NYY Stars and Pinstripes

Andy Pettitte comes out of retirement

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:48:00 +0000

Words can't describe how happy I am right now. Some info on the deal is it is a minor league deal worth $2.5 million.

Yankees Quick Hits: Concerts, fragrance, and Soccer

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:51:00 +0000

Could be seeing a few more players posing like this.

A few quick off the field notes...

Had they released it in 2011 it could have been called Bartolo Cologne (Please hold your jeers) but according to ESPN New York, the Yankees plan to release a fragrance. Simply called "New York Yankees" and "New York Yankees for her" the team will introduce the the fragrances on February 21, right around when position players should be reporting to Tampa. In 2006 Derek Jeter released his own scent with Avon, but it would be pretty cool (and interesting) if they had a cologne for each player. Just imagine the fragrance names for guys like Joba and Hiroki Kuroda, it would be fantastic.

Could be seeing this set up a few more times at the stadium.

Last month the Yanks announced that Roger Waters the song writer for Pink Floyd would perform 'the wall' at Yankee Stadium on Friday July 6th, that concert is already sold out. They have since added a second show for the following night (July 7th), tickets go on sale this Saturday and another sold out show is expected. But for fans who are looking to sell tickets for a profit may want to avoid buying the event as tickets on Stubhub are barely above face value months before the concert.

Continuing with the throwback artists, Madonna will also play at Yankee Stadium Thursday September 6th. Fresh off her Super Bowl half time show, tickets for her show will go on sale to the public at 10am Monday. I wonder if the Yanks had to ask Alex Rodriguez, permission before allowing the pop icon to come to his stadium. Rumors earlier swirled of Bruce Springsteen playing at the stadium, but with Madonna that may have killed any chances of that.

With all the concerts taking place this summer at the stadium, soccer could also be on the agenda. In an article by Big Apple Soccer we could be seeing an international soccer game. The game would likely be a big sell as it was last year at Citi Field, but the biggest thing I would worry about is the condition of the field. With all the events held, especially with the soccer match the field will need a ton of maintenance.

Who would you root for? Red Sox or Mets

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:17:00 +0000

"It gets by Buckner!"

The New York Giants and the New England Patriots are set to add another chapter in the New York-Boston rivalry, but for Jets fans this is a nightmare. Mets fans had to deal with similar fate in 2009 when the Yankees and Phillies battled it out for the 2009 World Series. Luckily for Yankee fans, we haven't had to deal with a similar situation since the 1986 World Series, when the Mets and Red Sox faced off in a classic.

Of course that last time was quite a while ago, at the time "the curse of the bambino" was still alive and well, just ask Bill Buckner about that curse following that series. But if the Red Sox and Mets were to face off in a World Series in the near future, who would Yankee fans root for ? Lets take a look at the case for each team.

Why to root for the Red Sox:

In the same league- Sure it may seem silly but that means that they were the best team in the same league the Yankees are in. They deserved to win, and their is no shame is congratulating them if they were the best team.
Would only hear gloating 9 times a year- Unless you have a friend who is a Red Sox fan or you live in New England, you won't likely have to hear the non stop chatter from Red Sox fans other than the 9 times they play in the Bronx. Now compare that to Mets fans who live amongst us in New York, every family has ~~a black sheep~~ someone who is a fan of the team from Queens or at least a friend who roots for the blue and orange. The trash talk would go on until the Yankees won another title.
Respectable franchise- Assuming that this World Series was to happen in the near future, the Sox have done an admirable job in the front office, something almost every baseball fan could respect. Outside of the 2011 collapse, the Red Sox have stayed competitive with the Yanks, while making smart trades and building the team through the draft and international free agents.

Why to root for the Mets:

Territory rights- At least they are from New York, plus it would add another chapter to the NY-Boston rivalry that the "little brother" of the Yanks beat the BoSox.
You have some sympathy- Lets face it since 2006 Met fans have been miserable. They collapsed in back to back seasons (2007 & 2008), and since have barely been competitive. Add in the financial issues of the Wilpons, and its hard not to feel a bit bad that all this has happened while the Yankees have won a World Series and been to the playoffs four times.
Underdog story- Strange to think that the Mets would be considered an underdog, but to add on from the earlier point the Mets haven't won since 1986, and haven't sniffed the World Series since 2006. The Red Sox have won a pair of titles since 1986.

Who would I root for? I would go the Mets- I don't see much of a rivalry between them and the Yanks other than the 6 games they play each other and if they were to meet again in the World Series. Sure the bragging might get annoying after a while, but I rather NY win... Plus they would need to win a whole lot more to catch the Yankees. But who would you root for?

Yankee Stadium Parking Update: Owners Plan to Default on Bonds

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:13:00 +0000

Cost of parking for the 2011 ALDS

Today in a report from the New York Daily News the owners of the parking garages and lots around Yankee Stadium plan to default on $237 million in bonds. It shouldn't come as a big surprise, since the new stadium opened they have raised from $14 to $35 ($48 if you want valet), and have opened up a brand new metro north station just a block away.

Just 38% of people are parking in the lots when the bombers are home, and just 70 people use the lots during the off season. That's 21 acres of wasted space for the community on parking garages, and even more when you consider that the new Yankee Stadium took away park land too. If the city wanted to do right they would tear down one of the garages/lots and make a park for the public. Some of the other options in the article are low income housing or a hotel.

