The Phillies beat the Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series last night in St. Petersburg, Fla. Meanwhile, for this occasion, I ventured up to the Bronx to visit
old Yankee Stadium before the game. In no particular order, it was rather cold, lonely and depressing outside Yankee Stadium. Pretty much what I expected. (Except for the cold. Check the weather forecast next time.) Few people were around. Except for the Yankee office entrance and the gift shop, the old stadium was shut tight. I couldn't help but imagine the mob scene right about now had the Yankees not been so
underwhelming* this past season...and actually were hosting Game 1 of the Series.
[
* open to other suggestions to describe the 2008 season.]
On River Avenue, which runs across from the Stadium, the gift shops and bars were closed for the season. Ball Park Lanes was open -- several teens milled about on the inside. Here's a bit of what Yankee Stadium and vicinity looked like...
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bdcK-rolxYRlgfhtQCAg-m0QN6_Ue_9HprX3jUVpNgRzZc-CRSmLgumH34yBfBJzN7QMzlz-8gyRPz1QE0XHwiqh1cxJnpxNBuQ3A6J9xD6z1ZYjGbyLWwEUPKHjaICyw04E_i0xbOq6/s400/P1060494.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaTaPf-xNAYPEye5ImPN8k6sT7XpQcH78hCAeDs_KCzqVZlhxgw7xvMdJzjCPjVeG3-ywqq7urCdwY961XkRCLpKVSnTiMI3XJWYVARBccOLQ_vbaYJ-DP2trkOXwPJlMoI1-nOwv64HyT/s400/P1060506.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPu-wVO0XVWlzFFQsazPhJnyEUdr0Iym6zU6tQJsaMKScAUUZxzidD9_0zkDE9q6YSIytJctGPgVLfNJIT2rT2xXxYzGYJ8Ir7eCkHV2eU9d7-T2K1uRUP1d_Mgqwt8KYYpuSjZP22eIa/s400/P1060511.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8685Dywkx5wz8MRnJZEW1Jude1oKkRa5HKGfQj5_gdD0tBpEVZKfEej18d18S5BsswTQtvP2rT6MFINaZFuSV61LT6f57bdXjygKx3Aq3nc2iQXYKdlOdPy_BocNgYrB5UTte6JiJ8L6J/s400/P1060521.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhRQgGiJWxk0NjiKA75-W00ln0u6d7n5s767XxJDybWuRpSjYyTxQX-m0zVuESrAkNxM7EkgQ5HzLdfnsNsaYmlUTl1qZ8B1leziQHCgcXkDZ6X4vSNR2uYNDoefsnDe45B3yJSklJVAQ/s400/P1060527.JPG)
Portions of the walls outside the stadium are filled with messages from fans.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPJFtNo0uI2tXQOKKA_600MH3B24h09uphQvtFzWt-AVIEfRJIJegrPG0F3safHDhUVpupdhrIUMBqc0QRgZp-i1D8GvsOWoGC5wVvW_1zjG-PpP0AnnFoYnwsQ7yJTojGwnc3-A9PLPiI/s400/P1060503.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEeE7fn-80DeTwgVFk23-TDCPp3CSe6u0A12h2HhRQJeFnpkkABQoPaCj8YKwLUAT0ZCkxETkGifoxOnRymyCxv6G-bF69raxlnmUWm1sVG5Y21tr50VpqXcZXo3OwJrdjX4GmVyQmlHsH/s400/P1060499.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD-R28d47XiZiPxcVg6Um2WxgWeArtFA1YbVgPuErpi7Edu9P9d8X6fUYxXeTsMkwdLGxcqGGmo0PHAxuQ3cJOhZvjDFWUnopgFpZw71_ArhU-e3ksazjQ3G8v3J5rOmmbliFj7-gM5w01/s400/P1060522.JPG)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggK_VEj9EcCEnaSTH-3gb1kxHnRbHhtH3Z6vXfxYG6mvgMqeT4ecsb3uu32Y1mChZr1COXEmjx3jxFxUmS2PyCztVJdmeuIg7He6uc-jykiufabpACwZ32U3-riQS_mYKmbkUwc6A_0JP0/s400/P1060513.JPG)
Across 161st Street, the new Yankee Stadium looms (lurks?).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KyTfC72aZWN2zFydzZ_7S17LchkM4L11BsMs2VMB6Ecc9itXrw_ALFODNsiFvksPGMHEw2nU1_GHTwte3SW5nd6FlhPZOUWYznGbOlflNutZEAEYP1uh-7m5I_5ZskTaT_XE-FwrGAzr/s400/P1060518.JPG)
The only action was at the venerable Yankee Tavern, which was full with a boisterous happy hour crowd.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyW9-2UsWv9vrad6tvyOBnyzj8cEZtF3etiar3ZNBJrpaHy9aY31SXS5Lsm-X8ywI6zAxXvRZMfKV2-trftApC5n7YVh6n3dVO8cxFBCDI-_lwhkgltedQwBpJ7MbUKgedrQl3etmhSOk/s400/P1060540.JPG)
I have more photos on my
Flickr page.