When I left the Stadium last night it was close to midnight. Most of the exits on the ground floor were already closed so I had to walk around the park the long way, through the outfield bleachers, to reach the street. The bright stadium lights were dimmed and it was still humid. Incredibly, the place was virtually empty. I was surprised at how fast everyone was gone. The subway stations were desolate too–the night crew already had long hoses out and were washing down the platforms. When I reached the 1 train at 168 street, I was a little unnerved by just how alone I felt. Nobody was around, which is never a comfortable feeling for this New Yorker.

It wasn’t long before an Asian couple wearing matching Wang shirts joined me on the platform. I struck up a conversation with them. Yes, they were both originally from Tawain but they had met as students here in the States, at Syracuse University. Now, they are co-workers in southern California. They made the trip back east, in part, to see Wang pitch last night. I asked if they were a couple or just co-workers and they told me they are returning to Syracuse this weekend to get married. Just the two of them (they have no family in the States). How cool is that? I told them that I just got engaged and we became fast friends. We rode the train uptown together and they insisted on taking pictures with me before I got off at my stop. We hugged goodbye.

Couple of mid-day links for your face:

Emma Span on the different clubhouse cultures in the Bronx and Queens, uber-Yankee blogger, Pete Abraham with some cherce links, Larry Mahnken recaps Game 1, Tom Verducci on Derek Jeter, Jack Curry on Jim Leyland, Ken Rosenthal on the Yankee offense, and finally, an interview with yours truly for the Sports Media Guide site.