Pinch hitting: Matthew O’Connor
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Feb 02, 2012 
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Our next Pinch Hitter is Matthew O’Connor, who was born in western Massachusetts in 1972 but taught to be a Yankee fan by his Brooklyn-born father. “If Dad had to survive being a Yankee fan in Brooklyn in the 50’s,” Matthew wrote, “then it was only fair that I walk the New England gauntlet in the wake of Bucky Dent.”
For this post, it’s important to note the Matthew was a Yankees season ticket holder from 1996 through 2000 until he was married and moved to London (he had to work the work the day after Aaron Boone’s game winning Game 7 home run, which happened at roughly 6:02 a.m. over there). Matthew moved back to Manhattan in 2007, and says he tries not to tear his eyes out when he years about a piece of old New York dying in the name of greed progress (see: Island, Coney).
It’s with that love for history, memories and the Yankees that Matthew wrote about the new Yankee Stadium.
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The Reason We Came
The second incarnation of Yankee Stadium (1976-2008) provided some indelible memories for fans – Chambliss being bum rushed by what looked like the cast of The Warriors after ending the ’76 ALCS, Reggie’s third homer landing halfway up “the black,” the time that guy threw a full beer in the air from the upper deck as Tino’s grand slam in the ’99 Series left the yard (I may have seen replays of that homer too many times). The old Stadium always popped on TV during the big moments.
But you had to experience it in person. That ballpark, in October, could be counted on for its hostility factor – daunting for the opposition but thrilling if you were a fan. Upper deck seats seemed to hang right over the field making a bad situation worse for the other team. It was the kind of ballpark where you would hurry back to your seat after a bathroom break because you didn’t want to miss the action, but also because there was literally nothing else to do. The place was short on comforts and amenities, but who cared? You schlepped up to The Bronx to watch a ballgame and shout yourself hoarse.
As the 90’s gave way to the aughts, you could sense the change in the stands. Going to a Yankee game had become THE thing to do when visiting New York. You would notice more tourists and out of town business colleagues of finance executives. Attendance increased sharply, from 2.2 million at the beginning of their title run in 1996 to well over 4 million by the close of business at Yankee Stadium II. By this time, control of the team had been transferred over to George Steinbrenner’s sons Hal and Hank (less Hank, for reasons I love to speculate about), COO Lonn Trost and the delightful Randy Levine as President. The brass recognized a huge opportunity to cash in on this portion of paying customers at the new stadium being built across the street.
Enter the Yankee Stadium III, replete with all flavors of distraction for the non-fan. From dated pop culture artifacts for the average tourist (“Get your Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts he-ere!”) to the pre-French Revolution excess of the Legends Suite. At first glance, the new place screamed, “If you aren’t interested in watching a baseball game, you’ve come to the right place!”
But what of the core fan base, the one that came for the main event?
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Easy Fixes
The New York Yankees are a business, we all get that. Here are a few humble suggestions that can be easily accomplished without affecting the bottom line.
1. Ease up on the muscle – No need to call out the dogs on people eating sandwiches at conveniently located standing room stools two hours before game time. Encourage your security staff to use discretion before the breaking of balls for insignificant infractions. Yes, this happened to me — the steak sandwich from Lobel’s demands immediate consumption and cannot be asked to travel. The policy banning non box seat ticket holders from standing behind the dugout before games is especially heartless. Let the kids ask for their autographs.
2. Let the good people relax before game time – The impact of losing organist Eddie Layton has been huge. Even in his later years, it was clear Yankee brass were phasing out his tinkling of the plastic ivory for more bombastic ambient noise. This phenomenon isn’t restricted to Yankee Stadium – the YES network crew will often remark that Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City has the most overwhelming sound system in baseball. But time was, you could get to your seat early and soak up the sights of the ballpark with Mr. Layton as your soundtrack. Maybe you could even carry on a conversation with a friend. But does anyone, seriously ANYONE, prefer the new pre-game entertainment of a roving reporter shown on that ginormous screen loudly educating fans of all the various locations in the Stadium they can hemorrhage their hard-earned dollars?
3. Empty seats behind home plate are embarrassing, especially in October – Ticket prices for some field level seats have reached such levels of absurdity that it now only appeals to a previously undefined baseball fan – the person so wealthy he or she can afford to drop $1,250 or so on a single seat, but also wealthy enough to blow it off when something better comes up. If the spoiled little emperors don’t show up by the third inning, grab a group of fans from the cheap(er) seats above and let them watch the game from here. I know, I know – we’ve all read the studies proving that unmoisturized skin of the non-wealthy will degrade teak armrests (seriously, this is a trumpeted feature). But let’s let the eggheads sort that one out.
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Wish They Didn’t
If I had my druthers (and I don’t), these features would’ve hit the drawing room floor during the design process.
Mohegan Sun Sports Bar – Looks like a wonderful simulation of the experience of watching a baseball game at a sportsbook in Connecticut. Proud parent of hundreds of visually obstructed bleacher creatures and Monument Cave.
Steinbrenner monument – By all means, you guys own the stadium so feel free to erect a tribute to your father. To have the size of it dwarf the monuments for Ruth, Mantle and Gehrig redefines the word grandiose.
Legends Boxes – Mr. Levine, tear down this moat!
Upper deck – Cheers for making it harder to hit one in the upper deck. Jeers for moving upper deck fans further away from the action and most likely reducing the noise factor.
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Many Happy Returns?
My lifelong love of baseball and the Yankees ensures that I will continue to be a paying customer for the foreseeable future. The powers-that-be will continue to assault us with what this curmudgeon finds distasteful, and I’ll keep coming back for more. But if they change even one molecule of that Lobel’s steak sandwich, I might be forced to turn into one of these guys.
