An epilogue of sorts

The first few days after our season came to its premature and inglorious end, I moped around, alternating between shock and denial.  I wore black to work all week, and my co-workers were sympathetic and equally despondent.

Then on Wednesday, it was time for that other annual rite – booking my flight to spring training.  It took a little effort, but I got a really good deal this time.  As soon as it was confirmed, I told my boss what days I’d be taking off, and started telling all my co-workers, “I’m going to spring training!”  That’s when I realized I was doing something I hadn’t done in what felt like an eternity – smiling.

This is what I’m already envisioning:

Sunset on beautiful Ft. Myers Beach.

Players stretching out on Field 2 before the morning's workout.

By then, I’ll be better able to appreciate the year that just was.  I went to 30 regular-season games, which beat my previous personal best of 29 in 2003.  My record was 18-12, but it was really much better until a poor 1-4 September dragged it down.  Along the way, I got to experience a lot of dramatic moments.  The top two for me were Jacoby Ellsbury’s steal of home against the Yankees in April and the night in May when Big Papi’s first home run of the season was caught by the guy sitting in front of me.  I also saw record-setting performances, like when the Red Sox scored 12 runs before the first out of an inning to set an A.L. record, when Ellsbury recorded 12 putouts to tie the M.L. record, and Jacoby’s 70th stolen base of the season which set the new team record.  I got to see walk-off home runs by Nick Green and David Ortiz, watched as instant replay was invoked, and got a batting practice baseball from Brad Penny.  And in a few short months, I’ll be back in Ft. Myers and ready to go through it all again.

A.L. Division Series Game 3 – Angels 7, Red Sox 6

Thanks to my Tenth Man Plan, I had the chance to get a ticket to a Division Series game.  I don’t get to pick which game; it’s randomly assigned each year, and this year I was happy to get Home Game 1, which ended up being Game 3.  That way, even if the series ends in a sweep, I still get to go.  This year, the Wild Card-winning Red Sox opened in Anaheim on Thursday and Friday nights, but they dropped both games.

Because I work in IT, a lot of our projects have to be done overnight when computer usage is lowest.  I had such a project going on the weekend of the Division Series, and I had to be at work from 11 pm Saturday night to 3 am Sunday morning.  It was good that they didn’t play Saturday, so I wouldn’t miss anything then, but I was less than thrilled when I heard that Sunday’s game was scheduled for 12:07.  (I loved Terry Francona’s quote on the early start: “Have 12 slices of bacon, a Red Bull, and go get ‘em.”  With my head-cold still in full force, my personal motto for the day was more like, “Have 12 ounces of coffee, some Robitussin, and go get ‘em.”)

Fenway Park on the morning of Game 3.

I got home from work at 3:30 am, and it was almost 4 by the time I fell asleep.  But I wasn’t going to miss out on anything relating to the playoff experience, so I set my alarm for 6:30. My preference would have been to drive straight in to Fenway and park for free at a meter since it was a Sunday.  But I heard there was going to be a half-marathon a couple of blocks down the street from the park, plus a Columbus Day parade in town, and a movie filming on the Zakim Bridge.  All of this meant a lot of road closures, so I figured it would be easier to just take the T.  I left the house at 7:15 and made it to Kenmore Square at 8:45, where I stopped in the McDonald’s to grab a much-needed coffee.

I headed straight to the players’ parking lot, where there were a few other diehards staking out spots.  I figured most of the players were inside already, but we did see Jerry Remy drive in.  A couple of minutes later, Larry Lucchino arrived.  He came over and signed autographs for those of us who were there.  At 9:30, I walked over to Gate C, but they weren’t letting Red Sox Nation people in early for batting practice during the postseason.  So I went around to Gate A, and was one of the first people in when the gates opened.  Batting practice was finishing up, but I got to watch Kevin Youkilis, Jason  Bay, David Ortiz, and Mike Lowell take their swings.

Big Papi is dressed in his postseason finest - no doubt borrowed from Bill Belichick - and ready to go.

Despite the 0-2 series deficit, the mood around the ballpark was light and optimistic.  We knew the Sox had twice come back to win a Division Series after losing the first two games (1999 and 2003), not to mention the 0-3 comeback in the 2004 ALCS.  I had been present for home victories in both those ALDS comebacks, and there was no reason to think they wouldn’t be carried on to victory by the home crowd again this year.  I came in with a lifetime 5-0 record in Division Series games, and told everyone, “They’re not going down on my watch.”

The Angels and Red Sox lineups are introduced before the game.

After the starting lineups and National Anthem, a special guest was introduced for the ceremonial first pitch – Dave Henderson.  When the Red Sox overcame a  3-games-to-1 deficit against the Angels in the 1986 ALCS, Hendu’s 9th-inning home run gave the Sox the lead and his 11th-inning sac fly proved to be the game-winner in the pivotal Game 5.  After throwing the pitch, he hopped up and spun in a circle like he did as he ran down the baseline after hitting his famous home run.

Dave Henderson returns to Red Sox/Angels playoff action as he throws out the first pitch. It turns out Tito should have penciled him into the lineup.

The best thing about the playoffs is the atmosphere.  When Clay Buchholz got two strikes against the first batter of the game, the rhythmic clapping started on each pitch until the batter was retired.  After a single and an error on a bad pickoff throw, the second out of the inning was a routine fly ball to center, and we all jumped up as if it was the most exciting thing we’d ever seen.  And once he had two outs and two strikes, we stood up for the rest of the inning, taking great delight in a groundout to second which ended the top of the first.  Our intensity stayed like that for the whole game, and as the afternoon went on, we found ourselves standing more than sitting.

The Red Sox went quickly in the first, and Kevin Youkilis was called out on strikes to open the second.  I was sitting in the Section 4 grandstand, where there are monitors that show the TV feed of the game, including replays that aren’t shown to the rest of the park, and we saw how high and outside the so-called strike 3 was.  The umpiring had been an issue all series, with first base umpire C.B. Bucknor blowing two obvious calls in Game 1.  It came out after the game that Bucknor had twice been voted the worst umpire in the league by the players, and he had been booed lustily in the introductions today.  So when home plate umpire Eric Cooper called Youk out, I yelled, “Hey Bucknor, you’re no longer the worst ump ever!” which got a laugh from the others in my section.

View from Section 4 as Victor Martinez prepares to drive in a run.

Buchholz stranded two more Angels baserunners in the second, and Jacoby Ellsbury made an excellent diving catch, Coco Crisp-style, to rob them of a hit in the third.  In the bottom of the third, Alex Gonzalez walked with one out, bringing up the top of the order.  Ellsbury singled, and Dustin Pedroia came through with the big hit I had been waiting all week for.  His double drove in both runners, and Victor Martinez quickly singled him in with the Sox’ third run.  It was fun to finally see some offense, after they scored only one run in the first two games combined.

