The Jackson Report: 4/20

Austin Jackson was taken out of Wednesday's game because he was hit by a pitch in the elbow. Scranton manager Dave Miley classified Jackson as day-to-day.

Let's hope he returns soon and doesn't miss a beat. He could be important to the Yankees depth later this season now with Nady probably out for the season.

Games: 7
AB: 25
Hits: 12
Average: .480
OBP: .563
SLG: .560
OPS: 1.123
Runs: 6
HR: 0
RBI: 6
Triples: 1
SO: 7
BB: 5
SB: 3
TB: 14

Game 13: Sunday Kind Of Love

So... how about yesterday?!??! That atrocity belongs right alongside the time that Sampson and I witnessed the worst loss in Celtics history. Or when I spent $300 on Giants tickets, drove down from Boston and saw the Giants lose to the Vikings on punt, kickoff and interception returns all for touchdowns. Yesterday, I had a morbid, perverse sort of feeling watching it unfold. At a certain point you knew they were going to lose by a shitload and just wanted to see how much worse it could get. After the second inning, the only cheers you heard were sarcastic ones. 

The most amazing part? They actually had the number 14 for the manual scoreboard in the outfield. Really? How high do you think those numbers go?

Reading this yesterday from PeteAbe's fill-in, Kevin Devaney, Jr., at LoHud hit me:

Second, Claggett deserves a little slack. Yes, eight runs in 1.2 innings is dreadful. But we spoke to the kid before the game and he was clearly wide-eyed. He talked about driving into the city last night and seeing the New York City skyline and how “it hit me” that he was in the majors. I’m not saying you should ease up because he’s a nice guy. But he got thrown to the wolves in the second inning in a total no-win situation.

If you were pissed at Anthony Claggett to begin with, you just might be an asshole. The kid got his first chance at the Bigs and got rocked in historical fashion. He's probably more upset with himself than anyone else could possibly be. If you are still pissed at Anthony Claggett after that, you more certainly are an asshole.

The only upside is that we figured out a way to finagle our way into Field Level sections, just so as long as there are some open seats. I have a few pictures and comments that I'll probably throw up later tonight about the Field Level in relation to the rest of the Stadium, also. 

Anyway, let us never speak of that game again. Life goes on, Fackers.

-----

Today, we'll see if A.J. Burnett can continue where he left off in Tampa Bay and once again clean up after Chien Ming Wang's mess. Once again, the bullpen needs him in the worst way. 

When Carl Pavano makes his glorious return to the Bronx and is undoubtedly hailed as a hero and showered with praise and adulation, I will be here, trying to dust off my golf game and keep it under 80 (unlikely). I'll just be happy if I don't have to buy a sleeve of balls at the turn. Text me some updates if you are so inclined. 

It's Sunday. Grab a cup of coffee and let Etta James take you away. 

Game 12: #7

Greetings from Sec 112.

Game 12: #6

Oh we went to guest services. And I shit you not, we got fucking
doused with a mysterious substance from the rafters. Look at the
puddle. Barring the greatest comeback in baseball history, that will
be all from this abortion.

Game 12: #5

14 runs. One inning. We are heading to guest services to see if we can
recoup some of our losses.

Game 12: #4

Live from Sec 416, we just heard the first "Bring in, Swish-er" chant.

Sent from my iPhone

Game 12: #3

Chien Ming Wang: The greatest BP pitcher the world has ever seen.
(Middle finger courtesy BWS)

So much for that 3rd inning pipe dream from this morning.

Game 12: #2

Quick grab those "Between The Bases" seats before it's too late. They
are selling like hotcakes!

Game 12: Late Start

As much as we would like to stay in the bowling alley and listen to
Tim McCarver mispronounce "Teixeira", we are heading in to the Stadium.

Aaaand HR Teix!

Margaritis, People Who No Longer Exist & The Boat Basin

Today, Large William Steeze, the Frank-a-nation and myself will be making the journey to the New Stadium to see if Chien Ming Wang can make it through the third inning. If it was last year, this would be only one of 13 Saturdays and just one step along the path to rid the Earth of the horrible affliction known as "Margaritis".

(For those unfamiliar, Margaritis is a chorinic infirmity that occurs only in warm weather and is characterized by extreme sobriety. The only cure is Margaritas.)

