Report from the Stadium
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- April
- 2
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Here’s a report from Kevin Devaney, who is at the Stadium:
• I took two laps around the main concourse at Yankee Stadium this afternoon, which had to total about 12 miles in length. If you come to a game, you’ll never be wanting for food. They literally have everything, from tofu to fresh fruit stands to sushi to cheese steaks to Brother Jimmy’s barbecue. If you wanted a bowl of cereal, I’m sure it could be arranged.
• Noticed that the concession stands not only have prices on the boards, but calories. Surely it will hurt sales. However, I noticed that beer is $6 for a regular cup and $9 for the souvenir. Good prices.
• Bernie Williams was here at the Hard Rock Cafe for the “guitar smashing” ceremony. He played a song, as did Ace Frehley of Kiss. Actually, Frehley lip-synched New York Groove, which doesn’t qualify as singing.
• The fans were let in around 11 a.m. yet it doesn’t seem all that crowded. I think most are navigating the concourse. Today might set the record for pictures taken on cell phone cameras.
• However big you think the center field television is, you’re wrong. It’s bigger.
• Amazingly, the inside of the Stadium from some angles looks exactly like the old one. The seats don’t hang over each other, of course. But looking out form the main level, you feel like you’re back there.
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on Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 1:15 pm by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
thanks for the update…
the field does look eerily similar – expect for the ginormous screen
http://yes.mlblogs.com/archive....._stad.html
stadium looks empty!! I WOULD HAVE GONE!! boo hisss
I want some video player reaction with them looking at everything in awe!
yeah…I’m definitely not going to be able to see right field from my bleacher seats. damn that stupid restaurant!
Two good posts in a row. Love reading this recap stuff and highlights of the stadium.
http://yes.mlblogs.com/archive.....ins_1.html
We’ll never know some of the smaller details until the place is packed and the games start – but I think one of those smaller details is that the Stadium will not be as loud as the old Stadium.
Yes, the upper deck seats were much more steep and less fan friendly but I believe we will eventually learn that it cradled the roars of the crowd a little better than the less steep and more wide open upper deck in the new Stadium.
I hope there isn’t a major difference – but it could be one of the few downsides of the new design.
Bittersweet.
Isn’t there a NY law stating that they have to post nutritional info on menus?
That screen is so big it looks photoshopped in. Can it withstand gale force winds?
Oh wow that HD screen is GINORMOUS!
m- I think it depends on how many locations a restaurant has.
From a previous post….
Morrow has only pitched in 4 games and not really successful. 4 innings, 7 hits 6 earned runs, 7 walks and 3 strikeouts, along with 3 homers allowed. That’s just not like Morrow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hopefully, now that the decision has been made, he’ll be able to focus a bit better and concentrate on his role.
I wrote a bit about it here and included some links…
http://compassrosy.blogspot.co.....s-329.html
“That screen is so big it looks photoshopped in. Can it withstand gale force winds?”
It comes equipped with phosphorus grenades, antipersonnel mines, and a tank buster the size of your block. It also serves the same purpose of the Great Wall so if we don’t want to let the Red Sox in we don’t have to.
Francessa said Beckett (healthy) is better than CC, Lester is better than Wang, and Dice-K better than AJ
Likes our #4-5 slightly better than Boston’s, but loves Boston’s bullpen way more than ours.
Exciting
the smaller screen at the site jennifer linked to (http://yes.mlblogs.com/archive....._stad.html) looks crystal clear…
Anybody else think that the TV monitor was the big screen for a second?
I was like ” Wow that thing is enormous!” “And how did they get it to hover of right center like that?”
G Love,
Sonny hid in his kitchen and made phone calls.
Michael murdered Salozzo and McCluskey. Then went to Sicily and threatened his future father in law.
“..then your daughter would be losing a father instead of gaining a husband.” That’s cold!
You know who is Michael? Mariano. The Iceman.
jennifer,
Thanks. Saw a segment on the news where the nutritional info requirement was affecting sales. So the larger chains have to do it?
Francesa always seems to love the Sox. We won’t know how good Boston’s pen is until about mid summer. Let’s see the actually games. Pens tend to be shaky year to year.
I think the picture that is posted is sort of an optical illusion and the Center Field screen that they are refering to is in straightaway center field. That other huge looking screen is actually a screen in the box they are taking the picture from.
All these windbags making predictions got me thinking:
Where has “sound and fury” Angel been?
Jenn that photo was taken before gates opened thus why the stadium is empty
“Francessa said Beckett (healthy) is better than CC, Lester is better than Wang, and Dice-K better than AJ
Likes our #4-5 slightly better than Boston’s, but loves Boston’s bullpen way more than ours.”
Francessa also had no idea who Brett Gardner was even after he played weeks in the majors. He knows ZIP about the Yankee minor league system, at any level, so he doesn’t know Melancon. And those SP are just opinions.
bronx- lol me too!! I was like what the…. Oh that is a tv monitor!!
M- I think it like 5 locations something like that.
Thanks gayle
I can breathe now, I was so ticked seeing it empty!
