Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Trash


I went to school for marketing, but it never ceases to amaze and amuse me how far they have attempted to stretch the Yankee brand at the New Stadium. It's a trash can. Do you really need to have your logo on it? After last night I'm glad they did however, because it neatly sums up the on field product. 

Heading up to the game last night, albeit a little late, I had high hopes. Mathematically, when you flip a coin and it lands on heads four times in a row, the probability of the 5th flip is still 50:50. However, as you are observing the coin tumble in mid-air, you get the feeling that tails is due to show. I had that same feeling last night heading up to the Stadium. They can't lose the first five games against the fackin' Sawx, can they?

They could, in fact. 

As he so often does, Alex Belth captured the feeling permiating these recent Yankees vs. Sox match-ups perfectly.  
These days when the Yankees play the Red Sox it feels like they are losing even when the score is tied, feels like they are trailing before the game has begun. A 6-0 lead in Boston a few weeks back was a mirage. The two teams have played five games and Boston has won all five. It’s not as if the Yankees have been getting blown out; they have been competitive, they have shown some fight, but it’s hard to ignore the basic fact that the Yankees are now the team chasing the Red Sox.
I don't think anyone is ready to accept that notion, but it's becoming harder and harder not to. To halve the season series, the Yanks would need to win 9 of their next 13 against the Sox. 

By the time we got off the subway, the Yanks were already down 4-0. The bright side is that, from our perspective, Joba was unhittable! He stuck out 12 of a possible 17 batters in 5 2/3 innings, sending the annoying P.C. Richard's whistle-jingle throughout the Stadium over and over again. (Sidenote: Is there a K counter in the new joint? I couldn't find it. Hope there is, because it provides important context. I didn't know how many K's Joba had until I got home.)

As you could probably tell from the iPhone posts last night, we didn't watch the game from Sec 429, where our $9 tickets from StubHub were located. Instead, we stood behind Section 122 in what was basically Row 31 (there are 30 actual rows). Unless you are there with kids or are physically unable to stand for the whole game, there is no good reason not to do this. It's easy to shimmy up to the railing, giving you the same view as people who paid hundreds of dollars for their seats. I don't think it takes away from the experience at all. The crowd noise reverberates around the concrete concourses making it louder than it would be elsewhere and the close quarters allow you to chat with other fans.

Johnny Damon's three run knock in the third brought the Yanks within one, but that was as close as they would get. The most exciting play of the game from our vantage point what when Melky Cabrera got busted by inches trying to stretch a double into a triple in the fourth. All the third base coaches in the Field Level concourse were yelling for him to go for third, so we couldn't really fault him for getting thrown out. 

The only significant rally the Yanks put together was in the 6th when Nick Swisher walked and a bad bounce resulting in a ground rule double kept Melky from tying the game. There was still only one out, but Beckett struck out Ramiro Pena swinging then got Jose Molina to ground out to diffuse the threat. 

Fairly late in the game, we were pretty starving and decided to check out the garlic fries. I've never been to a West Coast ballpark (never been to California, actually) so I can't compare and contrast, but I thought they were quite excellent. The garnishment reminded me of a typical escargot-style garlic butter with parsely and thyme. It was a pleasant surprise and I would recommend them to anyone not looking to make out with someone in the near future. 

Aside from the Joba strikeouts and the galic fries, the game was as unsatisfying as I was drunk, which is to say, "pretyt fukcing unnastisyfign". Which brings me to this...

::::Very Important Public Service Announcement::::

Attention drinkers on-the-go! Margaritas and paper cups do not mix. 

You might think that since a paper cup is capable of holding scalding hot liquid, such as coffee or tea, that it could also contain a delicious tequlia beverage. You would be wrong.

You can see the discoloration along the seam. I don't know if it was the Master of Mixes or the Montezuma, but the concoction ate right though the adhesive of the cups from Lenny's and sprung a leak of epic proportions. And this all happened within maybe five minutes. I was forced to pound the rest of it, lest I allow it to leak on the sidewalk in front of the Dakota

4 comments:

  1. K-counter is at the top left corner of the gigantenormous screen in centerfield.

    I've been too much of a conformist thus far to leave my nose-bleeds and watch the game from elsewhere. But I have heard from friends that the sound is much better, much more like the old place, when watching from the concourse. Of course, last Friday night's comeback may have had something to do with the noise level that night.

    These 5 games have been ugly. But as with anything else between these two teams, I think it all gets magnified and overblown because it's Yanks-Sox. On paper at least, this would be no worse than going 0-5 against the Rays.

    I'm trying to remain calm and rational - but it's becoming more difficult. The make-up of this roster right now confounds me. I'm hoping that when Bitch Tits comes back Friday it will mean Berroa is DFA'd and either Shelley Duncan or John Rodriguez is added to the 40 man roster and called up in exchange for one of the 7 turds in the pen. With Posada out, the bottom of the order is a black hole. They need someone better than Brett Gardner to pinch hit. Miranda would be a good fit too, but the fact that he can't play anywhere but 1B limit the possibilities with him.

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  2. "it’s hard to ignore the basic fact that the Yankees are now the team chasing the Red Sox."

    This is all I ever wanted to hear. Thank you.

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  3. One downside of watching from the field level is that you can't really see the scoreboard. Other than the K counter, I actually like that aspect of it. Still highly recommended.

    Yeah it's "only" 0-5, but that's almost a third of their games against Boston. If the Yanks pull their heads out of their asses and contend for a playoff spot, there's a good chance those come into play. They've made it really difficult for themselves even split the series. It's early, but I'm getting frustrated too.

    Anon - Even though I didn't write that, you're welcome. Will you go the fuck away now? (Er, I mean, tell all your friends?)

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  4. "They've made it really difficult for themselves even split the series. It's early, but I'm getting frustrated too."

    Heh heh.

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