my analysis after 2 days at new Yankee Stadium
by BeltwayCubsFan on Apr 5, 2009 7:33 PM CDT
46 comments
After making the trek up for D.C. to catch the two games at new Yankee stadium here are a few observations --
1) Inside, the new stadium is being rightfully slammed by NY media critics. It has all the aesthetic charm of new Comiskey, mixed with some metallic Euro bar. There is nothing distinctive and I have no idea what they spent $1.5 billion on (my guess is the majority was spent on the sick jumbotron which is the biggest and sharpest picture I've ever seen).
2) The food choices were awful and pedestrian. And by new NY law, all calorie counts are listed on the concession stand boards by all items. After reading I'll reconsider prior belief that hot pretzel was more health conscious way to go than a hot dog.
3) To be fair, the sight-lines are excellent. We did not have great seats by traditional standards but the view was great. And the staff had things pretty well organized for an opening weekend and getting in and getting food, etc. was very smooth (of course this was helped by frigid temperatures that had attendance maybe 60% Friday night and 40% full Saturday afternoon).
And the game...
1) On Saturday the scoreboard operator updating balls/strikes/outs was terrible. It even cost the Cubs an out when Derek Lee was caught running after a fly ball because the board said 2 outs until the last second when it was changed, correctly, to one out.
2) Fukudome looked clueless - at the plate, in the field (terrible error Saturday) and it is hard to imagine that he will turn things around. It looks like we are getting into Corey Patterson pyschological meltdown time at this point. He looks like he is just zoning out (and certainly not 'in the zone).'
3) Soriano looks locked in at the plate
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.
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THE FOOD WAS TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
i had a cold hot dog and soggy fries.
FIRE VDN
by gocubs526 on Apr 5, 2009 7:37 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
SUCKERS
I brought in a yummy gourmet turkey with cranberry sandwich on Saturday and just some snacks on Friday. Water
was $1.00 a bottle Vs $4.00 at the park. The cheapest item sold in the park was a tie between a bag of chips or a cup of pudding ( both $3.00). I did not visit the fancy food court on the lower level.
Generally agree with your assessment though I don’t think Dome was THAT bad. A nice catch and some decent throws besides the very ugly error. The scoreboard could NOT keep up. A white guy with number 60 something was listed as Bradley for two innings on Saturday as they were innings behind on all replacements and did not even bother to announce or list the pitchers. Was impressed by the scoreboard which showed the exact situation ( score , batter, pitcher, runners on base , outs etc) for every out of town game but hardly worth 1.5 billion.
"I daydream just like everybody else, I just do it with my body facing the field, so everybody thinks I'm paying attention."- Greg Maddux
by Doggie Stalker on Apr 5, 2009 7:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Nothing like writing off Fukudome
After PRACTICE games!
Go eat another pretzel.
There is no such thing as an ugly female breast
by Worf on Apr 5, 2009 7:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
+1 (literally)
It pains me to no end to have so many people write him off. We all just have to wait and see.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king -- Bob Dylan
by Emelie on Apr 5, 2009 7:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
What worries me most about Fukudome is the defensive miscues.
Hopefully, he’ll settle in at center field with the regular season starting.
Hey, it's a new century!
by cowsarecool220 on Apr 5, 2009 8:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
yep. My brow is wrinkled but I refuse to write him off unless and until it's absolutely necessary
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king -- Bob Dylan
by Emelie on Apr 5, 2009 8:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
thats just false
He’s not writing him off after practice games, he’s writing him off after a miserable 2nd half of 2008 and then being, for all intents and purposes, benched in the WBC. Fukudome may rebound, but there is ample reason for people to expect nothing from him.
by dmlichte on Apr 5, 2009 8:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't follow the WBC closely
but I understood that they benched Dome for strategic reasons, not because of the quality or lack thereof of his play
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king -- Bob Dylan
by Emelie on Apr 5, 2009 9:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
nah. He was benched.
MLBMilestone.com - following the numbers to Cooperstown
by D98 on Apr 5, 2009 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
It's still too early to give up on him
There is no such thing as an ugly female breast
by Worf on Apr 5, 2009 9:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
perhaps...
