Has you noticed how rarely Moose has been throwing his changeup recently? He threw just three today - all for strikeouts, and didn't unleash the first until the last pitch of the 7th inning. He's a lot of fun to watch.
- Missed this somehow: Jeremy Shockey was (finally) traded to New Orleans - for a 2nd and 5th round pick. His enthusiasm will be missed, but not his attitude.
The Yankees are considering trying to acquire Seattle lefty Jarrod Washburn, who's been a solid back-of-the-rotation starter during his 11 year career. Apparently, Seattle would be willing to take Igawa, a mid-level prospect and cash. If that's true, the trigger has to be pulled. End the OKei experiment. Washburn has been a Yankee-killer, so this falls under the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" category. At worst, Washburn will be a good lefty reliever.
- It's translating! Edwar Ramirez and David Robertson have sick minor league stats, and it seems that with regular work now, it's translating to the Bigs. Nice work by Cash and Girardi. (thanks to Pete Abe for alerting us.) In his last five innings, Robertson has allowed just one hit, two walks and nine strikeouts. Edwar has been even better: over his last 11.1 innings, he's allowed just one hit (including nine straight innings of no-hit ball), two walks and 16 strikeouts.
- Posada's throwing problems could continue "well into 2009".
The Yanks won their fourth in a row (12-4 behind another lucky Sir Sidney start), but news came down that Jorge Posada could miss the rest of the season with a labrum injury. Jose Molina will fill in more than adequately behind the plate, but it's at the plate where Posada's loss will be felt most.
- Watched the Trenton Thunder game from July 17 (against Portland) and I just had to expound the virtues of Austin Jackson, who went 4-4 (including two doubles) with a walk. Three of the hits were to right-centerfield and the fourth was a lined shot to center, all on outside pitches. I was extremely impressed with his approach and ability to not only hit the other way, but for power. He looked like a major leaguer. What I didn't see though was his ability to hit inside pitches, which Portland stayed away from entirely. He can clearly handle outside pitches, and if he can handle the inside ones as well, he's a stud in the making.
- If you haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, you're missing out. A great movie, much better than the first, and the critics nailed it: Heath Ledger truly is remarkable as the Joker. I never thought I'd say this, but his Joker is at least on par with Nicholson's.
(This was written specifically for River Ave. Blues, so now that it's been posted there, I'll do the same here.)
Remember when you used to love going to Yankee games? For me, although I certainly did, it’s hard to even recall why.
Let me explain…no, there is too much. Let me sum up. My father’s company (that he co-manages) was able to acquire box-seat season tickets when the Yanks were at their lowest: 1989 (”It’s a whole new ballgame” was the motto that year; I still have a bumper sticker with it.) I went to at least 10 games each year through the 90’s — saw the Jeff Maier home run in ‘96, Tino’s Game 1 grand slam in ‘98, Clemens spraying the fans with champagne in ‘99, and the following year throwing a bat at Mike Piazza. Each year though, my access to tickets waned as demand among my father’s clients increased. My father and his business partner sold all the playoff tickets in 2001 for several reasons: they were bordering on unaffordable, the offers/requests from buyers/clients were too strong to turn down, and they (and I admittedly) thought they’d be in the World Series about every year.
So I guess you could say we were part of the problem — the reason the attending fan base started to change to more corporate/casual-fan types (the ‘glitterati’ — you know, people who glitter). We definitely deserve some of the blame, but other reasons for that change include the success of the Yanks, the ensuing demand for tickets, and the freedom that gave the Yankees to raise prices astronomically.
There used to be knowledgeable, passionate fans in attendance, but a side effect of the team’s success is that those fans were forced out by demand. In fact, my wife and I prefer sitting in the $18 upper deck seats where the fans actually care about the game.
Does anyone, anyone, still do the YMCA? I pity the grounds crew that must endure that contrived garbage (aimed purely at casual fans) on a nightly basis. Then there’s the relentless audio bombardment that doesn’t let up until “New York, New York” has played several times. And what ever happened to organic chants, cheers and general fan enthusiasm? On countless occasions have I witnessed organic chants snuffed out by the PA system blaring some canned chant or music that we’ve heard a thousand times.
There’s just a lack of understanding of what the fans want, like the refusal to show video replays (of close plays) on the jumbo-tron. I know they don’t want to show up the umpires, but they do it all the time in the NFL, why not in MLB? I had no idea Jeff Maier had even reached over the wall until I got home that night to see the replay. That brings me to my next point: while all the cons of attending a game have increased over the years, the pros of watching from home have also increased. The advent of HD, surround sound, the YES Network and DVR have combined to make the home-viewing experience better than being there. And where would you rather sit, on a plastic folding chair or your living room couch?