Kendry Morales made it 3-1 with a solo homer in the fourth.  It landed in the seats in the Section 43 bleachers, near where my Tenth Man Plan seats are during the regular season.  People in the area started chanting, “Throw it back, throw it back.”  That always bothers me, because if the person does throw it back onto the field they’d get thrown out of the game, and why would someone wish that on a fellow fan?  The guy did throw it back, and from right field, we watched as security located him.  The chant changed to, “Let him stay, let him stay,” and to my surprise, they actually did.

In the bottom of the fourth, J.D. Drew cashed in his annual Big Postseason Hit.  It was a homer off the support structure around the center field cameras, and it gave the Sox a 5-1 lead.  Buchholz continued to put guys on base, but he continued to get out of the threats without any further damage.  In the stands, we kept up our intensity with the cheering, chanting, and rising to our feet every time there were two strikes on a batter.  It took a bunch of cough drops, but my voice held out despite all the cheering (not to mention the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “Shippin’ Up to Boston”).  I didn’t even feel tired.  I decided that I was definitely going to come back tomorrow night for Game 4.  I didn’t have a ticket, but I planned on getting in the day-of-game ticket line like I had done in 2007.  It was scheduled for an 8:37 start, which would mean another night of only a few hours sleep, but it was all worth it to be a part of the action.

When Buchholz loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, thanks in part to a controversial balk, Daniel Bard came in.  He quickly got a double play, although a run came in the back door, and then a strikeout to get out of the inning with a 5-2 lead.  Bard struck out 2 more in the seventh, then Billy Wagner came on for the eighth.  He allowed a bloop ground rule double that actually bounced off Youk’s glove and into the stands behind first base.  Two outs and a walk later, Jonathan Papelbon was called in to get out of the inning.  He had pitched 26 postseason innings over 17 games in his career, and he had never allowed a run.  He had saved 38 games during the regular season, and had been his usual lights-out self throughout the second half.  But his first pitch to Juan Rivera was lined for a hit, scoring 2 runs (charged to Wagner) and cutting the lead to 5-4.  Then a well-timed pickoff caught Rivera off first to end the inning and preserve the lead.

Mike Lowell drove in a key insurance run in the eighth.

With the score closer than we liked, we needed some insurance.  So we were on our feet with two outs in the eighth, when Big Papi singled.  He was replaced by pinch-runner Joey Gathright, who promptly stole second.  Mike Lowell came up with a huge hit, driving in Gathright and giving the Red Sox a much-needed 6-4 cushion.

As Papelbon came back out for the top of the ninth, our chants turned to “Beat L.A.,” and we stood for the whole inning.  He got Maicer Izturis on a foul popup and pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. on a fly ball for the first two outs.  He threw two strikes to #9 hitter Erick Aybar, as we screamed and cheered.  Aybar singled, but we kept on cheering and clapping.  Paps got two strikes on Chone Figgins, but ended up walking him.  He had two strikes on Abreu, but then gave up a run-scoring double that made it 6-5.  That led to an intentional walk to the dangerous Torii Hunter, whose 3-run homer had done in the Red Sox in Game 1, to load the bases for Vladimir Guerrero, the once-great slugger and notorious free-swinger whose best days seemed to be behind him.  He had appeared overmatched earlier in the series, but this time he delivered a crushing, heart-breaking single into shallow center.  Two Angels crossed the plate, taking the lead – not to mention the hopes and dreams of the 38,704 in attendance – with them.  We were stunned.  I don’t think any of us saw this coming.  On paper, the Red Sox’ bullpen was far stronger than the Angels’, and it was supposed to be one of our strengths in the series.  It was silent as Hideki Okajima trotted in from the bullpen and we tried to process what just happened.  A guy near me started muttering about Calvin Schiraldi, which, unlike seeing Dave Henderson, was a reference to 1986 that I didn’t want to relive.  Okie quickly ended the inning with a fly ball to right, but that left it up to the bottom of the ninth.

With Alex Gonzalez due to lead off the ninth, Tito sent Jed Lowrie up to pinch-hit.  That seemed strange, but Lowrie did have a walk-off hit in Game 4 against the Angels last year which had clinched that whole series for the Sox.  He flied out weakly to center, but that brought the top of the Red Sox order back up.  Ellsbury was supposed to reach base and then steal his way around, but instead he popped up foul for out #2.  That left it up to Pedroia, who had already done his part with a big hit earlier in the game.  He had a 1-2 count, then lofted a lazy fly ball to center, and that was that.  We were done.  I looked away before I could see the Angels celebrating on our field.  It was silent and people were filing out, but I couldn’t really grasp that the season was over.  It was just way too soon for that!  The ultimate insult was when the scoreboard put up the standard message that they display after every Red Sox loss: “We thank you for joining us today and hope you will visit us again soon at Fenway Park.”  Soon?  I wanted to come back for Game 4 tomorrow, but now I couldn’t return till Opening Day on April 5!  Suddenly I felt very tired.

I waited in line for the ladies’ room feeling pretty sorry for myself at having to watch a game like that on only 2½ hours of sleep.  But then I overheard two women talking behind me.  One said she had had a standing room ticket, and she came in when the gates opened at 10 and hadn’t sat down the whole time.  She was jealous of all the “seat people” who were in front of her who kept standing up the whole time to cheer.  The other woman said she had actually run the half-marathon in the morning before coming to the game.  So I guess we were all hurting as we trudged off into the off-season.

Red Sox 12, Indians 7

After sitting through three straight losses – in the rain, cold, and wind – earlier in the week, I was coming down with a cold.  As for the Red Sox, they were faring better now that the Blue Jays had left town and the Indians came in, and they won the first three games of the series.  Sunday’s game marked the end of the regular season, but the Red Sox were bound for the postseason, and thanks to my Tenth Man Plan, I knew I’d be back in a week for Game 3 of the Division Series.  The starter for my playoff game was likely going to be Clay Buchholz, and today gave him one last start before then.  Even though I figured they wouldn’t take batting practice, I went in early so I could get a free parking spot on the street.

Justin Masterson returns to his old haunt, and watches batting practice with Gary Tuck.

