Final homestand at Stadium opens today
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- September
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My story today in the Journal News was about the Yankees heading into the final homestand of the season and the final one ever at Yankee Stadium. One of the players I spoke to was Mike Mussina.
“Everybody’s been looking forward to this stretch at the end of the season. You just never assumed that the last game on the schedule would be the last game at the building because it hasn’t been for so long,†he said. “It’s going to be different.â€
That’s for sure.
Here’s my question to you: Will people try and enjoy these last 10 games at the Stadium or might the team get booed if they don’t play well? It’s be interesting to see how these games go for Joe Girardi and the players.
I am not working this weekend after the long road trip. But we’ll have the lineups on the blog and whatever updates are needed. Check back later to see who’s playing today.
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Meanwhile, if you still need a ticket to one of the games, it’s going to cost you, big time.
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on Friday, September 12th, 2008 at 9:42 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
I think this last homestand will be tough on the fans. Knowing that the old girl is done and the Yankee season is done will hurt quite a bit.
To have to close out with a whimper will have fans pretty heated. I expect to hear a lot of boos if the Yankees don’t play well.
I for one am going Monday,Saturday and Sunday and will enjoy the games and not boo and let everything sink in and stay in my memory bank.
I aM just as excited about taking my 4 year old niece to her first baseball game on Sunday at citizens bank park and to see the phil and brewers.
Even the best of teams doesn’t make the playoffs every year in some ways I think us not making it in the long run will be a good thing.
Also read bernie confirmed he will me there for final game.
I think most of us have written off the postseason, and those that haven’t should get on that train b/c it’s not happening. But I won’t be happy if they just roll over and play dead. There still are a few things left to root for. Moose winning 20 tops that list. The Stadium doesn’t deserve to have it’s last homestand be full of second-rate baseball.
J-Boogie
http;//boogiedownbaseball.blogspot.com
Boo bird shall reign upon Yankee Stadium like squirrels in 2007.
I am going to the game on the 21st and hope the Yankees actually do something special for that game.
First, bring Yogi, Whitey, and George Steinbrenner in for the first pitch and get Bernie Williams back into the place.
Second, have Ronan Tynan sing God Bless America for that game.
Lastly make it an experience that those of us who will be fortunate to be in the Stadium that night never forget.
Howdy folks,
I am making my final pilgrimage to the stadium this weekend and was hoping someone could hook me up with info on where the best place(s) is/are to grab some pregame libations. I have heard some rumors of a bowling alley of sorts where people gather…
Any info will be appreciated.
“Nooooow time for you to diiiiiiieeeee, as I kiss Yan-kee Sta-di-um Goodniiiiiiiiiiiight!.”
The back page of the Daily News immediately made me think of that song by the Notorious B.I.G.
Kind of sad to see it go but as the saying goes, “Change is the only thing that’s Constant.”
I hope the “fans” don’t boo, that would indeed be classless as Yankee fans are often accused of being. I am a fan and just as disappointed in this season as the rest of Yankee Universe but 13 straight postseason appearances is crazy good. NYY fans have taken alot for granted and need to just enjoy the rest of the games, hope that Moose wins 20 and look forward to a better & tougher AL East in 2009.
I think the fans will be generous, but if things get especially sloppy–Cano boots a ball or two, Alex hits into a DP with the tying run on–I don’t think they’ll be so kind.
Also, I really, REALLY hope that security doesn’t try to hustle fans out after the last out next Sunday. An extra hour won’t hurt anyone, boys. It’s not like you have to prep the stadium for the next day.
Here’s my question to you: Will people try and enjoy these last 10 games at the Stadium or might the team get booed if they don’t play well?
I would hope they just enjoy the last few games at Yankee Stadium and not bring out the boo birds. Would be nice to see some signs of life from the Yankees too.
What a frustrating season this has been.
The off season will be interesting. Changes are a comin.
Kevin,
Yes there is a bowling alley right across the street. Believe it’s called Stadium Lanes or something to that effect. Beers will cost 5 a bottle for domestic, 6 for the imports. It gets really crowded like all of the other bars. Your best bet is to bowl a couple of games so you have some breathing room and you can get drinks fairly quickly here.
The bowling alley is prob. your best bet unless you get there 2.5 hours prior to gametime-then you can get a seat at Stan’s
I know it’s probably expecting too much but I’d like to see the next 10 days used to cheer the good memories in the Stadium rather than boo the players.
As much as the players are being scrutinized for how they play the next 18 games, the NYY fans are also being scrutinized for how they “play” the next 10 games. I would like to see the Stadium and the game be the story instead of the final days being remembered for the actions of the fans.
The true Yankee fans will treat this with the class that it deserves. They’ve seen enough games and have enough memories, both good (the late 90s), and bad (the late 60’s) to appreciate what they are witnessing. The ones that cheered the ARod signing and now rant against it or the Cano extension and now want him traded or the ones who wanted to stick with the kids but now want to trade them all off will probably boo. But maybe they’ll be too busy working on a proposed trade of Shelly Duncan and Ian Keddedy for Albert Pujols to even notice.
ESPN has the final game and YES has said they aren’t going to do pre and post-game. Wonder if ESPN will use their Baseball Tonight Show which usually airs before the game to give coverage to the final game ceremonies so those of us not able to be in the Bronx that night can see everything too.
If the Yankees were just a game out of the AL East lead and held an edge in the Wild Card race, this homestand would be meaningful with loads of enthusiasm but the posts indicate that most fans have adjusted and come to grips that a postseason is not to be.
It’s all over but to see the old Stadium for the final games and wonder what could have been.
If the truth be known, the team was like a car with 4 tires having slow leaks since the end of July and only with a lot of help and making their own breaks could things have been different.
At this point, the players on the field are largely irrelevant. Instead, these final games should be used to applaud 86 years of the Stadium’s history. The ballpark is the star of the show…the current players are just performing in the background.
One thing about those ticket prices…I have been watching the brokers websites and none of them have sold at the inflated prices that are jacking up the averages.
Good morning, all.
Yesterday was the first real day where there was good, real dialogue about ways to “fix” the team. There were no suicidal hysterics and “woe is me” comments. It was almost as if everyone had (sadly) accepted the Yankees fate for the season and was looking forward to all of the exciting changes.
Then Pete put up the Hank post to stir up the pot.
So, I would expect that the fans at the stadium will treat this like a farewell tour. How sad and emotional will it be on that last day? Thinking about the last roll call by the bleacher creatures is making me misty-eyed. I wonder what it will do to Doreen!
I hope that the fans appreciate the players and their efforts. Savor the moment if you will. If they happen to win, great. Best of luck to Derek Jeter in his “non” quest for the most hits by a Yankee at the stadium. A winner by any definition.
