Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

So I figured it is about time I add my two cents about the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

I may get to see them in person next year, until then, I am living vicariously through others.

Where to start?

I suppose I'll start with the $1.5 billion behemoth called Yankee Stadium. The house that Steinbrenner built, or perhaps the house that Greed Built.

I think it lives up to the price tag, but reviews are mixed. To steal an appropriate word from this article, I think grandeur describes the stadium very well. It seems appropriate to call it Yankee Stadium once again, in all its glory for better or worse. Although I am not sure how it feels compared to the original with all the politics and everything involved in it.

Here is a brief review with pictures from the Field of Schemes website, The new Yankee Stadium: What we got for all that money. In that article it links to a couple proper articles the author (Neil deMause) wrote about the new Yankee Stadium. For your convenience, New Yankee Stadium Opens Its Vast, Expensive Gates (from The Village Voice) and Out at the Ballpark, A Visit to the New Yankee Stadium (from Baseball Prospectus).

I am not sure it could be called The Friendly Confines, if they ever felt like stealing the Wrigley nickname. This from ball snagger extraordinaire Zack Hample blog entry. His entry, 4/18/09 at Yankee Stadium, has plenty of pictures and descriptions. Temple, Shrine, a couple words that come to mind seeing some of the pictures!

Before the home runs were flying out of Yankee Stadium, the most discussed issue with the new Stadium was the overpriced seats. Add the recession to the equation, and that will equal many seats not sold. This post, This is Ridiculous, from the Sliding Into Home Yankees blog, captures it well.

Bleacher creatures can now move into other parts of the stadium, I believe I heard sarcastically, so they can buy more high priced merchandise. Although I would not be surprised if it were the case. In fact it probably is one of the reasons. From the Village Voice article, they cannot go to the field level. Security being tight, as you can read in Zack's post.

Certain bleacher seats in center field, left and right center have an obstructed view of the opposite side, as the Mohegan Sun sports bar, which is behind the batter's eye juts out. Here is a picture from the above Village Voice article. I can only imagine sitting right beside the wall of said bar a few good rows back, one would only be able to see half the outfield!

Speaking of jutting out, check out this picture from Keith Olbermann's mlblog. It is George Steinbrenner's private box, towering above the masses, and several feet out as well. With a clear view into the Yankees dugout as Keith stated! I am reminded of the Simpsons episode where they find their way into Rupert Murdoch's private box on Super Bowl!

I am going to devote a post to the home runs hit out of new Yankee Stadium, in the meantime, Keith Olbermann's entry titled The Home Run Menace raises the issue.

So I suppose from what I hear, Yankee Stadium is huuuuge, but the field plays small. Whereas Citi Field is smaller, yet the field plays big.

Through six games at Citi Field, 10 home runs were hit. 26 were hit through six games at Yankee Stadium. This is counting only regular season games. The two worst games were of course the third game against the Indians, when they won 22-4, and the Yankees 9-7 walk-off win over the A's Wednesday. In the Indians win, 8 home runs were hit, 6 by Cleveland. In the recent Yankees win, 5 were hit, 4 by the Yankees.

In the first proper game at Yankee Stadium, spring training, Cubs at Yankees April 3, the Yankees hit 3 home runs off of Ted Lilly. The next day they hit 3 off Rich Harden, and 1 off Luis Vizcaino. In that second game, the Cubs only managed 1 off Andy Pettitte. So that is 8 more home runs, for a total of 34, in a total of 8 games there!

So Citi Field. I'd have to say I lean more towards Citi for being smaller, and maybe more a park to see a good ballgame at. Maybe. Still I hear about how it compares to the old venue, that would be Shea, for atmosphere, and if it has the history within.

For a good critique of Citi Field, again, Zack Hample has a good aptly titled post, Citi Field critique. This entry, Flushing in Flushing, a fairly comical entry from Uni Watch blog has a few good pictures, some as the stadium was still a work in progress (at the paragraph that starts "as for the stadium itself").

I also prefer Citi Field for being modelled after Ebbets Field. As I like old time baseball.

So I guess that is about it for now, if I come upon more posts of interest, I'll add them at the end of future posts.

Livan Hernandez commences first game at Citi Field

It was still Spring Training, but former Expo ace Livan Hernandez started the first game at Citi Field. Jacoby Ellsbury was the first batter Livan faced. Livan:

ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	BF
2.55	3.0	1	0	0	2	3	0	12

Useful tidbit of information:

I was looking up pitcher's performance at the plate (since Livan has been known to homer on occasion), and Micah Owings, who I never heard of prior has a .319 average in 116 AB. He won the NL Silver Slugger in 2007. Not far behind is Adam Wainwright batting .289 in 128 AB.