Associated Press photo up top, other two pictures submitted by Matthew
From MLBTRs-
The Mets remain interested in adding a left-handed hitting outfielder and appear to be hunting for the cash to sign one, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. It was reported last week that the Mets are monitoring the market for outfielders who hit from the left side, including Johnny Damon, Kosuke Fukudome, Rick Ankiel and Raul Ibanez.
I doubt that any of the outfielders above will cost more than $1-2MM in terms of guaranteed salary on a one-year deal.
If that’s the $$ to sign one of the above, then by all means sign Damon.
If that’s the $$ to sign one of the above, then by all means sign Damon.
–
Fukudome over Damon. Younger, higher OBA, better defense
Matthew- great job!
Matthew-
Terrific post. Haven’t been to the new stadium, but can tell the noise factor just isn’t there, and the empty seats via the TV cams is quite noticeable.
I agree the worst thing about the new place (admittedly I’ve only been to 5 games) is the absence of bodies in the best seats.
Obviously the “Legend’s” seats have been a cash cow, but the negative impact on the atmosphere is undeniable.
Fukudome over Damon. Younger, higher OBA, better defense
JF-
Do you think Casey Kotchman’s year was a fluke? He’s 28, Fukudome 34, and plays an excellent 1st base. Did he have Lasik surgery?
excellent post! NYS sucks, imo.
Until i saw the report about the arrest warrant for Padilla, i forgot the Sox picked up that game changer this offseason….
Don’t even get me started on this subject but let me just say that Matthew is not exaggerating about getting harassed for standing in the wrong place while eating a sandwich hours before game-time.
Fukudome may have had a better OBP than Damon like one year….and he’s like 35 himself….he had a .300 OBP last year……he kinda sucks.
Just ignore the corporate Yankee Stadium , block it out.
If it bothers fans that much, stay home.
Better yet, buy cheap seats on stubhub, seat in the cheap seats with real fans and stay off your Iphone long enough to relax and enjoy the game.
fukudome is terrible. please don’t allow him anywhere near the yankees.
I don’t get to NY that often…..I see the River Dogs play live a lot more than the Yankees…..but I will say that the empty seats behind homeplate do look ridiculous and embarrassing on TV.
Do you think Casey Kotchman’s year was a fluke? He’s 28, Fukudome 34, and plays an excellent 1st base. Did he have Lasik surgery?
–
I think Cotchman is a fluke. I never liked Kotchman. Another one in a long line of angel’s super prospects that never was.
while both stadiums have issues, there is no question that for pure game-watching enjoyment, citi field is much better, imo. so is cbp in philly.
Kotchman is a pretty good option, but they really need the guy they sign to be able to at least play some 3B don’t they?
Fukudome may have had a better OBP than Damon like one year….and he’s like 35 himself….he had a .300 OBP last year……he kinda sucks.
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.263 .353 .370 .723 vs Righties, not .300. That was only for his time in cleveland. He plays good defense, is a Yankee type AB (grinds out lots of pitches, walks), and I think his power would return in NYS.
If you’re looking for a righty DH that you wouldn’t mind playing in the field, you can’t go wrong with Fukudome. Damon is 38 btw.
I like a trade for Shin Shoo Choo better than all of them
I like a trade for Shin Shoo Choo better than all of them
–
Of course, make it happen Cash or I’ll reveal that you stayed over at my house to play nintendo last week.
I have no problems eating a sandwich at NYS. In fact, I bring it down into the box seats, which are not mine, and eat it before the game.
Great post Matthew.
“If you’re looking for a righty DH that you wouldn’t mind playing in the field, you can’t go wrong with Fukudome. Damon is 38 btw.”
He’s definitely more asian than Damon.
Happy GroundHog Day !!
“Its still just once a year isn’t it?”
Kotchman is a 1st baseman that carriers a very good glove and decent LH bat. A good contact ” alley” hitter with occasional power. If Girardi gives Teixeira rest, Kotchman is not a hole.
we used to have the cathedral of baseball, now we have a monument to revenue enhancement.
Ys guy —- GREAT line!
Blake —
What are you giving up to acquire the Soo-Choo train?
He won’t come cheaply, nor will others that have been pined for like Gordon and Headley.
Pro-Damon.
The empty seats around home plate are one thing.. that I agree with all of you on. Its embarrassing. But the noise thing…. I’m not sure I agree. I think it might take a little extra effort for the place to get loud but I’ve heard it get pretty deafening in NYS. Anyone at Jeter’s 3,000 hit game disagree?
Brian Cashman was caught having his second affair.
Damon doesnt grind out AB’s?
damon was so clutch in 2009 regular season and playoffs…
i would love to have Damon back
Chip February 2nd, 2012 at 9:58 am
Brian Cashman was caught having his second affair.
———————-
I love that Cash gets a$$ lol. I hope they get gift baskets. Then again.. they can’t all be as gentlemanly as Mr. Jeter. Last of a dying breed that one.
Damon doesnt grind out AB’s?
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Never said he didn’t, but he has declined each of the last 2 years because he is getting into his late 30s. Damon was a great Yankee, but after he left in 2010 I don’t think there is a need to re-visit him. If they signed him I don’t think I would be against it but I’d like a younger, better choice.
June 15-17.. Yanks @ Nationals. Away games are where it’s at.
“What are you giving up to acquire the Soo-Choo train?”
I don’t know exactly…..Id be fairly aggressive though if they’d trade him. He’d make them significantly better IMO
“Brian Cashman was caught having his second affair.”
Really, you believe that crap?
YankeesPR Happy birthday wishes going out to @RealMichaelKay!
He’d make them significantly better IMO
–
And allow them to negotiate aggressively with Swisher if they wanted to re-sign him. Failing to re-sign him wouldn’t be as big a blow.
“And allow them to negotiate aggressively with Swisher if they wanted to re-sign him. Failing to re-sign him wouldn’t be as big a blow.”
Yup
Why do you think Cash was so pissed during the Jeter negotiations last year? Jetes stole his gift basket move.
