Speed cleaning

Between games of today's doubleheader the cleaning crew seems to have picked up the large pieces of trash in advance of the gates being opened again. All it took was a little over an hour. This being a day-night doubleheader, all the fans were asked to leave Fenway Park after the Red Sox beat the Angels in Game 1. The crowd of 36,686 made it out in a timely fashion and now the last bits of trash are bing picked up in the center field stands.

The field also has been prepared already with the dirt dragged and the foul lines and batter's box freshly painted. It seemed to be a preparation effort of the highest order. While it sounds like the cleaning crew did a heroic job, remember, Fenway Park is much smaller than Angel Stadium and only the large pieces of trash were cleaned. The night crowd is going to have to deal with peanut shells, sunflower seeds and popcorn on the ground, along with any spilled beer and soft drinks. Hey, you can't have everything.

So are the Red Sox any better at keeping the stadium rats away? One Angels player, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Red Sox's rats are still bigger than the Angels'.

The Angels are winding down between games with some players watching the Martin Lawrence comedy "Black Knight." Maybe somebody is brushing up on how to ride to the rescue after the 8-4 defeat earlier in the day.