I got to try on a World Series ring tonight.

The Red Sox are raffling off three World Series rings to raise money for the Red Sox Foundation. I already bought a few chances, but they had a table selling the tickets outside the .406 Club. There was a little crowd around the table, so A. and I stopped by.

Well, not only were they selling the tickets, but they had a ring that you could look at and try on. So I waited my turn and then slipped it on my finger. It was big and heavy, inlaid with diamonds, sapphires and rubies. I was a little weak in the knees after giving it back. It was an amazing feeling.

A funny story, while I'm on the subject of the ring raffle. A couple of weeks ago, I was watching a Sox game with the kids when they ran a promo about the raffle. J. asked me if we were going to buy any tickets, so I told him that I already had. So then he asks, "If we win, can I have the ring?" So I explained to him that if we won the ring, it would have our family name on it and it would be a family ring.

Of course, what went through my head was, "You can have it when I'm not around any more."

The game, unfortunately, wasn't nearly as good as trying on the ring. The Sox lost to the Braves 7-5, as they got shut down by rookie Kyle Davies, who had just been called up from AAA Richmond to replace injured starter John Thompson in the Atlanta rotation. Davies gave up no runs in five innings, while Tim Wakefield was knocked around for 6 runs in five innings, including four in the 4th. The Sox got a few runs late against the Braves bullpen, but it wasn't enough. Trot Nixon made a couple of great plays in right field, including diving into the stands for a foul pop down the line, and making a leaping grab of a line drive over his head.

This isn't the first time the Sox have had trouble hitting a guy just up from AAA in the last few years. It almost seems like if they haven't seen hours of video on a pitcher, they can't hit him. You'd think that a great hitting lineup like the Red Sox would go to town on these guys, but they never seem to do it.

The .406 Club was nice, especially tonight. It was cold and rainy in Boston, and the game got underway about 1/2 hour late. A. and I got there to have dinner at the pricey, but very nice buffet, and were able to munch on free popcorn and soda refills during the game. So we were warm and dry, which made up for the fact that we weren't outside with the crowd.

Back to Fenway tomorrow for the rubber match of the series. We're back out with the real people tomorrow, so hopefully it'll warm up a bit.