Game 109: Shakedown Street

While the Yankees were shaking down the Sox last night, the new Yankee Stadium had a watershed moment for itself. Not only did the ballpark have its highest attendance (49,005) in its brief history, but it came alive for the first time.

The Stadium has been justifiably panned for a number of reasons: the insane ticket prices, the obstructed view bleacher seats, the decreased capacity compared to the old joint, the institutionalized caste system, the cold and sterile nature of the place, Monument Cave, etc. I'm not sure it's quite as bad as it's been made out to be, but it certainly has it flaws.

My biggest problem with it has been the lack of atmosphere. Part of that may be structural, with the upper deck recessed much further back from the field than across the street. Part of that can be attributed to the best seats being empty on a nightly basis. Part of that can be chalked up to the place being a mall with a baseball field in the middle. How can fans create an atmosphere if they're off at the farmer's market, or the art gallery, or the butcher shop?

Last night though was a lot different, and I couldn't be happier. There was a buzz all day long. The Yanks were rolling, the Sox were struggling, and the Yanks were overdue for some head-to-head wins. On the interwebs, on talk radio, in the tabloids, amongst the fans - the energy was building back to the way it should be.

Once I hit the Major Deegan on my way to the game, I knew this one would be different. The gridlock from the Mosholu down past Van Cortland Park, Fordham, and the GW, all the way to the Harlem River lots was a good indication the people were coming out for this one.

River Ave was buzzing, once again the Bronx's version of Shakedown Street at a Dead show. T-shirt vendors on the sidewalk. A fully packed Stan's. Roy White doing an autograph signing at one of the memorablia shops.

The Stadium itself didn't disappoint. It was fairly electric from the first pitch, and stayed that way even through some early bumps for the Yanks and a sloppy strikezone from Derryl Cousins. The atmosphere in the eight-run fourth inning is how Yankee Stadium is supposed to be, Sounds like our pal Joe at RAB got what he wanted.

I'm hoping for much of the same tonight. Big ptiching match-up with Burnett vs. Beckett for the third time this year. It'll be interesting to see if Beckett, never one to shy away from pitching inside, goes after anyone in the wake of Pedroia's plunking last night. A.J.'s first two against the Sox were ugly, but he's been on an absolute tear since then - Saturday's start notwithstanding. As a team the Yankees cashed in on being overdue against the Sox last night - let's hope A.J. get his tonight and that the Stadium is rocking again.

Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street


Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
When I can hear it beat out loud!

Nothing shaking on Shakedown Street
Used to be the heart of the town
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
You just gotta poke around

You Can't Get There From Here

Ross at New Stadium Insider drums up another detail in the fine print about the New Stadium: Only those with Field Level tickets will have access to the Field Level area and concessions:

We have mentioned before that one of the most enjoyable aspects of going to baseball games is roaming around the stadium and checking out all of the nooks and crannies of the ballpark. Never before have we been to a ballpark that does not let fans explore the concessions on an entire level of the Stadium. We have been to Camden Yards in Baltimore, Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia and Safeco Field in Seattle in the past few years and NONE of those stadiums have this policy.

I'm hoping there aren't any concession stands that are located only on the Field Level, so everyone would have access to everything they wanted to try, but if not, that's the Yankees' loss more than ours.

A lot of the people at the Field Level have the option of having food brought to their seats. Why do can't us commoners come check out the food options and walk around? It's not like people can get down to where the seats are. They are still advertising the availability of "Between the Bases" seats during Spring Training games and elsewhere. The Yankees continue to cater to the endangered species that is "Corporate High Rollers" while telling the average fan where they can stick their New Stadium experience.

Tucked away at the bottom of the Yanks initial press release was the fact that gates would be three hours prior to game time, so fans would presumably be able to take in some batting practice. Ross shoots that one down too. He finds here that "Guests are welcome to watch batting practice from their seat location".

Yup, hurry to the park three hours early so you can sit in your 400 level seats during batting practice and get a head start on getting ripped off on concessions. You wouldn't want to disturb those people in the Field Level, who aren't even going to be there yet.

Or you could just go to Stan's, Billy's, or the Bowling Alley. Your choice.