NYY Stadium Insider is now New Stadium Insider - Please update your bookmarks!

New year, new stadium, new blog - Introducing New Stadium Insider!

2009-01-02T13:28:00.001-05:00

WE HAVE MOVED!

We have switched to a more streamlined blogger template and decided to revamp the site completely. We will now be known as "New Stadium Insider". The web address is http://newstadiuminsider.com.

The original NYY Stadium Insider that you are viewing now will remain in existence until the web hosting expires. All posts will remain in tact over here, but will not be imported here to the new site.

If you are a blog publisher, please leave NYY Stadium Insider as a link on your sidebar since all of the great information there will remain as an archive. It would also be greatly appreciated if you could add a link for New Stadium Insider Finally, the NYY Stadium Insider forums are still active, so as always:

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The Best 08 Back Page: "The Last Goodbye"?

2008-12-24T18:13:00.004-05:00

The Daily News has asked it's readers to vote for its

best back page of 2008. As New York Yankees Stadium insiders, we are imploring Yanks fans to vote for this one:

This is easily the best back page for any good stadium loving Yankees fan so, CLICK HERE to vote*!

* - I must admit, I DO have a soft spot for that New York Giants inspired "CHAMPS" back page...

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Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T17:41:00.002-05:00

In the spirit of the Holiday season, the NYYSI crew thought it would be nice to let bygones be bygones and create a Christmas card for our favorite beat-blogger, Peter Abraham. So, here it is for all of you to enjoy. Consider it the gift that keeps on giving from Mr. Abraham.

From Tubby and friends.

Let the expectations begin...

2008-12-24T09:09:00.006-05:00

I made a rare visit to a New York Newspaper's webpage this morning (I swore them off sometime this past summer). Unsurprisingly, there was an asinine poll waiting for me upon arrival:

What did I expect? A poll inquiring about his 2009 OBP? (For his career it is .378, but it has been above .400 the past 2). A poll about his OPS+? (For his career it is 134). Nope, the poll question is about how many home runs he'll mash in 2009 because chicks dig the long ball.

No pressure, Mark, but I voted for 51 or more. I know you have averaged 36 home runs per year over your 6-year career, and a few of those totals were aided by playing in the bandbox in Arlington. However, I saw a poll on NYDailyNews.com and it made me think you MUST be a home run hitter if they had that poll up there. Then, I remembered that you are a switch-hitter, so you'd definitely get a chance to take advantage of the short porch in right field. 2009 is going to be a memorable year, Mark. Don't let me down.

The results of this highly scientific poll. My vote for 51 or more likely skewed the results, as I doubt the sample size is very large during the holiday season. I will say that it appears the more educated readers are voting in the poll since it is heavily leaning in the range of Teixeira career average HR total. Realistically, I believe Tex will hit 29 HRs in 2009, but he will contribute in many other ways that will contribute wins to the Yankees.

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The new Yankee Stadium covered in snow...

2008-12-24T09:00:00.001-05:00

Those wily characters at wcbs880.com are up to it again - posting awesome shots of the new Yankee Stadium from Tom Kaminski's chopper 880:

Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

Not to be outdone, Kaybli took this photo in the OLD Yankee Stadium:

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The Yankees throw season ticket holders a bone with exhibition ticket prices

2008-12-23T17:02:00.004-05:00

The Yankees did the smart thing today and announced visibly reduced prices for the April 3 and April 4 exhibition games that will open up the new Stadium.

According to this release, full season ticket holders will get the games for free, while partial plan holders will have the opportunity to purchase bleacher tickets for 25 cents and grandstand (upper deck) tickets for $1.10. Apparently, these were the prices back in 1923 for the opener at the old Stadium.

This is a nice gesture, but it would have had a bit more impact if it was the first regular season game. This is yet another aspect of these exhibition games that are going to take away from the regular season opener. I may or may not have gotten up on this soapbox before.

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Merry Tex-Mas!

2008-12-23T16:40:00.001-05:00

Milk em Tex, Milk em

2008-12-20T23:29:00.000-05:00

The NEW Yankee Stadium under the lights

2008-12-18T21:44:00.006-05:00

I work in a high-rise building in Midtown Manhattan with amazing views of New York City. Looking out the north side windows, there are amazing views of Central Park and in the distance the Bronx. Lately, I have seen lights on in the distance in the vicinity of Yankee Stadium. I assumed they were testing out the lights in the new park, but I didn't dare venture up to the South Bronx in the dead of winter (I kid, I kid... Kind of).