Going post these from yesterday again….
schoenfield David Schoenfield
15 years ago: Orioles win AL East, draw 3.7 million fans … 1.1 million MORE than the defending World Series champ Yankees. #Orioles
17 hours ago
dschoenfield David Schoenfield
Amazingly, coming off first title since 1978, #Yankees finished only 10th in majors in attendance that year.
The idea that Yankees (who draw from the biggest population base in the WORLD) have always had these legions of middle-class fans who line-up ever year to sell the stadium out is a myth.
All these “real” fans needed a literal modern dynasty and ten of millions of dollars spent on marketing to create the atmosphere we like to so fondly was inherent to Yankee Stadium but in fact was a very new, contemporary dynamic.
Yes, the Yankees chased the dollars with NYS, and I don’t blame them for one sec. The idea of Yankee fan loyalty is a wholly fictional, manufactured one.
Turn on Yankeeography and watch Don Mattinginly hit towering upper deck HRs without a human being in your TV picture when it lands.
Yankee fans deserve no better (or worse) than any other fan of any other city.
LGY February 2nd, 2012 at 10:18 am
Why do you think Cash was so pissed during the Jeter negotiations last year? Jetes stole his gift basket move.
************
“I don’t know exactly…..Id be fairly aggressive though if they’d trade him. He’d make them significantly better IMO”
Does this mean Blake-Bret the Hitman corporate merger been officially approved by the board of directors?
How long before Cashman moves up and Takes Randy Levine’s job and Billy Eppler becomes the new GM?
The Posada stuff at the end of the dead spin article is kind of fun.
“we used to have the cathedral of baseball,”
the EMPTY cathedral of baseball, for many, many years.
“Does this mean Blake-Bret the Hitman corporate merger been officially approved by the board of directors?”
No because I don’t like David Dejesus enough.
LGY February 2nd, 2012 at 10:22 am
The Posada stuff at the end of the dead spin article is kind of fun.
——————–
What dead spin article? Sorry, slow on the uptake this morning LGY.
Tackelberry February 2nd, 2012 at 10:21 am
How long before Cashman moves up and Takes Randy Levine’s job and Billy Eppler becomes the new GM?
——————————-
This should have happened already.
Really, you believe that crap?
=====================
Totally believe it. Just don’t care a lick.
But time was, you could get to your seat early and soak up the sights of the ballpark with Mr. Layton as your soundtrack. Maybe you could even carry on a conversation with a friend. But does anyone, seriously ANYONE, prefer the new pre-game entertainment of a roving reporter shown on that ginormous screen loudly educating fans of all the various locations in the Stadium they can hemorrhage their hard-earned dollars?
///
Matthew, great five-senses post. The noise factor in the New House, especially that relentless screeching thing with a microphone in her hand interviewing all the vendors, is just a cruel form of punishment of people who have just coughed up $$$ to attend a ballgame.
No, it ain’t like the old days with Layton as background music, intuitively in harmony with the ebb and flow of the game. The game often seems incidental, as the sideshow becomes the main show. I had a guy, with our playoff life hanging in the balance late in Game 5 last year, ask my wife and me to take a picture of him and his girlfriend. We both just looked at him, like “you f****** kiddin’ me?” That is fairly standard in the new stadium.
There is a comfort factor that is attractive, though, the older you get. The elevators, wide concourses, etc. But the cost in terms of atmosphere has been great.
People were afraid to go to the South Bronx back then. Even Times Square was sort of off the map.
George wanted out for a long time.
Good job Matty.
Most agreed with the empty seats, it’s distracting and embarrassing .
The Jumbotron is an all focusing distraction too, a little old school background noise is missed.
Why can’t a team actually do a fan survey to see what they want at the stadium? They need something new than cotton eye joe and YMCA …cringeeee
Shame
http://m.deadspin.com/5881346/
“maybe we can meet at the lohud annual outing and amuse the rest of our fellow bloggers while you try to drill me. i’m betting i catch the ball barehanded that you throw before you hit me. i think a few would pay to watch stuckey trying to drill randy l.”
Why don’t we just wait until the Golf outing and I out drive you off the tee?
And yes, you can still use the Ladies tee box…
blake – You also weren’t trying to trade Montero
I think Bret is a conglomerate all on his own lol 
Craw – Not sure about this time but last time there were pictures lol.. def Cash, def kissing, def not his wife. I’m with dogface though, I don’t care at all as long as he’s polite enough to sign a baseball for her afterwards
It’s bad enough Brian Cashman has a professional life. Thinking about him having a sex life is out of the question.
Thanks for the 2009 memories, Johnny D, but no thanks on a second tour.
With Damon being outta the Yankee price range\$$$, I’m stickin’ with Matsui. Swisher already issa backup 1B, making Kotchman\1B redundant, not to mention his lack of power makes him less desireable as a PH’er late in games we trail. Matsui’s numbers have tailed off the last couple seasons, but hitting in that Cavern in Oakland is partly responsible. The short porch in NY will make Matsui and Godzilla an oxymoron no more.
“People were afraid to go to the South Bronx back then. Even Times Square was sort of off the map.”
In 1997?
2.6m paid attendance, year AFTER winning the series.
stuckey February 2nd, 2012 at 10:29 am
“maybe we can meet at the lohud annual outing and amuse the rest of our fellow bloggers while you try to drill me. i’m betting i catch the ball barehanded that you throw before you hit me. i think a few would pay to watch stuckey trying to drill randy l.”
Why don’t we just wait until the Golf outing and I out drive you off the tee?
And yes, you can still use the Ladies tee box…
————————
Will this be taking place under the Paul O’Neill Banner?
I prefer the proposed Chip-Blake merger. More reasonable trade proposals, but still aggressive. That would be a powerful blogging force.
