Move-In Day for Trippers

It was move-in day for the Road Trippers. They gathered in their new digs at an undisclosed location in Manhattan. An exterior shot of the building evokes the memory of the classic TV show "The Odd Couple," you can almost hear the 70s jazzy theme and imagine the dry narrator saying "Can six Yankee fans live together without driving each other crazy?"

The apartment seems nice enough, neatly decorated with each cast member's bedroom indicated by a street sign bearing the name of their uniform # "sponsor." This will be Brenda's ("Strawberry") first time away from home. We get some product placement in the form of the big-screen JVC TV. Eddie ("Clubthumper") has wonderful comments about Rochester, calling it "The Boonies." He is also pretty quick to question his own teammates knowledge of things Yankee. Remember when I gave Shelli the nickname of "CaliGrrl?" That's just the way Justin ("Muggs") describes her. When the gang gets settled in, they watch a DVD of Don "Donnie Baseball" Mattingly welcoming them to their new home, and gives them their marching orders for the next day. A pizza party breaks out and a good time was had by all.

The Road Trippers go to the theater of the improv comedy troupe, the Upright Citizen's Brigade. The teams get coached by professionals on the ins and outs of improvisational comedy. They have only hours to prepare for each team to perform a set in front of a live audience. **Here is a bit of trivia, you would not otherwise get by watching the show** -- Did you know that the McManus pub, the very one where "Muggs" just previously poured suds, is but a few blocks away from the UCB? Didja know that many comedians from the UCB hang out at "McM's?" It is a favorite of the likes of former Saturday Night Live castmember Horatio Sanz. It is not clear if Muggs has shared this info with all of his fellow castmembers. If not, that's OK. This is a competition after all.

The performances:
First up is the Roadies. Indio ("Estebador") works the crowd very well. As a working "topic" for them to perform 10 minute's of material, they are given "National Biscuit." It is fairly off-the-wall, but they roll with it. CaliGrrrl is a burst of energy, leading a cheer. She makes a spelling mistake which draws a big laugh, and that was a great ice-breaker. While we do not see the whole performance, the show's edit indicates they kept up a good level of energy, and had great pace and timing throughout their performance. Estebador performs physical feats, acting like a dog and rolling around. I had a slight problem here. I felt it was disrespecting to the Yankee uniform to roll around the floor on it. If the boss, George Steinbrenner, had been tuning in at that moment, I don't think he would appreciate seeing a Yankee uniform being treated in such a way. I don't blame Indio, as I'm sure that the Roadies were required to wear their uniform for this challenge. Checking the credits is a bit time consuming, and trying to lay the blame on the host Michelle Beadle ... well, that's just crazy talk.

Quite literally, the Homeys had a tough act to follow. For starters they drew the working topic of "Dave Roberts." Strawberry Blonde Brenda doesn't know who he is, and Dougy ("Conan The Librarian") does a gentlemanly thing and asks the judge (a Red Sox fan, in uniform) to explain the reference. Although their UCB "coach" taught them that this was the right thing to do, this cost them some "points." Dave Roberts was a journeyman infielder who pinch-ran for the Sawx when they made the great comeback against the Yankees. He stole a base that started a "small-ball" rally. In Red Sawx Nation mythology, that was a very big moment, along the lines of Aaron Boone's homer in the 11th inning of the ALCS in 2003. It's sad that their key moment is a stolen base, and that we have all these great home runs to speak of. To us, the Dave Roberts steal is about as trivial as say, making a Sawx fan recall Mickey Rivers' bat. What, you don't know what Mickey Rivers' bat did?! Late in the division Championship Game 1978 with the Yankees down 2-0, on-deck hitter Mickey Rivers heard the batter's bat break. He called his teammate over and lent him his own bat. On the next pitch, the batsman Bucky Dent lined a hanging curve ball over Fenway Park's "Green Monster" outfield fence to put the Yankees up for good.

