The Problem with the "New" Yankee Stadium

The "new" Yankee Stadium is a monstrosity.

The $1.3 billion project - built during the most crushing recession in recent memory, mind you - is a gigantic slap in the face to not only Yankees fans and New York taxpayers, but to baseball fans in general.

The most historic baseball sanctuary has been replaced by a generic, stiff, lifeless new baseball stadium.

It's hard to predict how the "new" Yankee Stadium will compare to the old one, but I'm not exactly going out on a limb by predicting it will come nowhere close to The House That Ruth Built.

If you think about it, Major League Baseball needs the Yankees to do well. Not only that, the MLB needs {gulp} Yankees fans. It's just like how the NBA needs the Celtics and Lakers to do well and how the NFL needs the Patriots and the Cowboys to do well. Their respective fans take the whole game to whole 'nother level. Their devotion, their pride, their encyclopedic knowledge of the game and quite frankly, their lunacy elevates any game involving their team to an unmatched level.

Rivaled only by Red Sox fans, Yankees fans are the most ignorant, big-headed, bias fans in all of sports, but you gotta give it to them - they know their history. They may not be the most humble fans in the world but their unrelenting Yankees pride speaks for itself. I never went to the old Yankee Stadium, but I can only imagine it was the mecca of crazed fandom.

So what made it that way?

Well, the design of the old Yankee Stadium allowed the fans to make a noticeable difference in any home game. Yankees fans had the uncanny ability to push their team to a We're Not Losing This Game mentality. It was vastly different from McAfee Coliseum (Oakland A's) and Dolphin Stadium (Florida Marlins) which both double as football stadiums. The problem with these fields is that the make of the stadium separates the fans from the field which in turn drowns out their would-be raucous and motivating cheers. (I say "would-be" because the A's and the Marlins haven't mattered in years.)

Now, the "new" Yankee Stadium falls victim to the same disease.

Though the design of the "new" stadium may not mirror the designs of McAfee Coliseum or Dolphin Stadium, I'm watching the Angels/Yankees game right now and there's no excitement in the park whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the 10 or so rows surrounding the field look like a graveyard site. 

What's head-scratching is they look like the plushest, comfiest, most luxurious seats in the whole damn stadium, yet they're not remotely full. Why?

Simple. {clearing my throat} BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING FOR $500-2,500 A POP!!! Compare that to the $125 and $128 price-tag that comes with the same seats at Fenway Park and Angels Stadium, respectively, and you're talking about an exponential difference. I mean, those Red Sox and Angels tickets are some pricey tickets in and of themselves, but they seem like pocket change tickets compared to the seats at the "new" Yankee Stadium.

This week in fact, Hank Steinbrenner needed to lower the prices of those same seats so the stadium would appear more full in television broadcasts. That would've NEVER happened in the old Yankee Stadium, even if we are in the worst economic depression in years. It just wouldn't have happened.

On the field, the old Yankee Stadium wasn't exactly AT&T Park or Petco Park, but it wasn't necessarily Coors Field either. Now, it's a mix of Coors Field and Little League Volunteer Stadium (where the Little League World Series is played). Put it this way, if the new Yankee Stadium had hosted the 2008 Home Run Derby, we'd still be watching Josh Hamilton hit jacks into the New York City skyline. If we're going to put an asterisk next to all the questionable stats accumulated during the Steroid Era, we're going to need to put an asterisk next to all stats accumulated in the "new" Yankee Stadium.

I mean, the measurements to Right Field and Left Field are 314' and 318' respectively!!! The aforementioned Little League Volunteer Stadium's measurements are 225' to both fields - 12 and 13 year olds play on that field!!!

So what can we do to fix this monstrosity known as the "new" Yankee Stadium? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The diehard Yankees fans have been priced out by corporate sponsors and CEOs which has simultaneously sucked all the life out of the venue. Will we ever see another 96', 98', 99' or 2000 World Series-like atmosphere in the "new" Yankee Stadium, I doubt it. 

