Perhaps Yankees fans finally are tiring of the team's success. Or maybe they lack confidence in this year's squad. For whatever reason, fans are not filling up Yankee Stadium for the playoffs, and the team appears to be trying to save face. According to a report in Yahoo! Sports, for Game 1 of the ALCS against the Tigers, all ushers in the stadium were told to move fans from the upper deck to the more expensive seats near the field.
"I don't know what it's about," an unidentified usher told Yahoo! "I guess they want to make it look better on TV."
Meanwhile, some of the fans who are showing up are turning on the players, and at least one Yankee is not happy about it. Outfielder Nick Swisher said the criticism he's been hearing crosses the line.
“A lot of people saying a lot of things I’ve never heard before,” Swisher said after Sunday night's 3-0 loss in Game 2, in which the Bombers heard plenty of boos. “Prime example -- I missed that ball in the lights [in Game 1] and next thing you know I’m the reason that [Derek] Jeter got hurt. It’s kind of frustrating. ... They were saying [Jeter’s injury] was my fault.”
Added Swisher: “It hurts. Sometimes I’m a sensitive guy. Some of the things people say, they get under your skin a little bit, but hey, I’ve been lucky to be here for the last four years, and we’re not going to go out like this.
“I’m one of those guys that you give me a hug and I’ll run through a brick wall for you. Right now it seems like there’s a lot of ... I’m trying to find a way to word this the right way, it’s tough. It’s really tough. Because you want to go out there and you want to play for your city, you want to play for your team. Just right now, it’s just really tough.”
Read more about that story and others, plus check out videos, trivia and more, at Monday's Morning Mashup [1].
Links:
[1] http://leeinks.weei.com/sports/2012/10/15/mondays-morning-mashup-yankees-of-nick-swisher-sensitive-about-home-fans-booing
[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/general