Today’s news is powered by this St. Patrick’s Day-tinged classic music video …
- The New Yorker takes an architectural look at the new homes of the Mets and Yanks. Here’s a bit on the Yanks:
The new Yankee Stadium, designed by the architectural firm HOK Sport, is effectively an attempt to atone for the brutal 1973 renovation of Ruppert’s building, which removed the historic ambience without adding much in the way of modern amenities. HOK has reincarnated the old stadium, but with clearer sight lines, luxury suites, plenty of places to eat, and, finally, sufficient bathroom facilities.
It has tried hard, very hard, to make us think of its predecessor, with sumptuous architectural effects that have the self-important air of a new courthouse built to look as if it had been there since William Howard Taft was President.
When you first go in, you find yourself in the so-called Great Hall, an enormous space covered with a translucent roof, and from there you move into the concourses and toward the seats. Lest you forget that you are there not only to watch a baseball game but also to soak up the stadium’s noble lineage, there’s a reproduction of the famous scalloped frieze that adorned the old stadium’s upper deck. Outside, there is a façade of limestone, granite, and cast stone, with high, narrow arched openings and entry portals that seem designed for the ceremonial arrival of the Pope, Queen Elizabeth, or at least George Steinbrenner.
- Speaking of the stadium, SportsBusinessJournal.com reports on its financing:
The New York Yankees earlier this month borrowed $105 million from a group of banks led by Goldman Sachs to cover final cost overruns at the new Yankee Stadium, sources said.
The loan brings the total debt on the stadium, which opens next month, to more than $1.3 billion. …
The collateral for the loan is limited to sponsorships, premium seating and ticket sales, categories that are expected to total $330 million this season, said a finance source who’s read the loan prospectus, which cited the figure. …
Another source said that when adding in the Yankees’ fees from the YES Network and other media, and calculating in concessions revenue, total dollars generated by the team should exceed $450 million. …
The amount, however, is offset by interest and amortization, a player payroll topping $200 million, steep luxury and revenue-sharing payments, along with the club’s organizational costs, like stadium operations and minor leagues.
- I’d summarize Joel Sherman’s piece in the Post regarding the Yankees’ rotation, but my eyes are too tired from fighting through that annoying background! (Its like an advertisement, with some news thrown on top of it as an afterthought!)
- The Marlins returned their Rule 5 selection from the Yanks, Zach Kroenke.
- Baseball America, in their weekly “Minor League Transactions”, notes the reassignment of Andrew Brackman:
Brackman, 23, won’t spend too long in Charleston if he pitches well. The 30th overall pick in ’07 signed too late to pitch in his draft year, and then Tommy John surgery knocked him out for all of ’08. The 6-foot-10 righthander returned to show flashes of dominance in Hawaii Winter Baseball, striking out 36 in 34 innings—but also extreme wildness, in the form of 25 walks and 13 wild pitches.
- Good health news as there was no structural damage for either Cano (bursitis) or Marte (inflammation).
- Brian Bruney has his eyes set on being Mariano’s set-up man:
The Yankees have not set their late-game plans in stone — at least not yet — but manager Joe Girardi anticipates that the bridge to the closer will be paved by both the 27-year-old Bruney and left-hander Damaso Marte to begin the year.
Nothing against Marte, of course, but Bruney said that he wants to be that guy.
“I look at it like it’s mine,” Bruney said. “I’ve got to prepare for the eighth inning. Until somebody tells me what I’m throwing, my goal is the eighth inning. That’s what I’m mentally preparing for.”
- $81.2 million …. that’s what the Yanks have been estimated to have generated in postseason revenue in the past decade, according to The Biz of Baseball.
- PeteAbe is offering you the chance to ask Joba Chamberlain a question.
- Tim Lollar turns 53 today. Lollar played his rookie season for the Yanks (1980), before being dealt to the Padres. Never blessed with great control, he nonetheless went 16-9 for the Pods in 1982 (in a season that saw his innings jump from 76 to 237!). He was out of baseball by 1987.
- On this date in 1936, much-heralded rookie Joe DiMaggio makes his debut with the Yankees, collecting four hits, including a triple.
- On this date in 1988, recently acquired slugger Jack Clark tears a calf tendon while hitting a home run for the Yankees in an exhibition game. The oft-injured Clark had signed a free agent contract during the winter. He will miss the start of the season, but will return to hit 27 home runs with 93 RBI.
Very interesting take on the two new parks in The New Yorker.
Oh, and I saw a dude looked JUST like Everlast today on Broadway getting ready for the festivities.
Stay safe, everyone.
If you really must read Sherman, this
http://lab.arc90.com/2009/03/readability.php#more
is an extremely useful free book marklet. It essentially strips all of the background distractions away. I recently discovered it via Lifehacker.
Ah, Jack Clark. Yanks came out of nowhere to sign him, IIRC. From what I remember, Mattingly was quite happy with the acquisition, and declared that the Yanks would win the East... Unfortunately, the pitching didn't hold up its end of the bargain. I seem to remember a lot of injuries as well. I also remember Clark grumbling because he had to play the field. Then grumbling some more after Phelps was acquired. He lasted all of one year in NY, traded to the Padres, where he continued to mash and bash (baseballs and Tony Gwynn).
