanced scouts, as you can read here. (Although you have to pay extra to get the full article.) I remember reading this back in May, as some blogs had linked to it, but I somehow missed the Levangie connection. So I guess I skimmed it...

A year and a half late: Welcome home, Dana!