Damon
Jeter
Teixera
Arod
Ramirez
Matsui
Nady
Posada
Cano
Anyone on here know anything about possibly getting a tour of the stadium before they tear it down? I was obviously very stupid for not getting on this at the very beginning of the season, as I so often procrastinate on these things. Is it still possible to go on a tour, and are they going to be giving tours after the season is over, before they tear it down? Anyone who has any info on this is much appreciated. The number to call about tours never gets answered. Thanks!
I was hoping that SWB would sew the championship up last night and Phil Hughes would spare us the obligation of facing another Sir Sidney sighting.
Oh well.
woe is me, I think I’ll go jump off a bridge to nowhere. Maybe Hank will form a committee to save me!
With regard to YES and the pre and post game on the final game at the Stadium. I believe that they are NOT allowed to do a pre game because of contractualobligations vis a vis ESPN.
IN terms of a post game according to my TIVO Guide they ARE in fact doing a post game and already set the TIVO to record both the game on ESPN and the post game on YES as I will be at the game and am sure will miss alot of things.
It would be good if someone hint PETE could find out if in fact YES is doing a post game that night. it would be very surpising to me if they were not.
TK,
If Scranton had clinched then Phil would’ve been lined up to pitch in the Brickyard Showdown. I guess that’s a one game playoff with the winner of the Pacific League to determine the AAA “champion”. I hope Phil does well. He’s done well in the two postseason games that I’m aware of.
Cashman really downplayed Hughes after his sterling effort in the first round. I hope that’s just to lower expectations. If Cash was trying to raise Phil’s profile and stock trade he’d be talking him up, right?
Good to see that Girardi took blame for the poor season. What I meant by that is if he truly feels it was his responsibility, then he is going to take time to look at exactly what went wrong and hopefully figure out what he could have done differently. I am not going to mash the guy too much because if Wang hadn’t gone down, along with Sui and Jorge, and if Alfred E. and Hughes had worked out, it might not have made a difference. He had a lot of liabilities to work with and let’s face it, Girardi is not a seasoned manager. So there are a lot of things he is going to learn, one of them hopefully being that when you have a guy who isn’t producing for a long enough period of time, you either sit him or you move him down in the lineup, I don’t care who he is. How many times have we seen guys moved into another position become pretty productive? You’re almost taking the pressure off them to produce in a higher spot in the lineup.
Anyway, I think there were things he did very well, and one is manage the bullpen. By and large I think that was a strength. But even the best manager ends up burning out arms when starters don’t go deep into games.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. See ya tonight.
I have an extra ticket for tonight, but I need one for Saturday. Anyone want to make a trade?
“If Scranton had clinched then Phil would’ve been lined up to pitch in the Brickyard Showdown. ”
Brickyard Showdown? Sounds like a NASCAR race followed by a truck and tractor pull!
I wasn’t aware of that though – thanks mel!
I bought tickets to the game on the 21st back in Feb. I’m sitting in the bleacher creature section, on the aisle, and there is NO WAY I would boo anything that happens that night.
So many special things have happened in that stadium, and I feel honored to be part of even one of them. I’ve been looking forward to this game for the entire season, and nothing could spoil my excitement at this point.
“”If Brian stays on as GM, that doesn’t mean he won’t be the No. 1 guy,” Hank Steinbrenner said yesterday.”
We need someone to teach Hank standard english.
TK,
From Jennings:
“* In case you don’t know, the Brickyard Showdown is a one-game Triple-A title game between the International League champion and Pacific Coast League champion played in Oklahoma City. It will be played on Tuesday.”
Also, if Scranton does not win Game 4, Victor Zambrano will pitch the final game. Yikes! Be good, Phil!
“Damon
Jeter
Teixera
Arod
Ramirez
Matsui
Nady
Posada
Cano”
Get rid of Damon and Matsui,because outfield need younger arms.
Get rid of Posada,because ctacher need agile arms.
Get rid of Cano,because team need industrious hitter.
An Idea for the final game….
Sign Wells, Clemens, Key, Cone to one day deals and let them all pitch an inning each.
Sign Tino, O’Neil, Brosisus etc and let all of them get 1 AB as well.
Give the stadium the ultimate send off.
So no ‘Big Foot’ or ‘Truckasaurus Rex’?
Girardi “taking blame” for the season is meaningless in the grand picture.
That’s a quote George will love but has little meaning in the grand scheme of things.
Last I checked, players play the game. The entire team played like crap for most of the season. Their bad season is on them. They own it and should man up and accept it. Letting the manager take the hit is weak and is another indication at how badly this roster needs turning over.
Is Girardi blameless for this year? No. Is he the reason why they aren’t going to the playoffs? Nope, not even close.
This team has basically played the same way since 2005. Meander through the first half of seasons, get hot (especially offensively) in the second half, make the playoffs, then crash and burn in the first round.
This year, they started out the same way as other years. Only difference is, they never hit, and that kept them out of the playoffs.
That tells me, the entire culture of this team has to change. What has to end is the veteran, all star at every position, mindset.
That may be great for fantasy baseball. However, in real baseball, those types of teams don’t win.
In fact, in sports in general, those types of teams generally don’t win.
When you get younger, you get guys that play with a greater sense of urgency from April on. A veteran team tends to pace itself. This year, they paced themselves right out of contention.
Along with player change, a culture change must occur this off-season if the Yankees are to rebuild successfully.
Whomever makes up the 25 man roster of the 2009 New York Yankees has to play with a sense of urgency and passion to start the year we haven’t seen in many years.
This season is the wet towel to the face of everybody in this organization, as well as the fan base.
Making the playoffs is not a birthright. You have to play your way in. This team didn’t, which makes this season easy sweep away for me. They don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.
Next year, I hope the roster is full of guys who actually believe playing hard starts with Game 1 and not Game 90.
If they get guys like that, they will be closer to fixing what’s broken.
TK,
No. We’ll have to make do with “Little Big Foot” (Aceves) and “Big G”.
Did I dream or did Humberto Sanchez really get called up?
Reaction to Girardi’s job in the clubhouse is mixed.
Andy Pettitte , Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Mike Mussina and Brian Bruney praised Girardi. Others said a lot by not moving their lips when asked. Two refused to comment and said, “Don’t write that I didn’t say anything.”
Mussina, who is a Joe Torre fan, debunked the thought that the season would have been different had the Steinbrenners given Torre a two-year deal to stay instead of the one- year pact he refused.
“If Joe Torre was still here it would have been just as hard,” Mussina said.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09.....128694.htm
———————————-
That’s it? Andy, Musisna, Jeter, MO, and Bruney of all people were the only ones who supported Girardi? Maybe he has lost the clubhouse.
Or maybe its the only guys that wanted to speak on the record.
There are guys on that team, like Jeter, Arod, Wang, etc, who aren’t going to say anything publicly about managerial ratings.
The Post’s “survey” is hardly a source of real info on this matter.
There is a famous quote by a manager (Stengel?) that the art of managing is to keep the 5 guys that hate you away from the other 20 who haven’t made up their minds yet.
Every player is going to have an opinion about Joe G. All that really matters is production though – they can share their feelings with someone who cares as far as I’m concerned.
