Day late, a perfect way to start

April 08, 2009|Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist

Early on, it felt like Opening Day Lite, diluted significantly by the biblical rains that washed away the true opener Monday afternoon.

A lot of the buzz was missing around ancient Fenway Park in the hours leading up to the 109th Red Sox season opener. Many high rollers had dumped tickets in the wake of Monday's rainout, and the pregame three-ring circus was whittled to a single ring during the 26-hour delay.

We had bunting on the ballpark facades and congressional lion Ted Kennedy throwing out a first pitch to Hall of Famer Jim Rice. We had Keith Lockhart leading the Boston Pops in a stirring rendition of the national anthem and the 2009 Sox walking onto the field through the stands for their pregame introductions. (There were years when Bob Stanley would have been in danger, and it would be hard not to imagine Carl Everett head-butting customers as he walked down the aisle of Section 25.)

But it just didn't feel like the annual Boston holiday that fans mark on their calendars when the schedule is released seven months in advance.

Then the game started and all was right with the Boston baseball universe. The Sox and Tampa Bay Rays staged a textbook lid-lifter with Boston coming out on top, 5-3, in a tidy, chilly 2:39. The win put the Red Sox in first place and a game ahead of the Rays and Yankees - at least until the Blue Jays won last night.

This was a victory right off the Theo Epstein winter blueprint, with Josh Beckett hurling seven innings of two-hit ball, then passing the torch to Hideki Okajima, Justin Masterson, and Jonathan Papelbon. Dustin Pedroia kicked off his MVP defense with a first-inning homer, and captain Jason Varitek ended his winter of discontent with a Pesky Pole-bending homer - batting from the left side.

Fans were reacquainted with "Sweet Caroline" and "I'm Shipping Up to Boston," and filed out of the 97-year-old yard singing "Dirty Water" after Papelbon froze Gabe Gross with a 96-mile-per-hour heater at 6:45 p.m.

"It was a good day and we'll come right back tomorrow and see if we can make it another one," said manager Terry Francona, who might wind up being Boston's answer to Casey Stengel before his magic run is over.

Early in the afternoon, a combative Kevin Youkilis groused about the Boston media as he sat in front of his locker. Youk was insulted that several Hub scribes did not pick the Sox to win the World Series. Seeing local writers pick his team to win the American League pennant was not enough for the first baseman.

"Man, how can anybody pick us to lose to the Cubs in the World Series?" said Youk.

Gotta love that. You know your team is confident when players can get riled up about being picked to advance to the World Series.