Out of Left Field

Fenway - Boston/Tampa Bay
Originally uploaded by alternacoustic.

The ball floated in a lazy arc that Renteria wouldn't be able to nab in time for the first out, let alone to convert into a double play. I gripped the lip of the all in front of me as I watched Edgar reach up, let the ball slap into his glove and quickly pump to Millar waiting at first. Tom and I cheered wildly after making sure to exhale. We'd seen similar plays before - hell, we'd both executed them countless times before - but this vantage point appeared to really skew the appearance of physics.

The cold - which would ultimately numb my hands and leave me with a husky voice and sore throat - had yet to set in. Tom and I were too busy gawking to feel the cold anyway, as we were following the game with the fervor of 7-year-olds. The park stretched out before us - aged green walls, brilliant green grass illuminated by blazing stadium lights.

We'd walked around the entire park before reaching the stairs for Green Monster seats - Tom laughed as he followed my lead. I maintained that I wasn't used to thinking about this side of the field - we generally tended to find ourselves on the right side of the park - so the perspective necessary was foreign to me. He replied that I just had a lousy sense of direction. I countered by saying I just wanted to see as much of the damn park as possible so SHUT UP. He burst into laughter and gave me a hug.

I chuckled to myself, thinking of how his face would be when he discovered that his name would go up on the scoreboard for happy birthday wishes. That's what he gets for teasing me.

(T subsequently wrote about this evening - the peanuts, Ortiz's grand slam and taking in the game with me. It made me cry. I'm glad he enjoyed himself too.)

Click on the photo to see my fun with a camera.