Fenway at 100 - Boston prepares to celebrate 100 years of Baseball played in Fenway Park

The Chapel is 100 years old and no one in Boston would want it any other way. There were some heretics who tried to get Boston to replace her but gladly they were unsuccessful. Larry Luccino stated at the beginning of this year that our grandchildren's kids will be coming to see baseball at Fenway in the future....That would be " wicked pissa " as far as Red Sox fans are concerned.


Red Sox ready to celebrate Fenway's 100th birthday
By Jimmy Golen
AP Sports Writer / April 9, 2012

BOSTON—Fenway Park is ready for its 100th birthday and the Boston Red Sox are planning a big party.

After a decade of renovations to the majors' oldest ballpark, the team has put on some finishing touches to get it ready for this season. The home opener is Friday, and a week later the Red Sox will celebrate the anniversary of Fenway's opening on April 20, 1912, when they play the New York Yankees.

The festivities started on Monday, when the Harvard baseball team took batting and fielding practice to mark the 100th anniversary of their 1912 exhibition game against the Red Sox -- the first game played at Fenway. Harvard and Red Sox alum Mike Stenhouse pitched batting practice.

"Harvard baseball is thrilled to be included in the birthday celebration at Fenway Park," Crimson baseball coach Joe Walsh said. "Our guys look forward to any chance to set foot on a major league baseball diamond -- in this case a batting practice session where many will take aim at the Green Monster. These are special moments that all young baseball players dream about and Harvard has been fortunate to have these opportunities every few years."

Although past years' offseason renovations included visible and popular additions such as the Monster Seats and new concourses, this year's work was designed to put the finishing touches on a decade of work.

Among the additions:

--A patio of inscribed bricks purchased by fans. More than 18,500 were sold. Also featured are 35 handprints from "influential figures in Red Sox and Fenway Park history," including Bobby Doerr, Dennis Eckersley, Carlton Fisk, Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski.

--Plaques around the park explaining points of interest, such as "Canvas Alley" and the Red Sox clubhouse.

--Season ticket-holders' club, featuring historic panels and artifacts tracing the history of the team and the ballpark. The highlight: a collection of baseballs autographed by the World Series teams from every season since 1920 (one is missing). It was loaned to the team by a donor who has chosen to remain anonymous.

Also Monday, the team gave Mayor Tom Menino a tour. Because Menino was in a walking boot, he was driven around by Red Sox president Larry Lucchino in the bullpen cart that was used from 1968-78 to bring relievers into the game.

The cart was restored and will be displayed as part of the ballpark's "Living Museum" theme.

And the hits just keep on coming....Our beloved Red Sox start off 0-6....hopes for a win at the home opener

Words fail me. Worst.news.ever.

It's bad enough that we have to deal with stupid Pols who don't do what we elect them to do, inflation, high oil prices with no sign of relief, higher food prices, Libya, Japan's crisis, stupidity of display on TV on a daily basis, etc., etc. - Now we have to deal with THIS:

Our beloved Red Sox are 0-6 at the start of the season. This was NOT part of the program.

These guys were supposed to be the new "best & brightest" and the team that would provide a 100 win season.

There is time to pull this out BUT they better start out with a win at the home opener....please, we're begging you. We need some good news and something we can look forward to.....Our Red Sox taking the field and winning a game.....If we were able to see the Red Sox winning again, it would gives us something to take our minds off all the other stuff that isn't working in our world.

I have faith in our team but this terrible start is NOT what we had hoped for......the hits just keep on coming...ugh.

Dan Shaughnessy: One low point after another
04/08/11 Boston Globe

And the hits just keep on coming.

In their latest move to make friends and endear themselves to local fans, Fenway Sports Management yesterday announced it has inked Ulf Samuelsson and Matt Cooke to work on business deals worldwide.

Red Sox chairman Tom Werner termed the FSM-Samuelsson-Cooke alliance “a powerful collaboration,’’ adding, “There are few athletes who can match their global reach, appeal, and iconic status.’’

OK, I made all that up. But we’ve reached a point where Red Sox fans can’t be surprised by anything. The impossible has become the norm, and would it really surprise you if the tone-deaf folks at FSM solicit Alex Rodriguez when he reports for duty at Fenway this weekend?

