Yankee Stadium Experience 8/18 Yanks vs Tigers

8/18 tix with Jorge and Mo on them.

It was time to head back up to the Bronx, this time to see former Yankee Johnny Damon and the Tigers. I had on my Yankees Damon jersey and was looking forward to seeing him during batting practice in left field. Once I got to the stadium, it was drizzling and Damon was shagging fly balls in center field. Damon would eventually head in to take his turn hitting but by that time security had kicked all the fans out of the field level that didn't belong.

So it was up to my seats in the bleachers, I had noticed it a few times but in the bleachers behind section 237/238 area there is a sign that says "Advanced ticket kiosk", yet no kiosk is in sight  only hot dog and beer vendor.

Wholly Guacamole nachos for $8.50

Since my friend and I had some time to kill before the game we grabbed nachos from Wholly Guacamole. For $8.50 they gave you a fair amount of nachos along with as many toppings as you want. In other stadium news I also saw somebody actually buy a shirt and program from the souvenir stand located below my seats. For most of the season, it seemed as if nobody even would look at the small stand but i guess tonight was their lucky night. I'll never understand paying $30 for a player tee when if you go to modells you can get them for $18.

The line ups were announced and Damon got a warm reception, nothing Matsui like but still a nice cheer, Damon was 1-3 with a stolen base. It was Jeremy Bonderman who was once suppose to be a star against Dustin Moseley. The Yanks got a quick lead on back to back homers by Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano, but not before Brett Gardner was hit by a pitch. The Gardner hit by pitch was something I had expected after Monday when he slid hard into second to try and break up a double play, Carlos Guillen was hurt on the play and has missed the past few games.

Moseley was so-so for his five innings he was in the game, he did give up two bombs to Miguel Cabrera (who had hit a ball 15 rows up in the left field bleachers during batting practice and left a dent on the bench). But the Yanks offense woke up, even Ramiro Pena joined the cause with a RBI triple (who needs A-Rod !). Curtis Granderson also would add a homer against his former team. Granderson seems ready to break out of his season long slump, although he did strike out against a lefty with the bases loaded later in the game.

For this game I was sitting in my bleacher seats in 235, at the start of the game even with the Yanks offense putting some runs on the board the crowd really didn't seem into the game. By the fifth with the Yanks holding a 7-4 lead the bleachers got a bit rowdier. It started with a fight a few sections over between two girls, both being ejected. Thought out the game I heard a few Detroit sucks chants and the ol' A-hole chant (not exactly that way but you should get the point).

As the Yankees pounded away at the Tigers holding a 9-4 lead in the eighth, the Yanks called Chad Gaudin in. Gaudin hit the first batter Miguel Cabrera and then proceeded to load the bases. A grand slam would have lead to the lead cut to one, but apparently to some it didn't matter. The people in section 235 were to busy trying to start the wave. The wave starters kept trying and started to get off the wave a few times, and since 235 of the bleachers is right below, yet next to the main section. One fan was trying to convince the wave starters to start the wave towards the main section, while leaning over the railing I made sure to tell him to jump. The Yanks managed to get out of the inning by only allowing one run, and for myself I was lucky that the fans finally stopped trying to do the wave.

This is not the same sign, but you get the point

The Yankees would nail down the 9-5 victory by bringing in the great Mariano Rivera to finish it. Through out the game I had noticed that the security at the stadium now holds small stop signs at the top of each section. On the sign it reads to please be curtious and wait until the end of the at bat to go to your seat. It is a great idea since it can get really annoying with people walking up and down sections, but the bleacher guards didn't have any sign. I guess the figure that for the fans paying the cheapest tickets, it doesn't matter if they get bothered with people moving around all game.

Overall it was one of the rowdier games of the season, even though it wasn't against an opponent that the Yanks have had a long history with. It should be noted that this was the bombers first win that I had attended since June, I had been on a three game losing streak. The final from the Bronx : Yankees 9 Tigers 5

Next probable game September 1st vs the Oakland A's.

