Greetings from Gate C-3
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on May 12, 2009 
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Here we are, back at lovely LaGuardia Airport waiting for a flight to Canada. I’m not a big fan of the dreary Rogers Centre, but tonight’s Burnett-Halladay matchup should be an interesting one.
With A.J., it could be a 2-1 game or he could be down 5-1 in the fourth inning. You’re never really sure. He has a 6.66 ERA over his last four starts and needs to show up in a big spot like CC Sabathia did in Baltimore on Friday night.
I apparently was doing a lot of hallucinogenic drugs in spring training when I booked all these flights. There was a 6 a.m. to Detroit on the last trip and now an 8 a.m. to Toronto. Presumably there was a reason, but it can’t be worth getting up so early so often.
The Yankees will be in Toronto but there will be a press conference at Yankee Stadium today to announce the details of the yard sale across the street. The Yankees will be selling seats, dirt, grass, bricks and everything else out of the old Stadium.
Yankees COO Lonn Trost will be on hand. I’m hoping the reporters there ask him some detailed questions about the issues with the new Stadium. The new park was Trost’s responsibility and obviously there are many problems.
The problems have solutions. The Yankees need to …
• Fix the dimensions in right field
• Take out the row of seats directly behind the wall so fans cannot interfere with play.
• Allow fans to watch batting practice from the field seats up to an hour before the game.
• Move Monument Park to a suitable location.
• Paint that prison-wall concrete in the outfield blue.
I’m there there is stuff I’m forgetting. If the Yankees think these issues will go away, they’re mistaken. Many fans are upset with the policies of the new Stadium and the players are concerned that they’re playing in Coors Field East.
Well, they’re calling the flight. Check back later for the lineups and other news from Toronto.
i like the prison wall concrete…
Has anybody actually measured the right field line?
The wall could be in the right place, but home plate could be too close to it.
That would mean, with all the upper deck shots, that home plate should really be somewhere about 4 rows behind the visiting dugout.
Homeruns are not my main concern. My sense is that the new Yankee Stadium may be pushing away the next generation of fans. Baseball used to be a game where it was cheap enough to catch a few games a year and feel like you were really invested in a team. But the new prices have made that tough for a large fraction of fans. I know it’s a business, but if your fanbase erodes, the long-term success of your business may be in trouble…
Damon just called into the Howard Stern show…he’s speaking on Gary’s awful 1st pitch at Citifield this past Saturday, if anyone listens.
Toronto and Detroit…4 hours apart geographicaly, light years apart culturally.
Enjoy the Rance Mulliniks International Airport, Pete.
In regards to the empty seats…did he take into account that the new luxury boxes and suites, I think they went from 17 to 65…this may have something to do with not have the people to sit in the seats?
I for one could care less what people spend their money on, but to pay over a $1,000, nevermind $2,000, to see a regular season home game is nuts…even if the Yankees play .700 ball at home there will be some 24-25 losses, which 15% may be blowouts.
That needs to be fixed and who ever came up with the pricing structure needs to be taken to task.
Last thing, why can’t they do some sort of lottery, where they move fans from other seats to the empty seats in say the third or fourth inning if no one is in those seats by then…please do something besides leaving them empty!
Good news Madonna is switching to the Mets!!!
The problems have solutions. The Yankees need to …
• Fix the dimensions in right field
• Take out the row of seats directly behind the wall so fans cannot interfere with play.
• Allow fans to watch batting practice from the field seats up to an hour before the game.
• Move Monument Park to a suitable location.
• Paint that prison-wall concrete in the outfield blue.
===============================
Also set up a mini fighting/boxing ring under the O’Neil banner.
That’s not a fair comment about AJ, Pete. He’s had one bad game this year – and that has blown his ERA up. Aside from the Boston game where he blew a lead, name me the game where AJ put the Yankees in bad position? You can’t, because he hasn’t. In fact, he’s kept the Yankees in games where he hasn’t had his best stuff.
