Man, between Stockton and McCarver...wow...it started with Nava/Nova...and they never had a chance after that. Anyway, we knew we had to beat the Yanks every time and we've done it so far. Barely alive. Dice Sunday.

Hey, if you're wondering if the Colbert/Stewart rallies are gonna be a big deal, check out Amtrak's prices for that day (Saturday, Oct. 30) and then check them for any other Saturday before or after. Then do the same with DC hotel prices while you're at it.

As pissed as I am at Beckett for generally being Lack-tastic and letting the Yanks back into a 10-1 game, it always makes me smile when the Yanks make their fans feel certain that "destiny" is on their side, only to still barely lose.

September 22, 2010.

The Monster.

Cops on the field.

Near Canvas Alley.

As I approached Drinkwater in the aisle, I tried to take a clandestine shot. I can't believe it came out this good!

Great moonrise over Boston that night. And beautiful weather. High was almost 90 I think.

And again.

Papi batting in the outfield.

Underneath, first base side.

The trophies were on hand.

In scary scenes in cartoons, the moon always has a few lines of clouds going right in front of it. What are the odds?? Happened on this night, though.

Underneath, third base side.

Pesky Pole from far away.

Go onto the new stairway inside Gate A, and look left, and you can see down here, where fans are forbidden.

Moon over Fenway High.

Can you guess where this shot was taken from?

Papi hit his 31st homer.

And Reddick hit his first Fenway dong.

Bard on the mound.

Getting toward the end for Mikey Lowell. Saturday, October 2nd is "Thanks, Mike Night."

Beltre hackin'.

Former Sox catcher and favorite of my mom, Gary Allenson.

Lars Anderson and John "I played in Jere's day so I'm obviously not the only guy with this nickname" Shelby.

Puce Penis in front of the scoreboard.

My boy! Nick Markakis is the baseball Wes Anderson. I discovered Anderson just as Bottle Rocket came out because I happened to see a story about it on CNN. He became a favorite of mine, and went on to be an amazing director. I first heard of Markakis his rookie year when I happened to hear Castiglione mention he'd grown up on Long Island as a Sox fan. He became a favorite of mine, and went on to be an amazing ballplayer. Something like that.

Papelbon pitching to my boy.

And the Red Sox win.

Pap in front, Papi and Cameron clownin' in the back.

Victor and Watney. I was hoping they'd do the rookie hazing thing that night, but since the road trip doesn't start until Friday, they all just drove home. In normal clothes. As far as I know.

I forgot all about that last contest. So I've extended the deadline to the last out of this Sunday night's game (9/26). Enter on that post's comments. In fact, I'll even let you change your guess if you already picked somebody. If you're just joining us, you're picking the Red Sox player who will score the last run in the month of September.

That's the Red Sox' record in "games I've been to lately." If it's any consolation. I actually got to witness Lackey doing a good job. Will post pics tomorrow night or something.

My latest "watch spam" subject line:

"Not having a luxury watch is terrible"

Truer words...have been spoken.

Victor Martinez with his kids (and at least one of Papi's kids), playin' on the field before Sunday's win against the Jays:




Rich Hill and Pesky's Pole.

I love the shadow-rific shots.

Terrible job, TJ. Terrible job.

Wake started and ended his career as a pirate. Shown here alongside Salty.

Kalish led off for the Sox on a 75-degree day. Which felt like 90 in the bleachers--until cloud cover made it perfectly pleasant.

The view from section 36.

Reddick, Red Sox, red socks. Pole.

Buchholz had a shutout going with two outs in the 6th, when Scutaro once again wasn't Alex Gonzalez. And then we lost by like 8 runs.

I was pissed at Don/Rem, too. Ninth inning, they start mocking the fans, saying we've been arriving late and leaving early. I'd just been talking on Sunday about how great it was to still see Fenway packed. How a lot of people who couldn't afford tickets were now able to get in. And then these guys start with the drama and the lies. The worst was showing empty seats--in an 8-1 game in the ninth!--and saying overdramatically, "we are not accustomed to seeing this." Blow it out your ass, Don. Remy also noted that "nobody's watching" in a recent west coast game. That I was watching.

Was good to hear Ken Burns in the booth tonight--for a guy who knows his stuff he should know the 2004 comeback was 3-0, not 2-0, but still. (He wouldn't have been the only one had he gone with 3-1.) Can't wait to see the new inning of Baseball.

So even though we're closer to the Rays, we have to root against the Yanks I think, because with them, we know 6 potential wins that would automatically mean gaining a game. There are zero of those if we're trying to catch the Rays. Also, do I really need a reason?

Hey, when Celts tix went on sale a few days ago, I got shut out of the $10 seats for the first time in years. They just sent out a reminder e-mail, so I figured I'd try again, what the hell, maybe they released more. Well, I got 'em. So if you got shut out that day, try now. (Note to new people: I'm not a C's fan but my girlfriend is and it's fun to go to NBA games, so....) It's sickening that the second-least expensive tickets for all games is well over $50, and for, say, the Lakers, it's over $130.

Buchholz tonight vs. O's.

Eh, forget it. Try no to think about it at all.

Got to see a nice win today at Fenway, may post pics later. We left there thinking the Yanks had won--silly us. Mo blows it, and they lose in extras. So if we can gain a game this week against Balty, we're back to that 6er with 6 games left against the Yanks. But winning ALL 6 may end up being mandatory. We shall observe.