Shame Spencer February 2nd, 2012 at 9:57 am
The empty seats around home plate are one thing.. that I agree with all of you on. Its embarrassing. But the noise thing…. I’m not sure I agree. I think it might take a little extra effort for the place to get loud but I’ve heard it get pretty deafening in NYS. Anyone at Jeter’s 3,000 hit game disagree?
///
Shame, that was the one exception, all year long. The paying customers were paying attention that day. But there were World Series games in 2009 where you never would have guessed what the stakes on the field were. Some very strange people at some of those games, definitely not hardcore baseball people, to say the very least.
There definitely is a mythical mindset that Yankee Stadium has always been packed.
I was at Mickey Mantle’s last game in 1968. There couldn’t have been 3,000 people there. Look at video of Roger Maris’ 61st and while the lower level is packed, higher levels are not even close… even for a potentially historic event.
A combination of winning, great marketing, MSG/Yes, high voltage acquisitions and more have gotten the franchise to where it is today. Winning is the single most important factor in keeping it this way.
Matthew, great job. I cannot agree more about the Mohegan Sports Bar. What that effectively did was insured that fans who would have otherwise been sitting during the game are in there having a good ole time. Same with all the other hoity-toity venues. I was in the field boxes for Opening Day at the new Stadium (once-in-a-lifetime expenditure for me) and there were “fans” there who were in those seats for a total of about one half hour and spent the rest of the game in the glassed-in venues where large screens abound and where you can eat continually for the bubble.
Overall disappointing. And yes, for the most storied franchise in the history of organized sports to show the best seats empty game after game is more than a bit embarrassing. I have a feeling that if George Steinbrener were alive today and was still in firm control of the team, those seats would be somehow filled. He would have found a way because the Boss was all about the fans.
Seeing how someone brought up the Lo-Hud outing I REALLY wanna go this year. Can we have it in Trenton? Hard to know where the AAA team will be at any point in time.
Shame, that was the one exception, all year long. The paying customers were paying attention that day. But there were World Series games in 2009 where you never would have guessed what the stakes on the field were. Some very strange people at some of those games, definitely not hardcore baseball people, to say the very least.
————————————-
I dunno, JAP. I remember game 2 of the WS in 2009 and for every pitch AJ threw there was anxious silence followed by a serious swell of cheering. I remember him getting quite a few strike outs that sent the bleachers into bedlam. maybe it depends on where you sit, too? I’m always trying to be around the creatures and that crew hasn’t toned it down since the move, that’s for sure.
“He would have found a way because the Boss was all about the fans.”
Oh good gracious…
Bronx Jeers February 2nd, 2012 at 10:27 am
People were afraid to go to the South Bronx back then. Even Times Square was sort of off the map.
George wanted out for a long time.
///
Yep, he was considering a move to NJ, as I recall. That would have been heretical.
Shame, my seats were in 200s in the strike zone favoring the 3B side a bit. But I’ve sat all over that park. Yeah, there are some crescendo moments, obviously, after a K, a run coming in, etc.
The place is not connected to the game often, though. People mill around during key moments, wander out of their seats, etc. It’s not anything like it was across the street. No way.
“Really, you believe that crap?”
i finally figured it out.
crawdaddy is cashman’s wife.
Damon on a 1 year would be nice …have to think most of the team would like it also.
86w183 February 2nd, 2012 at 10:35 am
There definitely is a mythical mindset that Yankee Stadium has always been packed.
///
Yeah, it was empty in the early 70s and the upper deck was a sea of blue for much of the 80s and early 90s. For the Yankees, they don’t care who’s in the seats, as long as they’re filled. To the hardcore fan, it’s a totally different qualitative experience. There is so much that actually intrudes on the game experience now rather than complements it.
“Really, you believe that crap?”
i finally figured it out.
crawdaddy is cashman’s wife.
=============
Now that was funny, really funny.
“Why don’t we just wait until the Golf outing and I out drive you off the tee? ”
stuckey-
unless you can get over 130mph with your driver, i better use my 2 iron so i don’t embarrass you.
you could throw a hundred pitches from a mound and you would not hit me.
and if you throw as slow as i think you do, i’m going to catch them bare handed
like i said, we should do it at the lohud outing. fellow bloggers will be greatly amused.
If I’m chasing Choo, I throw AJ out there at 1\2 his contract price. Cleveland doesn’t bite at all, I walk. Yanks just aint gonna add substantially to the team payroll with 2014 in mind. I still believe Alex Gordon can be had from the penny pinching David Glass.
Tackelberry February 2nd, 2012 at 10:21 am
How long before Cashman moves up and Takes Randy Levine’s job and Billy Eppler becomes the new GM?
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If Cashman takes Levine’s position in a few yrs they should go after Friedman.
If you expect your team to have the funds to retain players, you can’t only cater to hard core fans. You need to build your brand and entice the casual fans as well. And who knows, you could turn a casual fan into a hard core fan by the experience.
If I’m chasing Choo, I throw AJ out there at 1\2 his contract price. Cleveland doesn’t bite at all, I walk
======================================
If you’re throwing Burnett at half his contract as trade bait, then you’re not really chasing Choo at all.
Choo is a 5 tool player that will be relatively inexpensive for the next 2 years. He isn’t being had for AJ Burnett.
i couldn’t care less who brian cashman (or jeter or arod or the president) sleeps with, that’s his buisness and his family’s buisness. And i understand that jilted mistresses will often out their lovers out of spite, it’s all fair in love and war.
to me the dirtbag in this is A.J. DAULERIO, who not only had to write a story about the affair, but actually put on cashman’s pajamas and took a picture of himself wearing them. also, deadspin, who ran the piece as written with the dirtbag’s picture at the top.
Kate – exactly.
