Human Popsicle

When the Defensive Specialist mentioned last week that he’d be road tripping to the US for a couple of weeks, it’s highly likely that a number of readers assumed the Defensive Specialist would be dipping into the Deep in the Hole travel budget and making the trip in business class at the very least. The ability to stretch out horizontally, to eat better food and indulge in a broader variety of drinks definitely makes the 20+ hours of travel a little more manageable. Unfortunately, the Deep in the Hole CFO’s stance on the issue was for the Defensive Specialist to stop acting like a princess and travel like the common man. So here sits the Defensive Specialist, typing in a New York hotel lobby at 4am, cruelly losing the battle to jet lag.


New York is an amazing city, and even better when the Mets and Yankees are in town. Today the Defensive Specialist had to stave off sleep deprivation to take in the Yankees as they played host to the Texas Rangers. The last time the Defensive Specialist was in town, he took the opportunity to visit old Yankee Stadium. While the place was steeped in history, it is fair to say that it was kind of a dump! New Yankee Stadium – all 1 billion dollars of it, was an exciting proposition to the Defensive Specialist.

The Defensive Specialist did what all baseball fans should do – caught a subway to the stadium. It’s only a short trip from midtown Manhattan to the Bronx by subway and definitely worth battling your preconceived ideas of how dangerous the subway is to make the journey. As the subway springs out of its tunnel and hits daylight, the passenger s are hit by the confronting remains of old Yankee Stadium. As a baseball fan who has possibly logged over 20,000 hours of baseball viewing on television, it was a weird feeling to see such a famous ballpark in the state it was. Twisted metal and piles of rubble in the outfield was all that was left of the place.

Fortunately the new stadium is right across the road and is such a beast that you’re quickly distracted. The stone facade is enormous, with Yankee Stadium etched in gold. The stadium is surrounded by stores selling both legal and illegal Yankee merchandise which means the place is teeming with Yankee fans in their navy blue costumes.

The Defensive Specialist was expecting to have his seats upgraded by the guy in the will call booth, but obviously he wasn’t a fan of Australian baseball and hadn’t read Deep in the Hole. Nonetheless, the Defensive Specialist had fronted for reasonably expensive tickets and was extremely excited about seeing the inside of the stadium. Entering gate 6 underneath the giant Yankee sign, led the Defensive Specialist into the foyer that houses the Hard Rock Cafe and a number of banners showcasing the Yankee Hall of Famers . This area is a grandiose taste of things to come!

There is nothing quite like the experience of walking into a baseball stadium. The field kind of explodes upon you as you walk towards the playing surface. New Yankee stadium passed this test. The Defensive Specialist had a seat on the field level which allows you to walk around the entire stadium with an unimpeded view (except in centrefield). It’s an impressive place to watch a baseball game and it is easy to tell where the billion dollars went as it seems as if no expense was spared. The video screen in straightaway centrefield is enormous and constant in its content.

The Rangers were taking BP about an hour and a half before the game and already a solid crowd was in place to watch them lash pitch after pitch into the stands. The Defensive Specialist settled in to evaluate some swings and approaches when he looked over to Mrs Defensive Specialist and noticed her shivering. Considering it was 12pm in the afternoon this wasn’t a good sign. Obviously The Defensive Specialist had some adrenalin surging upon arriving at the yard but it was seeing Mrs Defensive Specialist with blue lips that quickly rammed the point home that it was damn cold and the Defensive Specialist had made a rookie mistake in not dressing appropriately (jeans, t-shirt, long sleeve shirt and a thick woollen jacket would have sufficed in Australia but not in mid April in New York).

The options were to buy a Yankee sweatshirt ($95 from the team store) or tough it out. The Defensive Specialist decided to tough it out (The Deep in the Hole CFO is surely nodding in pride). Food always helps to get the core temperature up so the Defensive Specialist decided to peruse the multitude of options at the yard. Being a premium athlete in peak physical condition, the Defensive Specialist was keen to avoid standard baseball fare like hotdogs and pizza (with two more games to go, the Defensive Specialist will surely relent). Mrs Defensive Specialist settled for beef noodles while the Defensive Specialist went for the Cuban sandwich. So far on this trip the Defensive Specialist has indulged in a number of fine American brews but at the baseball dodged these gourmet options for a Bud Light which is effectively beer flavoured water and should be avoided at all costs – another rookie mistake by the Defensive Specialist!
 

The Defensive Specialist settled in for the contest and quickly noted that the attendants were absolutely on their game when it came to keeping people out of areas that they didn’t have tickets for. This was great for the Defensive Specialist whose seat was in a decent viewing position which means the sight lines weren’t blocked constantly. It was not so great for the Defensive Specialist when he and Mrs the Defensive Specialist began suffering hypothermia in the second inning.


The Yankee fans in right field perform their ‘rollcall’ in the top of the first where they start with the Yankee right fielder and chant each player’s name repeatedly until they acknowledge the crowd with a wave or salute. Andy Pettite was on the bump for the Yankees and after giving up 2 early runs settled in for the next 8 innings and shut the rangers down. Rich Harden took the ball for the Yankees and only lasted into the 4th while walking six. The Defensive Specialist was pleased to see Mark Teixeira finally go big fly after starting the season 3 for 30 odd. In the Defensive Specialist’s fantasy league, Tex has been the bane of one competitor’s existence. The homerun may potentially get him going and allow the owner to come off suicide watch.


By the 7th inning, with the score 5-2 and the Defensive Specialist suffering frost bite of his left thumb, thoughts turned to making an early break for the exit. While this is a poor form move, the Defensive Specialist could hear Mrs Defensive Specialist’s teeth chattering. All thoughts of leaving were put to an end with the site of Mariano Rivera stirring in the bullpen. Mrs Defensive Specialist scrambled a couple of sets of gloves that eased the numbness and the Defensive Specialist steeled himself.


The top of the 9th was marked by the dulcet tones of Metalica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ which is Rivera’s entrance song. This juiced up the crowd and Rivera easily mowed through the Rangers in order for the save.


So, that’s Yankee stadium down. Fenway and Citifield to come. The Defensive Specialist will be back later in the week with updates and in warmer clothing.