Also get rid of the moat behind homeplate and the ones in left center and right center they are behind hideous
Roger Clemens on with Mike and Mike now
AJ’s games thus far:
Baltimore: left winning 3-2
Tampa: dominated, left winning 4-3
Cleveland – left losing 3-1
Boston – **obviously bad game**
Angels – left at 4-4
Tampa – left down 3-1
Explain how AJ has put the Yankees behind the 8 ball in any of his games (except the Boston one)?
Lonn Trost is a D**cheBag Deluxe.
I would like to hereby submit my new nicname for AJ Burnett.
“Apple Jack”
Roger Clemens just said on Mike and Mike that McNamee never injected him and that Andy, and Knoblauch still misremembered….sigh
Coach6423
Why was I duped into thinking we’d get a big Revelation. There is no way his wife used HGH and he didn’t. How would she even know about it unless it was around her,
“Also set up a mini fighting/boxing ring under the O’Neil banner. ”
Saw this and started literally laughing out loud at work. My co-workers think I am insane.
It simply can’t get old. Genius. I feel bad for anyone who was not on the blog that fateful day.
It’s too bad you guys don’t live in Toronto. You can get tickets for tonight’s game for 30.00 and sit above the 3rd base line.
What did Damon say on Howard. Is there anywhere I can hear it?
I hope you all eventually realize Trost will never ever own up to having made ANY mistakes. He will instead, at the appropriate time, put the blame on the architect, the construction manager, the on-field contact…
I’ve gone to six games already and it gets progressively more depressing seeing all those empty seats near the field. They’ll never ever admit even $800, 900, 1000+ is too much to sit eight to ten rows from the field.
What prison wall concrete is Pete referring to?
Betsy is right, AJ was horrible in spitting up the Boston game, but in his other five starts his ERA is 3.86. Not dominant, but solid. In those five starts he’s averaged just under seven innings a start.
“Explain how AJ has put the Yankees behind the 8 ball in any of his games (except the Boston one)?”
He hasn’t really, but even if you take the Boston game out of his last 4 starts, his ERA over that time is 4.66. He’s walked 10 and struck out 15 in 19 1/3 innings. He hasn’t killed them by any stretch, but he’s been pretty mediocre since his one and only outstanding start against Tampa Bay.
By the way–
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOGI!
I’m not worried. Burnett has a history of showing up for big games. I don’t see why tonight’s game would be any different. My only worry is the Yankees not getting any runs off Halladay.
Their solution to the open seats issue, unintended by them of course, actually makes it better for folks to go to games.
By giving the higher end customer 1 complimentary ticket for every higher end ticket purchased, those customers are putting them on StubHub at insanely low prices. For them, its found money because they didn’t pay anything for the seat.
If you shop StubHub closely, there are good deals on great seats almost every night.
Bottom line, they overpriced the place and its impossible to change course during the season. That would involve rebates and teams are loathe to return money after they receive it.
By doing it the way they are doing it, folks will be able to get good seats all summer, at very good prices, if they check StubHub daily.
Seats are added every day for games. If you look at the schedule today and don’t see something affordable for the day(s) you wish to go, keep checking.
Its the best and most affordable way to go to games this year.
Who would have thought that at the beginning of the year?
Lonn Trost is a… thinking of a blog appropriate word… BOZO. Honestly, if the economy were still great, I don’t know if they’d be able to fill up those seats between the bases at the prices they wanted. People don’t become rich because they flush their $ away. It is a classic example of overreach by the Yankees, between the $10 beer and the $6 hotdogs, the parking, the seats. Honestly, you can sit and watch the game in HD at home and save yourself a few hundred bucks. It’s really saying something that stubhub is littered with yankee tickets selling below face value.
The problem with stat quoting is stat parsing.
You can make his stats look however you want them to look based on his horrible start against the Red Sox.
Take that start out, and he has pitched well for the Yankees.
