Don't believe the hype. Wednesday night I had the, err, pleasure to witness the Red Sox game live from the top of the Green Monster.

At first I was amazed at the view. Impressive. I couldn't wait for one of Manny's home runs to come soaring at me.

We sat and called friends and family to tell them the news. "I'm on the Green Monster!" "Can you believe it?"

But after the first two innings the novelty had worn off.

While most of the media is writing about Curt Schilling's 10Ks, Red Sox fans found out that Youkilis could be the fastest player in a Sox uniform.
Last night, he exhibited inside-the-park home run speed.
Of all the people in a Sox uniform, I would never have pictured Youk to be the guy to accomplish that feat.
To top it off, he didn't hit the turbo until he reached second base. He also beat the throw to home without a slide. 'm not even sure that the Indians bothered to throw to their catcher.
Quite the sight.
It's amazing what can happen when batting ahead of Ramirez. Manny never gets enough credit.

I'm gearing up for my trip down south to Fenway Park. The game is not until 7 p.m. Wednesday, but the planning started months ago.
My group has six tickets - four at the dugout and two Green Monster seats. Yup, pretty lucky indeed.
The plan is for all of us to get a chance on Green Monster (at least for an inning).
However, work has thrown a wrench into some of my friends plans. I wish they would get their priorities straight. So we'll see what we end up with.
Either way, I'll be heading down in style. A limosine will transport us right to the Fenz without any worry for parking.
And for the second time this season, I'll see Daisuke Matsuzaka.
This time however a tough hitting Cleveland team awaits.
That lineup is loaded, including fan favorite Trot Nixon. I can only hope that he gets a similar reception as he did Monday.
When I saw him step up with the bases loaded Monday, I must admit I was a little worried. Wouldn't it have been fitting? Nixon afterall is having a much better year than his replacement - J.D. Drew.
Oh, it's only 24 hours away - I can't wait.
A great question was thrown at me on the last entry: The best Sox team ever?
Here are the choices:

I think that we all have seen the ESPN ads in which Big Papi is sitting in an ESPN office with Jorge Posada and tries on Posada's hat when Wally the Green Monster walks by in disbelief.

That is how I feel today.

Big Papi in pinstripes? It's hard to fathom.

From the time he arrived - in one of the sweetest deals in Red Sox history - Big Papi has been a the face of the Red Sox. His smile captivated the hearts of Red Sox Nation and continues to do so.

But the Boston Herald reports that David Ortiz would not "shun" New York.

When asked if he would ever play for the Yankees, Ortiz said he could "never say never."

Now for the next four years I have to worry whether or not Big Papi will make the Bronx his home in 2012.

But part of the reason I admire Ortiz, is his ability to be honest.
The truth sometimes hurts.

But I just hope that he is happy in Boston now. What does he mean when he says: "You can never fall in love with a team."

Is this some sort of message? Is Big Papi not getting along with his teammates? Do all those hugs mean nothing? My world is shattered.

His numbers would suggest no problem, but his words, they simply raise questions.

If there's a problem, the Sox better fix it. We got to keep Ortiz happy for the next 602 games.

Newsday reports that the next stop for Clemens will be New York.

Based on what I witnessed Wednesday, I'd be quite surprised to see Roger Clemens start next week against the Blue Jays.

For cripes' sake he walked in a run. His WHIP was a whopping 1.88. His Eastern League ERA is 5.08. That is not major-league ready, if you ask me. That puts him in the same class as Sidney Ponson - who the Twins designated for assignment (which means "gave up on").

Now, let's also remember that this was the minors. No offense to the Sea Dogs, but the Rocket should have dominated.

Instead he struggled. His command weak. He apparently had some velocity - hitting the gun at 88-91 mph. 91? I can already see Big Papi drooling.

All that said, I can guarantee he'll be in a Yankee uniform against the Sox on the first weekend of June.

Speaking of uniforms, I wonder how many different uniforms Clemens has donned over the years. There are his home and away jerseys for college, of course the Red Sox (and minors), the Blue Jays (and minors), the Yankees (and minors), Houston (and minors), All star teams (and, err, OK so no minors) and the Olympics. Am I missing any?

It's no wonder Clemens needs all that money. Imagine the amount of closet space required to store all that.

Damn, tangent. Sorry.

Back to the outing.

The Boston Herald has a great line about last night's incident: "It doesn't take Alex Rodriguez long to make enemies."