When I got in, no one was taking B.P.  The pitchers were stretching in the outfield, and there was a girl taking ground balls at second base.  I figured she was the daughter of one of the coaches.  (I joked that maybe she was auditioning for a roster spot.  It looked like Nick Green wasn’t going to be recovered from a disc injury in his back in time to help out in the playoffs.  Jed Lowrie’s wrist injury still nagged, so he was no guarantee, either.  That left Chris Woodward, who was currently away from the team to be with his wife as she delivered their baby, as the only other option.)  When she finished up, Green came out and took grounders at short.  Then I spotted Justin Masterson, who had been traded to Cleveland at the trading deadline for Victor Martinez, wearing his Indians uniform and heading toward the outfield.  All the relievers gathered round to greet their former teammate with hugs, and he chatted with bullpen coach Gary Tuck while they did their throwing.

Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury during batting practice.

It turned out that the Indians had decided to skip batting practice, so the Red Sox were hitting in the later time slot, which means we got to watch the whole thing.  I went down close to the plate and got some good photos of the guys as they waited between rounds.

Kevin Youkilis chats during B.P.

Before the game, several players were honored for their accomplishments during the season.  David Ortiz had set the Major League record for home runs by a DH.  He was presented a plaque by Hall of Famer Jim Rice.  Jonathan Papelbon had overtaken the club lead in career saves, and was given a bullpen phone (!) by Bob Stanley, whose record he had surpassed.  Jacoby Ellsbury had broken the Red Sox’ single-season stolen base record, and Tommy Harper, owner of the old mark, was on hand to present him with the base he stole on the night he broke the record.  Tim Wakefield had passed the franchise record for games started, and he was given a plaque by Luis Tiant.

Jacoby Ellsbury stole his 70th base of the season, making that the new single-season Red Sox record.

When the game started, Buchholz gave up a home run to the first batter.  (This was my fourth game of the week, and the third that had featured a first-inning homer.)  But this time Buchholz settled down and got through the rest of the inning, then set the Indians down in order in the second.  Meanwhile, the Sox got some early runs of their own.  Jacoby Ellsbury singled and stole second.  After Victor Martinez walked and Kevin Youkilis singled, Big Papi had a big hit to drive in 2 runs.  Jason Bay’s sacrifice fly drove in a third.  In the second inning, Alex Gonzalez homered to give the Sox a 4-1 lead.

When the Red Sox re-acquired Alex Gonzalez in August, they knew they were getting an excellent defensive shortstop, but no one realized he'd bring such an offensive spark to the lineup.

Unfortunately, Buchholz struggled in the third.  Cleveland batted around, scoring 5 runs in the process, to take a 6-4 lead.  As each run crossed the plate, we became more and more convinced that we’d end up seeing Daisuke Matsuzaka instead of Buchholz in Game 3 of the playoffs next week.  In the fourth, this final game of the season started to resemble a Spring Training contest.  Once the starters each got a couple of at-bats, they were replaced, with Jason Varitek and Jed Lowrie coming in for Martinez and Youkilis.  Ramon Ramirez came in to pitch, and the rest of the afternoon would belong to the bullpen.

J.D. Drew hit two home runs, proving he was heating up just in time for the postseason.

J.D. Drew drilled a solo homer in the fourth, getting the Red Sox a little closer.  In the fifth, Ellsbury reached on a dropped third strike.  He was done for the day, as Joey Gathright came in to pinch-run.  (Tito likes to do that on the final day of the season – take people out after they reach base or while they’re in the field, so we can cheer them on their way back to the dugout.)  Dustin Pedroia followed with a home run over the Green Monster, giving the Red Sox the lead again.  (The next inning, he was removed.  Lowrie shifted over to second, and George Kottaras came in to play third, the first time he’s ever played any position other than catcher.)

Drew’s second homer of the day, leading off the sixth, gave them some insurance.  Later in the inning, after there were already two outs, Gathright and Kottaras singled.  Varitek walked to load the bases, bringing up Jed Lowrie.  He blasted a grand slam into the bullpen, giving the Red Sox a 12-6 lead and seeming to put to rest any concerns that he might not be healthy enough for the playoffs.

Jason Varitek takes a few swings before what could end up being his final game at Fenway.

After the first batter of the eighth walked, Tito sent Dusty Brown in to catch.  It was a strange time to make a substitution, so it took a second to realize what was going on before we gave the Captain a standing ovation as he walked off the field.  It didn’t really hit me until after the game that if his option for next season doesn’t get picked up, this could be his final regular season game at Fenway.  (I hope he does return for one more year, even though it’ll have to be in a backup role, because he’s been here so long I can’t imagine a season – or a pitching staff – without him.)

The ninth brought us one last time to sing “Shippin’ Up to Boston” as Jonathan Papelbon entered.  It wasn’t a save situation, but with the playoffs not scheduled to start until Thursday, he needed some work.  It took him only 12 pitches to retire the side in order and send the Red Sox off into the postseason on a high note.

Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 0

When the Red Sox clinched the Wild Card after a Texas loss well past midnight, one of the first things I thought was, “Now who am I going to see in tomorrow’s game?”  I knew that with only five games left in the season, they’d start resting the regulars, so I figured I might see 3 or 4 of the bench guys when I went to my third straight game.  But when I saw the lineup online just before I left work, it was worse than I thought: Joey Gathright in center, Josh Reddick in left, Casey Kotchman at first, David Ortiz DH-ing, Rocco Baldelli in right, George Kottaras catching, Alex Gonzalez at short, Jed Lowrie at third, and Chris Woodward at second.  That seemed like a joke, and it was even worse since they were facing Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

Casey Kotchman makes a fine first baseman, but when he's the #3 hitter in the lineup, the team is in trouble.

I felt bad for Tim Wakefield, who never seemed to get much run support anyway, and now was hobbling around with a bad back but still trying to go out there and help the team (he even volunteered to go out to the bullpen on Monday night when Josh Beckett was scratched from his start at the last minute), and this was how they were repaying him?  And what about all the fans that had gone through the effort and expense of getting to the game that night?  Didn’t we deserve better too?  Couldn’t they rest a couple of guys at a time over the next five days, and still field a reasonable representation of a Major League team?  But being the diehard I am, I remembered how Paul Byrd had outdueled Halladay a month ago, and how the Sox had had a 12-run inning on a night with a lame-looking lineup in May, so I figured they still had a shot tonight.

Rookie Josh Reddick, who made his debut in July, seemed like a veteran compared to a bunch of the guys in tonight's lineup, who had joined the team more recently.

I was wrong, though.  Very wrong.  While Wakefield didn’t allow any runs in the first – which was a pleasant departure from the two previous nights – he allowed two in the second and three in the third.  He was noticeably limping as he walked out to the field for each inning, and had trouble covering first on a bunt play in the second inning.  It didn’t seem he’d be ready in time to help in the playoffs, which was really too bad considering all he had done for the team in the first half of the season and throughout his career.  Fernando Cabrera came on to pitch the fourth, and Dustin Richardson entered in the fifth, and between the two of them three more runs crossed the plate.  At this point, we started scanning for empty seats behind the plate, waiting for people to start bailing so we could grab a better vantage point than our usual bleacher view.