The reality of getting shut out of the Saturday package is just starting to set in. We only had it for two years, so we have no right to be all up in arms about not being able to renew it. Our friend Nick sat in the same seats everyday for seven years and got cast aside also.

I love the New Stadium and I understand the implications of he price increases. There are fewer seats to begin with, even before you get into the effects of the "relocation". The people who were in the most expensive seats got bumped back, thereby displacing those further back in the field level, which echoed through the mezzanine, into the upper deck, and eventually trickled down to half season packages, 40 & 20 game plans, and at the bottom of the food chain to the poor schlubs like us with weekend deals.

It would be a lot easier to swallow if we didn't have to look at pictures like this, and this, and this, and this, and this, reminding us of the fact that we got fucked for the sake of people who no longer exist. I don't care what Randy Levine says, behind closed doors there is some serious handwringing going on. Over a month ago, we pointed out the fact that the Yankees were getting desperate and saw the writing on the wall.

It's too late now. The Structure That Mariano Rivera Erected has been completed and the prices have been set. Some people (er, corporations) have already bought packages at full prices and I highly doubt that the Yankees are going to piss off their best customers by selling the seats directly next to them at a discount. The bottom line is that, for pretty much every game that doesn't feature the Mets or Red Sox, there are going to be a ton of people like us Fackfaces watching on YES while many of the best seats in the house sit unoccupied.

Hey, there's always next year, right?

-----

In other, happier news, it's fucking beautiful outside.

Every year, when the weather starts getting nice, people who live above the Tropic of Cancer (or below the Tropic of Capricorn) start asking themselves the same question: "Why do I live in a place where there is Winter, again?" We forget, but once the mercury passes the 60 degree mark, life becomes a whole lot sweeter.

Exhibit A, captured last night:

Oh, the Boat Basin. What would summer on the West Side be without you?

-----

That's all for now folks. Although I just figured out how to post from my iPhone, so there may or may be some drunken dispatches from Section 416 once game time rolls around.

In the meantime, get out and get some fresh air:

Test

Bruce the bear

Opening Day Photography

Here are some photos from opening day yesterday. I will spare you all of the pictures of stuff that we have already posted. Not all of them are captioned but you can probably figure it out, so take a look... or don't cause I don't like any of you anyway.

(Grown men with too much time on their hands trying to conceal their drinking problems)

(Metro North stop, not quite ready yet)

(Walkway from the parking lots and Metro North)

(Inside Metro North stop)

(SEND ME FREE PEPSI!)

(Come my children, come.)

(View from the drunkest seats in the house.)

(George is looking good)

(Blimp)

(There was about 50 old Yankees that came out during the pregame so I will just post a few)

(Greatness has a new home)

(At this point there was a F-16 fly over, but I took a video of that and am too retarded to post it.)

(Yogi throwing out the first pitch)

(YAAAYYY!!! CUP HOLDERS!!!!1!!)

(MMMMMMMMMM, Jim Beam)

(For some reason this camera guy was fucking pissed that I took this)

These are just a few of the pictures that I took from the Museum. Don Larsen was in there but I couldn't get a picture of him, he is surprisingly fast in his old age.

(Oh yea, not flash photograph, sorry.)

(Thurman's locker)

(CC)

(Ronan)

(Taking the elevator down to leave. Welcome to the internet everyone!!!)

The Yankees obviously got worked in this game, but to be honest I didn't even really watch it after the 5th inning. I had a bunch of friends there and we were just standing around drinking making fun of Red Sox fans.

I am going back again tomorrow to see Wang get shelled so look for a recap on Sunday.

Game 11: Afternoon Delight

I titled this post sarcastically, because it really pisses me off that I've been at work during so many Yankee games this year already (I think this is the 5th?). I guess that's what happens when the Yanks take part in 4 Opening Days. But why today? A Friday night would seem like a good time to have the first regular season game under the lights.

It has to destroy the ratings for YES when a humongous proportion of the audience is trapped at work and can't even watch on MLB.tv due to the asinine blackout restrictions. Perhaps they have a gloomier unemployment estimate than the ones I've seen?

Sorry, that's all I've got time for.

You know the deal... use this for the game thread and such.