Its why I hate stat quoting because most of the people doing it have no idea how to evaluate them. They just parse them to try and make a point and that point is often easily debunked.
I’m sure the Yankees knew that’s what would happen when they started “comping” some of those seats.
I’m headed up next week and need three for the Orioes game Thursday night. I’m planning to buy from stubhub Tuesday before I head north unless something better comes along.
Trost built the Hummer of stadiums.
The Post did a price comparison the other day that should be on Lonn Trost’s desk.
It showed how 2 people can go to a Yankee game and spend $2500 apiece ($5k total) for two seats behind home plate. This is for ONE game.
The same two people can fly to Seattle FOR THE WEEKEND and see the Yankees play all 3 games against the Mariners.
The price for Air, hotel, tickets, and food in Seattle for the weekend? $2500.
If you can fly from NYC to Seattle for the weekend, see all the games, and spend HALF of what it would cost for 2 seats behind home plate, you screwed up bigtime.
Which of course, the Yankees have on this issue.
So what did people think of Clemens on Mike and Mike? They guy is either a) telling the truth, or b) a truly pathological liar.
I just can’t imagine giving the Yanks what amounts to half my monthly mortgage pymt for my family to watch a mediocre team get their ass handed to them.
They can have their House the Greed Built.
AJ cannot allow any more than 2 runs if they want to have any chance of beating Halladay, and they have to get him early. Once Halladay gets his rythmn they won’t touch him.
Like SJ says, stats are not everything. At some point you have to just use the eye test. AJ has been very very good for us, and he has already proved to be a stopper.
b) a truly pathological liar
I’m not looking at this start tonight as a referendum on AJ’s merits as a Yankee.
He’s facing Roy Halliday, who is on a roll. That’s not an easy task.
Hopefully, he pitches well.
However, this is a tall order tonight.
When is Wang scheduled to make his next start?
1: HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOGI!!
2: Roger Clemens is a pathetic liar. The most pathetic is that he’s convinced himself that it’s the truth. Sad.
3: Regarding the Yankees selling stuff out of the old stadium, does anyone know if items will be available to purchase online? Kinda hard to get there from Southern California.
It just dawned on me why they won’t let people on the field level for batting practice before the game…
There are so many empty seats anyone could just sit down and pretend it is theirs. No one would know. Before, they would have to rely on people claiming they were in their seat. They don’t have that problem anymore
Wang pitching tonight for SWB
Steve, I’ll admit that at the time, I was sort of disappointed in his last start because he gave up 2 more runs when the Yankees could least afford them (against Tampa). Then I realized what ridiculous standards I was holding AJ to – no pitcher can be perfect and, overall, he did keep us in the game despite his high pitch count. I don’t know what he was like in Florida or even in his first year or so in Toronto, but AJ has battled even without great control – and that’s what I like. I have no idea if he was capable of this before Halladay got his hands on him – his rep would suggest not, that he only pitched well if he was dominating.
Tonight isn’t even about Halladay because we know what he’s going to give the Jays. If AJ pitches well, I’ll be happy (though the Yankees really can’t give away games anymore) – you know that at some point he’s going to get on a roll. Maybe it starts tonight – it’s going to be tough because of all the emotion surrounding this start, but he’s got to channel his emotions productively.
Anyone know whether Betances was injured last night? Pulled after 1/3. He had given up a few runs, but he wasn’t walking the ballpark or anything. Seemed a tad early to pull him for ineffectiveness.
“Anyone know whether Betances was injured last night? Pulled after 1/3. He had given up a few runs, but he wasn’t walking the ballpark or anything. Seemed a tad early to pull him for ineffectiveness.”
I heard there was a rain delay of over an hour.
They had a rain delay in Tampa last night and decided against bringing him back after it was over.
No physical problem with Betances.
