Battle of the Stutter Steps.

Saturday, September 17, 2005
Rogers Centre - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Road Game 73
Yankees 1 Blue Jays 0
Staples Truck Race: Level 200



Driving up to Toronto on Friday, we thought we were making pretty good time so we decided to try to get to the game that night (even when the Yanks are in town they don't sell out so it's easy to walk up and get tickets). But about 45 minutes outside of the city we hit major traffic (puts delays on the bridge to shame). So we settled on listening to a few innings in the car, getting updates from the waiter at the restaurant (11-3 at one point) and watching the Yanks almost blow the rest of the game at the hotel. We were about 2 blocks from the Rogers Centre. It was weird watching tv and knowing that the game was going on right outside our window.

Anyways, on to Saturday. After spending the morning at the Hockey Hall of Fame (highly, highly recommended for hockey fans, serious or casual) we made our way to the stadium. Much like our trip to Baltimore last year, there were Yankee fans all over the place. The Road Trippers were there (of course). Even saw a few bleacher creatures (and yes, they did roll call.)

We got there when the gates opened so we sat in the right field seats and watched batting practice. (Moose threw a bit in the outfield. Couldn't tell if he was still hurting though.) Bernie and A-Rod were smoking the ball during BP so I thought that they would both have a pretty big day at the plate. I was half right. Bernie was 2-for-4 with a huge RBI in the second. But A-Rod was 0-fer with 3 Ks.

We had seats on the third base line in the lower level about 30 rows from the field. Had a pretty good view of the whole park. The lower section is made up of continuous rows, so you don't have to worry about people constantly walking in front of you the whole game. The roof was open (it was a gorgeous day) so we had a great view of the CN Tower. And we were pretty much surrounded by fellow Yankee fans, which was nice. Except for the fact that it's artificial turf, it's really a nice park. Shame that they don't get more fans there (not like they did in the early 90s anyway).

The atmosphere at the Rogers Centre is a bit strange to someone so used to the Stadium in the Bronx. The play on the field is Major League level, but otherwise it's like being at a minor league park. They have dancers that during the pre-game that do a James Brown-type thing with Ace, the mascot (complete with the cape act.) Even though it was only a 1-run game the crowd wasn't all that vocal (the Jays fans anyway.) They have an emcee of sorts that travels around the stadium and does stuff between innings. In the bottom of the 9th he was basically pleading with the crowd to cheer for the Jays to spark a rally. (Of course this is all just my perception and I'm probably spoiled with going to games in New York all the time:-)

As for the game, it was another nail-biter. Chacon did great and was able to go 8 innings, saving a beleaguered bull pen. He had quite a bit of help from his defense (probably the best I've seen them play all year, especially on turf.) Jeter had one of his patented over-the-shoulder catches in the 6th. When the ball was hit, a very drunk Yankee fan sitting next said "it's going to drop." I said "no it's not." And the next thing ya know, it's in his glove. In the 7th, Matsui made a beautiful diving catch (play of the game in my book.) It was so good that the Jays actually replayed is on the huge screen in center field.

With Mo not available for the day, Gordon came in the 9th for the save. After giving up 2 singles to start the inning, he struck out Koskie for the first out. And Yankee-killer Hillenbrand grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game. That last play sounds a lot easier than it looked. A-Rod atoned for his 3K day and made a nice pick at third and threw to Cano at second. Cano quickly threw a one-hopper to first and Tino made a nice scoop for the final out.

Oh, and another nice thing about seeing a game in Toronto... Labatt.

(more pics from the game here.)

I am absolutely beat right now, so I'll have a re-cap of Sunday's game tomorrow.