The pitching matchups are pretty close. But if the Yankee pitchers pitch the way they’re capable of, I like our chances. How come Francessa didn’t mention Tazawa?
wow jealous!!
http://twitpic.com/2q4wx
Isn’t that Jumbotron in dead centerfield going to distract the batters?
I’m pretty sure it will be black when they bat.
“Isn’t that Jumbotron in dead centerfield going to distract the batters?”
No because it’s well above the hitters eye. The CF restaurant serves as the batters eye.
If a restaurant has more than 10 locations, they are required to post calorie counts on their menu boards in New York City.
Have the Yankees done this voluntarily? More likely that this concession venture with the Cowboys has more than 10 venues or is planning to have more than 10 in the near future.
That crazy old man was right… Red Sox are a bit overrated. I don’t think their offense will be close to the Yankees this year. No Manny, who had the highest OBP for them like the last 5/7 years. Their pitching… Beckett has had a 4.10 ERA in the AL in the 3 years he has been here, I’m telling you Dice-K will face the wrath of his walks, and Lester is our Joba. Except if Joba could stay healthy Joba is better.
Saito is coming back from injury, Brad Penny and Smoltz were career NLers and will come down to earth. Not to mention Smoltz is 500 million years old. Okajima… pshh.
Isn’t that Jumbotron in dead centerfield going to distract the batters?
I think the Jumbotron is higher up than it seems. The black box under it is a restaurant and the grey strip above the restaurant is the Bleacher Cafe. Unless the pitcher is about 20 feet tall or the batter is looking up, it should be way above their sight line.
Penny has (had) shoulder issues. Smoltz is penciled in for a June debut.
What a gorgeous day to be at the park. I hope the weather holds through the weekend!
Am I the only one who doesn’t see a difference between the old and new stadium?
Clark – I think that was partially the point…
I would like to see how the Red Sox do if they go through the same injury plague that the Yankees went through last year. Can you say 15 games back?
“Am I the only one who doesn’t see a difference between the old and new stadium?”
From the inside you probably won’t see much – similar colors, dimensions, etc. But looking at the outside and the halls I see a huge difference.
How much is Varitek gonna catch this year?
Varitek will probably catch quite a bit. Who’s their backup catcher?
Mike said he would rate our pen higher than Boston if Joba is there, he said our pen would be all-world then.
You mean Jobber if you are going to repeat what he said at least get the name right.
CompassRosy
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:27 pm
From a previous post….
Morrow has only pitched in 4 games and not really successful. 4 innings, 7 hits 6 earned runs, 7 walks and 3 strikeouts, along with 3 homers allowed. That’s just not like Morrow.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Hopefully, now that the decision has been made, he’ll be able to focus a bit better and concentrate on his role.
I wrote a bit about it here and included some links…
http://compassrosy.blogspot.co.....s-329.html
————————————————————
Rosy, I wrote that last night. Looked at his last three games (since 25 March) and it looked like they mixed up Brandon Morrow’s numbers with Brett Tomko’s. any further word on the forearm problems? I haven’t seen him pitch this spring, but, that’s more than just rust. That’s UGLY.
I’d like to see Varitek at the Mendoza Line all season.
Well, I guess we have to “settle” for an all-world rotation.
Very nice day today too for the stadium… sunny, low 60s (obviously not as nice as where Mel is but nice for April 2nd in NY lol).
This is funny..I’ve hardly hard anyone bring up the fact the Red Sox have a HUGE question mark at SS. Seriously Jed Lowrie is their starting SS? Come on if that was the Yankees going into the season with an unproven SS people will be all over them.
I guess Francesa doesn’t realize that the Yankee bullpen has seven pitchers.
He’s focusing on three of them.
I have no problem with everyone downplaying the Yankee pen. It will be a surprise to everyone but those who really watch this team when they perform far better than what is expected of them.
COMMEE ONNNN MONDAY 4:05!
Bad news for righties?
“I’m not sure how it will play, but right now I can tell you the breeze is blowing in from left field.”
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....#more-3919
Lowrie did have decent success in his first appearance in the big leagues last year and was a hyped prospect.
m is for mojo-we got it back
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
GB7,
That’s right. And they brought in some guy that has a relationship with Cano to be the 1B coach, no?
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Mick Kelleher is a lot like Larry Bowa. He’s a good infield instructor, and a scrapper with no problems exoressing his views. Not the total “in your face” Bowa, but, he gets his point across. Not sure of his connections to Cano, unless it was in the minors. I still think a lot of Cano’s issues in the field was because of the hitting problems….something he never had to deal with, before, and it caused him to lose concentration. If you look back at games and streaks of errors, they usually came when he wasn’t hitting.
Beckett is better than CC? LOL that’s ridiculous…..and I think it’s very possible that AJ has a great year and is simply better than Dice-K. I think the latter is pretty overrated. I’m not a Wang fan-girl, but is Lester already better than Wang? He’s always been in awe of the Red Sox – I respect them a lot, but I can’t listen to him when he rhaspodizes about how great they are.
GFranco, I was wondering that myself – that is, about the sound of the crowd in the new YS. I hope there won’t be too much of a difference – I love the idea of the crowd pumping emotion into the players (pitchers especially) and it will be kind of sad if that is lost.
