[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iafzqOCaxA4&hl=en&fs=1]
Here’s the longer HD version, which they have blocked from embedding. Seriously priceless. If your’e too young to remember WKRP, tough.
Shiny (lotsa glass and chrome). Bright (the old Yankee Stadium, mystique-y and aura-tastic as it may have been, was perpetually caked in grime). If this is the future of the stadium experience, I humbly request to be teleported to next April. You can have your quaint ivy walls and forbidding monsters of green; me, I’ll take the laser beam turbo rocket ship. 
Larry Dubrow was lucky enough to get a tour of The New Yankee Stadium as a potential “Premium Offering” seating buyer. Suffice it to say, he was blown away:
About 13 seconds later, after we proceeded into the so-called Great Hall, I started mentally filling out a Bank of America job application. Holy temple of awesome. Big (around 1.6 times the square footage of its predecessor, even with a few thousand fewer seats).
Alas, I returned to my computer on Monday morning to find an e-mail awaiting me from my guide. The note contained the usual pleasantries and directed me to an attached file for more information. It was there that the Yankees dropped the hammer: the seats cost $550. That’s per ticket per game, not per month or per season. For a 20-game plan, that’s 22 grand for a pair.
I love my team irrationally. I love attending ball games. I don’t love them that much.
“If you bring somebody in to play and pay them, pick a number, $30 million, does that seem a little weird to you?” Jamie McCourt asked in an interview at the Evergreen Recreation Center in East Los Angeles. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We’re really trying to see it through the eyes of our fans. We’re really trying to understand, would they rather have the 50 fields?”
How would YOU feel if the ownership if your favorite team decided to forego that splash signing and chose rather to commence construction on that many ballfields, including one in your neighborhood? (Check the poll to the left to vote!)
Ben Shpigel wonders aloud if the fact that the economy is in the crapper is the reason for the relatively quiet free agent signing period so far. Ben notes the “Domino Effect” but also dismisses it.
Player agents and front-office executives often speak of the domino effect that occurs after the premium free agent at his position makes a decision. For instance, as soon as Sabathia, the most coveted starting pitcher, chooses where he will play for the next six or so years, interest in the other top starters – A. J. Burnett, Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets – should sort itself out.
First the hapless football team beats NDI’ve made it clear many times how helpful and thoughtful Craig “Shysterball” Calcaterra has been to me since I launched this blog 11 months ago. I had toyed with the idea of doing something like this for a while but would always find an excuse. Then, by chance, I saw a chat from Rob Neyer that asked him which blogs he liked to read and one he mentioned was Shysterball. Once I saw what Craig did, how he did it while holding down a busy full-time career, and making it look both easy and fun….I decided to take the leap.
Except that he makes it look much easier than it really is. And that’s a tribute to his talents.
I probably owe most of my readership to Shysterball in one way or another. For that, I am grateful. That you guys keep coming back is more meaningful than you can imagine.
So now, Craig is moving on from the lonely, independent blogosphere to the higher rent district known as The Hardball Times. I couldn’t be happier for him. Craig had his “And That Happened” daily recap picked up by Studes & Co. at THT last season, so this is only an extension of an already successful relationship. Craig’s off-beat, witty and astute voice will ring loudly in the super-analytical realm of THT. Success is inevitable.
I wish them all the luck in the world.
Not much else to say, but wouldn’t it be great if one NFL team (I’m thinking the Ravens in their all black uni’s) pulled this off:
(h/t to SI.com)
Read this, because I said so. Also, because Pete Toms wrote it and it’s damn good. My New Yorker point of view doesn’t allow me to know that some of these things exist. Yeah, I need to get out more.
Is the upcoming 17th consecutive season of professional baseball in Ottawa also the last? Many factors will determine whether professional baseball continues to be played here, including support, municipal politics, the local pro sports landscape, real estate and CanAm League fortunes.
Pete also had this excellent post at The Biz of Baseball about the Rule IV draft that’s worth reading if you feel like learning something. If today’s not that day, bookmark it and get back to it when you’re feeling brainy. A taste:
The past two drafts have seen a trend of small and mid market franchises outspending many larger market franchises. The Rays and Nationals ranked #2 and #5 in dollars spent on signing bonuses in the 07 draft with the Royals and Rangers also in the top 10. The 08 draft saw an increase in this behaviour with the Royals, Rays and Pirates all in the top 4 along with the Giants, Brewers, Rangers, Twins and Indians all in the top 10.
Note: Pete and “brevity” do not belong in the same sentence. Clearly, Pete and Joe Pos came from the same school.
There’s a solid review of all of the $100+ million deals done by SI.com today. Here are only the grades; you’ll have to check out the link for the full review:
- Kevin Brown, Overall grade: C-
- Ken Griffey Jr., Overall grade: D+
- Alex Rodriguez, Overall grade (first contract): C; Overall grade (second contract): Incomplete
- Manny Ramirez, Overall grade: A-
- Mike Hampton, Overall grade: F
- Jason Giambi, Overall grade: D+
- Todd Helton, Overall grade: C
- Albert Pujols, Overall grade: A
- Carlos Beltran, Overall grade: B-
- Vernon Wells, Overall grade: C
- Alfonso Soriano, Overall grade: B-
- Barry Zito, Overall grade: F
- Carlos Lee, Overall grade: C
- Miguel Cabrera, Overall Grade: Incomplete
- Johan Santana, Overall grade: Incomplete
Maybe it’s me, but I forgot how many guys were given contracts this size. I flat out forgot about Wells, Lee, and even Soriano, to a lesser degree.
