April 3, 2009

First game impressions

By: Joe Auriemma

It’s the middle of the fifth inning in the first game here at the new Yankee Stadium and I already have some first impressions of the game play at the ball park.

It’s only fitting that Derek Jeter got the first Yankees hit to start things off in the bottom of the first inning.

Robinson Cano, who hit the first home run in the new stadium in the bottom of the second, crushed that ball into the right field bleachers. The bleachers are more set back than in the other stadium, so to hit that ball halfway up in the stands is a big time shot. I told my colleague Chris Shearn that I thought, even thought the ball was a line drive, that it was hanging up in the air more than I remember from the other park.

When Hideki Matsui and Cody Ransom hit their home runs, I felt the same way. The ball is carrying and hanging in the air tonight. I remember that the other stadium it would only really do that when the weather got hot out.

I spoke with YES Network commentator John Flaherty who also made that same observation.

I’m not going to put too much stock into the ball carrying right now until I get more of a sample throughout the season. However, if this trend does continue, this could become a very good hitters park.

Now in the top of the sixth, Mariano Rivera has come into the ballgame for his first ever appearance in the new park. Rivera, who came into his signature song Enter Sandman by Metallica, got a very big ovation from the crowd and with every pitch, flash bulbs continue to light up the stadium.

April 3, 2009

Party crasher

By Jon Lane
Funny post from Peter Abraham:

“Sitting in my car, not moving on the Deegan in a thunderstorm. It’s pouring.”

About 20 minutes ago I spoke with my YES colleague Kevin Sullivan, already at Yankee Stadium. The initial prognosis isn’t good at all. I understand that the game is a sellout, but it’s also an exhibition game. The Yankees play again tomorrow, work out on Sunday and then head to Baltimore to begin playing for real on Monday. Is there a reason why to put anyone at risk to injury?

This game may be canceled all together. A doubleheader tomorrow would be silly and there’s no way either team is playing on Sunday. so unless Mother Nature decides to provide a little slack, the new Stadium’s dry run will have to wait a few more hours.

Our YESNetwork.com film crew is there to shoot more of the Stadium’s exciting features. Whether I make it out there later is another story. My objective was to work the crowd and document fan reaction and interaction. That’s not too much fun when you’re being pounded by the tag team of rain and wind.

Tonight’s game is scheduled to air on YES at 7 p.m. One thing is for certain, you can check out a one-hour pregame show at six for a ton of interviews and features spotlighting the new palace on 161st Street and River Avenue. We’ll also keep you posted as to the status of the game. Worst case, YES will air Yankees vs. Cubs tomorrow at 1 p.m. The forecast is not calling for rain until later in the day.

April 3, 2009

Impeccable timing

By Jon Lane
Tonight, the new Yankee Stadium is scheduled for the first of two dry runs when the Yankees take on the Cubs in an exhibition game. Of course, it’s raining heavily here in New York and the forecast calls for it to continue all day into the evening.

Weather permitting (baseball fans hate those words), here’s a rundown of what’s on tap once fans enter the gates:

4:00 p.m.             Gates open to ticket holders
4:20 – 5:20 p.m.    Yankees Batting Practice
5:20 – 6:20 p.m.    Cubs Batting Practice
6:55 p.m.             Giant American Flag unfurled by 50 West Point Cadets
6:56 p.m.             National Anthem performed by the West Point Band
7:01 p.m.             Ceremonial first pitch
7:06 p.m.             Yankees take the field
7:08 p.m.             First pitch

It’s Chien-Ming Wang against former Yankee Ted Lilly. Once I arrive later this afternoon, the plan is to gather some feedback from Cubs players, fans and maybe check out the diverse menu items available for all tastes. My colleagues, Joe Auriemma and Chris Shearn, will be touring the new Monument Park.

Right now on YESNetwork.com are exclusive video interviews conducted by Christa Robinson, Joe’s photo journal, and on-line diaries from yours truly on the day’s activities and player anecdotes.

The Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium is a unique dining experience combining rock music and Yankees baseball. While having breakfast at the bar on Thursday, I got a kick of reading Yankees news on a customized Yankees ticker while watching Eric Clapton perform “Layla.”

This release from the Yankees:
Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the pilot of Flight 1549 who successfully landed the impaired plane safely on New York’s Hudson River in January, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the start of the Yankees’ 1:05 p.m. exhibition game vs. the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, April 4. The Yankees will honor “Sully” (a Yankees fan since boyhood) as well as Flight 1549 co-pilot Jeff Skiles and flight-crew member Doreen Welsh in a pregame ceremony.

In addition, the Yankees will welcome Challenger, the renowned American Bald Eagle, who will fly across Yankee Stadium from the top of the Bleachers Caf� to the pitcher’s mound at the conclusion of the national anthem.

April 2, 2009

When 50 grown men became five years old

By Jon Lane
We were let in at 11:55 a.m. For many of us, it was our first eyewitness account of the new Yankees clubhouse. My first glance is best summed up by a radio friend of mine who muttered, “Joe Girardi will need a megaphone to hold team meetings.”

I then turned to my left and saw Nick Swisher; his locker next to the main entrance. I heard a lot about Swisher’s glowing, infectious personality from my YES colleagues and saw it as the perfect time to introduce myself. After a handshake, all I needed to do was move my eyes from right to left. He picked up on what I was about to ask.

