It’s official: The place is a launching pad
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 23, 2009 
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This note via the Yankees:
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 26 home runs hit in Yankee Stadium’s first six games surpasses the total hit in the first six games at the Kansas City Athletics’ Municipal Stadium in 1955 (25) for the most hit in the first six games at a new big league venue.
So that’s more than Citizens Bank Park and Coors Field. Um ….
I still think Mark Teixeira (and others) are right when they say we’ll need to see at least half a season before deciding what is what. But the evidence is mounting.
The “things to do” list in the front office must be getting longer by the day …
1. Move right field wall back six feet, make it higher.
2. Remove seats from directly behind OF fences so fans can’t interfere with games.
3. Fix backstop net so TV network we own most of can televise games unimpeded.
4. Call Mohegan Sun and apologize for every story that says “The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, which obstructs thousands of seats …”
5. Find a way to fill the good seats.
UPDATE, 12:24 p.m.: As some readers suggested …
7. Fix Monument Cave and create Monument Park somewhere in Stadium.
Monument Cave (c) by Anthony McCarron.
From the previous post:
The most swing and misses for hitters in 2009, from Jason Paradise of ESPN Research. The odd thing? The Rangers have three of the top seven:
Hitters With Most Swing & Misses
Player Swing/Miss
Josh Hamilton 46
Chris Davis 44
Ryan Howard 39
Jordan Schafer 39
Adrian Gonzalez 38
*David Ortiz 37*
Nelson Cruz 36
Matt Kemp 36
Carlos Pena 36
Corey Hart 34
From Buster:
One of the strangest plays you will see all year: With runners at first and third and one out, there was a chopper hit back to the Yankees’ CC Sabathia. He turned and fired to Derek Jeter at second base, in an attempt to start a doubleplay, and Jeter — seeing that Jason Giambi was breaking from third base and that it might be difficult to finish a doubleplay with a throw to first — threw homeward. To nobody. Posada had vacated home plate, to go to back up what he anticipated to be a throw to first base, and Jeter’s throw sailed past home plate umpire C.B. Bucknor, as Giambi jogged home. Posada took the blame for the play, writes Jeff Roberts.
Sabathia heard his first boos as a Yankee in the middle of Wednesday’s game, after allowing the tying run on a single to Matt Holliday and getting pulled with the score 7-all. But later, Melky Cabrera did something that only Babe Ruth had accomplished before him — hit the first walkoff homer in a Yankee Stadium. Mark Simon of ESPN Research went into the archives for this stuff from the first Yankee Stadium walk-off, on July 3, 1923, against the Senators in the 15th inning.
The New York Times provides the following account: “(George) Mogridge made only one mistake. He gave Ruth a fastball through the groove in the last half of the fifteenth and the Bambino swatted it on a line into the right field seats, just a few feet inside the foul line. It was a rifle shot of a home run and it broke up the game. As soon as the ball was hit, the 5,000 spectators rushed out on the field and Ruth had to elbow his way through a dense crowd before he could touch the plate with the winning run.”
SJ44: You keep saying Melky is a 4th outfielder at best but you don’t know that. Yes I know he had two horrible years but don’t ignore his first year which was quite good. Players regress it happens, maybe he got off track, maybe he didn’t work hard enough, maybe he was a 22-23 year old young CF for the New York Yankees and that is a lot of pressure, maybe he was rushed up to the ML. So I get what your saying but 2 bad years does not make a player especially a really young one. But on the other had I do agree that the Gardner deserves his chance because he did win the job in ST, and I think the competition between the two of them will help rather than hurt the team.
Yeah but did Wang start a game at Kansas City Athletics’ Municipal Stadium in 1955? lol
Some of the home-runs hit where legit. But I see new YS has already earned a reputation. So why bother actually watching the games and see all the Yankee HR’s where well hit yesterday.
Another thing to add to the list Pete:
Fix Monument Park so it doesn’t look like they are being stored in someone’s garage.
‘SJ44: You keep saying Melky is a 4th outfielder at best but you don’t know that.’
Not this again
Yes he is a 4th OF, he & Gardner are warming up the spot for Austin Jackson.
Yeah. The new stadium sucks. Let’s all tear it down!!!
“Not this again Yes he is a 4th OF, he & Gardner are warming up the spot for Austin Jackson.”
Brandon, do youeself a favor and don’t read the previous post…
I agree with some of those suggestions for ‘fixing’ the new stadium. Though I don’t know if they can structurally move the fences back without some fairly serious construction. I think the better move is to take out that first row or two of seats and make the fences a few feet higher (because they are clearly shorter than before).
About the seats, and we’ve all been talking about the expensive ones being empty, I think they probably need to chop 30% off all of those 500-2900 seats to make them somewhat realistic. It is just so comical to see every ‘regular’ section of the stadium packed, and the good seats nearly empty. Oh well, i’m sure the Red Sox will thank Randy Levine and Lon Trost next time they’re in town.
