Off to Yankee Stadium

Well, in a few hours I'll be headed to New York for a weekend stay on the Lower West Side before taking the D Train to Yankee Stadium to see the bad guys in pinstripes kick the living crap out of the Orioles on Monday night.

I've never been to Yankee Stadium before, and since this is the last season before the Yanks move into their new stadium next-door, it'll also be my last. My seats are in Tier10, Row W, seats 3 and 4.

I'll remember to bring some tissues for the nosebleeds.

Even though it's where the hated Yankees play, even an Orioles fan like myself can't deny the history of the building. The Yanks have won all of their "26 Rings!" calling Yankee Stadium home and the list of all-time greats who played there is too long to mention. I'll tour Monument Park and take in the sights and the sounds of the game, most of which will probably be Yankee fans taunting a lowly Oriole fan like myself.

So far I've only been to Fenway Park, Veterans Stadium, Citizens Bank Stadium and Nationals Park, so I am looking forward to adding another historical park to my list. I'm told not to expect much, as Yankee Stadium is mostly a dump, but a dump with a lot of history.

As for the game itself, I am not hopeful. On Saturday morning, the Orioles have lost four straight and thirteen of their last seventeen games. I think Jeremy Guthrie is pitching for the O's that day, so I am guessing the Orioles will lose 3-2 or 4-3, although with the bullpen maxed out, you never know how many runs the Yanks will tack on in the later innings.

But for me, this trip is more about the history of Yankee Stadium than the Orioles. Sometimes it's hard to remember that I'm a baseball fan first and foremost, and an O's fan second. And when the O's have been down in the dumps for eleven years, that can be hard.

But I'll cheer for the birds, take my share of heckling, and try to survive my trip to the Bronx. I have to say I'm looking forward to it.