When it was 10-0 at the end of the sixth, we made our move.  We started in the grandstand in Section 13, where I had been able to sit for the end of the game yesterday.  In between each batter, we moved down a couple of rows at a time, until we wound up in the field box seats behind first base in the seventh inning.

The good news is I was able to get some great close-up photos. The bad news is they're all photos of Chris Woodward.

Despite the great seats, the game got worse.  After Manny Delcarmen gave up two runs in the sixth, Hunter Jones pitched the seventh, and Hideki Okajima pitched the eighth.  We changed seats several more times, getting closer and closer until we wound up right behind the Red Sox dugout.  Because we kept moving and I was taking a lot of pictures, I started to lose track on my scorecard, so after awhile I just stuck to writing in the pitching substitutions and marking the end of the innings.

Hideki Okajima pitched the eighth and gave up a homer.

When “Sweet Caroline” played in the middle of the eighth, I sang along… sort of: “Good times never seemed so bad! So bad, so bad, so bad!”

David Ortiz returns to the dugout after striking out in the ninth.

In the ninth, I looked up and saw the new pitcher who had entered for the Red Sox – Dusty Brown, the rookie backup catcher.  He had only played in a handful of games and hadn’t even gotten his first Major League hit yet, and now here he was pitching.  The first batter he faced was Kevin Millar, who singled.  (We were really close to first base, so a guy behind me yelled out, “Hey, cowboy up, buddy!” when Millar got to first.)  The next batter doubled, and the first out of the inning was a grounder that knocked in the 12th run of the game.  After that, there was a popup to second.  Next up for the Jays was Randy Ruiz, who had already hit two homers that night.  Brown got a 1-2 count (he was throwing 75-mph fastballs and a 70-mph change-up, according to the scoreboard) and I thought, “I’d love it if he could strike this guy out.”  Sure enough, Ruiz swung and missed for strike 3, prompting a standing ovation for Brown as he left the mound at the end of the inning.

Catcher Dusty Brown makes his pitching debut.

It wasn’t until I got home and watched the replay that I noticed that outfielder Rocco Baldelli had played third base in the ninth.  I guess I had missed the announcement because that was when Brown came in, and Rocco didn’t get any fielding chances.  But even without that knowledge, the game ended up a total mockery and a brutal 12-0 loss.

Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 7

After getting home from Monday’s rainy game completely soaked, and then staying up late to check on the score of the Rangers/Angels game, I woke up Tuesday morning and went to work.  I was going back to Fenway on Wednesday night, but now the magic number for clinching the Wild Card was down to 1, meaning that if the Red Sox won (or Rangers lost) on Tuesday, we’d be in.  I didn’t want them to lose on Tuesday just so I could see it, but I was still a little bummed that I’d probably end up missing it.  That’s when I decided I had to be at the game that night.  I know the Red Sox hold some tickets back to be used as day-of-game sales, and I had had good luck waiting in the line before.  I’ve also heard that the Red Sox sometimes put extra tickets onsale online a day or two in advance.  So at lunch I vowed that if there were still tickets available when I got back to my desk, I was going to go to the game.  Sure enough, there were still a handful of singles available in a couple of different seating categories.  I grabbed a bleacher seat – face value, of course, through the team’s site – at 1:30 in the afternoon!  I told my co-workers, “I have to.  I’m a diehard.  It’s what we do.”

(Did I worry, though, that once I bought the ticket and went through all the effort of getting in there, that would jinx them and they wouldn’t end up winning?  Maybe for a minute, but then I remembered the story of Game 4 of the 1999 ALDS.  I lived in Atlanta at the time, but my brother had managed to get tickets.  I had no vacation days left, but I was able to cash in my Thanksgiving holidays to get the time off, and find a flight to Boston.  The problem was that we had tickets to Game 4, and the Red Sox dropped the first two games to the Indians.  If they lost Game 3, the series would be over, and I wouldn’t get a chance to go.  My flight to Boston left on the morning of Game 3, so when I stepped on the plane, I had no idea if I’d really get to go to a game or if I was just wasting my time and money.  But I kept the faith, and it all worked out.  The Red Sox won Game 3, then trounced the Indians 23-7 with me there in Game 4.  That’s still my favorite game I’ve ever been to, and it made me mot worry about my spur-of-the-moment decision to go to Fenway and hopefully see them clinch tonight.)

My stuff had finally dried out from the night before, and I jumped in the car with a big grin on my face.  When I called my parents to tell them I was going, they told me my aunt was going to be at the game, and what section and row to look for her in.  I met up with her and her friend and chatted with them until right before the game started.  Then I headed out to my bleacher seat, which was a nice one in row 5 in center field.  It was close to the ramp that leads down to the concourse, so if it rained again, at least I wouldn’t get stuck in it this time.

Clay Buchholz pitches to Kevin Millar.

Yes, everything was perfect… and then the game started.  Clay Buchholz gave up a home run on the very first pitch of the game.  (Ugh, not again!  At least Michael Bowden had waited until the second batter of last night’s game before serving one up.)  Two batters later, Adam Lind hit a 2-run shot, and by the time the inning was over, the Blue Jays had batted around and taken a 4-0 lead.  The Red Sox got solo runs in the first and second, but the Jays hit more homers in the second and third, extending their lead.  In the fifth, Lind hit his second homer of the day, and in the seventh, his third home run clanged off Pesky’s Pole.  (That’s the first time I’ve witnessed a 3-homer game, but it’s not exactly the way I wanted to see one.)

At the end of the seventh, Toronto led 8-2, but I was still hoping they could come back.  A lot of people started to bail, so I figured I’d be able to get a seat close to my aunt over in the grandstand.  I headed over to Section 13, and it turns out the guy next to her had just left, so I was able to watch the rest of the game with them.  And that’s just when the game started to get good.

In the late innings, I got a good view from Section 13.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia singled.  Victor Martinez grounded into a double play, but then Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz doubled, driving in two runs.  After Jason Bay walked, J.D. Drew launched a 3-run homer into the Red Sox bullpen, right in front of the section I had been sitting in earlier.  That made the score 8-7, and put the Sox on the verge of the epic comeback I had been rooting for over the past two days.  Casey Kotchman popped up to end the inning, but I was sure they were going to come all the way back.

It's the night the Red Sox will end up clinching, and Paps still has his pants on.

