Today in The Journal News
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Sep 17, 2008 
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Derek Jeter made history last night setting the record for the most hits at Yankee Stadium. It came in a loss to the White Sox.
Some politician says the Yankees are a bunch of crooks based on the financing for the new Stadium. As as long as the writers get better chairs in the press box, I say let ‘em steal.
The people at my office didn’t put the notebook on the web site. I didn’t think it was that bad. To summarize: Phil Hughes is pitching tonight and hopes to do well. Robinson Cano was back in the lineup but still can’t get a hit. Pavano will start on Friday as opposed to Ponson, Matsui will have his surgery next week, Scranton lost and Juan Miranda is being called up.
Dude, why are we awake?
Timezones? Full moon?
Oh my god! Get some sleep!
If its a choice between wall street/iraq and the yankees, you know what im voting for.
Now is the time to sit Giambi with the exception of one final token appearance Sunday for the last game at the Stadium on Sunday night.
It’s a foregone conclusion that he won’t be back so let’s see how Miranda does with a few opportunities. Nothing to lose by it.
With Sunday being the last game at the Stadium and Monday being an off-day, I wonder if the Yankees will do rookie hazing this year since they probably won’t travel right after the game Sunday night.
Topping the Wizard of Oz from last year would be tough but I’d love to see them try.
OK…really….either Boston or Tampa needs to just go on the losing streak of the century and the Yankees can’t lose another game….it is DO or DIE time….time to put up or shut up….win one for the _______ ????
I’m sure after losing the title game Ian (Cy Young) Kennedy
told everyone he pitched a great game & sees no reason to change anything.
Peter,
You really should be commenting on the possible corruption in the Stadium’s construction a little bit more. It is ridiculous that New Yorkers can vote for leaders who then make deals with the Yankees to take tax money, pay for the Stadium, and then sell a $5 hot dog and $40 upper deck seat (and I’ll bet it will be more than that next year) back to those same people who probably can’t afford it. As an extremely popular beat writer, you have an opportunity to write in favor of cheaper prices and help the people fight for them, whether or not they will actually come. I think you should devote some time to that in the winter.
Did Derek Jeter actually break record? Or did he tie it? The Yankees played a home game at Shea in 1998 did those calculating take this into account? http://www.baseball-reference......4150.shtml
Hey Marc,
Beat writers don’t like to touch the messy stuff. Not Mr. Abraham specifically, but 90% of beat guys in every sport at every paper. They like to leave it to their “investigative team” or some b.s. like that. If the beat guys wrote about shady stadium deals and steroids, they can’t cozy up to players and managers at book time (see: Madden, John Harper, etc.). and I think 95% of sports fans prefer it that way.
A-ha!
Matt:
Baseballreference.com does indeed account for the 4th game at Shea in 1998 (in addition to the 3 Mets games). So the 1st hit last night did indeed put him over the top.
thanks for clarifying
Nice thing about baseball is that there are all these historical moments to focus on when the game itself is not too satisfying.
Nice thing about the Yankees is that there’s always somebody in it for historical records.
I had forgotten, but in the bad years these factors do provide some entertainment, and something positive for fans to see their players accomplish.
Wish I hadn’t been reminded. But. Been there before with the Yankees. Even have some of the tee-shirts.
So is Miranda going to play? or is he just going to ride the pine. I hope he plays. I think he’ll sit until Matsui has his surgery or the when the Yankees are “officially” out of it.
With major financial institutions going under, the economy one step from meltdown, etc. the Stadium could be opening at precisely the wrong time. Who will pay these kind of prices required to sustain the cost of the Stadium over the long haul? If the answer is TV, then why the need for a new place for people to come to? Makes no difference if you are just watching on TV.
What I am concerned about is that the huge cost of this Stadium could become the Yankees albatross. The burden on the revenues to support the cost could then have a major impact on personnel decisions etc. I know that the cost isn’t all on the Yankee org., but it has to be more of a financial burden than just staying in the old park.
Girardi has indciated they’ll keep going with their regulars til there’s an X (signifying elimination)next to the Yankees in the standings. As their tragic number is 3, we can probably assume that by the weekend they’ll be eliminated and we’ll be seeing a lot of Miranda the last 7-8 days of the season.
Miranda is nothing to get excited about. Very good hitter against righties, can’t hit lefties and is a butcher in the field.
Pete is a beat writer. He’s not an investigative reporter.
The prices aren’t going to come down at the new Stadium regardless of what anybody writes.
You want the prices to come down? Don’t go to the games, don’t watch them on the YES Network, and don’t buy any Yankee merchandise.
Until there is a significant drop in business, the Yankees have no reason to reduce prices and they won’t.
Pricing is subject to supply and demand. If they couldn’t get the prices they have gotten for everything, they wouldn’t charge what they are charging.