With tolls and gas going up, the owners of the garages would be smart to lower the prices to get more people to drive again and use the parking lots. I expect in 2012 for them to either raise the price again, or keep it at $35.

Yankees show interest in Bill Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:01:00 +0000

The Eric Chavez era may be coming to a quick close, the Yankees are reportedly in "serious talks" with Bill Hall according to Ken Rosenthal. The Yanks would use Hall in a utility role, a spot the eight year vet has done before with the Brewers and Red Sox.

Bill Hall looks a bit like Justin Tuck of the
New York Giants.

The deal would likely be a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. As long as its a minor league deal, I think its a nice move. Signing Hall would be an upgrade over the injury prone Eric Chavez. Hall also is younger and can play multiple positions, something he proved with the Red Sox in 2010 when he played 7 different positions.

Currently in AAA the Yanks have Brandon Laird and Ramiro Pena available as back up infielders. Neither give the Yanks much on offense, and can mainly play the infield, a spot Eduardo Nunez is expected to fill. Hall can play the outfield, and still give some offense (he did hit 35 home runs in 2006). With the addition of Hall, the bombers would likely pass on a DH for now, possibly waiting until spring training starts to see if prices fall.

How will Yankee fans treat A-Rod in 2012?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 01:05:00 +0000

Hated A-Rod

Two hits. That's the best Alex Rodriguez could muster in the 2011 ALDS. It didn't help when A-Rod struck out to end the bombers season for a second straight year in the bottom of the ninth. In the days following the loss, Rodriguez was bashed over and over, it seemed clear that Yankee fans had made the million dollar man the scapegoat.

We have all seen this movie before, A-Rod the villain. Boo'ed by the Yankee faithful for his postseason failures and "not being clutch" only to be every ones favorite Yankee when he succeeds. Just look at the past, after terrible performances in the 2005 and 2006 ALDS, Rodriguez felt the wrath of Yankee fans. But a monster 2007 seemed to change everything, even after he opted out of his contract most Yankee fans acted like that never happened. Now fast forward to spring training 2009, Alex is outed for his past steroid use and admits it. Once again many of the fan base blasted him on talk radio and other media outlets, but a 2009 postseason in which A-Rod practically carried the team changed everything.

Loved A-Rod

But what about this season? After another postseason flop, and back to back injury plagued disappointing seasons Yankee fans will be ready to pounce. The situation is similar to 2007, when Yankee fans were ready to throw him to the wolves, only this time the odds are against another monster season. Alex will need to produce for Yankee fans to get off his back, the expectations are lowered with his current age and injury issues but the fans still want a top 10 caliber third baseman, a fair expectation from one of the greatest players to ever play.

Plenty of Yankee season tickets up for grabs

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Could see more games when teh attendance is like this.

Compared to past years the Yankees put season plans on sale much earlier this year. Before the holidays you could actually purchase some plans. It was a sign then that even the Yankees realized they are going to be spending alot of time this year pushing tickets.

Right now you can grab seats for almost any type of plan, any place in the stadium. This is a sign unseen for the past few seasons, especially since the new stadium opened. This is great for partial plan holders like myself who were able to upgrade to seats they wanted, but could never get (Moved from 12 game plan to Saturday plan). But for the Yankees it shows a problem that has been brewing the past few seasons. The Yankees have made the playoff each season since the new house has opened but yet they are still losing ticker holders. The easy answer is the prices, sure the Yankees still had the second highest attendance in baseball last year but it won't be the case this year. With the economy still a mess, the bombers chose to raise prices on the cheap seats, thus causing more fans to drop out.

It could be the price of winning, the price of a superstar players, and the price of living in New York but the Steinbrenners and the ticket office have also out priced the market. Last season, tickets for undesirable games could be had for one dollar or even less. What is the point of buying tickets if they can't even be sold for face value back. Of course if you plan to attend the games and like your seat location it makes sense but otherwise its doesn't make sense. The Yankees have built themselves quite a mess, this could be the first season at the new stadium, that the wings of the upper deck may be empty just like at the old place.

Why NYY Stars and Pinstripes plans to renew our tickets

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:46:00 +0000

From 2010 to 2012 these seats went from $12 to $20.

A week or two back the Yankees released the 2012 ticket prices and plans much to the disgust of fans, who were once again hit with rising prices. They also changed up the ticket plans, realizing that the mid-week plans were a rip off so they tossed in either two Red Sox games in or one BoSox game and opening day. This has effected us here at NYY Stars and Pinstripes, as a midweek plan holder, we now get two Boston games. Too bad the Sox games they include are the last weekend of season, when instead of seeing a race to the division title we instead will see two teams who have either locked up a spot in the playoffs or missed the playoffs.

Despite this and raising the price of our bleacher seats to $20, we still plan to renew. The question I have gotten most about this is why? I know the secondary market very well and realize that I could get many of these games for much less. But I know that I can sell my tickets for face value to friends, family and co-workers. I also like knowing what games I will be attending ahead of time, otherwise I end up not attending many games. Final reason is mostly because I plan to attempt to upgrade to a weekend plan and sell the games I can not attend.

With all the people dropping plans, now is a good time to upgrade to a better location and I think that I can finally move to a weekend bleacher plan. The pre-sale code for the regular and postseason are major pluses, so that also helps.

January 9th is the final chance to pay for your package, last year the open house and upgrades came not long after. The same should be true about this season.

The slowest off season possible, thanks to Hal

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Don't expect many big signings this year.