Great blog. Love your insight along with amusing anecdotes like the garage story from the other day. I agree with all you say about the new Stadium but I would put at number one to do something about “Monument Cave”. It is a travesty that one of the most beautiful and beloved features of the old ballpark has been desecrated like this. It’s an embarrassment. Almost seems that the location was an afterthought.
Pete,
Your headline states “It’s Official: The Place is a Launching Pad”. A few lines later you say: “I still think…we’ll need to see at least half a season before deciding what is what.” It seems you have already decided.
Seriously, can we at least wait until the second home stand before passing judgment? It’s ridiculous.
6. Close field level art gallery and replace with anything else.
I was just looking at the second basemen throughout the ML and wow this must be the age to really really good second basemen.
Check Out this List:
Pedroia (suxs)
Cano (Yanks)
Aron Hill (jays)
Roberts (O’s)
Kinsler (Rangers)
Kendrick (Angels)
Lopez (Mariners)
Ugla (marlins)
Utley (phillies)
All are really young are are good and either have pontetial to be really good or great..I don’t think there is a position that is as deep as the second basemen playing in the ML right now
Bronx Jeers, that art gallery is extremely lame, definitely agree with that. I don’t know how anyone can justify paying tons of coin for a stupid Peter Max painting of some Yankees legend. But, I mean, I’m not trying to be judgmental…just, yuck.
None of the HR’s yesterday were launching pad/wind aided. They all would have been out of the old stadium.
In fact, 3 balls hit to right center by Jeter, Cano and Holliday yesterday would have been HR’s on Saturday when the wind was blowing out to right center.
Like Tex said, 6 games is way too early to make a definitive ruling on the place.
Its the most scrutinized new stadium in the history of sports. When that happens theories, often pulled out of one’s butt, begin to form. Doesn’t make them true.
Why not evaluate the place after half the season? I’d think at that time, you would get a better indication of what exactly it is.
And the award for biggest overuse of the term “launching pad” in one week goes to…
If the media keeps saying it’s a launching pad and hitter’s park, why aren’t they giving some of the Yanks pitching some slack for their slow starts?
You can’t have it both ways.
Making a judgement on a stadium 6 home games into the season would be extraordinarily stupid.
That’s the only thing official here.
“Brandon, do youeself a favor and don’t read the previous post…”
I love everyone’s opinion.
“Not this again Yes he is a 4th OF, he & Gardner are warming up the spot for Austin Jackson.”
The HOPE is that they are warming up the spot for Austin Jackson, since he is a better athlete and has a higher ceiling than either Gardner or Cabrera.
Being a better athlete though doesn’t always translate to being a better baseball player. Jackson needs a full season at AAA to cut down his strikeouts, and better his plate discipline.
LOL
“We’re going to put on a show that will make the Big Apple look like the Little Crabapple,” Shannon said Wednesday as Major League Baseball and the Cardinals announced plans for All-Star game events and festivities.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltod.....enDocument
“1. Move right field wall back six feet, make it higher.
2. Remove seats from directly behind OF fences so fans can’t interfere with games.”
They won’t move the right field wall back, because thy need to keep the dimensions the same, you know, for historical continuity. Raising the may be a problem. You’d have to raise the wall height appreciably (not a little) for it to make any difference. Then you affect the sight lines several rows further back.
The easiest fix is to leave the walls the same height and distance and just remove the first two rows behind the walls in left and right to re-create the Jeff Maier Moat all around the OF. Maybe it costs them a couple hundred seats.
I’m not so much disturbed by the amount of home runs, as I am by the way a few made it out of the park. Posada’s disputed home run immediately comes to mind — sure, it worked out in the Yankees’ favor, but I really don’t think he got much of that ball. That is a lazy flyball in almost every other park, yet it changed the course of the game.
“It’s amusing that people take nine percent of the season and decide a STADIUM is no good. Or that another one is good. STADIUMS are a movie, not a series of snapshots. Young STADIUMS need time to develop and figure out what they can — and can’t — do at this level.”
Why not just put plexiglass partition across the right and left field walls about 3 feet high. It would make the park play bigger and you wouldn’t have to worry about fan interference. BTW, that homerun by Suzuki wouldnt have made it out and caught by Damon if it werent for the cool guy in the artic jacket and shades. The yanks should have thrown his butt out of the stadium
Man I hate the stadium, lets root for the Mets! WHO’S WITH ME!
i have watched every yankee game covered by YES on the MLB package… i truly don’t even know what you are talking about with this net thing. nothing has impeded my ability to see the game from good views. anyone else?
