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J-Boogie, last night, was very kind to provide a reminder on this idea.

For those who missed it, click here to see my suggestion made back on March 12th.

Look at it this way: What “bad” can come from everyone wearing their Yankees colors on April 11th? So, why not try it?

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At this moment, there’s a 42% chance of rain, at game-time, for the Yankees ’09 opener against the Orioles. Knowing this, I wonder if General Joe will once again try the “Save-A-Starter” trick that he attempted with Ian Kennedy and Brian Bruney during Game 9 of last season?

It would be a shame to lose CC Sabathia’s first start due to him starting in bad weather and then having to come out, or have the game called, because of rain. In any event, that’s today’s wild thought.

What do you think – should Girardi try it again, today, given the weather forecast?

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When was the last time the Yankees opened a season at Oriole Park at Camden Yards? It was 2002. Click here to see the boxscore from that game. Tony Batista’s slam did in the Rocket that day.

Jay Tessmer was on the Yankees Opening Day roster in 2002? That was thanks to an injury to Ramiro Mendoza. And, one week later, Tessmer was sent to Triple-A Columbus when Mendoza came off the disabled list.

It somewhat like Ramiro Pena making this Yankees Opening Day roster – thanks to the A-Rod injury.

I wonder how many guys have made Yankees Opening Day rosters, thanks to some good luck for them and bad luck for someone else, and then faded away into the land of the forgotten?

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Via the L.A. Times -

Here sits the great baseball sage Jose Canseco, dressed in a black hat and a black motorcycle jacket, slumped in a folding chair in a small room just off the main stage at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.

It is Friday night and he is minutes from giving a talk about his life in baseball: the rise and fall, the steroids, his knowledge of who injected what and his speculation about current players — even, it turns out, Manny Ramirez.

What about Alex Rodriguez, the audience wants to know? Canseco calls the Yankee third baseman a Canseco copycat, from the steroids to the dalliance with Madonna. He scoffs at the notion Rodriguez is telling the whole truth about his drug use.

What about Ken Griffey? Canseco says Griffey has always been clean, but offers a caveat: nobody can be sure about anyone anymore.

What about Manny Ramirez? someone asks.

Canseco laughs and offers his theory. A-Rod was exposed only when his name was leaked from a list of 104 major leaguers who in a 2003 test showed up postive for steroids. Because the test was anonymous, those names were never to be made public. But in Canseco’s mind, baseball’s power-brokers know who is on it: players he is sure will be seen as toxic if the truth comes out.

He says this, despite the fact that A-Rod isn’t being treated as toxic, nor are other players caught up in the steroid scandal but who publicly apologized, including Miguel Tejada, the starting shortstop for the Houston Astros, and Andy Pettitte, a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees.

Why didn’t Ramirez get a long-term deal? Canseco asks. Why were owners gun-shy about signing arguably the game’s best hitter?

Never mind that Ramirez was asking for a mega-deal at age 36. Or that he was negotiating in a sickly economy, while weighed down by the heavy baggage of a surly reputation. Canseco will have none of it. To Canseco, the drawn-out negotiation, the lack of a long-term deal, the lack of interest, all raise red flags and so tells the Bovard crowd that Manny Ramirez’s “name is most likely, 90%,” on the list.

The first “Wow!” on this one: What if it’s true?

The second “Wow!” on this one: What if it’s true, and the Yankees had signed Manny this off-season? Could you imagine the mess of having A-Rod and Ramirez on the team, with PED scarlet letters branded on their chests? What a mess that would have been…

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Via Tom Singer -

Alex Rodriguez is making such a quick recovery from his March 9 hip surgery that he could rejoin the New York Yankees well ahead of the original May 15 target date.

Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, who speaks daily with the third baseman who is rehabilitating in Colorado, told the New York Post that A-Rod has begun to take batting practice and is “feeling 70 percent.”

The newspaper also cited an unnamed team official as speculating that Rodriguez could be back on the field by late April.

Rodriguez is scheduled to change his training base to Tampa, Fla., on April 13, which would give Yankees brass a perfect opportunity to evaluate his progress. The Yankees will visit the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series beginning on the same day.

Said general manager Brian Cashman: “Everything is going well. He’s working extremely hard. Everything is going as planned.”