Betsy:
I’d never argue Burnett’s commitment or willingness to battle. He definitely goes after it. Still, overall he never seems to manage to put up numbers commensurate with his stuff. That can be a little disappointing. He’s going to be fine, but I think we’ll only see brilliance in occasional flashes. Yankees are 4-2 when he pitches. They can live that percentage.
I’m interested to see how he handles being in a pennant race. The only time he was in a situation that remotely resembled a race was in 2005, when the Fish were within 5 games in late August into September. Sadly, he went 0-6 over his last 7 starts. He’s a more mature pitcher now and seemingly more confident, so we’ll see.
Hey, SJ, check out John Sickles blurb from late April on your nephew:
Tony Sanchez, C, Boston College
Having a breakthrough spring, Sanchez is hitting .366/.459/.686 with 12 homers for Boston College. He is getting buzz as the top college catching prospect in the draft, pushing past Trevor Coleman of Missouri who has had a rough spring, and is clearly a candidate for the first round on the basis of his power and defense.
http://www.minorleagueball.com.....ge-hitters
SJ & Billy Buck:
Thanks for the info.
Tom,
I saw that. He’s up to .370 now with 14 HR’s. He’s also 2 runs scored shy of setting the single season school record for runs scored.
Its definitely been a breakout season for him.
Final week of the season coming up. UConn today and then 3 with North Carolina.
Actually those seats are no longer 2,500$ right. I’ll assume it’s a permanent cut to 1,250$. Still an awful lot for a ball game.
I just don’t think it compares with other entertainment options in the city. 2 people – 1 night – 2,500$ – in NY ? Sure you could spend more but you can still have an amazing time. Great tickets to a show, dinner and wine at the best of restaurants and even a low end room at a swanky hotel.
“The same two people can fly to Seattle FOR THE WEEKEND and see the Yankees play all 3 games against the Mariners.”
Yeah, but is there a moat in Seattle to separate them from the riff raff?
True, Steve, but I always thought he would be the most intriguing pitcher on the staff because he really bought into what Halladay, Arnsberg, etc…were trying to teach him (or frankly, what other pitching coaches previously had tried to drill into him, but which he was too stubborn to pay attention to). The past is the past – AJ honestly believes he is different and maybe that is the most important thing (as opposed to what anyone else thinks). We’ll see if he can translate is talent into performance…..As to how he’d do in a pennant race, I really hope he gets the chance. Right now, it’s just about surviving.
Best of luck to him, SJ.
I’m most impressed by the fact he’s also a great student. Having delt with colege athletes in the classroom, it’s nice to see that your nephew takes his studies as seriously as his sport.
Opps, college
Tom,
Its funny. He was an ok student in HS. Nothing special.
He gets to BC and he is really pushed himself in the classroom and he’s been on the Dean’s List the last 3 semesters.
I think that has his mother more excited than the draft.
In fact, I know that’s the case when she told him the other day, “Its probably a good idea to go back to school next year”.
Needless to say, that idea was shot down quickly by those of us advising him at the present time! lol
Roy Halladay’s Career Starts vs. NY
His Record- 15-5 with 12 No Decisions
Teams Record- 20-12
IP- 207.1
R- 80
ER- 66
ERA- 3.14
BB- 45
H- 184
WHIP- 1.10
SO- 168
He has kept the Blue Jays in the vast majority of those starts. He has won his last 6 against the Yankees.
Still a very disappointing start for Betances regardless of the rain delay after pitching so well his last time out.
Brackman pitched phenomenal last night for Charleston though. Hopefully he can string together a few good starts.
Brett Marshall goes tonight for Charleston. Hopefully, he can have a quality start or he is in danger of heading back to EXT ST and would likely head to SI after the draft.
“Still a very disappointing start for Betances regardless of the rain delay after pitching so well his last time out.”
Billy,
I find it interesting how critical people are of Hughes. When Hughes was Betances age, he had progressed to MLB.
Hughes still has a way to go, but given his age, he’s still early to be in MLB.