This is not the first time that Alex Rodriguez has gotten himself into a little controversy. Mind you, his action Tuesday is not nearly as bad as the slapping incident during the 2004 ALCS.

It's already that time to submit your All Star votes. I have just done my first ballot. I say first because as the games continue many factors could come into play before the deadline. Besides, they said I could.

The first thing that struck me. They ask for your second favorite team. Second favorite? Hmm, let me think. O don't have one.

It used to be that I liked the L.A. Dodgers, but not-so-much. And as a child, when I could not pick the Sox, I always chose the Angels; I just don't feel it anymore. So, I picked the Red Sox.

I went through the selections. At first pass, I found it difficult to pick Red Sox. I was surprised. A first-place team with the best record in the American League and not one All Star? How could that be?

So I had to go back and re-organize my thoughts.

First no Yankees. Why? Besides my dislike of pinstripes, there will be plenty of N.Y. fans placing their votes for those guys. As it is, they have an All Star at every position. And why would I want to stroke any of those egos?

Second, How are they doing right now? Who are the difference makers at each position?

Third, stick up for the small market teams. No one will pick them.

So here are my selections:

I was looking forward to a a pitching duel last night. I was hoping the Sox would be held scoreless until, say, the eighth inning only to come back and win it again. Strange? Yes, I know.

I had nothing to do with the drama of Sunday's game nor the historical significance. It was purely selfish.

I have my reasons. I just made a huge fantasy trade. I traded Derek Lee, Carlos Beltran, Solomon Torres, Micah Owings and Dmitri Young for Nomar Garciaparra, Jake Peavy, Jose Guillen, Magglio Ordonez and (the reason for my hope) Nate Robertson.

I remember Robertson from his Sea Dog days and was intrigued by his early season's stats. Prior to last night's game he really had only one blemish and that was against the Mariners on Wednesday. A fluke, or so I thought. So, I was excited to get him, until I saw that is first start on my team would be against MY Red Sox. Ugh!

The best thing that I could hope for: a late-inning Sox victory - long after Robertson departed.

I was struck in a strange Catch-22: cheer for the Sox and hope that Robertson gets out of Boston unscathed. How does one do both?

I cheered when Ortiz hit an RBI-single, then midway through my applause, I'd realize "Damn, now Robertson has an ERA of 18.00."

Now I had to hope for a 1-0 game. Nope.

It was soon 3 to 1 and I was hoping that Robertson could at least get seven innings and keep his pitch count down.

Nope and nope.

Needless to say, Robertson was touched up for three runs in five innings and looked a little lackluster. He did manage to keep it close, however.

In fact, it seemed as though he allowed runs to score only after recording two outs. I can only imagine his frustration; I was frustrated - well, sort of.

After Robertson left the game with the damage done, I could rest easy and cheer the Sox on to victory.

Oh, and hope that Maggio could at least go 2 for 4. Nope.

It doesn't pay to cheer against the Sox (well sort of).

I was unable to attend Sunday's game at Fenway and missed the beginning. I entered the game about the time Beckett was exiting. As the game went on I was beginning to lose hope.

Then the unthinkable, Jeremy Guthrie was pulled after eight-plus innings of shutout ball.

What were the Orioles thinking? The pitcher, while not overpowering, allowed his defense to make plays, keeping the Sox at bay. Why ruin a good thing?

The Nathua Telegraph writes how the hook, sparked the rally.

But as I said, I wasn't there, I was catching it all on the tube. But nothing beats what would seem an impossible victory at the Fenz.

Carl Natale was there and sent me an e-mail about his experience (it's worth the read):

Instead of sitting in front of the tube watching my favorite baseball team decimate the Toronto Blue Jays, I decided to take the family out for some real baseball.
The warm temperature and Hadlock was calling to me. This was to be my daughter's first Sea Dog game.
At nearly three-years-old, I did not know exactly how the evening was going to go.
As we headed up I-95, my daughter states quite innocently, "I'm sure all the kids will be excited that I'm coming."
While laughing, my wife and I had to agree with her.
That confidence was less evident as we entered the ball park through the turnstiles.

One New York blogger writes about Clemens return:

...the skies parted over the Bronx during the seventh inning stretch and Roger Clemens rode down from Asgard on a golden chariot to announce to the common mortals that he would lay down the hammer of Thor and would pick up a baseball for the glory of winning a championship with the mighty New York Yankees.

