The Bobby & Derek Show

Tuesday, October 3, 2006
ALDS Game 1
Yankees 8 Tigers 4
Subway Race Winner: D train
Cap Game: #3 (they did this in the 3rd inning rather than the 8th)



I left my office in Metuchen around 4:00 and picked up my brother's friend at my brother's house in Colonia (he drvoe up from South Jersey). My brother had to go into work for a bit. Since he works in West Patterson, he met us at my apartment in Clifton. We grabbed some beers and sandwiches and were on the road around 5:30 or so. Only took us about 20 minutes to get to the bridge so we figured we were in good shape. It was around 6:20 as we drove down the Cross Bronx. The sunset at that time, at this time of year is gorgeous. But, as we got closer to the Police Station on the corner of Jerome and River, the traffic started to back up. At first it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, but things got worse as we made our way down River Ave. We were barely moving. Every intersection was a bottle neck, with only 1 or 2 cars getting through on each turn of the light. We weren't really nervous that the lot would fill up. It's a large deck with 3 levels. By the time we got to the light right before the deck, there were traffic cops there trying to keep everything in order (and a police tow truck taking away cars parked on the the street, including a volunteer fire truck from Farmingdale). We finally got into the deck around 7:15, nearly an hour after we got over the bridge. At that point, they opened the bottom half of the deck that's usually reserved for handicap parking open. There was a couple guys instructing people on where to park. Luckily my brother has a little car and the parking attendant had him back in perpendicular to the last car in one of the rows. Not long after we got through, they closed the deck. We figured that it was a good omen that we were so lucky to get a spot.

We downed our sandwiches and each had a beer and made our way to the Stadium. While my brother and I sat in my usual seats in the bleacher, his friend could only get a single ticket in the upper deck, just inside the left field foul pole. We tried to call him throughout the game, but the sounds from the PA between innings prevented any sort of conversation. We got their just in time for the Yankee introductions. Donnie, Bernie and Melky got the biggest applause. The Yanks had their usual military laden national anthem ceremonies, complete with the giant flag in center. After the anthem, 2 jets flew overhead.

As for the game, Wang wasn't as sharp as he had been much of the season, but he did enough for the win. He had one bad inning, giving up 3 runs. But other than that, he was able to pitch himself out of some jams. And the offense, well, what can you say? Bobby had 2 hits, 1 run, 4 RBI. Jeter, 5 hits, 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1HR. Abreu's 4 RBI came in new identical situations. Damon gets on. Jeter doubles. Abreu knocks both of them home. Of course it wasn't just Abreu and Jeter that did all the work. Giambi got on base all 4 times he was up. 2 HBP, 1 BB, and 1 high fly ball that just cleared the fence for a 2-run homer. A-Rod had a single and could've had 2 more hits. He was robbed by Polanco in the second. And in the 7th he roped a liner right to Ordonez. Every starter except for Matsui and Cano had at least 1 hit. And how about the picks that Sheff made at first? That double play to end the 3rd was just awesome. Jeter made a nice snag, perfect throw to Cano at second, who then fired to first, where Sheff nearly did a split to snag the throw just in time.

The bullpen was a bit shaky, but only Meyers gave up a run (a homer to Granderson). However, Proctor and Farnsworth gave the crowd some agita. There was A LOT of bitching about the relievers by some of the fans near me. But from the rest of the conversations I heard, I don't think those people watched very many games during the regular season. That's the problem with the playoff crowds. You get a lot of casual fans (who can even pronounce the name Guillen) that just don't appreciate what those guys have done all season. Yeah, Meyers giving up the homer wasn't a good thing, but they still had a 3-run lead at that point. And Proctor and Farns let some runners on base. But they got out of it unscathed. Look, people are gonna screw up sometimes. That's baseball. Runners are gonna get on base. Christ, it seemed Wetteland used to put runners on all the time before recording his saves. But, I'm not gonna get all worked up about it until those runners score and the lead is blown. There's enough anxiety at these games as it is. As for Mo. He was Mo. Pop out. Bloop single. Double play to end the game.

Stupid comments aside, the crowd was rocking. High fives and fist pumps everywhere. Oh, and Ronan Tynan was back at the Stadium to sing God Bless America. He sang it a little faster than usual. Wonder if MLB said something to the Yanks about that. The entire crowd sang along. It just gives you goose bumps to hear that.

Well, it's now 3am. This post-season is going be draining. But, that's a good thing. Hopefully by the end of October I'll be catatonic.

In attendance record (post-season): 1-0