Yes this off season has been slow and dreadful, almost as slow and dreadful as my lack of posts on here. I apologize for that, and hope to post more often. It seems strange that the Yankees season ended about two months ago, since that time the only two transactions the Yankees made were re-signing CC Sabathia and Freddy Garcia, two moves that could be considered obvious.

Part of how slow this off season has gone is because rumors have circulated that the Yankees hope to trim payroll by 2014 to avoid the higher luxury tax. While that could be part of it, another thing is that the free agents this year are not that good. No need to over pay for CJ Wilson, when he is practically a left handed A.J. Burnett (without being a headcase) or to give light tossing lefty Mark Buehrle three or four years just because he is the second best pitcher on the market. This off season should reflect the future Yankee off seasons could be with Hal Stienbrenner at the helm.

Sure last season the Stienbrenners over ruled Brian Cashman on Rafael Soriano, setting off a fire storm that the Yankees GM would be leaving after the season. But other then that (and the terrible A-Rod contract) Hal doesn't exactly embody his father. With Cashman in charge of the baseball operations, Hal has seemed to set a strict budget, even if in Yankee-land that budget can be over $200 million.

Hal: You spend over budget and your dead.

We saw it last year, the Yankees pursued Cliff Lee and lost out. It looked like rock bottom when all the other free agents had signed by the time Lee made his choice. Andy Pettitte then retired, leaving a gapping hole. At the time I felt like the 2011 season would be like the 2008 Yankees all over again when the young pitchers failed and the lack of depth killed the bombers playoff dreams. But lucky for the Yankees at one point they had so much pitching they were able to send 16 game winner Ivan Nova to the minors. But what made that decision was the additions of Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon, two minor league deals that combined for 20 wins and 51 starts.

The same could be said about this year. With possibly six starters already on the roster and a handful of top prospects lurking in the minors the Yankees don't need to over spend. The 2013 free agent crop looks to be on of the better Cole Hamels,John Danks, Zach Grienke,Matt Cain, Anibal Sanchez, and Shawn Marcum could all hit the free market. The Yanks just need some bench help, which should cost under $5 million all together. Once again making it a long boring off season, something many Yankee fans are not accustom to.

10 reasons why you can't blame A-Rod for the ALDS loss

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 14:13:00 +0000

When A-Rod swung and missed on a 1-2 fastball, the Yankees season was over. Gone were the dreams of winning their 28th championship, gone was the dream of holding another parade down the canyon of heroes. What was left was a fan base left in huge disappointment and lots of hatred toward Alex Rodriguez, who batted just .111 during the series.

Now I'm not the biggest A-Rod fan you will find, in fact for long I have had an issue with the Yankees third basemen. I hated that he opted out in 2007, hate how he loves himself so much, and hate how he creates much of the drama that follows him around in New York. Must of the issues I have with Rodriguez are off the field stuff. After he struck out, to end the season for a second year in a row, it made me wonder if the baseball gods are punishing A-Rod for his insane 2009 Postseason. Apparently, I was the only one thinking about 2009, as most Yankee fans absolutely bashed Rodriguez, taking out their frustrations with the team on him. But just because he is the highest paid player on the team, and the fourth place hitter does not put the loss on him. Here are 10 reasons you can't blame Alex Rodriguez for the ALDS loss to the Tigers....

1). Playing injured: Last I checked A-Rod had spent time on the DL with his knee and then had problems with his thumb. Rodriguez on purpose opted for the knee surgery so that he could be ready for the Postseason. The knee and thumb ended up taking much longer to heal, and you could tell that his timing was way off at the plate. I still rather have Alex at third at 50% then Eric Chavez or Eduardo Nunez at 100% in his place.

2). Rafael Soriano: For the series, Soriano was very effective. Too bad in one of the most meaningful games in the series, with the score tied up he gave up a solo home run to Delmon Young. The Yankees would eventually lose that game because of that homer. Yanks win game 3, and then route the Tigers like they did in game 4 and suddenly nobody blames the lightning rod that is A-Rod.

3). CC Sabathia: The ace of your staff finishes the series with a 6.23 ERA. of course in Sabathia's defense he looked like he was sharp to start out game 1 and then was messed up cause of the weather. In game 3, he was gritty but was not his dominant stuff and was out dueled by Justin Verlander. In game 5, he eventually gave up what was the winning run. If CC had been lights out, the offensive woes suddenly don't loom as large.

4). The weather: I don't care what anybody says it simply screwed the Yanks. Sure Verlander was only seen once, but the lost off day hurt the Yanks. It messed up Sabathia on his rest schedule and messed up the rest for A-Rod, who hadn't been starting at third everyday since his return from injury.

5).Mark Teixeira: You can talk all you want about A-Rod and his struggles in the Postseason, but Tex has been just as bad, if not worse. Of course against the Twins in 2009 and 2010 Tex was on the Mark, but in the ALCS and World Series he hasn't done much. The same could be said this series against the Tigers. Teixeira gets cut some slack because he doesn't have the long past like A-Rod, but he is just as bad and has yet to prove that he can carry a team the way A-Rod or even Cano have proved in past series. But when you hit behind A-Rod and you can't pick up the slack for him, you also deserve to be on blast.

