MOST OF AMERICA PROBABLY felt that the Red Sox ending their 86 year drought and winning the 2004 World Series was an immaculate blessing for the city of Boston. But the success of the Sox has not come without its problems. For one thing, parking around Boston's historic Fenway Park has become awfully expensive.

Complaining about the price of parking at Fenway has become a "Swallows Returning to Capistrano" story for Boston's media and politicians. Every now and then attention gets trained on the story by a local news outlet. The politicians then register their anger. Shortly thereafter, life around the park returns to normal. Last year's Red Sox post-season triggered one of these carping paroxysms; so too did last week's Opening Day tussle between the Red Sox and the New York Yankees.

The Boston Globe began the latest cycle of hand-wringing by pointing to a gas station near the ballpark that was allegedly charging patrons $100 to "pahk their cahs" (as the locals say) before heading into Fenway for the Opening Day festivities. This figure struck many of the city's luminaries as exorbitant. As Boston's Mayor Thomas P. Menino put it, "Someone came up to me and said 'I just paid $100 to park.' I blew my top."

PARKING AROUND FENWAY is a display of free market capitalism at its finest. There is an option for getting to and from the Fens for every wallet, or at least every wallet that can afford the not inconsiderable price of attending a

For the cost conscious, Boston's mostly-above-ground subway, the MBTA, has two stops within easy walking distance of the park. And around the ballpark, fanning out about a mile in every direction, are a wealth of parking options. Unsurprisingly, the closer one gets to the park, the more expensive the parking becomes. One also pays a premium for easy egress after the game concludes. It should also be noted that the lots surrounding the park compete aggressively with one another--there has never been so much as a whiff of collusion amongst the lots' proprietors.

The lot at the center of the controversy, Leahy's Mobil where a Boston Globe photographer paid $100 to park on Opening Day, is often one of the most expensive parking options. And it should be. It's the most convenient lot for Red Sox parking. Leahy's Mobil offers a rapid exit from the neighborhood because of its location on Brookline Avenue, and is so close to Fenway that even the weak-armed Johnny Damon could throw a ball into the park while standing at one of the station's eight gas-pumps.

By comparison, the Landmark Shopping Mall about 200 yards down the road offers underground parking for $20 a game. If you don't mind walking the extra distance and being snarled in post-game traffic, it's a good deal. (For its part, Leahy's management denies charging regular patrons $100 and insists that only media personnel who arrived well before the opener's game time--and stayed well after--had to pay this top rate.)