“Billy,
I find it interesting how critical people are of Hughes. When Hughes was Betances age, he had progressed to MLB.
Hughes still has a way to go, but given his age, he’s still early to be in MLB.”
Did I compare Hughes and Betances? No. Hughes never had injury problems in the minors and he moved fairly quickly. Betances did. My point is Betances was good in his last start and got one out last night with four hits and three earned runs last night and then the rain. Hughes was pretty polished as a high school pitcher. Betances was raw and is still learning the ropes.
With young pitchers, its not about results. Its about building arm strength and learning how to pitch as a professional player.
You can have guys with great minor league stats and never project because they don’t learn how to get it done at higher levels and never build up arm strength.
With a kid like Betances, being able to build arm strength, and tightening his mechanics, are everything right now.
You forgot about him for 3 years, put him on no timetable to the majors, and just let him develop.
That’s the best way of getting him to see his full potential.
Hughes had injury problems in the minors. In lower A Ball, he had shoulder problems, which is why they scrapped his slider.
Betances yesterday started the game thinking it would be rained out, I would scrap that start and regardless it goes down as a warm up, after 45 mins. of the bench they decided to not play him, no inj. nothing about how he started just keeping him safe, the kid is on the path of being special. Another one is Zach McCallister and Wilkins De La Rosa who’s next start is around the corner.
I have Halladay on my fantasy team. I fear he is going to give me massive points tonight.
Billy,
I never claimed you were critical of Hughes or Betances.
I wrote “I find it interesting how critical people are of Hughes.” Not how critical Billy is.
And Hughes did have injury problems in the minors, as was pointed out.
My point is most are patient with Betances, as they should be due to his age. But Hughes, not so much. I’m curious why that is.
at the risk of forum consternation, I say the time has most definitely come to move Jeter off from SS.
his cadaver-like range is a liability that even Lloyd’s of London wouldn’t insure.
William Buckner, Hughes situation is complicated by the fact that he wasn’t traded for Santana. I’m afraid that a certain segment of fans will never forgive him for that. Also, it appears that Phil lost a lot of velocity from the time he was in Trenton (I wouldn’t know, but apparently he threw 95-96 ) to now… and unfortunately people are disappointed that the Yankees crown jewel may be nothing more than the product of hype. Now, I don’t feel that way – I feel Phil has the stuff and the makeup to be a big success in this league…he’s 22 and every failure he has here is a learning experience. That said, for many, Phil is a bust. I almost think he’d do better away from NY because he will never really have fans behind him anymore.
The guy to keep an eye on as a more immediate possibility for the majors is Zach McAllister.
He’s the son of a scout. He has had guys like Schilling and Randy Johnson mentoring him as a kid and really knows how to pitch for such a young guy.
That’s a kid who could see AAA in the second half of the year. If that happens, he may be a possibility for the 5h spot in the rotation next year after Andy retires.
He’s a big kid….6-5, 230, and can certainly log innings.
If he continues to develop, he could give the Yankees some interesting possibilities.
For example…..
Do you deal him for a young position player?
Or….
Do you deal Hughes for a young position player and put McAllister in the 5th or 6th (starting the year in AAA) starters role next year?
Or….
Do you keep them both?
Personally, I think one of those guys will get dealt at some point for a young position player while the other assumes a role in the starting rotation.
Wonder if the Jays will humor us and wear Yankees road greys?
The “Move Jeter Off SS” movement will have to wait until 2011.
He’s not moving off SS until that time.
He’s the SS this year and next year and no amount of “fan outrage” is going to change it.
After next year? That’s when he will move off SS.
Where does he go? Most likely DH. There really is no other place for him.
He isn’t going to play the OF. That’s just not going to happen.
They aren’t putting a 37 year old guy who has never played the OF in his life in the OF. It makes no sense.