And as well all know, perception becomes reality. When people are watching games on television, the camera hardly ever pans to the nosebleed seats (which may have all been extremely empty in the past). What is shown over and over is the sea of empty seats in the field box sections. It hardly makes is appear that Yankee fans are supporting their team. Sorry, but that’s the perception. But that the organization would care enough to do something about it – like lowering the prices of those seats or doing any of the things that Matthew suggested.
Heck, it will never happen but I’d love to see a policy that says that any seats that are not filled by the third inning can be used by any paying fans. Of course the caveat would be that if the ticket holders showed up, those fans would just politely retreat to their original seats.
great post – those empty seats are embarrassing and a lighter touch from the security personnel would be nice
Randy, as much as I’m personally enjoying watching a “man” who should be focused on purchasing a burial plot continue to try to trade on the one moment in his life in which he wasn’t completely ordinary 40 years after the fact, its time to move on.
You’re welcome to believe I’m not athletic. I, as always, will be far more interested in the reason why jump to such a conclusion, and “defense mechanism” is as obvious an answer as you’ll find.
” And who knows, you could turn a casual fan into a hard core fan by the experience.”
———————————————————————————–
I’ve been waiting for that to happen to randy but I’m about to give up hope.
“It hardly makes is appear that Yankee fans are supporting their team. Sorry, but that’s the perception. ”
Genuine question – what’s the ramifications of this?
The NY Yankees organization should be concerned about this because…?
Fans that mill around during key moments of a game are Not baseball fans. Those people simply do Not understand the game, and therefore are incapable of anticipating when something is about to occur. The Yankees had to ballyhoo the sh*t outta Jeet’s 3000th hit in order to pack the place. Same goes for his record breaking Lou Gehrig thing. Those were NOT moments. Those were Generated over the course of time by the Yankee PR Dept and the sports media in general. A true Moment is Jeet diving head first into the stands and coming out with blood trickling down his face as the crowd roars. A Moment is Giambi hitting that Grand Slam inna driving rain in extra innings to win a game. Those are true moments That other stuff is Joe 6 Pack being artificially inseminated via the Sports Media.
“Yep, he was considering a move to NJ, as I recall. That would have been heretical.”
I think that was always about gaining leverage in negotiations with NYC.
___
As an aside:
Why is purchasing a burial plot a bad thing. Life is very unpredictable. It’s good to be prepared.
Hughes and Betances +somebody is probably closer to realistic for Choo.
Burial plots are for the living.
“Dead” people don’t need them, they have better things to do.
Watch Betances turn out better than Pineda. I’m calling it.
Well, if you can trade a discounted Hughes for a discounted Choo, it might make some sense, but I think Cleveland, following the Jimenez trade, would want more immediate help.
Joba_62 Strength is built from within not in any gym. Be better today than yesterday! LOVE!
Joba’s gonna do a lot better post-burial than most here
Watch Betances turn out better than Pineda. I’m calling it.
===========================
He ain’t off to much of a start.
Choo’s numbers last season along with the DUI, make his current trade value Far less than what it was 2 season ago.
You never know…but Pineda is a lot farther along and 2 years younger than Betances is. Id like them both tombs awesome.
“Choo’s numbers last season along with the DUI, make his current trade value Far less than what it was 2 season ago.”
Miguel Cabrera had a DUI too…..Choo was back to himself late last year…..he’s a really good player…..doubt the Indians would sell low….but if they would Cash should pounce.
“Why is purchasing a burial plot a bad thing. Life is very unpredictable. It’s good to be prepare”
I believe I said that this what he SHOULD be doing with this time, which infers, that yes, this would be a productive pursuit.
Choo’s numbers last season along with the DUI, make his current trade value Far less than what it was 2 season ago.
============================
Which is why he’ll be a Cleveland Indian on Opening Day. They’re not dumb enough to sell low. Or in your proposal of Burnett, whatever is beneath low.
Crawdaddy February 2nd, 2012 at 10:15 am
“Brian Cashman was caught having his second affair.”
Really, you believe that crap?
——————–
Believe? Yes
Care? Not really. Unless the story she tells will adversely impact his ability to do his job.
I hope both Pineda and Betances excel on the Yankees for a long time. I really want Pineda to be very good because if he isn’t, it would be tough to watch Yankee games.
J. Alfred Prufrock February 2nd, 2012 at 11:20 am
Watch Betances turn out better than Pineda. I’m calling it.
———————
Hard to make that call.
Pineda’s younger and already established in the majors
Betances has yet to see extended action above AA.
stuckey-
it’s really easy to do you tube videos with an iphone and post a link here.
let’s focus in on golf swing speed.
if you can’t afford a speed stick
http://www.amazon.com/Xtreme-S.....038;sr=8-9
go to your local golf stores and use one of their swing speed devices in a club testing station.
if you can get over 130mph get back to me.
because that’s what it’s going to take to beat me.
Phil Hughes, Eduardo Nunez and David Phelps for Billy Butler.
it’s really easy to do you tube videos with an iphone and post a link here.
–
Shouldn’t you be doing that to appropriately set the bar?
I’d rather add a bat that can play the field, Chip.
“Genuine question – what’s the ramifications of this?
The NY Yankees organization should be concerned about this because…?”
Legitimate questions. I can only answer from my own perspective of course.
It makes it appear that the Yankees are a high-priced corporate team, not a fan-friendly team. It’s all about business and the Yankees go out and outbid everyone else in order to have a team. The average fan doesn’t care about the Yankees because the Yankees don’t care about the average fan. It makes it look like the Yankees have an apathetic fan base.
Not everybody bothers with the ins and outs of why Yankee Stadium looks like a ghost town.
If the Yankee organization cares about its image (and part of that image is shown every single day on YES and other times on national television) it will do something about filling those high-priced seats. Unfortunately unless they shut down the Mohegan Sports Bar and get rid of all those large-screeen televisions everywhere in the Stadium, on rainy days and on the dog days of summer, those days when the real fans grit it out, it will continue to look like a ghost town because fans can now head for cover. (Shots of the Mohegan sports bar usually show the “pretty people” yacking up a storm, with nery an eye focused on the field.)
