Thanks to Trinity and her job at Horizon Air, we were all able to fly up to Seattle early Wednesday morning. The first thing that I noticed when I got off of the plane was the amount of Red Sox shirts, jerseys, and hats that seemed to be all around us.
Arriving before most businesses open, we took the bus downtown, got off at Pioneer Square, and walked down to the piers. McD's was the only place open so we stopped for a bite to eat and to figure out what to do in the hours before the start of the game.
After breakfast, we walked up to the Curiosity Shop and mingled around there for a while looking at all of the weird and strange stuff that they have displayed.
We then walked up to Pikes Market. We took the elevator up with some Red Sox fans from New Hampshire. At the time, I had yet to see one Mariner item worn on anyone. We got off of the elevator with Red all around us. I commented to Trinity about it and she said that it was probably because all of the Mariner fans had jobs and that these were all just people site seeing before the game just like us. I looked across the way and saw a Mariner jersey but only a glance as two Red Sox fans quickly blocked my view.
We walked up to catch the bus in the underground. During the day, some of the buses drive through the tubes that will one day have light rail rolling through them. After 7PM, however, the buses roll back up topside for whatever reason. We caught the bus back down to the International zone and walked down to Safeco field going right by Qwest field on the way. By now, it was getting close to noon and I figured that we should be getting something to eat before we went in. All we could find were hot dogs which was good for me but not any of them.
As we came close to the field, we walked by a Mariner store. I stopped and did a double take as out front of the store were two shade covers with Red Sox logos on the side of them. I could not believe what I was seeing. It almost seemed sac religious! I mentioned it to one of the girls telling them that you would never find Mariner gear sold in front of a Red Sox store. I had to take a picture as I wondered if anyone would believe me if I told them.
We ended up walking back down to Pioneer Square and finding a sandwich shop there and packed our sandwiches into one of the girls backpacks and walked back to the stadium taking our seats out in left field and chowing down on our lunches. As I looked around the stadium, it seemed very similar to what I had seen in town. Red was everywhere including all around us. The couple sitting next to Trin were both decked out in Red Sox gear.
The game started and I believe it was the second inning and two Red Sox on the bases. The batter hit a hard ball into Right field where Ichiro plays. Sprinting towards the wall and leaping just at the right time, Ichiro caught the ball above the wall and saved three runs. On the very next pitch, however, he bobbled what should have been an easy out and the two on the base made it home. Red Sox 2 Mariners 0.
Jay told me that he was thirsty so I offered to take him out and buy him a Root Beer. After all, Root Beer is the official drink of baseball for kids or so it should seem. The problem was that we could not find a vendor who sold Root Beer. One tried to talk him into a Dr Pepper. As we walked around looking for the frothy drink, we were lucky to see a Mariner hit the ball out with a man on base. The inning ended, Red Sox 2 Mariners 1.
We finally found a vendor with Root Beer and as we walked back to our seats, I asked if Jay needed to use the bathroom. "No", he said so we rejoined the girls and the game.
The top of the sixth came and the Mariners brought in a relief pitcher as Hernandez's pitch count had gotten too high. With two men on, the relief pitcher walked a man and then walked the next man....thus walking in another run. Red Sox 3 Mariners 1.
Then the game got good. With a man on in the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners hit yet another home run and tied the game up. At the end of the sixth, the score was Red Sox 3 Mariners 3.
Jay looked up at me and said, "Papa, I need to go to the bathroom.". I looked around at the mass of people around me that we would have to climb through and said, "Can't you wait?". "No!" was the quick answer. Trinity leaned over and said that she didn't mind taking him After all, the Red Sox fan behind her was really starting to annoy her. Every time a Mariner would get out, he would yell out, "See Ya!'.
As we approached the end of the regulation, the Mariners seemed to have the momentum and actually had more hits than the visitors. In the bottom of the Eighth, with men in scoring position, a rocket was hit to deep center/left field. Jacoby Elsbury (the kid from Madras) was playing Left field right in front of us. The ball looked to be either a home run or it would go off of the wall and undoubtedly bring in the run. Jacoby came out of nowhere to stab the ball in the warning track. The next batter drilled a shot just over third base. The Red Sox coaches must have really done their homework because there was Jacoby again. This time, he dove and grabbed the shot ending the inning and the rally.