Pete – are you loving/not loving the stadium?
Any word on Mariano’s tree?
“Lowrie did have decent success in his first appearance in the big leagues last year and was a hyped prospect.”
Lowrie hit .258 in 81 games with 2 HR.
Any reaction from the players yet? I hope we’re going to get some reports…..
pat
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Bad news for righties?
“I’m not sure how it will play, but right now I can tell you the breeze is blowing in from left field.”
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....#more-3919
————————————————————
I wonder if Mattingly’s weather vane is up and working properly, to tell how the wind is really blowing?
http://sports.espn.go.com/stat.....id=4036269
Karabell & Pascarelli podcast. Odd argument at the end about Boston/New York. Pascarelli thinks the Yankees will be better than the Sox, but he’d take both Lester and Daisuke over AJ.
Yeah that HD screen just HAS to be in the space in the foreground. That thing would have to be half the size of Fenway’s Green Monster if it were way out over the bleachers.
It would have, however, explained some of what the stadium cost.
Meet the new Yankee Stadium, complete with everything a fan could possibly want, from an art gallery in the concourse to a fruit stand. And while it rained for the unveiling of Citi Field on Sunday, the Bronx is bathed in perfect spring sunshine today. The scoreboard told me so.
————————
How funny, the last game of the season at YS it was a very nice night, Shea rainy and gross. Mets open rainy and gross YS beautiful.
7-up,
It’s a little chilly, but should warm up later!
GB7,
Thanks for that. Surprised all the writers pimping the hot seat angle haven’t harped on the fact that Pena is the bench coach.
Betsy – the NYTimes blog says it’s going to post player reaction
“The CF restaurant serves as the batters eye.”
Which from a development standpoint is a heck of a smart idea… giving dead space significant value. Now if HOK had only moved it back a little bit… oh well.
Russ so quick to judge rookies in 81 games? Lowrie is an above average SS too. If he were in pinstripes you’d probably be clamoring for him as rookie of the year.
AJ needs to prove he can throw 200 innings in a non-contract year
He is the ultimate wild card.
the stadium, from that picture at least, looks ordinary and unimpressive. Full of clutter and garbage, and not all the regal image one would expect for the greatest baseball team in history.
Trevor … the Red Sox have a HUGE question mark at their fan base too. Their ability to whine obnoxiously is getting really old. Yet they continue to develop the same tripe every year. Time for them to draft some new fans and bring in a new cult leader.
GB
The bat is on top of the flagpole and I don’t see a flagpole in the picture above. May be it’s over by left field now?
“Russ so quick to judge rookies in 81 games? Lowrie is an above average SS too. If he were in pinstripes you’d probably be clamoring for him as rookie of the year.”
You said in his short stint Lowrie was good. I didn’t judge anybody, just gave you stats. Now you’re judging me.
Boston does have a great pen. Look at the ERAs from last year
Okijima – 2.61 ERA
Delcarmen – 3.27ERA
Saito – 2.49 ERA (with LAD)
Ramirez – 2.64
Lopez – 2.43 ERA
Masterson – 3.16 ERA
And those guys put up those numbers over the course of a full-season and have significantly better control overall than our pen.
Now, BPs fluctuate from year to year, but based off last year, how can you not take the Sox pen? If the tables were turned and we had the Sox pen, wouldn’t we feel the same way?
Whenever you move into a new home, things can get be a little confusing.
Just ask the Yankees.
“I couldn’t figure out how to get into the Stadium this morning, they didn’t want to let me in, because I went into the wrong gate,” Brett Gardner said.
The Bronx Bombers officially moved across the street today into the new Yankee Stadium, where the team held its first workout in their new home.
“I couldn’t figure out how to get to the clubhouse, so I just said forget it and I walked down through the stands and into the dugout and found the clubhouse,” Gardner said.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04.....162564.htm
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If the CF restaurant serves as the batter’s eye, I hope there’s no glare off the tinted glass at any time of the day.
Actually the Boston/NY argument’s in the middle of the podcast. Now listening to the AL rankings. Very interesting and worth the time if you have it.
yankee 821 April 2nd, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Mike said he would rate our pen higher than Boston if Joba is there, he said our pen would be all-world then.
____________________
As soon as he said that, you know his opinion is meaningless.
It’s too bad the Yankees Museum is closed. And there’s a really long line for Monument Park.
“If the CF restaurant serves as the batter’s eye, I hope there’s no glare off the tinted glass at any time of the day.”
That glass looks mighty dark. I don’t think there will be glare problems. The way the glass is angled down and the sun doesn’t come up on the glass until its over the upper tier you wouldn’t have glare anyway from that angle.
I hope they didn’t use any construction material from China — like the mets did. If they did, the stadium would crumble before the season ends.
Lester’s 2008 season was much more dominant than any season Wang has had. His stuff is also better.
Aside from the question of if his increase in innings total will hinder him this year, what makes Wang better than Lester this year?
And Dice-K/Burnett is the ultimate toss-up. Flip a coin. Dice-K is probably a safer bet because of Burnett’s health questions.
“I hope they didn’t use any construction material from China—- like the mets did. If they did, the stadium would crumble before the season ends.”
