Yesterday was a day of weirdly awesome things:
First off, was the random turkey I saw wandering Battery Park. Yes, a turkey. Who apparently calls the park home and has a name and sometimes roams up to the West Village, looking for chi-chi hole-in-the-wall restaurants or something. But it was one of those things where you say, "Self, am I hallucinating?" and then when it seems real and you see another person with a big smile following it to take its picture, it's like, "Jesus Christ, there's a turkey hanging out in a not-so-huge city park."
The turkey's name is Zelda, but she will now be known in my head as the Russell Martin turkey because of what unfolded at the game later in the night.
The game itself was fantastic, not just for the win, but because Steph and I managed to summon maybe the most epic "Yankees Insider" Q&A of the season, perhaps the best "getting to know you on the scoreboard" thing the Yankees have ever done. It aired at one of the games I missed and before we got to the Stadium, Steph was like "I hope they show that tonight so you get to see it" and we held our breath when the segment came on, and lo, it was the incredible "Do Your Best Nick Swisher Imitation" installment. You guys? I can't say enough about this clip. You get all the guys aping the ebullient enthusiasm of Swish (Chavez falling over laughing because he can't quite do it) and then taking on his traits: Granderson throwing his fingers around, A-Rod loudly bragging about his "52,000 Twitter followers" and the best, the part Steph couldn't wait for me to see, was Old Man Jeter himself getting in on the action, doing his most animated imitation, complete with bugging eyes, the most completely un-Capitanlike show of emotion I've ever seen.
IT WAS AWESOMETOWN. I really wish there was a way to see these online because it needs to be passed on.
And then you couple it with a straight-up beyond-solid outing from CC, a ball Ichiro hits going down the pitcher's shirt...
....the randomly loud three loud amigos in our section who shot the wave down in most satisfactory fashion and a giant chalice of Reactionary Soda (my personal FU to next season, in which I, an occasional regular soda consumer, will not be able to get souvenir-sized cup drinks because of Bloomberg's 16 oz. or less rule on non-diet soft drinks) adding some sugared-up good feelings, I wasn't feeling so terrible when Soriano blew the save. Sure I was a little peeved that CC lost a chance for a win and that a game that was going so freakishly quick was now going into extra innings, but it ended so delightfully.
Steph and I have taken to using the John Sterling crazy-town French speak when referring to "Monsiuer Martin," so when the ball left his bat (and Steph got untangled from distraction with our hipster seat neighbor) we were all using it to the biggest extreme whilst jumping up and down and high-fiving. And then some guys in the elevator on the way out were like "Monsiuer Martin! Man, I bet John Sterling's still going to be speaking French an hour after that." Which, yes.
Quote of the Night honors go to Steph for her, "I bet Martin is Teixeira's favorite player because he wears number 55." This is a nod to a The Dangers of Speeding commercial that Thumper narrates and has somehow stayed with Steph when she is behind the wheel.
It was our last Season-Ticket Friday of the year, alas, but it was definitely another good year in section 427 (my Friday record was 6-3. Not too bad.) And next year? There's only ONE interleague game on a home Friday, and it's not till September. So, like, the world totally can't end now on Dec. 21st, okay?
