Some fans have too much time on their hands.
On the other hand, it’s been very useful for distributing the tickets my boss sold me yesterday to the rest of my co-workers.

My boss just stopped by my office for the following exchange…
Boss: Erin, do you have a second?
Me: Sure, what do you need?
Boss: Well, I know you’re a Twins fan and all, but my wife’s family is coming in to town this weekend and we have 8 tickets to Sunday’s Red Sox game, but now they’re all leaving early and I need to get rid of the tickets. Do you think you could use some or all of them?
Me: Well, I could definitely take one and I can probably find people for the other 7 as well.
Boss: Really? Great! I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get rid of them. They’re $50 seats, but I’ll give them to you for $40.
Five of the seven have already been taken by co-workers… and we haven’t even asked everyone in the office yet. I can’t believe he thought this would be a problem.

This girl is my new hero.

Between 5:30 pm yesterday and 10:40 today, I spent 13+ hours in Fenway Park… much of it waiting for the rain to pass. Yesterday was a total bust, with no baseball happening at all. However, I did learn that if you get to the park more than an hour before the game starts, Fenway Franks are half price.
As a result of last night’s rain out, today was a day-night double header. At about 11:30, I quickly came down with a “terrible illness” and had to leave work. (Actually, the administrative assistant was shocked that I even came in at all.) I got to Fenway for sunny skies and baseball — the perfect treatment for my ailment.
Unfortunately for Twins fans, the Red Sox proceeded to hit a two run homerun in each of the first three innings, going up 6-0. The Twins managed to squeak one around in the fifth off a Justin Morneau single, but two pop flies later left the bases loaded and all hope of a rally diminished. As an aside, how disappointed was I to hear that Justin went and married some other woman (who he’s actually met) in the off-season?
Once the Twins got their run in, the rain started coming down in the 6th inning. Things got really bad in the bottom of the 7th. For starters, it appeared to be the inning that would never end as Juan Morillo actually walked in a run and was relieved by R. A. Dickey, who promptly let three more runs score. And the all the while, it was pouring — and so the inning that would never end never really did as the umps called the tarps out with the Red Sox up 10-1 and only two outs in the bottom of the 7th.
And so, I sat in Fenway Park doing crossword puzzles (because I came prepared) for two hours in covered seats while we waited to see if the game would start up again. (It didn’t.) It was actually not a bad way to spend an afternoon, given that I was dry.
Eventually at 4:30, they kicked us out of the stadium. I ran across the street for some Bruegger’s and returned when the gates opened for the evening game at 5 pm. I wandered around in the drizzle, took some pictures, and chatted with some of the grounds crew. Did you know that if you sit directly behind home plate at Fenway, you get the perk of being able to watch the game on your own personal television sitting in front of you? This seems redundant to me (and the grounds crew guy I was talking to about it agreed).
Finally, by some magic of a baseball god, the weather cleared up right around 7:00. The tarp still had to be removed and the pitchers still had to be warmed up, but by 7:55, we had a game going. Francisco Liriano started out strong for the Twins with four strikeouts of the first five outs… but then he lost it with two outs in the second, giving up a couple of walks and a three run homerun to Jeff Bailey in his first major league at bat. He gave up two runs in the third and two more in the fourth. To quote Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again.
(Speaking of slugging percentage, which we were last week, Bailey’s slugging percentage stood at 4.000 until the 6th inning when he popped out to Nick Punto.)
After Liriano was relieved in the 5th, the Twins’ bullpen held the Sox to just one hit for the remainder of the game… but the 7 runs of damage was too much. The Twins fared a little better offensively this game with Morneau hitting a homerun and a double, both of which lead to runs, and Jason Kubel getting a double which eventually had him scoring as well. However, that’s only three — not enough today.
Once the game ended — almost exactly after the last out in the 9th, in fact — whatever magic was keeping the storm away subsided and the rain started up again. But I didn’t mind… even if the Twins didn’t do very well. Because a day at the ballpark is almost always better than a day not at the ballpark.

