All is well in Yankeeville
April 30, 2004
by Michael Walls

I saw the Yankees last night. Well, I see the Yankees every night – but last night I was in the right field box seats.

I met up with fellow 2Wallsers Webb, Greg, and Fish – and should thank Webb for scoring the tickets. I emailed Webb earlier in the day that this was the night that Jeter would break out of his 0 for 32 slump. I also predicted it was going to be a long ball, which, against Oakland ’s Barry Zito is really a long-odds bet.

I haven’t been to Yankee Stadium in two years, and it looks like a few things have changed. First of all, we now stand for our national anthem, the seventh inning stretch, and whenever Derek Jeter comes to the plate.

So when Jeter stepped into the box to lead off the Yankees, the entire stadium got to its feet and started chanting “Let’s go Jeee-ter! Let’s go Jeee-ter!”

We were all poised to explode if Jeter whacked a dribbler past a diving Chavez at third, or blooped a ball in the gap, or ran out a bunt single.

So as Zito winds up and throws a first ball, fast ball right down the pike – which Jeter swings at and crushes – the crowd was crazy before it even cleared the wall. Lead off, first pitch, homerun. Slump over.

It was a good game. Barry gave up 3 more home runs and the Yanks won 7-5. Which was good for the Yankees, but bad for Greg, who owns Zito in his fantasy baseball league.

Watching baseball has gotten a bit complicated since the invention of fantasy baseball. Greg (who is a Mets fan) was rooting for Zito to get the win, but could also get points off of Yankees relievers Quantrill and Rivera. So, even though he took the loss from Zito, he gathered a “hold” from Quantrill and a “save” from Rivera.

Very complicated, emotionally. We spent some time arguing about “fantasy” baseball, while at a “real” baseball game.

Also found out that Webb has a rare form of Turets Syndrome that only surfaces at baseball games. He was constantly yelling things at right-fielders, Jermaine Dye and Gary Sheffield – often unintelligible, expletive-riddled sentences.

This was also my first time in the right field box seats. Usually I sit in the low-oxygen upper levels. Field level is very cool, and being next to the cheap seat bleacher creatures is also very entertaining. I learned some new chants, including “Hip, hip, Jor-ge! Hip, hip Jor-ge!” whenever Jorge Posada came to the plate. We also practiced spelling (or misspelling) Gary Sheffield’s name. “S-H-E-F-I-E-L-D!” But the best moment was when the bleacher creatures (across the way) started pointing and chanting at us, “Box seats suck! Box seats suck!”

Seeing 500 people pointing at you and screaming is a bit unsettling, but we responded like mature box seats ticket holders with, “We have beer! We have beer!” 500 people holding up their $8 draft beers and yelling is always fun to watch. And it seemed to shut them up, as beer isn’t served in the bleachers (for good reasons, I assume.)

But as Webb pointed out, since we paid $30 more for our seats, for essentially the same view, the bleacher creatures probably have the upper hand.

Some other highlights included critiquing the music played throughout the game. (We are, after all, music reviewers.) Queen’s “Flash Gordon” got high marks from all, as middle reliever Tom Gordon came in. And when Gordon got into trouble in the bottom of the 8th, with only two out, the stadium DJ played what everyone wanted to hear – Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

I’ve heard it on played on television, but watching it live is always a goosebump moment. So, as Gordon headed to the dugout, the stadium erupted at the music and watched the bullpen door open for Mariano Rivera to come in and save the game. Which he did.

So Jeter's out of his slump, the Yankees have a 3-game win streak going, and I’m hung over and tired on a Friday morning. All is well in Yankeeville.

(Michael Walls is a volunteer staff writer for 2 Walls Webzine and thinks Derek Jeter is just dreamy)