Deadlock
Game 160: September 30, 2005
Yankees (94-66), 3
Red Sox (94-66), 5
L: Chien-Min Wang (8-5)
W: David Wells (15-7)
H: Chad Bradford (8)
H: Mike Myers (9)
S: Mike Timlin (13)
Tied for the lead in the division
1 game ahead for the wild card
2 game winning streak
The Red Sox and I are are currently in a long distance relationship. I had to travel to Pittsburgh for work and find myself in a distant city during a crucial series. I think we can weather this brief separation and, upon my return, find ourselves moving towards a bigger commitment, perhaps resulting in another ring?
The thing about the Red Sox that I’m beginning to reconsider is our current living situation. I visited an old friend, Freddie Sanchez, in his new digs and I must say that PNC Park is quite an upgrade over the quaint little bandbox in Boston. Imagine: affordable ticket prices, restrooms where women don’t have to wait in line for over 10 minutes, a concourse from which you can monitor the field, beer vendors prowling the stands (at least 5 varieties, and I’m not saying merely Bud, Bud Light, Miller, Miller Lite, and Coors; there was Yuengling, Iron City, and other lesser known breweries) and a sound system that doesn’t sound like two tin cans connected by twine.
Better yet, you can monitor men on base, outs, and scores from around both leagues. As much as I enjoyed the nostalgic ambiance PNC afforded, most of my concentration was devoted to the out-of-town scoreboard. With the Red Sox-Yankee score 2-1 and the Pirates-Brewers tally 5-0, I left the park and strided across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to see the Red Sox game on television. Had I tarried much longer at PNC, it was likely I would have been killed by a foul ball as I was so close to the batter’s box and I spent very little time watching the game at hand.
I must have spirited away the Pirates’ mojo because shortly after leaving, Pittsburgh’s shutout slipped into nonexistence and the Red Sox mounted an attack in what turned out to be a pivotal 3-run 6th inning.
Soon I’ll be back in Massachusetts. If I could bring a park like PNC back with me and drop it in the midst of the Fens I doubt even the most stalwart Save Fenway Park zealot could claim that it was not an improvement over the antiquated edifice that Fenway has become.
