Trot's Return to Fenway

So last night was the return of yet another member of the 2004 World Series club to Fenway, and unsurprisingly another standing ovation as he came to the plate for the first time (see what happens when you don't go to the Yankees, Johnny?). This return was extra special, however, as the player making his debut in a new uniform was none other than fan favorite Trot Nixon, who played no less than 8 years as a starter for the Red Sox. Even when he singled in that first plate appearance, the crowd continued to cheer (I think it helped that the hit wasn't damaging at all). Curt Schilling said it best in his post game interview when he said he'd "rather Trot didn't reach 1st" but it was a nice showing by the Fenway faithful, once again, to show that much appreciation and "taking care of their own".

Yanker fans, please take note.

The general sentiment in the section TLM and I were in last night was essentially "ok, that was nice but no more", which I think is the correct response. As the game went on, however, and Nixon found himself coming to the plate in a position to tie the game with the bases loaded and 1 out in the 8th, several fans felt that it was still time to cheer Trot on. Trot eventually did sacrifice fly in a run, which was minimal damage, but the time to cheer him on was definitely over after the 1st inning, without a doubt. Red Sox come first, end of story.


Outside of the Nixon hubbub, the game had its other exciting moments as well. There was a near triple play in the 3rd (which many fans were aware of as it was happening, to my amazement), an inside-the-park home run by Kevin Youkilis in the 7th, and something I rarely get excited about: a great decision by the Manager when Francona took out JC Romero after he walked the first 2 batters of the 8th. Go Tito!

So as much as Trot and his fans may have wanted otherwise, the Red Sox picked up their 35th win of the season, bringing their season record to 35-15 (.700 winning percentage). This is great, no question, but the icing on the cake came when we found out that the Devil Rays came back to win in the 9th, and the Yankees lost yet again. Why icing? This means that the 200 million dollar team from the Bronx is now in a tie for...wait for it....LAST PLACE.

It's a clock ticking backwards, Cashman. You too, Torre.