It turns out that they ARE testing the new lights, and the WCBS 880 chopper did some flying this evening to capture some never before seen night-time photos of the new Yankee Stadium under the lights...

Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

WCBS even took the time out to capture a photo of the Yankees' welcome to CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett:

Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

If that doesn't get you pumped up for the 2009 season, I'm not sure what will.

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Season Ticket Holders: Easily check the status of your relocation at Yankees.com!

2008-12-18T12:34:00.003-05:00

Can't believe I didn't catch this sooner. The Yankees have a section of their website that provides periodic updates on the status of the season ticket holder relocation process for the new stadium.

The ticket office is currently making phone calls/sending packages out to FULL SEASON holders with a seniority date of August 2004. If you are a full-season ticket holder with a seniority date before August 2004 and you haven't received a call, you should probably initiate contact with the Yankees.

The long wait continues for B Plan holders like myself. This late in the game, installment payments are highly unlikely, so start saving that money!

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Yankee fans - Don't be surprised when AJ Burnett is hurt next year

2008-12-12T19:00:00.005-05:00

Laham/Getty

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick broke the news earlier today: A.J. Burnett (yes, unlike CC, he DOES like the periods between his initials) is your newest New York Yankee.

NYYSI has been and always will be against signing A.J Burnett to a long-term deal. Aside from the fact that he has questionable control, A.J Burnett is a MAJOR injury risk. Take a look at his stat sheet\. He has thrown over 200 IP 3 times in his career including last year. The previous two times, he came down with an injury the next year and was only able to start 4 games and 21 games, respectively.

A.J Burnett threw 221 innings last year - a career high by far. For us NOT to expect an injury would be setting ourselves up for disappointment. Brian Cashman typically is smarter than me, so I hope that is the case here as well.

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Ho! Ho! Ho!

2008-12-11T01:29:00.002-05:00

An early Xmas gift for Yankee fans

Does this mean I can easily report the idiot behind me that is booing A-Rod?

2008-12-08T21:36:00.008-05:00

Via PRWeb we learn some more news about the ongoing modernization taking place at the new Yankee Stadium. GuestAssist by qtags will allow fans to text message customer service in the Stadium if any kind of problem arises. The shocking part of this is that there will be customer service in the new Stadium. Never heard of such a thing in the old Stadium! Essentially it is a text message version of twitter that allows fans to complain about things within a monitored system using their mobile device.

Read the press release linked above for some of the practical uses of this system, including a heartwarming story about a couple who drove hours to the game, only to find that they had left their tickets at home. Apparently GuestAssist was able to save their irresponsible asses. Below is apparently what the system looks like for the customer service representative monitoring it (thanks to 4G-WirelessEvolution for the example):

Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a dangerous tool to have at my disposal. I have a bad feeling that they are going to disconnect my access to GuestAssist before April is over. Lets just say my complaints will be a bit more specific and a bit less urgent.

Old smelly guy without deodorant in front of me? Thats a GuestAssist complaint. Yelling like an idiot about true Yankees and booing A-Rod? Damn right I'm texttle-telling on your ass to the fine folks at Guest Assist. Don't "take ya hat off" during God Bless America? Well, in that case, I probably won't be the one to text message GuestAsssist, but you better believe that some typical Yankee fan will.

Just imagine they had something like this in the old stadium?
Waiting in line 4 Chx Fingers 4 25 mins. FIX IT...
The dude next to me @ urinal just splattered pee on me - give me sum dividers!
Woman pouring Fosters 24 oz beer chatting with bff vendor instead of serving beer. Waiting in line 4 almost 3 innings 4 beer.
Hot chocolate sold out before game even started. WTF?

Can't wait to try it out!

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A-Rod's panties

2008-12-05T22:04:00.006-05:00

Must... Resist... A-Rod's.... Undies...

I swear, my ebay user name doesn't start with a u and end with a p...

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Yanks still chasing their Thanksgiving treat

2008-11-27T17:50:00.001-05:00

Never too early to plan a trip to Spring Training!

2008-11-26T10:10:00.004-05:00

The Yankees issued a press release yesterday, outlining plans for Spring Training 2009.

You can find the Yankees complete Spring Training 2009 schedule here.