SJ,
Agree with your last post. You need look no further than Moose’s comment (sarcasm/irony as Moose was the only player who bothered to show up):
“Everybody’s been looking forward to this stretch at the end of the season. You just never assumed that the last game on the schedule would be the last game at the building because it hasn’t been for so long,†he said. “It’s going to be different.â€
The formula worked for x number of years, why should this year be any different? Well, for starters. They underestimated Tampa. Two, you can’t score less than 3 runs in 40% of your games. Three, there’s 162 games on the shedule can work both ways. We’re used to peaking at the right time while others like Tampa built a cushion and a lot of confidence which is key in baseball.
Really, the only ones determined to drive Joe out of town is the media.
Hello? Torre’s not coming back.
“Reaction to Girardi’s job in the clubhouse is mixed.”
I don’t put much credence in clubhouse polls by writers but it’s tough not to notice that 3 ex teammates and 2 pitchers that Torre had taken the ball from at the end of 2007 are the ones to voice support for Girardi. Not exactly shocking, is it?
So does that mean that Giambi was one that declined to comment? If he did that blows. Girardi gave him way too much playing time.
Not going to worry about it.
If they have any pride, they’ll play hard next year. For anybody.
Meanwhile, if you still need a ticket to one of the games, it’s going to cost you, big time.
thank god i didnt buy tickets! i almost bought a few months ago for this series!
by the way bernie said that he will be at the stadium
The manager alone can’t make or break the season, but he is not completely irrelevant either.
Anyone who has been in a position of leadership for long enough knows that sometimes you make a difference and sometimes events are overwhelming. Sometimes the difference you make is positive, sometimes (if you’re objective, you admit) it’s negative. Sometimes the overwhelming external events are negative and sometimes (if you’re objective you admit) they’re so positive that you’d have had to shoot your own team members to lose.
Those who want to defend and justify Girardi’s performance this year want to say either that his efforts were a wash (as much good as bad) or that he was overwhelmed by such negative external events, like injuries, that even the greatest manager could not have overcome them.
I would disagree. I think his inexperience and overconfidence contributed to enough bad decision-making on his part to be a handicap to the team. I believe that at the same time the external events were negative but no more overwhelming than other teams experienced.
Next year he will be less inexperienced and I hope less overconfident. We don’t know what external events will influence next year’s team, but we can hope (and some of us even feel sure) that our manager will be more ready to handle them.
what should happen with the yankee franchise and what is going to happen are two different things.
new owners are clearly needed, but that’s not going to happen until george dies.
what will happen is that hank will not let the blame fall on him. it’s not in his nature.
by adding an advisory council he’s in effect saying that cashman didn’t do the job and needs help.
i don’t think cashman will accept it . i think he’ll move on while his value is at it’s highest. if he waits and is marginalized or fired, he’s not likely to get a good gm job somewhere else.
so i’m expecting cashman to be riding off into the sunset in the next few months.
as has been stated previously, no one person is bigger than the franchise.
the yankees need to put all their resources into management , coaches, and players who understand that a different kind of game is being played now. look at the angels run differential and then look at their record. it’s not how many runs you score and how few you give up. it’s when you do both and how well you can prevent a run or get one run when you need it.
The reality of the matter is this team stinks and will for several years. I am willing to wait for a TWO YEAR REBUILD. I honestly hope Cashman is gone, to be replaced with Oppenheimer (He does a good job with the draft). In fact, the only thing seperating the Yankees from the Knicks is the fact they have an opportunity to get rid of a few ugly contracts: Pavano, Giambi, Pudge, Marte, Petitte, Abreu. and even Mussina’s to name a few. I would NOT sign Sabathia or Texieria (Let alone Burnett). I want IPK gone (Even before Cano or Melky, his attitude is the worst)). Next, I know that Damon, Matsui, and Nady come off the books after 2009, and these guys can be replaced with Melancon, Jackson, Montero, and Brackman, starting next year with Melancon, and Acevedo.
Then in 2011, we can have a reasonable payroll, and start to have a winning team around here, instead of looking up at Tampa and Boston.
“Reaction to Girardi’s job in the clubhouse is mixed.â€
I don’t put much credence in clubhouse polls by writers but it’s tough not to notice that 3 ex teammates and 2 pitchers that Torre had taken the ball from at the end of 2007 are the ones to voice support for Girardi. Not exactly shocking, is it?
I think most people feel mixed about Girardi this year … whenever I am ready to go ballistic about something he has done or not done (i.e. resting a player after they had 3 hits the night before because he doesnt want them to get “tired” when we are desparate to score runs) I have to take a step back and realize that there was so much stacked against him this year that i dont think it would have made that much difference even if he was the 2nd coming of Miller Huggins or Casey Stengel.
Once Hughes and Kennedy fell flat on their faces, I had a sinking feeling that we were in trouble … because the Yankees foolishly did not have a veteran pitcher brought in during the off-season who was capable of immediately stepping in.
The loss of Wang was bad not so much for what he meant to the team, but for the timing as well. His injury was at one of the few points in the season where I started to feel like the Yankees were ready to go on a roll. It just completely knocked out any momentum they had started building. Then, Posada was done for the year a short time later and it felt like the heart and soul of the team was ripped apart … by the the Joba went down the writing was on the wall that this was not going to be our year … so it is hard for me to kill Girardi about all of that.
It would be one thing if the Yankees were relatively healthy all year and still under-performed. I know that you cant excuse everything that has happened this year because of the injuries, but you also cant deny that it adversely impacted the team on and off the field either.
In the end, i think there was too much to overcome, internally, to make a legitimate run at the post season.
mel -
I don’t figure ESPN is going to be all that sentimental in their coverage, and I’ll be too annoyed with the voices and observations of their on-air “talent” that I’m not expecting to get very misty eyed on the 21st. If YES gets a post-game – that is probably where my emotions will be stirred. It’s really too bad that there won’t be a YES pre-game. I’m assuming there will be pre-game ceremony of sorts; does ESPN plan on covering that?
What IS going to be sad, particularly, is the last day of the season, wherever it is (I know, Boston). And that’s when it will sink in that the golden carriage has turned back into a pumpkin.
As for the poll of players, whatever.
i wouldn’t look too much into Hanks commets… remember, he’s the only one that usually does comment on these things. Jen and Hal also have a say.
i had several failed attempts at picking up tickets off of ebay. the final prices weren’t as outragous as you would think, but that was a week or so ago….
Randy— Cashman’s value is at its LOWEST! He just missed the post-season with the top payroll in the game and clearly lost his gamble on the young pitchers he thrust into the starting rotation. You think some owner is going to look at this year and say, yeah, Cashman’s the guy for me?
I don’t blame him for everything that happened this year. The losses of Posada and Wang were devastating, but his resume’ is tarnished without question.
The Yanks probably SHOULD let all the FA go, sign no type-A or type-B FA, take advantage of the load of good draft picks and rebuild the right way. I can’t imagine they would really do that.