Pete’s winter “mission” should be getting info on how the Yankees are going to fix this broken team and not on the obsecene prices at the new Stadium.
“If the answer is TV, then why the need for a new place for people to come to?”
Greed, Mark. They Yankees do not NEED a new stadium. It is entirely unnecessary. However, having more luxury boxes = more money.
My biggest concern about the team on the field is not so much the talent, as it is the attitude. Yes, Giambi must go, Pettitte is done and there are a lot of aging players in significant roles. Also, the young players have not shown that they have what most of us thought they would have to this point. However, I think that a lot of these issues can work themselves out by expiring contracts and experience for the rookies.
It is the attitude that bothers me on this team. I think they are very soft. They look like tey are beaten when they are down by a run or two. They stretch doubles into singles too often. They don’t go first to third enough. They make the routine plays well enough, but almost never the great defensive play or the extra effort play. They shrink from the big situation rather than rise to the occasion(not just ARod). They have players who play hard–Arod, Gardner, Damon and some others, but it needs to be everybody, and with an edge and a swagger that they expect to win, not just get a win if it presents itself. Adding other talented players will help, but they won’t be the team we want and expect them to be until they get that swagger back. How to do that? No idea. I thought Girardi might bring some of that, but obviously not. Beyond, making over the team entirely with these kind of players, think each player must take it upon himself to have the right attitude come next March.
Since NYY puts a very satisfactory amount of the money gained back on the field, I do feel it benefits me as a fan.
Looked at from that perspective, it is not simple greed for money per se, but competitiveness as well.
And the unsavory truth is that the present ‘cathedral of baseball’ is crumbling, stinky, difficult to get around in, lacking in bathrooms and other amenities, and just not a good experience any more. Some of us who only watch on TV now would be more likely to attend if the place were cleaner, easier to navigate, and generally a nicer place to spend an evening. As I’m sure the new Stadium will be.
Thanks for the memories. But past time to move on.
couple of questions to whoever can help. I dont know the answer to this maybe somebody can help me. Why are some games on Channel 9? do they have to do that? there is no post game show worthy of watching and last night after Jeter broke the record it would have been nice to see aYes post game show.
Why are the Yankees bothering with players who will never make the major league team as regular players?
Ranosm is 6 months younger than Arod and a career minor leaguer, and Giese is 31 years old and a career minor leaguer, Britton is 26 and they already have several pitchers with similar type stuff. Why keep these guys around?
It’s not just the prices in this case but the possibility that the Yankees are manipulating numbers to get more tax money for their project, as the article in Peter’s post claimed. You’re right that to get ticket prices down we should all boycott the games, but seeing as that will never happen, we can realize that economics is not the only driving force that affects business decisions. There’s also a little something called ethics, which the Yankees are breaking if they are lying to get additional tax payer money. And whose job is it to hold them accountable? The Newspaper! The more that is written about these unethical decisions, the more likely change becomes.
“Why are the Yankees bothering with players who will never make the major league team as regular players”
Because there aren’t any other options right now. Ransom’s up because there aren’t any mlb ready players in AAA who can play 2b/ss. The yanks traded alberto gonzales. Same goes with dan giese. It seems that after Hughes and IPK were injured the yankees chose to call up a stop-gap players.
glad to see the yankees go down hill this year after what they did to JOE last year
In the new stadium, they should continue to offer the five-dollar Bob Uecker seats for a couple mid-week games against the weak teams each month.
Wait a minute … we’re a weak team now too.
It’s really a good way for Mr & Mrs Average Schmuck to get their family of 4 or 5 to see a game or two in June, July or August. Or it’s a good way for their teenagers to see an afternoon game while skipping school in April, May or September.
Only half kidding there … it’s better they skip school to go to a game than skip school to drink, get stoned or have sex. Unless they skip school, get stoned, go to a game, sneak a drink then have sex somewhere in the stadium.
C’mon … just like a new thread on the blog, SOMEone will want to claim ‘first’.
ever since the a.s. break win streak, this has been the most unispired team I can remember. They had a chance yet played like last years collapsing mets. Not lack of talent but lack of talent executing. I don’t beleive one minute this group all became finished at one time. Lots of key injuries yes, but then who didn’t have those? This feels to me like it is all on Joe G. seemed very much like well a team completely detached from those things we have always believed to be inherently yankee. The point being Joe G can’t hit for em, or pitch for em, but somehow he did not get the best out of players we all know each and everyone to be dedicated players.
The mistakes G made this year and he made a number, seemed to demoralize the entire team. The worst for me anyway was there seemed to be no effort to shake things up. Come on virtually the entire year Jason at around 250 hitting behind arod, that didn’t help arod. Matsui Posada being unavailable a great deal made that difficult, however mabye arod hitting third would have given him some additonal protection. I don’t know the answers but there was a visible lack of inspiration. jmo