The LoHud Yankees Blog

Bud Selig spoke to a group of sports editors today and revealed that the Yankees and Mets “will be discussing” whether to lower prices for the premium seats at the new ballparks.

The Yankees are charging $500-$2,625 for Legends Suite tickets in 25 sections at the new Yankee Stadium in the first nine rows around the infield, an area that contains 1,895 seats.

Those seats were well less than half full for the team’s first six home games.

OK, finally have the definite numbers on Wang:

7 innings
9 hits
5 runs
4 earned
0 walks
11 strikeouts
91 pitches / 70 strikes

“Good day,” Wang said. “Sinker down more, but sometimes got higher and the ball didn’t sink.”

Nardi Contreras was behind the backstop watching Wang.

“He doesn’t have the arm strength he had last year,” Contreras said. “But he hasn’t pitched in eight months prior to this spring training. What I saw today, he had the best slider I’ve seen since I’ve known Chien-Ming. The slider has improved and the changeup is very good. His offspeed pitches are coming in really well.”

Don’t focus on the hits and runs. On those fields, the ground is baked and the fielders are 18-year-olds. Grounders are going to get through. What’s important is that he got to 91 pitches and built some arm strength.

Wang is scheduled to rejoin the team tomorrow in Boston. My educated guess is that he’s going to go on the DL with a “tired arm” or something like that and we’ll see Phil Hughes in Detroit.

For the second straight day, Alex Rodriguez did some base-running drills in Tampa.

According to the AP, Rodriguez ran four times from the plate to first after swinging a bat, and went from first to second six times. The three-time AL MVP also took 28 swings on curveballs off a pitching machine for the first time. He followed that with 63 swings in regular batting practice.

Nick Swisher rang he opening bell at the NYSE today and the Dow went up 70.49. He’s shown here next to NYSE vice president Andrew Brandman.

Chien-Ming Wang threw 91 pitches today in Tampa today, 70 for strikes.

I’m still gathering the details in terms of hits and runs, but he struck out 11 without a walk and was averaging around 91 with his fastball.

Wag pitched in an extended spring training game, which is not an official minor-league game. That is why is was allowed to play.

Without being there, it’s impossible to say how he looked. The AP had a reporter there and this post will be updated as more information comes in. I think almost regardless of how he looked, however, it seems likely the Yankees will put Wang on the disabled list against his wishes.

Phil Hughes (3-0, 1.86) is ready to go in Scranton and pitched last night. He is set for Tuesday in Detroit if that is what they decide to do.

Hughes pitched well last night (7.2 6 1 1 1 7) against Buffalo.

Updates to come.

UPDATE, 3:41 p.m.: Nardi Contreras just told reporters in Tampa that Wang needs more arm strength and that is sinker is not consistent enough.

I don’t know what injury they’ll claim he has, but every indication is that Wang will be on the DL sometime soon.

UPDATE, 4:57 p.m.: Wang allowed nine hits, four runs (three earned) against a team of Phillies prospects.

Friday: RHP Joba Chamberlain (0-0, 5.06) vs. LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 5.50), 7:10 p.m., YES

Saturday: RHP A.J. Burnett (2-0, 3.20) vs. RHP Josh Beckett (2-1, 3.79), 4:10 p.m., FOX

Sunday: LHP Andy Pettitte (2-0, 2.53) vs. RHP Justin Masterson (1-0, 3.18), 8:05 p.m., ESPN

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.

Melky Cabrera belted two home runs yesterday, one to win the game. Good for him.

But that doesn’t mean he should be the center fielder. The Yankees benched the Melkman last season and then shipped him to the minors. He needs to show consistency. So does Brett Gardner.

It’s amusing that people take nine percent of the season and decide a player is no good. Or that somebody else is good. Baseball is a movie, not a series of snapshots. Young players need time to develop and figure out what they can — and can’t — do at this level.

For all his good intentions, Joe Girardi has no choice but to tinker with his lineup. With Xavier Nady out and Hideki Matsui seemingly day-to-day for the rest of his career, the Yankees need both Melky and Brett. Girardi doesn’t need to pick a center fielder. He needs to figure out a lineup to win that day.

I kid around about Gardner a just to have some fun on the blog. But I do think his ceiling is higher than Melky’s, if he can figure out how to raise his OBP just to the league average.

It’s April 23. Lots will change in the months to come. If the Yankees don’t have an acceptable CF on the roster now, Brian Cashman can go get somebody like Mike Cameron.

Show some patience and wait and see what the next scene is, not the next snapshot.

The first extra-inning game at the new Stadium was a doozy as the Yankees beat the A’s. Ernie Palladino worked overtime and has the story.

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Several readers who were at Southern Connecticut State last night to see Brian Cashman and Peter Gammons. C-Money said some nice things about this blog, which means he got the bribe.

Seriously, it sounds like Cash and Peter were great. I think it’s cool he does events like that. Maybe next winter we can try and organize something involving other reputable blogs and invite Cash to speak.

Pardon the lack of baseball in this post. But I know we have a lot of Bruce Springsteen fans on the blog, so I wanted to file a brief report from the show in Boston tonight.

As he did in the last tour, Bruce is taking requests from the crowd, collecting hand-made signs from fans and deciding which songs to challenge the mighty E Street Band with. Tonight’s wild card was the Ramones’ classic I Wanna Be Sedated.

Little Steven Van Zandt, a Ramones disciple, was gleeful as he and Bruce rocked out the old punk standard. Then after the main set, Bruce welcomed Dropkick Murphys guitarist Tim Brennan on stage. He proposed to his girlfriend in front of the crowd of 20,000 and she accepted after getting over her shock.

Brennan then joined the band for a rousing version of So Young And In Love. Then two more of the Dropkick Murphys came in stage and added their unique sound to American Land .

One of the things I find great about Bruce shows are the guests. In the last few weeks he has been joined in stage by Tom Morello, Mike Ness and now the Dropkicks. It’s cool to see younger guys like that joining the old master.

The 27-song show lasted nearly three hours. With Max Weinberg getting ready to join Conan O’Brien on his new time slot, he will have to miss a few shows in Europe this summer. So Bruce is breaking in Max’s son, 18-year-old Jay Weinberg, as a drummer. What a talent he is. He joined the band for Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, The Rising and Born to Run.

Bruce’s set always tells a story from beginning to end and is topical. He touched on what’s going on in he country by playing Seeds, Johnny 99 and Youngstown in a row. But by the end he was preaching a return to good times with Glory Days and a great show closer, Seven Nights to Rock.

Clarence Clemens, the Mariano Rivera of the sax, nailed the Jungleland solo. I’ll be seeing Bruce and the ESB again in May at the Meadowlands. If any of you are going, please let me know and maybe we can meet up for a pre-show beer.

Here’s the setlist:

Main set: Badlands, Candy’s Room, Outlaw Pete, She’s the One, Working on a Dream, Seeds, Johnny 99, Youngstown, Raise Your Hand, I Wanna Be Sedated, Spirit in the Night, For You, Waitin’ on a Sunny Day, The Promised Land, Jungleland, Kingdom of Days, Radio Nowhere, Lonesome Day, The Rising, Born to Run.

Encore: Hard Times, Thunder Road, Land of Hope and Dreams, So Young and in Love, American Land, Glory Days, Seven Nights to Rock.