They WILL go after at least one FA starting pitcher and maybe two, try to acquirea quality RH bad through a trade (Matt Holiday anyone) and pursue TEX or some top flight 1B candidate. I also think they will sign Pettite for about half his current salary OR Mussina for his current $$$ but probably not both unless they whiff on CC, AJ, Sheet and Oliver Perez. abreu gets offered arbitration and we never see Giambi, Pudge or Pavano in pinstripes again, though Pavano should offer to pitch for the MLB minimum to make up for his $ 39.95 M heist.
“I honestly hope Cashman is gone, to be replaced with Oppenheimer (He does a good job with the draft)”
You cant just assume because he does a good draft (Cole signing was a nightmare btw) that he can run the biggest franchise in the sports industry. Come on now.
Ya know, that article in the NY Post is ….. in the NY Post.
Even if they have some fact in their articles, their intent is usually to scare up controversy or action more than to report the facts.
Let’s say some guys on the team know better than to open their mouths around a Post reporter(s) so they tell the reporter not to even say that they didn’t comment. I believe the Post guys will twist it in a way that implies that the player’s actually hiding harsh or negative opinions, rather than just not wanting to have what amounts to little or nothing turned into something harsh just for public consumption.
OK I cracked & skimmed the article on line just to see what people are all buggered about. Predictably, it sounded to me like they’re really trying to conjure & extract it here. Hey what the heck supposedly it sells papers. Let them think that approach works … even if it’s precisely what’s has turned me away me from buying a single one of their cheaply-written papers over the past 20 years.
Even if there’s a potentially valid topic and even some fact in there, it’s never worth getting riled up about a Post article.
86w183
i think that cashman knows the gm rules as well as anyone and would do a decent job at keeping a middle america team afloat that didn’t have a fan base with high expectations.
he’s very good at creating the perception that things are going to get better. that’s perfect for some owners.
i think this is the time he’ll jump ship if given the opportunity.
i don’t think he’s going to let hank neuter him or clip his wings.
“Long said Wednesday that he would travel to the Dominican Republic to work with Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera. The Yankees have little invested in Cabrera, who lost his everyday job after struggling for most of the season. But Canó is a mystery.”
Maybe he will love the D.R. so much he will just stay down there for good!
If he goes I vote for Buck Showalter as GM… the guy has a proven track record in player evaluations. He might need someone with a complete grasp of all the personnel rules as an Asst. GM, but I thik he’s the best guy for what ails this franchise.
That said, I have no problem with giving Cashman another year or two to complete this transition and rre-establish this team among the elite ON the field.
The Cole mess goes right to Cashman, because he DEALS with Boras, and was willing to play the Boras last minute game (Oppenheimer does not deal with Boras).
Every possible rotten thing that could occur has this year. From Cole, to Inoa, to injuries, to a decline in productivity (See Arod), to steroids, to corrupt Latin American Scouting, to the improvement in Tampa, Toronto and Baltimore. They need to blow it up and start over.
Ultimately, we have no power, unless we stop going to games and/or tuning in YES to watch.
We don’t get to vote for the owners, the FO people, the manager or the players. We aren’t consulted or polled. We can gripe and moan, but it goes unheeded for the most part. (Well, we are fickle, so that’s understandable.)
We get what we get. We’ll either cheer for it or we’ll silently or not so silently bear with it.
How many times have we all sent “positive vibes” through the airwaves, hoping all the positive energy would have an effect on a game? How many of us have little rituals that we follow when certain things are going on or not going on in a game? How many of you are already think about what you’re going to change up next season in your game-watching routine? Maybe a different corner of the sofa? A different room altogether? Maybe drink a coke instead of a pepsi? Green tea instead of coffee?
I’m both guilty of and amused by how we as fans react in both good times and bad.
I guess my point is, if Cashman is back even though you don’t want him, will you still be rooting for the Yankees next season? And vice versa – if he’s gone and you wanted him to stay, will you still cheer for the Yankees?
If the Yankees are not competitive next year – will you disappear as a fan, or will you just find a different corner of the couch to change the team’s luck?
I think we’re all stuck. I think we can say how angry or disappointed or whatever we are. But we’ll all be here next season and the season after that.
Time for more coffee – or something. I’m rambling.
The Yankees team ERA this year is 4.38 which is 18th in the entire league and 9th in the Al. all of the current playoff teams are in the top 11 in pitching (ERA).
On offence 3 current division leaders are not in the top 16 in runs scored and coincedentally 2 have the best records in the AL (LAA and TB). 4 out of the 11 leaders in runs scored are not in contention–Tex, Det. Bal. and NYY.
Just to recap: EVERY TEAM THAT IS CURENTLY IN THE PLAYOFFS IS IN THE TOP 11 IN Team ERA.
ONYLY 4 of the current playoff teams are in the top 11 in RUNS Scored.
I think the yankees should focus on pitching this offseason.
Tom—- Amen brother… STARTING pitching is job one this off-season and that means at least one of CC, AJ, Sheets and possibly two. IF Joba can start, they add Joba andWang for nothing and that’s a pretty good starting point. Signing CC lets them decide between Mussina and Pettite…
They will also open ‘09 with a better bullpen than they opened ‘08 with which should also improve the starting pitching and overall pitching numbers.
I think Cashman is in the same position the Yankees are in with Cano.
Right now is the time he still holds some value to another organization.
One more failed season and all the value and luster will be lost.
I can see a team like Washington or Seattle take Cashman — let them have him. He has almost no baseball sense.
Most of us who didn’t drink the Kool Aid this off season saw this coming. How you go into a season with 2 rookie pitchers under innings limits in the starting rotation is silly.
In fact, I wonder how he dances around that decision and Igawa, etc. when he is interviewing.
Cashman will be relying on the old boy network to get him his next job somewhere else.
That team and city will quickly become disillusioned with him and he’ll end up working in the MLB offices someday like Watson or something.
I think if he has any sense, he stays here and embraces the idea that they are going to get him help, get him new thinkes who can help put together a team concept.
If he doesn’t like that, none of us should want him here anymore and he should go.
As for the last games, I really dislike this team but I’ve never been in a fan in all my years who boo’s players at games.
Frankly, I think you look like an idiot booing in the stands as a grown man.
I always look around and see little kids looking confused and scared when some yahoo starts booing or cursing the players in the stands.
I choose to vent here rather than in public.
I’m not going to boo these guys, but I’m also not interested in seeing them play anymore.
I’ll go to the last game mostly to cheer Bernie who I loved and say goodbye to the old place and my well worn uncomfortable seats and that’s it.
“Ultimately, we have no power, unless we stop going to games and/or tuning in YES to watch.”
not true ,doreen.
we could get a group from the blog and on sj’s signal to our cell phones, blackberries, and iphones attack from all corners of the stadium.
the only problem is guessing when hank shows up for that 4th time this season.
guarantee we’d get tv time( and probably other time as well).
