Can these issues be addressed?
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- April
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There have been two games played at the new Yankee Stadium, far too few to pass any judgement on the place and what it will be like for fans. The reason they played the two games against the Cubs was to iron out all the details and problems, after all.
My opinion — and this seems to be the general impression — is that it’s a marvelous stadium.
But based on e-mails that have been coming in by the dozens, there are some odd quirks about the Stadium that the team probably needs to address.
Let’s review:
• The net behind home plate: Let’s see, the Yankees own a good chunk of YES. The success of the network accounts for a large percentage of the team’s worth. So how in the world did they build a stadium that ruined an important camera angle? The excuse du jour is that the net was constructed with the safety of the fans in mind. How about cutting down the height of the net and having it stretch over the seats as it did at the old stadium. Would that work?
I have no idea. But it’s embarrassing that a team that owns a television network built a stadium that is not conducive to televising games. Somebody really botched that up. They need to get it fixed.
• The obstructed view seats in the bleachers: It was not the best idea to plunk a sports bar down in the middle of the bleachers and create hundreds of seats that can’t see either right field or left field. The team has tried to remedy that. But the televisions placed there to compensate aren’t angled correctly.
• The huge black curtain on the field level: Behind home plate on the field level is this giant black shower curtain. I noticed it because it’s right near the press gate. It’s like the Wizard of Oz. Apparently it’s supposed to provide a backdrop for infielders to see the ball off the bat. But given how they’ve slavishly catered to the wealthy, you have to wonder whether it’s to keep the great unwashed from peering down at the good seats. Regardless, it looks silly.
• The out-of-town scoreboard: Is it too much to ask that a stadium have one scoreboard dedicated to other games? Just two teams, the score and the inning. Save the little diagrams. Just give us the scores. Having a board rotating four games at a time is not good enough.
• Retired numbers: They’re hidden away in Monument Park, tucked underneath the sports bar. How about you leave them there but also display the numbers somewhere else where people can see them without having to stand in line? There has to be some place in that giant park where this can be done. I can’t think of a single park or arena where the retired numbers aren’t on display for all to see.
The Stadium will change over the days, months and years to come as the Yankees correct what didn’t work in the first place Hopefully they take a very proactive approach to some of these issues.
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on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009 at 11:11 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Randy I, I agree somewhat with your post from the prior thread, but not completely. I don’t necessarily think Yankee fans are nervous becaue they think the FO has been incompetent; I think they are nervous because everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong for the last couple of years. I can only speak for myself (who happens to be a pessimistic person), but the game on Monday gave me bad vibes. The offense is a concern to me because, again, they left a small army on the bases. No matter who they bring in, the hitters rarely get the job done in a clutch situation (runner on 3rd, less than two outs – just as an example) unless they hit HRs. I can’t explain it – Jeter, Posada, Matsui, Alex – these are good to great hitters. I am absolutely NOT a superstitious person in real life, but I see Beckett pitch a game like he did yesterday and the Sox hitters (even Varitek looked good) got the job done and I feel like we’ve seen this before. Things always seem to work out for the Sox and not for the Yankees. I’m hoping I’m wrong, but the Yankees really do have a lot to prove.
What about the tiny lineup scoreboard that you can’t even read from the field level seats?
I’m not worried and the retired numbers being in plain sight just isn’t a big deal to me.
I don’t love the look of the new stadium from the inside because it’s just not distinctive, but taken as a whole, I think it’s magnificent. I have to see for myself, of course, but I love the outside. I was worried about how the recessed stands would affect crowd noise, but I read one review that stated that it’s almost like a bowl effect inside the new stadium and that when it’s packed, the joint will be jumping just like it did at the old YS
I think the Yankees will figure it out. They still have about 60 years to get the kinks all ironed out. The good news is that the Yankees seem to be taking customer service quite seriously so the changes will happen sooner rather than later. Even the locals are surprised at how polite the stadium employees are.
Betsy,
Someone actually complained that the front office was incompetent?
It is ironic that some people pay $2500 to watch the game through the netting but people who pay nothing to watch it from their living rooms are complaining about it.
The lack of the overhead return net seems to be the problem. YES said they will work with different angles and cameras to work around the problem but no changes are immediately forth coming.
I sat in Section 206, Row 12 above right field for the first Cubs game and couldn’t see the right fielder for most of the game. I missed several key plays because of the obstructed view. So it’s not just the bleachers. Was it always this way at the old stadium? I don’t think it’s righ–especially for $45 per seat (normal price).
my tickets for section 135 (4/18 game) say “obstructed view” on them – what’s obstructed? can someone explain? thanks.
are there pictures of the Oz curtain and the others? Anyone?
I was there Saturday and I thought the curtain was to protect the rich from the wind.
Shows you what I know. I think Pete is right, it is to protect the rich from the ‘unwashed’ 
my tickets for section 135 (4/18 game) say “obstructed view” on them – what’s obstructed? can someone explain? thanks.