Rich in NJ February 2nd, 2012 at 11:32 am
I’d rather add a bat that can play the field, Chip.
————————-
Eduardo Nunez and a minor league pitcher for Daniel Murphy?
I prefer Alex Gordon over Choo. I would use Hughes to pursue Gordon. Basically, it would come down to Montero and Hughes for Gordon and Pineda.
What positions can Murphy play adequately? 2B, corner OF, 1B? I actually like him, but then who backs up at SS/3B? It can’t be Pena.
blake February 2nd, 2012 at 11:24 am
You never know…but Pineda is a lot farther along and 2 years younger than Betances is. Id like them both tombs awesome.
///
Betances is a not quite a year older, not two years. He’ll turn 24 in March, Pineda just turned 23.
Pineda’s ahead in innings, but Betances should be ready to go after 2012, if he remains healthy. Has a good change, too.
- CHIP -
Your way overpaying for a DH. If I’m KC, I do that deal immediately.
Pruf,
I hope you are right that Betances will be better than Pineda, but frankly I don’t see the basis. Pineda is younger, has succeeded in the majors, throw harder and has more control.
Pruf, you have some ‘splainin’ to do.
The Royals signed Betancourt to back up the young Escobar, IIRC. They’d not be in the mix for Nunez.
“Shouldn’t you be doing that to appropriately set the bar?”
jerkface-
stuckey was mad because i said that you don’t see many people with his dripping sarcasm on athletic fields because of darwinian natural selection. they tend to get weeded out of the gene pool.
this was too close to home so stuckey told me he was going to knock me on my ass if i batted against him. i told him i’d catch his weak little toss barehanded.
so stuckey kind of initiated this little brouhaha so it’s up to him initiate he challenge.
but if you asking me to show you a video of what 130mph swing looks like., give me two weeks and i’ll do it. sorry, but i don’t think i could get over 125 this week.
The fact they don’t let kids go down past the moat for batting practice is one of the worst things about the new stadium in my eyes. C’mon, let the kids go down and try to get autographs. It’s one of the ways you produce the next generation of rabid fans. Sad, really.
Have sat all over the new stadium, including several times in the Legends seats (I am lucky that I have a friend who has connections) and still think the best places to watch a game there are in the bleachers with the creatures and in the upper deck (or grandstand, or whatever they call it). Not to totally generalize but that’s where you’ll find the most dedicated fans. There are good fans in the Legends seats but far too often you have the people who are busy getting food, drinking or taking pictures of themselves and their friends instead of watching the action.
Betances is a not quite a year older, not two years.
========================
Yeah, but he’s 2 years behind. One was in the ASG at age 22 and one is allowing 12 AA hitters on base per 9 innings at age 23 and won’t likely be an MLB contributor til age 25.
Randy,
I know where your childish diversion started, I didn’t need the recap.
Yep, he was considering a move to NJ, as I recall. That would have been heretical.
———
Definitely but I think that was just a bluff. He really wanted the West Side lot behind the main post office. Not sure how that would have worked transportation-wise.
“The Yankees had to ballyhoo the sh*t outta Jeet’s 3000th hit in order to pack the place. Same goes for his record breaking Lou Gehrig thing. Those were NOT moments. Those were Generated over the course of time by the Yankee PR Dept and the sports media in general. ”
Disagree completely. The Yankees can only ballyhoo those moments because they had players special enough to create them.. not because of some marketing machine.
Rich in NJ February 2nd, 2012 at 11:36 am
What positions can Murphy play adequately? 2B, corner OF, 1B? I actually like him, but then who backs up at SS/3B? It can’t be Pena.
————-
Murphy can play 3b too – you can get away with Pena at SS and if there’s a long term injury to Jeter you can always make a move.
“I know where your childish diversion started, I didn’t need the recap.”
jerkface-
competing doing something athletic is childish?
how about if we add some statistical analysis to it?
would that make it more grown up?
plus if i get any more grown up i’ll be dead
austinmac,
You don’t see the basis for him even being good, based on your own posts. What are you basing that on?
Betances is going to be a front-end guy, where ever he may wind up. I don’t think his control problems are going to be the thing that keeps him from being a dominant starter. He doesn’t need a 3rd pitch, either.
At worst, he may not be a super efficient starter, but his stuff is lights out. Great fb, great curve, very good change, cutter and 2-seamer. You need to take a look at his hits per nine and his GB/FB ratio, plus his K/9.
Piliere recently expressed bewilderment that many Yankee fans have decided Betances is a bust. It is bewildering, but that’s just the uncritical eating of the Jim Callis types’ opiate.
competing doing something athletic is childish?
–
Athletic competition is not childish, but certainly the manner in which you are acting about it is.
I still like Raf Soriano and cash to the Astros for Carlos Lee.
How many kids ever got the chance to get down to field level to get autographs before? You know who you need to blame? The adults that pushed the kids out of the way in order to get the autographs so they could sell them.
JAP,
Still though….Pineda has done it in the big leagues and at a younger age and commands the ball better. More likely to stay a starter long term
GreenBeret7 February 2nd, 2012 at 11:56 am
How many kids ever got the chance to get down to field level to get autographs before? You know who you need to blame? The adults that pushed the kids out of the way in order to get the autographs so they could sell them.
————
Or the adults who sent kids down there multiple times to get autographs so they could sell them.
dogface February 2nd, 2012 at 11:47 am
Betances is a not quite a year older, not two years.
========================
Yeah, but he’s 2 years behind. One was in the ASG at age 22 and one is allowing 12 AA hitters on base per 9 innings at age 23 and won’t likely be an MLB contributor til age 25.