One thing that totally surprised me about this was how Girardi took over for Torre, yet Girardi was never on Torres coaching staff last year, but he used the EXACT same lineup that Torre used or would have used. I was shocked that he made no changes whatsoever. I cannot believe that a new manager taking over a new team would run the same exact batting out as the previous manager did. Not that it would have made much difference except maybe in the 4th and 5th spots but I found that very odd. I thought at times while watching this years team stragegy that I was watching a Torre team. Although it looked like girardi ran more.
I thought tough guy Joe should have been tougher on his team than he has been on female reporters
G. Love -
I truly hope you enjoy your last visit to the stadium. I’m glad Bernie’s going to be there.
One way to look at all this is at least it’s not dull. You know, Atlanta had all those winning teams, but Atlanta was dull. No one really cares that Atlanta is not contending this year. One thing you can say for the Yankees is no one ever doesn’t care.
Bright young baseball mind? that was the tag for Cashman, but I have to agree with the posters that say no. Evaluating pitching has been his achilles heel. The pitchers he brought in, the pitchers he passed up on, and those that he kept in the orgamization, all wrong calls.
I can`t blame him for the lineup, I look at how GI JOE came in, and was not even a part of the coaching staff last season, and he trots almost the same batting order out there as Torre did. That seemed really odd to me.
Tyler Kepner has an interesting article in the NY Times today, focusing on Kevin Long, Robbie Cano, and the offense this season.
If anyone’s interested.
No pre and post game for the final game? That stinks!!
randy l -
So, you’re an anarchist, eh?
Would we aim the devices at Hank and see if he “pops?”
We’re merely pawns in their game. But that’s okay. It’s a diversion and besides, there’s nothing else on television during the summer.
When I was in college, and before kids, we did have a much more active social life. And my husband and I worked close to each other, so we’d stop for dinner on the way home, or whatever. I wasn’t as dependent on the Yankees for entertainment. And even after the kids, for a while, again, they took up so much time that I wasn’t dependent on the Yankees for entertainment. I was very active in community theater for a while and you could say I WAS the entertainment! But now, kids are older and pretty independent (in their own way), and we find ourselves homebodies during the week and thus, dependent on the Yankees for entertainment. (As much as I love the Yankees, if there’s something to do on a summer day, the Yankee game is a distant second.)
Now, they have not lived up to their end of this thing this season. They have not been entertaining. They have been aggravating, and they have been puzzling, and they have been mildly amusing at times, but they have not been entertaining.
So, Randy l, what do we need to do to corner Hank again????
“Cashman will be relying on the old boy network to get him his next job somewhere else.
That team and city will quickly become disillusioned with him and he’ll end up working in the MLB offices someday like Watson or something.”
…and then he’ll fine and suspend the crap out of the yankees.
Oh, Jennifer. Not you, too!? Do you no longer have Girardi’s back? You must be one of those no comment guys in the locker room.
It really stinks that the final game at the stadium will not be on YES. Instead we will have to listen to Miller/Morgan the idiots talk about the stadium for 4 hours. It would of been nice if YES can carry the game also..but I know that is not possible. For ONCE it would of been nice to hear the Yankee announcers talk about the stadium and team especially since they are the ones at the stadium everyday..even Kay. Miller knows nothing. I hope that the Yanks are smart enough to have a post game if they can’t have a pre game. I don’t think ESPN can not allow that they would have to understand.
CaptainsCorner -
Maybe the Yankees announcers will be ultra sentimental during the second to last game at the stadium, which will be their last game broadcasting from the stadium. What I mean is, they’ll give their send-off a day early, I guess.
Joe Morgan was one of my favorite all time players, what a player he was, HOF in the highest degree- however as an announcer I see him as a single A player
The last night, September 21, there might be some people booing not at the hugely disappointing way the season ended, not at the players’ performances this year, but booing because they don’t want the stadium to be demolished….
“So, Randy l, what do we need to do to corner Hank again????”
on sj’s signal, we all CHARGE.
it’ll be like when the bullpens empty( except there’ll be more of us).
just like the charging bullpen, we’ll figure out what we’ll do when we get there.
on a side note, why do two team’s bullpens sprint side by side 100 yards to fight in the infield when they could both just stop in the outfield and be less out of breath to discuss things?
The Yanks have to pay the Orioles to not show up that day so that the Yanks can actually win the last game. They need to send loser Millar on an early vacation.
i wonder if anyone will chain themselves to the stadium, like hippies do to trees, in hopes they won’t tear it down?
saucY,
As long as they bought $10 beers and hot dogs, they’ll let the protesters stay as long as they please.
A sit in maybe?
The Yankeees need starting pitching that gets deep into ball games (6+) innings per start. I know its easier said than done, but having good dependable starting pitching is the most important thing that all winning teams have. Plus it keeps the bullpen fresh and a fresh bullpen is an effective bullpen. As we’ve seen this year the more often pitchers like Veras are Edwar used the less effective they are.
As for putting together a bullpen it seems that each of the contending teams (with the mets being the exception) have SET-UP men who are dominate–Carlos Marmol, J.P. Howell, Scott Shields, Hideki Okajima, even scott linebrink has been great this year. Do the yankees have anybody currently in their bullpen that can be that guy? (DO NOT SAY JOBA–he a starter).
I think since this is really unknown territory for these players we may see some bad baseball as this situation has got to be murder for many of these guys. I look for a lackluster week and a half, I wish I felt differently but thats what I see.
We all will learn a lot about these guys in the next few weeks
What do you think the chances of a rain out tonight will be? It looks bad and I have a long trip to the stadium to make the game, so I am wondering what to do.
They will play tonight- they will dodge the showers
mel
I am at work, use a different handle.
The last time they missed the playoffs…
Jeter – never (14 years)
Abreu – 2 years (2005 with PHI)
Pettitte – once in 15 years (2006 with HOU)
Matsui – never (dating back to Japan)
Cano – Never (3 years)
Rivera – never (14 years)
A-Rod – 4 years (2003 with TEX)
Damon – 8 years (2000 with KC)
Giambi – 9 years (1999 with OAK)
Posada – never (13 years)
Mussina – 8 years (2000 with BAL)
Even little Wilson Betemit has made the postseason every year of his career (2007 with NYY, 2006 with LAD, 2004-05 with ATL)
“I think since this is really unknown territory for these players”
This is known territory for more of the players than you might think. What veterans other than Jeter and Mariano have never missed a postseason?
oops forgot about Matsui.
Cashman has done a good job making mid-season trades to strengthen the team. Whether getting David Justice in 2000, Bobby Abreu two years ago, or even getting Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte this year, he’s usually managed to do that well.
Where I think he’s really fallen down over the years has been in allowing the team to get old. After their great year in 1998, which included Scott Brosius’ career year, he rushed to keep the aging Brosius and traded away the then-young Mike Lowell for a young pitcher named Ed Yarnall who was totally ineffective (evaluating young starting pitching also doesn’t appear to be his strength).