If he has a future with the Yankees beyond 2010, and he will be back in 2011, it will be as the DH.
hardwired,
This was discussed last night. There’s no question that Jeter should’ve been moved already. Just like Cal should’ve been moved. But we’ve got to accept that nothing’s happening during this contract. Jeter, the immovable object.
SS’s a problem, but we’ve got worse problems than that. Down 2 catchers, 2 reliable bullpen arms, Wang, etc.
Would Jeter serve as a good DH? How much would you be paying him to hit singles as a DH?
2 more seasons of jeter playing SS… thats pathetic if true. AROD saying he would like to have Reyes play with him seems to make more and more sense everyday that jeter cant get to any balls and making errors!
im not saying jeter is done..he can still hit but his defense is killing this team
The problems have solutions. The Yankees need to …
• Fix the dimensions in right field
• Take out the row of seats directly behind the wall so fans cannot interfere with play.
• Allow fans to watch batting practice from the field seats up to an hour before the game.
• Move Monument Park to a suitable location.
• Paint that prison-wall concrete in the outfield blue.
********************************************************
Don’t forget changing Shaq’s Shower Curtain behind home plate (where I’m currently posted) into the same one-way tinted plexiglass as the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar
I just read the piece in the Post in which Lou Merloni says the Red Sox taught players how to use steroids. So I went on ESPN.Com and you would’nt believe it but there was no mention of this. Now is that a surprise or what?
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?.....id=2521705
Audio clip of Roger’s interview with the two Mikes this morning.
I’m sure SJ is right about two more years of Jeter at SS, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look forward to the day when the Yanks have a SS with more range than Francessa.
there was a bouncer up the middle Sunday that neither he nor Cano got to and it let a runner go to third because neither extended to knock it down.
The big question is will Girardi have the guts to play Pena in late innings?
“The big question is will Girardi have the guts to play Pena in late innings?”
IMO, if they are ahead, yes, to give Jeter a break. But taking out Jeter in a close game takes his “clutch” bat out too. Besides, it would be too glaring a spotlight to take Jeter out for “defensive purposes” in a close game.
One thing to think about with Jeter. If he has somewhat normal season for him this year and next, he’ll be getting his 3,000th hit sometime in June 2011. No way do they let him walk with that milestone coming up, especially since no Yankee has ever done it.
Is Jeter really the Yankee problem? Really? Stop obsessing.
There’s no big time SS becoming a FA next year, but there are guys who were once considered star caliber who might be intriguing — Bobby Crosby and Khalil Green.
Right now MLB is in a down cycle at SS so while Jeter is clearly fading he’s still better than most alternatives. I can’t see some blockbuster type trade. The best SS who might be available could be Christian Guzman.
Trouble is if you move Jeter to DH you can’t consider bringing back Damon, can you? I like the idea of Damon as the DH for the next two seasons.
It’s not obsessing it’s called a discussion.
The food needs to be fixed. On balance, it’s terrible. History has shown that people will gladly overpay more for good food than they do for bad. Famiglia is a disaster.
Also, i have been to 6 games so far in seats right by the candy apple stand. I have yet to see a single person buy a candy apple!
86w183
May 12th, 2009 at 11:17 am
It’s not obsessing it’s called a discussion.
————————————————————
More like obsessed with discussing it.
Crosby’s real role is as a utility player. That’s why they brought in a new shortstop, one that nobody wanted, by the way. Greene was given to St. Louis with a check to pay him off. Two player that came with big reputations and have had one season that could be comsidered worth having.
pete –
is it possible for you to tell someone in the organization (w pull) – the list of obviously yet necessary adjustments , pleasssssseeeeeeeeee – cause honestly i do not have faith and/or confidence in them figuring the problems out on their ownn – thanksss
I’m not a fan of either. Just pointing out the alternatives which are not all that attractive. It’s not like they are trading for Hanley Ramirez although I’m sure some here think they could get him for Kennedy, Veras and Pena.
