Posted on July 5, 2002 at 2:17 pm | No Comments
The humidity outside is down, and the office is a ghost town. Memo to myself: When the day after July 4th is a Friday, ask for it off waaaay in advance, so you don’t get stuck working.
To those of you who have absolutely no interest in baseball, you might as well surf elsewhere… ‘cuz that’s where I’m headed. Or you can look at some new pictures.
Quick recap: This week started out on a high note with an amazing Red Sox game at Fenway. The folks drove down from Vermont to see the Sox take on Toronto with Amie and I on a hot, humid Boston evening. We lucked out with Pedro on the mound, and he ends up having one of his best games of the year… 14 strikeouts and not a single Blue Jay crossing the plate. He put on a show…
The post-game was just as special, as we met up with our former neighbor, and longtime Blue Jays radio broadcaster Tom Cheek at the Boston Sheraton. 26 years behind the microphone, and he hasn’t missed a single game. Not a one. There’s never been a more perfect match between a man and his job, as Tom likes to talk, and he’s a captivating storyteller. We just sat back as he told us the abbreviated version of the Blue Jays birth, early-80s rise, and recent struggles. Unique insights into a ball club from a man who knows his stuff.
On this particular night, the Jays had just traded Raul Mondesi to the Yankees, and because of this, we got to witness something fairly surreal as we sat in the Sheraton lobby. You see, as we sat talking to Tom, many of the Blue Jays players had gathered in the hotel lounge, having a post-game drink, settling in for a four-day, five-game Boston stay that started with a loss (and would continue for four more). Suddenly, the large screen TV is showing a picture of their now-former teammate and friend, a Yankee’s hat already photoshopped on him, and a talking head speaking of the barely 4-hour old trade. Quickly the players gathered around the screen, some muttering Spanish to both the TV and each other. It was a hell of a loss for them, and to see them face the shock head-on was quite odd. A rough week in Boston for all of ’em, and now they head to New York to take on the Raul and the Yankees. Let’s hope they fare better down there than they did up here… both for their own sake’s and for the second-place Sox.
And so the week ends on a baseball low-note… Red Sox legend Ted Williams passed away today at the age of 83. So long, Ted. The diamond may never see your like again.
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