What a lovely day to sit in covered seats in Fenway and stare at a tarp for two hours. At least I got to be serenaded by organ music while I waited for them to call the game off.
Also, I think tomorrow I will be coming down with a case of make-up-game-itis and need to leave work early. Luckily, my boss won’t be in, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Yesterday was my second southern California baseball game of this trip and it was a better experience than Friday night’s game from the weather to our seats to my level of interest of the teams on the field to the excitement of the game itself. The only downfall was that the Anaheim Angels don’t seem to want to sell you postcards of their stadium, which I was planning on sending to my Grandpa. However, they were selling a Rod Carew autographed baseball and if I were feeling a little richer, my dad would be getting an awesome birthday present this year.
For Anand’s first infield experience, we sat in the very back row of the highest tier, right behind home plate. Despite the elevation, even he agreed that the view was better. And in my on-going quest to educate him about baseball, I even had him score the bottom of the first and the top of the second while I ate one of the turkey sandwiches we had smuggled in. He did, however, have a (legitimate) gripe with the notion of “slugging percentage,” because, strictly speaking, it’s not a percentage.
Speaking of slugging percentage, Mike Napoli of the Angels currently has such a “percentage” of 2. In yesterday’s game he had four plate appearances resulting in two homeruns, a double, and a walk. He would easily be the player of the game were it not for Jason Bay, who also had a pair of homeruns, but unlike Napoli, managed to hit one with a runner on base. After Bay’s second homer in the top of the ninth, we went to the bottom of the inning with the Sox up 5-3 and the stadium in a frenzy while the Rally Monkey did her thing to House of Pain’s “Jump Around” up on the jumbotron. (As an aside, that is the weirdest and yet most amusing stadium mascot I have seen yet.)
My favorite ex-Twin Torii Hunter led off the last half inning with a solo shot to right, bringing the Angels to within one and the crowd to its feet — both the many Red Sox fans in attendance and the loyal locals. Chants of “Let’s go Angels” meshed with “Let’s go Red Sox” to form a hybrid that, at one point, began to sound like “Let’s go Rangers.”
Morales followed up with a double to right. Rivera bounced out for the first out. Mike Napoli, the most dangerous batter in the game, came to the plate and worked a full count before drawing a walk. Erick Aybar struck out for the second out of the inning followed by another walk to Chone (pronounced Shawn) Figgins to load the bases.
Howie Kendrick, almost certainly set up to be the last batter of the game, came to the plate and quickly drew two strikes. We all rose to our feet cheering wildly as the pitch came and… foul ball. Followed by another foul ball… and another, and another, and another, and another, and another. Seven foul balls in total. Finally, with the tension at its peak, Papelbon pitched and Kendrick finally sent the ball forward… right to Rocco Baldelli’s glove.
And just like that, it was over. The Red Sox had won, the energy in the stadium quickly deflated, and we headed back to San Diego.

My first ball game of the season was tonight in not-so-sunny San Diego. Anand and I stuck out 45 minutes of rain delay before watching the home team finish off the win against their northern intrastate rivals. But at least there were unlimited hot dogs, nachos, and “ice cream novelties.”
A longer entry (with pictures — potentially including bonus pictures of panda bears and southern gerenuks) will probably come at the end of the weekend.

I was sitting at work yesterday, prepared to have my radio tuned to 850 AM so that I could hear some baseball… and alas, opening day for the Red Sox was turned into opening delay. Here’s to hoping that it won’t be raining in California this weekend — so far the forecast is 40% chance of rain on Friday and clear skies on Saturday.
Then yesterday evening, the Twins opened against Seattle rain, sleet, snow, or sun. That’s what a domed stadium will get you… even if it has all the ambiance of my junior high gym. Unfortunately, I was at rehearsal last night and didn’t get to follow it. Even more unfortunately, the Mariners clobbered the Twins 6-1. Therefore, I am hereby declaring that the Twins season, like the Red Sox, doesn’t start until today.