___
probably going to stuff some really fat tall man in front of you who will point and laugh that you spent so much money not to see the game.
ESPN: CMW did not have a “severe ankle injury” !!!!!!!
get FACTS TIGHT AT LEAST!!!!!!!
RIGHT (spelling errors are ok)
The only thing that needs to be changed is watching a game in HD through the netting behind home plate…that is unaccepatble, at least half of the games won’t have that problem.
As for the seats next to the sports bar…that was a stupid idea, but I’m sure they will make more money in the bar than with the sale of those few hundered seats.
As fans, we do not have to buy them and I wouldn’t be suprised if sooner or later they put a black tarp over those seats to extend the batters eye.
I’m pretty sure the curtain is there because you can see straight out to the traffic in the street from the pitcher’s mound–it’s basically a “pitcher’s eye”
A few things they need to work on…
- I was at the game on Saturday and from the 7th inning on the speakers cut out. It was fading in and out and no one was being announced comin gup to bed. it was very odd. Its a good thing they had those games to work out the kinks.
-Also, the woman who does the in game trivia and promotions… ANNOYING! those loud speakers over head made her scratchy high pitched annoying voice even worse. Get her out of there! Anyone would be better than her. Our whole section was plugging our ears when she came on.
- It seems the design of the stadium is very open, especially in the upper deck concession area where the wind was like a tornado. The structure of it created a sort of wind tunnel. It will be nice on a hot August day, but in April and October, bundle up!
Re the scores – was at the Nationals park on Sat and all the games were shown on a scoreboard (taken off when other things were run on that screen but otherwise they were there for all teams)
Also – get Coke back and drop Pepsi!!!
According to Trost the black curtain was put up temporarily as a “pitchers eye” because there was a gap where movement could be seen and could be distracting to pitchers and fielders.
There is also a gap somewhere in left field that was covered because Tex told Trost it was distracting when he angled to take throws from Jeter.
they have retired numbers on the wall near the sports bar on the first level. its not the same as the originals that are tucked under the bar and they arent exposed to the tv cameras, but they are there.
Uncle Ellsworth -
Not all that bad – you do want them to “tighten” up their reporting in order to get their facts right.
How bout cutting down on the ads! I have never seen a stadium with that much ads.
“It is ironic that some people pay $2500 to watch the game through the netting but people who pay nothing to watch it from their living rooms are complaining about it.
The lack of the overhead return net seems to be the problem. YES said they will work with different angles and cameras to work around the problem but no changes are immediately forth coming.”
Cmon Pat, if you have watched Yankee games on YES for years since its inception you would know that the previous Yankee Stadium was terrific for viewing a game on television, those expensive seats were still being sold at the old stadium and seen through a net, because the net is there to protect them.
Now the isssue isn’t that the issue is the presentation of the game to the home viewers, who are far more numerous b.t.w. than the folks who can pay to show up every night at the park. The outfield is being shot through the net, the infield is being shot through the net. You really never get a feel for the stadium from that critical camera angle, its just one more slap in the face of the non important fans of this team by the top brass of the Yankees. Every time the camera moves to show the ball in play their is wires and nets popping up on the screen.
I guess it was too much to hope that YES and the Yankees could do better than that for presenting a new ballpark to home viewers, they can mess with all the camera angles they desire, but the home plate camera view is very important to a broadcast. I’m glad the Yankees brass has been called out for it. We’ll see what they do come opening day.
Did anyone solve the mystery of where Wilkin De La Rosa is?
Can someone explain to me where that camera was at the old stadium.
most of the people sitting in those $2500 seats don’t care about watching the game, they just want to be ’seen’ at the game
How bout cutting down on the ads! I have never seen a stadium with that much ads.
————
If the choice was between a few extra ads posted around the ballpark or changing the name of the Stadium to a corporate sponsor – it’s safe to say everyone on this board would prefer the extra ads.
“randy l…what is a good start?”
vader-
a good start would be getting quality starts from all our starters most games. if this happens , even with arod being out in april , the yankees should be able to play at a minimum of a .550 rate.
the team doesn’t seem to be made of good april players, so a minimum .550 start would have them positioned nicely for when the weather heats up.
Almost fell off the chair when I saw this name on the Tampa Yankees roster:
Strausbaugh, Steven
I agree that the chick doing the in game trivia needs to bounce. She is the poor mans Jen Sterger. That is a weak attempt to copy the Jets.
On a side note, we went to the Dugout Lounge Friday night after the Cubs game. It is very very nice inside and will definitely get a lot of the business that Stans, Yankee Tavern, Billys, & the bowling alley used to get.
Wang career 5.13ERA vs O’s.
One thing we all can agree on:
We all have the premonition that Wang will pitch poorly today.
I have season tickets out in the RF bleachers section 201…I’m on the border of the obstructed seats, and those $5 seats are beyond horrible. You can’t see any of left field…basically you can’t see anything from 2nd base over. So if people do buy the $5 seats their best bet is to just hang in the bleachers café for the game because the seats are that bad. And from my seats in Section 201 I can’t see any of the new scoreboard, which is kind of disappointing. Basically I think the best bet is to avoid section 201, I know I’m going to try and move to a new section next year.
