Book signing at Fenway today!

If you are going to today's Red Sox-Rays game, be sure to stop by the Fenway Park Store (Twins Souvenirs) across from Gate A and pick up a personalized, signed copy of Fenway Park: The Centennial. I'll be there signing from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., so come say hi and then go and cheer Wake on to victory No. 201!

Walpole Joe Sighting, the Hits Keep Coming

After recovering from the latest Daniel Bard meltdown, the Fenway Park: The Centennial book tour headed to the Walpole Barnes & Noble and an evening reminiscing and signing books with old friend Joe Morgan (with the author below). The manager of Red Sox AL East champion clubs in 1988 and '90  held court for nearly two hours as people from grandmothers to cops stopped by to check out the book and bend his ear.

"Walpole Joe," who still lives in town less than a mile from the house he grew up in, had his own Fenway memory to share, circa 1959:

"I was playing with the old Kansas City A’s. I came to Fenway Park, and half the town of Walpole was there. I pinch-hit, the only time I ever hit at Fenway as a professional. Jerry Casale was the Red Sox pitcher. He gave me a fastball I fouled off, then he gave me a curve which I took, and I would have bet my life that he would come back with another curve ball. But he came back with the high fastball, and I said, 'Thank you very much!' as I smoked a triple off the left center-field wall."

Asked about his favorite Fenway moment as a manger, Joe naturally chose the record-breaking hot streak that the Sox went on after he replaced John McNamara. "When I was first hired, [general manager] Lou Gorman said to me, 'OK, Joe, we’re going to make a change in managers, and you will take over until we find another manager.' I said, 'Don’t look too far, Lou. You’ve already found him.'"

Morgan was right, of course; the Red Sox went 12-0 in his first dozen games at the helm, took 19 of 20, and won a record 24 straight at Friendly Fenway. Morgan was soon named the "permanent" manager and wound up winning two division titles in his first three years.

Others to stop by included Pat Conley, an old Ted Williams/Bruce Hurst fan who purchased a book for her grandson,  and the Corkery twins Madison and Nicole (see below), who have never been to Fenway but are sure to bug  dad Chris to take them now. Thanks to Anne-Marie Kennedy for being a wonderful host.

Early buzz about the book as been very good, with terrific reviews on numerous websites including NESN.com and Bostonsportsmedia.com (see list above right).

Thursday night it's on to the West Hartford Barnes & Noble for another 7 p.m. signing, where the author expects he might encounter some Yankees fans gloating about Boston's recent slump. On Saturday it's on to Barrington (Rhode Island) Books for a 1 p.m. session, and then on Sunday a pre-game session (around noon) at the Fenway Park Store on Yawkey Way. Hope to see you soon!

200 for Wake, 1 for Wisnia

A big night all around for Fenway Reflections Tuesday. Pedroia, Ellsbury, and Co. made sure Tim Wakefield got all the runs he needed -- and then some -- to capture his 200th career victory, and the Fenway Centennial book tour kicked off at the Burlington, Mass. Barnes & Noble.

The fourth-biggest B&N in the country (who knew?) was a beautiful lead-off location and staffer Katelyn McDermott (above, with the author) was a wonderful host. She even had her own Fenway story to share; as a 6-year-old, she found out her father was taking her 4-year-old brother to his first Red Sox game, and she convinced him it wasn't fair -- she was the oldest, so she deserved to go. He agreed to take her, and every year since on her birthday the two have headed to Yawkey Way together.

Some other fun stories from customers: Joe Colameta recalled sitting atop a billboard beyond left-center field as a 15-year-old during the heat of the '78 pennant race, and when asked how he and his buddies got up to the top, he laughed and said, "I don't remember. I must have blocked it out due to the fear."  Then there was Matt Diamond, who spoke of the one night he didn't mind having to sit diagonal to fit his large frame into the cramped right-field grandstand seats.

"I was with my father and brother, sitting in Section 15 about 13 rows up," Diamond recalled. "Jon Lester was pitching real heat -- he was just amazing -- and we all kept looking at each other saying, 'Is he going to do it? Is he going to do it?' In the whole section, nobody was saying the words we were thinking -- we all just kept looking at each other and smiling. And he did it; he pitched a no-hitter. It was amazing. Fenway just exploded, and I'll never forget the experience as long as I live. People stayed and cheered and sang as he waved his cap to everybody."

