http://0rz.tw/945oG BOSTON -- In the hours leading up to the latest New England snowstorm, a roundtable event was held at Fenway Park that had the ultimate Hot Stove feel to it. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and ESPN analyst Peter Gammons put together an impressive panel that included American League Most Valuable Player Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox reliever Justin Masterson, Boston manager Terry Francona and Rays outfielder Fernando Perez. Yankees lefty CC Sabathia joined the group via speakerphone. It was here that fans, who were on hand to support the charitable endeavors of Epstein and Gammons for the annual Hot Stove/Cool Music weekend, got to hear free-flowing anecdotes on all things baseball. ... Aside from the Q&A format, conducted in lighthearted fashion by actor/comedian Mike O'Malley, there was peppy dialogue between the panelists. For example, when Perez was asked what it felt like to win the American League Championship Series against the Red Sox, Pedroia quipped, "Don't get used to it." The fans clearly enjoyed being able to interact with Pedroia, who was asked how life has changed for him since he won the MVP. "I don't really get recognized that much [on the street]," Pedroia said. "I came up here and nobody even saw me. I'm a normal guy. Just because I won the MVP Award, I'm not going to change. That's how I was brought up." One of the hits of the event was Perez, a creative writing major at Columbia University, who spoke in depth of what it was like to play against the Red Sox, and at Fenway, during the ALCS. "Fans [at Fenway] are very, very savvy," Perez said. "Everybody seems to be indulging in an experience as if they are at church or a party, some sort of mix of the two. That's really impressive how your fans enjoy it. There was a man after Game 4 of the ALCS who was standing next to the dugout and he noticed we were winning going into Game 5, at which point we could have won it. "He notices that we were smiling a little bit, having a good time. And he looked over and he said, 'Soon you will know what it feels like to lose three games in a row.' I will never forget the moment, because he seemed so serious and so sincere. The next day, of course, was Game 5, which, to me, was the most horrific sporting experience of my whole life. I went from thinking about what I was going to do for the rest of the week before the World Series to thinking that [the Red Sox] were going to do it all again. "That experience, in that seventh inning, I didn't play, but I was getting ready to pinch-run. I remember stretching, being sick to my stomach while [Boston] just got hit after hit after hit and it was [contagious] throughout the ballpark. It was very, very sickening." --

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