Wow, haha
“If Brett Gardner stays in the lineup, he’ll steal at least 40 bases and make plays in center field Yankee fans haven’t seen in decades.”
Almost as if Bernie Williams, who, along with Griffey, was the elite defender among AL centefielders from 1995-2000, wasn’t a Yankee.
Harper – let me a guess, a Red Sox fan? lol
I love how biased Sox fans come here. It shows the unease in their hearts.
People acting as if Burnett’s arm’s going to fall off. He’s going to surprise a lot of people who want to assume the worse.
Mike: “the Rays have more talent then the Yankees” “look at their every day lineup”
“Lester’s 2008 season was much more dominant than any season Wang has had. His stuff is also better.”
Wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as “much more dominant”, but agree that Lester is a little better than Wang is.
The days of posters of attractive women are behind; they’ve been replaced with screensavers of attractive women — like the one Nick Swisher had.
“Until you see this Stadium for yourself, the pictures do it no justice,” Swisher said. “You have to see it to truly understand it. Going out on the field — it’s like ‘Whaaat?’ It’s amazing, I’m just so excited.”
LOL
It’s close between Wang and Lester. So Wang wins by virtue of the uni he wears.
Actually, the more I think about it, the 3-way race between NY-BOST-TB is going to be one of the most fascinating story lines we’ve seen in years.
pat
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:07 pm
GB
The bat is on top of the flagpole and I don’t see a flagpole in the picture above. May be it’s over by left field now?
————————————————————
Thanks, Pat. That flagpole and bat are necessities. How else will the hitters know to hit the ball with the wind?
The bat, by the way was actually a gift from Elinore Gehrig to the Yankees in 1956.
“Lowrie is an above average SS too.”
Makes the plays he gets to, but his range for the position is certainly no more than average.
Russ – What did he say that was wrong? Lester had an amazing yr last year, better than any year Wang has had.
Hey, I just read this interesting blog post about Pete Golenbock\’s new book, George. The post is way too long for a blog. Better for magazine or something. But if you\’re a little underemployed at the moment, I recommend it.
http://theyankeesrepublic.blog.....-king.html
(If I recall, this guy also wrote an impressive pinch-hitting post in January.)
What I liked about his take on Steinbrenner is that it\’s pretty fair. It also expresses some of my own mixed feelings about the guy and how much those feelings have changed over the years.
This guy is about my age and he made me remember how much I once hated Steinbrenner and now, not so much.
With the new Stadium opening, it\’s something to think about.
But Lester has had one great year. Let’s see if he can maintain that greatness before we label him one of the best pitchers in the game.
Beckett is the same way. He’s been great in the postseason but you have to get there first. He was phenomenal during the entire 2007 season but he’s never come close to those numbers in any other season.
Beckett is, at best, the third best pitcher in the division behind Halladay and Sabathia.
Sabathia has had a far better career during the regular season the last few years than Beckett. The numbers don’t even compare.
I’m with some of the naysayers about Dice-K. Too many walks that will catch up to him sooner or later.
Wang has been a great pitcher for this team since 2005. Don’t underestimate how good he’s really been. It’s no coincidence that the Yanks’ playoff hopes fell apart the day he tore up his foot.
Just wantd to thank you and LoHud for this blog. Because of it I have never enjoyed Spring Training as much as I did this year. The daily information is concise and honest. Thanks…you do a great job.
So we’re making judgements on 1 year? Wang is a consistent producer. Not saying that Lester isn’t. Just saying don’t dismiss what Wang’s done for us the last 3+ years.
Saying Beckett (regular season) is better than CC is pretty crazy.
However, saying Lester is better than Wang, is not.
All I did was point out a Red Sox fan so for whoever wants to know can ignore the name when scrolling through the comments. Doing everyone a service.
It’s obvious when they don’t point out any flaws and try to act unbiased by using words like “ultimate toss-up. Flip a coin”.
Tofu? Sushi?
Hot dogs, burgers, nachos, popcorn, beer and soda. That’s what you need.
Oh, and thank Nanny Bloomberg for the calorie info. Gee, a chili dog with all the works isn’t healthy?
Okijima = Japanese for “god”
pat
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:07 pm
GB
The bat is on top of the flagpole and I don’t see a flagpole in the picture above. May be it’s over by left field now?
————————————————————
I’d never refer to Bernie Williams as an “elite fielder”. He took bad routes to the ball, but, like Mantle had that great speed to outrun his mistakes. Williams was good to very good, but, not elite.
I’m with Franco – though I feel Guiseppe will suffer the same fate as the shamwow guy lol
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Kepner posted his projections on his Bats blog.
Ladies, you may also be interested that he has a blog entry on Alyssa Milano’s book that a little Torre connection.
Hey, I just read this interesting blog post about Pete Golenbock’s new book, George. The post is way too long for a blog. Better for magazine or something. But if you’re a little underemployed at the moment, I recommend it.
http://theyankeesrepublic.blog.....-king.html
(If I recall, this guy also wrote an impressive pinch-hitting post in January.)
Pat, disregard that last post. Somebody made me copy the wrong stuff.