Jonathan Papelbon came on for the ninth.  He got two quick outs but then hit Adam Lind.  Lind stayed in the game after getting checked out by the trainers, and Paps got the third out quickly too.   In the bottom of the ninth, Ellsbury singled with one out, and promptly stole second.  Pedroia lofted one out toward the center field triangle that I thought was going out, but Vernon Wells ended up tracking it down for the second out.  Victor walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Joey Gathright.  The stage was set, with the two speediest guys on base, and one of the best clutch hitters on the team, Youkilis, at the plate.  We chanted “Yooooouuuuuk” and “Let’s go Red Sox” and “You-you-you-you” as he worked a 3-2 count.  But then… called strike three.  There was a stunned silence for a few seconds as it sunk in, but that was it.  No rally; no clinching; no pants-less, goggle-wearing, champagne-soaked players celebrating.

Actually, for me there was still hope.  If the Rangers won, the magic number would stay at 1, and I’d have another chance to see them try again tomorrow.  But when I got back to my car, I heard that the Angels led 4-2, and after I got home the 5-2 Texas loss went final, giving the Wild Card to the Red Sox.  It was after 1 am, and even the NESN cameras weren’t allowed in the clubhouse, so we didn’t get any visuals.  Instead, I’ll have to close with a picture I took last October on the night the Red Sox beat the Angels in Game 4 to clinch the Division Series:

We didn't get to see the Red Sox clinch this year, but here's what it might have looked like. This is Tim Wakefield, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, and their teammates celebrating their Division Series win over the Angels in 2008.

While we didn’t get to see any pictures, there were some good quotes on the celebration the next morning:

“He’s probably in a thong right now with goggles and drinking Budweiser,” Lowell said, of Papelbon’s condition at that point in the evening.

“I think it was maybe a little more subdued than walking right off the field, but at the same time, when you’ve got Pap on your team, it definitely isn’t boring,” Bay said.

On second thought, I guess there are some things that are best left to the imagination!

Blue Jays 11, Red Sox 5, 6½ innings

The Red Sox were back from a road trip that included sweeping Baltimore, splitting a four-game set in Kansas City, and being swept in New York.  While the Yankees had wrapped up the division over the weekend, the Red Sox’ magic number for clinching the Wild Card was down to 2, meaning they could clinch Monday night if they won and Texas lost.  The problem was that the Rangers were playing in Anaheim, so their game wouldn’t even begin until 10:00, as our game was wrapping up.  And there was no way the Red Sox would let us stay in the park and watch it, they way they did with the final few innings of the Yankees game on the night we clinched the division in 2007.  At work, I joked that our game needed to go 18 innings, or maybe only 15 if there was a rain delay, so I could be there when they clinched.

Johnny Pesky threw out the first pitch the day after his 90th birthday.

Before I left work to head in to the game, I checked online to get the lineups.  That’s when I saw that Josh Beckett had been scratched from his start with back spasms, and that Michael Bowden would be starting instead.  Bowden was a promising young starter whom we had seen in Spring Training, but he had pitched a couple of innings in relief over the weekend, so he wasn’t going to be able to go deep into the game tonight.

It wasn’t very deep into the game at all when the second batter homered.  The next four Blue Jays also had hits, and by the end of the inning, they had a 4-0 lead.  Kevin Youkilis hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning to get the Sox a little closer, and Bowden settled down for a scoreless second.  That was as close as the Red Sox would get, though.  In the third, Bowden gave up a 3-run homer.  In the fourth, he was replaced by Hunter Jones, who gave up 3 more runs, including another home run.

In the fifth, I was puzzled when I saw a #54 warming up in the bullpen.  I’d like to think I know who everyone is, but I was drawing a blank on this one.  No one had been #54 since outfielder Chris Carter at the beginning of the year.  I called my parents, who told me it was Dustin Richardson, who had just been added to the roster that afternoon.  I remembered seeing him at the Spring Training workouts (although I had never seen him in a game) and I had read that he had a good season in Double and Triple A.  The tall, lanky lefty entered the game with 2 on and 2 out in the fifth, making his Major League debut.  His first pitch was hit into center field where it was caught by Jacoby Ellsbury to end the inning.  He added a scoreless sixth, although he did give up 2 singles.

Dustin Richardson warms up in the 'pen before making his Major League debut.

Youk hit his second homer of the day in the third, and Big Papi went deep in the fifth, but the score was a disappointing 11-4 at the end of the sixth.  I knew I was coming back in two days for Wednesday’s game, and started thinking maybe I could still see them clinch, if they won on Tuesday and Texas won both of their games.

It was a relatively warm night, with the gametime temperature announced at 68°.  I was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, and it wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh when I finally put on the coat I had brought.  Blue Jays’ starter Scott Richmond had finally come out of the game, and Alex Gonzalez walked to start the inning.  As Ellsbury batted, we felt a couple of raindrops – spaced out enough that there was time to say, “Was that a raindrop?” – and that’s when I put the jacket on. Ellsbury walked, and as it started to rain, Dustin Pedroia drove in a run with a double.  I was 35 rows back, almost as far back as the red seat, and my friends were a couple of rows behind me.  As soon as it started raining, I decided to head down to sit in drier seats.  If I had to watch a game as miserable as this one, I shouldn’t have to get wet too.  But even though I was close to the aisle, I was so far back that there was nowhere to go.  The rain was torrential.  I opened my bag quickly to stuff my camera and scorecard inside.  I tried to turn away from the rain, but the swirling wind was blowing it sideways.  It probably only took 5 or 10 minutes to get down from my seat – the grounds crew was still pulling the tarp onto the field – but in that time I was completely soaked.  Of all the rainy games I’ve been to at Fenway, I don’t think I’ve ever been that wet!  I started to wring out my jacket.  I headed straight to the ladies’ room, where I used paper towels to dry off my cell phone, which was wet despite being in my pocket; the camera; and even the bottom of the bag, which had gotten wet in the minute I had had it open.

Another rain delay at Fenway drowned any chance of clinching the Wild Card.

I met up with my friends, and we went to sit in the grandstand behind home plate to wait out the rain delay.  It didn’t seem likely that they’d continue a game that was that lopsided, although I held out hope that they’d resume, overcome the 6-run deficit now that they were facing the bullpen, and wrap up an epic win just as Texas was losing.  Either way, they have to wait at least half an hour before making the decision to call a game.  At 10:00, they started showing the Texas/Anaheim game on the Jumbo-Tron, and the Angels took a quick 3-0 lead.  But this wasn’t what I had in mind when I said I hoped they’d let us stay and watch it!