The top half of the ninth brought nothing for the Red Sox but did bring some entertainment for the fans. A man jumped out of the stands and began to take off his clothes as he dodged security. He actually almost made it all the way to the other side before getting tackled, cuffed, and led off of the field.
In the bottom of the Ninth, the mariners threatened again. I had leaned over to Trin and we were getting ready to turn around to the annoying fan behind her and say "See ya!" just as soon as the winning run was brought across. This time, the hit was into center field looking like it was going to drop right in front of the center fielder with a good chance to get the winning run. Once more, seemingly out of nowhere came Jacoby racing behind second base and stealing the mariners last chance before going into extra innings.
Extra innings was fun with both Mariner fans and Red Sox fans vying to see who could yell louder. Lets go Mariners became a garbled mess with the Red Sox fans almost out yelling the locals. I looked over into right field as one drunken fan tried to start a wave. The fans in the next section were totally into the game oblivious to his antics. He finally gave up and sat down raising his hands up in disgust.
In the extra innings, neither team seemed to get anything going. I don't know if anyone else felt the way that I did, but the Mariners didn't seem to want to pinch hit. With the game on the line and no one really doing that great and the bottom of the order coming up, the manager just paraded out the same bats.
In the top of the 12th, the Red Sox began to awake again. With two on, the batter hit one out into center field. The manager had made a switch and had sent the second baseman out to center. The second base/center fielder bobbled the ball and the Red Sox soon had 2 runs. A hit later and we ended up with what was to be the final score of Red Sox 6 Mariners 3. The Mariners loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but could not drive anyone over.
So the Red Sox won thanks to two errors on the Mariners bringing over 4 runs and one walked run. The real hero for the Red Sox, however, was the Central Oregon connection, Jacoby. That almost made the loss worth while.
As we left the field and walked back down to catch the bus, we walked by the Mariner store again. The Red Sox gear was now half price and almost all of it was gone. I managed to find a shirt that was Jaydens size and bought it for him as a souvenir of his game.
A tired foursome got off of the plane in Redmond at Midnight. We had had a full day with lots of fun and memories.
Arriving before most businesses open, we took the bus downtown, got off at Pioneer Square, and walked down to the piers. McD's was the only place open so we stopped for a bite to eat and to figure out what to do in the hours before the start of the game.
After breakfast, we walked up to the Curiosity Shop and mingled around there for a while looking at all of the weird and strange stuff that they have displayed.
We then walked up to Pikes Market. We took the elevator up with some Red Sox fans from New Hampshire. At the time, I had yet to see one Mariner item worn on anyone. We got off of the elevator with Red all around us. I commented to Trinity about it and she said that it was probably because all of the Mariner fans had jobs and that these were all just people site seeing before the game just like us. I looked across the way and saw a Mariner jersey but only a glance as two Red Sox fans quickly blocked my view.
We walked up to catch the bus in the underground. During the day, some of the buses drive through the tubes that will one day have light rail rolling through them. After 7PM, however, the buses roll back up topside for whatever reason. We caught the bus back down to the International zone and walked down to Safeco field going right by Qwest field on the way. By now, it was getting close to noon and I figured that we should be getting something to eat before we went in. All we could find were hot dogs which was good for me but not any of them.
As we came close to the field, we walked by a Mariner store. I stopped and did a double take as out front of the store were two shade covers with Red Sox logos on the side of them. I could not believe what I was seeing. It almost seemed sac religious! I mentioned it to one of the girls telling them that you would never find Mariner gear sold in front of a Red Sox store. I had to take a picture as I wondered if anyone would believe me if I told them.
We ended up walking back down to Pioneer Square and finding a sandwich shop there and packed our sandwiches into one of the girls backpacks and walked back to the stadium taking our seats out in left field and chowing down on our lunches. As I looked around the stadium, it seemed very similar to what I had seen in town. Red was everywhere including all around us. The couple sitting next to Trin were both decked out in Red Sox gear.
