What a weird game. Weirder than the short fence, 60-foot high mesh wall, and very close backstop, was the center field camera angle. You know how when you see highlights of Righetti striking out Boggs to finish his July 4th, 1983 no-hitter, the camera is on the left side of the pitcher? Well, that's how it was at Yankee Stadium back then. Since then, I think all parks have become unified in their "right side of pitcher" camera positioning. In this game, it was Righetti-style.

But it wasn't just a little to the left, it was an extreme angle. So you couldn't tell where the ball was going off the bat. Lugo popped one that looked like it was gonna go back and out of play on the third base side. Instead, it was caught in fair territory on the left side of the infield. The only cool thing about that angle was that you could better see the knuckleball moving on its way home.

Now, that still would've been at least watchable, but since the camera was so far over, it also meant that the second base umpire was between us and home plate. On almost every pitch. This game was planned so long ago. Couldn't they have found a spot in the correct area to set up the camera? Take up a few seats if you have to, there are 120,000 of them!

We did get to see a few dongs over the tall screen. And by "see," I mean "not see," as you could never pick up the ball in flight. Then again, the camera-people hardly ever found the ball in the first place. They were often as clueless as we were. And Remy and Orsillo were nowhere near the action, and admitted that they just couldn't see the ball. Part of the problem was that the lights in the stadium weren't bright enough. Don and Jerry did have some great laughing fits tonight, too.

The crowd constantly sounded the way Fenway sounds when a wave is going around. And by the way, a wave did go around. Took about five minutes to do one revolution.

Dr. Charles is already turning the Dodgers into the West Coast Red Sox, if they weren't already, with Lowe and Nomar and friends on the team. Before the game, they played that god-awful countrified "Play Ball" song like they do at Fenway. In the middle of the eighth, they played, well, you know what. (Even though Joe Torre has said in the past that he is sick of it....) And of course the whole thing was a fundraiser for the Dodgers' new charity, modeled after the Jimmy Fund, called ThinkCure. (Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt's grandfather started the Jimmy Fund.)

My predicted score of 8-5 Red Sox was just a little off, as we won 7-4. Despite my complaints, it was fun watching shortstops play balls off the left field wall and outfielders covering bases. There was even a 9-8 putout. My birthday finally gets a play named after it!

We had a pretty good game thread over at JoyBoy. "Very unique."

"This is a pretty special night." -Tito. Wow, Tito calling something special. The day he doesn't call something special, well, that will be a special day.