///
But he lost a year because of surgery, so it’s not like he’s been kicking around, unable to figure things out. For him, it worked out, because he developed the change. Who knows how much development time that might have saved him? He stays healthy, he’ll be in somebody’s 2013 rotation.
Randy,
Yes, your exchange with Stuckey is childish. Consider, two grown men who likely live far apart challenging each other to a so-called sporting event that will never occur.
If that isn’t playground stuff, what is?
We are all glad to hear your thoughts and opinions, even the wrong ones(defined as disagreeing with me). I assure you not one other person on the board is interested I further interplay on a middle aged or older man’s athletic prowess. As one of those myself, I would know.
Chip,
Id consider that trade for Butler.
“stuckey was mad because i said that you don’t see many people with his dripping sarcasm on athletic fields because of darwinian natural selection. they tend to get weeded out of the gene pool.”
Randy, I get the impression you need to have jokes explained to you after and have your grandkids explain movie plots to you. Would this be accurate?
“but if you asking me to show you a video of what 130mph swing looks like., give me two weeks and i’ll do it. sorry, but i don’t think i could get over 125 this week.”
Translation: It’s going to take a while to find a service that still converts those old Super 8 reels into a digital file.
But Randy, if you can find one that has you clocked at 125, that will do fine. I’d be HIGHLY impressed to see someone clocked at that speed using a wooden shaft.
“would that make it more grown up?”
No, but understanding the joke couldn’t hurt.
Pruf,
I never said Betances doesn’t have achance to be good. He has the physical tools. I just don’t see how one can say at this point he will be better than Pineda when Pineda has at least as good of tools and has learned to use them better. I have seen Betances stats. Last year wasn’t that great, but that happens. Pineda’s stats in the minor and majors are very good.
That is a far cry from me suggesting Betances should be thrown in the trash bin. It’s the comparison that struck me as inappropriate.
blake February 2nd, 2012 at 11:57 am
JAP,
Still though….Pineda has done it in the big leagues and at a younger age and commands the ball better. More likely to stay a starter long term
///
He commands the ball better and throws a tick or two harder but his delivery isn’t as compact. Betances is pretty smooth when he gets all the way through, and as I’ve told you, since I’ve seen this many times, the control thing is somewhat over stated; that’s not a static situation, although reading here you’d think it was. I don’t think that’s going to hold him back, he’s going to to continue to progress. Hey, I like Pineda, but he’s more of an injury risk and he does need to come with some change of pace, especially in the New House. He’s still a work in progress, too.
Please do not argue with those who have made the pilgrimage to Him-On-The-Mound.
Someones needs to explain to me this vital link between professional sports and some pen scribble on a ball or piece of cardboard.
Utterly escapes me.
Hey JF, no one’s posts regarding a single pitcher are more smothered in kisses than yours on Darvish ;0).
Darvish is prettier than Betances. That makes it ok.
JAP,
His delivery may be more compact…..but does he repeat it as well? #1 injury preventer is repeating delivery IMO
austin mac, jerkface, and stuckey
maybe if all three of you stick together, you’ll be able to keep up.
but just remember that 3 times zero is still zero.
In addition to being better than Pineda, Darvish will also be better than Betances next year. BOOK IT. Also more handsome and definitely more skilled with chopsticks.
I think Pineda will be better than Darvish next year….but will he be better than Darvish+Montero?
He’ll be a helluvalot cheaper than Darvish + Montero that’s for sure.
Darvish is costing Texas more than $ 60 M this year. He better break Jack Chesbro’s record to be worth it!
No reason for Cleveland to be dealing Choo.
How about Burnett, Nunez, Phelps and Laird for Murphy and Bay? Pena becomes utility IF or they sign one of many good fielding options out there w/SS the top priority.
Good article by Steve Goldman on platoon players and wishing they’d come back into vogue:
http://www.pinstripedbible.com.....on-players
Darvish is a bit too girlie-man for my taste
“It makes it appear that the Yankees are a high-priced corporate team, not a fan-friendly team.”
Understood Trisha, but it’s been my experience that some of the Yankees most hardcore fans WANT them to be out there outspending every other team by significant margins, which IMO requires them to maximize their revenue.
Yankees has qualified for the PS 16 out of the last 17 years. By our own experience we know how winning has overtime translated to a more active, PAYING fanbase.
It seems to me in terms of putting a winning team on the field year-after-year, the Yankees are BY FAR the most fan friendly team in MLB, and all of sports, in fact.
“The average fan doesn’t care about the Yankees because the Yankees don’t care about the average fan.”
One complaint that seems to be reoccurring in this thread his how fans who really LOVE the game of baseball and just want to watch a game are becoming more scarce.
I actually consider myself one of these fans. I don’t go to the Stadium to eat, drink, take photos for my FB page, try to get an autograph. I go to watch baseball. I’m entirely uninterested on the equation ‘how much do the Yankees care about ME’.
Put a good team on the field, I can take care of myself.
That all said, the Yankees have obviously made a calculated decision about ticket prices, paid attendance and actual attendance, and I’d assume they likely have or continue to move towards some sweet spot that maximizes revenue.
If someone is still paying outrageous prices for those seats, as a believer in markets I don’t begrudge them selling them at those prices.
But you can’t begin a program that fills those seats every game at discount prices and still command the original premium face value.
If empty seats on TV is good for their business model, I’m personally fine with them. I’m looking at where the pitch is going anyway.
“I think Pineda will be better than Darvish next year….but will he be better than Darvish+Montero?”
I’m pretty sure he’ll be cheaper.
Randy,
I decline to keep up with foolish immaturity. Enjoy it by yourself. You win on that score. Finally, we found your aptitude.
Chip February 2nd, 2012 at 11:55 am
I still like Raf Soriano and cash to the Astros for Carlos Lee.
________________________________________
I don’t
I’m pretty sure he’ll be cheaper.
–
The price they paid is one no organization can bear.
From the always classy Donut Choker. always good to see one media outlet rip another one.