Out of the 26 homers over the past 4 games no one knows for sure if they all would of been out at the old stad. It’s funny how people go right to the conclusion that it’s a launching pad without taking into account how hard the ball was hit. It seems like even if Bonds was playing here and hitting his long shot homers that people would be freaking out about a possible bandbox.
rconn,
It’s quite possible even likely that AJax will struggle as he adjusts to MLB pitching once he’s in pinstripes.
I wonder if some of the fans in here will even give him the leash he needs to succeed or if they’ll be calling for an immediate trade if he struggles after the first few weeks.
It’s alarming how many people are thinking of him as a CF savior already.
“Jackson needs a full season at AAA to cut down his strikeouts, and better his plate discipline.”
Sept. call up..
Do you think Jetes will take a paycut if mangement promised to lower the $2500 seats? Unless the fans pay up, the outrageous player salaries have seen their peak in 08′and will be a thing in the past. Kudo’s to Cashman for not signing Wang to a long term deal!!!!!!
This is what sucks about rooting for the Yankees anymore. IF they opened a ballpark that no one complained about, filled every seat, and won the World Series, it would not be looked upon as a great accomplishment because they’re the Yankees and they’re supposed to be. However, if they are ever, in any way, imperfect, they get taken to the woodshed as though they’ll never win another game, have people sitting on milk crates at the new stadium, and steal kids’ lunch money on the way in.
1. Move right field wall back six feet, make it higher.
– They can’t do this mid-season. MLB wouldn’t let them. I’m sure they’ll be spending all summer studying the HR problem and, if there is one, you know they’ll fix it.
2. Remove seats from directly behind OF fences so fans can’t interfere with games.
- I don’t think they need to do this either. Plenty of stadiums have fans right on top of the wall. The Yankees just need to let fans know that if they interfere with a play they will be immediately ejected. Then make sure that’s seen happening on TV.
3. Fix backstop net so TV network we own most of can televise games unimpeded.
- I’ve got a degree in broadcasting and spent years as a camera op, and this doesn’t seem to bug me as much as it does others. There’s PLENTY I’d change about the way games are televised, but I can live with the net.
4. Call Mohegan Sun and apologize for every story that says “The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, which obstructs thousands of seats …”
- I love it. I can’t wait to spend $5 for admission, then spend the whole game wandering the concourse and watching the game from there. If I need to sit I can relax there for a bit, watch TV, then get up again. I have friends who’ve been to the Stadium and never even made it to their seats. They say the concourse is great.
5. Find a way to fill the good seats.
- Again, something I’m sure they’re working on. I’m glad every sports journalist in the country saw the market crash coming and knew the Yankees and Mets wouldn’t be able to sell their premium seats. Like plenty of other businesses in America, they thought they had a market for a luxury product, only to be caught with their pants down this fall. I know this is something that has to be embarrassing the hell out of them and I’m sure they’ll find a way to fill them.
6. Yes, Peter Max sucks. There are plenty of great sports artists around (cough, cough!). Why dedicate a whole gallery to that hack alone?
And no, I’m not convinced it’s a launching pad yet. If they get a few cheapie HRs just over the wall, that doesn’t make the place a launching pad.
And stop looking only at where the balls land to make up your mind. Start looking at what part of the bat hits the ball. When balls hit off the fist or the end of the bat start going out, then maybe we’re talking launching pad. If the fat part of the bat hits a ball over the plate it’s going out in most parks.
I’m curious how many of these — if any — will actually be done. I think 2 & 5 are the most important, by far.
re: home run heaven, aka Yankee Stadium
it doesn’t matter what the fans think, or Pete and the media thinks – it matters what the pitchers and managers think – will they change how they pitch?
To tell a pitcher – wait for mid-season until you make a judgment is crazy. (by then they might have given up 40 homers and had a Wang-like era)
We already saw opposing managers line up the lefties to face the Yanks in past years (to counteract the short RF porch) – will opposing managers favor a sinker ball pitcher over a fly ball pitcher in Yankee Stadium?
Before you never wanted a pitcher to give the batter “something to pull” in Yankee Stadium. Now will pitchers be hesitant to “pitch away” to righties? All things that will be interesting to watch….
“I wonder if some of the fans in here will even give him the leash he needs to succeed or if they’ll be calling for an immediate trade if he struggles after the first few weeks”
They’ll give him a leash if he gets off to a hot start. First impressions are big with some fans. Sort of like Jacoby Ellsbury coming up and looking good right off the bat. His leash is long because of how he looked second half of 07. If A.Jackson gets off to a slow start most fair weather fans may think he’s a bust.
Eric
They started using the CF camera and put in additional cameras on the 1st and 3rd base side instead of using the homeplate camera. The only shot with net yesterday was 1 shot on a pop up behind home plate.