After an hour of sitting in wet clothes, they finally called the game.  The clinching would have to wait.  Now I was hoping that the Rangers would actually win tonight.  I wasn’t coming back until Wednesday, and if Texas didn’t lose, that meant the Sox could win their Tuesday game and still clinch for me on Wednesday.  When I got home and dried off, I pulled their game up on the internet and stayed up past 1 am to watch. The Rangers ended up losing 11-0, reducing the Red Sox’ magic number to one.  Just my luck – they’d probably end up clinching on Tuesday, and I’d miss it!  (As long as they ultimately get in, I’ll be happy, but I really wanted to see it in person.)

Angels 4, Red Sox 3

By the time I got to Fenway for my next game, the Red Sox were riding a 7-game winning streak, including a dramatic come-from-behind win the night before which ended on Alex Gonzalez’s walk-off single.  During that time, they had opened up a 6.5-game lead over Texas for the wild card, so it looked promising for making the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven years.  But just as important to me was trying to win the division, which was still completely possible.  The Yankees had a 6.5-game lead, but we still had a 3-game head-to-head series at the end of the month, so we just needed to creep a little closer before then.  Winning the East is of course a matter of pride, but it’s more than that.  It would also enable the Red Sox to match up with the Central division winners (likely the Tigers) instead of the Angels from the West.  Then the Angels would get the Yankees, whom they always play well against, and we’d have home field advantage.  If we settled for the wild card instead, we’d have to open on the road in Anaheim.  So I really wanted them to continue their winning ways by finishing off a sweep of the Angels now.

I took the day off from work and went in early to get in the Red Sox Nation line.  (We were so early that some of the parking lots weren’t open for game parking yet, still taking monthly permit holders only.)  Up on the Green Monster, we watched batting practice.  With all the September call-ups, there was plenty of action, as we tried to figure out who everyone was.  We did notice Kevin Youkilis, who had missed the past couple of games with back spasms, in the dugout wearing shorts and a t-shirt instead of his practice uniform, so we knew he wouldn’t be starting tonight.  After the first half-hour, when the gates officially open, we have to come down from the Monster.  We went around behind home plate as the last group of Red Sox batters took their turns at the plate.  I had fun getting some good photos of last night’s hero:

Alex Gonzalez is all smiles the day after his clutch hit won the game for the Red Sox.

I also saw ESPN’s Peter Gammons chatting with a couple of players.  A few days later, I found the article he was working on.

Victor Martinez chats with Peter Gammons.

I have a Tenth Man Plan, my 10-game ticket package which renews every year.  This winter, I had also bought one of the (one-year-only) 4-game Sox Pax because it included Opening Day.  Tonight’s game was included in both packages, so I gave my parents the Tenth Man seats, while I would sit 35 rows back and two sections over in the Sox Pax seats.  The three seats my friends and I had for the Sox Pax were scattered across a couple of rows, so we wouldn’t be together anyway, and the guy who sits next to me in the Tenth Man seats usually shows up an hour late, so I figured I’d start off in the good seats next to my parents and then move back when the section filled in.  As luck would have it, the guy next to me arrived in the bottom of the first, but there were some other empty seats in the row that no one ever came and sat in, and I was able to switch with some girls so that I ended up sitting next to my parents in the good seats for the whole game.

The sun sets over the Fenway façade before the game.

Josh Beckett was on the mound for the Red Sox, pitching against Ervin Santana, and the game was scoreless through the first two innings.  Howie Kendrick led off the third with a home run, giving the Angels a 1-0 lead.  In the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury launched a homer of his own to tie the game.  Then after Victor Martinez extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single, Jason Bay blasted a 2-run shot to give the Sox a 3-1 lead.

Jason Bay and Jacoby Ellsbury patrol the outfield after they both homered.

The Angels crept a little closer with a run on back-to-back doubles in the fifth.  At the end of the fifth, when they pick 10 Red Sox Nation members to welcome on the scoreboard, I saw my name again, which was cool.  Trouble came in the seventh, when the Angels had runners at second and third with two outs.  Beckett struck out Chone Figgins, but the ball got away from Jason Varitek, and Figgins reached base as the tying run scored.  It was the second straight night that a ball had gotten past Tek, but when I saw that this one was a wild pitch as opposed to a passed ball, I gave him a break since it wasn’t technically his fault, although that didn’t make it any less costly.  Beckett ended up going eight innings, and left with the game tied, 3-3.  I kept the faith, holding out for another late-game rally like the night before.

Billy Wagner came on for the ninth, and he walked the first batter.  A sacrifice moved the runner to second, and he scored on a single to give the Angels a 4-3 lead.  It was on to the bottom of the ninth, but J-Bay and Big Papi both struck out to open the inning, leaving the game up to the bottom of the order.  No problem, they just needed to get some baserunners on and get Alex Gonzalez to the plate.  Mike Lowell delivered a single and Joey Gathright pinch-ran.  I really hoped Youk would get a chance to hit, but when J.D. Drew was called back in favor of Rocco Baldelli, I figured that meant that Youk wasn’t available at all.  Baldelli ended up flying out to end the game, wasting a perfect chance to pick up some ground in the wild card and the division races with both opponents idle.  (We found out later that if Rocco had reached, Youk would have pinch-hit for Tek.  I just wish he had gotten a chance before it had become too late.)

Red Sox 7, Orioles 5

On the road trip of the past week, the Red Sox had won two of three in Tampa Bay but then lost three of four in Chicago. That had dropped them 9 games back in the division, but they held a 2-game advantage over Texas for the wild card. It helped when they returned home and beat the Orioles 10-0 in a 6-homer game on Tuesday. I always say 10-0 is my favorite score, but hoped they’d be able to continue the fun the next night when I went to the game and Paul Byrd was on the mound. Now that it was September and rosters had expanded, it meant there were plenty of arms in the bullpen, depth on the bench, and even four catchers. On my way to my seat, I peeked out on Yawkey Way, where posters representing the night’s lineup hang in the upstairs windows of the souvenir store across the street. Victor Martinez had the night off, which meant that Jason Varitek was catching, Kevin Youkilis was at first, and Mike Lowell was at third.

Rookie catcher Dusty Brown walks out to the bullpen with Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez.

Byrd gave up two hits in the first but was able to strand both runners. In the bottom of the inning, Jason Bay drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single. The Orioles got one back in the second, when a run came in the back door on a double play.