What I liked about his take on Steinbrenner is that it’s pretty fair. It also expresses some of my own mixed feelings about the guy and how much those feelings have changed over the years.
This guy is about my age and he made me remember how much I once hated Steinbrenner and now, not so much.
With the new Stadium opening, it’s something to think about.
Steve B
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:16 pm
“If Brett Gardner stays in the lineup, he’ll steal at least 40 bases and make plays in center field Yankee fans haven’t seen in decades.”
Almost as if Bernie Williams, who, along with Griffey, was the elite defender among AL centefielders from 1995-2000, wasn’t a Yankee.
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I’d never refer to Bernie Williams as an “elite fielder”. He took bad routes to the ball, but, like Mantle had that great speed to outrun his mistakes. Williams was good to very good, but, not elite.
Stuff: Beckett is superior
Control: I’ll take CC
Health: CC
Personality: CC
Steel Cage Death Match: CC by a ton (pun intended)
Alex (Knoxville, TN): Klaw, do you think there is a reason that Paplebon is the only one of the young Red Sox stars that has not been extended. I get the feeling that he will go via free agency based on the Sox philosophy to not over value that position and that it can be filled adequately from within? Thoughts?
Keith Law: (2:29 PM ET ) Agreed, and I think Papelbon’s shoulder issues from two years ago and dumping of his splitter also make them lean against long-terming him. Plus Bard may end up able to fill that role.
My work server rots. It blocks this site. I can’t understand why.
Is it the stripper advertisements? Do any of you guys have that problem?
I work for a shipping company no less. Like the bosses never go to Scores. Yeah, right.
I’m not a biased sox fan. I’m actually an unbiased yankee fan. Lowrie did have success in his first year.
The issue with Francesa is he’s a post-season guy. I’ve been noticing recently he judges how good players are from how the perform in October.
Beckett has been great in the post-season so that overrides everything else Beckett does. Even if he’s kind of shaky in the regular season.
Wang has been bad in October and Lester has been good and now Mike thinks Lester is better.
His support for Schilling is a HOF is based on Schilling’s post-season success.
But I agree I need to see more out of Lester. He doesn’t have much of a track record. Wang has been consistently good.
But Lester does have better stuff then Wang.
“Am I the only one who doesn’t see a difference between the old and new stadium?”
I think you’re supposed to see the difference when you try to buy a ticket.
Rishi, saw that. Papelbon can continue his crusade for closers on someone else’s dime.
Can you post the NL rankings from this link?
http://tinyurl.com/BP-NL-rankings
willing to kick in $5 per month, to get rid of that yellow/gold Mason sign in RF.
other then that, beautiful stadium
Good God…People love to throw around the word “GREAT” a lot when describing players or season. Lester had a really good season in 2008, but, he wasn’t “GREAT” and he is not a “GREAT” pitcher, yet. Shouldn’t great players be great at least once, preferably 7-8 seasons? wang isn’t great, either. Very good is plenty enough for me.
Of course, if you have devakued “GREAT” like a dollar bill, be my guest. It doesn’t make it so.
m – do you want the commentary or just the lists?
Question for everyone: Baseball Reference says in 2003 Hideki Matsui played in 163 games. How is that possible? Has to be an error.
Just the lists, if it’s e-z. Thanks!
National League East projected standings
East W-L RS RA AVG OBP SLG
Mets 92-70 825 721 .266 .341 .421
Phillies 87-75 828 769 .265 .339 .436
Braves 86-76 799 742 .272 .342 .420
Nationals 77-85 780 819 .259 .340 .416
Marlins 71-91 727 824 .254 .325 .417
National League Central projected standings
Central W-L RS RA AVG OBP SLG
Cubs 95-67 861 726 .271 .347 .432
Brewers 84-78 785 754 .258 .333 .428
Cardinals 83-79 787 767 .258 .333 .428
Reds 79-83 762 775 .257 .325 .421
Astros 69-93 704 811 .261 .321 .403
Pirates 64-98 709 875 .257 .324 .405
National League West projected standings
West W-L RS RA AVG OBP SLG
Dodgers 92-70 819 714 .272 .342 .415
D’backs 88-74 815 741 .262 .335 .343
Giants 76-86 683 717 .263 .319 .397
Padres 72-90 679 753 .252 .323 .394
Rockies 71-91 842 951 .269 .345 .439
RussW210
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Question for everyone: Baseball Reference says in 2003 Hideki Matsui played in 163 games. How is that possible? Has to be an error.
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A tied game was made up.
Madden (who I will not be listening to – can’t stand him) will be on with Kay shortly. Per Kay, Bill predicts 101 wins for Tampa, 94 for Sox, 90 for Yankees..lol. I don’t know why Kay thinks these are interesting predictions – they follow the pattern of Madden disliking the Yankees. 90 wins?
“A tied game was made up.”
Oh ok, good point.
“Beckett is better than CC? LOL that’s ridiculous”
Beckett had his best season in a dominant 2007 where he won the Cy Young… oh wait, hmmm, CC Sabathia won it that year.
Thanks, Rishi.
Again with the Mets. I suppose they could be that good by default, certainly not with the pitching questions they have. I wouldn’t sleep on the Braves. Cubs & Dodgers sounds about right. Again, by default.