I saw this the other day and I thought it was worth a looksie. According to this guy who runs “hittracker”, while the poles and centerfield dimensions are identical to the old stadium, the path that the wall takes to reach such points are shorter thus making the wall a bit closer to home plate. His estimate has the wall in RF anywhere from 4-9 feet closer!
He may be right. At one of the Cub exhibition games I sat on the left field wall and noticed that instead of the long arch of the old wall, the new wall has “corners” that eliminate the true “conical” shape of the old wall.
Anyway this hittracker site is pretty interesting.
http://waswatching.com/2009/04.....mer-haven/
Eric -
The only times the net was in evidence was when they did a shot of guys in the on-deck circle, and it looked a little like they were actually trying to make it look like an artistic shot.
But in the exhibition games against the Cubs, whenever they tried to show field action from behind the plate, the net was front and center and very distracting. It looks like they’ve stopped using that angle.
Is there a way for someone, anyone, to try and figure out how many of the 26 HRs were legitimate? All of the Yankees’ yesterday definitely were. Don’t know about the A’s HR – I know it was just far enough, but was it hit well? And how does someone actually quantify something like this – it shoulda been a lazy fly ball, it should been caught. The real shots are not questionable, but there are always HRs that just barely make it out. Well, anyway, let’s give it some more time.
All of the rest of the list mostly seem like fixable things. Although the obstructed seats are going nowhere (or shall we say the sports bar is going nowhere), and I don’t know what they can do with Monument Park. I can’t wait to experience it for myself, though.
He may be right. At one of the Cub exhibition games I sat on the left field wall and noticed that instead of the long arch of the old wall, the new wall has “corners” that eliminate the true “conical” shape of the old wall.
========================
Yeah, its pretty much straight due to the scoreboard in RF. If there is any way they can rebuild that wall with the original curvature from the old park, i’m sure they’ll explore it.
That Montero kid can hit and a WDR update for Brandon:
Jesus with a 2 RBI single in the Tampa game today and Wilkins De Le Rosa with 4 shutout innings in his first outing of the year.
PETE – ANOTHER THING TO THE LIST
All of the families that are bringing their children to the game by way of purchasing cheap seats have no ability to show up early and partake in some BP activities (Catch home runs, get autographs). They need to stop being so strict!
We arrived 2 and a half hours early last Sat and went to check out our seats in the top level (SEC 213) and my son went to sit in the first row of the highest section to get a good look at the players and he was yelled at by a security guard for not sitting in the right row/seat!! We were in the nose bleeds! Its alright to have security people help find peoples seats and help with any seat disputes but to regulate it that much is absurd. Up until about a half hour before the game you should be able to go anywhere you choose.
They checked my ticket on three separate occasions when returning to my nose bleed seats. Really ?!?!
CM…”4. Call Mohegan Sun and apologize for every story that says “The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, which obstructs thousands of seats …” – I love it. I can’t wait to spend $5 for admission, then spend the whole game wandering the concourse and watching the game from there. If I need to sit I can relax there for a bit, watch TV, then get up again. I have friends who’ve been to the Stadium and never even made it to their seats. They say the concourse is great.”
That could be a small problem.
@ Bronx Jeers –
Saw that awhile ago myself. It got a mention on Deadspin and Ty Kepner even wrote it up in the Times. Of course, no one on the FAN or over @ the Daily News brings it up. I don’t think they know how to work these here interwebs.
Does anyone know if there are any Yankee blogs that bash the Red Sox like Boston Dirt Dogs does to us?
I mean I am all about taking the high road, but I also want to participate in some good ol’ fashioned trash talking as well.
Also, its good to unite fans against a common enemy.
“That Montero kid can hit and a WDR update for Brandon:
Jesus with a 2 RBI single in the Tampa game today and Wilkins De Le Rosa with 4 shutout innings in his first outing of the year.”
Thanks
Montero – now 2 hits and 3 RBI.
A mere observation: The Yankess have been more embroiled in the steroid scandal, albeit through little to no fault of their own, than any other franchise. Of course, irony would dictate that the new 1.5 billion dollar stadium, which opened on the dawn of the “post steroid era” is the biggest Bambox east of Coors Field.
Sometimes irony is downright cruel. I can hear Sox fans now…”Performance Enhancing Stadium.” I guess it’s better than TARP Field though.
Montero…ETA – 2011?
bandbox*
The Yankees will not change the dimensions, I’m pretty sure they want to historically have the same dimensions as OYS. And I don’t see what’s wrong w/ having the fans on top of the action in the outfield, that’s what makes ballparks unique from football stadiums….just eject anyone that interferes. I do think they need to change Monument Cave…put it on top of the Sports Bar where it’s clearly visible in Center Field to the fans watching on T.V….that would look great, the cave doesn’t look great…..it gets frustrating the national media is just burying the Yankees right now in every way, CC, ‘the launching pad’, empty premium seats, etc…what must Hal be thinking right now? Public perception has been negative and it’s gettin old
I, too would like to know of any Yankee Blogs that are insulting to the Sox. Just for fun, of couse.
