Red Sox @ Yankees, September 7, 2013

As I stated last week, I went to the Red Sox-Yankees game at Yankees Stadium on Saturday.  The Red Sox won 13-9, and I'd like to say that they won handily.  They didn't, as you can tell from the score.  Despite that, it was exactly what I expected a Red Sox-Yankees game to be.  There were lots of runs, great plays, and the atmosphere was incredible.  The Red Sox ended up taking 3 of 4 against the Yankees in the series.

Lackey was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox.  I was really expecting a great performance by Lackey and a low-run support from the Red Sox offense, as that seemed to be the case for the last month or so of Lackey's starts.  I got the opposite.  Lackey gave up 7 earned runs in 5.2 innings, but he got the win as the Red Sox exploded with 12 runs before he was pulled.

I witnessed Xander Bogaerts' first, MLB-career home run on Saturday as well.  The ball was crushed (estimated at 443 feet) to right-center-field and landed about 10 rows in front of where I was seated.  I found it interesting to hear people cheer when the person who caught the ball tossed it into the Red Sox bullpen, as if a Yankee fan wouldn't want a home run ball by anyone (I would... unless maybe it was A-Rod hitting the home run).  What the people booing may not know is it was Bogaerts' first home run, and the fan who caught the ball was probably compensated by the Red Sox.

Yankee Stadium is really nice too, though I found it a little too gimmicky for my liking.  The Stadium is everything you'd expect from the Yankees: big, nice features, expensive beer, and gourmet food.  However, in between innings the Jumbotron had different features like matching games, learning Spanish words from Mariano Rivera (and teammates), and Derek Jeter giving service announcements constantly.  Overall, I would definitely go back.

Remember, I will be going to the Red Sox-Yankees game this Saturday at Fenway Park.  After this weekend's experience, I'm even more excited about the game.  Here are some pictures from the game on Saturday:

Yankee Stadium

View of the field before the game

Lackey warming up

Red Sox bullpen coach Dana LeVangie

Lackey still warming up

Lavarnway, LaVangie (not sure who is behind him), and Lackey

Me and my friend, Laura (she wore neutral navy to the game)

Another view of the field before the game

My boyfriend, Cole, and me

Pedro Martinez is the last person in the group walking towards the dugout

First batter, Shane Victorino

Red Sox are batting

Jackie Bradley Junior in Center Field

Jonny Gomes in Right Field

Random Thoughts

I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with the blog with a Random Thoughts post.  Make sure to come back on Monday, where I will have a recap of my first Red Sox-Yankees game, which will also be my first trip to Yankee Stadium.  Now, here are the Random Thoughts for today

- Last night's game was frustrating to watch.  When the Red Sox were up 7-2, I thought they had it in the bag.  However, the Yankees came back and scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to take a 8-7 lead.  It kind of felt like karma in a way, since the Red Sox had done the same thing to the Tigers the night before.

- The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the 9th last night off Mariano Rivera.  With two outs, Napoli singled, Berry pinch-ran for him and stole second, and Drew single to score Berry and tie the game.  It was Rivera's 6th blown save of the season, and it was a little reminiscent of 2004.

- The Red Sox took the lead in the 10th inning (and eventually completed the come-from-behind win) when Ellsbury singled  with one out, stole 2nd base, and Victorino singled to score Ellsbury.  The did this off Joba Chamberlain too.

- Uehara came in for save in the bottom of the 10th inning and made A-Rod pop out before striking out Overbay and Suzuki.  It was his 18th save of the season, and his ERA now stands at 1.14.

- Speaking of Overbay, if you remember, the Red Sox released Overbay before the start of the season when he didn't make the Major League roster, and he immediately signed with the Yankees.  Do you think he regrets not continuing with the Red Sox?  I ask this seriously, as the Yankees have gone through a lot of turmoil this season.

- Just for reference: the Yankees had one player (Cano) in the line-up last night who is hitting at least .300 (.307 to be exact).  The Red Sox had three (Ortiz at .315, Nava at .300, and Lavarnway at .318).  The Sox also have three players at the top of the lineup very close to .300 (Ellsbury at .299, Victorino at .294, and Pedroia at .296).

