Yankee Stadium Experience 9/1/2010 A's vs Yanks

It was the first day of September but it still felt like August. It was a hot,humid night and I was heading to see the Yankees face the A's.

I parked at the River Ave garage, and walked right out and went across the street to gate 8. Gate 8 is by far the quickest entrance into Yankee Stadium, even for big event like the Red Sox or Mets the lines are much shorter.

The tickets I had for the game were in section 305, I had purchased them with one of the five dollar coupons that they give out to season ticket holders. Once I got to the seats I realized it was the same section that Russell Branyan of the Mariners had hit a home run into a few Saturdays ago. When your up that high and your looking at home plate it makes you appreciate how far the ball really went.

Of course my bad luck, my seats were in the middle of a row and people kept getting up and down the entire night. I understand if people need to use the rest room or get food but it gets ridiculous after a while. The other thing was that one of the seats that belonged to myself and my guest had gum on it. I had to make sure that a bad was placed over the gum to prevent it from being on my jersey.

Oh also a quick tip on food, I have noticed that although the selection is not as good, the further towards the "wings" of the upper deck you go the shorter the food lines are. I would assume the same applies for restrooms.

Otherwise the game was alright, A.J Burnett actually pitched well this year when I went to see him and Mark Teixiera and his thumb seems fine since he drove in three of the four Yankees runs. In the Terrace section it should be noted that unlike the Grandstand their is no breeze at all.

The attendance was a tad smaller then most games this season, just creeping over 45,000 (45,222) and the crowd seemed out of it for most of the night. The biggest cheers at one point seemed to be for the wave that made it around the upper deck, but that all changed once the great Mariano Rivera came in.

One last thing some idiot in my section was wear a shirt that said "A-Hole" with the number 13. The guy was also wearing an A's hat so it was obvious who he was rooting for and who he was against. But it made my night that people kept yelling at him and giving him crap about the shirt (although they kept it fairly clean). Although I never appreciate fans of the opposing team, I would rather they wear their own teams stuff then wear a shirt bashing the Yankees. When you do that anything that happens to you during the game is your own fault.

The Yankees won 4-3 but the Rays and Red Sox also won. So the Yankees still have just a one game lead over the Rays. Next game for myself will be Monday September 6th vs the Orioles.

Headed to the game tonight...once again A.J Burnett is pitching

Tonight I'll be up at the big ballpark in the Bronx and once again A.J Burnett will be pitching. This season has been a rough one for Burnett and I think I'm being kind saying that.

In the first two games of the series against the A's the bombers have been living up to their nick name,scoring 20 runs over the past two games. The Yankees will have to beat up on Brett Anderson tonight for them to stay in the game if Burnett pitches like he has his last three starts (0-3 7.36 ERA).

So why did I say in the title that "Once again A.J Burnett is pitching" when I'm going to the game ?  Well I attend about 5-10 Yankees games a year and over the last two seasons i have seen Burnett six times. In those six starts he won two of those, and in those two starts he was phenomenal. But it the starts I have been to that he has taken the loss all of them have been blow outs, in fact the least amount of runs he has allowed in losses I've been to is six. So you may understand my frustration of once again seeing Burnett.

So expect a blog late tonight about the game, and if you want to feel like you are at the game follow me on Twitter @NYMoot.

Whose mound will it be Thursday ? CC vs Braden

Dallas Braden made his mark in Yankees history when he told Alex Rodriguez to stay off his mound earlier this season. But whose mound will it be Thursday when the Yankees and A's wrap up their four game set in the Bronx. CC Sabathia started that game when Braden went off on A-Rod like a lunatic for touching his precious mound. Sabathia pitched well outside of giving up a three run homer to Kurt Suzuki, and had the Yankees defense behind him turn a triple play but CC got the loss.

So whose mound will it be Thursday? CC and Braden have both pitched well this season, Sabathia is in the discussion for the CY Young award and Braden has throw a perfect game this year and has an ERA of 3.28, but has received little run support.

Braden wont have to worry about A-Rod who is still on the DL but he should expect to hear an earful from the Bronx faithful. For those of you who forgot the whole thing here is a grainy  video :

Jorge Posada on the Today show talking about his son

Jorge and Laura Posada were on the Today show this morning talking about their new book in stores today. Glad to see his son is doing better.

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Yankees push Field Level seats at 40% off this homestand

Looking to go to a Yankees game before school starts ? Are you a high roller who can afford to sit on field level ? Well the Yankees have a deal for you ! For the A's, Blue Jays and Orioles series' during this homestand you can get field level seats for 40% off along with other locations with the code : DKNYBTS. The reason I mention the field level over and over is because even though they mention other locations I wouldn't expect any other then maybe a few Jim Bean Suite tickets. I have talked about this a few times but I really hope the Yankees do the right thing next year and again lower the price on the tickets since the economy hasn't picked up much. It would be great publicity for the Yankees to lower the prices on the tickets again to make them more affordable instead of seeing empty seats.