Sure, the park will feature millions of high-scoring, mildly entertaining, home-run derby like games, (shoot, in two weeks the park has already seen a 22-4 shellacking by the Indians and a 11-0 victory over the Tigers) but will we be talking about the mystique of the "new" Yankee Stadium years from now like we do for The House That Ruth Built?

I say no, and that's the real monstrosity.

Sayonara Lenten Season

The celebration of Easter signifies the end of the 40 day/40 night Lenten season. Indulge. The stuff you gave up for Lent, by all means start doing again. I gave up candy, and you bet your bottom dollar I'm going out later today and nabbing the first Skittles/Starburst/Snickers I see.

I'm weak, I know.

But hey, like I wrote at the beginning of the Lenten season (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/note.php?note_id=65107058351), this year - unlike any other - I decided to write more frequently. And I did just that. With that goal in mind I started to write about once a week. With my new found dedication I was putting out little opinion pieces left and right. Around the third week of Lent I had my first article published in the Daily Titan.

I had been published.

I've always felt a sense of pride knowing other people are reading my work. And I've always felt my articles are better than anything else out there. Call it cockiness, arrogance, bigheadedness (I just made that word up), any word you can imagine that describe the self-centered nature that comes with my opinion regarding my published works. However, make sure you remember that in a cut-throat business where every possible reader is short on time and constantly moving, your writing has to garner more attention than the next guy's or else you're doomed to an afterthought.

So call it confidence.

Now, I've been published five straight weeks (six articles). We got about five weeks left of school, so by the end of the semester I should have a total of about 10-11 articles over the span of half a semester. And I could write more.

I love what I do. And thank you Lenten season for pushing me to improve my craft. I owe you one.

A few snippets from Easter Sunday:

-- At my family party I was talking to a guy about golf. I didn't know the guy from Adam but he seemed pretty chill. (Side note: We started talking about golf after he saw me take a few air swings by the Badminton net. Embarrassing, yeah). He told me that he has troubles hitting his irons consistently which was pretty intriguing considering my irons are as far from consistent as can be. He said he'll hit his 6-iron about 150 yards one shot, 100 yards the next, then like 50 yards the hit after that. It was kind of relieving in a way. It assured me that living life with a 30 handicap may not be so bad after all. The bummer: he's only been playing for a couple months. I've been playing for a couple years. Sooo scratch that first thought.

-- Angel Cabrera became the first Argentine to win the coveted Green Jacket. I didn't follow The Masters this year a whole lot. Watched a little bit on Thursday, some highlights on Saturday, and a little bit today. And by 'a little bit today' I mean when Tiger was making his charge. It's really true what they say about golf. It's the only sport where everyone knows who the MVP is gonna be. If Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan have won 5 MVP's respectively, Tiger Woods has won 13 (counting all the years he's been on the PGA Tour) and counting.

Golf is irrelevant unless Tiger's playing. And by 'playing' I mean winning. One of the top ten sounds in all of sports is the instinctive, sometimes drunken "GET IN THE HOLE!" exclamation after a Tiger Woods tee shot. There's nothing like it. You just can't script it. It's right up there with the 7th Inning Stretch and the sound of a good knife-edge chop.

-- Angles win 5-4, taking two out of three from the Red Sox. Coincidently the only game they lost this series we went to. We're 0-2 on the season. Not a good sign. Good thing Arte Moreno signed Bobby Abreu with the change in his pocket or else who knows how many wins we'll have. Angels 3-3. Next up, Seattle.

The Comeback

I've been on a long hiatus but never worry, I'm like Tiger coming back after his knee surgery and this is my Bay Hill ...

A day removed from quite possibly the most touching, inspirational, emotional game in Angels baseball history, my family and I visited the ballpark to see the Angels take on Red Sox nation in game 2 of a three-game set.

And boy did the Nation come out in support.

There are three teams we Angels fans know are going to bring a wave of opposing fans and enemy colors: the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees. It's these games that test true Angels pride. Sure, Angels fans can cheer on the Halos when the Royals or Twins are in town, but when the Bronx Bombers come to Anaheim, the true Angels fans come out.

