Gardner tried, Jeter fouled off a pitch. Uggla was keeping Gardner close to the bag, which is why he was in the position to make the dp so easily

I hope you got him/her one of those great tiny pinstriped outfits! “Onesies” I believe they are called…

Poor kid RE: the loud sound system. Perhaps a nice clean baseball to gnaw on could have been in order.

I could use one of those from time to time as well! I’ve outgrown the “Onesies” though… finally!

: )

No….

People can learn from reading williamnyy23′s posts:

[39] …With Bonifacio creeping in on the bunt attempt, Gardner would have had a good chance to steal 3B even without a good jump.

There were multiple ways for Gardner to score.

Children who are less than 30 inches tall and can walk freely under the turnstile or are carried into Yankee Stadium do not need a ticket for entry. However, the child must sit on an adult¹s lap during the game without obstructing the view of any other guests.

Checking the stroller was a bit of challenge, only inasmuch as the location is to the far RF side of the great hall, but we were sitting on the opposite side of the stadium.

If I had it to do over again, I would have kept the stroller and stayed in the concourse for the first inning or two, then asked the security staff if we could occupy the unused handicapped seating, with the child in the stroller. I’m not sure if they would have let me, but I bet they would have relented.

There is a guest services outpost in LF as well, but it was small and they did not seem set up for checking bags, strollers, etc.

I thought from the beginning that they had made improvements but had a lot of question marks, and also that they play in the toughest division. The optimist in me predicted they would win the division (and I am still guardedly optimistic on this front), the pessimist said they would be in a fight for the WC, which is right where they are now.

I never envisioned 100 wins, but thought 95 was more reasonable. They are on pace for 91 wins (I made an arithmetic error above), but their pythagorean win percentage only projects out to about 89 wins. That is indeed a bit disappointing, but only by a couple of games. Surely not enough to warrant repeated calls for the coaching staff to be fired, charges of organizational incompetence, repeatedly calling their performance unacceptable, etc. (And no, I am not saying that you are the one saying all of these things).

That’s all I am saying.

Did the family you attended the game at NYS with have to purchase a Field Level Ticket for their small child?

I’m sorry, then. I have misunderstood the tone and contents of your many posts that seemed to describe the Sox in elevated terms.

So if I understand correctly, the Yankees play in an AL with no great teams at all?

Also, I don’t think the Red Sox are an “elite” team. Going into this season, I posted that I thought the Yankees had much more talent. What the Red Sox seem to be, however, is a more opportune team that lives up more to their expectations. Part of my frustration with this team is I think they should be significantly better than Boston. Maybe my expectations are the problem, but they happen to be high. I haven’t formed them on a whim, so at least for the time being, it seems to me as if this team is underperforming.

Finally, while the negativity probably does swing wildly, I think it is an understatement to call these last 10 games on a “few bad games”. After all, they did get swept by Boston to go 0-8, then played 5 underwhelming games against the depleted Mets and historically awful. If such a stretch doesn’t inspire negativity, then what would? At some point, having perspective does include reacting negatively to poor play.

This team is playing at or above my own expectations (maybe I have low standards). I didn’t not expect 100 wins out of team with an aging SS (who’s playing better than expected) and an aging C coming off an injury (playing better than expected), an all-start 3B who had hip surgery and missed a few weeks of the season, a CF platoon of Melky/Gardner, and a starting rotation that included Joba (still untested young guy coming off injury), Andy (aging guy with bad back who collapsed at the end of the year), AJ (enough said), and CMW (coming off injury). Oh yeah, and a closer coming of shoulder surgery.

Lots of question marks to go around. I think my tempered expectations have been pretty much satisfied.

Did you have to purchase a Field Level Ticket for the small child?

I’m not sure how the argument is disingenuous. If anything, it simply shows the fine difference in professional sports between most teams. Or. let’s look at it another way. They are only four games from having the best record in the AL, better than the Red Sox, and therefore a great team.

By the way, “disingenuous” means lacking sincerity. You have essentially accused me of lying. I am completely sincere in my argument. You may disagree with it and cite counter-evidence (indeed, your point about come from behind wins skewing their record is a good one); you may think that it is fallacious, ridiculous, absurd, untenable, etc. But it is definitely not disingenuous.

Over the past few years, however, this team has played well below expectations.

Perhaps the problem lies with the expectations?

I thought 100 wins was a possibility and the playoffs a strong likelihood.

they are on pace for 92 wins. 100 wins are still a possibility, though a slender one. Even the Sox, an elite team in your estimation, are not on pace for 100. The playoffs are still a strong likelihood.

I fail to see how this team, therefore, ha yet to live up to expectations in any meaningful way. But again, that is just my view.

but I also don’t believe being rah rah makes for a better, more “civil” fan.

I’m not calling on anyone to be “rah-rah,” certainly not considering the way I bitched about, say, Miguel Cairo in the past. In any case, it’s not about civility. It’s about perspective. A few bad games and the tone here swings wildly negative, at least in my opinion.

While it’s nice to talk about the elevated tone of game discussions in the past, it is also important to consider the context. When the Yankees were playing like a machine, I am sure the posts were more positive and the topics more in depth. When the team is coasting to the playoffs, there is more energy available for less primal topics. Over the past few years, however, this team has played well below expectations. When that happens, strong emotions and dissenting opinions are going to abound. I don’t think that makes this place less civil, expect when people disrespect other’s opinions. Instead, I think it makes this place more real, especially because the relatively small number of contributors adds an element of accountability. I am not one who thinks bashing everyone means you have more passion, but I also don’t believe being rah rah makes for a better, more “civil” fan.