He did little to rejuvenate the team in the following years. By 2000, some of the key players (Paul O’Neill, Tino) were already showing signs of age. David Cone had become totally ineffective. They won the World Series that year, but didn’t play well for long stretches during the season (3-15 in their last 18 games). They only won 87 games during the regular season, and were lucky that the rest of the division wasn’t strong.
They no longer were as good a hitting team in 2001. Part of the reason the Diamondbacks shut their hitting down so effectively in the 2001 World Series was the number of aging players. It wasn’t just good pitching by the Diamondbacks.
Following that year, they obtained Jason Giambi, and stayed away from playing their young first base prospect, Nick Johnson. The highly regarded young player was again traded away.
Talented players were allowed to age in place. Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton, Bernie Williams, etc. all gradually lost their effectiveness while they were still here. Replacements were generally nowhere in sight.
It’s actually pretty amazing that they stayed in contention this long. It’s also a tribute to just how great much of the core of this team (players like Jeter, Pettitte, Posada, and of course, Mariano Rivera) really was for so long.
Is all of this his fault? It’s hard for those of us on the outside to say. How much of this was Cashman, and how much was the fault of others, whether the Tampa faction, George himself, or the scouting staff isn’t totally clear. At least some of these bad decisions, particularly the bad drafting and the Giambi signing appear to originate elsewhere. But it’s hard to believe the Cashman had no part in it, either.
Cashman was very lucky to become General Manager of the Yankees at just the right time. He inherited one of the great teams in baseball history, a dynasty team. He has kept it as a perennial contender for a decade. That is certainly an accomplishment, but I believe they could have done a better job restocking the shelves as they became bare.
When he finally turned to youth, he went and overdid it (counting on both Hughes and IPK this year). There has to be some balance between letting young players succeed with the Yankees, and with using young players as chips in propitious trades to fill obvious weaknesses and obtain experienced players.
I wouldn’t be upset if Cashman were given one more contract and given sufficient authority to do what he thinks needs to be done. His record is good enough to justify that. Certainly if the Tampa group truly championed signing aging all-stars over younger players (an oldtime George special from the 1980s) I don’t want to see them back in charge. But I wouldn’t be upset either if Cashman left and someone else were put in charge.
There’s a lot of talk about the yankees starting the season with basicaly two rookies in the rotation. This isn’t the first time the Yankees have done this. The ‘61 Yanks started Bill Stafford (14-7) and Roland Sheldon (11-5). NYY in ‘62 and ‘63 with 4 man rotations had a rookie starter, Jim Bouton and Al Downing.
ok I have the defnitive info on YES coverage on September 21st. I emailed Neil Best at NEWSDAy and he said DEFINITELY they will have BOTH pre and post game coverage on that day.
***basically***
Where are all these buyers paying so much for tickets? I have my Loge seats up on stubhub and ebay ($5.50 bid right now). There is no interest in these tickets. I wish I could go to the game but I’m on vacation. Looks like I’ll be eating these tickets…
Good post, JsDad.
I would just say that maybe they should restock the shelves before they become bare. Nothing worse than thinking you have something in your pantry, looking around and realizing you already used it a long time ago and NOW you have to run out and not only get what you need for today, but restock the pantry as well. Hey, we all do it. I know I do. Sometimes you can make do with a substitute ingredient, but a lot of times the dish either suffers, or just isn’t the same.
If Cashman walks, it will be the brightest day this franchise has had in a while. I can’t believe he thought 2 overhyped kids like Hughes and Kennedy could anchor our rotation. If Mussina did not have a god-like year, we would be battling the O’s for 4th place. Very poor planning by Cashman… showed a lack of judgment. And the one phenom pitcher we do have in Joba, Cashman seems intent on ruining him by jerking him back and forth between the rotation and pen.
Cashman has done nothing to gain full autonomy. We have regressed each year of his rebuilding.
Thanks Gayle. Thought I read somewhere they would not be but happy to be wrong.
gayle -
You are a go-getter. Thanks for that information. Yay!
Boston, the Mets, Houston and Philadelphia all have average age over the Yankees. Three of those are playoff bound
I expect Sir Sidney to keep our playoff hopes alive tonight
Using Nick Johnson as an example of letting a team get old and trading away youth is ridiculous. He’s beem hurt every year in the majors and more than a few of his minor league seasons.
“The ‘61 Yanks started Bill Stafford (14-7) and Roland Sheldon (11-5).”
Sadly the ‘08 Yankees had no Whitey Ford-type to start 25% of their games and an offense with an OPS+ of 118.
Had this year’s offense performed near it’s average, Mussina would have been that Whitey Ford.
“Boston, the Mets, Houston and Philadelphia all have average age over the Yankees. Three of those are playoff bound”
Couple thoughts.
1) This isn’t true (see baseballreference.com)
2) It’s even less true when you consider how reliant the Yankees were on 30-somethings, which represented most of their everyday lineup, their closer and a good chunk of their starting rotation.
OMG did anyone just hear that on WFAN
it was hilarious
these are the worst music jingles for a radio show i have ever heard
Thanks, Doreen. I appreciate it. I always enjoy your very well-written posts.
The problem here too is that the pantry may have too much of one kind of item (pitchers), and not enough of another (position players). But then again, they say you can never have enough pitching.
GreenBeret7 -
I agree with you that Nick Johnson has been hurt a lot of the time, but no one could have known that ahead of time.
Bryan(Yankeefan)
I did, I heard.
GB:
Not really. In Ford I’m talking about a guy who was 1) an ace and 2) a workhorse. Mussina of 2008 is nowhere near the latter. When I think of Ford in 1961, I think of a slightly lesser version of Guidry in 1978. Guidry was an ace, a horse and so good that he was able to carry a team with otherwise ordinary starters and an offense that played to a 105 OPS+ (’08 Yanks are 104) to a title.
Ford didn’t have to carry quite the load Guidry did because the offense was so strong, but the Mussina comparison nonetheless falls short IMO.
All that said, if the offense came anywhere close to meeting expectations this year, September would not be reduced to the glorified exhibition season it’s become.
Think of this for just ONE SECOND….the Yankees win ALL TEN of their next games….and ride into Boston down 3 games with 3 to go….they win those 3 as well….then win the coin flip….then beat the Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th in the playoff game that says who is this year’s wild card team ( oh, and they do it, with 2 outs and the bases loaded and on an 0-2 pitch, A-Rod hit a grand slam off of Papelbon )…..I don’t know about you,,,but just the thought of it…I am smiling…..
Bavd in reverse
September 12th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
“Think of this for just ONE SECOND….the Yankees win ALL TEN of their next games….and ride into Boston down 3 games with 3 to go….they win those 3 as well….then win the coin flip….then beat the Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th in the playoff game that says who is this year’s wild card team ( oh, and they do it, with 2 outs and the bases loaded and on an 0-2 pitch, A-Rod hit a grand slam off of Papelbon )…..I don’t know about you,,,but just the thought of it…I am smiling….. ”
My good friend Vito, by any chance did you smoke your lunch today??
