Red Sox Beat Yankees 9-7 in 2010 Season Opener

Anticipation has been building for tonight's 2010 MLB season opener at Fenway Park between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees for several days now.

There were some people who objected the game being played on Easter Sunday but it couldn't have been played on a better day. The thermometer hit the low 80s on April 4th. It might as well have been June 4th.

Pedro Martinez threw out the first pitch. Who knows? Maybe Pedro will be back in a Sox uniform for real by August because Josh Beckett couldn't get out of the 5th inning. The Yankees were up 5-1 when Terry Francona pulled Beckett from the game. But the Sox would score one run in the 5th and three runs in the 6th to knot the game at 5-5.

The Yankees would answer with two runs in the top of the 7th to take a 7-5 lead. Now the Sox looked for inspiration from Aerosmith's Steven Tyler singing God Bless America during the 7th inning stretch. There was a young woman standing beside him. My father and I were debating whether she was his daughter or his girlfriend. Turns out the young woman is his 21-year -old daughter Chelsea Tallarico.

Well, Red Sox Nation dared to dream on as Dustin Pedroia would tie the game again with a two run home run in the bottom of the 7th. The Red Sox would finally take the lead later in the inning courtesy of two wild pitches from Yankee reliever Damaso Marte which scored Kevin Youkilis. The Sox added an insurance run in the 8th on a single by Pedroia to give them a 9-7 lead after Neil Diamond sang "Sweet Caroline" in person. So good!!! So good!!! So good!!!

Jonathan Papelbon, who spent the winter watching his meltdown in Game 3 of the 2009 ALDS against the Angels over and over again, recorded his first save of the 2010 season.

The game lasted nearly four hours as Red Sox-Yankees games often do. The fans got their money's worth and so did the North American TV audience. If Opening Night is any indication this is going to be great season of baseball. How great it is to be alive.