I took this last year at McCoy Stadium. Dusty Brown eyeballing the ump an inning before the same umpire ejected him from the game. It's a bit of a cranky post today and I thought the photo fitting.
This next week will be the longest of the year, won’t it?
One week from this coming Sunday we get our Opening Day (night) and, yes, I will be there. While I’m thrilled for the opportunity and grateful to have received the invite, I still am a little grumpy about the timing of it all. I’m Catholic and Easter is a bit of a big deal so having it on the holiday sucks just a bit. Thankfully, I was born of a family who won’t be offended if I leave Easter dinner a little early to make it to the park. I’m okay with it. Just means I won’t get into Boston as early as I normally would that day.
What really annoys me about it is that they have taken our Opening Day away from us. As it is in many cities, it’s practically a holiday in Boston. People blow off work, let their kids stay home from school, plan game watching parties…it’s a big freaking deal for fans going to the game and those who aren’t. But not this year, we get that taken away from us because ESPN decided they wanted the Sox/Yankees on at 8pm on Sunday night. (Let’s not even get into how horrid it will be trying to LEAVE Fenway when the game is over. Late night ball game, Sunday night on a holiday? Good luck finding a cab or getting to public transportation on time.) Also, they did a little bit of a bait and switch on folks, since when they originally started selling the tickets, Opening Day was scheduled for Monday, April 5th.
Dan Lamothe over at Red Sox Monster has a different take that on this that I, unfortunately, disagree with. Winning those championships isn’t what prompted this. ESPN and Fox have always over-touted “The Rivalry” long before 2004. I also don’t find it to be “epic”. Red Sox/Yankees has been played out. Since 2000 both teams have won two championships. There is nothing compelling here for anyone who isn’t a Sox or Yanks fan – and even Sox and Yanks fans (raises hand) are sick of the two teams being forced down the throats of baseball fans. The games excite me, as a Sox fan, but I can understand the rest of the baseball watching world not wanting to bother watching that first game. It’ll be interesting to see if they sell out that night. I received an email this week from “Red Sox Nation” saying there were tickets available but only selling them in a package of other games…smooth move. Way to kick those who can barely afford tickets just one more time. I secretly hope they don’t sell out. (Hypocritical, I know, since I’ll be there. Also, I guess my hope isn’t so “secret” now.)
What else can I complain about this lovely morning? :)
How about a cancer survivor, someone I would hope had a greater appreciation for life, killing a living creature for sport? I’m not sure I’ve mentioned my distaste for hunting here before (I have elsewhere!) but here it is in a nutshell: I detest it. Having written that, I feel less strongly about it if the hunters are actually hunting for food. It still makes me a little squeamish but how can I argue someone hunting for food? I love animals but I do love people more. So as much as I hate hunting and will argue about it with people, if someone is actually doing it for food, I can’t argue it if I’m going to the supermarket and buying beef, right? Fine. But what about some idiot (yes, Jon Lester, I’m talking about you) who kills an animal (in this case, a bobcat) just for the trophy?
“Just yesterday I shot a bobcat with a bow here in Georgia. My buddy’s got a real cool bobcat mount in his house, so I’ve wanted to shoot one for years.”
Takes a big man to kill a living thing just because you want something “cool” mounted in your house, Jon. I’m not kidding when I say I read that and shuddered. How can someone who had such a close call with death care so little about the life of another living creature?
Someone pointed out to me that more players we like (hello, Mike Timlin) probably do similar things, we just don’t read about them. I can’t argue that. It’s not up to the players, or anyone, to be exactly the person I want them to be. So, again, I’m a hypocrite (hey, I can admit it) because I read this story about Lester and thought “Dude, this says a lot about the kind of person you are – and I’m not impressed.” An unpopular position to take for one of the more popular players on the team but there you have it.
Now that I’ve alienated folks…
A piece of fun news. According to my friend (and sistah!) Susan down in Ft Myers, the Red Sox started selling out Spring Training games on March 16, 2003. Today’s game marks the 100th sold out Spring Training game for the Sox. Along with that, in every game I’ve listened to so far that has been played on the road, the announcers have mentioned either a sold-out park or a park full of more Red Sox fans than they’ve seen before. So much for Dan Shaughnessy’s contention that Red Sox fans are turning into Braves fans who don’t really care any more. Way to represent Nation. And I feel the need to again point out that this began in 2003. Fenway’s sold out streak began on May 15, 2003. Tell me again how the fans have only been showing up since the team won it all in 2004?
The bobcat killer is on the mound today at 1:05pm against the Blue Jays but we don’t get to see it or hear it. As a matter of fact, we don’t get televised Sox baseball until Sunday (on NESN at 1:05pm against the Twins).
