7/9/08:
A new "Flugo" shot for a new year. Click these to enlarge.

On my way to Fenway from the BU lot, I noticed they were re-doing the field at the stadium that used to be Braves Field, home of the Boston Braves. I wonder if they dug up any old Braves stuff...

So I bought my allotted four Monster Seats in the pre-season--two singles and a doobler, all standing room. This was my first Monster game of '08, and it turned out to be a good one. The first thing I did was get a shot of the ladder, looking down toward Fenway's Martian-esque soil. I don't know how I hadn't thought of this shot in past years. (Notice the top rung is not living up to its name.)

Looking along the top of The Wall toward left.

And toward center.

Looking toward home plate. It was a really hot day, and my hope was that some people might not show, or at least go down to shade, leaving me with an actual seat.

Looking out beyind left field, to the Citgo Sign.

The seats hover way out over Lansdowne, making it appear that I'm in mid-air over the middle of the street.

2007 World Champs.

Looking through one of the Monster's light towers toward center field.

Another one looking along the top.

Baker, who pitched the other night, running right below me, 37 feet down.

The Sox didn't take BP on the field, since it was a day game after a night game, but the Twins hit. A few balls reached the Monster Seats, but none near me. But as seems to be the new tradition at games I go to, I get to see just the Sox pitchers in right field stretching. Here are Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen practicing their pitching with a hat as home plate. Another common occurrence is me discovering Kelly of Sitting Still in my photographs, taking (better) pics of her own. She's always easy to spot. She's in this one...

A stairway up to the Monster Seats actually goes behind the outer brick wall of Fenway. So here's a shot of the field from technically outside the park.

From that stairway, you can get really close to the new, robotic, shaky, centered, high, not-as-cool center field camera.

And further down the stairs, you get this weird view of all the rafters, with the bottom of the bleachers above you.

After Twins BP, I headed out to do one big loop of the park, which you can only do completely if you have a Monster Seat ticket. So here I am in the center field bleachers for the straight-away shot. (I was also there to see if I could get a ball a Twin hit into the batter's eye. It went in one of the slots, and despite their best efforts, nobody found it. I failed, too, unfortunately. I know it's in there. If you go Friday night, get there early, and maybe they will have just taken the "eye" off, and you can--eh, forget it.

Behind first base, by the medical aid area, they had a misty-fan thing. Like I said, it was effin' hot.

Now I'm all the way around, almost to the Monster Seats again. Here's the Monster itself.

Some of the blue plastic seats in uncovered section 33, with green metal armrests.

Now Beckett's doing his usual, but this time I've got the part of the foul pole that's on the wall in the foreground.

The previous night's hero, Brandon Moss, and today's starter and winner, Josh Beckett.

The Monster's reflection in the alcohol-free zone sign.

Up on the Monster again. Here's Fisk Pole.

Looking down at the crowd from the Monster.

The signatures on Fisk Pole.

The pole, and the lights with the Coke sign in front of them.

Manny Ramirez.

Looking through the foul pole.

Another hovering Lugo shot.

Lookin' up yet again.

It was some kind of day where people gave up their seats for soldiers, so these people were in front of the wall, and they did the ol' flag unfurling.

Looking toward foul territory at section 33--you can again see the top of the original Fenway brick wall.

And the military types leave.

Lugo and Manny do a crazy handshake as the Sox take the field. So that's it for now. Part two will be shots taken during the game.