Long reported that Rodriguez is also lifting weights, riding a stationary bike, working out in a pool and doing range-of-motion drills.

Late April? Well, the Yankees start an eight-game homestand on April 30th where they will go on to play the Angels, Red Sox and Rays. So, if Alex has something to provide, that would be a great time to start bringing it. But, I’ll believe it when I see it. A lot can happen between now and next week.

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Having enjoyed last year’s edition, I was looking forward to checking out “The Bill James Gold Mine 2009.” And, when my copy arrived three weeks ago, I quickly found out that this year’s edition met all my expectations – and then some.

“The Bill James Gold Mine 2009” provides all the great statistical profiles and snapshots type stuff that could be found in the 2008 version. And, just getting that fun and informative statistical analysis on every big league team from Bill James alone makes this a great read for the thinking baseball fan.

However, as was the case last season, James truly hits a homerun with the essays that one can find in “The Bill James Gold Mine 2009.” Among my favorites were:

• “Gems” – here James details a new stat for starting pitchers, gems, where the pitcher has a Game Score of 65+ or 6+ shutout innings in a game.
• “Wipeout” – where James studies pitchers who have gone from a “Cy Young Award” type season to bombing out the next year.
• “Gold Glove Sluggers” – where James looks at the question of whether or not big name/offensive players win Gold Gloves they don’t deserve.
• “Pitch Load” – which is a James study on the suggestion that strikeout pitchers throw more pitches than non-strikeout pitchers.
• “Catcher Pride Points” – a very detailed look at all the things a catcher can do in his career in which he would take pride (such as catching a no-hitter, working with a rookie pitcher who has a good season, playing in an All-Star game, etc.) and then determining which catcher had the most career pride points.
• “Triple Crowns” – where James looks at the greatest and weakest triple crown seasons in baseball history.
• “What I Have Learned About Fly Balls And Such” – an excellent study on what truly makes batters different from each other.
• “U Scores” – where James shows us which batters in baseball history have posted some “unusual” numbers in their career (like Bonds, McGwire and Sosa).

Also, there’s a fun little entry on “The Ten Commandments of Sabermetrics” which I’m sure will be referenced for years to come.

In summary, “The Bill James Gold Mine 2009” is one of those baseball books that’s so much fun, and enlightening, that you’ll want to re-read it, again, and again. And, with the baseball season starting today, it’s the perfect primer to kick-start your season. I highly recommend “The Bill James Gold Mine 2009.”

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Someone who uses a laptop PC asked me “Where are all the pictures that you took at Yankee Stadium yesterday?” And, it was just then that I realized that I had saved them out to the blog in a width that would only be correctly supported by a viewer with a wide-screen monitor. And, if you had an older monitor or a laptop PC, you wouldn’t see the photos when you clicked on “Read the rest of this entry »” – because the photos would be forced down to the bottom of the blog, beyond the bottom of the left and right sidebar sections. And, unless you knew to scroll all the way down on the page, you would have missed the pictures.

Sorry about that! I have resized the pictures and it’s been corrected. Everyone should be able to see the photos – all 26 of them from Saturday – as I intended them to appear here.

If you did not see the pictures, because of this issue, you can check them out now:

Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part I

Personal Review Of The New Yankee Stadium – Part II

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I see more and more “experts” gushing over the Boston Red Sox starting rotation of Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka Tim Wakefield, and Brad Penny – with John Smoltz, Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden in reserve.

I don’t get it.

Jon Lester is the real deal, an ace. And, I wish the Yankees had him – because he’s that good.

Josh Beckett? Which Beckett will show up for Boston this season? The one who stunk in 2006, the one who was great in 2007, or the one who was slightly better than average in 2008? Plus, in the last six seasons, how many times has Josh made more than 30 starts in a season? Just once. Face it, with Beckett, you don’t have a lock for a great season.

Daisuke Matsuzaka? Hey, he was the luckiest pitcher in baseball last season – stranding 80.6% of the runners that reached base against him. Let’s see him to that again this year.

Tim Wakefield is 42-years old, throws a knuckleball, and has not had a very good season since 2003. Sure, he’ll probably get you 30 starts and 190 innings. But, they’ll be league average innings, at best.