… but those who have made their opinions known are not simply basing them on 2 exhibition games or even just this spring.
by dmlichte on Apr 5, 2009 10:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
disagree
There is reason to question if he’ll be productive at the plate, but there isn’t good reason to question his ability as an OF. Even during his second half struggles he was still excellent in the field. Fly balls, especially to right center, did not look at all routine during the exhibition games in NY. I’m not worried about Dome’s D at all. Did you see the strike he threw to the 3b cut-off man from right-center? If his D is ok in CF, then I can live with weak offense. He’s not a corner OF anymore, so we shouldn’t expect corner OF production.
by Cubinator on Apr 6, 2009 12:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
exactly
His defense last year remained strong throughout the season. Never once worried about having him in LF and it somewhat mitigated his miserable performance at the plate.
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king -- Bob Dylan
by Emelie on Apr 6, 2009 6:48 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
oops... RF
Steal a little and they throw you in jail, Steal a lot and they make you king -- Bob Dylan
by Emelie on Apr 6, 2009 10:47 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
his fielding...
… wasn’t the main concern, its his bat.
by dmlichte on Apr 6, 2009 8:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Problem is that there's a tendency for players
to sometimes take their hitting problems out onto the field with them.
I remember Ryne Sandberg talking about that several years ago when Bobby Hill was going through his final meltdown.
I’m not saying that this is necessarily what’s happening with Dome-anybody can have a bad game in the field-but it’s still something that should be watched.
Also, I don’t think it’s so much that people are writing him off as much as I think we’re more like trying to prepare ourselves for the worst which, after all, kind of goes with the territory when you’re a lifeling Cub fan.
by bluekoolaide on Apr 6, 2009 9:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was at both games as well...
And it was weird watching the Yankees play on any field other than old Yankee Stadium. It was also weird walking past the abandoned stadium, which sits just next to the new ballpark. I was impressed by the aptly named Great Hall, which is the main concourse area. Having gone to a lot of games at the old stadium, it’s nice to have a lot of space to roam around. The seats/aisles are more comfortable, and I agree that the sightlines are excellent.
The jumbotron, as well, was essentially the biggest HD tv known to man. It’s pretty unbelievable.
The only food I ate was a cheesesteak, and it was pretty damn good. They have a lot of variety too, everything from Mexican to Italian to sushi.
Next stop…Citi Field, to see how the designers of the Mets’ new stadium did with the ballpark. Anything would look good compared to Shea though.
by mycubs1987 on Apr 5, 2009 9:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I am curious which is larger
the jumbo trons at the Egg Dome, University of Texas (football) or New Yankee Stadium. I know (prior to NYS) Texas had the largest in US and Egg Dome largest in world (IIRC)
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
by Cubbie-Tim on Apr 5, 2009 11:42 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
FYI
Univ Texas Football Jumbo Tron is high-def display 55 feet tall and 134 feet wide
http://university-of-texas-news.newslib.com/story/770-3225394/
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
by Cubbie-Tim on Apr 5, 2009 11:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
More FYI
new yankee Stadium 100.79 feet wide and 58.79 feet tall
http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/04/01/101-by-59-foot-hd-scoreboard-coming-to-the-new-yankee-stadium/
and the new Cowboys stadium will have an interesting one
http://www.hksinc.com/news/2006_12_Cowboys_Unveil_New_Stadium_Design.htm
Within the seating bowl, Cowboys fans will be provided with a one-of-a-kind feature unlike any other in the world, a center-hung video board. Hanging approximately 110 feet above the field from the roof structure, the innovative video center spans between the 20-yard lines and features four individual boards – two facing the sidelines and two facing the end zones. The sideline boards measure 180 feet wide by 50 feet tall while those facing the end zones measure 48 feet by 27 feet. All four boards are angled toward the stands for optimal viewing. The stunning combination of these boards will immerse spectators with video imagery, creating a premium on upper level seats and presenting the game in a way never before experienced.
Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings.
by Cubbie-Tim on Apr 5, 2009 11:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Went down from CT to catch both games too...
On Friday night we had bleacher seats with a horribly obstructed view. If you sit in bleacher section 201, make sure your seat number is higher than 20, otherwise you won’t be able to see much of center field and absolutely none of left field. The Mohegan Sun sports bar blocks the view. How do you build a $1.5 billion stadium with obstructed view seats????
Stadium wise – it’s nice…but I agree with the others, not sure where the $1.5 billion went. The HDTV screens (beside the 101′ × 59′ monster in CF, there’s another giant one in the lower concourse’s great hall) were ridiculous, but other than that, nothing too fancy.
I think all of the money was spent in the areas that most people will never see (the $2,600 home plate seats, luxury boxes, etc.).
Concessions – I thought the lines were really long for having such sparse attendance. Maybe just the new people getting used to the new equipment.