Both teams had plenty of baserunners, and strange things happened on the basepaths all night. A rundown ended the second inning for the Red Sox, when Jacoby Ellsbury got thrown out at the plate after Pedroia’s single. It looked like Pedroia was trying to get hung up between first and second  long enough for the run to score, but Ellsbury didn’t break for the plate in time and was gunned down. Then in the fifth, with the Red Sox clinging to a 3-2 lead, Kevin Youkilis was thrown out at the plate after Mike Lowell’s single, ending the inning. But while the fast guys had trouble scoring, their slow-footed teammates got the job done. Big Papi beat out an infield hit in the first. Later, Lowell stole second base without drawing a throw (although that turned out to be a botched hit-and-run on a ball in the dirt that neither the batter nor the catcher could get ahold of). Alex Gonzalez successfully executed two sacrifice bunts, when even one is a rare play in the Terry Francona era.

Paul Byrd, half-way through his distinctive windup.

All that contributed to a 3-2 Red Sox lead at the end of the fifth. Manny Delcarmen came on for the sixth and coughed up the lead, with 2 Oriole runs crossing the plate on three singles, a walk, and Delcarmen’s own fielding error (which I thought was a tough call). It was painful when Baltimore took the 4-3 lead, knowing that two Red Sox runners had been thrown out at the plate. But the Sox weren’t done yet. Varitek led off the sixth with a single and was replaced by pinch-runner Joey Gathright. After a sacrifice moved him to second and a grounder got him to third, Pedroia’s second hit of the night drove home the tying run. (Now that Varitek was out of the game, I was hoping Victor Martinez would take over as catcher. But since this would be only Victor’s second day off since coming to Boston, he probably needed the rest, and George Kottaras came in instead.)

Billy Wagner came on for the seventh, and retired the side in order while striking out two. Youkilis singled to lead off the home half, and after a pitching change, a strikeout, and another pitching change, Bay singled. Lowell walked and was removed for pinch-runner Brian Anderson. That loaded the bases, with Kottaras due up. We all jumped up to cheer when we saw he was called back in favor of Victor Martinez. And we went crazy when Victor jumped on the first pitch and drove it off the base of The Wall in left-center, sending all three runners home.

Victor Martinez takes a lead off second base after his pinch-hit, bases-clearing double.

At the end of the inning, since Lowell and Kottaras had both been removed, Youkilis moved to third base, Martinez took over at first base, and 4th-string catcher Dusty Brown came in behind the plate. This was only the third game of his major league career, and so far he’d only come in defensively late in games, so he hadn’t had an at-bat yet.

Daniel Bard got the first two outs of the eighth, but with two runners on base, Jonathan Papelbon was called in early. His first pitch to Nelson Reimold was grounded to short to end the inning efficiently. In the bottom of the eighth, three straight singles loaded the bases for the Red Sox with one out. That brought up Dusty Brown, making his first major league plate appearance, to face old friend Cla Meredith. Brown smoked a line drive, which looked like it would be his first hit and RBI, but instead it was snared by the shortstop, who flipped to second to double off the runner and end the inning.

Dusty Brown lines out in his first major league at-bat.

Paps allowed a run in the ninth, but he closed out the game. That capped off a fun and exciting win that was a true team effort with contributions from starters and bench guys alike.

Red Sox 7, Blue Jays 0

My next game was on Sunday, and I was looking forward to seeing Jon Lester pitch.  But on Saturday, I found out there was a snag to that plan.  Tim Wakefield was being scratched from his start Tuesday.  And then there was the weather; it poured all day Saturday and that night’s game was in jeopardy of being rained out.  If it did get postponed, then Clay Buchholz, who was scheduled for Saturday, would go Sunday, and with the team off on Monday, Lester would make the start Tuesday.  That was OK so far, but then they decided that they didn’t want Lester to have the uncertainty of not knowing whether he was pitching on Sunday or Tuesday, so they decided to just move him to Tuesday and leave Sunday’s starter up in the air.

As soon as the rain cleared up and Buchholz started Saturday night’s game on time, we knew they’d have to call somebody up for my game on Sunday.  And in the post-game interview with Terry Francona, we found out it would be Paul Byrd.  Yes, the same Paul Byrd who had played for the Red Sox in August, September, and into October last season, who had then retired to spend time with his family.  The very Paul Byrd whose only experience in the past 10 months had been throwing batting practice to his 13-year-old son’s team, when the Red Sox re-signed him earlier this month.  I remembered he had made some solid starts for us last year, but 4 of his 8 starts – including both of his losses – had come against Toronto.  Was he really a smart choice to throw against the Blue Jays now?  And I worried about Lester waiting until Tuesday – that would be a full week since his last start, and a lot of times guys who go a week between starts end up struggling.

Paul Byrd walks out to the bullpen before the game.

I called my parents to gripe about my bad fortune.  My father predicted that Byrd would pitch a great game, using the phrase we always say when Tito makes a move that we question but then it ends up working: “The man’s a genius.”  I said I’d rather see Brad Penny, whom the Sox had just released a couple of days ago, or even Nick Green, the shortstop who had pitched 2 scoreless innings in a blowout earlier in the month.  My mother quipped, “He’s number 36 and he wears his red socks pulled up.  Maybe you can just pretend it’s Brad Penny.”  Needless to say, I still wasn’t thrilled about the prospect.  I told them, “I haven’t been this excited for a game since the John Burkett era,” back when I seemed to see Burkett laboring every time I went to a game, while Pedro Martinez was racking up wins either the day before or after I was there.

Nevertheless, I drove in early Sunday morning, and got a parking spot at a meter on Comm. Ave. again.  I got in the Red Sox Nation line and went in early, but the Red Sox had decided not to take batting practice.  We did get to watch as the pitchers came out to center field to stretch.

Jonathan Papelbon stretches out before the game.

When I came down from the Green Monster, I went around to right field to watch the pitchers long-tossing.  I made sure to get some pictures of the newest addition to the bullpen, Billy Wagner, who had been traded to the team a couple of days ago but hadn’t appeared in a game yet.

Billy Wagner, the latest addition to the Red Sox bullpen, was acquired in a trade earlier in the week.

Our seats were in Section 36 in the center field bleachers.  It had been cool when I left the house in the morning, so I did grab a sweatshirt for the ride in, but I know that the bleachers are always hotter than the rest of the park, so I had shorts on.  Sure enough, we were in the direct sun all afternoon, and it was hot.  I couldn’t believe how many people had shown up with long-sleeved shirts and jeans, but I was comfortable.

The first batter of the game led off with a single off Byrd, and I was afraid I was in for a long day.  But Byrd got a flyout and two groundouts to get out of the inning quickly.  So far, so good!  He actually was pitching just like John Burkett used to on his best days.  His fastballs averaged about 87 (even Nick Green threw harder than that in his pitching debut) but he was able to keep them off-balance with a variety of junk.