Brad Penny, in his career to date, has been just about a league average pitcher – while throwing most of his games in N.L. pitcher friendly parks in Florida and Los Angeles. He’s fat and has questionable work habits. Good luck with that in Boston, Brad.

John Smoltz is 42-years old and coming off a serious injury. Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden are rookies who have not demonstrated sustained success at the big league level.

When I look at Boston’s starting rotation, I see Jon Lester and a house of cards…

Yeah, maybe the Red Sox can get 75-80 wins from this group? Then again, maybe they’ll get just 60 wins from this starting staff? It can easily go one way or the other…and anyone who thinks Boston is a lock to win it all this season, because of their starting rotation, has their head in the sand. Then again, yeah, I know…I’m a Yankees fan…and what else would you expect a Yankees fan to say about the Red Sox’ pitchers?

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Yesterday, I reviewed the “game watching” experience at the new Yankee Stadium. (In case you’ve stumbled across this somehow and missed “Part I” on this feature, click here to see it.) Today, I’ll share thoughts, photos, etc., on some other stuff about the Yankees new ballpark – that fall outside the field of play.

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As mentioned earlier this evening, today I went to see the Yankees host the Cubs in the second game ever played at the new Yankee Stadium. (Yeah, both contests were exhibition games – but, it was still baseball and it was in the new ballpark.) What follows are some thoughts and pictures from the day…

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Yup, that’s me, at you know where today. Check back later this evening for the story of my trip to the new Yankee Stadium this afternoon – with more pictures to boot!

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In its last days, many referred to the recently decommissioned Yankee Stadium as “Baseball’s Cathedral.” And, over the last few days, I keep hearing the word “palace” being used when some are referring to the “new” Yankee Stadium.

So, does this mean that this Yankee Stadium should be considered “The Palace of the National Pastime” (or “The National Pastime’s Palace”)?

Well, if the handle should ever stick, remember that you heard it here first…

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I watched the first hour of this contest and then took a break from eight until nine to watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (I dunno know who saw it coming less, me or Derek Reese?) I did rejoin the game at nine – and stayed with it until the end. So, all told, I saw two of the three hours this game was on YES tonight.

Don’t ask me why I know this, because I’m not sure…but…I want to say that there’s a new Wolverine movie coming out on May 1st.

O.K., some thoughts about the new Stadium.

I liked the way the Stadium lights looked – with the frieze and all. But, it does look a little strange on some shots, where you see the section behind home plate with no lights…providing a break in the string of lights. It sort of looks like a seven-year old missing some of their front teeth. Yeah, I know you can’t have lights back there – because of the fielders. I’m just saying it looks strange…a tad. In any event, I’m not digging the string of lights around the bottom of the upper-deck which are animated and rotating with ads, etc. Kind of garish, if you ask me.

Also, on the topic of things that seemed strange…left field looked short to me. Again, I know it’s the same dimensions as the old field. But, it just looked shorter to me watching Damon and Swisher track balls. Maybe it’s the different bleachers or the wall throwing me off? Actually, with the scoreboard on the wall, when I watch the left fielder play in this new Yankee Stadium it reminds me of watching left fielders in the old Tiger Stadium.

Speaking of short…with the 20 feet that they took away behind home plate, the “NY” on the field looks like it was jammed in there. That’s also something that my eyes will have to get used to seeing from the center field camera angle.

How about Monument Park? That also looks like they jammed it in there were they could…behind the fence in center. It used to be nice, where it was in the old park, because it could easily be seen on some camera angles. Now, it’s like the camera has to go looking for it…and if you didn’t know it was there, you probably wouldn’t even realize it from watching a game on TV.

Man, I know this is sounding like a gripe session. However, I don’t mean it to be that way. I’m merely stating things that stuck with me watching parts of this game.

The infield looked to play fast. But, that’s something that can be fixed – allowing the grass to grow and/or playing with the dirt. Seeing Jeter out there, they better fix it – and soon.

Lastly, how about all those empty field level seats visible during the game? Was it the rain? Was it just a matter that those fans decided to walk around the park, or eat in one of the restaurants, rather than watch the game? Or, was it that no one was willing to buy those seats? Probably some combination of the three…but worth checking out tomorrow and on Opening Day too.

