Too much rambling.

Can you believe- I have actually been spending a bit of time writing in my paper journal. Really hadnt done much of that for a year+.

What an empty week. Interestingly, when the Red Sox go away it feels like forever; when the Paw Sox go away, it only seems like it will feel that way (and when the Spinners are gone at the same time.. that's just obnoxious!). Usually the feeling sets in during the evening of the last game of that Paw Sox homestand.. but then by the time i look up again, they're due home in another day. I'll see them Friday, and i just saw them on Sunday- but two entire weeks will have passed during which I did not step foot inside Fenway Park by the next time I go to a Red Sox game. Well, I take that back already- I had planned to go to Masterson Bobblehead night in Lowell on thurs, but dont think I'll actually make it there in time, and so was instead resolving myself to check out the Cape League All Star game at Fenway. This option sounds even more appealing now that I know that Petey is doing a book signing at the Pru (read: one block from my work) that same evening, starting 2 hours before the All Star game begins. These things just sort of developed... but it's perfect, since I've already put in to have some time off at the end of that work day.

Caught a couple games this past weekend. Finished Saturday's game alongside M Bowden.
Of course, I'm not slow... You know how little time it took me to figure out that on any given day there is generally one starter (if not two) sitting somewhere behind homeplate? Discovered this within 2 innings of the first game I ever attended at McCoy, when I noticed Kris Johnson sitting 4 or 5 rows in front of me in section 7. So I see where Bowden is when he sits in the stands before and after starts. I check behind the plate no matter who I expect to be there, because it is a point of curiosity/intrigue for me. And I spend the majority of Paw Sox games sitting solo, and enjoying it, and not desiring to go sidle up to Bowden or Zink (or whoever's there) and chat. ..Well, I guess if I'm being honest I should say that there's always some small desire to talk to whoever of the rotation is sitting in the crowd that day. Going to so many games has provided me with the chance to learn the game by being around it, you know? I love talking to guys who get to play baseball for a living, and I know I'm a little hard to figure out because I'm a 23-year-old single female who hangs out by myself at major and minor league baseball games as often as I can manage; and I'm there to learn, and watch, and not to try to score a date. I know that's not normal. Yes, I'm straight, but no, I dont sit in my seat staring at players' butts. It's a beautiful game, there's so much going on across 9 innings, there's so much that has happened in the past to bring the state of the game to what it is today, that baseball (while slow or boring to some) rarely makes me yawn. Even a terrible game allows me room to get excited, albeit I'm "excited" over all of the errors committed- or flat offense. So sitting with a player for a few innings- I think about it at most Paw Sox games. But it's not a preoccupying thought. Since I've been scoring games, and even before I started doing that, I thoroughly enjoy the time to myself. After an overstimulating day at work, I can sit up close to the action and think my own thoughts, and be attentive to everything that's being laid out in front of me. Things are clear - not always easy or free of frustration, but clear - when I'm at Fenway, McCoy, LeLacheur, Hadlock. Just open space, green and terracotta-brown, with sharply-dressed familiar figures all patrolling their own designated territories. The mental image itself is relaxing to me.

.....But once in a while, it's nice to take in the action in the intentional presence of another person. On Saturday evening, when I locked eyes with him across a few sections of seats, I got the urge to move over there and so I did. I often act on my impulses and I feel that this tendency has allowed for a lot of really unique experiences and has produced many opportunities for adventure. Anyhow, my whole deal about going to games alone is that as soon as I have someone else there, I find myself paying more attention to them and very little attn to the game. This actually happened during my last sit-in with MB but I couldnt complain, because I really enjoyed the exchange and we were losing pathetically anyhow at that point.

*aside: just this moment logged in to my hotmail account to find "new" messages titled "Michael Bowden sent you a message on Facebook" and "Zach Daeges wrote on your wall". Had a mini-heart attack, as I am of course currently in the middle of writing about the Paw Sox. Knew something must not be right. Realized that the page it brought me to first was actually one of my folders, in which I keep messages that I dont intend to lose (not all from baseball players, haha, I can promise you that).*