Paul Byrd outdueled Roy Halladay.

Still, it was a tall task, asking Byrd to pitch against Cy Young contender Roy Halladay when he hadn’t appeared in a major league game since last October.  I was worried about that, too, with hot-hitting Mike Lowell out of the lineup in favor of Jason Varitek and Rocco Baldelli subbing for J.D. Drew in right.  We were going to need all the offense we could get against the Blue Jays’ ace.  It seemed to me like they were focusing on the upcoming series in Tampa Bay instead of trying to win the current game.  But, as it turns out, the man’s a genius.  Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis hit back-to-back doubles in the first to score one run.  Baldelli hit a towering home run off the Sports Authority sign over The Wall in the second.  Youk’s sacrifice fly scored another run in the third, and Alex Gonzalez drove home the Sox’ fourth run of the day in the fourth.  All the while, Byrd kept the Blue Jays off the board while scattering just three hits and three walks over six strong innings of work and earning a standing ovation when he left the game.

The Red Sox got Halladay out of the game early and then tacked on three more runs off the Toronto bullpen in the seventh.  After Manny Delcarmen pitched a scoreless seventh, Billy Wagner made his Red Sox debut in the eighth.  He impressed, striking out the side (albeit with a double mixed in) and earning himself a standing ovation.  Takashi Saito put two runners on in the ninth, but he managed to get through the inning unscathed and wrap up the tidy win.  And on my way down from the bleachers, I made sure to call my parents and say simply, “The man’s a genius.”

Red Sox 3, White Sox 2

The Red Sox bounced back from their awful Sunday night game with wins over the White Sox on Monday and Tuesday.  On Wednesday, I took the day off from work and went in to Fenway in the afternoon.  I used my Red Sox Nation card to enter early for batting practice, and this time – unlike all the rainy days and several of the Sundays – they were actually taking B.P.  When we go in early though Gate C, they scan our Red Sox Nation cards, and we’re eligible for a couple of prizes.  In the second inning, one winner is chosen to receive a seat upgrade.  Then in the fifth, they put a welcome message on the scoreboard with the names of 10 other RSN members, and one final person is chosen to win a prize pack.  There were a couple of games where my seats were so far back in the bleachers that I really could have used a seat upgrade – but of course from up there, I can’t even see the scoreboard to see if I’ve won.  I like to joke that I’ve probably won a couple of times, but only on the days when I can’t see the scoreboard, so I’ll never know.

Big Papi walks out to left field during batting practice.

From the Green Monster, I was able to get some good photos.  As the infielders batted, David Ortiz came out to left field.  He threw a ball up into the Monster seats (not near me) and then made the rounds, greeting his teammates.  When he got to Takashi Saito and Junichi Tazawa, he greeted them with a bow.  When B.P. was finished, I walked around behind home plate.  Inside Gate A, where “Autograph Alley” used to be last year, there was a line of people posing for pictures with Clay Buchholz, so I hopped in the line.  The line moved quickly, and there were FanFoto people there to take the pictures.  I usually ask the FanFoto people to take a picture with my camera, and they’ve always obliged.  This time they weren’t allowing personal photos (to keep the line moving faster) but they did give us coupons to order a free print.  So now I’ve got to wait for them to print it off (how quaint!) and mail it to me, at which point I’ll be able to scan it in and post it.  But it was cool to be able to meet a current player.  I think that’s a new development, because I haven’t noticed them doing that earlier in the year, or maybe I’ve just never been in the right place at the right time before. [Update: The picture arrived, and I scanned it in.]

Clay and me before the game.

Our seats were in Section 34, right next to the center field camera well again.  They were actually the exact same seats my friend and I had had at the game in May when Big Papi had hit his first home run of the year.  It’s a cool section, and apparently good luck for #34 when I sit in those seats.

Sunset panorama from Section 34.

Tim Wakefield was finally back off the D.L.  He hadn’t pitched since he picked up his 11th win right before the All-Star break.  (He made the All-Star team for the first time in his career but didn’t get into the game, in part because Victor Martinez, who would be catching the second half of the game, had never caught a knuckleballer before.  Ironically, Martinez had been traded to the Red Sox, and he was now Wake’s personal catcher.  It was going to be interesting to see how these two would work together tonight.)

Wake gave up a run in the first on an infield hit and a triple, but Papi made sure the Sox answered in the second when he launched a homer into the Monster seats.  After that, Wakefield was fantastic.  He allowed only a walk in the fourth, an infield hit in the fifth, a two-out double in the sixth, and two harmless singles in the seventh.  Victor didn’t seem to be having any problems catching him, either.  And in the bottom of the sixth, Alex Gonzalez smacked his second home run since joining the Sox, giving them the 2-1 lead.

At the end of the fifth, I kept my eye on the scoreboard, and I saw my name in lights as a member of Red Sox Nation.  Here I am, the third name down:

The Red Sox welcome me to the game!

We gave Wake a standing ovation when he walked off the mound at the end of the seventh.  Everything was fine until Ramon Ramirez gave up a homer to the first batter he faced in the eighth.  That tied the game and meant Wake couldn’t get credited with the win.  The Sox had the top of the order due up in the eighth, but they went down 1-2-3, so the game went into the bottom of the ninth still tied, 2-2.

Kevin Youkilis led off.  I was present last year for two games which he ended in walkoff fashion, prompting me to nickname him the “Greek God of Walkoffs”, and he had already had one earlier this year.  But this time he struck out.  That brought up Big Papi, and in the golden days of yore that would have meant an automatic game-winner.  But he hadn’t actually hit one since the end of the ‘07 season, so it wasn’t necessarily a given anymore.  Still, if Wake could recapture some of the magic from his younger days, why not Papi?  “C’mon, Papi, just like old times,” I pleaded under my breath as I rose with the rest of the crowd.  We did our part, chanting “Papi, Papi” like we’ve done so many times before. And he obliged, launching a towering shot down the right field line… fair! Game over! Love that dirty water!

Here are my shots of the celebration at home plate.  Click each one to enlarge:

Big Papi's teammates assemble at home plate, ready to pounce.

Papi leaps into the pile as his discarded helmet rolls away. Pedroia has some serious follow-through after what I'm sure was a friendly tap on the way by. The ump seems to be making sure Ortiz actually touches the plate.

The aftermath of the celebration.

As we walked down the street after the game, my friend pointed out that this was the first game we’d been to all year where the weather was perfect – not too hot, not too cold, not raining.  Add to that the fact that I met a player and got my name on the scoreboard, along with the good pitching and of course the drama and excitement of a walkoff home run, and this will be a game I treasure for a long time.