Maybe the fans in St. Louis are the nicest people in America. Not only did they give Jeter an ovation practically every time he took a breath, but, according to Sterling and Waldman, they came over to Yankee fans dining at a local restaurant after a Yankees win and congratulated them with a “Nice game.” If only we saw that sort of behavior everywhere.
But I digress. What’s most amazing is that the Yankees are still standing and the road trip ended on a winning note. All this despite the absence of Beltran and Teixeira, despite the slump and benching last night of Solarte, despite the use of McCann at first base and despite the makeshift pitching staff. Yes, Tanaka notched his first loss in forever and the Yankees defense was sloppy at best, and the offense was forced to play “small ball” (I do miss the homers), but if it weren’t for Toronto’s miraculous run of wins the Yanks would be on or near the top of the heap.
Do I think the team can go patchwork into the rest of the season this way? Probably not. Guys need to come back healthy and holes need to be filled. But I was pretty impressed by this road trip. The boys did us proud in the Midwest. They deserve this day off.
St. Louis truly is a great baseball town. We enjoyed five days in a great city. The only blemish was some teenage boys sitting behind us last night. I finally told them I could take their best shot if they would only quit squealing like right year old girls! They didn’t stop until the usher escorted them out! Loved Mike Shannon’s restaurant and his radio broadcasting. Whole trip was top notch. Now, back to New York.
Other than the teenage boys, it sounds like it was a great trip, Terry. I heard Michael Kay talking last night about Shannon’s restaurant and the broadcast. Would love to go there at some point.
This year the team is really playing as a team. I don’t know if its the injuries or what, but the mindset of the team really seems to be to help each other and to do what they have to do to win. Its probably going to be tough, but The Yankees probably need to finish the season in 1st place to make it to the post season. Yes, I know…its way to early to think like this, but Yankees fans are always thinking about The World Series. Anyway, good news…I just won tickets to the Wednesday game against Oakland. WooHoo! Hope I bring them luck. GO YANKEES!!!
You won he tickets, Diane? Very exciting. I hope you bring them luck too.