My overall impression was…meh…

I was there with some family, including a small child in a stroller, so this was more of a casual visit than a hard core baseball fest (that is reserved for later this summer). We paid far too much for tix in the field level, down the LF line more or less behind the foul poll.

Access to the stadium was fine (I drove–plenty of parking, but it also looked like the Metro North station had a lot of business). The short walk to the new stadium was easy, the new overpass is spacious and (still) clean.

It was a real drag walking past the derelict old park. I hope it’s gone the next time I visit.

Staff at the new stadium were universally friendly and generally helpful, though I did get contradictory information as to what needed to be done with the stroller.

The great hall was underwhelming. The additional food and souvenir options do not excite me, but the concourses were much more spacious and seemed to better accommodate the large crowd. It still took me the better part of an inning and a half to get a hot dog (and six dollars for a dog is simply criminal); this was mainly due to the seeming incompetence of the cashier than because of the stadium design.

My seats were fine; great view. It will be interesting to see the game from some of cheaper seats to compare. After a few innings, we were allowed (again by very accommodating staff) to move back a few rows to the handicapped section, because one of the people in my group needed to feed the baby. We ended up sitting there the rest of the game; views from those seats were indeed excellent, since you are slightly elevated.

The sound system is improved, but this only exacerbates the sonic assault of rap music and sound effects. This was particularly annoying before the game (how old is that awful Yankees theme rap song?) and in the seventh inning or so when they played the “make noise” sound effect, which is designed I think to cause hearing impairment. In any case, it made the child cry.

The new PA announcer is pretty bad.

Sadly, YMCA was still there, but I at least did not notice Cotton Eye Joe.

Aesthetically, I was under-impressed. The field just looks smaller, and with the bleachers and OF stands drawn closer, and with that abomination restaurant in CF, the entire interior seems less majestic and sprawling, and more cramped. Some views, especially looking it at home plate and at the facing decks, really reminded me of the old stadium. Other views, especially of the OF, just didn’t look the same. The restaurant and subterranean monument park are a mess. In total, I found the outfield very unattractive.

The big screen did not look as huge as I thought it would, and that’s actually a good thing.

The frieze looked ok, but it did not stand out as much as I thought it would. Maybe because it was a night game, but my wife also thought that the open grating at the back of the upper deck detracted from the effect of the frieze. She thought it looked “weird.”

The biggest difference to me is the open concourse design. One of the most memorable features of the old stadium, in my mind, is how cramped you were, walking through a series of tunnels, and then as you walked down a portal to your seat you could see the greenest green grass emerge before you. I still remember that moment as a boy, and I remember the look on my nephew’s face when he first experienced it. My wife even told me that she found the experience amazing when, as an adult, she walked into the stadium for the first time a few years ago.

But now you see the playing filed almost immediately. And the open concourses and food court made the stadium feel…I don’t know…like a lot of MiL parks I’ve been too. It’s not bad or wrong, it just wasn’t The Stadium.

I asked my wife to comment on the amenities, including the women’s bathrooms. Also, since she is less of a fan, I asked her what she thought about the new stores and other not directly baseball related bits. Her overall assessment was blasé; it was “all right,” she said.

The crowd was pretty loud–at least as loud as it has been over the last few years. Overall the atmosphere was adequate.

I did not have time to adventure around the upper deck or check out the museum or monument park–that is for next time. Maybe my impression will change. Until then. I have to admit that I was somewhat disappointed. The new stadium lacked a certain something–I don’t know, grandeur or massiveness or even a sort of sagging aging-ness–whatever it was, it is hard to articulate.

In the end, though, it simply wasn’t Yankee Stadium.

=====

Postscript: I had pretty expensive seats. It will be interested to see how I am treated by staff not at the field level. Also, I found most of the pricing to be simply appalling, even for NYC and even for stadium rip-off prices.

Even with Jeter’s wavering approach, there still were chances to force the action. With Bonifacio creeping in on the bunt attempt, Gardner would have had a good chance to steal 3B even without a good jump. Also, once the count went to two strikes, it seemed like an ideal situation to have the runners go and see if Jeter could put the ball through the first base hole. In other words, the one strategy that seemed most likely to fail was to have the runners stay put and have Jeter swing away behind in the count.

Also, if you aren’t going to sacrifice or be aggressive, why do you have Gardner steal with Arod up. As soon as the base opened, it was obvious Arod would be walked. If Girardi was going to eventually sit back, the better plan would be let Arod swing away, and then have Gardner steal with Jeter up. The risk of an Arod DP is still there, but so is the opportunity for an A-bomb.

In other words, Girardi looked like he had no plan in place for after Gardner’s steal of 2B, which is inexcusable because you have to have contingencies in place for the entire inning.

I mentioned it last night…I am so down on Girardi that I really don’t even trust my own objectivity about him anymore. Still, it really eats at me that so many of these losses seem to hinge on moves he does or doesn’t make. Since the win streak with all those walk offs, the Yankees have won 3 games in a row once. They have pretty much been a .500 team before and after the streak, just like they were pretty much a .500 team before the late season run in garbage time. In other words, at what point should we expect the Girardi Yankees to play well above .500 for more than brief intervals?

I had no problem with Jeter bunting with two on and no outs in that game, that’s what he DOES, and I’d suspect it was called from the bench, I just hated how that played out. Game-turning moment, really.

A Rod’s ‘fatigue’ thing is playing every day, not staying up late on a night when he is not playing the next day and can sleep till noon, BUT … jeez it is stupid. And he was doing so well in keeping a low profile since returning.