Karabell said in the podcast that the NL was going to rake in interleague. But, I still think it’ll be a few good teams at the top with a bunch of mediocre to baaaad teams after that.
Bill Madden on with Kay now. Guess it’s time to check out Francesa
“I hope they didn’t use any construction material from China—- like the mets did”
If they did, they’ll just be hungry for a new stadium a couple hours later.
OMG, I panicked for a second there. Thought Bill was Bill James. Thank goodness it was only Bill Madden.
RussW210
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:41 pm
“A tied game was made up.”
Oh ok, good point.
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No problem. As a matter of fact, it happens often. Back in 1961, Maris hit #61 in game #163.
People are going to be skeptical about AJ until he does it a 2nd year in a row…….and stays healthy. I understand that. However, again – Dice K? I asked Ken Davidoff on his chat as to whether he agreed that AJ is the key man in the rotation (we know what we are going to get basically from the other guys, but AJ is sort of the wild card. IMO, if he’s merely good, but not great, the Yankees will still be in fine shape. However, if he pitches to his potential and can put together another very good year, the Yankees will be extremely tough to beat). He agreed, saying that AJ is hard to project simply because his career has been sort of all over the map. So, I understand the skepticsm with him -for me, I am willing to take that leap of faith. I honestly believe he’s going to be really good this year – and he’ll thrive in big games.
“Karabell said in the podcast that the NL was going to rake in interleague.”
Eric Karabell from ESPN? I hope not. That guy is clueless.
Rishi, thanks!
“We’ll never know some of the smaller details until the place is packed and the games start – but I think one of those smaller details is that the Stadium will not be as loud as the old Stadium.
Yes, the upper deck seats were much more steep and less fan friendly but I believe we will eventually learn that it cradled the roars of the crowd a little better than the less steep and more wide open upper deck in the new Stadium.
I hope there isn’t a major difference – but it could be one of the few downsides of the new design”
one of the other sites, mentioned this as well. BTW, wouldn’t the upperdeck seats in the old stadium amount to being more “fan friendly” as they were closer (on top) of the field?
Over/Under on number of times someone comes here and proposes the Yanks trade some AAAA players for Washington’s #1 draft pick, so WE can get Stephen Strasburg.
I’m gonna set the bar at 12.
“Bill Maddon on with Kay now. Guess it’s time to check out Francesa”
The way he has the hots for the Sawx, he’s not much better.
Boston Dave,
Yes, that Karabell. Listen to the podcast I linked above. Good stuff. Karabell arguing for the Sox, and Pascarelli arguing for the Yankees.
vin: what is the time period for the over/under? If it’s between now and the draft, gotta go with the over.
thanks m,
I’ll check it out.
I’m going with the under. I mean everyone knows you can’t trade for draft picks, right? Right?
vin,
the beauty of it is that no matter how many times people remind them that you cannot trade draft picks, they will still suggest we trade for it
I’ll take the under… and expect to be wrong.
I’m gonna say starting Monday thru the day of the draft. Of course we’re talking about unique inquiries only… not multiple posts by the same dolt.
At the bottom of the page are all of the differences in size and dimensions of rebuilt YS and the new YS.
htt://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee_Stadium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.....tadium.jpg
Madden thinks the Yanks and Mets will miss the playoffs
Betsy, FWIW Kay predicted that the Yanks would win 95-96 games and make the playoffs. He thinks that the Rays will have an off year mostly due to the fact that their young pitchers pitched a lot of innings last year and it usually catches up to them the following season like it did with the Tigers a few years back.
If MLB doesn’t reign in the salaries of the draftees, they may need to allow trading of picks.
So, if I buy an obstructed-view seat, I will be paying more for a hot dog than I will be my ticket?
I take the over.
“He thinks that the Rays will have an off year mostly due to the fact that their young pitchers pitched a lot of innings last year and it usually catches up to them the following season like it did with the Tigers a few years back.”
And the White Sox before that.
“Anybody else think that the TV monitor was the big screen for a second?”
Yes, for about two or three seconds.
“No problem. As a matter of fact, it happens often. Back in 1961, Maris hit #61 in game #163.”
Interesting, I never noticed that.
Oooohhh. Forgot to mention this. The other day, one of the daytime espn guys (the nasally, basketball guy) did the intro to an interview. “I’d like to welcome to the show, the ace of the reigning AL champions, James Shields.”
I nearly drove off the road. Talk about throwing labels around.
“the Stadium will not be as loud as the old Stadium.”
5000 less people in it can do that.
I really wish that Francessa would stop claiming to be a Yankees fan. Nothing that comes out of his mouth backs up his claim. If he’s a Yankees fan, than I’m the Queen of England.
the jumbotron is so clear its ridiculous, it doesnt even look real in pictures. im sooo excited, im going june 13 for mets/yanks!!!
The Rays are going to have an off year because lighting never strikes twice in the same place. They had a ton of things go right for them last season. No way that happens two years in a row.
Laura – Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m lost!
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I really wish that Francessa would stop claiming to be a Yankees fan. Nothing that comes out of his mouth backs up his claim. If he’s a Yankees fan, than I’m the Queen of England.
