Empyreal Environs

Game 83: July 6, 2006
Red Sox (51-32), 12
Devil Rays (38-48), 5
W: Tim Wakefield (7-8)
H: Craig Hansen (2)
H: Manny Delcarmen (5)
H: Mike Timlin (15)
L: James Shields (4-2)

In his drive to become the AL MVP for 2006, David Ortiz took a page out of Alex Rodriguez’s book and hit a grand slam late in the game with his team in the lead. It’s apparent to the designated hitter that the Baseball Writers Association of America values this trait above all others. While Ortiz will continue to win games in clutch situations, he’ll be sure to pad his statistics with meaningless runs to garner the attention of the knights of the keyboard.

The Red Sox managed to avoid a sweep by the cellar-dwelling yet formidable Rays, especially key because this was a four-game series and the Yankees won as well. Although Tim Wakefield gave up three home runs, he still notched the win thanks to the offensive barrage provided by Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Doug Mirabelli, and Alex Gonzalez. The later three tallied two runs each and totaled Ortiz’s RBIs for the evening.

This evening I’ll attend my first non-exhibition Red Sox game outside of Fenway Park here in Chicago. It’s not the preeminent baseball venue in Chicago, but it is against the reigning World Series champions and am I not one to let pass the opportunity to see the omnipotent Ozzie Guillen in all his glory at US Cellularmisky Fieldpark. As the BWAA are the accomplished arbiters of talent so is Guillen with his All-Star selections.