The 0-6 Red Sox stagger home today for the 100th Fenway opener. This means no more safe havens in Texas and Cleveland. After a week on the road, the Sox must wallow in regional hysteria triggered by their worst start since 1945 (when all the real players were at war).

Can it get any worse?

Of course it can. The 1988 Baltimore Orioles started 0-21. President Ronald Reagan called manager Frank Robinson after 0-18 and said, “I know what you’re going through.’’

“Mr. President, you have no idea what I’m going through,’’ snapped Robinson.

Terry Francona would second that emotion. The affable skipper of this Best Team Ever has tried just about everything to coax a win out of the overstuffed local nine. Nothing has worked. Maybe it’s time for Tito to execute a five-star Jack Nicholson/Mike Milbury nutty.

Not to be negative, but the Elias Sports Bureau reports that only two teams have made the playoffs after starting 0-6 — the 1974 Pirates and the 1995 Reds. This is only the fourth Red Sox team to start 0-6, and if the Sox lose today, it’s officially the second-worst start in franchise history.

Remember those days of talking about 100 wins? How about one win? Just one.

They have lost in every way imaginable. They have been routed. They have been beaten, 1-0. They have seen bullpen blowups (Dennys Reyes in Game 5 goes down as perhaps the worst relief appearance of all time). They have failed to produce quality starts (other than Jon Lester yesterday) and they haven’t hit with runners in scoring position. Yesterday they lost because a pinch runner (good guy Darnell McDonald) was overaggressive and got tagged out diving back to second base.

It’s chaos. Daisuke Matsuzaka stills needs a translator while Jason Varitek yells at him in the dugout. Varitek neglects to tag a base runner Wednesday night, thinking the force is on, and a run scores. Carl Crawford is hanging his head, talking to himself. They’re not getting the calls. Daniel Bard has given up the winning run twice. Kevin Youkilis can’t get a hit with a man in scoring position. New pitching coach Curt Young and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (hitting a robust .071) are under the microscope. The Sox have been outscored, 38-16.

McDonald’s stumble was symbolic. The whole team has fallen down. And now we turn our eyes to John “Let ’em in’’ Lackey, who gave up nine runs in 3 2/3 innings in Texas. Today will be Adrian Gonzalez’s first game ever at Fenway and somebody needs to explain to Yo Adrian that Sox home openers are not generally filled with so much fear and loathing.

Over the winter, Sox fans had a lot of fun at the expense of the Yankees. Citizens of Sox Nation mocked Brian Cashman and repeatedly painted the Pinstripes as old and pitching-poor. Now the Yankees are in town with a chance to take a seven-game lead over the Sox just nine games into the season.

Any way you look at it, the Sox haven’t been the same since John Henry bought Liverpool FC. Maybe this is the Curse of Roy Hodgson. It’s certainly a good time for the Sox to be petitioning the city to serve mixed drinks at Fenway. We all might need a little Jack to get through this season of great expectations.

One week ago, before the first game, I asked Francona about the burden of being everybody’s World Series favorite.

“I don’t see the harm in that,’’ he said calmly. “To be honest, expectations in our clubhouse are high.’’

Today the Sox are sinking under the weight of their own press clippings and there’s a trace of glee in some of the have-not hardball hamlets.

The first week of this baseball season has us longing for the good old days of 2010. A “bridge year’’ would look pretty good right about now.

Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

Fenway Park will stand for decades to come....The "Chapel" endures.

As it should be.....Fenway Park is a jewel and the best homefield advantage any team in the league could ask for. Great to see that the ownership has made the best move possible and invested in our historic ballpark. Awesome....or as we say up here in Boston, " wicked pissa "


Lucchino: Fenway will stand for decades
by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff February 19, 2011

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox have finished 10 years of improvements to Fenway Park, spending $285 million to renovate, improve and in some areas rebuild the old ballpark.

Team president Larry Lucchino said the major projects are done. Engineers have told the ownership group that the structure has 40-50 years of life remaining.

In other words, if you're waiting for a new ballpark you're going to be waiting for a long time. "There is nothing in the plans," Lucchino said.