Serious Question: Has this camera angle issue ever been a problem at any of the other new/newer ballparks built within the last 15 years? How bout Citi Field? I personally find it absolutely mind boggling that you can build a 1.5 billion dollar cathedral and not have every last detail PERFECT. I mean holy hannah think about that for a second.
“We all have the premonition that Wang will pitch poorly today.”
With Derek’s range and Ransom like a scrub at 3rd base I just don’t trust those guys to handle the baseballs that will be coming to them. Ransom left me cringing after watching him, I thought he had a glove according to some folks. Did he lose it.
It would be nice if people stopped minimizing the bleacher seat issue. It’s not a few hundred seats. It’s 1,048 seats, as reported in the NY Times. That’s about 2% of the stadium and 20% of the bleachers (which hold 5,000).
What about indicating on the scoreboard, somewhere the current picture. I was there and could not figure out who was pitching. they have a lineup scoreboard, but don’t list the pitcher.
Not me. Wang’s got a pretty good win/loss record after a loss.
Of course, I’m hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst.
Why would you say that everyone’s thinking Wang will have a rough day?
I meant pitcher, not picture
“most of the people sitting in those $2500 seats don’t care about watching the game, they just want to be ‘seen’ at the game”
LOL, half of them are probably wondering when is their next vacation to Monaco, so they can sample some vintage wine from France, while the other half are more concerned about their third property in the Bahamas.
No time for the unwashed masses indeed, including us lowly serfs at home, watching like clowns on YES.
randy…I agree and if that holds true they will lose some where between 10-12 games in April.
Only the bridge jumpers are worried about Wang’s start today.
It’s a LLLOOOOOONNG season. Watch the game and see what happens. Wang has been pretty good the last few years, ya know.
Gotta wonder how people handle stress in their own lives if something like Wang’s start in Game 2 of the regular season can rattle them so easily.
“Serious Question: Has this camera angle issue ever been a problem at any of the other new/newer ballparks built within the last 15 years? How bout Citi Field? I personally find it absolutely mind boggling that you can build a 1.5 billion dollar cathedral and not have every last detail PERFECT. I mean holy hannah think about that for a second.”
I heard it was an issue with the Nationals and Giants, I saw a couple of games from the Nationals and it still seems to be there, they tried to pull the net back a little to get a better field shot, the Giants seem to have figured out their issue because it is no longer an issue from the camera angle shown of the field with the ball in play. The Mets park doesn’t have that issue with the net, don’t know whom the Yankees consulted as they claimed they did.
The Yankees angle is the worst I have seen the net is literally in the way, in every shot from behind the plate, IF or OF, LF or RF. It seems like the engineers are scared to even go to the shot, because they kept using all different angles in the Cubs game.
“BrianR April 8th, 2009 at 11:23 am
I sat in Section 206, Row 12 above right field for the first Cubs game and couldn’t see the right fielder for most of the game. I missed several key plays because of the obstructed view. So it’s not just the bleachers. Was it always this way at the old stadium? I don’t think it’s righ—especially for $45 per seat (normal price).”
—
Brian, I’m in 208 and have the same issue – these were supposed to be “comparable” seats to where I sat for the last few years and we didn’t miss any of the RF side
“With Derek’s range and Ransom like a scrub at 3rd base I just don’t trust those guys to handle the baseballs that will be coming to them. Ransom left me cringing after watching him, I thought he had a glove according to some folks. Did he lose it.”
every game Derek worries me more about his defense, I don’t even know how he’ll even get through the ‘10 season w/o costing pitchers much needed outs….I hope he realizes it
Don’t feel good about this game at all
Baltimore hitters own Wang and it a chilly night with a sinker baller on the mound. We’re facing a Japanese pitcher who we have never seen– we all know how we do against pitchers we haven’t seen. I bet this guy has a weird delivery thats hard to pick up on too until you see him a few times.
oh and completely agree on the in-game Sterger copycat – she has to go…
I tell you this, with the net on the camera I will be watching less games this year. I can deal with listening on radio.. that net will piss me off just too much.
“every game Derek worries me more about his defense, I don’t even know how he’ll even get through the ‘10 season w/o costing pitchers much needed outs….I hope he realizes it”
The time is coming when something will have to be done about him at SS, I mean I notice he is now short arming a lot of throws to 1B, bad enough if you can’t get to the ball, but then to not be able to make the throw accurately is a double whammy. I notice every time there is a fast runner that put the ball in play and Derek has to rush it, it is inevitably in the dirt or low to first base, never seems to be crisp and accurate from him. I like DJ, but reality is slowly beginning to smack us right in the face.