Countdown till 500
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/.....Id=rss_nyy
“I mean I am all about taking the high road, but I also want to participate in some good ol’ fashioned trash talking as well.
Also, its good to unite fans against a common enemy.”
————–
doesn’t sound like much fun to me. let Boston continue to be consumed with all things Yankees. Yanks fans shouldn’t stoop to that.
@ TampaYank –
Agreed. But, we have to get used to it. The Yankees are the media’s favorite pinata.
If I may offer my two cents:
Reduce the number of legends seats by at least a third (half would be better, no farther than the the dugouts on either side) . Roll back prices to last year’s level.
And the most important thing: make it so that anyone may go to the fence during BP and hunt of r for autographs and jaw with the players. THis is one of the great pleasures of going to the game, and there’s no reason it had to be ended. If I’d like to see a groundswell over anything, it would be this.
tampayank the point is..right field DOESNT have the same dimensions as the old stadium…only in the corner. The actual WALL running from the corner into right center used to bow outward into the stands, thus making the NYS wall about 6-9 feet further in than at the old stadium, couple that with the fact that the wall is about 4 feet shorter and that makes for alot of fly balls going out that would have simply died at the warning track at the old park
“just eject anyone that interferes.”
———-
That is hardly a deterrent. There will be countless interference calls and controversy that could all be fixed by removing a few seats.
“Reduce the number of legends seats by at least a third (half would be better, no farther than the the dugouts on either side) .
—————
Doesn’t make sense to make major changes to a problem that is a result of a bad economy. Seats around baseball are empty. Yankee Stadium is getting scrutinized but it’s not an isolated issue. Other teams aren’t removing seats.
So when Montero hits it out of “the bandbox”
Do we go w/
“Jesus Christ he hit that to the heavens !”
“Oh Jesus ! did he get a hold of that one !”
I was watching the Astros-Dodgers game last night, Roy Oswalt threw a 96-mph fastball, followed by a 66-mph off-speed pitch. Next pitch: 95-mph cheese for the K.
He did up runs, but the Dodgers are not exactly the As or Padres – they score runs.
The announcers mentioned Oswalt has made it abundantly clear he will not pitch after his contract expires in 2011 (he’s never left his hometown in Mississippi, and never will). If he has any desire to win a championship, he’ll need to finish his career on another team.
Nice find Jennifer, I bet he hits 500 around June or July.
You guys are funny. The Yankees are not (and I can’t even type this with a straight face because it’s so funny
)going to remove seats just because fans interfere with baseballs.
I’m sure they knew about the possibility of this during construction.
They’ll likely put plexiglass there or some other form of fencing before they start removing seats which means they lose $$.
The stadium is the new A-Rod. Over disected to the point of insane.
Check out this pic of Coors Field….Might Yankee Stadium RF look like Coors Field RF next year
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.....ield_1.JPG
Either swap Monument Park with the Yankee bullpen, or move it above the restaurant, and reconfigure that whole plaza above.
People need to get Austin Jackson out of their minds until September. He might come in and yatoo some fastballs at first, because he can hit a fastball. Trouble is, it’ll only take a week for word to get around that he has issues with off-speed and breaking pitches. Let him grow up this year.
Jesus…I hate even starting this crap again, but, if Gardner is going to be of any help, he needs to bunt for a hit once a game. after Cabrera struck out,, it would have been the perfect spot for Giradi to call for something unheard of in Yankeeland….a squeeze play.
Did Cabrera look foolish chasing a pitch in his eyes…you bet, but, that doesn’t absolve Gardner from his role in that mess…popping up to third….again. His job is to bunt, hit ground balls, move runners. Of course, had Damon not screwed up on that pop-up, none of this discussion would be necessary….until the next game.
Sterlings Montero HR Call?:
” Thy Kingdome Come. Montero just turned that water into wine! It’s another heavenly halo ball from Hey-Sus Montero!”
I still can’t believe ANY single seat in ANY baseball stadium goes for more than $500 for a regular season game. Even $300. I’d think that the Giuliani seats should be worth that much at most. But charge $1000 for a seat? Maybe when the team’s playing in the world series.
Cripes … a movie costs about $10 plus the usual over priced concessions. They give you 1/2 to 2/3 the entertainment in terms of time, and they’re sometimes more exciting than a typical dog-day regular season game against a weak small market team. Sometimes the Yanks have played like a weak small market team too.
I know they don’t have to charge as little as $500 for those $2500+ seats and sell them all. But somewhere there’s GOTTA be a line drawn to make it more accessible for a person of average means and/or with a family to bring to a routine game.