Ohmigosh – is that where the expression “pipe dreams” came from?????
Um,
yes in the last gamein Boston Arod gets up with bases loaded after Damon had singled off Papelbon, Jeter singled and Abreu worked an 11 pitch walk. Arod fouls out ot Variteck on the first pitch
If those are the sample jingles for Francessa’s show, then he is better off going with the generic “WFAN, NEW YORK!!” one.
I think half of this season’s failures are on Cashman. I know the hitters didn’t hit, I’m not a big fan of Long. You already have a stat hound with Girardi, and although Long has a good work ethic, it’s better to have a more relaxed coach to instruct hitters, not some guy who’s going to break down film, and fill the hitters heads with stuff they don’t need to know. The key is to be relaxed at the plate, don’t over think, and get into hitters counts. What Cashman did wrong was over valuing Hughes, Kennedy & Cabrera. Now their value is down, and they’ll still have to pay high to get Sabathia, who may not even want to come to NY.
black yankee
September 12th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
“Boston, the Mets, Houston and Philadelphia all have average age over the Yankees. Three of those are playoff bound”
You should do your research better black yankee. The average age of a pitcher for the Sox is 29.1 and positional/batter is 29.9. For the Yankees the average age of a pitcher is 30.6 while for the positional/batter is 31.4!
And the sun may not come up tomorrow either.
Q: Will people try and enjoy these last 10 games at the Stadium or might the team get booed if they don’t play well?
An intriguing question, Peter.
For me, the losses now (and the sloppy play that comes with many of them) do not bother me NEARLY as much as the losses/sloppy play from earlier in the season did.
The reason is simple: As tough as it was, a while back I made my peace with the fact that the Yankees are out of it.
As a result, these final 10 regular-season home games mean much more than they otherwise would have because this is it… After this, it’s over.
When it comes to the final game at The Stadium, I will be STUNNED if the team does not take the approach that THAT game, much more so than the nine that precede it, is a very special game, and a very important game to win.
The years between 1997 and 2005 the yankees never really lost any impact prospects. Who have they tradded from their farm team that has made a lasting impact other than Mike Lowell or Marte?
Eric Milton
Christian Guzman
Drew Henson
Wily Mo Pena
Jackson Melian
Ruben Rivera
Rickey Ledee
Nick Johnson
Juan Rivera
Marcus Thames
Brad Halsey
Jason Anderson
Brandon Clausen
C.J. Henry
I’m amazed Cashman was able to get anything of value for this cast of clowns…Of course the Yankees greatest asset is their money…..which has hidden alot of the mistakes of the recent past. However, its also been the root of all of the problems.
I have a small rant:
Francesa LOVES whining — and he just did it again — saying about the closing of the stadium and how people are sad about, “This is NOT Yankee Stadium! The original stadium died when they renovated it!! Waaah!! Quit crying about it”
Jeeezuz!!! Not all of us were OLD enough to be at the so called “original stadium.” The one that’s standing right now has been the home to LOTS of people and LOTS of memories. Just because we weren’t there pre-1976 doesn’t make this stadium mean less to us.
Why is there such hatred for people expressing they’re gonna miss it????
Guidry had plenty of help in the rotation. Figueroa won 20 games…Hunter won 12 in ‘78…in ‘77, he had Figueroa, Gullett, Mike Torrez. Ford had 5 other pitchers that won at least 11 games in ‘61. He wasn’t alone. Mussina has pretty much carried the pitching staff this year. From time to time, he got help from Pettitte. Using innings pitched by Ford or Guidry is a little silly, though. Nobody in baseball is coming close to the innings pitched by Ford and Guidry, because baseball is played completely different than 25 or 45 years ago. The runs NYY scored this year will be pretty close to what the ‘61 Yankees scored. You cannot compare teams from past eras….you can’t compare teams from 10-15 or 25 years ago. Look at walks in baseball, this year. There used to be 15 or more players with 100 walks. This year, maybe 7-8.
Half is on Cashman
Half is on Girardi
Half is on the players
Half is on the injuries
Half is on the terrible schedule in the beginning of the season
Half is on the ghosts moving out into the new place
Half is on the Tampa Rays dropping the “Devil” out of their names
Half is on the umpires who got soooo many calls wrong
Half is on all those getaway night games
Doreen channeling Yogi!
Very nice! lol
Ray,
I had somebody send me a web page showing the Yankees as the fifth oldest roster behinf those four. Where did you find that stat? Either way its certainly pretty close, so therefore since the ages are close, and the Red Sox are perfroming far better I am not sure age has any effect on the Yankees performance
“You cannot compare teams from past eras….you can’t compare teams from 10-15 or 25 years ago. Look at walks in baseball, this year. There used to be 15 or more players with 100 walks. This year, maybe 7-8″
With OPS+, you can do make some comparisons because it’s based on how they are relative to their era. 2008 Yankees are decidedly average. 1961 Yankees were an tremendous offensive team.
As for Guidry, the Yankees were 25 over .500 when he pitched and 10 over when didn’t. Don’t care who else was there. He carried ‘em. He was the bomb.
As you suggest, Mike Mussina is indeed carrying the staff this year. I’d suggest to you that this goes a long way towards explaining why they are in 4th place.
Going to see Phil and the Scranton Yankees close out the Bulls tonight. Hopefully it’s as exciting as last night.
I’m not by a computer right now, but could somebody tell me how much pitching experience the 2003 Marlins had in their starting rotations? I’m pretty sure those guys had FAR less experience then the Yankee starting five had at the beginning of the year.
That’s why I find it laughable when people criticize Cashman for having 2 rookie pitchers in the rotation. It was really only 1 rookie in actuality as Phil Hughes was no longer a rookie. There was also no reason to think that Phil Hughes couldnt duplicate his 07 season when he pitched 80 league average big league innings. Now Hughes and Kennedy are busts? I guess Mike Pelfrey is a bust as well?
The Yankees started the season with 3 pitchers who could pitch close to 600 innings between them. Moose and Andy by themselves have more experience than the combined rotation of Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay’s oldest starter is 24 I believe.
The TRUTH of the matter is that the offense was offensive this year and the main culprit for the yanks missing the playoffs. (sorry S.A. for stealing your tagline)
This is the final 10 games of Yankee Stadium, who would of ever thought it would end like this. The fans should revel in that but this has been a terrible season and the team should hear it from the fans. They have to clean house, say bye to Giambi,Abreu,Moose or Pettitte trade Damon or Matsui, maybe Cano and go back to the old days, pitching and clutch hitters that can bunt,hit and run create runs. The first thing is also they need to get rid of Long and Meacham horrible job by those two. Lets get CC and Tex and go from there.
I don’t think they’ll be much booing or cheering… I can see a very apathetic crowd, kind of similar to late March games at Madison Square Garden.