I guess you think games 1,2,3 aren’t worth as much as the other games of the season. Are these throw-away games? LOL
we need to play ramiro pena today
no way we can have that liability ransom and jeter in the INF with wang pitching
keith…i’ve heard the same report about obstructed view seats but I don’t believe all 1,048 obstructed view seats are in the bleachers…obstructed view could mean a lot of things, foul pole, etc…
i agree the issue is there but you can only complain if you get stuck there unknowingly with season tickets or part of a package where you dont get to pick your seat…otherwise, just don’t buy a ticket in that section
As someone who will watch every game but 1 in NY and 1 in Baltimore from home, I hope they fix the TV coverage/net issue sooner rather than later.
“Having a board rotating four games at a time is not good enough.”
sure it is. how long does it take to get the game you want, 30 seconds? at most, there are 14 other games being played, usually less. say an average of 12. it takes 3 trips through to see your score. oh, and this is EXACTLY what we had at the old stadium. that was “good enough”.
the net is a legitimate issue they will correct. this is nitpicking.
The new stadium is very nice from the outside and will look even better once the old stadium is razed and the park installed. The great hall is also quite pleasing.
Once inside though it’s like any other new stadium. Only much more expensive and with many obstructed view seats.
When I was at the Stadium for the Saturday game against the Cubs I noticed that the bat on top of the flag pole (to see which way the wind is blowing) from the old stadium didn’t make the trip across the street. When I left the game, I saw that it was still on the flag pole at the old Stadium.
Anyone know if there are any plans to bring it across the street?
Does this Trivia girl had a store bought set of Double Ds like Ms. Florida State as well?
Hey Pete and iPhone users,
Check out the new MLB app for the iPhone. $9.99 gets you every game on radio all season long plus numerous other features. It is actually cheaper than buying the radio package from mlb.com. Just an FYI…
““Having a board rotating four games at a time is not good enough.”
sure it is. how long does it take to get the game you want, 30 seconds? at most, there are 14 other games being played, usually less. say an average of 12. it takes 3 trips through to see your score. oh, and this is EXACTLY what we had at the old stadium. that was “good enough”.
the net is a legitimate issue they will correct. this is nitpicking.”
Agreed.
I may be stupidly optimistic based on the comments I’ve seen here, but I’m not worried about Wang or our defense today…Yanks get a win!
The doom in gloom here (in the comments section) has almost gotten worse than ESPN’s constant BoSox love-fest. The latter drove me away from ESPN radio but I think I can overcome the emo posters here
” The obstructed view seats in the bleachers: It was not the best idea to plunk a sports bar down in the middle of the bleachers and create hundreds of seats that can’t see either right field or left field.”
how was this not a good idea? the team will rake in money from the people in the sports bar. otherwise this is just unused space.
also, the food court on top of the bar looks like an awesome place for the bleacher people to hang out and get food. this is a completely new element of the stadium and will be a prized addition.
the design was flawed, but the actual idea was great.
I’m more worried about Uehara than Wang. Uehara has a great pedigree. Was the ace of the Yomiuri Giants. Undefeated in international play. ROY and a couple of “Cy Youngs”
I expect better play from the Yankees today, though. No matter how you try to paint it, they were embarrassed on Monday.
Barry
I’d watch a game through vaseline on the camera lens rather than listen to Sterling and Waldman but to each their own.
“I tell you this, with the net on the camera I will be watching less games this year. I can deal with listening on radio.. that net will piss me off just too much.”
Same here man, and you are talking to a guy that never misses a Yankee game if I can help it. What has me more upset is the utter arrogance of Randy Levine about it is there for safety, it’s not about the rich folks in those seats.
Yeah and I’m sure when they build those bleacher seats and knew fans would be obstructed from half the field they still went ahead with it because the bleachers don’t rake in the big dough as some restaurant would.
I don’t think I can stop rooting for the Yankees but some things are really making me as a longtime fan wonder when enough is enough.
A game in April is just as important as a game in August.
After watching us last year, you would think people would figure it out. There is no such thing as a ‘give away’ game, especially in this division that is going to come down to 1-2 games. We can’t wait for these superstars to warm up and be 7 games back by then.
We may be stacked in the rotation, but so is our competition. Expecting them to lose multiple games in a row so we can catch up is not the smartest strategy.
I only saw the one game (Friday night) on tv. So, I’ll see what happens during the next homestand.
I do hope the Yankees address the net issue, because they should, and because it should not have been an issue in the first place. BUT, it won’t stop me from watching the games. Some of you need to relax – just a little.
Now, obstructed view people – especially if you’re not expecting it – they have a real issue. And it’s not going to go away, because they’re not going to get rid of the restaurant in centerfield. At least not for a long time. Maybe they’ll adjust the television monitors, but that’s an awful lot of people who come to the park and can’t see parts of the game.
I can’t imagine the state of panic some will be in if the yanks lose tonight
Allie
You know you just made me think of something. It was her fault the sound system blew! You are 1000% right, her high pitched voice was quite annoying. She won’t last long.