There is definitely some noteworthy information for those of you planning a trip down to Florida (like myself). According to the press release, this is the earliest start to Yankees Spring Training games in the past 60 years (apparently that is as far back as their data goes)- good news for those late February travelers to Florida who usually see nothing more than players working out! More importantly, the World Baseball Classic will be running from March 5 - March 23, so expect some of the headline players to be absent from Spring Training for a good portion of the schedule.

Headline games of Spring Training will likely be March 3rd, when the Yankees host team USA (which team will A-Rod and Jeter play for?!) at Steinbrenner Field and the 7:15 PM game against the Red Sox at home on March 24th. The seamless transition from Legends Field to Steinbrenner field is complete. It is truly the "House that Big Stein built."

Now is the time to start booking the hotel, plane, rental car etc. Season tickets for the entire home schedule of Yankees Spring Training 2009 go on sale in the 2nd week of December (date TBA) and individual game tickets go on sale sometime in January (date TBA).

See you in Tampa!

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Dismantling of the old Yankee Stadium set for March 15, old Stadium Tours over

2008-11-25T16:11:00.003-05:00

I don't typically link articles, but since this is the quiet season for NYYSI, I will link to this piece by the NY Daily News about the final tour at the old Yankee Stadium being given. It is a must read due to the buzz word "nostalgia" in the article. Nostalgia? Yankees? Yankee Stadium? No way.

No word on when the tours of the NEW Stadium will begin, but I would assume there won't be too much of a delay after the new digs are complete. That is free money and the Yankees are a money-making machine. This article cites March 15 as the start date for demolition of the old Stadium, which flies in the face of information that blog nemesis Peter Abraham mentioned a couple of days ago.

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Kiss the Ring

2008-11-21T12:13:00.001-05:00

http://sports.espn.go.com/story?id=3715160

Its official - Cubs to open up the new Stadium with two exhibition games

2008-11-17T21:24:00.004-05:00

The news comes courtesy of NJ.com - The Cubs will officially usher in the new era of Yankee Stadium with two exhibition games in early April.

While exciting, it is also a bit disappointing. The first regular season game at the new Yankee Stadium is bound to be anticlimactic after these two games are played only two weeks earlier. Before you laugh, these "meaningless exhibitions" will have a lot more meaning than most. Lou Piniella will be back in town, along with old friend Alfonso Soriano representing the lovable loser Chicago Cubs. Tickets will likely be reasonably priced, although the ticket office is not yet releasing ticket information - meaning more real fans will be in the house that Big Stein built. April 3rd will have the feel of opening ~~day~~ night (the game starts at 7:05 PM] at the Stadium, a cool early early Spring evening, full house at the big ballpark in the Bronx. But it will only be a dress rehearsal.

The bottom line? This game will end up being a little too fun, taking all of the anticipation out of the season opener in the new Yankee Stadium. Yes, most teams warm up their new ballparks with exhibition games, but these are the Yankees we are talking about in the greatest city in the world. That game on the 16th should really be the day they break in the new digs.

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Check out our Wang!

2008-11-17T15:31:00.002-05:00

NYYSI has ponied up $30 and is sponsoring Chien Ming Wang's baseball-reference.com page for the 2009 season. Why not support the best #2 starter in all of baseball in his bounce-back season? Seriously though, baseball-reference.com is the best baseball statistic site out there, and with as much as I use the site, they deserve my support.

Anyone have suggestions for other guys we should sponsor (if more ad money comes our way)?

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The Swisher to the Yankees trade was years in the making

2008-11-13T20:44:00.000-05:00

In case you are living under a rock, the Yankees acquired Nick Swisher (he of Moneyball fame - and the cheap, young man's version of Jason Giambi) for Jeff Marquez, Wilson Betemit and Jhonny Nunez.

What you may not know is just how long evil genius Brian Cashman was plotting the move (pretty much since he read Moneyball in April 2004). Lets review the moving parts in this trade and break down how the Yankees received them:

Wilson Betemit
The Yankees received Wilson Betemit for Scott Proctor who they had received for Robin Ventura who they got for David Justice who they had received in exchange for Ricky Ledee [INTL signing by Yanks], Jake Westbrook, and Zach Day the latter two they had received for fat toad Hideki Irabu [INTL signing by Yanks](along with Christian Parker)

Jhonny Nunez
The Yankees received Jhonny Nunez for Alberto Gonzalez who they got for Randy Johnson (along with Luis Vizcaino, Ross Ohlendorf, and Steven Jackson) who they got for Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey [drafted by Yanks], Dioner Navarro [INTL signing by Yanks] the former they received for Nick Johnson [drafted by Yanks], Juan Rivera [INTL signing by Yanks] and Randy Choate [drafted by Yanks]

Jeffrey Marquez
The Yankees drafted Marquez 41st overall in the 2004 MLB amateur draft.

