Last night I did something I hadn't done in a long, looooong time. It's been over 5 years since my last encounter in fact. It was expensive, wet, sticky but kinda slippery, and followed by a nap. Last night, I went to a Yankee game at Yankee Stadium (what'd ya think I meant?).

How long has it been since I went to a game at the Stadium? The last time I went Denny Neagle was the starter, Glennallen Hill hit a homerun, and Jose Canseco batted cleanup. Yeah, it's been a while. In between then and now, I've gone to a bunch of Yankee games in Oakland, but that doesn't even come close to the Stadium experience.

With my little brother in tow, I headed out to the House that Ruth Built, expecting to see my Yankees pummel the "barely recognizable as a Triple-A team" Royals. We left during the rain delay, but we did get to see the second greatest Yankee of my generation lace a frozen rope into the gap, a ball hit so hard he was held to a single for his 2,000th career hit (hey, that's what it looks like in the box score). Alas, I still have yet to see Mariano Rivera pitch in person (counting the games I went to before 2000, I'm in a 30+ game Mo-less drought), the closest I've come is seeing him warm up in the 'pen in Oakland.

It may not be that big a deal to most of you out there who probably go to a dozen or so games a year, but for me it was a big deal, and not just because I haven't been to a game in the Bronx for a while. It was my brother's first ever game, so I got to explain to him everything about Monument Park, all the history at the Stadium, etc. He had a blast, and it's hard not to have fun when an 8 year old is having the time of his life.

It'll be a while before I get to another game at the Stadium, especially with the vast majority of my Yankee game experiences expected to occur in LAnaheim for the foreseeable future. It was good to be there again, and it was great to see DJ get his 2,000th. Congrats Derek, hopefully you have another 1,500+ hits left in that bat.

PS: Kyle Farnsworth should be fined $50,000 everytime he throws 2 sliders in row. Dude, 100 mph fastball, use the damn thing!

Down on the Farm:

Triple-A Columbus (4-2 loss to Rochester in 7 innings)
Jason Conti: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 K
Andy Cannizaro: 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 E (fielding)
Carlos Pena: 0 for 2, 1 R, 2 BB
Mitch Jones: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Russ Johnson: 2 for 3, 2 RBI
Nick Green: 2 for 3, 1 K, 1 SB - former Braves farmhand came over in a deal with a D-Rays
Tommy Phelps: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Jose Veras: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K - 9 of 11 pitches were strikes

Double-A Trenton (3-2 loss to Binghampton)
Gabe Lopez: 2 for 3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Bronson Sardinha: 1 for 4, 1 K
Randy Ruiz: 1 for 2, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Shelley Duncan: 0 for 3, 1 BB - BA down to .220
Tommy Rojas: 0 for 4, 3 K
Steven White: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K - ERA down to 2.05 in 61.1 IP
JB Cox: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K - 5-1 GB/FB ratio

High-A Tampa (4-3 loss to St. Lucie)
Brett Gardner: 0 for 5, 1 K
Ramiro Pena: 1 for 4, 1 3B, 1 K - boosts his BA to .083
Cody Ehlers: 1 for 4, 1 K
Hector Made: 1 for 3, 2 R, 1 BB
Chris Malec: 1 for 3, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Alan Horne: 5 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 1 WP, 1 HB - those walks just keep killin' him (27 in 43.2 IP)
Chase Wright: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K

Low-A Charleston (8-6 loss to Columbus)
Austin Jackson: 1 for 3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K
Marcos Vechionacci: 1 for 5
Jose Tabata: 1 for 5, 1 K, 1 SB
CJ Henry: 0 for 3, 1 BB, 3 E (all throwing)
JT LaFountain: 3 for 4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K
Tony Roth: 3 for 4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K - wins a game in relief on Saturday thanks to 2 perfect innings, goes 2 for 2 with 2 R, 2 BB and a SB as a 1B on Sunday, now goes 3 for 4 with a RBI as a 2B on Friday. Talk about a complete player
Bryan Villalona: 5 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2 HB
Edgar Soto: 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K - 4-1 GB/FB ratio

I'm taking off for yet another cross country move (2nd one in a week!) this afternoon, so I figure I'll hit the land of tree-hugging metrosexuals that don't eat meat (a.k.a. California) sometime late Monday or early Tuesday. I'm not sure if Memorial Day is a big travel holiday, but I should be in the desert most of the day in hopes of avoiding any congestion (ugh, my poor car...)

I'm staying with a friend until I get a place of my own (which I hope will be very soon since the first of the month is right around the corner, prime move-in time), and he's a big technology nut, so I'm sure he'll have internet access I can use. I'm shooting for Tuesday, but I'll be back to IGWT by Wednesday the latest.