I was at the game on Saturday and noticed the curtain as we walked around the stadium. I wonder whether removing that curtain behind the plate would have any effect on the way the ball travels as well. As was mentioned previously, straight back from the curtain was a grate and Jerome Avenue. It was obviously very windy on Saturday, but I could see that dropping that curtain might allow some sort of wind tunnel effect right at the batter’s back.
Also, my friends and I noticed that the name of the pitcher pitching in the Yankees game was not posted anywhere. This was an issue this time in particular, given the minor leaguers in the game, but it seems odd that both lineups are posted and the pitchers names are posted for all out of town games but nowhere for the teams playing at the stadium.
In ST this year, Uehara had a 3.68 ERA— 9 hits, 4 walks and 17 strikeouts in 14.2 innings.
Wang has a 1.54 WHIP and .327 BAA in Camden Yards in his career with a 4.28 ERA.
On paper, this looks like a rough game. Rookie pitcher from Japan with good stuff and deceptive motion vs. Wang who these Baltimore hitters seem to beat up on.
But thats why they play the game. Hoping for the best.
“A game in April is just as important as a game in August.”
I’m just tired of every season in recent time since like 04′ consistently lookiing up at the division and having to spend June, July, August trying to catch up to the lead.
Just another reason that Sabathia outing was disappointing, I thought he could go out there, pitch a solid 2,3 ER game and let the rest of the guys in the rotation feed off of it and really set a tone for this season that the Yankees mean business, instead it was a royal flop.
How cold will it get tonight? Low 30’s?
any rain-snow, delay, postponement expected?
“I sat in Section 206, Row 12 above right field for the first Cubs game and couldn’t see the right fielder for most of the game. ”
I’m above you in 306 terrace, row 2 and I can barely see the CF wall. Also have problems seeing the video screen.
And this was supposed to be an upgrade.
By the way, apart from the obstructed views, the bleachers are great. I will definitely be “downgrading” next season and may sneak my way in this season. Who would have imagined sneaking into the bleachers to get a better view.
AJ has pretty bad numbers vs. BAL too and we face another rookie (Alfred Simon?) tomorrow.
And here I was thinking we would sweep this series lol. CC didn’t set us off well.
Please, enough with the stupidity. Its GAME TWO. Its not an IMPORTANT game, no matter how many times some of you chicken little’s want to say it is.
A baseball season is SIX months. You play each month and see where it takes you.
To attach more importance to early games makes little sense. Too much can happen during a season.
Sure, they want to win the game. However, if they don’t, please save yourselves the time and internet space to start another crybaby jag on here as we had Opening Day.
Believe it or not, the players want to win games more than the fans want them to win. They, unlike the fans, aren’t going to freak out over losses.
Do they want to get off to a good start? Sure they do. However, what if they don’t? Do you want them to shut it down for the rest of the year if their start is not up to your standards?
Just enjoy the games instead of misplacing your emotions over things you have no control over. If you do that, you will actually enjoy the season because this is a very good ballclub.
They just aren’t going to go 161-1 this year.
Net-free viewing will be available on the Yankees new network called “YES MVP/Legends”. Only 9.95$ per month.
Captain Obvious to the rescue.
Cal,
Yeah exactly. It will be nice to get to to a fast start for a change rather than always chasing teams in the summer and scoreboard watching rooting for them to lose so we can play catch up.
We need to show some guts and impose our will on this team (and KC this weekend). No excuses.
The net issue and the failure to make the retired numbers visible from the stands are both INEXCUSABLE.
What other stadium doesn’t have its retired numbers prominently visible? As a boy I sat in the upper deck and memorized the numbers of the greats, from left to right: 4, 3, 5, 7, 37, 8, 8, 16, 15
It remained a habit to run through the names over the years as the list grew — 32, 9, 10, 1, 44, 23, 49. It’s just staggering that a team that so celebrates its history blew this one.
Here’s an idea: Why not elevate them running in a line, from right-center to right field, against the sky? Together with the YANKEE STADIUM letters on the left they would flank the massive TV screen, taking their rightful place for all to see.
Lonn Trost: please straighten this out before numbers 51, 42 and 2 are retired.
Randy,
From the other thread….
I honestly don’t think I’m overreacting. Reading and listening to some of the analysts and columnists, I can’t remember a time an Opening Day game was so overly scruntized.
I mean really, its one game. Its a long season.
As far as getting off to a good start, I take a different approach to it. I think this team has talked for so long about “getting off to a good start”, they put too much pressure on themselves to do so and it ends up working out poorly.
I’d rather not talk about it. Simply because, if they don’t get off to a good start, regardless of what some may think, the season isn’t over.
Just play the games/series, and see where it takes you. Personally, barring serious injuries, I think this team is too good, especially in the starting rotation, to not be in the race all season.
As far as high expectations? The Yankees always have them. However, with high expectations, some realistic conversation can also take place. You can have both.
This team is younger, more athletic, has a better rotation, and is deeper than its been in recent years. It is however, missing its best player, and that’s an issue right now.
If they can get to May, or whenever Arod gets back, at or near the top of the division, they will be fine.
