Cold but rewarding

About a week ago, I sat at my cubicle and decided to check the Red Sox calendar to see if any seats had gone on sale for the next set of home games. I noticed that there were some bleacher seats for last night's tilt against the Royals. Normally, the bleacher seats are tough to get in this fashion as they are the cheapest actual seats you are likely to get (only the standing room only tickets are cheaper) and they tend to go fast once they get on the market.

So, I scooped a couple up for myself and Mrs. Pike and took a look at the calendar to figure out who was pitching. After all, when you're playing the Royals the only thing to really get excited about is who will be pitching for the Sox. Figuring it out it came to the point that it was going to be Josh Beckett, barring any DL stints or rain-outs.

When the changes came I didn't even think about them. First, Bucholtz goes on the DL with a torn fingernail (seriously?...fingernail?...this is a reason to go on the DL?) and then Friday night it decided to rain in the Boston area and force a double-header on Saturday. This moved the rotation. With the day off Thursday and Buchholtz out, Francona decides not to bring anyone up for the double header and leaves it as Matsuzaka & Wakefield which means Beckett is now set to pitch the finale against Milwaukee.

As I came home from dinner with the in-laws on Sunday night it hit me. "Beckett pitched today. Oh, no. That means....tomorrow night will be...oh crap...Lester." Now to understand my response, you need to know a couple things. I have been to Jon Lester starts before and they always take 5 hours. Why? Because Lester has a nasty habit of throwing more full counts than any pitcher in baseball. No one can give me a valid reason why (though I seem to think it's that he tends to not fool anyone so they don't swing at pitches out of the strike zone and end fouling a bunch off). This results in an average of 20 pitches an inning and he's usually out by the 6th at the latest. Granted he usually has only allowed a run or two and the Sox have a chance to win but it can be a long and painful experience.

Upon sitting in my seat, I realize that this is not the best night to have bleacher seats. The temperature is 58 degrees and the wind is blowing full force, straight at the right field bleachers. Mrs. Pike and I decide that should the Red Sox or the Royals get out to a large lead we will probably head home early to get out of the cold. As the game gets under way, I jokingly turn to Mrs. Pike and say, "Lester could have a no hitter through 6 innings and have to come out of the game because he's thrown 120 pitches."

I said that. I swear. I'm not making it up after the fact. I guess it wasn't my night to be someone's jinx.

As the game continued, I started to realize something. Lester was throwing first pitch strikes (to 20 out of the 29 batters he faced it turned out). This is something he can struggle with which will lead to his high pitch counts. I also realize that after the third inning, he's not throwing 15 pitches an inning anymore. Something is going on with Jon Lester tonight.

After the Sox put up 5 in the 3rd, thanks in part to a muffed pop-up by Mark Grudzielanek, I'm thinking that this might be a short night. I make the mental determination after five innings that once Lester allows a hit, then I think it will be time to go, get in my warm house out of the wind and enjoy the rest of the evening.

In the sixth, Mrs. Pike, looks at me with a pleading look of a woman about to turn into an icicle. I explain to her, "I'm not leaving while Lester is pitching so well!" She asks if I am waiting until they take him out and I say yes. At this point she has not realized what is going on. She is enjoying the lead and that Lester isn't taking forever but the cold has allowed her to overlook the zeros on the scoreboard. That realization doesn't come for her until the seventh when people start calling their friends to make sure they are watching and some people behind us keep telling their friend to look at the scoreboard without saying why. And now the night has become extra special.

Innings 7 and 8 go by surprisingly quickly. Both sides getting out easily. This was much appreciated by the Fenway faithful. Even my wife said, "Just let there be three more innings of 1-2-3 for both teams." My chilly fingers and toes agreed!

In the ninth, the place was electric. Suddenly, it wasn't so cold. The wind wasn't blowing as hard and even when Lester allowed the lead off walk you felt like he was going to pull it out. I had never seen a no-hitter live and it was a special night. The fact that it was Jon Lester just made it even more interesting and certainly made for a great story. Twenty four hours prior, I had been thinking, "oh crap, Lester" and now I was happy it had been Jon Lester. For one night, at least (and we obviously hope for more good nights from him) he was unhittable.