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.
The other deal the Yankees made that was over shadowed by Berkman was adding Austin Kearns to be a role/bench player. This season with Cleveland, Kearns was having a nice season hitting .272 with 42 RBI along with playing spectacular defense. When Kearns was told the news that he was going to the Yankees he said that playing time didn't matter to him with a team like the Yankees. You gotta love a player like that right away, it says something about Kearns, a free agent after this season, that he isn't worried about his next contract and his stats but more importantly helping the team win. The Yanks can now send down Colin Curtis who played decent in his time up and was a fan favorite, but the Yanks don't need him if they have Kearns. 
Marcus Thames most likely will lose some playing time now that Berkman and Kearns are here but that's not a huge loss. Granderson may lose a bit of playing time against lefties since Kearns and Thames hit them well, most of all it strengthens the bench. For Kearns the Yanks gave up nothing just cash and a player to be named later. 
The Yankees made two big moves that really helped the club out, the trade deadline isn't done just yet so more help could be on the way. The bombers could use some help in the bullpen so maybe a small move may be made there to help the club. If the Yanks don't make another move I wouldn't be upset they have already made two good trades. Now if they could just get rid of Chan Ho Park....
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.
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).