I’ll be at the game tomorrow. I’m truly looking forward to it – and it will be interesting to see if anything I noticed on TV this evening will seem different being there in person.

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Buck Wolf has a nice feature up today on Yankee Stadium funny-man/beer-vendor Steve Lazarus. Click here to check it out.

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Here’s the 24-hour weather forecast for the Bronx, as of 3 pm ET, in terms of the wet stuff:

That 6 pm to 9 pm period doesn’t look good. Good thing there’s a lot of places to hang out in the new Stadium.

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New Stadium or not, I’m outta here. You’re on your own White…

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Worried about the rain today? Don’t fret it. I’m sure the baseball gods are lobbying with the weather gods right now – explaining that it’s a big night in New York City where the two local pro-teams and their fans are looking to kick the tires on their new ballparks. And, in the end, the weather dudes will cut the baseball gang some slack and clear the skies by game-time. In the interim, via SNY’s Geico SportsNite yesterday, here’s some video to enjoy from what was going down at the new Yankee Stadium yesterday:

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Please consider taking the following poll:

Thanks in advance. And, please feel free to add comments on your opinion in the comments section below.

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Prince Hal wanted to share a moment with Sweet Lou. Via the Chicago Tribune -

The Cubs typically end their spring schedule with a short trip to Las Vegas for a couple of exhibitions, but the lure of playing the Yankees in the first game of the $1.5 billion stadium was too much for Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney to pass up.

It wasn’t a move made for financial reasons, although the Cubs will do fine with their share of the revenues for two sold-out games. In truth, the Cubs consider themselves peers of the Yankees when it comes to a national following, despite the fact they are polar opposites when it comes to winning championships.

The Yankees could have chosen any team to be their first opponent, but Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner wanted Piniella to be part of the opening festivities, so the Cubs were his first choice.

Steinbrenner has told close friends he plans on hiring him as a consultant when Piniella’s managerial contract with the Cubs runs out after the 2010 season.

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I’ve seen better. But, the one question to the beer/peanut vendor makes this one worthwhile…

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You have to check out Bill Chuck’s “100 random things about the Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees.” My fav:

Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner was successful on 83 percent of his steal attempts in the minors. He has been successful in 13 out of 14 major-league attempts.

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The crew, yesterday on SNY’s WheelHouse, discuss the question. Here’s the video:

Last season, Sabathia faced 1,023 batters in 253 innings pitched. That is sorta/kinda crazy. For what it’s worth, Roy Halladay did something like that in 2003 (1,071 BF in 266 IP) and then he was not able to make more than 21 starts in either of his next two seasons…due to a bad right shoulder and an injury to his left leg. However, it’s significant to note that the leg injury was a fluke thing caused by a batted ball.

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My man Gary shares what it was like to see the new Yankee Stadium today:

Wow! Where to start? How about the entrance?

I entered the Stadium at Gate 6 just off of 161st St. into an area with a wide aisle and tall ceilings. The ceilings appear to be as tall as the stadium itself. Along the outside wall of this area are large pictures of Yankee greats in action and large windows that let plenty of sunshine in. On the inside wall are concessions of all kinds (including a Hard Rock Cafe).

On the 100 level (former field level) the concession stands are voluminous and quite varied. Again, pictures of Yankee greats adorn the walls. From the concession stands to the seats is completely open. No more walls separate you from the action on the field.

On the 200 level, I went to visit our season ticket seats. I’m happy to say that only a very little of the right field corner is out of our view. Each (and every) seat in the stadium now comes equipped with a cup holder. Rest rooms were easy to find and quite large (this goes for every level I visited including the bleachers).

I skipped the 250 level, but the 300 level (former upper deck) was split into two levels. I enjoyed the view of the whole ball park from there (Section 1 at the old Stadium). I’ve always maintained that the Section 1 was the best seat in the old Yankee Stadium and I can honestly say I feel that way about the new one too. Sitting there I was amazed to see just how much the new stadium resembles the old. Except for the “batter’s eye” I thought I was sitting in the old Yankee Stadium.