“Lonn Trost: please straighten this out before numbers 51, 42 and 2 are retired.”
Whether you like it or not #6 will be retired too. Not a matter of if but when.
Not for awhile though I guess.
We missed the playoffs by 6 games last year
We had losing records against the Tigers (2-4), Indians (3-4), Rangers (3-4), Reds (1-2), Pirates (1-2), and Royals (4-5).
We also were 5-7 against Baltimore before we swept our final 6 games against them.
Think the team would like to have back some of those games? It is never too early.
i still want to know how my view could be obstructed from my tickets in left field (the in-play side of left field, left of the foul pole).
also, thoughts on posada’s number being retired? i say if they retire jeter’s number, and mo, there’s very little substantive reason to not also retire po.
I agree that we need to have some indication who is pitching. The other question I had: where are they posting current batting average? I couldn’t find it anywhere on any scoreboard on Saturday. My husband figured it was only because the season hadn’t started yet so there was no BA, but I honestly don’t know where they would post it. Even on the tiny hand-operated scoreboard, they have the batter’s number and their position, but no where for the BA. Anyone know?
How about the fact that nowhere in the stadium does it ever tell you who is pitching for either team. They have a lineup on the jumbo screen and you’re telling me they can’t include a pitcher on the behemoth? Nowhere? It’s near impossible to know who is pitching or even warming up in the bullpen unless someone knows every guy on the team. And it becomes much harder with an opponents pitchers.
Also, the sound down in the main area is so overwhelmingly loud that it pierced my ears. And I am no senior here complaining about the kids and their music. I’m 30 and go to tons of concerts a year, worked in music and work for a video game publisher. When the sound went out on Saturday, it was truly the first time I’ve experienced the real nuances of a game, the sounds, the bat, the ball, the fans. It was great and sadly, something I’ll probably never experience again.
And that in-game girl has to go. Her voice was the worst thing I heard all day. And yes, the obstructed bleacher seats are just horrible. Takes out a view of half the field.
Lori I couldn’t find it either. But I think you are right, it was only preseason so no need for ba.
The stats for the day were very difficult to read, however.
As far as the Stadium is concerned, the net issue isn’t a small issue. Its a big issue.
Most Yankee fans aren’t, or can’t afford to, go to the games. They watch them on TV. If the TV viewing is poor, they won’t watch. That’s less eyeballs for the YES Network, which eventually hurts advertising rates.
Not only that, the negative PR from having a minor league looking broadcast isn’t good.
One would think that issue can be addressed by April 16.
The obstructed view seats. Fact is, the restaurant will take in more revenue than if they didn’t have one out there and had all the bleacher seats with clean views. That was strictly a dollars decision.
The Yankees have made the best of a bad situation by only charging 5 bucks for the seats. That’s the best bargain in baseball. The TV’s? Again, that’s an issue they should have no trouble addressing between now and April 16.
The backdrops? One fascinating thing about stadium construction is, no matter how well you plan, you can’t plan for blind spots for the fielders/hitters. You only find them out when you have dry runs (like the exhibition games) because there are people in the stands and you get a full picture of how the field plays.
The retired numbers? Agreed, they should be prominently displayed in plain sight of people in the ballpark. Its a franchise that sells its history. No reason to hide a big part of it.
The out of town scoreboard? Less of an issue for me. Nowadays, people have enough wireless stuff in their possessions that they can get the scores faster than the scoreboards can give the results.
Out of all of the issues, this is of lesser import to me.
Going back to last years results is a strawman argument. Last year doesn’t matter because this is a different team and the league is different.
If the Yankees were the same team, and the other teams were also the same, the “look what happened last year” argument would have some merit.
However, with a completely different team, especially its pitching staff, what happened last year is meaningless.
You can’t predict a baseball season. Many have tried, all have failed.
You just have to play it out and see what happens.
You really cant make things like this up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....r_embedded
“Just don’t buy tickets in that section” is not an acceptable solution to bleachers problem, especially when affordable seats are at such a premium. If this was a Marlins game and I had my choice of 40,000 other seats for under $40 you might have a point.
Went to a few games last year out of town – Toronto & Cleveland. Specifically in Toronto they had an out-of-town scoreboard that rotated the games, complete with count, men on base, etc. It really is a pain in the you know what. At first, the novelty of being able to see who was up, and the count, and whether there were men on base was a “neato” thing. But the information rotates out too fast – sometimes before you can process the information. So you either scoreboard watch or watch the game. You can’t do both.
All you need is a scoreboard listing the games of the day and the scores. One glance and you get the pertinent information. The extra stuff ends up being a distraction and ends up leaving you frustrated because it’s not up long enough to mean anything.
Now, which is it that the Yankees have?
““Just don’t buy tickets in that section” is not an acceptable solution to bleachers problem, especially when affordable seats are at such a premium. If this was a Marlins game and I had my choice of 40,000 other seats for under $40 you might have a point.”
you can go on stubhub RIGHT NOW and get tickets to almost any game you want for around $30.
the lack of affordable seats is a complete myth.
