June 25, 2006

In Beantown

Just returned from a weekend in Boston with the fiancee, visiting friends of mine, relatives of hers, and making my first visit to Fenway in almost a decade. A few notes on the weekend:

- We got the news on the way up that Phils pitcher Brett Myers had been arrested Thursday night for hitting his wife, Kim, on a public street corner in Boston. However, Myers went ahead and made his scheduled start for the Phils on Saturday, and the organization's only comment was to say that they deferred to the courts on the matter.

Now I defend the Phillies a lot. But they really flubbed the ball on this one. I'm not saying they should have released Myers outright, but he should have at least been suspended, and the organization undoubtedly should have condemned his actions in the strongest way possible. No, he hasn't been convicted, but there were numerous witnesses to the altercation, leaving little doubt as to what happened. Might this ruin Myers in Philly, the way Warren Moon's similar arrest ruined him in Minnesota? That remains to be seen.

And finally, the biggest surprise was that when a player in the Sox-Phils series was arrested after a late night incident on Boylston Street, it was someone other than David Wells.

- In nightlife news, we hit the Waltham strip for dinner on Friday, and while Moody Street has been fixed up quite a bit over the years, it's still got its old Cracktham charms, such as Jim Leyritz's favorite costume shop.

Becca, both of whose sisters went to BU, seemed to have at least one drinking story about every single bar or liquor store in Allston and Brighton. Sunset Grille, though, was an excellent choice for dinner.

- I left the ballpark Saturday more convinced than ever that Fenway is the undisputed, #1, very best place on Earth to watch a baseball game. And it's only gotten better, as since my last visit they've spruced the place up a bit, and added new, non-trough-style urinals to the mens' rooms.

Most of all, the attitude has changed. I attribute that, I suppose, to the fact that they won a championship, and have been continuously good for six or seven years. That old hostility- the one I see in Philly just about every day- is all gone. The numerous fans in Philly gear weren't hasseled in the slightest, and I didn't even hear a single "Yankees Suck" chant. The only player in the park who was booed was... Brett Myers, who very much deserved it. He was jeered lustily every time he approached or left the mound.

As for the game itself, the Sox won a 5-3 thriller in ten innings, in a game that took nearly five hours. I called the ending about an hour in advance- David Ortiz hit a two-run walk-off homer off of Tom Gordon to win it. That Jonathan Papelbon is something- two-plus innings of shutout ball for the win.

- And speaking of baseball, the Twins swept the Cubs over the weekend and have now won 14 of their last 16. Don'cha know. Anyone else remember '87, when they won 15 straight to start June?

Posted by Stephen Silver at June 25, 2006 09:46 PM
Comments

The Streak (capital "S") was in '91, not '87.

I had a good time with you two this weekend!

Posted by: Jeremy Wahlman at June 25, 2006 10:44 PM

Damn if you're not making miss home [sigh]. Oh well: glad you had a good time up there.

Posted by: Dave J at June 26, 2006 10:24 PM
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