The night's youngest book recipient was an unborn boy nicknamed "The Nugget" -- who will be getting one courtesy of grandma, with the inscription, "Welcome to life as a Red Sox fan" -- but people of all ages already out of the womb enjoyed the evening. Next stop: the Walpole B&N Wednesday night, where the rumor is that "Walpole Joe" Morgan may make an appearance. A discussion and Q&A starting at 7 p.m., with signing to follow. Hope to see you there.

You can't play if you can't find the ballpark

With righty Kyle Weiland set to start for the Red Sox tomorrow - and let's hope he's more Billy Rohr than Bobby Sprowl - I thought I'd share a story of a MLB debut culled from the pages of Fenway Park: The Centennial. My newest book will be released in stores nationally on Tuesday, Sept. 13, with book signings throughout New England starting that night (see updated list at right).

Frank Malzone was excited for the chance to see and play in Fenway Park for the first time. Now he just had to find the place.



After spending the previous night at the suburban home of his new Red Sox teammate, Dick Gernert, Malzone traversed the roughly 10 miles to Kenmore Square through twisting, turning roads and those strangest of all New England driving oddities: rotaries.


They told me 'Don't worry, you can't miss it,'" Malzone said with a laugh, recalling his Fenway debut on September 20, 1955. "They figure you know where you're going, but I'm from New York City, so I didn't know. I was used to numbered streets, and it wasn't until I got near the ballpark and saw the lights that I knew I was all right.


After using Fenway's light towers as a compass to guide him on the final approach to Jersey Street, Malzone got his first look at "that thing in left field everybody was talking about" - the Green Monster. When he entered the home clubhouse, he spotted his name on the Red Sox lineup card, playing third base and batting seventh. Malzone had gotten in as a pinch-runner three days before at Yankee Stadium, which was a thrill in itself for a guy who had grown up in the Bronx, but this was his first chance to really play in a big-league game. In the end, he would find it much better than negotiating rotaries.


After grounding out in his first at-bat, Malzone cracked four straight hits - two singles, a double, and another single - in the first game of that afternoon's doubleheader. That earned him a promotion to fifth in the order for the second game, in which he collected two more hits and his first career RBI.


"A 6-for-10, not bad for my first full day," he said, admitting that the performance took some of the sting out of an embarrassing moment. "After my first hit, a single up the middle, coach Del Baker tells me at first, 'OK, this guy [pitcher Bill Wright] has some pretty good moves.' I say, 'Thanks, I appreciate that,' take two steps off the bag, and boom! He throws over and gets me. It turns out he has the best move in baseball! I might be the only guy ever picked off after getting his first hit in the majors."

Lousy game, great book review!

Today's Red Sox-Rangers game was a dud, but this author and his companions were delighted to open up our copy of Boston Baseball and see a great review of Fenway Park: The Centennial from editor Mike Rutstein.

Rut called it "a highly readable and richly illustrated" book and predicted that "doubtless many copies will end up under trees and next to menorahs" this holiday season. Thanks to Mike for his great taste in literature, and for putting a smile on our faces that even John Lackey and the seventh-inning follies could not completely wipe out. Kudos also to all the creative fans who came bearing signs for Banner Day, including our neighbors Nancy (right) and Isabel.

Let's hope there will be more good news to report from Toronto tomorrow!

Boss on your case? Car won't start? Catch your spouse cheating? It's the Yankees fault

After watching Adrian Gonzalez strike out with the bases loaded to end last night's Red Sox-Yankees game, I immediately thought of two things: the Red Sox were still in first place, and there were going to be plenty of great alerts coming to my inbox.

"When all else fails ... blame the Yankees" was created as a Facebook group earlier this year, and Yankee haters throughout New England and beyond suddenly had a new outlet for their daily frustrations. There was no longer a need for any other sort of coping mechanism. If something or somebody got you down, there was an easy answer with no strings or bills attached.

