Empyreal Environs

Game 29: May 6, 2005
Mariners (12-17), 2
Red Sox (17-12), 7
L: Jamie Moyer (4-1)
W: Matt Clement (4-0)

David Ortiz’s home run landed 7 rows down and 5 seats to the right of me tonight. From my viewing angle, I didn’t realize it was a homer until I looked at the field and saw the umpire give the sign. The folks in my area were cheering for the guy that caught the ball (barehanded and effortlessly) almost as much as they were for Ortiz. I wish I had a tape recorder, or, to be more current, an iPod voice recorder device, to capture the conversation I had with the one good Yankee fan I know (the one that got me free tickets to that game in May of 2003). He was trying futilely to have me say that I would want Derek Jeter at the plate in a clutch situation. This was sometime during the 2003 season, Ortiz was mashing, and doing so in key situations. I blurted out, “Ortiz!” and he laughed a bit, because all of the pivotal runs that Ortiz had drove in hadn’t happened yet.

And if I had a track of that conversation, I’d do some additional dialogue recording to enhance it with my laughter.

For the first time ever, I left the game before the final out. As you age, certain parts of the body are gradually upgraded, but others most definitely face precipitous decline. My formerly cast iron stomach can no longer withstand the rigors of a Fenway Frank.

The nice thing about leaving early was that I got to hear Bill Mueller give a postgame interview. He was humble as always, giving credit to the Mariners and taking none for himself on his 2 for 4, 4 RBI evening. When he hit the single and double in consecutive at bats, I began cheering for him to hit for the cycle in natural order, even as my stomach withstood the trials of processed meat. The only players to do this for the Boston Red Sox were Leon Culberson in 1943 and Bob Watson in 1979, according to the Baseball Almanac.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out for Piney that Bronson Arroyo was the Red Sox Hero presented on the jumbotron.

(“Abode” is an interesting word. Its Indo-European root, “bheidh-,” means to trust, confide, or persuade. The Germanic deriviation, “*bīdan,” carries the connotation to wait, but also with trust and expectance. It is borrowed from the Old English “bīdan,” meaning to wait or to stay. It is also the past tense of “abide,” a great verb with irregular conjugation that recall the days when English was much more complex. Now there’s texting and L337.)