First, I’ll admit something.  I left early.

It just didn’t feel right.  All the Yankee greats coming back like it was old-timers day.  All the fans cheering like it was a playoff game…Yet the Yanks weren’t going to the playoffs.

It was like going to wedding for two people that you know just shouldn’t get married.  You saw it coming the night before as the bride was out a bit too late with the best man and the groom took two hours in the champagne room.  It all felt so wrong, but you were obligated to be there anyway.

As I’ve struggled for any kind of feeling on the close of Yankee Stadium, I begin to realize that it just should not have ended this way.  Numbers will tell you that the Yankees got a sweet ride off taxpayers for the new park when they could have upgraded for much less.  But if the Mets were getting a new toy…well, the Yanks would have to spend three times as much and get a more expensive toy.

The tragedy is that the Yankees could not send the Stadium off in style.  Or maybe the tragedy is that the Stadium is closing at all.  But it was an interesting night to say the least.  I was fortunate enough to see Willie Randolph before the game and to bump into Paul O’Neil in the hallway.

The pre-game introductions were nice, and Willie’s slide into second base was great.  Babe Ruth’s daughter was a good sport during her pitch and then later at the press conference.  Hal Steinbrenner followed Julia Ruth Stevens at the mic and sounded like a man who spent too many hours in economics classes and too few sitting with fans of the team he’s inherited.

Bernie Williams is missed.

And underneath it all was an empty feeling.  It was all so wrong…the Yankees were done in the regular season for the first time since 1993.  All the celebrities in the world couldn’t change it.

As for the game itself, no one I know was really watching.  I spent an hour or so walking around with the Bronx News’ Rich Mancuso as we took in the game from different gates.  First, behind home plate.  Then out in right field not far from where Jeffery Mayer helped send the Yankees into the ‘96 series.  We tried the loge level for fun and then I started to look at my watch.  I didn’t really need to stay.  Someone could cover for me and I had to be up to teach at 6:30.  I didn’t feel like walking through the doors of my apartment at 3am.

So I left after the top of the sixth inning.

Spike Lee must have been feeling the same way because he was walking out of the press gate with his crew at the same time I was.  Spike went left and I took a right to the 4 train.

I looked back at the Stadium a few times and then over at the new one.  A wild rumor has it that the new one is so far behind schedule that the old one has had its lease extended one more year as an insurance policy.  It certainly looked far from done, but I’m sure it will somehow be ready for the new season.

The old Stadium has a ton of memories for me just like it does for a number of other people.  There were good memories for the most part like my first Yankees-Boston game taken in from the bleachers (in the days when one could drink out there).  I’ll never forget how the cops hogtied a Red Sox fan in the concession area as I stepped out to use the restroom.  Awesome.

So, thank you for those memories Yankee Stadium.  You weren’t given the sendoff you deserve, and your end may have come too soon.

But you were one hell of a place to catch a ballgame.

I made it to the front end of today’s doubleheader and saw enough baseball to last a week. About four hours for eight pitchers to throw close to 400 pitches. I hardly cared who won after the Mets’ 15-6 drubbing of the Yanks was all over.

The big story was the Mets and Carlos Delgado’s nine RBI (a record for a visitor to Yankee Stadium…A-Rod holds the overall record at ten) so I made my way to the visitors’ clubhouse area. It was a crunch between games as the Mets had 20 minutes to get their things and get on their police-escorted bus to Shea. The media was directed into two circles in which three players and manager Jerry Manuel were rotated in and out. Delgado was a happy camper, but part of you could tell that he wanted to tell the media to shove it since every outlet in the city’s been calling for his head. Perhaps that inspired the .233 hitter to have a big day.

Now I see that Sidney Ponson went six shutout innings in a 9-0 revenge match at Shea. I’m not placing the ranch on this one panning out yet. Seriously, Ponson’s still listed at 6′1″, 258. He sweats when he’s standing still. Until my man sheds some pounds, I’m predicting his second term with the Yanks will be short.

Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see the Yanks beat Pedro.

Before closing, I have one comment on the media’s clear bias in favor of the Yankees over the Mets (which then helps, to some degree, sway public opinion). A colleague up at the stadium, Rich, griped about how he’s given up on being a Met fan after the Willie Randolph firing. Then he seemed to get to the heart of the matter just a little bit more. “They treat you with respect at Yankee Stadium. It’s a class act around here.” And it certainly is. Although media access to players leaves a bit to be desired, the Yankees certainly provide cushy work spaces for the press, keep everything clean and everyone who works there is happy and happy to see you. More importantly, the food is GOOD…famously better than the food at Shea (think high school cafeteria). Today I ate a full plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, fried chicken and a mini-muffin before putting together a turkey sandwich from the cold cut platter to bring upstairs and eat during the game. As for Shea, let’s just say the last time I ate a full press meal I was on the throne for an inning and a half.

Simply put, the press gets the royal treatment at Yankee Stadium. At Shea, the security often looks at me like I’m trying to steal something. The inside workings of Shea are a dump. There is no space for the media to work besides back upstairs at their game seats (a real pain if you have a deadline or want to keep electronics dry when it rains and water leaks through the ceiling) and paint is peeling off the walls. Hopefully, it’s a lot better next year at the new place.

Now, you could have a worse life than working baseball games at Shea for a living. But when a press member sees his favorite manager go out in the middle of the night AND he’s not fed well…it may be just enough to start influencing some columns.