Also …. maybe they can keep a small percentage of the good seats available for sale the day of (or a few hours before) the game, so you can show up and have a shot. I’d be more excited about that than only having the Bob Uecker seats or bleacher seats as a game-day option.
How much time can you spend at Disney Land for the price of a premium ticket at the new stadium?
Are you sure to have as much fun & excitement in the 3 hours at the stadium, or will the hitters look terrible and the bullpen implode?
If you read how ‘fun & excitement’ the game threads exude when the team’s not winning or pummelling the other team, you wonder why anyone would pay more than pocket change to see a game.
GB…
Squeeze looses alot of effectiveness when there is a force play at the plate.
“I know they don’t have to charge as little as $500 for those $2500+ seats and sell them all. But somewhere there’s GOTTA be a line drawn to make it more accessible for a person of average means and/or with a family to bring to a routine game.”
———–
just because the best seats cost $2500 doesnt exclude a family from going to the game in cheaper seats.
let the rich people pay $2500 so we can have our team full of star players. I’ll pay $30 for my seat and watch the same game they are.
otherwise, go root for the Padres. you can go to a game with decent seats for $10.
ANSKY,
http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=sd
OR
http://www.china.gov
Coach6423
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
GB…
Squeeze looses alot of effectiveness when there is a force play at the plate.
————————————————————
If he gets the bunt down, there is no play. Cano isn’t an ice wagon horse.
new post
The list grows each day. Under Big Stein’s watch they’d be quick to make some changes. Baby Steins? Not so sure.
The Boss, back in the day, was the most controversial character around, the villian, the scapegoat, carpetbagger, evil emperor, etc. He took the then corporate Yankees out of the hands of CBS and did things his own way. Many people said he ruined baseball … turned the game into “Money Ball.” But minor felonies and suspensions aside (et-hem) he eventually won the hearts of New Yorkers with an obsession for winning, for fielding the best team money could buy, and bringing championships back to the fans that “deserve it” the most. The dynasty years helped bring about a character reversal for Steinbrenner similarly to how 9-11 instantly made the hardly beloved Guliani the Mayor of the World (on 9-10 he was very unpopular). But love him or hate him The Boss was man of action, he trusted his gut, was more or less a complete dictator, but also took responsibility, a buck stops here kind of guy. I mean, he directed traffic in the parking lot, infamously collared a kid spraying grafitti on the stadium (whaddya say Ray), and negociated directly with free agents behind his executives’ backs.
Nowadays the Yankees are truly run like the major corporation they are, and I think you will see that with the new stadium – er, I mean ‘the ultimate baseball fan experience.’ Ironically, the Baby Steins who run this mega-corporation have very little corporate experience at all, and I wonder if they get bullied into decisions, or Powerpointed into action out of some deeply rooted fear that their employees will realize that the new bosses don’t really know what the heck they are doing. Where Big Stein crudely managed his enterprise with brute force, intimidation, and fear tactics, the Baby Steins are probably trying to keep the illusion of control, pretending they are qualified.
It’s quite a change of pace. But that’s the funny thing about baseball, this team, and this town, that as it goes through so many twist and turns, rises and falls, there is that constant struggle over its soul, and it never gets dull.
Anyway what’s next Baby Steins have Yankee IPO? For the prices of tickets you should get issued some stock
and if he pops it up inning over, or if he bunts it to the pitcher force at the plate
personally, i’m just happy to have baseball back and could do without all the complaining. baseball is usually meant for distraction but it seems the majority just wants to complain and bemoan everything. enjoy the games, complain about life all you want but lets have something sacred for a while. life is tough enough
sumo,
it makes you wonder why some of these people are even fans. all they do is complain.
of course, i wonder why so many people want to get married too.
Before we go re-modeling the new stadium, the Yankees should try putting some bodies in the seats around the infield to see if it changes the wind pattern!
Yes, the RF fence in NYS is closer than in RYS. I knew this as soon as I saw the aerial photos of the bare concrete wall, which no longer angles out from the playing field, but runs straight across after a slight angling away right near the RF pole.
http://i120.photobucket.com/al.....llcomp.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/al.....tc/714.jpg
http://i120.photobucket.com/al.....YS1976.jpg
It’s 7-9 feet closer for a good portion of the RF fence. And the RF fence is 2 feet shorter, to boot. The short porch became the “too short” porch. Yes, they should rectify it in-season. Hopefully, a long road trip should provide the time necessary.
As some have pointed out, what you have to watch for is balls that are clearly popped up that end up over the fence. There were at least 5 of those in the first 6 games in NYS. Not acceptable.
boston dave
i was thinking the same thing.
supposedly as bad as things are, we’re 9-6, i’ll take that
7. Get rid of that bar ALL TOGETHER! I can’t believe the Yankees let some sports bar dwarf their own storied history! Those are sacred monuments and they got shoved aside for some corporate restaurant!
move the center field wall back behind monument park and have the monuments in play like at the original yankee stadium.