6). Nick Swisher: You could group half the line up into why you can't put it all on A-Rod. Jeter struck out and did not come through in a few key spots, Granderson didn't exactly prove why he was the MVP of the AL, Russell Martin was flat out awful and Nick Swisher continued to prove that he tries way to hard when it comes to the Postseason. The guy is great during the regular season, but since coming to the Yanks in 2009, Swisher has been terrible in the Postseason. So bad that his batting average of .169 is amongst the worst in Postseason play history. In one of the biggest moments of game 5, Swisher struck out with the bases loaded. Looking at the pitch tracker not a single ball was in the strike zone. In 38 Postseason games Swisher has just 6 runs batted in, not exactly what you expect from a guy in the middle of your lineup.

7). Always trailing: In games 1,2 and 5 the Tigers drew first blood starting off the scoring. In game 3 the Yanks scored first but the game was quickly tied up. It's tough to put the pressure of always coming from behind on the offense, even on as powerful as the Yankees.

8). Joe Girardi: We have seen the skipper defend his players till the end this year (See A.J. Burnett), but Girardi should have though about moving A-Rod to some place else in the line up. It was obvious that the 4-5-6 hitters (A-Rod, Tex and Swish) were the three best killers in the series. A-Rod didn't look right since his return from the DL and was putting up a batting average below .200 and hadn't hit a home run since July. Girardi basically was setting Rodriguez up for failure by batting him clean up. I'm not saying that Girardi should have moved him all the way to eight like Torre did in 2006, but he should have looked to take some pressure of him.

9). Rob Thompson: While I agreed, and still feel it was the right move Rob Thompson deserves to take some blame for the game 5 loss. With A-Rod on second and one out, Jorge Posada ripped a bullet to center. Austin Jackson fielded it cleanly and was ready to fire home, but their would be no play at the plate as third base coach Rob Thompson had held up A-Rod to load the bases. Of course Russell Martin and Brett Gardner never got a run across, and the rest is history. But A-Rod is by far the smartest base runner on the Yankees, it would have been a close play at the plate but if Rodriguez wanted to take the chance, I would have had no major issue with it.

10). How the fans have changed: That's right, the fans are one of the biggest reasons that A-Rod should not be the one getting blamed. Yankee fans have become extremely spoiled over the past 17 years. I know this, because Postseason success is the only thing many young fans know. No longer are the days when Yankee fans were happy with the chance to make the playoffs, they now expect a World Series championship each and every year. Too bad that is not going to happen. The current Yankee Stadium is no longer the one that stood across the street, now fans are more interested in being seen at the game, and grabbing an over priced drink at the Tommy Bahama bar. No longer are they their to cheer on the team, the stadium crowd was embarrassing during Game 5, at how they never cheered to get anything going, they only cheered when the team did do something. Many of the fans that could afford tickets, aren't always the biggest fans, they know the past history of A-Rod and think that it is cool to boo him. If someone like Jeter or Posada had a similar Postseason all would be forgotten, but because it is A-Rod they plan to channel their inner 2006 and boo A-Rod regardless.

Was A-Rod a part of the reason that the Yankees lost? Of course, but it is irrational to think that the whole series loss is his fault.

ALDS Game 5: The Hot Ticket in Town

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:03:00 +0000

If your planning to go to ALDS Game 5, I hope you already bought your tickets. On Ticketmaster the game is already sold out (yes even the insanely overpriced infield field level seats), and on Stubhub the get in the door price is $85 and that's for stand room.

Yesterday as A.J. Burnett shocked the Tigers (and some Yankee fans) with a strong performance, and the bombers bats came alive, the secondary market for game 5 tickets did as well. Yesterday at the start of the game, the prices on Stubhub were close to face value in some spots, and pairs of seats could be found in the Terrace and Main levels straight from Ticketmaster for face value. As game 4 went on, the prices rose, and once the Yankees started to beat up on the Tigers bullpen the ticket prices began to go through the roof and the event quickly sold out on Ticketmaster.

With Ivan Nova on the mound against Doug Fister in a rematch of ALDS Game 1 (the suspended game) the stadium is sure to be loud. During the first game 1, before the rain, the stadium was crazy, and had that great atmosphere of the old stadium. In game 5 I expect much of the same. About a week ago, their were still Bleacher and Grandstand seats available for game 5 (not shocked since many Yankee fans including myself felt the series wouldn't go 5), I had the chance to pick up a few but passed. I am simply kicking myself now.

Clueless Joe: ALDS Game 2 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Thinking hard, or hardly thinking?

Let me start off by saying that I am a fan of Joe Girardi, I defend most of his choices but some of his moves in yesterdays game absolutely baffled me.

First move might not be on Girardi, but why are the Yankees pitching to Miguel Cabrera? I know that it was early in the game, and that the night before the Yanks pitching held Cabrera down but since 2009 Miggy has hit atleast .370 against them with 7 home runs and 18 RBI. I think its time for the Yanks to get a new scouting report on him, cause its pretty obvious that the current one doesn't work.

The second move was pinch hitting Eric Chavez for Brett Gardner in the bottom of the seventh. Chavez has shown that he has no pop left in his bat (5 home runs since 2008), also bats left handed like Gardner and is much slower. The move was essentially trading Brett Gardner up for someone of lesser value, atleast with Gardner at the plate he could beat out an infield grounder, and you would have speed on the bases. In the end Chavez went down on three straight pitches, looking at the third strike.

Just like the rosin bag, the Yanks chances
of winning dropped.

The final move Girardi made was in the top of the ninth, sending Luis Ayala out to the mound when the game was 4-1 Tigers. Luis Ayala apparently must have some good black mail on Girardi cause he had no business being in the game. The night before Girardi brought him into a eight run lead, and Ayala had a tough time throwing a strike, it got so bad that Mariano Rivera had to come into the game to close it out. Soriano and Robertson have not gotten into a game since last Tuesday, they have more then enough rest to throw an inning in game two and then again in games three and four, this is after all the playoffs. Instead Girardi managed it like it was just another regular season game, the out come was Ayala giving up a run to help the Tigers win the game. The run loomed large when in the bottom of the ninth the Yankees held a mini rally against Jose Valverde. With the score 5-3 the Yanks had first and second, so the tying run was on first not second had the run not scored.

Game three now proves to be a huge game, as CC and Verlander face off again, this time in the motor city. If the Yanks can't beat the Tigers in game three the season would rest in the hands of ::gulp:: A.J. Burnett.

Boston chokes.... Rays win the Wild Card

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 20:09:00 +0000

The pictures say everything......

Still shocked at what a crazy ending to the season. Something that you would never see if Bud Selig pushes his two wild card teams idea through.

NYY Stars and Pinstripes is back!

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:03:00 +0000

It certainly has been a long time since I last posted, and since many of you have attempted to read this site. I would like to apologize for that since I had purchased the domain name, but did not connect it correctly to Blogger, thus causing an error 404 that many of you saw for those months. During that time some things in my personal life took, over and I wasn't really motivated to fix the problem.

That is until sometime last week when I found the free time, to finally fix the error and start this back up. Since I have fixed that expect more posts from myself, especially during this Postseason. Every Tuesday or Wednesday morning you can expect the Talkin Baseball podcast to be up, and all the other Yankees news you need to know.

So sorry for the disappearing act, think of it like NYY Stars and Pinstripes was on the 60 DL with Tommy John surgery, but we're now back, and hopefully stronger.

Talkin Baseball Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:56:00 +0000

Here is the latest Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner, we talked with Drew Fairservice from Ghostrunneronfirst.com about the Blue Jays coming to the Bronx. We of course talked about the Fred Wilpon comments and all the latest chatter about the Yanks.

Enjoy... and remember to check out the show live every Tuesday from 7-9pm on WCWPSports.org

(Remember to click on to click on the tab to get the drop down bar and click the correct interview and episode.)

Yankee Stadium Expierences: Yankees vs Mets 5-21-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 23 May 2011 17:35:00 +0000

View from the top of the Gateway Mall

The night before the Yankees had lost to the Mets 2-1, and were unable to get anything going on offense, yet the pitching was great again. That last line seems to be the story of 2011, the hitters haven't done the job, yet the pitching has held up.

After that Friday performance, I was feeling down on the team, and didn't know what to expect when A.J. Burnett faced off against Chris Capuano. I wasn't feeling like listening to Mets fans, celebrate and bash the Yanks like they had just won the world series, so a win for the bombers was desperately seeked.

Once arriving in the area around Yankee Stadium, I was saddened to see that the parking lot that normally charges $20, was not opened (I later read that they were charging $40, which makes no sense) so I tried out the Gateway Mall parking (more on that later in this post). Because I was there so early, my friend and I checked out the mall, which was really confusing to navigate because of how it is set up, either way you get a nice sight line of the Bronx from the top level.

They must sponser everything!

As the gates were ready to be opened, the lines to enter the stadium stretched a long way, most games I go to are midweek games since that is what my ticket plan is full of, but the area around the stadium on this night was very crowded. Their were more vendors outside then normal, and ton of cops just standing around on the street, it had almost a postseason atmosphere to it.

As I entered the stadium, a light rain began to fall, but it let up, but about an hour before game time, it began to pour and everyone ran for shelter. Luckily the game was not forced to be pushed back. As it rained I stood up near the batters eye cafe to stay dry, I noticed that Mastercard now is the sponsor of that area so the signs in the area has the Mastercard logo and then says "batters eye cafe". Not to whine, but they really have sponsored everything at the new stadium, it gets annoying after a while.

After it poured it was time to head to the seats, which I was able to purchase for face value during the Yankee pre-sale back in March. They were good seats in section 237 of the bleachers, they were row 10, but they felt much lower, really good seats for the value.

View from section 237

As the game began and Burnett struggled I felt like this was going to be another game in which I saw the bad A.J., after all I have a record of 3-5 when Burnett starts and I go to the game. But after the first inning, Burnett settled down and cruised for most of the night.

I have been to Subway Series games at both Yankee Stadium and at the Mets ballparks, and I can say that this was one of the most easy going crowds. Now I'm not saying the crowd was not into it because I would say this was the most into a crowd has been into a game all this season, but their was only friendly banter and good fun ribbing between Mets and Yankee fans. Their were no fights that I saw and only at one point did someone get tossed from the bleachers ( a Mets fan, for those scoring at home).

In the end the Yankees beat up on the Mets, hitting four home runs. All of which except Russell Martins homer would have likely stayed in Citi Field, but that's something the Mets can fix when they face the Yankees at Citi Field in July.

One of the TV's was broken, in section 239.

Although the score was 7-3, most fans stayed around till the end to watch Luis Ayala shut down the Mets. Frank Sinatra played, Yankee fans were sent home happy, and the world didn't end at 6pm cause of the rapture.

Last thing, I mentioned earlier about parking at the Gateway Mall, I would no recommend it. Now of course this was a premium game that had one of the largest crowds of the season, so the parking was packed but getting out of there is a mess. They don't have anyone directing traffic, and only two spots to exit from, causing a huge mess. For the $30 you have to pay, it is more efficient to cough up the extra $5 and pay at one of the garages, closer to the stadium.

Final score:Yankees 7 Mets 3

Have fans lost interest in the Subway Series?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sat, 21 May 2011 18:38:00 +0000

As we mentioned in yesterdays post, this is the 15th season that interleague play has been apart of baseball, of course the traditionalists hate it, but attendance proves otherwise. Adding to that attendance is match ups with the inter-city rivals, like the Mets and the Yankees. But when last nights contest between the two clubs, didn't sell out and tickets could be had on the cheap on the secondary market, you must question if the rivalry in the stands still matters.

It was alarming to see tickets so cheap for a Subway Series game last night on Stubhub and other markets, but the weather was a factor with the possibility of showers all night. But also remember that tickets were likely on the cheap, because both fans have had their fair share of issues with these teams.

The Yankees have played awful after getting off to a hot start, and as we have noticed tickets haven't been selling this year, even against teams like the Boston Red Sox. If they have an issue against the Red Sox, a team that many would consider a bigger rivalry, then the same issue would be had with the Mets. But it is not just Yankee fans, that have frustrations, Met fans have had a life full of misery. This year isnt much better, as the Mets have had low expectations from the start, but have gotten off to a nice start. But that doesn't mean the Mets fans are looking for some torment at Yankee Stadium, as last year they also got off to a decent start and still fell behind .500.

Even though the Yankees did not consider it a sell out they still sold 47,000 + tickets and it was the largest crowd of the season. In large part, most of the tickets that went unsold were the most expensive seats that have had a problem selling all season. The series, has not lost any of the polish, just the teams have. The fans are still into the game, but high ticket prices and lack luster teams have killed a bit of the polish of the Subway Series in 2011.

Subway Series preview: Looking back and this weekends match ups.

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:01:00 +0000

Dave Mlicki beats the Yanks in the first
Subway Series game.

In 1997, the havoc began and 15 years later, the crosstown rivalry continues to grow. Although this season, the Mets are not expected to compete, they have done a fine job of proving the nay-sayers wrong. Both teams roll into the Bronx tonight on a hot streak. The Mets have won six of their last eight, and the Yankees come in riding a three game win streak after bashing the Orioles last night, before we look at this weekends match ups, lets look at the past Subway Series contests.

1997: Yankees take the series 2-1: Yesh! I forgot that they only played one series back then, this one took place at Yankee Stadium. Of course as we all know the great Dave Mlicki won the game the first night, but the Yankees would win the next two. Another strange thing about this series, they were Monday-Wednesday, so they were during the week, and the Wednesday one was a 1pm start.

1998: Yankees take the series 2-1: Once again they only played three games but this time they faced off at Shea Stadium. This is the year they moved the games to the weekends, and this would be the last of just one series.

I still have no clue how Matt Franco beat Mo.

1999: Split the series 3-3: I guess this is when Major League Baseball realized that by having six games, they were guaranteed to sell out each time and each team would get three games at home. This was the year of the famous Mariano Rivera- Matt Franco game in which the Mets pulled the upset on the mighty Yankees and beat the great Mo.

2000: Yankees win regular season 4-2, also win World Series 4-1: This is the year, it was no longer a rivalry for the fans as Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza would turn the rivalry up a notch. The Yankees would win the regular season set, including the first ever double header in which a game took place in each stadium. Aside from Clemens drilling Piazza in his melon, Doc Gooden would get some revenge beating the Mets during the double header. In the World Series, the Yankees would beat the Mets in a closer series then many remember, the Yankees won the series by just five runs and the Clemens-Piazza rivalry would heat up after the rocket man tossed a piece of Piazza's broken bat at the Mets catcher.

(Insert roid rage joke here)

2001: Yankees win series 4-2: The final time the Yankee dynasty team would beat up on the Mets, although the Mets would get revenge at Yankee Stadium beating Mariano Rivera again to pull off a 3-0 victory.

2002: Split the series 3-3: Robin Ventura would return to Shea Stadium after being traded by the Mets to the Yankees, Ventura would hit a go ahead home run against the Mets, helping the Yankees win the game. Also, I can remember that Mo Vaughn, had one of his best Mets moments when he hit a home run off the old Shea Stadium scoreboard, one of the longest home runs I ever saw. This was also the series that Shawn Estes, threw behind Clemens, talk about a few years too late.

2003: Yankees sweep the series 6-0: What can you say about this years series other then everything went right for the Yankees and everything went wrong for the Mets.

2004: Mets (finally) win the series 4-2: Of all the decent Mets teams who would expect the 2004 squad to win the series. They would lose 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium, but swept the Yanks at Shea Stadium. I will always remember that the Yanks had just swept the Red Sox the series before, and Jeter dove into the stands, but couldn't beat the Mets, I guess that is why you can't predict baseball.

2005: Split the series 3-3: The Mets began to get better, and Dae Sung Koo had a career day against the Yanks, pitching well against them before hitting a double and scoring from second on a sac bunt. The Yanks would get some revenge the next day when they rallied back against Roberto Hernandez to steal a victory.

2006: Split the series 3-3: I consider this year the rebirth of the rivalry since the Mets had the best team in the National League this season and the Yankees had the best in the American. The series began with a bang for Mets fans when David Wright won the first game of the series against Rivera again, but the Yanks would strike back the next day and beat the Mets 5-4, after getting four runs against Billy Wagner in the 9th. Also in the final, crazy game of the series the Yankees bashed the Mets 16-7. The game didnt start until 9:15pm, due to rain and Alex Rodriguez and Paul LoDuca had words after an A-Rod home run.

2007: Yet another split 3-3: The Yanks almost got swept at Shea Stadium, but Tyler Clippard had one of the best outings of his career, beating the Mets, to earn the back page title of "The Yankee Clippard". When the series made its way back to Yankee Stadium, the Mets won the first game thanks to Carlos Gomez robbing a home run, but the Yanks would win the next two to tie the series.

2008: Mets win the series 4-2: One of the worst years for the Yankees, as they lost the series and each game they loss was a blow out for the Mets. The highlight was the Yanks beat Pedro Martinez at Shea Stadium, bring back they "who's your daddy" chant for one night.

2009: Yankees win the series 5-1: The Yankees would sweep the series at Citi Field, and take 2 of 3 at Yankee Stadium, including a 15-0 victory for the bombers. But this year will always be remembered by a dropped pop up from Luis Castillo.

2010: Split the series 3-3: Sadly no dropped pop ups this year, as the clubs split the series at three games apiece. In an odd situation the Yankees and Mets had the same pitching match ups for both series, and each pitching match up was split 1-1, between the clubs.

This year the Yanks have the advantage heading into the first match up of the year, with the pitching match up favoring the Yanks in the Friday and Saturday games (Dickey vs Garcia and Capuano vs Burnett), while Sunday leans towards the Mets (Pelfrey vs Nova). Looking at the match ups between the position players the Yanks have the advantage at ever spot except shortstop (Reyes beats Jeter) and right field (Beltran over Swisher).

NYY Stars and Pinstripes Domain change! Now a Dot Com

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:52:00 +0000

As NYY Stars and Pinstripes moves towards our one year anniversary, we figured it is time to add something new and upgrade from being at blogspot, to becoming part of the dot com society. So instead of typing in the old long address at blogspot, you can now simply go to NYYStarsandPinstripes.com .

But don't you worry, NYY Stars and Pinstripes will still bring you the latest Yankees news and discussions about Yankee Stadium. For any suggestions, comments or complaints please feel free to send them to myself on Twitter @NYMoot. Until then enjoy!

High fives around for NYY Stars and Pinstripes

Yankees Link dump 5-18-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 18 May 2011 16:48:00 +0000

Hey we finally won!

Saw a few interesting links this morning I should pass along....

In today's Daily News, Juan Gonzalez writes about the Yankees parking issue. While this is nothing new at all, and has been covered extensively on this site, it was nice to see some stats finally on the 2011 parking. I can't wait for the city to admit they messed up, they can than lower the prices of the lots and possibly knock some of them down and create some park land for the community around the stadium.

Also in The NY Daily News today was an article about how the Jorge Posada-Joe Girardi goes back deeper then just this season, but goes back to 2005 when Girardi was a coach. Apparently they fought over scouting reports and Jorge skipped the meetings, frustrating Girardi then the bench coach. Really interesting stuff, but after this weekend, Posada looks more and more like a diva. Also this "source" that was used makes me wonder if it was John Flaherty, since he would have been apart of those meetings.

Final article on a lighter note is from the NY Times about babies named after Yankees, of course Mickey Mantle is mentioned but naming a kid Jeter? That seems a bit obvious, either way I plan to name my first born Melky after the former Yankee great.

Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner 5-17-2011

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:37:00 +0000

Tuesday means Talkin, Talkin Baseball: The Hot Corner that is, tonight the guys discussed the Yankees struggles and what the bombers could do to improve. Also they talked alot about the whole Jorge Posada issue A.K.A "Posada-gate".

Jason Collette of DRaysBay.com joined the program and talked about the Rays for over 15 minutes, that interview can be heard by simply clicking down on the tab and selecting correctly labeled interview.

For the remained of the show we discussed our favorite Subway Series moments along with what the Mets have done since we last left off.

At the end we did the weekly true/false segment and finished it off with our POW's and WOW's.

Enjoy and remember to tune in live every Tuesday from 7-9pm on WCWPSports.org

Time For a Change: Switching The Line Up

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Tue, 17 May 2011 16:51:00 +0000

Swisher should convince Jeter to get a
mo hawk.

Six in a row and it's time to panic in the Bronx. Among Yankees fans, I would say that I amongst the cooler heads and won't overreact to a losing streak like this in May. But looking at the losing streak and the games even before the streak the Yankees had not been that impressive. Sure they were out homering everyone, but doing little other wise. So here is my pitch for what Joe Girardi should do with the line up.

1. Derek Jeter - Yes he stays on top of the line up, in the ideal world I would hit Jeter lower, but you can't do that to the captain unless he comes to you and asks to bat lower, especially after this weekend long drama with Jorge Posada hitting 9th. Jeter looked like he was improving, until the Boston series when he turned back into ground ball Derek.

2. Nick Swisher- Before he hits second I think Swisher needs to sit a day, he has looked off and his comments the other day about trying too hard to hit home runs was alarming. Give him a day to clear his head, and then insert him back into the line up hitting after Jeter. Sure the possibility of the ground ball double play could be large, but Swisher was great in this spot last year. He is going to see a ton of fastballs and good pitches to hit, since most pitchers would rather face Swisher then Tex of A-Rod.

3. Robinson Cano- Here is the first big switch, Cano hits third. Robby has frustrated me this season with his lack of patients at the plate but has been the Yankees second best hitter all season long. Other than his slump this past week, Cano has been fairly consistent and deserves the chance to move up and hit third.

If they can play the infield together, they can hit
behind each other

4. Alex Rodriguez- A-Rod was hitting .385 when he hurt his oblique, since then he has hit just .180 and has looked lost at the plate. Either way, Girardi loves A-Rod in this spot, and it is the best possible spot for him.

5. Mark Teixeira- The move is basically flip flopping Cano and Tex in the line up, Teixeira had a great April and avoided his annual slump, but that seems to have carried over to May. No doubt in my mind Tex will bounce back, but how soon?

6. Curtis Granderson- "The Grandyman can, oh the Grandyman can" that line has been frequently heard on WCBS 880 when John Sterling breaks it out for Granderson. In his second season with the Yankees Granderson has been everything and more from what they expected from him. He already has 14 home runs and has a realistic shot of hitting 40. If Curtis hits 6th, he would be able to collect a few more RBI's. Although I am often against switching guys in the batting order when they are doing well, I do believe that what ever Kevin Long did that night in Texas last August has helped and will continue to show throughout the season.

Granderson has hit many home runs with that bat.

7. Jorge Posada- I hope hitting 7th does not bruise his ego, because this is the best spot for Jorge. I think he is going to turn it around and hit better than the way he has so far, I mean it can't possibly get worse, right?

8. Russell Martin- The Canadian catcher has hit a bit of a slump come May hitting just .167, but he is still getting on base and has had some good at bats. I like hitting him 8th since behind him will be Brett Gardner, and Martin has some speed, so if both get on I wouldn't mind a double steal.

9. Brett Gardner- The way he has played this month has been under the radar, hitting .341 in May and getting on base at almost .100 more than his batting average. The alarming thing has been that Brett has gotten caught stealing more times than he has been safe (CS-6 SB-5). Gardner's hitting may lead to him moving back up to lead off, but I am a big fan of him hitting 9th at this time, creating a double lead off. The one issue I have with Gardner is his lack of base running skills. Sure he is fast, but some of the choices he makes on when to go or not shock me, he also waits way too long to run and the hitter up at the plate take hittable pitches because of this.

The end is near for Jorge Posada: Won't be a Yankee after this year

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Mon, 16 May 2011 18:22:00 +0000

I don't think the Yanks want to replace Tex with Jorge
anytime soon.

Joel Sherman of the NY Post was the first to bring this up on Twitter the other night, after this year Jorge Posada may no longer wear the Yankee pinstripes. After the 2007 season, the best of the then catchers career, Posada inked a four year $52 million dollar deal, at the time the contract seemed questionable, since Posada was going to be an older catcher. It has turned out to be a bad contract but not terrible, Jorge did miss most of the 2008 season, but was able to play in 2009 and then really declined behind the plate in 2010. This year is the final year of that deal, and now that he can no longer catch, suddenly a place for Jorge is missing.

Sure he could be the DH again next year, but the Yankees have a bunch of older players that need their half days off, and Girardi and Cashman agree they like to leave the DH slot open to resting some of the players. Add in that Posada has yet to hit this year, and that is what he getting paid the big bucks to do, the end of Jorge's Yankee career will likely come to a close after this year.

It's never easy to say goodbye to a modern day Yankee hero, when Bernie Williams was not asked back following the 2006 season, fans were outraged. The truth was their was no place on the team for him, and in 2012 that same fate will loom for Posada.

This whole "Posada-gate" with him asking out of the line up did not help the possibility of him re-signing with the Yankees after this year. If he is not willing to be a team player and hit 9th, when he's hitting .165, than what will he be like as a part time player next season?

Thanks for the memories Jorge.

If the Yankees don't make the playoffs then, we will know that Jorge Posada's final home game in pinstripes is September 25th 2011 against the Boston Red Sox, the same team he had one of his biggest hits of his career against in the 2003 ALCS. Posada's career might not be done, of course another AL team could add him as a DH, or an NL team may have him as a pinch hitter, but going to another team at the end of a players career always takes some shine away from playing with the same team your entire career. But after this past weekends events, and his declining performance on the field 2011 looks to be the farewell tour.

2011 Yankees Stars and Stripes hat

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Every year since 2008, Major League Baseball has had it's teams wear patriotic hats on Memorial Day, July 4th weekend, Labor Day and September 11th. In 2008, the design was blue, 2009 they went to red and last season they went white, so with the three colors of the flags used up what did they go to? This which is a mix of the 2008 and 2010 hats. I'm not impressed and felt they could have done better, but I'm sure MLB does not care since they will still be making a ton of money of these hats.

One of my biggest pet peeves about these is that because of the colors, the hat looks foolish on some teams, like the red 2009 one looked weird on the Yankees or the Marlins. They don't match the uniforms at all, I would rather see the teams wear their regular hats but just have the flag on the side and the flag waving through the team logo.

Another New Era Rivalry Commercial

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Sat, 14 May 2011 18:08:00 +0000

Yet another great commercial by New Era, they really should continue with this series and create a few more. Hopefully today the bombers bats can pack as much of a punch as Alec Baldwin's fist.

Editors Note: Sorry for the lack of posts lately but Blogger has been acting up and hadn't allowed me to post anything since Wednesday. But don't you worry cause its working now!