Boston Red Sox (Baseball team) - Faithful: two diehard Boston Red Sox fans chronicle the historic 2004 season

I had a big day yesterday. The sixth of my Dark Tower novels, Song of Susannah, was officially published, and I was in New York to do promotion (mostly those morning-radio drive-time showsnot glamorous, and grueling as hell when you pile them up, but they seem to work). The original idea was to fly in from Maine on the evening of the 7th, get a nights sleep, get up early, do my thing, and fly back late the next afternoon. Instead, I rearranged things on the spur of the moment so I could go to Boston instead. The attraction wasnt so much the opening night of interleague playthis year the San Diego Padres are in Fenway for the first timeor Pedro Martinez, who has been less than stellar this year, as it was the bruited return of Nomar Garciaparra.

Funny thing about that bruiting. Not only was Nomar not in the Red Sox lineup, he wasnt even in Boston. He was in Rhode Island, where he played six innings for the PawSox and went 0 for 3. And no one seemed sure just how everyone got so sure he was going to make his major league debut last night in the first place. As I settled into my seat on the third-base linecall last nights locale halfway between Kevin Youkilis and Manny RamirezI couldnt even remember where I had gotten the idea. I even played with the notion of skipping the game altogether. Im really, really glad I didnt. Last nights tilt would certainly have to go on my list of Steves Top Ten Games at Fenway Ever.

The thing is, you never know when youre going to be reminded whyyou love this game, why it turns all your dials so vigorously to the right. Ive been at Fenway for three 10 shutouts, and the Red Sox have won all three. Wes Gardner, an otherwise forgettable Sox righty, pitched the first under a gorgeous full summer moon one night in the eighties; Roger Clemens pitched the second on a sweltering weekend afternoon in the early nineties; Pedro Martinez and Keith Foulke (who worked a one-two-three ninth) combined on the third last night.

The Pods, as they are called (as in Pod-people, from The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? one wonders), may be strangers to Fenway, but their starter, David Wells, knows it welland we, the Fenway Faithful, know him. Never inarticulate, Boomer has often expressed his distaste for pitching in the Beantown venue. And with good reason. Until last night, fresh off the DL, Id never seen him pitch well there.

He made up for that in his first start as a Pod Person, giving up just four hits, all singles, and working ahead of virtually every batter. This years Red Sox hitters are a patient bunch, and they usually wear pitchers out. Not Wells, last night; most of our guys just ended up getting in the hole 0-2 or 1-2, and slapping harmless grounders in consequence. If Wells hadnt been lifted so as not to overuse him in his return, the game might still be going on.

I think he was better than Pedro over the first five, and given Pedros postgame comments (I want to build on this), Pedro may have thought so too.Martinez certainly got great defensive backing from his teammates, who have at times this season been decidedlyshall we say iffy?in the field. Johnny Damon made a leaping catch in center, and Mark Bellhorn made a diving, dirt-eating stop between first and second. The stop was good, but what reminded me againforciblyof what makes these guys pros was how quickly he was back on his feet again. Quick as a cat aint in it, dear; if you blinked you missed it is more like it. But the defensive play of the night once again belonged to Pokey Reese,who has flashed divine leather all season long. I wont bother describing it, other than saying he went to his left at a perfectly absurd speed, and maybemaybegot a helpful last-second bounce. I will tell you that I believe no other infielder except Ozzie Smith could have made the play, and relate two overheard comments from behind me, Charlestown accents and all:

Do you think Nomah could play right field? was the first.

Nomah who? was the second.

And today I complete the experience by driving out of Boston on the first bona fide day of summer, temperatures in the mid-nineties, me in a Hertz Rent-A-Car I picked up at Logan Airport, driving up Route 1 as I have after so many games at Fenway Park, since my first one in 1959. Theres something just totally balls-to-the-wall about driving north past Kappys Liquors unhungover at 9:45 in the morning under a gunmetal sky; youve got that almost flawless two-hit, 10 win under your belt, and there are almost four more months of baseball to look forward to. Ive got a cold Pepsi between my legs, the radios turned up all the way, theres a U2 rock-block going on, and Angel of Harlem is pouring out of the speakers of my little Mercury Something-or-Other. Call me a dope if you want, but I think this is as good as it gets with your clothes on.