The net issue is by far the worst. I also don’t like not seeing homeplate from the centerfield camera and the view down the lines on balls hit into the corners.
I don’t see an easy fix to the net problem though. With the recessed deck levels it won’t be easy to get a camera view that is over the net… even if they lower it a bit.
I agree about the retired numbers. But I didn’t even notice the net while watching the game on TV. I’m surprised it seems to be such a big issue for many.
I think the netting issue is not such an easy fix….unless you want the plate camera at the bottom of the terrace level above the suites. The camera at old YS was on the press level last year……the problem now is because they put more seats on the field level and because the backstop is so much smaller….they have the nettig go right up to the bottom of the press level….so lowering the net would put nets on peoples heads sitting right below the press boxes. and If they put the camera on the press level it would still be in the way because of how close home plate is to the backstop now.
The only way to fix this would be to put the camera at terrace level.
As you mentioned as well, there are also 4,000 + other bleacher seats you can choose to sit in as opposed to the obstructed ones…so the “don’t sit there” argument is certainly valid.
on another note…i’ve said this before but it would be worth $5 if I could sit in Yankee Stadium and watch the game on a flat screen with NO VIEW of the field! the atmosphere and interaction with other fans is alone worth $5…
There are quite a few other obstructed view seats in the terrace section. If you’re in one of the terrace sections that has rows 9 and 10, there is a metal fencing that surrounds the front part of those last two rows. This fencing DOES NOT show up on the Yankees 3D viewer. But when I went up there on workout day to check out views, there they were, obstructing home plate and in some instances the pitching mound. NOT good….
I think people are going a little overboard with the “the Yankees spent so much money and they totally blew it” stuff…i was at the game on saturday, sat in the bleachers and checked out the obstructed view seats. They’re definetly, and i agree with pete about the bad angle on the tv’s, but i think people are forgetting the fact that the bleachers were expanded *significantly* from the old stadium, so there are just as many non-obsructed view seats as there used to be…i think at least. Next, how about we give YES more than 3 games to figure out the net thing…yeah it sucks right now but they’ll figure it out i’m sure.
Finally, I’m feeling good about going against Koji Uehara today – yeah the guy was an ace for the Yom Giants at one point, but he is definitely not the pitcher he was when he faced Wang in the Olympics – his stuff is so diminished since then (he went 17-21 both of the last 2 years…21 losses! against non-major league hitters!) that I can’t see how that’s possibly going to translate to the american league, let alone the AL east.
It is unreal how people are so willing to give the Yankees and Lon Trost a pass on these issues. This is a brand new building, built from the ground up. They could have done absolutley anything they wanted, yet it was designed with known deficiencies affecting only the people in the “cheap seats” (upperdeck, belachers, etc). It’s fine for the Yanks to want to pull in a little extra cash, but the almost complete disregard for the real fans is sickening at best and unforgivable at worst.
The constant “He’s terrible against the Orioles” crap is ridiculous. Try looking up Burnett’s and Wang’s career numbers and you won’t look like idiots. The both had 3 bad games against the Orioles. The rest of the games have been good to exceptional. I’ve looked at the career totals and seasonal totals. You can do the same thing.
Comprehensive insider’s look at the Stadium, Pete. Good stuff. I can’t wait to get there (despite the minor flaws)
Look, I get the frustration with some of the issues at new Yankee Stadium, but remember that along with the “downgrades” to some of the sections (like the bleachers) there have been significant upgrades…I’ll be visiting NY in August and have seats in the bleachers (non-obstructed) and am thrilled at some of the upgrades to these bleachers VS the old such as…
Access to the rest of the stadium!
Access to all dining areas!
Beer in the bleachers!
A very cool restaurant/cafeteria in center field where I can get some food and have a good vantage point to watch the game!
It’s unreal how people are so unwilling to give the Yankees and Lon Trost credit for the many IMPROVEMENTS in the new stadium
Unfortunately I go to the stadium to watch the game, not visit the multiple “dining areas” and restaurants.
I will agree that it’s nice that you can access the rest of the stadium from the bleachers, but I can’t see myself wandering too far after the first few visits.
Trost said that in the bleachers they’ll add additional TVs to the walls and that those will show the live-game feed rather than just the scoreboard images as they are now. Though it’s a shame they stuck the restaurant there and blocked the view, the tickets are just $5 and between the TVs and being able to walk around, it’s not so bad.
My complaint is that even if you show up 3 hours before game time to watch batting practice, if you don’t have a pricey ticket, you are not allowed to go down to the field to try to snag player autographs. There are photos all over the stadium of players signing for fans, but now, if you can’t afford an expensive ticket you lose the right to try to get an autograph. I get it that some people don’t like to have fans from other sections blocking their view of batting practice, but it’s fair game during batting practice. Maybe just leave the third and first base lines, base to foul pole, availabe to people, and maybe limit it to a couple of hours. But it’s sad that a little kid can’t go down there to try to get Mo’s or Tex’s or Jeter’s signature.
