That Was Disappointing-

-To say the least. My wife and I got to our seats at 7:45, and were eagerly anticipating the game. I'd heard it might rain, but it wasn't supposed to happen until midnight or so. She got out of work early just for the game; we bought a shitload of snacks: cracker jacks, plantain chips, a Quiznos sub, candy, water and soda. They even did the Star-Spangled Banner and had Paul O'Neill throw out the first pitch. We were standing for 5 minutes, waiting for the Yanks to take the field. I realized it wasn't going to happen, so I assumed ESPN was just airing more commercials (I hate attending nationally televised games). Then the death knell: the grounds-crew pulled the tarp over the field, and we both sat back feeling like our whole night had been crushed.

It's the third rain delay I've been to this year (all with my wife). Whenever she attends a game, the rain follows. I considered taking an umbrella, but the weather at 6:45 was so nice we decided not to. It's Murphy's Law: if we take the umbrella, it doesn't rain; if we don't take it, it rains. You can blame us. So we sat there in our sweatshirts, reading our books - fortunately we'd brought stuff to read (for the subway). My wife had one of her romance novels (her favorite genre), and I had 'Stranger in a Strange Land.' We had no idea how long the rain would last - we were waiting for updates from the PA announcer. That didn't happen until 8:45, when Bob Sheppard told us the rain would last at least 45 more minutes, but we were assured that the 'game will be played.' So that kept us seated until 9:30 when the tarp was finally removed. I predicted first pitch at 10:05, what with the crew 're-doing' the field, the warmups, etc. Then again, about 9:55, the tarp was put BACK ON. No announcement. I tried calling my parents to see what ESPN was saying, but I wasn't getting any reception. A woman near us was listening to the radio; she heard that the game was cancelled and moved to Thursday at 1. We got the hell out of there, hailed a Gypsy cab (neither of us were in a packed, humid subway mood) and got home at 11. I bargained him from $50 to $25.

What pissed us off the most was that Yankee Stadium kept all of us fans in the dark about the weather, and completely misled us into believing the game would be played. ESPN was giving constant updates (as I watch the DVR), but the people that it really effected (the fans at the game) were never informed of anything outside of the one announcement at 8:45. Apparently we weren't the only ones - the Tigers were miffed because they were also kept in the dark: they were warming Verlander to start at 10, but the Yanks never bothered warming Mussina. How and why does that happen?

Anyway, we can't go tomorrow (because it's at 1 pm) so we sold them for face value to someone in my wife's office (who's giving them to a client). What a bummer... and we're both soured at the Yankee organization for it's handling of the delay. I want updates every 15 minutes, not once every 2 hours! And then they didn't even announce the game had been called. We had to have another fan relay a radio message to us. It took us 10 minutes to leave the stadium, and they STILL had not addressed the crowd.

Is it too late to add a retractable roof to the new Yankee Stadium? I don't see the downside to it. I know it's expensive, but c'mon, it's the Yankees. And Seattle did it. Toronto did it. Arizona did it. Houston did it. Most games it wouldn't be needed, but it'll be there when it is needed, like tonight, when it completely fucks up the nights of 55,000 fans (not to mention the players and coaches). I hope it's not too late.