It didn't used to be like that though. Years ago, Boston fans would outnumber Halo fans nearly 2 or even 3 to 1 during games played in Anaheim, but ever since the Halos won the World Series in 2002, the numbers have reversed substantially.

The one thing you can't knock about the Red Sox fans is that they travel well. I'd say it was about 70-30 in regards to Angels/Red Sox fans, and why not? This rivalry goes back to 2004 when Boston ousted the 92 win AL West champs in the ALDS in three games en route to their first World Series in 85 years. They again eliminated the Angels in the 2007 ALDS (three games) and again in the 2008 ALDS (four games).

The ironic thing about this postseason trend is the fact the Angels have owned the Red Sox recently in the regular season, winning nine straight until today's 5-4 loss.

With the season in full swing and 157 more games on the schedule, the Angels look a little down from last year's 100-win squad. Minus Mark Teixiera (signed with the Yankees) and aces John Lackey and Ervin Santana (Disabled List), the Halos are turning to young prospects and seasoned veterans to carry the load. And someone called Shane Loux.

Stay tuned.

A few little things about the game today:

-- I wrote a piece on proper fan etiquette for Thursday's Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton's daily publication: link here http://www.dailytitan.com/opinion/proper-fan-etiquette-this-season-1.1650736 ) and after going to today's game I realized I forgot one few thing.

5. When a beach ball is hit to you, grab it, hold it up, and proceed to hit it over your left or right shoulder. DO NOT HIT IT IN FRONT OF YOU! Hit the person behind right in the kisser for all I care, just don't make the mistake of hitting it forward. I saw this happen three times in the span of a minute at today's game. Three beach balls, gone in the blink of an eye. The commonality between the three? All of them were hit forward, consequently knocking them over the railing of the upper section of the stadium. There's no easier way to get fans to turn on you than by smacking a beach ball over the edge. You'll hear more boo's than Amateur Night at the Apollo. Believe me, I've seen it.

(A fascinating continuation of number 4: Three Red Sox fans were sitting behind us. Now, normally this isn't a problem. We've had Yankees fans behind us, Dodgers fans, you name it. We've heard our fair share of stories, but these fans took the cake. By the second inning I practically knew one of the guys' life story. He went to South Carolina for Grad School. Came back to the University of San Diego to get his MBA. He met his girlfriend the day he quit his job. He once had season tickets for the Padres - according to him, "something he'll never do again." And finally, his dad was from the Boston area. An interesting little twist: HE WASN'T EVEN TALKING TO HIS GIRLFRIEND ABOUT THIS! And mind you, THIS IS ALL BEFORE THE SECOND INNING! SOMEBODY STOP ME I CAN'T STOP USING ALL CAPS! Like I say, there's no problem with talking during a ballgame, but please, please, leave the personal stories for the personal and private settings - and Match.com.)

-- If I were a Major League closer, I'd come out of the bullpen exactly like Triple H, down to the last mouthful of water (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q3EER96TDs&feature=related). The funny thing is I'd do it whether I was at home or on the road.

-- Is there an easier way to tell Mike Scoscia is throwing in the towel than his "trailing" bullpen? I mean, when the Angels are tied or leading it's Jose Arrendondo or Scot Shields, period. When they're trailing (by one - surprisngly - or more), it's a littany of other rookies, has beens, and never was' (or is it 'never weres'?). Anyways, today we're down by one, top of the 9th, trying to beat the Red Sox for the 10th time in a row (in the regular season anyway) and out trots Justin Speier from the bullpen! JUSTIN SPEIER! Let's say in The Sandlot, when the kids are playing the team with the really nice uniforms, the game got kinda close (considering it didn't because the Sandlot kids were hitting jacks left and right). Let's say instead of bringing Benny in to close it out, they decided to throw Smalls out there for an inning or so. Smalls conitues to get rocked and inevitably they lose the game because of his inability to move the ball off the tee. Justin Speier would be the Smalls of the Angels. Needless to say, the first batter he faced, Jason Bay, hit a home run that hasn't landed yet. Or course, we lost by one. Imagine that.

Man, that felt good. Felt like I just hit a 20-foot putt to win Arnie's Tournament.