Let it all hang out cause we’ve got a run to make

Welcome to Boston, Billy. Just don't piss me off. (Photo taken by me on Sunday)

Contrary to what some might think, I love it when I’m wrong.  At least when I’m totally negative about something and I turn out to be shown up.  Messrs Byrd and Wagner both did that on Sunday.  Sure, one game is a small sample size but, for now, I’ll take it.  I’m not ready to pin playoff hopes on either Byrd nor Wagner but in a game where there was relatively little pressure but still a genuine desire to win the game they both stepped up and did extremely well.

Paul Byrd out-pitching Roy Halladay was all kinds of amazing, wasn’t it?

It was a fun game to watch in person and was interesting to see how passionate Paul Byrd was during it.  When he got out of the bases loaded jam I thought he might have had a stroke because I saw him hit the ground.  I’m guessing it was his gesture of thanks to whichever entity (be it God or JD Drew) he felt deserved it.  A sweep, even one of the Blue Jays, is always welcome around these parts.  Rangers and Rays lost, which helped the cause, but those Yankees just keep chugging, huh?  No worries.  Whether by division or wild card I sense the Red Sox will be hanging around in October.

The Rays finish their series with Detroit today while the Yankees start a series with the Orioles and the Rangers start a series with the Blue Jays.  The Sox, they get the day off before their series with the Rays.  The next seven games for the Red Sox are on the road.  3 against Tampa Bay and 4 against the White Sox.  This could turn out to be a great road trip for the hometown team.

Through a series of interesting circumstances, I’ll find myself at the new Yankee Stadium on September 9th.  If you had told me last year around this time that I would be visiting both new parks in New York I would have laughed at you.  But it seems the fates had other ideas.  It’s a Yankees/Rays game so I’ll have more opportunities to check out the park as I won’t feel obligated to stay glued to my seat (I might have to test the “God Bless America” rules!) as I would if the Red Sox were playing.   At the very least, I’m looking forward to being able to compare it to CitiField.  I might not like the Yankees but I sure do enjoy going to different ballparks.  And the tickets were free so how do you turn down an offer like that?  I’ll try to be tweeting and blogging from New York!

Rest up, folks.  September 1st is tomorrow so this time it counts!  (Or something like that!)