Terry Francona billboard, I-95 northbound, north of Providence, RI. Click each pic for gordito.

On my way to Fenway for 10:35 AM gates. This was the make-up game I had a single Monster standing room ticket for. Game one of the day-night doubleheader. Parked in the Common garage. Above: the marker for the Victory Gardens. No wonder so much anonymous man-on-boy sex goes on in there--it's the Dick Parker gardens!

You know how I love scoreboard tests. This is from that spot where you can see the board from the street.

So I get inside--first one in through the gate that no one even knows is a gate. No bag check for some reason, so I'm right up to the Monster Seats--and, woohoo, the Jays are up early, taking batting practice. The Sox pitchers are out there, too. I'm only posting this unspectacular pic of Dice because I noticed later that I captured Castiglione in the dugout. Nice.

Some Blue Jays. So, you know how my lifelong dream is to be the only fan at a baseball game, and to just go around with a garbage bag collecting all the foul balls and home runs with no competition? And how short of that fantasy, it's to be in the Monster Seats during BP with as little competition for balls as possible? Well, I had the latter on this day. Balls were flying into the seats. One kid near me caught one right away. Fans kept arriving, and jays kept hitting. But I still had plenty of room to run around....

Scott "Let Your Hair" Downs. So, I'm up there, and Vernon Wells is up. At one point he hits one over everything, landing smack on the soft top of a BMW convertible. Then he hits a line shot, pretty much right at me. I wished at that moment I' brought a glove. If I had, it was an easy catch. The proof of that is that the ball slammed right off my palm, in that meaty spot at the base of my ring finger. I had a split-second to decide to go for it--this wasn't a lofted fly ball, it was a liner. I went for it, thinking I could ease it into my hands. Before I could even get the second hand up, the ball had smacked my hand as if it was a brick wall, and bounced away...

Wells in the outfield, about to toss a ball to the Monster Seats. So, I start to run after the ball, but it rolls right to some other guy--with a glove. He's all psyched, and all aloof-like, he asks me "where'd that hit?" I told him it hit my freakin' hand. He didn't care too much, and gave it to his kid. I ask you--if you're near a guy who tries to catch a speeding line drive with his bare hand, and it slams into that hand and rolls to you with your nice safe glove, would you give the ball to its rightful owner? This guy didn't. Oh well. What kills me is that if I'd just let it go, it probably would've bounced off the wall right behind me, and I could've just picked it up off the ground.

So I went through the rest of BP still trying for balls not only pissed off but it pain. The pain that wouldn't let me forget about my missed opportunity or that prick. Many more balls went up there, but I got nothin'. After BP, I wandered up into those Coke seats, and no one stopped me. Above is the view of the Monster Seats and section 33 from up there.

That camera way above the left field corner, and some of the Coke sign.

Same camera, with Citgo sign way back there.

Pretty cool views from that Coke section...Totally comfortable day, high 70s, and only hot when the sun came out, which wasn't often.

More from that area.

The field from Section Soda.

Remember, at this point I'm holding a bottle of water to try and stop the palm pain with little to no luck.

Did you know Tito tapes those lineups up himself? Here he is ripping off pieces of tape.

Looking straight down at those seats along the left field line.

The Sox in the dugout. Visible are Youk, Lowrie... et cetera.

Not a very protective railing up there.

Bay and that one kid looking left. Everyone else looking right. (Bay's at bat music is "Alive" by Pearl Jam, and Casey's is "Evenflow" by Pearl Jam. And they were back-to-back in the lineup! 91-derful!) The game's about to start, and I figure I'll just stay in the Coke section since it doesn't always fill up, so I can get a seat and have a better view than from the Monster SRO.

Somethin' about that Lowrie 12, I tell ya. And it's on the home, road, and red jersey. It's not only spaced out more, but the 2 always looks like it leans way right to me. I know these numbers have weight and will slightly move depending on how the uni is folding, but it still looks odd to me.

Byrd's old-timey windup in the first inning.

Jacoby swings the rod.

Hale pointing out some key info to Ellsbury.

Blue Jay jumps up against the side wall, missing the foul ball. At this point, my section has filled up, so I go back to the Monster Seats, and get a seat for some of the time.

Coco warming up pre-inning.

George Kottaras' debut! We were getting killed, so Tito started pulling the starters, giving them more rest for game two.

I've seen Hansack pitch twice at Fenway. His total line in those games: 8 IP, 0 ER, 0 H.

Kottaras' first at bat. He strikes out, but the ball gets away. He reaches first, gets to second on a botched double play, and scores the team's only run on a sac fly.

It's getting late in the game, even though it's moving so fast, it seems like people are still arriving. I make the move to get a seat near home plate, knowing we're down 8-1. It's still pretty full through the bottom of the eighth, so I hang out at top of grandstand, and get this shot of Kapstein saluting during Sweet Caroline.

We go to the ninth, and I go to the field boxes.

Hansack again.

Alex Cora. I think even saying "make your own 'priceless' joke" would be played out at this point. Or any point beyond 2006. 2005. Yeah.

Clam, Crab, Cockle, Lowrie.

Who's that at third base? Kevin Cash.

Mench up close.

Kottaras at bat.

The view from the sweet seats.

Overbay! Nice face! With Coco in foreground.

Chris Carter, one of the many non-starters on the field at the end, and I walk away with a bruised hand, an 8-1 loss, and no ball. And the Yanks couldn't help us, losing to the Rays.

But wait! The day gets better. I get home and Kim and I head out to our first WaterFire, which is Providencian for "nighttime gathering at river with flames." It was really cool. By chance, we stepped up to the edge of a bridge at the moment the little boat came by to light the....fire things. We had a lot of fun, walking around to the different booths and stuff. Just the right amount of people where it was a crowd, but you could still move around with no problem. Then we got to see/hear the end of the second game on TV/radio--a nice comeback win, while the Devil Rays lost. So at the end of the day, we were right back where we started, two games out of first. And with today's win and Tampa loss, we're one out heading to Florida for three big ones.