PeteAbe Pete Abraham
New York Post brings up Spygate. Belichick swats question away, saying they’ve moved on. Now they can go back to hacking Giselke’s email.
“I’m pretty sure he’ll be cheaper.”
True….but I only care about which is better as a fan.
“Yes, your exchange with Stuckey is childish. Consider, two grown men who likely live far apart challenging each other to a so-called sporting event that will never occur.”
Wait… so we can’t throw balls at randy?!
Awww man….
upstate kate February 2nd, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Darvish is a bit too girlie-man for my taste
__
If he pitches well, he can wear a skirt for all I care.
austin mac-
i could care less about you or your posts
“maybe if all three of you stick together, you’ll be able to keep up.”
What’s the maximum speed of a senior mobility scooter?
austinmac February 2nd, 2012 at 12:03 pm
Pruf,
I never said Betances doesn’t have achance to be good. He has the physical tools. I just don’t see how one can say at this point he will be better than Pineda when Pineda has at least as good of tools and has learned to use them better. I have seen Betances stats. Last year wasn’t that great, but that happens. Pineda’s stats in the minor and majors are very good.
That is a far cry from me suggesting Betances should be thrown in the trash bin. It’s the comparison that struck me as inappropriate.
///
austinmac,
I do recall several posts where you dismissed Betances out of hand. But let that go. I think you have half a picture of Betances. You paint him as a raw guy with physical tools. His issue is he sometimes does not get through the ball when he throws it, and it sails on him. Yea, if he can’t control that, he won’t have much of a career. I don’t think that is going to dog him, because he’s a lot smoother and more in control more often than he isn’t, and that Betances you seem to lack information on. What you also may not realize is, he is pretty polished already with a ton of weapons.
He’s not in the majors yet, and that’s as it should be. He needs to build his arm up. But if he were on some other club, they may have thrown him into the fire, as Seattle did with Pineda. Betances would continue to have to fix his release point at times, but he could be dominant right now. I have no doubt of that. He’d struggle at times, like any young pitcher, but he isn’t a guy getting dominating because of level of hitters. So, do I think he could dominate like Pineda? Yes, I do. But he’s going to finish that developmental curve. Just needs the innings and he’ll be ready to go. Here or where ever.
blake February 2nd, 2012 at 12:10 pm
I think Pineda will be better than Darvish next year….but will he be better than Darvish+Montero?
——————
Since he won’t hit I’m going to say no.
Blake,
I would rather have Montero and Darvish, but the Yankees had $110M reasons they didn’t. I pushed for Darvish from day one not realizing it had no chance to occur in the new 2014 austerity plan.
or vice versa
blake and JF-
I’ve bought in to the notion the Yanks will be under the luxury tax threshold in 2014. Getting a cheap pitcher like Pineda was the only realistic way both to do that and remain the favorite to win the AL East. I’m sorry the price was Montero, but I don’t regret it, the Yank offense will remain very good with or without JM.
Phil Hughes, Eduardo Nunez and David Phelps for Billy Butler.
__
Really?
NO WAY!
Wave, mac,
Yea I know why they did it….but we ain’t know for awhile whether they should have or not.
Rich
just responding to JF comment about him being more handsome than Pineda
“Wait… so we can’t throw balls at randy?!
Awww man….”
shame spencer-
i was trying to tell them that the blog would pay good money to do that
“Yea I know why they did it….but we ain’t know for awhile whether they should have or not.”
I think we know they “should have”. But the future is always uncertain, even necessary trades may turn out poorly. And I guess we won’t know about that until it happens.
I don’t care whether Darvish pitches well or not. He’s not a Yankee, but, he still isn’t likely to give them the year that wilson gave the Rangers in 2011 or even 2010.
Only in the Yankee Universe could having the highest payroll in all of sports be viewed as an “austerity plan”.
Personally, I like fiscal sanity and seeing young players getting the chance to perform in pinstripes. And yet I still don’t see how they get to $ 189 M in two years unless Alex retires and every youngster comes through at a championship level.
It could be the overall financial benefits (luxury tax rate decrease plus revenue sharing relief) is so great that they just grin and bear it for one year… time will tell. If Hamels comes on the market and is ignored that will clinch it.
Have a great one gang…. let’s push for a gathering in Trenton!
kate
Oh…in that case, I like my pitchers to be ugly enough to scare hitters.
Pruf,
I never dismissed him out of hand, but I likely said he will need to get command and control to ever approach the high expectations some have.
He control in the majors was very poor. Okay, I get nerves. But, a couple games before in AAA he walked something like nine guys in two innings. As Blake indicated, he needs to repeat his delivery. That is hard to do at 6’8″, but I sure agree he will be scary if he can.
I would consider trading him in a package for a young, high upside position player. Otherwise, I will hope his 2012 looks more like 2010.
Personally, I don’t think he will be traded as it goes against Cashman’s young, cheap pitching mantra.
Great post Matthew. I gotta say that I love the new park, minus the pricing and the noise factor.
Randy,
Good. Don’t write me again until your have had your meds.
austin mac-
that’s an odd insult because if someone really was on meds you probably wouldn’t want to tick them off, would you?
just saying
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS
hearing raves about #yankees cf prospect mason williams. dad was patriot derwin. #mariners inquired abt him in pineda talks
Great guest post Matt! Really enjoyed it. Especially “The Warriors” reference.
Fantastic article Matthew! One of the best I’ve ever read! I agree with all that you wrote, and am just as annoyed about all your new Yankee Stadium complaints. You would think for a stadium costing a billion, they could have gotten a lot of these things right! ie the moat, hidden monument park, monstrous Steinbrenner monument, obstructed seating, no kids allowed into the “exclusive” seats section for autographs, etc. I keep hoping that some of these will be changed, but I don’t think it’s likely with clueless and arrogant Trost and Levin at the healm.