The game started and I believe it was the second inning and two Red Sox on the bases. The batter hit a hard ball into Right field where Ichiro plays. Sprinting towards the wall and leaping just at the right time, Ichiro caught the ball above the wall and saved three runs. On the very next pitch, however, he bobbled what should have been an easy out and the two on the base made it home. Red Sox 2 Mariners 0.
Jay told me that he was thirsty so I offered to take him out and buy him a Root Beer. After all, Root Beer is the official drink of baseball for kids or so it should seem. The problem was that we could not find a vendor who sold Root Beer. One tried to talk him into a Dr Pepper. As we walked around looking for the frothy drink, we were lucky to see a Mariner hit the ball out with a man on base. The inning ended, Red Sox 2 Mariners 1.
We finally found a vendor with Root Beer and as we walked back to our seats, I asked if Jay needed to use the bathroom. "No", he said so we rejoined the girls and the game.
The top of the sixth came and the Mariners brought in a relief pitcher as Hernandez's pitch count had gotten too high. With two men on, the relief pitcher walked a man and then walked the next man....thus walking in another run. Red Sox 3 Mariners 1.
Then the game got good. With a man on in the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners hit yet another home run and tied the game up. At the end of the sixth, the score was Red Sox 3 Mariners 3.
Jay looked up at me and said, "Papa, I need to go to the bathroom.". I looked around at the mass of people around me that we would have to climb through and said, "Can't you wait?". "No!" was the quick answer. Trinity leaned over and said that she didn't mind taking him After all, the Red Sox fan behind her was really starting to annoy her. Every time a Mariner would get out, he would yell out, "See Ya!'.
As we approached the end of the regulation, the Mariners seemed to have the momentum and actually had more hits than the visitors. In the bottom of the Eighth, with men in scoring position, a rocket was hit to deep center/left field. Jacoby Elsbury (the kid from Madras) was playing Left field right in front of us. The ball looked to be either a home run or it would go off of the wall and undoubtedly bring in the run. Jacoby came out of nowhere to stab the ball in the warning track. The next batter drilled a shot just over third base. The Red Sox coaches must have really done their homework because there was Jacoby again. This time, he dove and grabbed the shot ending the inning and the rally.
The top half of the ninth brought nothing for the Red Sox but did bring some entertainment for the fans. A man jumped out of the stands and began to take off his clothes as he dodged security. He actually almost made it all the way to the other side before getting tackled, cuffed, and led off of the field.
In the bottom of the Ninth, the mariners threatened again. I had leaned over to Trin and we were getting ready to turn around to the annoying fan behind her and say "See ya!" just as soon as the winning run was brought across. This time, the hit was into center field looking like it was going to drop right in front of the center fielder with a good chance to get the winning run. Once more, seemingly out of nowhere came Jacoby racing behind second base and stealing the mariners last chance before going into extra innings.
Extra innings was fun with both Mariner fans and Red Sox fans vying to see who could yell louder. Lets go Mariners became a garbled mess with the Red Sox fans almost out yelling the locals. I looked over into right field as one drunken fan tried to start a wave. The fans in the next section were totally into the game oblivious to his antics. He finally gave up and sat down raising his hands up in disgust.
In the extra innings, neither team seemed to get anything going. I don't know if anyone else felt the way that I did, but the Mariners didn't seem to want to pinch hit. With the game on the line and no one really doing that great and the bottom of the order coming up, the manager just paraded out the same bats.
In the top of the 12th, the Red Sox began to awake again. With two on, the batter hit one out into center field. The manager had made a switch and had sent the second baseman out to center. The second base/center fielder bobbled the ball and the Red Sox soon had 2 runs. A hit later and we ended up with what was to be the final score of Red Sox 6 Mariners 3. The Mariners loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but could not drive anyone over.
So the Red Sox won thanks to two errors on the Mariners bringing over 4 runs and one walked run. The real hero for the Red Sox, however, was the Central Oregon connection, Jacoby. That almost made the loss worth while.
As we left the field and walked back down to catch the bus, we walked by the Mariner store again. The Red Sox gear was now half price and almost all of it was gone. I managed to find a shirt that was Jaydens size and bought it for him as a souvenir of his game.
A tired foursome got off of the plane in Redmond at Midnight. We had had a full day with lots of fun and memories.
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