Thus disadvantaged with an obscure topic, the Homies tried their best. It did not seem funny at all, at least according to the YES network edit. The result: The Roadies not only score tickets for the next 3 home games versus the Baltimore Orioles, but the tickets for the first road series in Minnesota.

While the Roadies enjoy the game, the Homeys get a special delivery from the Bagel deliveryman. Strawberry Blonde answers the door in a tight t-shirt, which sort of distracts from what happens next. Michelle Beadle shows up, and throws the Homies a "curve." There will be a Lotto-style challenge, and one of the three Homies will be able to go see the next 5 games. Each Homie goes in turn, as Michelle draws a ping pong ball with a year and number printed on them. They must correctly guess the name of the player who wore the uniform. Right off the bat, Clubtumper blows his first test "2003 #18," (Jeff Weaver.) Strawberry Blonde gets an easy one "2003 #33," (David Wells.) Conan The Librarian is solid with his answers. Clubthumper does a bit of whining, and Strawberry Blonde is shown either getting easy ones or having her wild guesses be correct. Clubthumper is the first to be eliminated, and is not a good sport about it. With Conan The Librarian on the hot seat, Strawberry Blonde draws Joe D.'s "1948 #5" while Dougy doesn't get the wonderfully obscure "Doc" Medich (#33 from 1975.)

Tubthumper lashes out at the poor girl: "You got Monument Park numbers, how can you loose..." That's No Class, Eddie. I advise you to drop uniform #21, you do not wear it well. Paul O'Neill was passionate about the game, but would only get in a rage over his own performance. If Tino Martinez got good pitches to hit and then drilled them, Paulie would no doubt be one of the first to congratulate his fellow teammate. He only got upset and took it out on inanimate objects if he did something to let his team down. It looks like Clubthumper has some lessons to learn about teamwork.

The Roadies are out in the cold watching the game, and on split-screen we see the Homey's lounging in front of the (product placement) JVC big screen TV. A-Rod launches an A-Bomb! Alex "The Third Baseman" Rodriguez hits a walk-off grand slam, a bona-fide bases loaded homerun in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game by a score of 8-6. The split-screen of both groups experiencing the game was quite delightful. The Homies rub it in to Brenda, who wears #13, A-Rod's number, by boasting that they were there to the bitter end and saw it live.

The following day, The Homies prepare to go to the next game. Strawberry Blonde surprises them by telling them that she has won the Curveball, and will be joining them. Estebador is quick to realize that this means there is a four way tie for which Road Tripper has gone to the most games. As it stands, Estebador, CaliGrrrl, Muggs, and Strawberry Blonde will all be tied at six, pending the outcome of the road series at Minnesota.

As the Ultimate Road Trip (URT) Index will count which Road Tripper goes to the most games, the Sly Robbie Index (SRI) will keep track of which Road Tripper helps or harms the Yankees the most. This is to celebrate the great dichotomy of the rhyme and reason of baseball in New York. As soon as George Steinbrenner purchased the team way back when, he had a quote placed prominently in the Yankee clubhouse. It was by General Douglas MacArthur: "There is no substitute for victory." This quote has inspired many Yankees championship teams. Back in 1951 the Brooklyn Dodgers, noting that the great General frequented the Polo Grounds to watch the Giants, invited him to come to Ebbet's Field. The General came to a total of 13 Dodger home games, and the Dodgers lost every single one of them. The Dodgers also lost the pennant by exactly 13 games. Coinkydink? I don't think so. One of these Road Trippers is going to be a Good Luck Charm for the Yankees. Another will be the proverbial Albatross. So, as the YES network calculates who attends the most games, and the Road Trippers divvy up the material prizes, Sly Robbie will be watching to see who blesses, and who curses the team with their very presence. As of the conclusion of Episode 2, all of them have been presence for one victory, and four of them have brought the Yankees two losses. In the coming weeks, the SRI will seperate the Wheat from the Chaff.