Quincy? Have you ever been to Quincy, Mass? Yikes.
Nice accomodations, Red Sox. A question: has it been so long since the 'Sox won a World Series that they forgot that there would be an....OPPONENT? Home team is supposed to ensure accomodations. Here is an excerpt from an article in the St Loo Post-Dispatch.
Hotel, transportation snafus rankle Cards
By Joe Strauss Of the Post-Dispatch
10/25/2004
BOSTON - The Cardinals might license a fresh slogan for their three-day experience in Boston: "I went to the World Series, and all I got was this lousy bus ride." Relying on housing suggested by the host Red Sox, the Cardinals found themselves put up at the Quincy Marriott, about 15 miles and, depending on traffic patterns, as much as 45 minutes from Fenway Park. The inconvenience caused manager Tony La Russa to express his team's disappointment over its accommodations before Sunday night's Game 2. "I understand the home team has the responsibility for making the hotel accommodations," La Russa said. "It was a real bummer to the point where a lot of us were upset and embarrassed." The weekend included a lack of late-night room service, a lack of alternative transportation to team buses and a complicated exit from Saturday's four-hour, 11-9 loss.
The hassle was enough that traveling secretary C.J. Cherre and general manager Walt Jocketty inquired at Boston hotels about availability, only to discover none could provide a large enough block of rooms. The Redbirds' travel party of about 100 includes owners, sponsors and family members in addition to team personnel. "For most of these guys, this is their first World Series experience, right?" La Russa said. "When the game is over ... if you're here, there are all kind of restaurants here. In Quincy, there wasn't anything except for the hotel that stayed open for us. We shouldn't have had this problem."
The Quincy Marriott had never housed a major league baseball team until this weekend. Its room service shuts down at 11:30 p.m. La Russa lauded the facility for putting out food for the players but was equally disappointed the spread consisted of nothing more than bar fare. "I suggested they put Boston in a hotel in Jefferson City," La Russa said, mindful that the downtown Adam's Mark is the Red Sox's team headquarters in St. Louis. Hotel availability in The Hub was at a premium over the weekend because of the World Series and the annual Head of the Charles Regatta. Since the Cardinals did not play in Boston this season, they did not have a guarantee of October hotel space typical within league cities. The Red Sox at first denied any involvement in the Cardinals' predicament before director of public relations Glenn Geffner explained the club was prepared to make 100 rooms available at the downtown Hyatt until the hotel could not guarantee such a large bloc two weeks ago. Major League Baseball also lost a bloc of 250 rooms. Without another alternative, the Red Sox steered Cherre to the Quincy hotel. Saturday's problems were compounded before the club returned to its hotel when the last of four team buses - the one carrying La Russa, some coaches and several players - became separated from the first three and a police escort.
The La Russa bus was forced to idle for more than 20 minutes until Boston police could locate the owner of an SUV blocking its way. The final bus pulled into the team hotel at 2 a.m. "I think our response should be the Red Sox buses, just because of major league security, have to get off at the Arch," La Russa said. "And they walk from the Arch to the ballpark." He added, "This is the World Series, the event of a lifetime. It's not what the World Series is supposed to be."
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