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Afternoon, Lizzie. How’s Phil and the kids?
i know they changed the pitch of the seats so they didn’t feel on top of each other, but I was under the impression that with the split upper deck the seats actually wouldn’t be that much farther from the field. for those who have seen it, is that the case?
one of the reasons i love VT’s Cassell Collesium (basketball) is that the angle of the seats is so steep that even the fans in the top row feel right on top of the court and it makes the place much louder
The only thing I don’t like about the new stadium (based on pictures only) is that there are too many ads around it. I understand that these ads generate much needed revenue, but geez! Can we tone it down a bit, guys?
hey queen of England, what do you make of all the drama about you touching Michelle Obama?
“Afternoon, Lizzie. How’s Phil and the kids?”
LOL! Somehow, I doubt that Lizzie even knows how to use a computer let alone access the Internet.
Food for thought for AL East fans:
Suppose a 5 man rotation of AAA pitchers from AL East organizations was created. Lets say:
Price, Hughes, Buchholtz, Wade Davis, and either Tillman, Matusz or Kennedy. Then add Melancon and Bard for the back of the bullpen.
How many teams would take that group over what they have right now?
OMG The Queen of England posts here!! Of all places the LOHUD Yankee blog.
“hey queen of England, what do you make of all the drama about you touching Michelle Obama?”
She was so much bigger than me that there was no other place for me to put my hand.
There are fewer ads in the park than in the 30s through the 50’s. :Hit it here and win a suit.”, “Ballentine Beer”, “Smoke Luckies”.
“The only thing I don’t like about the new stadium (based on pictures only) is that there are too many ads around it.”
Funny you mentioned that. This was my complaint yesterday.
“the Stadium will not be as loud as the old Stadium.”
5000 less people in it can do that.
—————–
That wasn’t the point.
Even if both Stadiums held the exact same amount of fans, I still don’t think the new design will hold in the roars of the crowd as well as the old Stadium.
We’ll see how it plays out. But I hope there’s not a drastic difference.
“There are fewer ads in the park than in the 30s through the 50’s. :Hit it here and win a suit.”, “Ballentine Beer”, “Smoke Luckies”.”
I’ll have to take your word for it, GB. In the 30’s, I was negative 30+ years old.
Can I ask a serious question?
Why do so many of you listen to Michael Kay and Francessa if all you’re going to do is come on this blog everyday and complain about what they say?
There are better and easier ways to torture oneself ya know?
Your Majesty
Mike Francesca is a yankee fan.
You can hear it in the way he talks about Bernie, Mariano and Mickey among others. Maybe he is being over-objective today.
Rosy, I wrote that last night. Looked at his last three games (since 25 March) and it looked like they mixed up Brandon Morrow’s numbers with Brett Tomko’s. any further word on the forearm problems? I haven’t seen him pitch this spring, but, that’s more than just rust. That’s UGLY.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
GB ~
I don’t know think the forearm is still an issue. But, because it was a problem earlier, he’s way behind on logging innings. His numbers and lack of control are definitely a concern, but then again 4.0IP in ST is a pretty miniscule sample size.
Here’s hoping that with the arm issues behind him and a definite role ahead, improvement will be steady and sufficient.
on the Rays…they have a team built on fundamental small ball which is the direction the game is going post steriod era…I think they jumped ahead of the curve and teams will quickly catch up but if the Rays don’t have as much success as they did last year, it will be because of the improvements the Yankees have made and not because they play poorly…I would not be suprised if the Sox are the odd team out this season based on what seem to be obviously extensive injury possibilities.
Laura….sorry, but, it was just too easy a target to miss.
CompassRosy
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Rosy, I wrote that last night. Looked at his last three games (since 25 March) and it looked like they mixed up Brandon Morrow’s numbers with Brett Tomko’s. any further word on the forearm problems? I haven’t seen him pitch this spring, but, that’s more than just rust. That’s UGLY.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
GB ~
I don’t know think the forearm is still an issue. But, because it was a problem earlier, he’s way behind on logging innings. His numbers and lack of control are definitely a concern, but then again 4.0IP in ST is a pretty miniscule sample size.
Here’s hoping that with the arm issues behind him and a definite role ahead, improvement will be steady and sufficient.
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Thank you, Rosy, He’s quite a talent. Hope all goes well for him, especially against Tampa, LA and Boston. Against the Yanks, I hope he has bunions and a headache.
M:
Shields was the ace of the AL Champions.
“Your Majesty
Mike Francesca is a yankee fan.
You can hear it in the way he talks about Bernie, Mariano and Mickey among others. Maybe he is being over-objective today.”
I know. I used to listen to him, but it seemed to me that he was overly critical of the team – more so than I thought a fan would be. He just seems to dwell more on what’s wrong with the team instead of focusing what’s right about them. Maybe I just caught him on bad days – I don’t know.
Laura – Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m lost!
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:10 pm
“There are fewer ads in the park than in the 30s through the 50’s. :Hit it here and win a suit.”, “Ballentine Beer”, “Smoke Luckies”.”
I’ll have to take your word for it, GB. In the 30’s, I was negative 30+ years old.