Oh – and the PA system went down on Saturday – so no traditional YMCA dance with the infield raking guys (a “tradition” at Yankee Stadium if you’ve never been there).
Glad I went, but I won’t go again unless the Cubs are in town.
Ohhhh I don't know, I got a guy on the other line about some whitewalls - I'll call you back.
by kifaru37 on Apr 5, 2009 10:19 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Bleachers suck
As I said in the fanshot below, I was in the bleachers and its completely obstructed from the jumbo tron and food concession area.
I was in LF and I couldn’t see half the outfield. Ridiculous! Other than that the ball park is really nice.
I think I’m going to go the game next Sunday to potentially see Kerry Wood pitch.
by ak123 on Apr 5, 2009 10:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I really thought I'd read this post and see people raving about the new stadium...
…and I was going to come on and say you all were clueless. I couldn’t agree more with your comments on the stadium. It’s huge. I felt like I was walking into a Roman collesium but I cannot see spending $1.5 billion dollars on the thing. Totally not worth it.
The Yankees museum and monument park closed at the start of the game and never re-opened. If I were a Yankee fan I’d have wanted them to stay in the old park and use the money elsewhere. BEERS WERE 9 DOLLARS. I just didn’t see anything that was worth spending 1.5 billion dollars.
Anyone have any idea if the Yankees are able to pay that themselves or is it coming from tax payers?
Bleeding Cubbie Blue since 1985.
by Bricks and Ivy on Apr 5, 2009 10:30 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I think it was some of both
Yanks paid some and the citizens of NY paid the rest.
Also, they built the new stadium on some of the only park land in the Bronx, so a lot of people are upset about that too. It’s not like they needed fewer positive things for the kids around there to do.
Ohhhh I don't know, I got a guy on the other line about some whitewalls - I'll call you back.
by kifaru37 on Apr 5, 2009 10:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
They promised an exchange for the park land
but so far have not lived up to that promise so of course the kids in the area have less open space which is not a good thing in the Bronx. There is a lot of stuff still going on with the financing and it has not looked good for the city.
Biggest scandal was the Guilanni administration OVER valuing the land to qualify for a FEDERAL subsidy. Still simmering but I expect Congress has bigger fix to fry right now.
"I daydream just like everybody else, I just do it with my body facing the field, so everybody thinks I'm paying attention."- Greg Maddux
by Doggie Stalker on Apr 5, 2009 11:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just to clarify original post
I wasn’t saying the food “quality” was bad, I just found the originality of choices pretty limited. Now there were a few stations that weren’t open yet (I’m guessing they will be open when regular season starts) like Moe’s and a BBQ station, so it might be premature to write off the food variety and I do respect this is NY and they just want their Nathan’s hot dog, beer, and yankees baseball…
On Fukudome, my alarm was more that he just seems to be emotionally off right now. I think he is someone that is TREMENDOUSLY impacted by negative press and boos, the same way that Patterson was. That concerns me more than his actual quality of field play. Yes it was just one error in the two games I saw, but at the plate he just doesn’t look right. I really can’t see this guy breaking much higher than .270 8 HR, 50 RBIs this year.
by BeltwayCubsFan on Apr 6, 2009 8:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I had heard
the new roman coliseum in the bronx has a clam & oyster bar. i think i would try that out if i ever went to white elephant stadium. but $9.00 for a cold beer? i hope that was a typo, but you know something? i doubt it. was.. greedy pigs
by brian custer on Apr 6, 2009 9:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
If New Orleans
ever manages to get a MLB-franchise (the Riverines, anybody?), I would love to see an oyster and crawfish bar; that would be something to get excited about.
by LeSaboteur on Apr 7, 2009 5:55 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
New Orleans...
… barely supports its Triple-A franchise… far too small to have a major league team.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Apr 7, 2009 9:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
+1
Their population has dropped to the point to where a MLB franchise is out of the question. The city has lost way to much corporate sponsership to make a MLB team feasible in that city.
"Hats for bats.....keep bats warm." - Pedro Cerrano
"Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill !!!!!!!" - Eddie Harris
by willie mays hayes' gloves on Apr 7, 2009 9:53 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't have specific numbers...
…but both games at Zephyr Field I saw were well attended.
Corporate sponsorship is a legitimate issue, but New Orleans was never powered by a corporate whale the way Chicago, New York, et al are. Instead, there are a bunch of minnows swimming upstream.
