So, what does one do when one is in Boston for work and there are a few hours at the end of a warm and humid day to kill?
Well, if it's Tuesday, October 26 and there's no World Series being held there, you easily walk the two miles from your hotel to Fenway Park. Home of the Boston "Not In The Playoffs This Year" Red Sox. The capital of Red Sox Abomi-Nation.
I've been in the park just once. For Game 3 of the 1986 World Series against the Mets. The evening was a complete blur. Now, with my fresh glance and a walk around the outside of the stadium, I can see much more clearly. The place simply oozes baseball history.
And it's a dump.
Naturally, this crybaby of a fanbase is gleefully extolling their latest post season success. Wait. I don't see one for 1986. Oh, yeah, right, you lost that year.
Isn't this street misspelled? For years, I thought it was "Yawh-key."
Not visible in this photo is a lot of scaffolding and construction, as I am guessing it takes a lot of work to keep this very old ballpark up to code. Once they're finished with that, they might want to take a sledge hammer to the major league roster as well.
It wasn't even 5PM and the official team store was closed. A golden but missed opportunity. Note to the Red Sox: the Dodger Stadium team store is open all year round.
The famous Citgo sign. As soon as I saw it in the distance, I knew I was close to the stadium. If you stare at this neon light too long, you can give yourself Lasix surgery.
By the way, disregard the other sign. The game was definitely not on when I was there.
This is the back of the famous Green Monster wall. The old lady in the picture might be Carl Yastrzemski's wife, but that is unconfirmed.
The only sign of life around the park is a sleazy looking bar in the outfield. Open all year round and offering an ever present view into the stadium.
And since I didn't have anything to drink, I can assure you that this look was indeed at "no charge."
Apparently, this is a special entrance for bald people.
Near the bleacher entrance, WEEI has a studio where, in a zoo-like reversal, the animals can look through the glass and watch them do "Red Sox Talk." I thought about Dodger Talk's Ken Levine and Josh Suchon and how lucky they are in that broom closet away from all the fans.
When I was a kid watching Fenway Park games on TV, I remember that the Prudential Center building was all you could see from the stadium. Now the whole view is cluttered by advertising.
The sun setting on Fenway Park. About a month after it officially set on the 2010 Boston Red Sox.
This rather idyllic spot is strangely only about a block away from the ballpark. I am wondering if the police ever drag this river to find the remains of some Red Sox fans who couldn't take the misery any longer.
Buh bye from Bah-ston.
Dinner last night: Risotto with butternut squash and spinach.
4 comments:
Nice pix.
Excellent photo montage.
My daughter goes to nearly BU, so I went to a game there a couple of years ago. They've actually done an incredible job of cramming every feasible way to generate money into an incredibly tiny space.
And you can tell Americans were smaller 100 years ago -- the seating is very tight and the aisles are even tighter.
It's a fascinating place to see, and on a warm night with a beer and a hot dog in hand, it's a blast from the past. But 81 games -- rugged.
You ain't kidding, Puck, about the space and seating. No comfort room whatsoever. I remember Game 3 of the 86 WS. As much as I was jazzed about being there, I couldn't wait to get out of the place. It was very claustrophobic.
Give me the wide open spaces of the California hills, the lilting breeze from the ocean, an all-beef Dodger Dog, and Vin Scully broadcasting over my left shoulder.
P.S.
The Sox need a new logo. They may have the strangest one in baseball. A pair of socks? That's it? There's nothing else?
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