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I have a Yankee Encyclopedia that has Stadium photos through the years. I’m not exactly going on memory, Missy.
Based on the pictures, the ads don’t bother me at all. They are neatly arranged. Stadiums have always had ads, so I don’t really understand the problem with it. And if you’ve seen footage of the orignal stadium (in B&W) there were a ton of adds, and they didn’t have nearly as much eye appeal as these do.
“I have a Yankee Encyclopedia that has Stadium photos through the years. I’m not exactly going on memory, Missy.”
LOL! Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you were aged.
“I think if anybody in any business had known where this economy was going to go, they would have done things differently,” Steinbrenner said. “Look, there’s no doubt small amounts of our tickets might be overpriced.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.....id=4036916
“He just seems to dwell more on what’s wrong with the team instead of focusing what’s right about them.”
sounds like alot of fans here – would you agree?
I do recall in 1996 how giddy he was when the Yanks made their run he and the Dog had an awsome highlight tape they kept playing along with “Freeway of Love” good times
Laura – Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m lost!
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:19 pm
“I have a Yankee Encyclopedia that has Stadium photos through the years. I’m not exactly going on memory, Missy.”
LOL! Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you were aged.
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LMAO. I’ve always wanted to call somebody that, for whatever reason, and this was the first real opportunity to use it in a post.
Are the Exhibition games going to be on ESPN or YES?
“LMAO. I’ve always wanted to call somebody that, for whatever reason, and this was the first real opportunity to use it in a post.”
Well, for the record, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Doreen
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Based on the pictures, the ads don’t bother me at all. They are neatly arranged. Stadiums have always had ads, so I don’t really understand the problem with it. And if you’ve seen footage of the orignal stadium (in B&W) there were a ton of adds, and they didn’t have nearly as much eye appeal as these do.
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You’ll know that they may have gone too far when they have wall-sized ads for “Stiletto And Lace”.
Laura – Just because I’m losing doesn’t mean I’m lost!
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
“LMAO. I’ve always wanted to call somebody that, for whatever reason, and this was the first real opportunity to use it in a post.”
Well, for the record, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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That’s good, then. Beats the heck out of the same whining over nothing…it’s a dead, boring day and raining here in Savannah and wanted to loghten the mood.
Mike Pelfrey today against an AL team:
4 innings, 10 hits, 1 walk, 8 runs
haha
m,
Karabell said he can’t possibly see how the Yankees could finish higher than Boston. I love the Yanks this season but I could at least see how it’s possible the Sox win the division and/or beat out the Yanks.
I can’t believe I just spent the last 30 min listening to that garbage
and ***lighten*** the mood.
http://www.connpost.com/sports/ci_12056222
wow i guess thats a step in the right direction.
Betsy (and everyone else):
http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/.....e-players/
player reaction
Russ – lol, he may be the most overhyped pitcher in baseball.
“Russ – lol, he may be the most overhyped pitcher in baseball.”
Well he did have a good year last year. Before that was miserable. In the NL though you can get away with some mediocrity (ie. John Maine). I agree a bit overhyped… for god sakes the guy talks about winning 17-18 games next year.
“The new backdrop seemed to suit him just fine as Jeter — who else? — stepped in first during batting practice to thrill the fans dotting the stands and belt the first B.P. home run into the bullpen.”
Thank you, Rosy, He’s quite a talent. Hope all goes well for him, especially against Tampa, LA and Boston. Against the Yanks, I hope he has bunions and a headache.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And I would have a similar hope for Yanks pitchers vs. LAA, TEX and OAK.
I’m curious as to what the players thought about whether the ball flew differently that the old park with wind currents.
The maze left Joba Chamberlain a little more confused. Asked where he was going to spend most of his time at the ballpark, he answered: “Trying to find out where I’m at. There’s so many places to go, you’re going to end up playing hide-and-seek with yourself.”
================
CompassRosy
April 2nd, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Thank you, Rosy, He’s quite a talent. Hope all goes well for him, especially against Tampa, LA and Boston. Against the Yanks, I hope he has bunions and a headache.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
And I would have a similar hope for Yanks pitchers vs. LAA, TEX and OAK.
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I’ve already emailed my request to the Yankee pitching staff and hitters.
new post
I’ve learned to never rely on predictions or projections of analysts. Like the average fan walking down the street, they have no idea whatsoever when injuries will occur.
They’re dealing strictly on numbers, last year’s performances, and league averages.
How many analysts were able to foresee what the Rays did last year ? How many knew the injury bug would bite the Yankees so hard ? How many knew the Mets would self destruct 2 years in succession ?
Too many variables to make accurate views of a team before a game has even been played.
Yeah Mike, admitting you have a problem is the first step of many towards correcting it. I’m still wondering who will be sitting in those $2,600 seats come game day…
hokiehill-
Bloomberg?
Yeah in NYC now they have to put the calories on everything. So that’s not a Yankee Stadium thing and most New York fans are already used to it. It still bothers friends from upstate that come to visit me though.
Have you been in the New York Yankees museum yet? I was just wondering how they got all the players to sign the wall,did Steinbrenner just ask them all to do it when they signed the player? I noticed that the Ball Wall had a few that were probably donated from some people.