I finally cashed in the fabulous Father’s Day gift I received in June, as Ginny and Molly and Cara took me to see the Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 7 to 5, on a picture-perfect end-of-summer afternoon in the Bronx. We sat in Section 306 in the Terrace, which put us in a prime position to get study the dorsal side of the right field foul pole. The new Yankee Stadium, with its fine wide concourses and clean bathrooms and multiple line-reducing concessions, is a fine improvement over the old, and the new Metro North stop made commuting a breeze. As for the game, diffident starting pitching by Javier Vasquez nullified early hitting by Derek Jeter (Below left) and Robinson Cano, but five innings of fine bullpen work stemmed the Jay attack, leaving the door open for Marcus Thames (below, right)to become the hero by slugging a two-run homer in the seventh, his 11th of the season. The great Mariano Rivera notched his 29th save (top), and once again, the crowd sang 
“New York, New York” as they walked out into the sunset. It was the eighth win in a row for the Yankees, who now hold a to-game lead on the Tampa Rays for the lead in the AL East, and for the best record in baseball.