Then there’s the food situation. I can order in a large pizza for the price of about three disgusting slices at the Stadium. $9 for shit beer? No thanks. I’ll take my favorite, Dogfish Head, which runs $9 for a six-pack. At my only game this year, the trio in front of me ordered food and drinks through the waiter service. It took almost two hours to get something akin to two beers, a soda, chicken fingers, a hot dog, and a sandwich (for $71 plus tip). It’s basically fast-food quality, only slow. I learned my lesson long ago and now bring soda, water, sandwiches, peanuts and seeds to every game. It saves money and time (outside of tasting better). The vendors don’t even come down to the box-seats; to get food you have to order through a waiter (and wait the requisite hour plus) or leave your seat to catch up to a vendor or wait in line at the food court.
Transportation has become more difficult. Instead of spending an hour (each way) and $20+ getting to and from the Stadium, I can spend that time walking my dog, cooking dinner, watching the post-game show, watching another ballgame, etc. Parking is absolutely FUBAR around the Stadium, and I have a knack for being the first car locked out of the parking lot (it’s happened twice) – I mean I was literally the very first car that cops started putting traffic cones in front of to block out of the garage. You might suggest taking the subway, which I did many times when I lived in Manhattan and Queens, but it’s hardly better than driving, only more cost efficient. The worst subway ride of my life followed a Yankee game: a hefty, teenage boy stood near me holding the ceiling rail on a hot summer day (you know what that means), and the stench emanating from him was unbelievable. It was hold your breath horrible, and there was no where to go as the train was completely packed.
On top of that, my wife and I have a talent for attending rained out/rain delayed games, which now kills us because we live in Philly (have since last May). I was upset to find out the new Stadium will not have a retractable roof. I know it would cost about $400 million, but they’re spending over a billion dollars already, and the Stadium’s supposed to last more than 50 years, why not make the investment that would ensure a complete and on-time game every single day? Yet another reason we have and will be attending fewer games.
My father’s tickets, $250 a seat this year, will jump to the $500-$2500 range next year, and they’re not even being guaranteed the same seats in the new Stadium. He’s going to try to “move back” to affordable territory: back section of the field level or front section of the upper deck (we hope).
With all that being said, I’m certainly going to a game at the new Stadium, but more for the novelty, not to watch my beloved Yankees.
This might come off as whiny, but don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy attending games in person, just not as much as I used to; and the preceding was a summary of my problems as a cathartic exercise. I know this is a season to celebrate the Stadium, but I for one will miss nothing but the history. As far as I’m concerned, the original Yankee Stadium was destroyed in 1974.
To address their .732 OPS against southpaws, the Yanks signed former Mariner slugger (and I use that word loosely) Richie Sexson to a league minimum contract. At this point, he can't be worse than Wilson Betemit and will only play against lefties, so it's a low risk move. And he does hit lefties well: 1.045 OPS this year (albeit in 71 plate appearances) - his career totals aren't quite so hot: just an .879 OPS vs. southpaws. This presents a frightening scenario, what if Sexson regresses to his career norm? Then the situation is no better off and probably even worse than a right-handed Wilson Betemit. If that happens, Sexson can always be released, but the damage done will be irreversible.
- The 15 inning All-Star Game received great ratings, which will only further empower FOX and MLB that the 8 p.m. start time is perfectly suited. What kid watching on a Tuesday night stays up to 2 a.m.? I understand that 15 innings is an aberration, but even the normal All-Star game lasts until near midnight because of the frequent pitching changes and longer commercial breaks. Not a good formula for future fandom (how's that for alliteration?).
I didn't think hitting a home run out of the Stadium was possible, but Josh Hamilton came as close as I've ever seen, and made me actually believe it was possible. The most impressive was the shot that hit half-way up the wall behind the right-field bleachers.
And what the hell was Rick Reilly thinking? He made stupid and awkward comments throughout the telecast that I'm sure he believed were clever. The first was a diatribe about there being no minorities in the Derby (to which Karl Ravech, after a long, uncomfortable pause, said "Interesting concept.") He followed by slamming Arod, saying something to the effect of 'Arod couldn't put on a show anywhere near Josh Hamilton.' Really? The future all-time home run champ couldn't even come close? Then the final 'Huh?' comment was a knock on atheists; apparently because Hamilton is a born-again Christian, it "was a bad night to be an atheist" according to Reilly.
- Chase Utley cursed out the fans who booed him. That will only hurt him in the long run. New York, especially Met fans, don't forget quickly. He later apologized.
- The NYPD (not surprisingly) felt the need to choke a fan trying to catch a home run in the black seats.
But Joba was nearly as good. If not for Posada, Cano and Betemit errors, he walks off with a line of 7 ip, 5 h, 1 r, 0 bb, 9 k. He allowed just one extra-base hit (I'm not counting the double that was lost against the ceiling of the dome). The most encouraging part is that Joba's control is improving: he threw a ridiculous 73% strikes, walked none, and got nine groundouts and just two flyouts. Outside of a sloppy 3rd inning behind him, this might've been his best start.
The Yanks managed a whopping two hits. What next, a run? HA!
Two runs or less counter: 32 out of 93 (34%)
