After all of the excitement of the pre-game festivities before the Red Sox/Twins game on St. Patrick's Day, Mom and I finally got seated on the grass of our right field lawn seats to watch the ballgame.
The Red Sox players had gone into their clubhouse to change for the ballgame and come out dressed in white home uniforms with green lettering and numbers for St. Patrick's Day. Mom and I think they are very nice looking, but later, my sister Erika thinks they aren't so nice. "It's St. Patty's Day, sis, get into the spirit!", I joke later that week when I show her the pictures on my camera. Erika later said that Jason Varitek's red socks (he wears his pant legs hiked up unlike most players these days wear them down) make him look like a big Christmas tree (Miss Blackwell, we presume!).
The pre-game festivities start on the field with the National Anthem sung by a local gospel singer and the ceremonial first pitch. There is a little person dressed up like a lepruchan on the field with the Sox, but Mom and I are too far away to get a close look at what Big Papi is doing with him. Later on, Mom and I look at photos on-line and discover that Big Papi, who can be a joker, put #15 on the lephruchan's back as a joke for vertically challenged teammate and 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, who says he's 5'9" but is a little shorter.
Johnny Pesky brings the Red Sox line up to the umpires getting the crowd to cheer, and the game is about to begin. Mom and I are thrilled that 2003 World Series MVP (with the Florida Marlins) and 2007 Cy Young Award Runner Up Josh Beckett is the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and most of the first stringers are starting except for Pedroia, who left the US team and World Baseball Classic injured, and Kevin ("YOOOUK" to fans and "The Greek God of Walks" as Stephen King calls him) Youkilis, who is still with the US team. JD Drew, the 2008 All-Star Game MVP is still hurt and not playing, but we are thrilled to see "The Pride of Woonsocket, Rhode Island", Rocco Baldelli, who has been with Tampa all of his career, starting in rightfield in a Red Sox uniform.
The Red Sox take and early lead 1-0 when Captain Varitek hits a solo home run, but Beckett gets shaky in the 3rd inning and the Twins take a 3-1 lead. But before Mom can say the day is ruined, our boys come through in the bottom of the 3rd. Big Papi hits a two-run home run, and Mom and I are thrilled. I am more thrilled because this is the second game in person I have seen Papi bomb one out. The first one was a monster catwalk shot in Tampa in 2005, and I still think the ball is still among the catwalk in Tropicana Field today!
The 4th inning is the Red Sox big inning when Jacoby Ellsbury, who was third to Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year voting, hits a two run home run bringing in second baseman and Pensacola native Nick Green, who used to play for the hated Yankees. Papi has another base hit when he singles and comes in when another Canada native and former Pirate star Jason Bay bats him in with the Red Sox fourth home run of the game. The score is 8-4 by the end of the fourth, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona and Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire start taking out the starters and putting in the Spring Training invitees and minor league players. Beckett is done after three innings of strong work.
But Francona doesn't put in a minor league pitcher into the game, and we are greeted by the Dropkick Murphy's hit Shipping Up To Boston from the Oscar winning movie The Departed. This can only mean one thing, Jonathan Papelbon is coming into the game. YIPPEEE! Papelbon is a hard-throwing reliever and our closer who was third in the AL in saves last year and has a piercing stare and ferocious delivery to the plate. Pap is also known for his post-game dancing after the 2007 ALDS and ALCS when he did a jig to the Dropkick Murphys both times, the first time in his undershorts which almost gave Red Sox TV analyst Jerry Remy a coronary. After the Sox clinch the 2007 World Championship, Pap tells the press that his dog Boss ate the ball he used to strike out the Colorado Rockies' Seth Smith for the last out of the World Series. Pap gives up a run in his one inning of work, but it's Spring Training, and he is getting the kinks out before the regular season begins.
The next 4 innings, we see our Japanese pitchers in the game. Daisuke Matsuzaka is at the World Baseball Classic for Japan, but we get the honor of seeing Hideki Okajima, a lefty with a whiplash-like blind delivery, Takashi Saito, a 39-year-old veteran from Japan and LA Dodgers, and 22-year-old prospect Junichi Tazawa, who is to start the season in AA Portland, but what Mom and I see at this game has us thinking Tazawa will be up in the bigs soon.
Some of the Minnesota Twin players cool down after playing by jogging in right field. We have a great seat to see this and some fans try for autographs. A couple of the Twins players oblige the fans, and I clammor down from our spot in the grass to take to get Centerfielder Carlos Gomez's autograph on a piece of note paper from Mom's purse. I thank Carlos for the autograph and he quietly nods at me. I run back to our seats like a happy kid and make sure the autograph is safely in Mom's purse for the trip home. Jose Mijares, a Twins reliever, signs some autographs and waves and smiles at everyone in the stands.
While Mom and I were worried about sunburn or sunstroke at the beginning of the game, our worries are eliminated by the second inning when the sun goes in and we enjoy an overcast and breezy time watching the game. My face got a little red from the first few hours at the game, but I am glad that was the only sun I got. By the end of the game, the field is full of Red Sox Minor League prospects, but they do a good job holding off the Minnesota Twins and the Red Sox win the game 9-4. Happy with the win, Mom and I get up to leave the ballpark but not before going to the front of the stadium to have our picture taken in front of the Ted Williams' statue. Seeing the Red Sox play in person was a great experience for Mom and me, but seeing them win made the day extra special!
Sitting on the right field lawn at City of Palms Park was an awesome experience for Mom and me, but my advice to those who want to do this is to bring sunblock and a blanket. We brought the sunblock but no blanket. Also if you get up during the ballgame to go to the bathroom or the concession stands, you will not be allowed to return to your lawn seat until the batter at the plate is finished hitting in order to prevent people from getting hurt by foul balls. While Mom had to wait one time in the tunnel, a man asked her if she was hot and needed to remove her Red Sox shirt. Turned out he was a big collector and liked Mom's shirt. Mom turned him down and they had a good chuckle together.
Post game festivities to be continued in the last entry of this journal. Please read more!