Oh, Puh-lease. Clemens the savior? We'll see. Outside of New York, everyone hates Clemens.

I never for one minute thought that Clemens would return to Boston and I was right. Clemens loves the Big Apple and relishes a challenge. He wants the fame, the glory.

So much so, he circled June 1-3 weekend for his return - Yankees vs. Red Sox. If he did not make that series, the two division rivals would not meet again until September and Clemens' debut would be less meaningful.

There is no bigger stage than Fenway Park for nine-inning bout with the Bombers. That was the motivation and the $4.5 million-a-month a bonus.

Be prepared
My wife and I started planning the new trip shortly after the April 12 game was postponed. When with young children you really need that amount of time to prepare.

In order for things to go smoothly, we each took the day off. Mind you the game didn't start until 7:05 p.m. but we had to leave our home almost seven hours prior. Packing, feeding, dropping the kids off at Auntie's takes time.

Avoid speeding
Word to the wise: law enforcement in Boston is trying to nab all he speeders they can, and rightfully so. This particular officer stood next to his motorcycle, helmet on with radar gun in hand under the shade of the tunnel.
I didn't not see him and by the time I had gotten close enough he was partially in the road halting me. Great start.

I honestly did not realize that this particular area (heading towards the Tobin) was a 30 mph-zone.

After he showed me the radar gun, I knew I was doomed. 52 in a 30 mph. Ouch!
I looked to my wife and asked, "There isn't any way I'm going to get a warning in Boston, is there?"

"Not for doing 22-over" She started giving me the riot act and again, I knew I was doomed. Well we sat there wondering just how much this trip would eventually cost us. Ticket $200, dinner $40, tickets $80, parking $30. It was starting to add up.

This kind officer, though his appearance was a bit menacing, filled out his slip and as he handed it to me said, "It's just a warning this time."
Whoa! what luck after a pause for elation we were not-so-quickly on our way.

Park away from the park
I have found a nice little trick when facing the $30 parking space. I can't offer details, but I'll give you a hint: out of order parking meters. It was about 4:50 p.m. and I found a meter that was out of order. The maximum alloted time was one-hour until 6 p.m. I risked the 10 minutes and had free parking in Boston on game day.

Eat well before, go with friends
One block away stood Fenway. But we had to meet our friends. They had told us to meet them at Burton's Grill (not sure their may be an e on the end). I had never been and it appeared very few people knew about its existence. We were seated as soon as walking through the door and awaited our friends arrival.
Burton's is definitely a place I will enjoy again in the future. It is only a block or two away from the park on Boylston . The seating was perhaps a bit elegant for baseball fans, but the food was great and reasonably priced. $10 for a nicely-sized, perfectly-cooked burger and hand-cut fries. You can't beat it. After a couple of beers the $40 tab for two was painless.

My wife had scored the tickets, four of them for a total of $80. That is less than half the face value. It's getting better all the time.

I had a pretty good idea where we were, but I didn't realize just how good we had it. First row, Section 18. Looking directly at the left-handed batter's box. Wow! Perfect view to witness the gyro-ball.

The season-ticket holder, who could not make it to the April 12 game, was probably a little upset that he had not kept these gems. It was 70 degrees, with a slight wind and I could not be happier.

Avoid the media
Daisuke and Ichiro? Hmm. I expected a huge amount of reporters, etc. Sure the photographers' well was full - packed even - but that was all I could see. I didn't need any more distraction anyway.

Take it all in
I took a look around the park and didn't see much in the way of change. This was the first time I would see the rightfield roof box seats. Interesting, but it certainly didn't take anything away from Fenway's grace nor its mystique.
I'm not sure if they are best for night games. The soon-to-be setting sun reflected off those seats with no reprieve for the first hour of the game. Each time I looked in that direction, I was blinded. Can't be that good a vantage point; given the chance I would certainly check it out for myself.

Bring extra cash
Man, they'll get you for everything here. $7 for a 12-ounce cup of Bud Light. $4.50 for a water. The best deal is the program (still only $2) Last night the program came with a Daisuke headband.

Enjoy the game
Then IT happened. The first pitch to Ichiro from Daisuke - strike. It was on. But Daisuke was off.

He loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. An error, or two later and the Sox were in a 5-0 hole. I forgot about my great view. All of a sudden I felt uncomfortable.

But the Sox then quickly added five runs of their own and the game was remedied.

Soon the Sox would have the lead. Then they would lose the lead.

