Toronto Redeemed

By Karlsie

Last year I took Mr. Pi to the second home game of the season where Vernon Wells and his buddies taunted him and the other kids during batting practice, not only that, the Sox lost that night. Fast forward a year to the Youngest's 14th birthday and another game against the Jays.

What a difference a year makes.

First, we go there during batting practice where the mood was light after sweeping the Yankees and making history with 4 homeruns in a row the night before. As the players came in towards the clubhouse, Julian Tavarez stopped to sign some autographs and both Mr. Pi and the Youngest got their hats signed and pushed a couple of little ones forward so they could get their baseballs signed. Tavarez was smiling and accomodating - all in all, just a mensch about it.

Then Toronto took the field.

The first thing that happened was one of the players (Phillips I think) immediately started tossing the batting practice balls to the wall for the kids to reach over and grab. Mr. Pi snagged the coveted prize, turned to his brother and said, "It's your birthday - so you can have it." He turned back towards the field and the player rolled some more that way. He kept the second one and leaned over to snag a couple of more for the smaller kids that couldn't reach over the wall.

The Sox lost again this year, not a surprise; however, it was a different atmosphere. The cloud I felt last year was gone. Instead it was a pleasant evening with my family and - it turned out - some friends who had tickets for the other end of the row.

But in the end, I feel a little better about Tornoto. I still think Vernon Wells is a jerk and my opinion of Julian Tavarez has gone way, way up and the kids ended the night buying a shirt that reads "Yankees Suck" - in Japanese. It was almost exactly what a night at the ball game should be.

Mike Mussina through the eyes of HEEB

By Karlsie

For Red Sox fans addicted to HEEB magazine - a guilty pleasure of mine since they first hit the stands in 2001 - there was the distinct sound of chortling when the following appeared in the current issue's "Urban Kvetch" segment:

Mike Mussina

The Yankees signed Mike Mussina for $88.5 million five years ago. Now, they've extended his contract for two more years at $22.5 million. Somehow Alex Rodriguez has come to symbolize George Steinbrenner's evil empire excesses, while this guy gets off the hook. At least A-Rod comes through when the game isn't on the line. Meanwhile, Mussina continues to compile crossword puzzles and earn run averages in the mid-fours. Hey, Mike I think I know 36 across: It's "You suck."

BASEBALL TRIVIA WHIZ-KID ANDREW SCHALL

Andrew - I don't know who you are, but understand that you made a really bad day bearable for me when I read that.