Blog post

March 10, 2010 [LINK / comment]

Yankee Stadium is tumblin' down

"When the walls ... comes tumblin' down..." The ominous refrain in that John Mellencamp song is probably being sung in The Bronx this month, as the demolition of Yankee Stadium (the original one, more or less) reaches the climactic phase. For weeks it has seemed that the process was dragging on forever, but the winter weather was the main reason for that. Over the past week or so, workers have been drilling seams into the upper deck, in preparation for pulling it down one section at a time. The first and second decks were demolished from December through early February, and the wall in back of the bleachers, with the imitation decorative frieze, was taken down last week, exposing the crumbling innards for all the world to see. I know it was inevitable, and I've been preparing myself for this for quite some time now, but it still leaves an indescribable feeling of melancholy.

Anyway, Mike Zurawski drew my attention to a youtube.com video of one section being pulled down, by Bobby Jackson. That video is also displayed at demolitionofyankeestadium.com, which has plenty of grim late-breaking photos. I was hoping that they would pull down the entire upper deck at once, which would have been spectacular and would have at least gotten over the pain quickly. For people like me, watching the drawn-out process is a form of torture. Some people think the reason for doing it section by section is to preserve Gate 2 for historical posterity, and I certainly hope that's the case.

Strasburg shines in debut

In his first start as a pitcher for the Washington Nationals, Stephen Strasburg lived up to the sky-high expectations people have of him. Going against the Detroit Tigers in the Nats' spring training home in Space Coast Stadium, he only went two innings, but he gave up just two hits and no runs, while getting two strikeouts. He is reaching 98 mph with some consistency, and we can only hope that he doesn't wear out his young arm trying to prove himself. See the Washington Post. Long-suffering Nationals fans are giddy with excitement over what the future holds for the team with Strasburg on the mound. All indications are that he will start the season in the minors, and probably get called up to Washington by mid-summer.

R.I.P. Willie Davis

Former L.A. Dodger center fielder Willie Davis, renowned for his speed and base-stealing abilities, passed away at the age of 69. He played when the Dodgers won the World Series in 1963 (against the Yankees) and 1965 (against the Twins). See Yahoo sports; hat tip to Bruce Orser.