Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Friday, April 21, 2006
Home Game 4
Orioles 6 Yankees 5
Subway Race Winner: 4 train
Cap Game: #3



Can't say that the Yanks didn't have their opportunities tonight. Unfortunately no one bothered to open the door. They had at least one runner on base in every inning and had bases loaded twice. Every time I thought they would rally, they just died. Cano's 2-run homer in the 4th was the only multiple run inning for the Yanks. You know what this means? It's time for Mattingly to grow his mustache back. My brother had mentioned that when he grew it back last year the Yankee bats woke up.

This was my first time driving to the game from my new work location in Metuchen, NJ. Left around 4:20 and pulled onto Jerome Ave. at around 6:00. Not too bad considering it's a Friday. One big drawback to not working close to where I live is that I can't run home during lunch in case I forgot something. Which means I have to keep a jacket in the car or pay closer attention to the weather. Luckily I had a thermal in the car I could slip on before I left. It rather chilly tonight. I love going to the Stadium but I hate these April night games. It's late-season weather but the games are far from having that playoff-type energy.

A woman sitting behind me made it a point to dis A-Rod ever time he came to the plate. She called him "the Cooler" and bitched about the money he was making and all that other stuff that people like to say about him. On his first two trips he grounded into a DP and struck out with 2 on to end both innings. His third time up in the bottom of the 5th, I knew she was going to chime in again with the cooler bit. So I turned around and told her not to say it. I didn't want to hear it. It was bringing bad ju-ju. So she obliged, although she stood by her argument that he's not clutch. I tried to counter with the "Yanks wouldn't have made it to the '04 ALCS without him" bit but she wasn't going to budge and I wasn't in the mood for an argument. Anyway, she laid off the cooler comments and A-Rod drove in Damon with a single for what was then the go ahead run. I felt vindicated. Until, of course, the bottom of the 9th when he struck out with runners on. I still blame her though, cause she made a somewhat sarcastic comment about he's going to hit a walk-off. I could continue my rant against the A-Rod haters, but it's getting late and I'm sure I'll have more fodder as the year goes on.

Random Notes
– Flags where at half-mast at the Stadium for Oscar Acosta and Humberto Trejo, manager of the Gulf Coast Yankees and field coordinator of the Dominican Summer League Yankees respectively, who died in a car crash in the Dominican Republic earlier this week. A moment of silence was observed before the anthem.

– Before the game, Jason Giambi received his Comeback Player of the Year award.

– PA announcer Bob Sheppard returned to the mic tonight after missing the opening series with a hip injury. Before the 3rd inning they played "Welcome Back" and flashed his image on the Diamond Vision.

– Someone needs to tell Wang that he can't use a full wind up with 2 outs, a full count and the bases loaded. The runners got a ridiculously big head start and 2 runs came in on an infield single. I had heard that Mora was actually out at first, but that's no excuse.

– Proctor came out to "Unchained" by Van Halen. Guess he heard about my distaste for his song selection last year.

– Someone wearing a Rangers jersey (Messier) prompted a chorus of "Let's Go Rangers", which was quickly countered with "Hockey Sucks." While I'm disappointed in the way they finished the regular season, I am overjoyed that they even made the playoffs. They were picked to finish 30th by many people. It feels weird to root for a team with such low expectations.

I see that Chacon is slated to start tomorrow (if the game is even played). I hope and pray that he can return to the Shawn that I fell in love with last year. But maybe low expectations are the way to go. There's something to be said for being pleasantly surprised.

In attendance record: 1-1