Fenway West, the All Star Game, Red Sox v. Yankees, etc...

More on how I came to write for Fenway West furthur on down the line, but tonight I had the good fortune to eat, drink, and watch the Red Sox All Star Game with Fenway West founder and future governor of Red Sox Nation from California, Matt O’Donnell.

We met in person briefly at an A’s-Sox game back in May, but he had the family in tow, so we didn’t get to speak much that day. We decided to meet at McNear’s in Petaluma, CA to watch the game. Now McNear’s has good food, good ale, and TV’s all over the place with the game on many of them, but the BIG screen was on the DL, and they weren’t putting the volume up on any of them either. So we went up the road a bit to Behind the Glory Sports Bar and Grill (yes we know the jokes.) TV’s were all over the place with the game on all of ‘em, but it was a noisy crowd, so we weren’t able to hear Fox’s Ken Rosenthal very well (awwwww…) Our suspicions were aroused when we saw the bartender wearing a pinstriped shirt with #13 on it, and an Evil Empire hat with those mysterious N and Y letters on it. But the food was good, the beer was good, the game was, well….. the AL won the game (we could feel Tito exhaling 3k miles away!), and much to the chagrin of the 100 or so fans left after the game, we got to see JD DREW of the RED SOX WIN the MVP award! And in venerable Yankee Stadium, taboot! Hey, NY! You got what you wanted! Mo pitched the 9th inning! In 1.2 innings, Mo allowed 2 hits, 0 runs, and struck out two. We were (not so secretly) hoping Tito would send him out for the rest of the game, as NY wanted desperately for him to get the win. Like Barry in search of a ring, it would not be (Tito sending Mo out for 6 innings, or getting the win.) Oh well. Nonetheless, it was a great night of baseball. A-Rod and Jeter combined line: 1 for 5 (cheap single) 0 runs, 0 RBI’s, 4 LOB. Drew’s line: 2 for 4 (game tying HR, single), 1 walk, 1 run, 1 SB. Not being able to hear the game well didn’t hurt our enjoyment of it as we told baseball stories back and forth all night.

Now about that bartender. Despite his unsightly NY garb, he said nothing ill of the Sox, no trash talking, nothing. After Matt and I had both eaten, he even came by with a kind offer of some free food, but we were both stuffed and had to pass. Not all Yankee fans are scum. (I dare Yankee fans to say the same of Sox fans, hah!) Didn’t get his name (we just called him A-Rod), but props anyhow. (Just get a better wardrobe :-)