Oh, and one last note, when Jorge Posada comes up I am all for the hip,hip Jorge chants. But if nobody is responding please do not continue to yell it. It just seems silly when a fan keeps yelling hip hip.

Some Pictures from the game :

Looks like this places has closed down, it was right across from the old stadium.

Over cast Yankee Stadium.

View from left field during batting practice.

What was once a tray of nachos is now empty. Nice Yankees logo at the bottom.

The shop that I never see anyone buy stuff from until tonight.

The crowd early in the game.

May have been a quiet crowd at the start but once the camera guy comes around people wake up and try and get on the big screen.

The people in my row kept moving over and eventually this is what my size of my seat turned into.

Yankee Stadium Experiences :Yankees VS Angels July 20th 2010

It was time to make another trek to the Bronx, this time to see the Yankee-killing Angels. This game was apart of my 12 game ticket package in section 235 of the bleachers.

As always I had left very early to head up to the stadium, to avoid traffic. If you drive to the stadium, here is a bit of advice when parking. Park at the 161st street garage, it is by far the easiest of the garages to leave, they have multiple exits and is close to the major degan. The garage is close to gate 4 and that is were i entered.

The lines to enter the stadium were really long because it was cap night. Although it is a nice feature that the Yankees give out free hats, it is really lame that their is a huge sponsors logo on the back (I also only wear fitted hats). Outside of gate 4 there was still a memorial made by fans in memory of George Stienbrenner, very nice touch that it has not been taken down.

For batting practice the seats were really crowded on field level so I headed out to the right field bleachers. The sun was brutal there, and there wasn't much action until Hideki Matsui returned and hit a few bombs out. Eventually I headed to my seat and was greeted by a few dopey tourists who insisted that the bleachers were general admission. It is difficult to notice that the numbers are on the bottom of the bleachers not the top (Which will one day cause for awkwardness when people are looking between others legs to find the seat number. So ladies remember not to wear a skirt). Once that was settled, the players had began to warm up and the crowd was continuing to come in. One fan that was sitting to my left had on a Ramiro Pena shirt, by far the oddest player shirt I have ever seen (Although I plan to buy a Damaso Marte).

Phil Hughes was making the start for the Yanks and pitched well the first few innings before giving up a few long balls one to Macier Izturis which really annoyed me. The game itself was one that i rather forget, after Hughes left the Yanks bullpen was lit up for another six runs. It did not help that the Yankees scored two first innings runs off Sean O'Sullivan and then did not record another HIT until the 7th inning. The game itself was really slow, and seemed to have lasted for ever, possibly because I was already annoyed at the way the Yankees were playing.

A few times fans tried to start the wave, much to my disgust. I hate the wave and it should never be done at Yankee Stadium ! I know i go to the games because I want to see the Yankees and watch baseball, not to be distracted by a bunch of dopes doing the wave and watching it go around the stadium. When the game is a blow out aside from complaining about fans doing the wave I enjoy just watching what is going on in the stand, one thing I noticed was their was a large fight in section 202 of the bleacher.

The night had few bright spots and many negatives, here are a few things that bothered me.

• Derek Jeter no longer comes up to Biggie Smalls as his walk up song,maybe this is why he is hitting .269.
• Juan Miranda was the DH and can't hit.
• Curtis Granderson has really struggled at the plate, and it has gone under the radar.
• Jonathan Albaladejo takes so long between pitches and can't throw strikes
• When Hideki Matsui was introduced in the starting line up, many cheered for him including myself. When Matsui came up for his first at bat I still cheered for him. What annoyed me was when he hit a home run to make the game a blow out that fans stood and cheered for him then. I was not about to cheer then no matter how much I liked Matsui, he just hit a home run against the team I'm rooting for.

As always i stayed until the last out of the game,it was easy to exit the stadium since many had left earlier in the game. In the end it was a game that I would love to forget. Next trip to Yankee Stadium will be August 2nd against the Blue Jays, I will be sitting field level for my birthday.