The weather here has been unbelievable. I have never seen this much rain in three days during the summer as we have while here in Boston. When we left Seattle the extended forecast said that we would be looking at temperatures in the mid 80s. Needless to say, I did not pack for this and there may have been some shopping the past two days.

Fenway is a tough park to be in when it rains. There is very little protection and what coverage there is tends to leak. I am sad to report that the worst smell in baseball is gone. I have always said that this park is home to the best smell and the worst smell in the game.

The best? The sausages, onions and peppers that are grilled both inside the park and out on Yawkey Way.

The worst? The tunnel from the visitors clubhouse to the field. It was a long, dark concrete walled hallway that exuded history and ghosts of the past as everyone in baseball has walked through it in the past 98 years. It also reeked the smell of mold and Lysol as the floor was covered with rotting boards which was covered with red moldy carpet. Water that came from who knows where flowed down either side of the boards. They are gone now, replaced by green linoleum that is already starting to curl on the edges. Not quite the same charm as the old tunnel decor, but it does smell better.

Moving on. Things are looking better an hour and a half before today's scheduled start time for game 1. There are conflicting weather reports about when this is going to stop but regardless, crew chief Joe West just arrived at the ballpark and said as he was heading into the umpires room that we were going to play. David Pauley will go in game 1 and Felix Hernandez in game 2. Daren Brown said he would not put any player on a field that he thought was unsafe but hopefully the field will be better for Felix.

Game 1 lineup:

Ichiro
Figgins
Branyan
Lopez
Kotchman
Gutierrez
Bard
Langerhans
Josh Wilson