I caught the Yankees game last night with my longtime friend Tony Karcich, the head football coach at St. Joseph High School in Montvale, NJ. As they so often do, the Yankees delivered an exciting victory in the first game of this 2009 World Series rematch against Philadelphia. For me the fun began before the ballgame got underway because I had the opportunity to go down to the field and catch up with a few of the players including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, whom I’ve known for some years now.

CC Sabathia had to work hard and throw a lot of pitches. He got into a couple jams, but held strong to get the 8-3 win. Yankee bats came alive against Roy Halladay, one of the Phillies’ ace pitchers. Posada didn’t catch, but he came off the bench as a DH and got a big hit. He looked spry and speedy on the bases, so his foot must be feeling better.

It was good to see the Yanks have such a terrific at-bat despite the absence of Alex Rodriguez, who missed his fifth consecutive game due to a groin injury. A-Rod took batting practice and fielded some ground balls during the warmup, so we got a chance to chat about whether the Celtics or Lakers would win Game 6.

New Nets coach Avery Johnson was also down by the dugout before the game. I talked to him about growing up in New Jersey, and we discussed which section of town he and his wife might move to. Avery invited me to come watch the Nets’ training camp this summer, and I wished him luck with his exciting new venture. All in all it was a great day at the park.