(Click any of these images for a larger view)
It was cold, windy, gray, and awful outside. Just this once I was thankful for domed baseball.
Great view from the 500-level nosebleeds. Yes, we were higher than the foul poles. Every Blue Jays fan, by the way, received a free white rag with the Blue Jays logo on them. They're like the Twins' hankies, but you can dry dishes with them.
We arrived early enough to beat the crowd and catch some Red Sox batting practice, but soon all of these seats would be filled.
Here is Roberto Alomar, with the lights out, saying some stuff on the jumbotron.During the opening ceremonies they unveiled Alomar's name on the Level of Excellence. Even though Alomar only spent five of his seventeen seasons in a Jay uniform they were all all-star seasons. He also helped the Blue Jays win two titles, and should he be elected to the Hall of Fame he's expressed his desire to wear their uniform.
Fireworks are neat and all, but man, they really fog the place up.After Alomar threw out the first pitch it was game time. The Jays took the field in their vintage powder blue unis, and the Red Sox were met with lusty boos. For the first few innings Jays pitcher Shaun Marcum kept the Sox from accomplishing anything productive. He only allowed one hit through six. Boston knuckler Tim Wakefield, though allowing more baserunners, was equally as hard to score off of. He kept the Jays shutout until Matt Stairs homered to lead off the bottom of the sixth. From our seats we were unable see the ball go over the right field wall and couldn't know what was happening until the stadium's boat horn signalled the home run.
From that point on the runs came pouring in. Toronto scored two more that inning, but then JD Drew hit a three-run shot in the top of the seventh to tie the game. The Jays came right back and permanently took the lead with a 2-RBI double by Frank Thomas. David Eckstein knocked in another run in the eighth inning, and the Blue Jays defeated the Red Sox 6-3.As an added bonus, Marcum's eight strikeouts ensured that every ticket holder would receive a free slice of pizza. Hooray for food promotions.
The Ortiz shift, seen above.Wife: The rightfielder is playing really shallow.
Me: That's the second baseman.
Wife: Oh. The second baseman is playing really deep.
The rightfielder himself was fielding his position so deep that he was beyond our line of sight. The shift worked as Ortiz grounded out twice.
Meanwhile there was a good bit of mayhem in the 500 level. Every Sox fan was mercilessly picked on and fistfights were inevitable. We saw a fellow a few sections over take a header down the stairs and somebody else ended up at the receiving end of a series of haymaker blows. Pow, pow, pow -- haymade.
Fan participation culminated with two shirtless fools (one male, one female with a skin-colored bra [who obviously took streaking lessons from George Costanza]) running across the field. The woman only made it to the foul line (much to the amusement of Manny Ramirez, who was standing on first base just a few feet away). The guy got all the way out to centerfield before getting levelled by security. He ended up with a nasty turf burn across his chest.
Pwned, or FAIL, or something.And while I would never condone pseudo-streaking or unwarrented jaunts across a baseball field, it's still terribly entertaining. Here's somebody else's Youtube video of the event.
Everybody, except for those who got punched in the face and certain members of security, had a great time (though my wife said that this was the most amoral game she had ever been to). The atmosphere was electric, the Blue Jays won, the Red Sox lost, and great baseball was played. Hopefully the Jays will make it all the way to the playoffs this season. Regardless of whether or not they do, I'll definitely try and make it to next year's opener.