Bring a cushion
Now, I would never advocate for a new park. However, new seats, that would be nice. Though I had "saved" money throughout this trip, this perfect view of the stadium did come with a price - pain. By the time it was 7-7, I had a legitimate pain in my ass. I could not get comfortable. My neck hurt, my back hurt, and (as I said) my ass hurt. My knees were jutting into the stranger's back who sat directly in front of me. I was irritated by it and I'm sure he wasn't too pleased either. When I went to stretch, standing between innings the backs of my legs held be in place by my own seat as the seat in front pushed at my knees.

Groaning a bit, I held my complaint. I was at Fenway watching my team in a 7-7 battle. Seemed a small price to pay.

Get involved, you could be a difference maker
In the bottom of the eighth The Wave started circulating the park. I'm not a big fan, but at that moment the fans became wired. As if they knew this wave of electricity would ignite the Sox.

The chanting had begun. By the time Ortiz stepped up the frenzy was in full force. The simultaneous applause the "Pa-pi, Pa-pi, Pa-pi" got louder with each pitch. But those chants returned little.

Now, there were two outs and Manny was stepping up. The fans were even more adament. "Man-ny, Man-ny, Man-ny.." continued until the enigmatic hitter got to the full-count. Bam! went a blast to the opposite field for a solo home run, breaking the tie and moving the Sox ahead.

The fans were ecstatic and so too was Manny, pointing to the heavens as he headed up the firstbase line and then again on his way to second.

The fans were not done. But the Sox were. Though the fans had cheered just as excitedly for Youk as they did the boppers before, the effort went unanswered.
A weak grounder ended the inning.

But the damage was done. And I looked forward to Papelbon. He did not arrive. Instead J.C. Romero finished off the Mariners. Another save, another win in the books.

As "Dirty Water" was being sung I stood and wondered about the next game.

My lovely wife scored the tickets originally scheduled for the washed-out game against the Mariners on April 12.

Wakefield was to pitch in that game, but it looks as though I may get a mild upgrade. Can you say Daisuke? I can.

My seats are located in the first row of the grandstand behind home plate. Can there be a better position to watch this phenom? I think not.

With six different pitches and six different deliveries for each I'll be quite busy trying to spot the famed gyroball. Has anyone seen it?

The stuff that legends are made from to be sure.

But before all that the Sox have a mini series vs. the Oakland Athletics.

I'm not quite sure I like these two-game series. Unless one sweeps, there is no clear winner. Why they even exist is a mystery to me. Those that do the scheduling, I'm sure have their hands full - 162 games is difficult to manage especially when you factor in interleague play. But come on, two-games? I hate it.

I do however like the matchups - Curt Schilling vs. Joe Blanton tonight; Josh Beckett vs. Chad Gaudin Wednesday.

Now, I don't mean to take the A's for granted. In fact, I've often wondered what they have in the organizational water, because they always seem to groom good pitching. Both of these starters have WHIPs of 1.09 (nothing to sneeze at).
They also have been racking up the Ks. (Blanton 27 in 33 innings; Gaudin 24 in 28 innings.

Oh this could be an interesting couple of days.

I had Blanton on my fantasy team in 2006. And, it was my impression he benefited from such a large home field. This year he's actually doing better away. I'm sure coming into the smallest park in the majors will have some affect on the performances.

The A's should consider switching its name with Chicago's AL team. Because I can never get over the white shoes. Reminds me of Herb Tarlek outfit from WKRP. But I digress.

The keys to winning this series is to get to the starters early (as with most games). What has troubled the Oakland team is its bullpen.

While the starters all have ERAs under 3.00; the bullpen is over 5.00.

I'm glad we are playing them early in the year. Oakland traditionally gets off to a slow start (this year they are 12-13), but come August they are right in the thick of it.

They have a tremendous amount of defensive talent led by six-time Gold Glover (and personal hot corner favorite) Eric Chavez.

Hmm. Good pitching, good defense? Sounds vaguely familiar.

An aside: The David Ortiz book-signing tour continues. So as the rest of the team took a day off, Ortiz continued working. This time in Manhattan. I hope this doesn't have an impact on his hitting. Signing books can be rough on the hands. Remember when Jerry Seinfeld had to sign all those checks and got hand cramps - nuff said.

I have yet to pick up my copy. And surprisingly I have not seen too much about the book (co-authored by Tony Massarotti) . Have any of you read it?