By Carlos Peña / Special to MLB.com

NEW YORK -- I didn't get a chance to go out to Monument Park today before the game because of the rain, so I'm definitely going to do that tomorrow, but the main thing about today was just playing in Yankee Stadium for the first time. It was incredible, and part of that might have been because of the rain. We didn't get to take batting practice or spend much time on the field before the game, so once it started I was kind of like, "Whoa! I'm playing at Yankee Stadium. This is awesome. Here we go." It really hit me right before the game, when they had an opera singer perform "God Bless America." That was very powerful to me, because this is the city that suffered the most last September 11th, when all of those terrible things happened. In New York that song takes on a whole new meaning, and I really started to feel my eyes watering up. Once the game started, it was almost like I was in a trance. I was a little bit in awe at first, and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for a while. I kept telling myself to snap out of it. But then, after my first at-bat, everything went back to normal. Facing David Wells kind of wakes you up, I guess. It was a strange night because of the rain delay. There were more than 30,000 people here for the first four and a half innings, and then maybe 300 of 400 after. So there wasn't the same energy the whole time, and the game had no real flow. That's why I'm really looking forward to Wednesday and hoping it doesn't rain. I'll check out Monument Park and get some time on the field during BP. Plus the game's on national television, the Yankees have Mike Mussina on the mound, and the place is going to be packed. It will be the full Yankee Stadium experience, and that's exciting. Carlos Peña's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban, who covers the Oakland A's for MLB.com and can be reached at murban@oaklandathletics.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.