Back to the Game

I'm watching the Yankees v. Red Sox in the top of the 5th inning. 6-2 Yankees, 1 out, Tino Martinez at the plate. He just grounded out to Renteria.

As Martinez awaits the pitch the camera view from center field catches a woman in the stands at ground level behind home plate. She is standing against the screen with her back to the game. What? She (or somebody) paid the highest price to see the game that's not a suite and she's not watching the game?

Baseball is different for me. I like to buy a scorecard or take my own and keep score. I'm tweaking my scoring style and get stumped on the proper scoring at least once in every game. But I don't want to miss a thing and keeping score forces me to watch closely.

Even when I pay $3 for the cheap seats at a AA Minor League game I want to see it all. I want to soak up all the action and any nuance behind the action. I especially like watching the outfielders track a fly ball. If you'll look at the outfielders when the ball flies from the bat you can tell from their path whether the ball is a home run or not. I just shake my head when the crowds yells at a high fly ball while the outfielder is camped out under it 40 feet inside the fence.

Anyway, I love baseball. And I pay attention to the game. But she wasn't watching. She isn't at Fenway for the baseball. I can't think of a worse waste of time than to attend church for the wrong reasons.

The score is 6-4 Yankees. Boston is smelling a comeback.