Some Pics and Thoughts from the Jays/Yanks game - Aug 23, 2010

I found myself in Toronto this weekend, and was happy to find out the Jays were home for a series against the Yankees.  My plane home leaves first thing in the morning, so this fan post will be super quick and not very colorful  :D

Some of my thoughts as the game progressed:

• Fred Lewis is a terrible decision maker.  Yes, the fly ball in the first was well hit, and yes the throw home was a bullet, but he's got to share some responsibility on them both.  Don't know how much the 3rd base coach dictates that decision to try for home on Wells' fly ball.  But still, that was two instant downers early in the game.
• Jose Bautista is Legend
• Brandan Morrow is also Legend.  Did we really trade him straight up for Brandon League??? The same Brandon League who tattoos his first initial on his chest???  (Tee Hee Hee)
  

via i149.photobucket.com

Anyways, that image is sooooo last year...

• Yunel Escobar is also Legend, but I'm starting to get redundant.  I still have no clue as to what happened with him getting tossed out of the game.  A bunch of us in the stands had a serious "WTF" moment there, and I haven't been able to get any additional information on that.  Was it really an argument over balls and strikes, as some have suggested? 
  
• Speaking of arguing balls and strikes.  Wow.  Yankees.  Just Wow.
• Which brings me to this point: has the officiating this year been especially terrible?  Worse than years previous?  From blown calls costing perfect games, to home runs being disallowed, and now Cito and Yunel get kicked out of this game while we all scratch our heads.  I'm not the most dedicated highlights watcher, but it sure seems to me that the umpires are having a tough time of things this year, and it's causing havoc around the league.
• Scott Downs scares the #$%^ out of me.  It's too late right now for me to go checking for his stats to find out how good or bad he's been the past while, but I must admit to not feeling very confident with him on the mound.  It seemed to be the general consensus amongst the crowd immediately around me too.  We were all relieved when his inning was over. 
  
• Adam Lind had a simply brutal day at the plate.  He was whiffing at pitches and after his second strikeout, the look on his face as he went back to the dugout was one of pure disappointment.  He would strike out three times in total.  Not a good night.
• As soon as Bautista hit that ball in the eighth, I knew it was out.  Since I haven't been to many ball games in real life, I struggle with determining how well the ball is hit.  Several times I thought several fly balls were hit really hard, only to see they were lazy outs.  Not with Bautista's second jack.  Or his first, to be honest.
• How sweet was it, to see Jeter pop out to end the game?  If that didn't warm your heart, what will?
  
• Ever had an annoying fan sit near to you?  Yeah, there was some 'totalbutt' who was grinding my gears.  I don't mind baseball chatter, but constant heckling and "ref you suck" chants... well, the novelty wears off soon.  Someone mentioned in the game-thread that I should start a chant about the Umpires.  I laughed when I read it, and it is funny when done with a lighthearted tone, but this guy was annoying.
• Some Yankee fan in the row behind and two seats over from me proposed to his girlfriend in the third inning or so.  It was pretty cool I guess, although I'm not particularly a fan of marriage hehehe.
• in the seventh, a "fan" ran onto the field and was boot-stomped by security.  I was going to take a picture but I'm glad I didn't.  What's the point in posting it here, and giving him more attention?  I don't understand the mentality behind disrupting a sports even by running onto the field of play.  Even in my most intoxicated state, the thought has never occurred to me as something worth doing.

Not a whole lot else to say, Tom has done a really good recap. I'll leave it at that. Below the jump are some pictures I took.  Feel free to save 'em and open with a photo editor.  They are 14 megs each so they should zoom in nicely.  Apologies for not doing a better job of cropping and cleaning them up, but I'm in a rush.  One of the last ones is Derek Jeter stepping up to bat, moments before the game ends \o/

via i149.photobucket.com

Morrow shortly before the start of the game.  via i149.photobucket.com

Opening Pitch.  via i149.photobucket.com

VW at the plate.  Rotten Protective Rope!   via i149.photobucket.com

Derek Jeter steps to the plate.  via i149.photobucket.com

Sweet Victory.   via i149.photobucket.com