Saturday night was just fine... watching two and a half innings (went to 10) and talking a bit, actually, about music. He's just started learning to play piano. I played for 6 years and have otherwise played a bunch of instruments, know some solid music theory. But here it is- my shining moment came after just another pitch of the many that are thrown throughout the course of a game. Two guys from the other team were sitting directly behind us, and I clearly heard one say to the other something along the lines of "That was a pretty good curveball"... whatever it was, he was calling the pitch a curve. In the last month I've studied up on my pitches (I never pitched after very early little league and so up until this Spring I knew nothing about the unique characteristics of many standard pitches). I had called it a slider in my head- I often try to practice pitch recognition in my head, just for practice- and as I am still in the learning phases, I felt confused when the "pro" diagnosed the pitch differently than I did. I can see the very pitch in my mind even now, and everything I knew about sliders had been displayed before me in that pitch. I leaned over and asked Michael in a subdued tone, and a little sheepishly at that, why it was a curve and not a slider. Speaking just slightly more loudly than I had, and with a subtle smirk in his voice, he replied that he was just going to say that those guys were "retarded" and that it was absolutely a slider. Through a grin he certainly must not have seen (as we were speaking to each other semi-discreetly while correcting the opposing players by looking straight ahead at the field), I murmured something about how I've been working on pitch recognition but there's no way that he knew how proud of myself I was in that moment. I'm not super prideful when it comes to myself (more often I feel prideful when someone I know/am close to/believe in does something excellent)... but I called that pitch, didnt simply agree with someone else who called it but called it myself, and did so in front of a two-time major league pitcher. And I'm a female (sorry ladies... most of us dont know what a curveball does, and most of us dont care to... so guys underestimate females when it comes to sports). I love doing/knowing something that guys dont expect me to (in general here.. not talking about this instance).

One more note about section 6- sitting behind home that night was taking theory and putting it into motion... everything seemed 15x more clear! I could see the ball's movement vertically as well as horizontally and it was a beautiful, beautiful thing.

All of that was really the notable part of Saturday's game. We lost, another game where we had plenty of opportunity but squandered it all away. That's how most of the 4-game series vs Indianapolis went..


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Sunday's game was an anomaly. The Paw Sox won... and 4 of our pitchers combined to throw a 2-hit game. We were ONE OUT away from no-hitting the Indians! I'm not awake enough at this point in the night to give you a proper description of the excitement that gripped me heading into the top of the 9th, Paw Sox up 3-0. Then came the first out, a foul out to third. RJ called for IL All Star Fernando Cabrera to replace Javy at that point, and I think we all believed that if anyone could get through the next two outs without giving up a hit (or even a walk), it would be Cabrera. Out #2 followed shortly thereafter. Paw Sox fans collectively held their breath. .....Cabrera gave up a hit, a ground ball through the gap just to the right of 2nd base and on into center. Oh well, still in good shape for the win of course. ...and the next batter jacks one over the fence in left-center! No one can believe it (least of all, Cabrera, I'm sure). Suddenly, the Indians are threatening to force the game into extra innings, or worse, rob us of the win altogether. Thankfully, the final out came and the Paw Sox won. Michael Bowden, who started the game and had a dominant outing, didnt get the win, dadgumit. But he allowed no hits, no runs over 5 innings, throwing 73 pitches and 45 of them for strikes (efficient) while striking out 5. The only blemish- 4 walks issued. His frustration over the handful of walks was surprisingly noticeable, as he shouted very loudly at least once from the mound (wont repeat here what was said). His reputation doesnt include a history of issuing a lot of walks. In fact, in the past he's put up some very impressive K/BB numbers. Downright astounding at times. So again, not known for walking guys. This year, a different story perhaps. I think we've yet to meet the "real" Michael Bowden, because he is clearly still developing in some major ways if, as one example, he goes from issuing a miniscule number of walks one year to a much higher number the next. His overall performance has wavered from outing to outing this year. Now I wonder about what's inside his head- until Sunday, his gametime demeanor had always seemed so poised, professional, and mature (beyond his 22 years) while under pressure. He snapped a bit, just that one inning. Those guys often yell when they're coming off the field after the third out but it's a little different to show that you're phased in the midst of an inning. Especially for a pitcher.

With all of that said, I will be devastated if he is traded. Devastated. His attitude, his ability, everything that I know/have seen about him screams "Boston Red Sox" in the best of ways... I think he's a great fit for our team, or at least that he will be when we have room for him :) Humble, self-aware, well-spoken, "bulldog", meticulous and thorough, determined, huge work ethic. Young.. another reason he fits with what the organization is doing- all of this oft-discussed young talent making waves with the big club.
PS, speaking of trades and trade deadlines, I will be just as devastated if Daniel Bard, Justin Masterson, or Youk are gone by the end of July (yes, sports writers out there are actually suggesting that the Sox include Youk in a deal for Halladay!! at least that one seems far-fetched). Thank goodness Petey's not going anywhere...

Alright, well, that's enough Bowden talk. He IS a favorite. The later it gets, the more I tend to expound and the wordier I become.. probably could have condensed half of what I wrote to, "I really like what I've seen with Michael Bowden and I look forward to seeing him as a fixture in Fenway, hopefully in the next year." Charlie Zink is up next, though I dont really have any personal one-on-one experience with him. Still, I find that I am falling more and more in love with the knuckleball every day...



One more thing. Was just informed that the Red Sox will be retiring Jim Rice's #14 on Tuesday, July 28th before the game vs Oakland. No idea how my "source" found this out, but there you have it.

'Night.