Only 9 more games that don’t count folks…we’re almost there!
Comments 9
Well, you know you haven’t alienated ME. ;) I agree that as a meat eater I can’t make the claim that shooting and butchering a deer is significantly different than enjoying the results of someone else having killed a cow or pig. But the glee taken in killing something brings me up short–and killing something, inflicting pain and death, to have an ornament in your house really blows me away.
And I don’t think there’s any way around the hypocrisy of being glad I don’t know about other things people do that I’d find abhorrent. Pretty sure Tiger isn’t the only married pro athlete with a girl in every port.
It’s surprising to me the number of days where the Sox game in ST has been one of the only ones unavailable by any means. Hoping that one of the CCAE lectures will offer the chance to ask Someone Who Will Know why.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 9:25 am ¶Cyn,
Just a point about the season opener being on Sunday night vs. Monday afternoon. It’s not because it’s the Sox vs. the Yankees that it was moved to Sunday night per se. It’s because NY won the WS last year and the MLB schedule has NY opening the season in Boston this year. MLB moved the season opening game to Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN starting in 2005, and ESPN has picked the team that won the WS the previous year (in whatever matchup the schedule had them playing) in that opening game each year. The only exception was in 2008 when they had the season opener the Tuesday before the rest of the league because of that dopey Japan trip. If Philly had the good sense to beat NY in the WS last year the Sunday night game on April 4th would be the Phillies at the Nationals, and the Sox would be opening on Monday as it was originally scheduled.
Ken
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 9:35 am ¶Ken, if that’s the case, why wasn’t the game always scheduled for the Sunday night? Did MLB forget for a moment that opening day was against the Yankees and on a Monday?
I ask honestly, because I know people who bought tickets the Saturday they went on sale, believing the game was on the 5th, who were surprised and annoyed to find out that following Monday that the game had been changed.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 9:47 am ¶“But the glee taken in killing something brings me up short–and killing something, inflicting pain and death, to have an ornament in your house really blows me away.”
Well put and worth repeating.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 9:49 am ¶I do agree with you on the aspect of killing just to mount a trophy. I have known quite a few guys who do mount some of their deer heads (that they kill for food)…for those cases where the rack is unusual or the points are large number. I do not like them hanging on my wall(one of the many things I dont miss about my ex).
One thing I did find out because I researched as I was curious about the large hunting ranches out there: Many of them donate the deer meat that the ranches dont use to feed their clients to processing plants who give them to the homeless shelters. So at least theres that. But for the guys who just want that trophy head just because its an unusual deer or animal or ‘cool-looking’, I agree with you Cyn. Just aint Right.
This is one more reason I really would rather not know about the personal lives of the athletes I follow. But more importantly, even when I do find out these things, it doesn’t change the way I feel about them as athletes….it’s their life, not mine.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 9:56 am ¶Unfortunately ESPN doesn’t “officially” announce their schedule until sometime in January for the beginning half of the season. But if you go back and look, the Sunday night game opening the season has been the previous year’s WS winning team each year since they’ve been opening the season on Sunday night. I can guarantee you right now that when the Sox win the WS this year they will be opening the season on Sunday night again next year, whether that be a home game or on the road somewhere.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 10:07 am ¶Wow Ms. Crankypants! Make sure on Easter that you get out of bed on the other side. Know that many, many folks would trade you places that Sunday. I would be so excited I would have to carry a spare pair. Accentuate the positive. After another wonderful Easter that you get to share with your loved ones, you get to enjoy the unique experience of Opening Night for the first time ever! Don’t be a jaded Red Sox fan. It’s the start of a new season – the thing you love the most. Maybe there will be less drunks and cussing. Getting home late – so what? You have to take medicine at a certain time? Hell, you’re up until all hours anyway and you don’t have to worry about a bleary-eye day at work Monday.
I know you’ll get past all the unnecessary hoopla, I’m just trying to help make it cheerier. I’m sure you will count your blessings and have a great Easter, especially if our team wins.
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 10:21 am ¶Hmm… I have to drive to beantown on Easter Sunday for an airport run and pray we wont get stuck in horrific traffic. I think we can listen to the game on the radio though and that, combined with a basket full of Easter chocolate might make the up/back tolerable.
I’m simply going to say, thanks for the heads’up!
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 10:30 am ¶@Sharpie–my own fear is that there will be MORE drunks and cussing. All day to be drinking/preloading, potentially a cold night… we’ve seen a smuggled-in bottle of Sailor Jerry on what I recall to be merely a bit less than balmy in September, and that wasn’t a Yankee game!
Posted 26 Mar 2010 at 10:45 am ¶