I say leave monument park the way it is and don’t waste valuable space that could be used for more seats. Or move the monuments inside the Yankee museum. Honestly, most fans don’t care about that place at all.
Balls are definitely carrying but I don’t think changing the walls is the answer. It really has to be wind currents of some sort from what I’ve observed and I think fixing that is the issue. You can see the ball hang up in the air on almost any fly ball hit. Even little bloopers that would normally drop are carrying to the outfielders instead. Adding depth and height to the walls will catch only the borderline homers and only a couple of the homers we’ve seen so far have barely gotten out. They need to find where the wind currents are coming from and do something to prevent them, whether covering the back wall of the upper deck or somehow sealing up the open air on the top two levels. It probably won’t be easily done while maintaining the aesthetics of the stadium but that’s a decision they’re going to have to deal with unless they want to drastically alter the dimensions of the outfield.
i too haven’t noticed the net. i think the camera angles on tv have been great.
i like the idea of removing that first row of seats along the outfield wall.
also think they should allow folks down there for BP. i never caught a ball during BP, but always had a blast when i was able to get there early enough.
there is now zero reasons for me to show up anytime before the game…
“They’ll likely put plexiglass there or some other form of fencing before they start removing seats which means they lose $$.”
Now THAT’s funny. Make it like a hockey arena so HRs can bounce of the plexiglass.
It’s the RF wall, people. The wind might occasionally push a ball over the wall, but several of the NYS pop-up homers (Teixeira’s, Posada’s, A. Cabrera’s) would never have gone out in RYS, even given a windy day.
The Yankees have an 11 1/2-day window from June 18 – June 29 to fix the RF wall problem (noon start on the 18th, long road trip, two days off mixed in). Hopefully they will take advantage of it.
GreenBeret7
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
if Gardner is going to be of any help, he needs to bunt for a hit once a game. after Cabrera struck out,, it would have been the perfect spot for Giradi to call for something unheard of in Yankeeland….a squeeze play.
=========================
LOL. Me and my group were SCREEEAAAMINGGGG squeeeeeeeze!
Unfortunately, it’s hard to make an impact from Section 419.
“The Yankees have an 11 1/2-day window from June 18 – June 29 to fix the RF wall problem (noon start on the 18th, long road trip, two days off mixed in). Hopefully they will take advantage of it.”
Seriously?
Look at the bright side of the launching pad thing: the more balls that get to the OF, the less times you’ll have to hear “past a diving Jeter”
Baltimore’s pitching staff just took a hit. Rookie Alfredo Simon is going to have ligament transplant surgery. The last thing they needed was losing a pitcher.
bodhisattva
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm
GreenBeret7
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:10 pm
if Gardner is going to be of any help, he needs to bunt for a hit once a game. after Cabrera struck out,, it would have been the perfect spot for Giradi to call for something unheard of in Yankeeland….a squeeze play.
=====================
LOL. Me and my group were SCREEEAAAMINGGGG squeeeeeeeze!
Unfortunately, it’s hard to make an impact from Section 419.
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Yeah….Girardi won’t listen to us knowledgable assistant coaches. He thinks he knows everything. I threw my foam rubber brick at the tv screen. Last year was an expensive year for me. I couldn’t afford to replace any more tvs. I was doing good to afford the bricks. How was I to know that the bricks were reusable?
interesting article on the top high school pitcher in the nation that ended up never signing (though being drafted by 5 teams – including the Yankees):
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn.....harrington
There is no way on earth the Yanks will move the fences back. They are not going to make structural changes to their brand new 1.6 billion stadium and they won’t eliminate seats because people are interfering with balls, those seats make them lots of money. What they should do is put ushers in the front row who will sternly warn people not to reach over, or they may put a railing with a yellow line on it that people cannot reach over. And as far as it being a bandbox, they’ll investigate the wind currents and put up barriers behind the open section in the upper deck or in the streets to stop wind.
I think I remember that there were only 3 homers that weren’t reasonably well struck. I would attribute the majority of dingers to pitchers not yet dialed in and Playing in cold wet is not ideal for those guys, anybody actally. Seemed to be a lot of mid thigh to belt pitches getting to much plate. Time I guess will tell.
proud to say I refused to declare it other than a launching pad!
I would love to have to eat those words, by the way…
The Yankees screwed the pooch big time, and now laughable pop-ups are going over the RF wall. They will have to act. Between the thousands of empty seats right near the field, the obstrucive CF restaurant, and the pop-up home runs, the new Stadium is becoming the butt of jokes all over MLB.