[3] Ken Phelps! Ken Phelps Ken Phelps Ken Phelps!
/obligatory
[4]
Jay Buhner .... sigh.
[4]
http://tinyurl.com/d7utn4
So the Yankees have generated AJ Burnett in post season revenue. That's pretty damn impressive.
[1] It was probably Everlast.
[7]
LOL .... well done Matt!
It's interesting that the original Yankee Stadium was not an urban design but a free flowing giant in what was then an open space. It doesn't really follow that the new New Yankee Stadium would have retro elements as it's surroundings are now entirely urban.
And this detail from The New Yorker, "The new stadium feels more tightly woven into the fabric of the city than the old one did. It will feel even more so once a Metro-North station opens there, later this year, and once the city finally makes good on its obligation to replace the Macombs Dam Park facilities lost in construction of the new stadium with parkland on and around the site of the previous one." doesn't sound accurate to me. Macombs Dam Park is being replaced with a parking garage with a playlot on the roof, hardly "parkland".
Whatever you think of the new ballpark from an aesthetic perspective, the debate should be is 'new Stadium + parking garage' better than 'old Stadium + parkland' because that's the actual change. To compare the two stadiums in isolation is an academic exercise, an idea as false as the lifeless white foam models that architects use in place of existing city life so as not to distract from their 'vision'.
Worse than the NY Post's obnoxious background is the blaring audio you're forced to listen to. Could they at least warn you about muting your speakers?
Speaking of the Post, the contemptible George King has a pretty sexist comment today:
As if King or any "reporter" would have said that about any male.
[11] It is George King, pretty much the worst of the worst...
[11] The comment is asinine, unfortunately typical of the sort of strained political allusions that find themselves in many sports editorials in recent recent years.
But--and I know I am opening a can of worms--how exactly is this comment sexist? He claims--boorishly and irrelevantly--that Hilary Clinton doesn't dress sharply and is none too easy on the eyes. The same could be said of Bud Selig. Those are not gender specific criticisms.
i guess the idea of defined bullpen roles is pretty ingrained in players too with bruney's comment about preparing himself fot the 8th inning.
[13] as rich wrote after the quote from king, " As if King or any “reporter” would have said that about any male." - the comment itself is probably not really sexist - just that remarks about dress and appearance are rarely made about men in the news and are somewhat frequently made about women in the news.
though, i do think that is something changing a bit - i don't want to just attribute it to blogs, but i have seen some pretty harsh attacks on a few males' physical apperance on some blogs.
[13] Maybe I'm wrong, but not choosing to say one thing over saying something that can easily be construed a certain way or misconstrued as you may argue doesn't preclude it from being unimaginative, stupid and even racist/sexist; two of the top radioactive words of our generation. Take what Lenny Dykstra was accused of saying. From what I gather from what the accuser says, Dykstra had an opportunity to either comport himself to respectability or to further define himself as despicable, and he chose the latter.
You can argue until the cows come home (from wherever that may be), but the majority of people are now seeing statements like these as idiotic and disingenuous, and yes racist and/or sexist, because people are now acknowledging the power behind those kind of statements. Yes, they do effect people in ways one may not see firsthand or thought of, until sometime later when that same energy comes back toward themselves (two hard jabs to the shoulder) hertz donut?
Frankly in my opinion, whoever says stuff like that deserves the contempt that's heaped upon them, but hey, I don't always think before opening my mouth either, so I set phasers on "ignore" >;)
[14] 'intent"... that's the word I was driving at, and it's soooo hard to determine its veracity on the internet. He may have been just joshing, but to someone (a lot of someones now) who has faced the pointy end or grabbed the dirty end of the stick, it's not funny. And, before I'm accused of blowing things out of proportion or comparing issues that don't equate, what Dykstra said in my mind is far more idiotic and potentially damaging to himself than what King said. At least King is principled in what he does; you never know what Dykstra will say next.
I don't think King is necessarily denigrating Clinton's looks nor fashion sense, just as he's not denigrating Chamberlain's off-speed stuff. He's saying those things are beside the point as the person is known for and succeeds because of other things.
I'm not advocating his position, I'm just saying. And it probably is sexist anyway, as bringing up looks and fashion sense doesn't generally happen with men. Then again I'm sure there are things he could say about men he wouldn't about women so who knows.
For those it may concern, the individual game pre-sale for season ticket full and partial plan holders has been pushed back a week. Next Thursday (3/26) for the 81 and 41 gamers, Friday (3/27) for the partials. Meanwhile I am yet to hear a thing on my 2007 seniority Saturday plan.
tight ship Lonn is running over there.
[18] and that has been shot down, it is back to being this Thursday and Friday.
my "tight ship" comment stands however
[19] Shame on you, that's sailingvesselism... just like twothingsism! >;)