While the Yanks have certainly made the most noise with their proclamations that they want to sign every possible free agent, I don’t think they are the most important team this off-season. The Yanks don’t hold the singularly most important key; though they certainly hold the most cash. So who’s the keymaster?
The Angels, unwilling to meet Mark Teixeira’s desire for a 10-year contract, are in discussions with CC Sabathia and could offer him a contract that approaches the $140-million bid extended to him by the New York Yankees.
If the Angels shift their focus and decide that their resources are better poured into Sabathia, who prefers the West Coast as strongly as Teix prefers the East Coast, they will absolutely shift the dynamics of this off-season.
If Sabathia lands in Anaheim (talk about a great rotation!), you can bet that the Yanks would not only shift their focus on Teix, but also go harder after Burnett, Lowe and Sheets. I can hear it now:
- to Burnett: “You want a fifth year? If you agree right now, we’ll go to 5 years, $75 million“
- to Lowe: “You’re 36 but if you agree right now, we’ll go to 4 years, $55 million“
- to Sheets: “You’re coming off an arm injury, but if you agree right now, we’ll go to 3 years, $40 million“
- to Teix: “How’s 7 years, $150 million grab you? Look at that short porch in right. Batting in front of ARod. Manning first base, where your idol, Donnie Baseball, earned his pinstripes.“
I honestly don’t think the Yanks are going to go 4 years on Lowe, or at least I would hope they don’t get that desperate. I would like to see Sheets, though. I would also be shocked to see any team go to 10 years on Teix. Seven or eight, maybe.
For some reason, I am skeptical hearing that about players during the off-season. Over the past decade and a half, it often had some PED-binge undertones. Sometimes it spoke to a player’s previous lack of dedication to his craft (i.e.: his body). As for Robinson Cano, I think it’s more the latter than the former.
He’s got a personal trainer, and he’s probably down to 10 or 11 percent body fat,” [Kevin Long, the hitting coach] said. “This kid is focused, he’s determined. I’ve never seen him like this. His arms are cut, his stomach is cut. He’s doing hitting, throwing, agility work – and these workouts at night, I watched them, and they’re grueling. I told him I was so proud of him.”
We want our favorite players to be 110% dedicated to themselves, the team, their teammates. We expect them to get and stay in a decathalete’s condition. We consider it an affront when they show up like Carlos “Buffalo” Silva. The conditioning has never been an issue for ARod, who maintains his body better than anyone. As for the mental side, Long said:
I can’t even imagine going through a divorce in the middle of a season and trying to compete at the highest level. He was able to do a good job, but there were days last year when you could just tell he had a lot on his mind. he’d be looking through you, and not completely focused like I’d seen him. You try to push that to the side for a couple of hours and do the best you can, but it’s easier said than done.”
At least we know it’s an odd year, and we all know how ARod does in odd years, don’t we? In case you forgot, he’s won the MVP the last three odd years (2003, 2005, 2007)
So where can Long see Cano batting this year:
The way Long figures, Cano could bat directly ahead of Rodriguez, who hits cleanup, or directly behind him. Either way, Long expects both to improve.
Well, thank goodness.
As the exclusive sponsor of the Delta Sky360 Suite, the airline will offer suiteholders an opportunity to sample the Delta brand and customer experience. The Suite encompasses the nine sections of the Main Level directly behind home plate, and its elevated position allows for some of the best views of the field in Yankee Stadium, which is set to open in April 2009 with a capacity of 52,325.
Sample the brand and “customer experience”? Since when has that ever been a GOOD thing for an airline? So the games will start late after 45 minutes of waiting with no heads-up on when it will get started, you will only get half a soda at a time, there will be only two tiny bathrooms for the entire suite, chances are your souveniers and other food purchases will be lost in transit to you and there will be some schlub with his seatback resting cozily in your lap. Best views? Out of plastic one foot oval windows.
/end snark
* Thanks to Pete Toms for the heads up
Remember when Moneyball came out and the (oft-mistaken) premise was how Billy Beane and the A’s were succeeding by valuing things that other teams undervalued or misunderstood? Part of that was due to necessity (smaller market, less financial resources) and the other part was being smart and opportunistic.
Well, first they trade FOR a highly-paid outfielder (Holliday) and now they are reportedly offering Rafael Furcal a four-year deal deal worth $48 million plus $2 million in additional incentives.
Furcal revealed that he has been offered a four-year, $48-million contract by the A’s that includes incentives that could push its value to more than $50 million.
……
Due to concerns about the condition of Furcal’s surgically repaired back, the Dodgers have been hesitant to extend him an offer of four years.
I like Furcal a bunch, but the bad back that sidelined him most of last year would be a huge red flag for me (he’ll be 31 at Opening Day). If I had the reigns of a small/mid-market team, I might not be as aggressive. But kudos to Beane for “going for it”, I guess. Color me skeptical.
UPDATE: From MLBTradeRumors.com:
3:58pm: ESPN’s Enrique Rojas says Furcal traveled to the West Coast today, where he could sign with the Giants or A’s. However, a third team remains involved.
1:36pm: Yahoo’s Tim Brown talked to Furcal’s agent, Paul Kinzer. Kinzer called the El Caribe report “bogus.” Apparently there has been no four-year, $48MM offer from Oakland nor are the Mets interested. And Furcal doesn’t want to move to second base anyway.
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