Left and right field bleachers have a lot more concession stands and rest rooms available. One big drawback about these seats is that a building (a restaurant maybe) whose facade makes up the new batter’s eye juts out in such a way so that many bleacher creatures will now find themselves sitting in obstructed view seats. The extreme right of the right field bleachers and the extreme left of the left field bleachers suffer from this problem. The Yankees have installed flat screen TVs on those walls but anyone sitting at the very end of the aisle is going to have a difficult time seeing the field or the screen.

All in all, I think the Yankees have done a great job in bringing a world class ball yard to the Bronx.

Thanks Gary!

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Via the AP -

Sitting in new Yankee Stadium on the first day fans came to the $1.5 billion ballpark, general partner Hal Steinbrenner admitted some tickets might be overpriced, given the recession.

The Yankees set prices for premium Legends Suites seats 13 months ago and sold them for $500 to $2,500 as part of season-ticket packages. According to the team’s Web site, some of those seats remain available for individual games, when the prices go up to $2,625.

“I think if anybody in any business had known where this economy was going to go, they would have done things differently,” Steinbrenner said Thursday. “Look, there’s no doubt small amounts of our tickets might be overpriced.

“You know, we’re continuing to look into that,” he said. “But the bottom line is, the vast majority of them, it seems like they’re right on because we’ve sold 35,000 full-season equivalents, and a lot of the tickets have, you know, sold quite well. And, well, despite what’s out there all the time about the time … there’s thousands of very affordable seating. And, you know, the public is excited, as excited as we are, I think.”

The Team Marketing Report released its annual survey Thursday and said the average price of a Yankees home ticket was a major league-high $72.97, a 76.3 percent increase from last year’s $41.40.

The Boston Red Sox, who had been first for 13 consecutive years, were next at $50.24 following a 0.3 percent rise. The Cubs were third at $47.75 after a 10 percent hike, followed by the New York Mets, who rose 8.6 percent to $36.99 for their first season at Citi Field.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had a major league-low average for the third consecutive year, at $14.31, with the Pittsburgh Pirates at $15.39, Atlanta Braves at $17.05 and AL champion Tampa Bay Rays at $18.35.

The major league average of $26.64 was up 5 percent from $25.37, less than half last year’s 10.1 percent hike.

Among premium seats, the Yankees topped the majors at $510.08, followed by the Cubs ($239.43), Los Angeles Angels ($222.38), Washington Nationals ($192.89), Red Sox ($162.82) and Mets ($149.54). The Colorado Rockies were the major league low at $36.50, with the Milwaukee Brewers at $38.65.

Steinbrenner pointed out that Yankee Stadium also has inexpensive seats ranging to as little as $5 for partial-view bleachers.

“We understand that a lot of our fans are struggling. I mean, this is the worst recession in a most of our lifetimes,” he said. “But at the same time I think baseball has always been an escape for people, you know? And I think what we’re going to provide here is an unbelievable experience for thousands and thousands of our fans that, despite the troubles they’re going through right now, maybe they’ll be able to get away for two or three hours, get their minds off things. And we’re going to make that experience, you know, tremendous.”

…Steinbrenner pointed out that Yankee Stadium also has inexpensive seats ranging to as little as $5 for partial-view bleachers…

Yikes. That’s like Brian Cashman pointing out that Kei Igawa has never been on the D.L. during his Yankees career…

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Frankie the Cat was recently released by the Texas Rangers. He’s always been an effective batter against right-handed pitching. And, he’s a local boy. It’s a shame that he hasn’t played third base in the last seven years. If he could manage to be semi-decent with the glove at the hot corner, Frank would have been an excellent pick-up to fill the A-Rod gap (for the Yankees at the start of this season). And, then, New York could have used Cody Ransom to be a defensive replacement and a starter at third against left-handed pitching.

But, it’s just too much to expect Catalanotto, whose glove work was never good – no matter where he played, to be able to man third base now, all things considered. Maybe, if no one picks him up, Frank would be willing to take a Triple-A deal with the Yankees? But, even if they played him at third in Scranton, by the time he worked himself into being serviceable there – if that’s even possible – Alex Rodriguez should be back at work.

Oh, well, no use trying to shove a square peg into a round hole. Shame, I always liked the way Catalanotto swung the bat – and it would have been fun to see what he could do, as a Yankee, playing in the Bronx.

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