The Stadium still faces east (though it is oriented slightly to the north compared to RYS, which puts RF more in the cross hairs of the wind). That means the prevailing wind patterns (possibly exacerbated by the open upper deck concourse, though that is still under investigation) blow out towards CF and, increasingly, RF. What do you think is going to happen on breezy, hot days and nights, with the prevailing winds blowing out towards that RF wall? We’ve already broken the record for home runs through 6 games of a new MLB park (with 26). In mid-April. At least 7-8 of those HRs would have been outs or tough plays near the top of the wall in RYS. And it’s going to get worse.
The Yankees have exactly ONE left-handed pitcher who is likely to be a part of their long-term future (Sabathia). Key RH pitchers for the Yankees include Chamberlain, Burnett, Wang, Hughes, Mo (and perhaps Kennedy, Brackman, and Brett Marshall). Not only should the Yankees move the RF wall back to where it was in RYS, they should move it 7-8 feet farther back. If they want to keep the 314, fine (although there is nothing sacred about that distance). But after about 40 feet from the pole, the RF wall should reach a reasonable distance from the plate.
They should relocate all of the people sitting in the first two rows of the outfield seats to the empty high-roller seats between the bases. Solves two problems at once…fan interference and embarrasing shots of empty seats.
“I have friends who’ve been to the Stadium and never even made it to their seats. They say the concourse is great.”
- Your friends are d-bags.
I’m not sure about this, but are they really not going to have a wall up in the Grandstands behind the last row? I had a seat in the very last row yesterday and decided not to bring an umbrella because I thought there was going to be a wall to protect me from the outside, but instead I was soaking wet and freezing cold from the rain and wind… I understand it for when it’s a hot day, but I wanted to leave in the 2nd inning I was that miserable.
I have an idea for filling the luxury seats.
If they remain empty after the third, invite any armed service men or women in uniform in the stadium to relocate to the seats for the rest of the game.
This would be great PER for the Yanks, and a good thing to do for opur service people. What a memory they would have!
Good suggestions Pete. I agreed with all of them except one. I disagree with the idea of removing seats directly behind the OF fences. The new Yankee stadium is not innovative for the fact that there is seats behind the OF fence. It’s common at most stadiums. I’m aware that it can create problems, but I think it would be a mistake to remove those seats. (Although, I do think those seats are overpriced)
The general rule is that anything over the fence is fair game for the fans. The player can still try to get the ball, but he will have to deal with fans. Any fan that has reached over the fence to get the ball has obstructed with the play. That’s a problem, but I don’t think the solution is to push the fans further away. I think taking away those seats would hurt the Yankees. Just as it would if they pushed seats in foul territory further away.
Also, it’s obvious that those good seats need to be filled, but we have to see how those seats look after Memorial Day. I’m assuming they’ll adjust the prices regardless in 2010, but let’s say in the summer, the good seats are filled at say 80%. Then, the Yankees would probably say that they simply just need a variable pricing system. They need to pretty much reevaluate the pricing on just all the lower level seats. Not just the Legends seats.
I would say that $90 for a ticket in the Sports bar is outrageous and $125 for the Bleacher Cafe is a joke. It was a poor attempt by the Yankees to have their own version of the Monster seat.
“I say leave monument park the way it is and don’t waste valuable space that could be used for more seats. Or move the monuments inside the Yankee museum. Honestly, most fans don’t care about that place at all.”
Really? I guess that’s why the line to see it is endless prior to every game. The Monuments, on the field and then in Monument Park, are one of the greatest features of the old Stadium for anyone who appreciates Yankee history. Name another ballpark that has anything close to Monument Park. Seriously?
A suggestion of my own would be to allow fans down down to the field level for batting practice. The Yankees could decide on a time for fans to be allowed to go down and let them stay until maybe 30 minutes or an hour before game time.
In LF it could go from Sections 129 to 136. In RF from sections 111 to 103.
CM, you are very cranky
And here’s what Ortiz had to say:
“I saw some funky homers that one Cleveland series,” Ortiz said. “I saw some balls going out, that I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a pop up.’ The next thing you know, it was out of there.”
Not a launching pad, my behind.
I agree with all this..but can anyone think of a longer list of things wrong with the old stadium?? I never went to a game at the REAL YANKEE STADIUM and was unhappy, but maybe others were…
share your thoughts.
Glad to see others here are not noticing the net behind homeplate anymore either. I screamed about it after the exhibition games but I thought this homestand it has been much better. I don’t even notice it anymore.
In response to other comments. Pete has highlighted this site before and I think it tries to neutralize parks, weather, etc…..
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/index.php
Lots of people are saying the ball is bouncing off bats all over baseball. I saw Seattle’s #9 hitter, check swing on a low and away pitch and hit a home run on Sunday.
The Stadium does seem to be jumping but home runs are up.
Get rid of the stadium and rebuild across the street! Melky might hit 40 at this rate .