A Old Wives Tale
During yesterday's game, Mrs's Nixon and Mirabelli were in the booth, discussing the upcoming Can & Cash drive, the latest in a long-running string of annual charity promotions by the Red Sox Wives. Every year, during this time, I'm reminded of possibly my most embarrassing Fenway moment, which I shall now relate.
During the summer of 2001, I attended a game on the evening of June 7th. This game turned out to be dramatically important in many ways; it was the game, first of all, in which Jason Varitek injured his elbow on a brilliant diving play to turn a foul ball into an out. It was quite soon after Pedro made his final start for much of that season, and right at the beginning of Nomar's recovery period. It was also my first date with a now ex-girlfriend. And it was the day of the Red Sox Wives' Cookbook sale, though I did not know that at the time.
We walked up to the park, and naturally I was in rare form, displaying incredible charm and wit. She was a baseball-knowledgeable person, so we wee mostly talking baseball, and were on the subject of the bullpen as we made our way through the crowds outside. It was then that we walked past a woman wearing a Rod Beck jersey.
In my infinite wit and charm, I exclaimed (somewhat louder, perhaps, than I should have) "Who in God's name would wear a Rod Beck jersey?" The woman kind of turned around and gave me a dirty look so I sorta felt bad,but it got a laugh from my date, so fine. Then we got to the gate.
All of a sudden, I noticed a bunch of odd jersey's. Hatteberg, for example. And O'Leary. Mike Lansing. All on women between the ages of 25 and 35.
Then, I noticed a table, behind which stood other women, all in Red Sox jerseys. On the table were a number of books, in front of it a banner. It read "Red Sox Wives Cookbook". I stopped dead in my tracks, and looked behind me.
Mrs. Beck was shaking hands with various fans. I hadn't seen her button and nametag from behind her. My date felt that this was uproariously funny. I did too, somewhere deep down, but mostly I just knew I insulted Rod Beck to his wife's face. So, every year at this time, I am reminded of my pure and complete embarrassment, standing there on Yawkey Way, trying hard to impress and yet succeeding in insulting.
Damn you, insurmountable wit and charm.
I hope they do it, what a horrible deal for the Yankees. (Comment this)
I think the whole Sheffy thing is a rouse. Seriously, think about this strategy. Use red cape on bull. Piss bull off. Make bull play harder. They could have picked anyone of the team, really, but since Gary just had that run-in with the ump, he was a good candidate. These people are getting played, big time. If they really wanted to do damage, they should have paid off one of the red sox players to make up a nasty quote (similar to what Gary did right before or after game 3) so that the Yankees could wallpaper their clubhouse with it for motivation. But, I like this better, since it could go the complete opposite way and result in overcompensation, which could lead to all kinds of delights: overthrowing to the infield and other misc errors, not being patient at the plate, more violent outbursts. (Comment this)