I don't remember exactly when or by whom the page was recommended to me, but it has never stopped providing amusement in the months since -- especially the past couple days.

Here are some of my favorite posts; all complete the sentence, "It's the Yankees fault that..."

"...my professors have decided to spank us with tons of homework and tons of tests the second week of school."

"...I drove halfway to my new job to fill out paper work only to be told to turn around cause they had no power cause a car hit a power pole."

"...there was this super duper long line at Wendy's for lunch today."

"...my allergies are acting up so badly!!"

"...the president is addressing the country tonight about the national debt."

"...that I am still single and nobody calls me to hang out."

"...that conservatives exist."

You get the idea.



Since the group's formation, people have blamed the Yankees for snow, cold, rain on their birthday barbecue, their spouse being sick, unpaid work furloughs, faulty computer keyboards, and just about anything else you can imagine. I was surprised not to see anybody directly call out the Bronx Bombers for Hurricane Irene, but perhaps because New York City was so impacted by the storm, people gave the Yanks a pass on that one.

The nice thing about this system is that it doesn't matter if the Red Sox are even playing the Yankees. You can blame them for whatever you want even if they are nowhere near Fenway Park. When I lost my keys the other day and started getting pissed off thinking about the $200 I was going to have to give the dealer to get a new alarm activator keychain for my car, I stopped myself and realized it was all the Yankees fault. I immediately felt better, and after the Sox whipped Phil Hughes that night, my wife even found my keys. Coincidence? I think not.

Things don't always work out that well, that fast, but I can guarantee you one thing about the formula: it's a lot cheaper than a shrink or anger management classes.

Just call him Lefty Wakefield

As Tim Wakefield continues to run into bad innings and bad luck in his quest to join the ranks of 200-win pitchers, he can take comfort in knowing he's in good company: 70 years ago, another Boston hurler struggled to reach a major milestone.

Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove was 41 years old and nearing the end of a brilliant career when he suited up for the 1941 Red Sox. He had gone just 7-6 for Boston the year before, a record which left him seven wins shy of 300. Like Wake, Grove had a great lineup behind him featuring Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx, Bobby Doerr, and Joe Cronin, and although he had next to nothing left on his fastball, he started off strong and notched victory No. 299 at Philadelphia on July 3.

The All-Star Game at Detroit interrupted Lefty's quest, but the southpaw seemed poised to reach the magic circle when Boston faced the Tigers in Motor City on July 11. Amazingly, just 4,083 were on hand at Briggs Stadium, and they saw a great duel between Lefty and Bobo Newsome of the Tigers. Both pitchers hurled complete-game six-hitters, but Newsome got slightly stronger support in a 2-0 win. Grove, famous for his surly disposition in defeat, likely knocked around a few things after this one.

Lefty's next chance came at Chicago on July 18, and again he pitched well enough to win -- allowing just two earned runs in a complete-game effort against the White Sox. Unfortunately, errors by Foxx and outfielder Lou Finney led to two more tallies and a 4-3 White Sox win. Sportswriters and fans pondered whether "Old Man Grove" would ever get the big one.

Before Grove next took the hill on July 25 at Fenway against the Indians, manager Cronin told him "Pop, this is a nine-inning game. I'm not taking coming out to get you." As a Friday afternoon crowd of about 10,000 watched on, the visitors took a 4-0 lead after three innings, but Cronin was true to his word. Grove kept battling, and eventually the Sox came back to win with a four-run seventh -- the key hit a two-run triple by Lefty's best buddy, Foxx. The old man pitched a complete-game 12-hitter.

Just the 12th 300-game winner in history, Grove took the game ball for safekeeping, as he had from each of his previous 299 big-league victories. Cooperstown requested it, however, so Lefty obliged -- and with his set now broken up, gave out the other 299 to kids around his neighborhood.  He never won another game, and retired after the season.

Fans hope Wakefield has at least eight victories left in his rubber arm -- enough to overtake Cy Young and Roger Clemens atop the list of Boston's all-time winners -- but right now they'd settle for just one. Next stop on the Wake Watch: Texas on Thursday.






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