From the WM Archive- July 17, 2016

   The Yanks and Red Sox are squaring off this weekend at Fenway Park, just like they did this weekend 17 years ago. I was in Boston to help the Post with their 2004 DNC coverage. I was sent to Fenway after the A-Rod Jason Varitek fight. Here's how it all went down....

In 2004, I was chosen to help the Post set up their headquarters outside of the Fleet Center in Boston. I was also given a couple of assignments that didn't amount to anything (and one that did that had nothing to do with politics). So if you don't mind indulging me, here is a review of my week in Boston.

July 24,2004

So, I'm on my way to Boston, in a nice fancy rent a car, with thousands of dollars of office equipment in the trunk and back seat. I had left Woodside early, after having worked all night. I'm just getting into Boston when my phone rang. It was the Post. The editor, the great Bill Gorta, told me to "ditch the car wherever you are and get to Fenway Park. There was just a huge brawl between the Yanks and the Sox.

I turned the radio on and caught the tail end of what was going on. Something had gone down between Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Boston catcher Jason Varitek.

Now the only other time I've been to Boston was 12 years before, with Karl, Ray and Kevin (Buck) Ludwig. I have no idea how to get anywhere, and I certainly wasn't going to be responsible for losing all this office equipment. So I told Billy I was still a bit away. Luckily I found the hotel, checked in and hopped on the subway and headed to Fenway.

I went to the Cask 'n Flagon (big mistake) where I interviewed Yankee fans who had been tossed out of Fenway.  Then I went outside one of the gates and interviewed more fans as they were being thrown out. To me, that was the big story. Everyone I asked about the fight had the same answers, "I was f-ckin PUMPED MAN!" I mean how many times can you quote that?

But droves of fans were coming out, bitching that they had been ejected from the stadium. For seemingly innocuous reasons. Now I realize that some of these folks probably deserved to get thrown out, but some I really believe were booted out for nothing more than wearing Yankee paraphernalia. The Boston people freaked out because I was with the NY Post, but I was able to convince some of them that I was a Met fan and my team was 10 games out with no shot at the playoffs, so theoretically I had no dog in this fight. One group of Sawx fans invited me to their house for a BBQ, which was awfully nice of them, and in hindsight might have been a good move.

   And then there was the a$$hole hot dog vendor who kept telling me to stay away from his cart. I finally said to him, "I'm nowhere near your cart. What the f-ck is your problem besides the fact that I'm from New York?"
"I don't give a $h-t if your from New York, I just hate the press. They've burned me before!"
"You're a hot dog vendor! Why would the press care about you, much less burn you?"
He was threatening to get the cops, and judging by what went down between Varitek and A-Rod, I had no desire to mess with them, so I moved a bit further down.

The game itself was a classic Yankees-Sox affair. The Yanks struck first in the top of the second and added one in the third before Bronson Arroyo drilled A-Rod with a fastball in the elbow. A-Rod started mouthing off to Arroyo. Varitek said something to A-Rod, A-Rod got in Varitek's face, and Varitek shoved his glove in A-Rod's face and both benches emptied.

When the smoke cleared A-Rod and Varitek was ejected. The Sox tied it up, then took the lead. In the 6th, the Yanks scored 6 times, the Sox 4 times and the score was 9-8 Yanks. At the time I had no idea what the score was because I was interviewing ejected fans and fighting with a hot dog man with delusions of grandeur.

In the bottom of the 9th, with the Yanks up 10-8 and Mariano in to close it out, Bill Mueller hit a walk off home run, sending Fenway into a frenzy. I spoke to about 20 people and probably could have gotten a whole bunch more. I dumped my notes to the editors and headed out to get some dinner and maybe a beer or two.

I overheard some gal on the train say she was headed to Daisy Buchanan's so that's where I went. Wouldn't you know who would walk in about 10 o'clock but Jason Varitek himself? Every few minutes the bartender would open a beer in front of him and someone would yell "Yo, Tek, that's on me man!" Yo Tek, way to kick A-Rod's ass!" I thought about going over to talk to him, but I figured in this crowd, I best be keeping my credentials on the down-low. After all I was here for the convention.