- I am very happy to see Nava doing so well.  I think everyone by now knows Nava's story, and he really is an inspiration to never give up on your dreams.

- I'm thinking Victorino was the best offseason move the Red Sox did this past offseason.

- Former Red Sox players Derek Lowe and Mike Timlin are set to fill in for Jerry Remy for Red Sox games on NESN.  I vote they try and get Pedro Martinez too; he'd be very entertaining.

- One thing I'm going to have to get used to living on the East Coast is the time difference.  Really, an hour doesn't seem like too much of a change until it comes to when games start.  6:00PM is much more convenient compared to 7:00PM.  Just saying.

Well, that's about it for me today.  I'm so excited about the game tomorrow.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll be impressed to know I already know what I'm going to wear too!  Have a great weekend!

I Made It To Connecticut

Welcome back, everyone!  I know it's been awhile since I've posted (last Monday was the last time I had a post), but it's been a pretty busy last two weeks.  If you've been reading  the blog for awhile, you'll know that I moved to Connecticut this past weekend. 

The ride out wasn't as bad as I anticipated, but that may be because my wonderful boyfriend did most of the driving.  I drove for about forty minutes in New York while he took a quick nap, but that was all.  I was very thankful for this, since I didn't know what exits to take and didn't feel comfortable driving on the highway (side note: in the Northeast, they do not call Interstates "interstates," they are called "highways."  My boyfriend has been telling me this for months now, but I don't think I'll be able to say "highway" when they technically are "interstates.").

I thought I'd post some of the pictures I took while on our drive:

I needed a pictures of the "Davenport" sign before I left.  I'd like to eventually get this pictures put on canvas and hang either in our office or living room, as well as an "Amesbury" sign for my boyfriend's home town of Amesbury, Massachusetts.

We weren't too far out of the Quad Cities when we came across the Jelly Belly RV and Bug.  I particularly enjoyed the stuffed Jelly Belly "driving" the car in the second photo.

We made it to Peru, Illinois before my bike rack broke.  Word of warning: if you have a step-through bike (like I do), you may need to check to see if an adapter is needed to mount onto a bike rack.  I went to a bicycle shop to make sure the bike rack I bought was going to hold-up for the 18 hour car drive.  The bike shop did not sell me the adapter though; and 1 hour and 15 minutes in, the bike was flapping around behind my car.  

Luckily, we were about 20 feet from an exit, and we were able to pull into a gas station parking lot.  My boyfriend's great and never seems to get flustered, unlike me.  I was a little anxious about my bike.  The two possibilities for me would be to leave the bike at the gas station for my parents to pick up or wait at the gas station for my parents to pick the bike up.  

My boyfriend, however, figured out how to take the bike apart into three pieces and fit it into the car.  We may have gotten grease from the bike chain on our clothing and the back headrest of my car, but the bike is at the apartment and put back together.  Thank you, Cole.

We were in Indiana when we game across this guy.  If you're unable to read the sticker, it reads "Sasquatch Research Team."  It was legit too.  It was this guy with California license plates smoking a cigar pulling a U-Haul trailer behind him, probably containing his equipment.

Lastly, "The Jake," formerly known as "Jacob's Field."  We checked to see if the Indians were playing at home, but they were in Detroit.  I kind of wanted to see Francona.

My boyfriend's dad and his family live in Buffalo, New York, so that was our stopping place Saturday night.  We were exhausted, but somehow managed to stay awake to watch a movie.  The next day, we went to waterfront and had lunch.  I had authentic "Buffalo wings" and "Beef on Weck" for lunch.  I got the staples in.

We arrived at our apartment around 9:45 Sunday night.  It was a little strange walking into this apartment and saying "we made it home."  Davenport has been my home for the last 28 1/2 years, and it's strange to think of any other place as "home."  However, change can sometimes be a good thing.

I'm going to miss my family and friends greatly while I'm in Connecticut, but I know that I can visit them and they can visit me whenever we like.  For those who would like to visit, Hartford has an airport and an Amtrak station.  It is pretty exciting that I will get to see two of my closest friends this coming weekend...