Random tidbit of useless information:

Johnny Damon was taking pictures from the top of the dugout around the bottom of the eighth at new Yankeee Stadium.

Some Kinda All Star Game! Part 2

So indeed, some kinda All-Star Game it was! And our buddy Allan 'Budward' Selig didn't stop to declare it a tie! Otherwise, I'm not sure how 'This Time it Counts' would have worked!

I believe it really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 8th, and onwards as it was tied. The game up to the top of the 5th was actually moving along quite quickly, until the scoring started, and it turned it into the longest MLB All-Star Game by time ever, at 4 hours and 50 minutes. The 1967 game in Anaheim also went 15 innings.

It actually really started getting interesting in the bottom of the 10th. Two Fielding errors, and an intentional walk loaded the bases with no outs. Dan Uggla made the two errors to start the inning, but made sure to get the force out at home for the first out. Michael Young was forced out at home. Cristian Guzmán playing threw from third to Russell Martin for the second out, forcing out Carlos Quentin. It was Guzmán's first time playing third in his MLB career! Normally a shortstop, so same side of the field, but still. Miguel Tejada made the next highlight reel play to get the third out, off of Justin Morneau's ground ball. I am reminded of the first out I believe it was. After forcing out Michael Young, Russell Martin threw to first to try and get the double play, not in time, but Adrian Gonzalez made a game saving play, catching Martin's throw on an in between hop close to the ground.

The next big play came at the bottom of the very next inning, the 11th. With runners on first and second (J. D. Drew and Dioner Navarro respectively), Michael Young singled to center fielder Nate McLouth, who went on to throw Navarro out at the plate for out number two. Cristian Guzmán once again deserves credit for getting the third out. Carlos Quentin grounded out, Guzmán fielded to first.

The NL had a nice chance to win it in the top of the 12th. They had runners on first and second with no outs, and then second and third with one out after a sac bunt by Russell Martin. Tejada was then intentionally walked. Uggla, and Gonzalez both struck out to end the threat.

Aaron Cook deserves quite a bit of credit, pitching three innings, and not allowing a run. His defense put managed to put him into a jam, but then helped him out. Since he is a Rocky, and Clint Hurdle was managing, surely that was why he was out as long as he was, as the announcers pointed out.

In the end Michael Young was the hero, sac flying to right fielder Corey Hart (not wearing his sunglasses) who was just a few milliseconds too slow with his throw, and Justin Morneau plated the game winning run. Earlier in the bottom of the 11th, Nate McLouth throwing out Navarro could have been called either way. Obviously he was out. I'm not sure the unwritten rules exactly, but sometimes situations like that it is up to the umpire to give the benefit of the doubt. Martin was the one who received it, as far as the tag being applied versus touching home, but the throw was definitely in there in time.

So all in all, an entertaining ballgame at Yankee Stadium, the fourth and final All-Star age at that incarnation of Yankee Stadium. Old stars, and new stars alike shone. Although I have moved on to the Toronto Blue Jays, my heart is still in the National League, so I actually found myself rooting for them, including Cristian Guzmán, and Dan Uggla (whose third error should not have been as the ball took a nasty hop/in between hop). With that said, time for the Blue Jays to take hold of the second half, and take home field advantage! I'm sure most would agree four possible contenders in the AL East would be even better than three!

Some Kinda All Star Game! Part 1

As the title says!

15 innings
4 hours 50 minutes
National League pitching: 248 pitches (145 Strikes)
American League pitching: 205 pitches (140 Strikes)
Total pitches: 453
Most batters faced: Aaron Cook (NL - Col), 16
Least batters faced: Brian Wilson (NL - SF), and Francisco Rodriguez (AL -LA), 2.

Part 2 in a day or two.

Kudos to Justin Morneau, hats off to Josh Hamilton

Justin Morneau, the Canadian, won the 2008 Home Run Derby. He more than likely won thanks to conserving his energy, or not being as powerful, and/or dialed in as Josh Hamilton. Regardless, he is deserving of his win, as Hamilton would have been as well.

We all know Josh Hamilton's story, and if not, it can easily be found, especially now. He sure put on a clinic in the first round, hitting 28 long, long, long balls! His second round was a mere 4 homers to stay loose, walking away after 4 or so outs (for once I am not bothering to fact check this blog entry, just going off the top of my head!). Maybe he should have skipped the second round altogether as he didn't need it to advance to the finals. Regardless, he, and Justin Morneau are now part of Yankee Stadium history.