I’m there to watch the game as well, just pointing out that there are just as many, if not more, good things about the new stadium than there are bad things…so many Yankee fans, including me, complain about how the media always takes ever negative thing about our team and runs with it/blows it out of proportion…I just think it’s funny that a lot of those same people are doing the same thing regarding the stadium
Honestly given the Yankees TV interests I am amazed we don’t have camera in batters helmets, or maybe on Posada’s catchers mask. How long before cameras are part of the umpire’s uni?
I mean how cool would it be to see what Joba’s fastball looked like to Posada?
I just got mlb.tv and intend to watch all the untelevised games here in tampa. Is this netting thing going to fool with the computerized games? Anyone?
“I don’t think I can stop rooting for the Yankees but some things are really making me as a longtime fan wonder when enough is enough.”
Agreed. I am a lifelong Yankees fan, but I am really getting turned off right now. The netting visible on TV broadcast is unbelievable. WTF are they thinking? Also, the advertising at the stadium is out of control, looks plain gross.
I almost laughed out loud when I read proactive
catching up pete,
i agree with everything except the out of town scoreboard. rotating 4 games is fine with me. i, like most people there, only care about the yankee game.
i do think they need more spots in the park that show balls/strikes/outs. i found myself looking around for them a lot.
oh, and i didn’t see any shower curtain type thing that you mentioned…
I agree that the netting issue is a big problem. I will not ever listen to another game on the radio until Sterling and Waldman are both gone. They are horrible. I have tickets to 2 games so far this year, and both are in the bleachers. I hope they aren’t the obstructed view seats or I will be wandering the Stadium looking to hop into “non” obstructed seats. What I find unbelievable is that this state of the art stadium cost $1.5 billion to build, but they couldn’t get a good computer simulater to check out viewing angles and such? I find that hard to believe.
Any way, GO YANKEES!!
It’s becoming “The House That Greed Built”.
Hi there Pete, Here’s my deal on the new stadium and my bro and I were there for both Cubs games.
We too were concerned about folks in the bleachers with obstructed views…but at $5 who cares…that’s cheaper than a minor league game at most parks. The TV’s on the walls though don;t show live game action…so that’d have to be fixed to make those TV’s relevant.
As for momument park….true you can’t see it well from the lower levels…we sat in 205 in right field (about the same height as the press box?) for the first game….and nope can’t see it well. But for the second game we sat in the upper deck…you can see it just fine from up there…so everyone that complains you can’t see momument park must have pretty decent seats. You can’t have everything for 1.5 billion even though you’d think with that much you could.
The concessions on the 200 level were awesome…in the upper deck they sucked. Employees hired must have been Id’d for certain sections. Don;t expect fast or convienient service in the Upper decks.
Other reflections:
1. Great hall is awesome…very cool after the second game how the blue glows all over the place.
2. The line for momument park (outside it) wasn’t considered very well(up and down stairs, blocking aisle ways?) as opposed to actually within it, which was well thought out. It moves much faster than the old momument park.
3. Wow are the million dollar leather seats a big chunk of the lower bowl…from almost foul pole to foul pole…that was the most alrming part of the stadium to me…in a negative way.
4. We had a ticket Nazi checking tickets in the UPPER DECK in the 7th inning of the second game….ridiculous. Some employees were trained well..others obviously missed the point.
5. Contrary to point #4, The most unexpected part (in a positive way) of the visits were how polite and welcoming the staff was. That’s a 100% improvement over the old stadium….they just stuck all the scrooges in the upper decks I guess.
6. Hard Rock was ok but a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Not your traditional over ly decorated Hard Rock…very Classy and very Much a Yankee kind of classy.
7. Hopefully the new stadium will revitalize the surrounding area much more now…they went the extra mile on things like sidewalks, greenery and benches etc…
8. There was no place on the scoreboards that listed the names of the current pitchers…? MPH…check….pitch name…check…pitch count…check….pitcher name….nope.
9. The armitron clock is ok, but can we get a digital clock somewheer the old scoreboard had that pretty prominent. Luckily the new digitial boards can do pretty much anything so I hope the Yanks are listening.
10. I didn’t have as big a deal with the speakers being loud or all those issues….but the announcer wasn’t great or even good…he didn’t sound classic or even have a New York accent….don’t know the guy he’s probably a good guy and all, but he just didn’t sound pronounced or distringuished enough like a lot of stadium announcers do…so he was a bit disappointing.
11. There’s nothing to eat and the stadium is just too small….kidding.
It’s a awesome cathedral that will probably outlive us all.
My problem? If I missed the pregame announcement as to who is pitching for the opposition, or if the announcement was too garbled to hear, I can know who is pitching for EVERY team in baseball that day, except the guy who is pitching to the Yankees right in front of me. There is not enough room on that huge video board where the lineups are posted to include the name of the pitcher?
They also failed to flash the scoring plays on errors, passed balls and wild pitches. Not very fan-friendly.