Population wise, census data indicates that its population has once again cracked 300,000 putting it in general realm of Pittsburgh, Arlington, and Cincinnati. The greater metro area has jumped to 1.13-million, which seems like a decent figure to support a thirty-odd thousand seat stadium.
It’s a pipe dream of course, but I wonder what kind of shot in the arm 62 home games would do for the area each season, as well as the immediate need for the personnel needed to build the stadium (Bolden Yard) facing the river and just below the turn.
by LeSaboteur on Apr 7, 2009 8:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
New Orleans is the 53rd media market.
Currently, the smallest MLB media market is Milwaukee — #35. Dropping down 18 places would never be something that MLB would do. (Pittsburgh is #23.)
Comparing New Orleans to Arlington is silly. Arlington, Texas may have only 300,000ish people, but the Dallas metroplex is the #5 TV market.
It’s about TV eyeballs, not a 30,000 seat stadium.
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Apr 8, 2009 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I really can’t see this guy breaking much higher than .270 8 HR, 50 RBIs this year.
Hell, I’d be ok with that.
"That’s the great thing about baseball, you never know what’s going to happen till you get the final out." — Lou Piniella
by drewishdrewid on Apr 6, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Depends on what his OBP is.
And how strong his defense is as well. But, yeah, I’m not expecting a ton of home runs (or RBI) from Dome either.
"Let it begin! Let it begin!" ~ Rhino
by dat cubfan daver on Apr 6, 2009 12:50 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Why was Derrek Lee...
… depending on the scoreboard to know how many outs there were?
"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx
by Al on Apr 6, 2009 9:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Derek Lee
It is funny. I figured folks would take Lee to task for relying on the scoreboard and I wasn’t justifying it. But it wasn’t just one scoreboard having the wrong outs – all of them said 2 outs and it was clear after the inning he was talking to the coach and pointing to the scoreboard. So it was clearly a factor in his confusion.
And yes, the beers are $10. You can get a cheaper beer but I’m not kidding, the cups for the $6 beer were kind of like the mini-airplane size cups that no adult would ever order
by BeltwayCubsFan on Apr 6, 2009 3:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I sat in the upper deck Friday night,
section 423, row 2, to be exact. Compared to the 9 other major league parks I have been to I have never felt so “close” to the field/game in the upper deck. As previously mentioned the sight lines are incredible. Obviously there are some problems with the bleacher seats. Expensive everything, absolutely. The technology of the video display is amazing. Bottom line is that if you are there to see a game the stadium has been designed for it.
"Only lazy minds think baseball is dull" - Bernie Lincicome
by alwayshappy2bacubsfan on Apr 6, 2009 11:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Ugghhh.
Well we went down this weekend for the Saturday game and I have to say the stadium is really nice. I’m not a fan of the Yankees, but they know how to do things in the classy way. Love the scoreboard and the building in general but the upper deck SUCKS when it’s windy. The place was almost empty by the 6th inning, the wind was ridiculous ! Do you think they did a wind test on AUTCAD before begining construction ? You can bet the next time I go to see a game, It’ll be in the lower bowl. I might have to remortgage my house though.
by MontrealCubbie on Apr 6, 2009 12:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Wind was everywhere Saturday,
Manhattan SUCKED too!
"Only lazy minds think baseball is dull" - Bernie Lincicome
by alwayshappy2bacubsfan on Apr 6, 2009 6:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
The only additional point I'd like to make...
…is a relatively minor one. I saw only the first three innings of Friday’s game (on TV) but, in that time, I saw Fontenot make a couple fairly smooth plays at third base. This eased my worry about the lack of a 3B backup a bit. Not that it isn’t still a legit concern but, FWIW, I was marginally impressed by what I saw.
"Let it begin! Let it begin!" ~ Rhino
by dat cubfan daver on Apr 6, 2009 12:53 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Still can't believe
that Steinbrenner would willing move out of the house that Ruth built. For a guy who’s all about tradition this seems self-defeating. I would think that for less than a billion you could redo Yankee stadium and make it a little more fan friendly. I guess that it shows that Steinbrenner is all about the dollar and not so much about tradition. Ideally I would like to see the “curse of the Bambino” return…this time to the guy who tore his house down.
by portlandcubfan on Apr 6, 2009 1:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Between that video
on the Yankee’s site, and from what I’ve seen on tv, there’s nothing exceptional about it aside from just how clean everything was. Much nicer than the Fill-in-the-Blank Coliseum we in Oakland have to suffer through. Design wise, it’s just a gaping maw in the Bronx.
by LeSaboteur on Apr 7, 2009 6:07 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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