... which brings me to my Red Sox news!  As I've mentioned before, I will be going to the Red Sox v. Yankees game at Fenway Park on the 14th.  However, as of last night, I will be going to the Red Sox v. Yankees game at Yankee Stadium this coming Saturday too!  I've never been to New York City before, so I'm pretty excited for that, even if it will be brief.  Just being able to have the opportunity to go to both these games is amazing!

Unfortunately, that's all I am able to write about the Red Sox at the moment.  The cable guy doesn't come to the apartment until tomorrow, so I haven't been able to watch a game since last week.  (Kind of ironic that I move CLOSER to the Red Sox and can't watch a game, right?  Thank you MLB Blackout restrictions...).  

I also won't be having a Twitter Friday post this week, as I didn't have Wi-Fi until Monday evening and haven't been able to keep track of the tweets.  I will do a regular post of some-sort on Friday though.  You can still follow the blog's Twitter feed @BornIntoItInIA and my personal Twitter account @AshleyAries.  

Dempster Beans A-Rod, But Red Sox Still Lose

This weekend's games were frustrating to watch.  Friday night's game kept getting worse for the Red Sox the longer the game went on.  The Red Sox ended up losing 10-3.  Saturday night's game was better for the Red Sox, as they won 6-1.  Last night's game went back and forth until the 6th inning when the Yankees scored 4 runs, and the Red Sox lost 9-6.

Now that the scores are out of the way, let's talk about the real story from last night's game: Dempster beaning A-Rod.  Alex Rodriguez was the first batter for the Yankees in the top of the 2nd inning  Dempster went behind him with the first pitch.  A few pitches later, Dempster succeeded in hitting Rodriguez, and the crowd went wild.  

Warnings were issued to each teams, which sent Yankees Manager Joe Girardi went ballistic and was ejected from the game.  ESPN broadcasted the game, and the commentators seemed to side with Girardi.  They seemed to think Dempster hit Rodriguez on purpose, and there are definitely reasons to say that's true (Dempster supposedly claims he was just trying to come in on Rodriguez).  

Whatever the case, Dempster seemed to lose his mojo after the incident.

Do I think Dempster hit Rodriguez on purpose?  Honestly, I do.  I understand why he's denying it, but someone had to be the first pitcher to bean Rodriguez after the circus A-Rod has created the past couple of weeks.  Chances were that the Red Sox were going to be that team to do it.

I don't think this will be the last time Alex Rodriguez is beaned... probably this week.  In my opinion, Rodriguez has dug his own grave.  Fans are angry at him.  The Yankees are angry with him.  Other players are angry at him.  I'm starting to wonder if the only people who isn't angry at him are his lawyers.

This weekend, there were reports that someone(s) from Rodriguez's camp was/were the one(s) who leaked the information about Braun and Cervelli.  The MLBPA is looking into this allegation, as this would violate the collective bargaining agreement.  

Baseball players are supposed to have their teammates backs, but I'm starting to actually feel bad for the Yankees players, as they have to have A-Rod's back.  The guy only seems to think about himself, and it has to be hard to rally around a teammate like that.

I watched one of Alex Rodriguez's attorneys on the Today Show this morning being interviewed by Matt Lauer.  Lauer asked the attorney why Rodriguez was the only player to not take the deal MLB presented when the Biogenesis fiasco started.  The attorney answered that there wasn't any proof that Alex Rodriguez did anything wrong.  

I'm tired of the whole Alex Rodriguez drama.  Luckily, the Red Sox's deal with the Rangers for A-Rod never went through after the 2003 season.  The Red Sox still will have to deal with the A-Rod drama this season, as the Red Sox play the Yankees 7 more times in the remaining 36 games.

Twitter Friday

Hello, all!  Well, last night's game was postponed to Monday because of rain; so really, there's not a whole lot to report.  The trade deadline is less than a week away, so I'm sure there will be something that comes up for next week.  Enjoy this week's Tweets!

7/19

7/20

7/21

7/22

7/23

7/24

This week's Tweet of the Week: