The day Halladay handed me my first home victory (part 3 of 3)

I was thrilled, beside myself, freaking out and happy. It was comical to those around me. The two guys next to me had left for some prior engagement set for the top of the seventh and narrowly missed the dramatics. The guy behind me left with his kids to go somewhere. While I feel bad season ticket holders were being screwed over, I didn't feel too bad. At any ballpark, a lot of them just have a different mindset about Baseball games. Games are an investment and they don't care when they come or go. That pisses me off because now in the food chain of fans, they rank above me and are taking seats away if I want to go to a game, where, barring a 22-4 loss, I would stay from beginning to end.

That day I too had plans for after the game. We were going to meet my sister in Manhattan for gluten free pizza with my brother-in-law and niece. Reservations were set for 6:00PM. Not the game was also a race against time. Sure enough, Phil Hughes came in and flatlined Toronto bats, and that was only after Brian Bruney pitched a clean seventh inning. This Yankees' bullpen is World Series caliber thanks to the return of Bruney, the placement of Hughes, and the emergence of Aceves and Coke (more on that later). Now it was Enter Sandman, and oddly, and this is another first, I was nervous. Not because I'm convinced Rivera is washed up (a sub 3 ERA and one blown save would disagree), or because he's too old or I thought the Blue Jays had scary bats; no I was nervous because Rivera lost a tie game I saw earlier in the year and I knew he wasn't great in tie games, most closers aren't good in non-save situations.

This time River gave up a leadoff single and fell behind the next batter. He had thrown 14 pitches and had not recorded an out. I felt like it was game seven of the World Series. But at the end of the day, Mo was Mo and the next pitch was a double play and then he retired the next batter to end the inning. That was now 3.2 innings and no runs from the relievers. But the bottom of the ninth passed where the Yankees stranded runners, and Phil Coke pitched a dominant10th. Now I was nervous again. I had forgotten about Coke and I knew Tomko meant an automatic loss or a ridiculous rally to compensate for his 5+ ERA. Robertson, Bruney , Hughes and Rivera were gone and I don't like when Coke has to stay in there for multiple innings. Who was going to pitch if this game went deeper and deeper?Halladay, despite his struggles, pitched seven and League, Accardo and Carlson were used already, but I didn't like our chances when it came to the back of the bullpen.

Lucky for me, we had the good Coke today.

The 11th inning was another quiet one for the Blue Jays and I knew the team's time (and my own) was running out. When the Yankees failed to win it in the11th and the game looked like it might go 19 innings if you watched the offenses, it was just about 5:00PM and it would take me 45 minutes to get to my restaurant. Coke had pitched two innings and that left the possibility of Aceves and Tomko. Aceves, much to my dislike, wasn't in the bullpen warming up, Tomko was.

I almost threw up when the game reached the 12th.

Somehow, some way, someone will explain how Brett Tomko pitched a scoreless inning and looked good in the process. He averaged giving up more than a run every two innings, he's terrible, he's the only reason this bullpen isn't in the top two in the league at this point. Yet with me there, quietly thinking I was a jinx to the new stadium,Tomko pitched a scoreless inning. If the team didn't score in the bottom of the 12th, I was going to see my third loss, a wasted Tomko scoreless inning, my perfect day was going to be ruined and I was going to miss dinner.

Boom, two baserunners and one out, we were in business. Luckily Jorge Posada was hitting and not Robinson Cano, which meant instead of 3-0 count bunts which don't advance the runner and strikeouts or double plays with runners in scoring position, we might have a shot.

And they did, Jorge Posada singled, the Yankees won at 5:15PM, I was jumping up and down, the stadium was buzzing, I saw my first win, my girlfriend's first game lasted 12 innings, and we were set to run to the subway.

To top it off, the Red Sox lost again to the Mariners, the pizza was great and my niece didn't cry when she saw me.

It was a perfect day.

I was thrilled, beside myself, freaking out and happy. It was comical to those around me. The two guys next to me had left for some prior engagement set for the top of the seventh and narrowly missed the dramatics. The guy behind me left with his kids to go somewhere. While I feel bad season ticket holders were being screwed over, I didn't feel too bad. At any ballpark, a lot of them just have a different mindset about Baseball games. Games are an investment and they don't care when they come or go. That pisses me off because now in the food chain of fans, they rank above me and are taking seats away if I want to go to a game, where, barring a 22-4 loss, I would stay from beginning to end.

That day I too had plans for after the game. We were going to meet my sister in Manhattan for gluten free pizza with my brother-in-law and niece. Reservations were set for 6:00PM. Not the game was also a race against time. Sure enough, Phil Hughes came in and flatlined Toronto bats, and that was only after Brian Bruney pitched a clean seventh inning. This Yankees' bullpen is World Series caliber thanks to the return of Bruney, the placement of Hughes, and the emergence of Aceves and Coke (more on that later). Now it was Enter Sandman, and oddly, and this is another first, I was nervous. Not because I'm convinced Rivera is washed up (a sub 3 ERA and one blown save would disagree), or because he's too old or I thought the Blue Jays had scary bats; no I was nervous because Rivera lost a tie game I saw earlier in the year and I knew he wasn't great in tie games, most closers aren't good in non-save situations.

This time River gave up a leadoff single and fell behind the next batter. He had thrown 14 pitches and had not recorded an out. I felt like it was game seven of the World Series. But at the end of the day, Mo was Mo and the next pitch was a double play and then he retired the next batter to end the inning. That was now 3.2 innings and no runs from the relievers. But the bottom of the ninth passed where the Yankees stranded runners, and Phil Coke pitched a dominant10th. Now I was nervous again. I had forgotten about Coke and I knew Tomko meant an automatic loss or a ridiculous rally to compensate for his 5+ ERA. Robertson, Bruney , Hughes and Rivera were gone and I don't like when Coke has to stay in there for multiple innings. Who was going to pitch if this game went deeper and deeper?Halladay, despite his struggles, pitched seven and League, Accardo and Carlson were used already, but I didn't like our chances when it came to the back of the bullpen.

Lucky for me, we had the good Coke today.

The 11th inning was another quiet one for the Blue Jays and I knew the team's time (and my own) was running out. When the Yankees failed to win it in the11th and the game looked like it might go 19 innings if you watched the offenses, it was just about 5:00PM and it would take me 45 minutes to get to my restaurant. Coke had pitched two innings and that left the possibility of Aceves and Tomko. Aceves, much to my dislike, wasn't in the bullpen warming up, Tomko was.

I almost threw up when the game reached the 12th.

Somehow, some way, someone will explain how Brett Tomko pitched a scoreless inning and looked good in the process. He averaged giving up more than a run every two innings, he's terrible, he's the only reason this bullpen isn't in the top two in the league at this point. Yet with me there, quietly thinking I was a jinx to the new stadium,Tomko pitched a scoreless inning. If the team didn't score in the bottom of the 12th, I was going to see my third loss, a wasted Tomko scoreless inning, my perfect day was going to be ruined and I was going to miss dinner.

Boom, two baserunners and one out, we were in business. Luckily Jorge Posada was hitting and not Robinson Cano, which meant instead of 3-0 count bunts which don't advance the runner and strikeouts or double plays with runners in scoring position, we might have a shot.

And they did, Jorge Posada singled, the Yankees won at 5:15PM, I was jumping up and down, the stadium was buzzing, I saw my first win, my girlfriend's first game lasted 12 innings, and we were set to run to the subway.

To top it off, the Red Sox lost again to the Mariners, the pizza was great and my niece didn't cry when she saw me.

It was a perfect day.