Bernie at the Stadium 9/21?
http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com.....p;c_id=nyy
raymagnetic
September 12th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
I’m not by a computer right now, but could somebody tell me how much pitching experience the 2003 Marlins had in their starting rotations? I’m pretty sure those guys had FAR less experience then the Yankee starting five had at the beginning of the year.
Willis was the only rookie at 21, but the other four, Penny and Beckett were 25 and 23, but very little experience. The geezers were Pavano and Mark Redman at 27 and 29. Not exactly household names.
I hope nobody boos. The season has been a disappointment, but I believe that as a fan, the supporting of the team should override the reactionary booing that often occurs.
As for anyone who says this isn’t killing the guys is silly. You think Jeter isn’t numb at the fact at his first baseball-less October. Guys like Moose, or Andy too? Anybody who says they don’t care and boos them is just being classless.
I don’t see the point of booing. To me, it comes off as whining.
They aren’t going to the playoffs this year. It happens. Get over it, support the final days of the stadium, and move on.
If you can’t do that, then jump off the bandwagon and come back when they are better. Its what most people did prior to 1996 anyway.
At some point, they were going to miss the playoffs. Unfortunately, this is the year.
Spending the final 10 days of the Stadium booing the team just makes Yankee fans look bad. It would serve no other purpose.
raymagnetic,
2003 Florida Marlins Starting Pitchers ages, experience in MLB (as per Baseball-Reference):
Carl Pavano, 29yo. 5 years ex.
Brad Penny, 25 yo. 4 years ex.
Mark Redman, 29 yo. 5 years ex.
Dontrelle Willis 21yo. rookie.
Josh Beckett 23 years old. 3rd year in league.
Standard line-up with Molina catching tonight if they get the game in.
Bern Baby Bern!!!!!!!
ray,,,,you can pull the dreamer out of the dream….but you can NEVER pull the dream out of the dreamer….until it is over, it is not over….this is baseball and although the fat lady is just seconds away from belting out that first note….I hear NOTHING right now ( now picture me with my fingers in my ears, singing “LALALALALALALALALALALALALA,,,,I CAN’T HEAR YOU !!!”)
LOL 
How in the world did Florida ever beat the yankees in 2003? I was at game 6 and remember staring blankly watching fla. jump around, as if i was looking at abstract art at the MET.
SJ44 said
“September 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I don’t see the point of booing. To me, it comes off as whining.
They aren’t going to the playoffs this year. It happens. Get over it, support the final days of the stadium, and move on.
If you can’t do that, then jump off the bandwagon and come back when they are better. Its what most people did prior to 1996 anyway.
At some point, they were going to miss the playoffs. Unfortunately, this is the year.
Spending the final 10 days of the Stadium booing the team just makes Yankee fans look bad. It would serve no other purpose.”
SJ,
How many “real” Yankee fans do you think are actually attending these last 10 games? I mean the pricess have been rediculous and all the good seats go to the Buisness men and women of NYC who don’t even know what a baseball looks like. I think people will be booing these last 10 days, but I don’t think they will be real Yankee fans. I think they will be spoiled rich kids use to always getting what they want, and rich buisness people who, well, are use to always getting what they want.
Thanks GB7 & Tom.
Why would people who spend thousands to see a game boo? Obviously they’re there to see the old grand dame. They’re not overpaying to see this sad, old team limp to the finish line.
I don’t want to place any stereotypes on the socioeconomic differences of the fans, but something tells me that people who can pay the thousands aren’t the type to boo lustily in public. Just can’t see it.
I don’t think that the hosts and guests in the corporate boxes will be booing, either.
one thing i hope i don’t see or hear about this weekend are ‘Yankee fans’ hoping they lose to the Rays, due to the division race between the Sox and Rays.
if they do lose, it’s one way to look at it (keeping sox further from 1st in AL East). But no Yankee fans should be rooting against their team, no matter what. that just strikes me as something a RS fan would be doing a few years back… (and let’s be honest, they’re both most likely making the post-season anyway)
Is the disparity between the Yankees & Mets this great?
Fri, Sep. 12th, 2008 7:05 PM Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees $8-$1000
Fri, Sep. 12th, 2008 7:10 PM Atlanta Braves at New York Mets $10-$200
Sat, Sep. 13th, 2008 1:05 PM Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees $14-$725
Sat, Sep. 13th, 2008 11:59 PM Atlanta Braves at New York Mets $10-$275
Sun, Sep. 14th, 2008 1:05 PM Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees $10-$650
Sun, Sep. 14th, 2008 1:10 PM Atlanta Braves at New York Mets $10-$189
Mon, Sep. 22th, 2008 7:10 PM Chicago Cubs at New York Mets $15-$350
For years I’ve been a believer that the paying fan should feel free to boo or cheer anybody based on the quality of the play at that specific time.
In other words, don’t just root for the laundry but cheer good plays, boo bad plays — let players know you’re paying attention and you know when they’re giving you something special. That and the pro-active cheer when a big moment comes up that could go either way and you want to give encouragement.
But that system depends on having discerning fans who actually know what they’re seeing. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems as if the Stadium has less of those fans and more of the ones who either cheer the laundry or have picked up just enough from the sports pages to hate on players who are down.
I blame it partly on the increase in relative cost of attendance in comparison with other entertainment opportunities, which means the majority of seats go not to the most interested fans but to the most prosperous. And partly on having moving billboards telling those in attendance when to cheer, so people feel free to let their voices be heard without going to the trouble of developing an informed opinion. I can remember when people who didn’t know what was going on either shut up or learned from more informed fans around them, but those days are over.
So now I think the best thing to do is just to make a joyful noise whenever the team gives you the slightest opportunity either for hope or for congratulation, and otherwise keep quiet.
Wait, mel, the Mets are home?
What are those, ticket prices?
Mel,
Something is worth whatever you can get for it.
If that’s the difference between what people will pay to see the Yanks and what they will pay to see the Mets, then the answer to your question is yes.
Doreen,
Yes, ticketmaster prices from an ad in the times.
And it looks like the two teams are in the city at the same time.
See you on the next thread.
Any word yet on tonights game? Plunked down $412 for 3 seats for tonights game last week on stubhub. Looks like a bad decision now. Staying here near times square and dont know whether to leave or stay put and wait on hereing if tomorrow turns into a day night double dip. The weather for the rest of tonight looks real crappy. I see no window to get this one in.
That article is B.S. I have been trying to unload some tickets on stubhub. I am asking $70/ticket next tues, weds vs. sox (lf bleachers) and $350 ticket (upper deck section 22) for the last game at the stadium. Theses ticket have been posted for about a month with no takers.
Interest in the yankees is at its low point of the past 15 years. Last year of the stadium or not.
With the return of Bernie..and the possibility of Bob Sheppard coming back for the final game..the stadium will close in fashion. Maybe not postseason play, but I am sure that the Yankees have a lot in store before they close the stadium.
Kevin
I completely liked finding this blog post.