The Final Home Stand

I cant believe this is it. As dissapointing as this season has been for the Yankees, the big story begining this week is the final home stand in Yankee Stadium History. This is not the way anyone in the Yankees orginization envisioned the season going. Everyone expected and wanted the final game to have Mariano Rivera closing out the final game of the World Series. That is clearly not happening now and it is obvious that Sept 21st will be the final game ever played in Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees havent handled the final season in the House that Ruth built the way everyone imagined. There havent been special ceremonies for legend players or for teams final time in the stadium. They have bungled the countdown lever puller during each game. The Yankees have enough former players and legends who could pull the countdown clock. There is no reason that Yankee Stadium staff or the GM of the Devils should be pulling the lever. There were almost enough guys at Old Timer's Day to do it once this year. Hopefully the Yankees have something big planned for this final week. A good start would be to have Bernie Williams come back and have the fans honor him the way he deserves.

This Cathedral of baseball will close its doors for the final time that night and along with it all the history and memories will be done. It is strange to think that there are only a handful of times that I will ever walk into the stadium on 161st street and River avenue. Ten games left to make a memory. There have been many great moments and some bad ones that have taken place in this building and plenty that I have witnessed. The Yankees are moving into a great new ballpark next year but this week is about the Stadium, not even the Yankees poor play can take away from that.