A Author: BILL GALLAGHER Post Correspondent Date: Jul 25, 2004 Start Page: 003 BOSTON - Now it's personal. An A-Rod bean ball once again turned the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry bloody yesterday, setting up a series finale tonight sure to be filled with fireworks. The third-inning melee, which seemed a distant memory after Boston's 11-9 win on a walk-off home run, lasted only five minutes, but led to two ejections and a pitcher beaten until blood poured from his face. The stands also began buzzing, with dozens of fights and a slew of ejections. Yankee fans were showered with beer as they dejectedly made their way toward the doors after the loss. "This was a classic Red Sox-Yankees game," said Tom Magnifico, 19, a Yankee fan who drove up from East Rutherford, N.J. "After the fight, the mood changed. It was a little more hostile and more passionate." The brawl began when Boston hurler Bronson Arroyo tattooed Alex Rodriguez in the elbow with the Bombers leading, 3-0. A-Rod chucked his bat and began shouting at the pitcher. The home plate umpire and Sox catcher Jason Varitek jumped in the middle, and after harsh words were exchanged, the catcher gave a two- handed shove to A-Rod's face. He responded by grabbing Varitek. In an instant, the benches had erupted, with players and coaches joining the fray. A-Rod and Varitek were booted. The teams square off tonight at 8 And H\T to Karl Ludwig for finding this old edition of WM, written on-site in Boston... DNC        BOSTON-   Weekly Mail's first ever out of state report comes to you from an office across the street from the Fleet Center. It has been a crazy first two days here.     I hadn't even checked in to the hotel on Saturday when my phone went off. It was Billy Gorta, telling me to drop what I was doing and get to Fenway Park. They wanted me to talk to fans about the A-Rod Jason Varitek fight.     I checked in quickly and hopped in a cab. I was at Fenway in no time. I went into a bar across the street, the Clask and Flagon, and talked to awhole bunc of drunks. There were two things that struck me. Number one there were plenty of Yankee fans here, in a place where Yankee fans are as welcome as Al- Qaeda. The first 10 people I spoke to were Yankee fans. At the time I got there, the Yankees were beginning to pull away, so the Sox fans were somewhat subdued.     The desk called and Billy wanted me to stake out by the gate and catch fans on the way out.And this was where I saw the second thing to catch my eye. Many of the fans I was speaking to, both Yankee and Red Sox, had been tossed out Apparently Sox owner John Henry has put in a new policy called Friendly Fenway. Anything stronger than Yankees stink got you a warning, a secod violation got you tossed. How this fella expects a Yankee game to be swear free is beyond me.       But I ended up getting a few good quotes and an invite to a keg party. I have to tell you the roar I heard when Bill Mueller hit that home run was one of the coolest things I ever heard. And the Sox fans were pumped. Even more than us Met fans were when we swept the Yanks at Shea. It was like New Years Eve.     In NY, you have the debate between the Yankees and the Mets as far as loyalties go. Here, there's no two ways about it. It was the talk of the whole town.     At night I was going to head back to the Clask and Flagon, but I heard some girls on the train talking about this place Daisy's. So I headed there instead. Daisy's was pretty cool. Kind of reminded me of McGilligans in Yonkers. But this place filled up quick. I was catching a rap with someone, but it got so crowded it was too much. What made it worse, Jason Varitek, of all people, showed up. It was insane. And let me tell you something, if Bill Mueller had walked in five minutes later, it wouldn't have mattered. The man who hit the game winning dinger wasn't as loved as the man who hit A-Rod.     I hit one more bar before I headed back to the hotel.he  I met a guy named Barry who at one time was a driver for John Kerry (I tend to believe him too) He said that Kerry was the nicest politicians he had ever met. "He runs for office because he thinks he can make a difference. That's why he sometimes says things that are contridictory." Made sense to me.    I had to report to the lobby at noon Saunday morning. Thank God for Boston's wimpy last call time.