My Trip To The Bronx

I finally made it.

I finally realized my lifelong sports dream.

I finally went to Yankee Stadium!

If you've ever read my blog then you know the affection I have for the Yankees.

You know how I feel about Derek Jeter. (I was stalking him the whole game. I took like 50 pictures of him).

You know the love/hate relationship I have with A-Rod.

You know I think Johnny Damon throws like a little girl.

You know I think Brian Cashman has been sleeping on the job the past few years.

You know I don't think they are good enough to win it all this season, but you know I believe they will anyway.

You know I had to make my way to THE Yankee Stadium before they move next season.

You now know I made it there on my birthday.

The experience was kinda crazy for me. I had all of these emotions running through me when I finally got to my seat. The first thing that went through my mind was my Dad. I wished he could have gone to the game with me. He's the reason I love the Yankees and he was the only thing missing from the game.

Everything was set up beautifully.

The weather was perfect, not too hot.

They were playing the Los Angeles, Anaheim, Beverly Hills, Orange County Angels of California, or whatever it is they call themselves these days.

Sidney Ponson was on his game which was a pleasant surprise. He matched Ervin Santana (who was also on his game) pitch for pitch. I was actually terrified when I found out Ponson was the scheduled pitcher. I wished for a rain out on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday so that Andy Petite's start could get pushed back. He got rocked on Thursday, glad I dodged that bullet.

The game went by extremely fast since no one was scoring runs. When the 9th inning started the game was still scoreless and curiously Joe Girardi brought out Mariano Rivera. Don't get me wrong, I hoped we'd be in a position to need Mariano Rivera, but I didn't think 0-0 in the 9th was the right time. I know why Joe did it, I just didn't agree with it.

When Mo came out of the pen of course the crowd went nuts! He's the best pitcher on the team and he's earned the right to have our complete unabashed trust.

While he was warming up on the mound I just couldn't shake the feeling that things were not going to end well for him.

They didn't.

He walked Mark Texiera to start the inning, gave up a single to Vlad which put runners on the corners, then gave up a single to Torri Hunter to score the pinch runner.

In reality it was only one run, but the Angels have the best closer in the game in Francisco Rodriguez so that one run may as well have been 5.

I am a big fan of K-Rod's, but he is the last person I wanted to see on Friday night. Of course he came in and took care of business the way he normally takes care of business. He's on pace to save like a thousand games this season.

Good times at Yankee Stadium either way!

I'm glad I finally made it there to see my favorite team. I really don't understand why they are moving. The stadium doesn't look to be in that bad of shape as far as I could tell.

I guess since we live in a sports world that is dominated by luxury boxes and corporate sponsors Yankee Stadium is just too old.

If they can still get it poppin in Fenway, I know Yankee Stadium is good for a few more years.

There's no turning back now, the new stadium is almost complete and I'm sure it will cost a small fortune to get in there.

I hope they don't make the tickets so expensive that you can hear a pin drop in the stadium at a time when the crowd should be going wild. Although I won't be surprised if that happens.

Hopefully one day soon I'll make my way across the street from where my Yankee Stadium used to be.