For some time, my buddy Abdul had talked about going to a game with me and our mutual friend Kenny. But for quite some time, we couldn’t manage it because of money and conflicting schedules – that is until a couple of weeks ago for the hated Red Sox vs. the Yanks.
We sat in the left field bleachers, and it was honestly, a very odd game. For the most part, watching the game live felt much like following a game at a library or in an empty bar – for the most part, not a whole lot of energy or enthusiasm. That is at least until something somewhat exciting happened (which wasn’t very often).
The Yanks had a lead late with the great Mariano Rivera coming in to close the door; however, Rivera was a little ineffective and blew the lead and the save by giving up a homer early in the inning. That’s a rarity – i can only think of one other time I’ve seen that live: a 2005 game against the Texas Rangers at the Old Yankee Stadium. The Yanks did eventually win that game in the bottom of the 11th
But in the bottom of the ninth, the Yanks won in walk off fashion – er, a walk off wild pitch. That’s something that I hadn’t seen live. The Stadium erupted as though we had won the Series. But somehow deep down I had realized that the win was essentially delaying inevitable disappointment. Sigh. What a disappointing season but I love the team and always will. Check out some photos below.
Hiroki Kuroda heading to the mound.
Alfonso Soriano and David Oritz chatting before the game. A few minutes later, Oritz egged the Bleacher Creatures to boo him lustily.
Jon Lester leaving the road bullpen after his warmups.
Yankee position players with the Westport, Connecticut Little League team. I bet those kids must have been thrilled.
Alfonso Soriano warming up.
Alex Rodriguez acknowledging the Bleacher Creatures during their roll call.
Robinson Cano to Mark Reynolds for the assist.
Ichiro Suzuki! He later scored the game winning run.
Enter Sandman – this is the last time i’ll see him at the Stadium, too. So you can imagine that I had to take photos.
So the season record is 1-2. Ugh.
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yankee32879/sets/72157635738634343/