No big suprise here : Yankees lead the majors in attendence so far this season

This season has been more about the Yankees and their on the field play then it has been about the new stadium and the empty seats. Sure you can tune in at any time during a Yankees home game and still see empty seats but for the most part the Yankees either found people to pony up more cash or slashed the price. This season on the secondary market (Stubhub) prices to see a game at Yankee Stadium are down compared to in 2008 and 2009. But that hasnt kept the Yankees from leading the majors in attendence at home through 64 games.

The Yankees have the highest overall total attendance number so far through the season at 2,971,446. The Dodgers are just behind the bombers but they have played two more games at home. The Dodgers still could pass the Yankees in home attendance since Dodger Stadium has a higher capacity.

The Bronx bombers also lead the majors in averager attendance per game at 46,429, which is slightly up from last season (45,364). Since the new Yankee Stadium has opened the capacity of the park has been debated by some. It was orginally listed as 52,325 which was suppose to include standing room, but the seating capacity is 50,086. Either way the capacity at the new stadium is smaller then the ballpark that once stood across the street that held 56,936, so gone are the days of the Yanks drawing four million fans.

As the Yankees head down the stretch they have just 17 games remaining at home this season. This season almost every game has been a sell out and even the ones that arent a sell out the only seats avaliable are north of $150.

A look at the Yankees remaining schedule

Much has been made about how the Yankees will have to face the Rays and Red Sox a combined 13 times in the month of September. The Yankees will also face the Oakland A's,Toronto Blue Jays,Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles in September. So with the Yankees tied for first in the AL East at the moment lets see how the Yankees have matched up to date with the teams they need to face (and beat) to make it back to the postseason.

If the Yankees want to win the AL East or even make it in as the wild card they will need to start by beating the Oakland A's starting next week at the stadium. It shouldn't be a big problem to the Yankees since they are 5-1 against them this season and all those games have taken place in Oakland. But the A's have been playing better, and the Yanks cant take them lightly. This could be the first time Dallas Braden makes a start in the Bronx since the famous "get off my mound" to A-Rod. Total games remaining against A's : 4 (all at home)

It will be a fight till the end for the Yanks especially facing the Jays.

Next up would be the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that surprised many this year. While they have not played well enough to make a run at the postseason they are above .500 and give the Yankees a ton of trouble. To date the Yankees are just 5-7 against them, that's the lowest winning percentage for the Yankees against all the teams they have faced this season (.417). The Yankees will face the Jays at home in early September, but the crucial games could come on in the last week of the season when the bombers will have to play in Toronto. Total games remaining against Blue Jays : 6 (3 away,3 home)

The easiest opponent for the Yankees would be the Buck Showalter led Baltimore Orioles. This season the Yanks are 10-2 against the birds, but this is before Showalter became the manager. In fact the last time the Yankees faced the Orioles it was in June. Since the O's got a new manager they have been playing much better. I'm sure Buck would love to play spoiler against the team he once managed. Total games remaining against the Orioles : 6 (3 away, 3 home)

Bengie Molina could be telling Swisher that the Rangers will see the Yankees in October.

As August is coming to an end most of the division races are tight, all except one and that's the AL West, and that's because the Texas Rangers have ran away with it. The Rangers were thought to be favorites in the west, but after an early season sweep in the Bronx and a overall slow start the Rangers didn't look ready to take the next step. Four months later and the Rangers are considered a playoff favorite since adding Cliff Lee. The Yankees are 4-1 this season against the Rangers, including a sweep of them in April and recently splitting a pair of games in Texas. One of the games in Texas the Yankees were down five runs against Cliff Lee and the Rangers bullpen but managed to over come the deficit and win the game, some consider it to be one of the Yankees biggest wins of the season. Total games remaining: 3 (all in Texas)

Once again the Yankees end the season up in Boston at Fenway Park. It has the chance to feel like a preview of October baseball (Technically it will be the series is Oct 1-3) or by then the Red Sox could be out of it, and what better would the Sox love to do then to cost the mighty Yankees a chance at the AL East and be forced to stick with the wild card. Then again you never know and the Rays could collapse all together and the Yanks and Sox could be in the fighting for the postseason. Either way a Yankees Red Sox game in late September always has some juice to it, even if the Red Sox will be clinging to stay alive.This season the bombers are 7-5 against the hated Boston bunch. Total games remaining: 6 (3 away, 3 home)

The Yankees and Rays are tied at the top of the standings and boy could the teams be anymore closer facing one another. So far this season the Yankees are 5-6 against the Rays, a fairly close record considering how well both teams have played. But even the runs are close, this season the Yankees have score 58 runs against the Rays, while the Rays have scored 59 on the Yanks. Pretty close wouldn't you say? So with seven games remaining against each other it may come down to that seventh game to decide who will win the series and possibly win the division. The Yankees play in Tampa Sept 13th-15th, but the crucial series right now looks to be when the Rays come to the Bronx the second to last week of the season to play four games. The strangest part maybe the Yankees playing important games against an AL East rival not named the Red Sox in late September. Total games remaining: 7 (3 away, 4 home)