New Post
I have been to several games this season in each of the new stadiums and I have to say that Citifield is just a way more pleasurable place to catch a game. Not only is the playing field itself more interesting — with that wacky zig zag wall in right — but the fact that the seating arrangements are asymetrical as well just adds interest for the fans and more fun places to sit, like the Pepsi porch. Yankee Stadium is boring – symetrical field, symetrical seating plan. Plus the food — especially if you go all the way out behind the scoreboard to Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, the taco place, etc.– is far better than anyone could expect and is reasonably priced to boot. As far as ticket prices — if you don’t like the list prices, pick tickets up for far less than face value on Stubhub. The worse the team plays, the cheaper the tickets will be! I have sat in the first row of the upper deck infield near first base at Yankee Stadium this season for as little as $9 per ticket. And if you don’t like your cheapo seat you can get a pretty good view from standing behind the main tier of seats. I usually do this for the last few innings of games at either field. At Citifield, the security is not so aggressive and you can even take one of those main tier seats late in the game without hassle. Obviously, Yankee Stadium was built for the high-rollers, Wall Streeters on an expense account, etc. who just ain’t there this year…and frankly, may not be there again in sufficient numbers for quite a while. So they do need to figure out what to do about all the unfilled super-luxe seats.
i agree with points 2 and 3. the others don’t bother me so much.
the dimensions are supposed to be the same. unless there’s hard evidence that they aren’t, i think we just have to wait it out and see.
the batting practice thing is the worst though.
don’t care about the concrete. didn’t think it was an issue until you mentioned it. i couldn’t care less about monument park. it seemed nice when i saw it.
Trost and Co. have given us expensive seats and cheap homeruns.
The 2 outermost sections of the legends seats on both sides need to be converted back to regular seats. No on will pay $500 to sit in the outfield, even if you stuff their face with lobster rolls first.
I see they are charging $1923 for a pair of seats from the old stadium. Another money grab which is very easy to decline.
The Yanks should do sort of a game after the 2nd or 3rd inning, where random fans sitting in the upper deck can win field level seats for the rest of the game.
“Anyone with a ticket in section 609, COME ON DOWN!” (play Price is Right theme music over the loudspeakers) “You’re invited to take an empty seat behind the dugout for the rest of the game!”
Of course, the stadium security Nazis would have to check everyone’s tickets and escort those fans to empty Legends seats, rather than letting them freely take seats where some rich guy might have just stepped away to take a leak.
I’d go for that.
SJ, that was a GREAT point about two people taking a trip to Seattle for 3 games there with premium seats (by Seattle’s standards) all costs inclusive, for about half the price of two premium tickets at the new stadium here. Damn.
If some rich guy comes in the 4th inning and his seat’s taken by a contest winner just move the contest winner to another empty Legend’s seat.
Hey it could happen, where a guy spending $2650 comes that late. If he’s missing an hour and a half of the game valued at the rate of about $9 per minute, he has money to burn and therefore nothing to worry about in life.
The first row of the outfield where fans can lean over has been fixed I believe. When the security guard caught Matsui’s home run against the Rays on Thursday I believe it was, you could see he was sitting in the aisle seat of the first row and there was a chain going across the wall to the entrance for the seats. Plus no one was there. While having a empty row of seats is not appealing, at least this empty row is in the outfield seats.
I’d like to see the warning track replaced with something other than flubber. How many ground rule doubles do we need to see?
Have they fixed the filming from behind the home plate net issue.
The Times had an article about the right field wall a few weeks ago. Because of the embedded scoreboard and design of the RF stands, the wall in right jets straight out to the 385 sign whereas in the old stadium it arched back. This causes the right field wall to be on average 5 feet closer to homeplate with a difference that reaches up to 9 feet at the worst point (the middle of section 103). About the only thing the same concerning the outfield wall distances are the distance markings at the foul lines, the power alleys, and dead center.
Make no mistake, the field dimensions and outfield dimensions have changed.
Here’s that NYT article about the RF wall:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04.....eruns.html