Like I said - Brian Cashman = evil genius.

Much thanks to the indispensable MLBTR Brian Cashman trade history

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Out with the old, in with the new... (Stadium pictures)

2008-11-13T19:51:00.005-05:00

Some more great Yankee Stadium photos, courtesy of WCBS880.com:

Monument park is just about empty in the OLD stadium:

But could this be its home in the NEW stadium?

The seats are going in down the left field line!!!

All photos: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

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WCBS 880 Video of Monument Park being picked up and moved

2008-11-12T17:58:00.006-05:00

Here is some fun video of construction workers picking up monument park and moving it. Mystique, aura and ghosts be damned:

Thanks to WCBS 880 for dropping me a line, alerting me to this video!

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Stadium Constuction 12.5 Days ahead of schedule, set to finish on February 4th

2008-11-11T14:43:00.005-05:00

Everyone knows that this blog has had its issues with Journal News Beat Blogger Peter Abraham. While we will never be fans of his opinion, persona or attitude, we do recognize that when he is doing what he is doing best - getting pertinent Yankee information to the fans before even the Yankees can - he is a revolutionary figure in the blogoshere.

With that said, Abraham is the first out of today's Yankees/Cisco press conference with up to the minute Yankee Stadium construction information.

Of note, the Stadium is 12 and a half days ahead of schedule. In a previous post, we had referenced the original completion date of February 17. Without any delays, the Stadium should now be complete on February 4 - 85 short days away! The new Metro North Station is behind schedule (like everything else the MTA does) and will not open until at least the third homestand (May 15,2009). Finally, Lonn Trost gave word that there are still 7 unsold luxury suites due to the economical downturn. Sell your stocks people, investing in the Yankees is the way to go!

You won't often find us citing Abraham's blog since you can find link dumps on many of the 1,085,093 Yankee blogs out there. However, when he is first with information pertinent to Yankee season ticket holders, it needs to be done.

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Cisco Systems and The Yankees bring us StadiumVisionTM

2008-11-11T11:22:00.005-05:00

There was a fancy press conference in Midtown Manhattan today announcing a joint-venture between the Yankees and Cisco Systems that will provide cutting-edge technology to the new Yankee Stadium. Getting down to the nitty gritty, the new Stadium will have HD televisions - a LOT of them - displaying actual HD content. This is a far cry from the old Yankee Stadium where the only HD television in a public location that I ever saw was at a loge-level "Stadium Services" booth. This 42 inch flat screen regularly displayed standard definition Yankee classics stretched sadly to fit the 16:9 screen. It was really a microcosm of how outdated the "old" Yankee Stadium truly was.

Beyond the HD televisions everywhere, another item of note from the press release is the technology that the stadium is equipped for:

Fans of the Future: Cisco and the New York Yankees have also kept an eye toward the future to ensure that the stadium remains state-of-the-art for years to come. For example, the new stadium is equipped to support future fan use of mobile devices for ordering concessions from their seat, viewing instant replays or chatting in real time with friends inside and outside the stadium. In addition, the stadium has the capability to allow fans to communicate with players before or after the game using interactive video-based technology.

Note that the release is very clear that this technology is not to be expected right away. When the Stadium opens in April, you can expect a lot of new HDTVs, but not much other exciting tech-toys. To put things in perspective, it does not appear that there will immediately be anything cutting-edge in the new Stadium rivaling Seattle's Safeco Field "Nintendo DS Fan Network". They are "keeping an eye toward the future", so I am hopeful that some fascinating technology will be heading our way soon enough.

The entire release is available on Cisco's Website.

UPDATE: Not mentioned in the release, but information that came out of the press conference is that the ENTIRE stadium will be high speed wi-fi enabled. This will eventually be used for the "fans of the future" features explained above. No word yet if this will be an open network that your uber-cool Iphone will be able to access on opening day.

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