“I tell you, this is UN-BE-LEAVE-A-BLE!” Swisher said. “Last night when we got off the bus to come here, 50 grown men became five years old. I didn’t think they could top the last Yankee Stadium. They did that.”

_______________________

Phil Coke was one of many who passed on an immediate trip home after living in Florida for seven weeks, not wanting to wait any longer for a look at his new home away from home. “We were drooling when we first got here,” he said. “I’m still wiping it off.” Coke’s locker neighbor, Brian Bruney, then cut in with an important question.

“How does this computer work?” inquired Mariano Rivera’s primary set-up man. Each locker is affixed with a lap top kiosk with an internet connection and individual message centers used to relay information on team meetings, workouts, batting practice, or if the manager wishes to speak to you. Behind the machine, Coke unveiled a cubby hole that resembled a place to put a hot plate, but better used for vast storage.

_______________________

For an instant, Bruney wore a glum look on his face. After Saturday, the Yankees won’t be here until April 16 as their first nine games are on the road.

“It’s gonna suck for us to go on the road,” Bruney said, noting his belief that the new Stadium is “the best sports venue in the country.”

_______________________

The 2009 season will be Andy Pettitte’s 15th in Major League Baseball. You may think he’s seen it all, until you hear about his adventures just getting to the new place. Because he was sitting in traffic, a few people noticed him, which left the left-hander wondering to inquire about the legality of tinted windows.

“That was awkward,” said Pettitte on sitting his car on River Avenue waiting to make a left. For the first time ever, he was right under the No. 4 train. “The subway goes by, rocks are falling on my car. They have all cars parked on the side of the road and all commercial vehicles are delivering stuff in the morning. Literally the only way to get by them is to go into oncoming traffic, and they’re backed up at the red light. People were honking.”

Once he finally made it inside, Pettitte admitted getting used to his new surroundings will take some time. However, he already has his favorite spot staked out.

“I’m a big whirlpool guy,” Pettitte said. “There are unbelievable facilities to help keep the old body loose!”

_______________________

A couple of pitchers, Joba Chamberlain and Andy Pettitte, told Joe Girardi they felt the mound was a bit closer to the fans. Pettite said it felt like they took the old mound from Yankee Stadium and just brought it over and it might feel even closer once those seats are filled up.

“It looks beautiful,” Girardi said. “To hear our pitchers feel they’ve been on the mound already when they haven’t been there is a good sign.”

One reporter compared exploring the new surroundings to the anticipation of the old game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” when contestants would learn what’s hidden behind certain doors. The first door Girardi opened was …

…”the kitchen. That was the first door I opened to get to the clubhouse. I love to eat. It’s my passion in life.”

Girardi will have his chances. The Yankees have employed two chefs to cook and serve Yankees players and coaches.

_______________________

Derek Jeter was not among the group who visited here last night. In fact, before working out, he hadn’t seen the place, period.

“I walked in, came in the trainers’ room and been sitting here and you guys blocked off the whole view, so I can’t tell you how the clubhouse is,” Jeter said.

This morning, the team bus dropped them off and the players entered the clubhouse through a secret passageway. Freddy Schuman, known to longtime Yankees fans as “Freddy Sez” who carried a pot and teaspoon around the stands of the old Stadium, told me at the Hard Rock that fans won’t be able to see players come in and out of the new Stadium, unlike the old place where a crowd would wait behind a barricade as their favorites entered through a press gate.

Jeter will miss that interaction, but that’s not all. At the old place, his locker was next to Thurman Munson’s, which was left empty after the former captain’s death in 1979.

“You miss it but you appreciate it,” Jeter said. “It was special for me to be next to his locker.”

He’ll also miss Bob Sheppard, who hasn’t officially announced his retirement, yet chances of him appearing in the new building are slim. Jeter, though, will continue to step into the batter’s box to the backdrop of Sheppard’s recorded introduction.

“When I grew up, that was the one voice you always heard,” Jeter said. “That comes along with Yankee Stadium. People talk about tradition. He’s a part of that tradition as any of the players. I wanted to be introduced by him because that’s the only person I’ve ever known. I wanted to have it recorded just in case there was one day he decided to retire. He will always announce it.”

Jeter first heard Sheppard’s voice in person in 1986. A kid from Michigan, Jeter spent his summers in New Jersey and his grandmother took him to his first game. The only thing he remembered was that everything was big, but not as big as when he appeared on the field and worked out with Don Mattingly, Wade Boggs, Mike Gallego and Pat Kelly five years later, after completing rookie ball.

“For me growing up watching all these guys play, like Mattingly, and then being on the same field with him, it was kind of weird,” Jeter said. “Dave [Winfield] was the guy I looked up to growing up and when you get to meet him and all of the guys, you really get spoiled.”

Inevitably, the dismantling of the old Yankee Stadium will begin, first with the removal of the seats before the city takes apart the venerable building piece by piece. Like the rest of us, that’s something Jeter will never be able to let go.

“That will definitely be tough, especially when you think about all the things that’s happened there,” Jeter said. “It’s one thing to get adjusted to a new Stadium, but when you see the old one getting torn down, I’m sure it will be … what can you do? This is the good and that’s part of the bad, seeing that Stadium go.”

April 2, 2009

Photos: Welcome to the new Yankee Stadium

Joe Auriemma is at the new Yankee Stadium today conducting interviews for YES’ parent site (YESNetwork.com). While there, he is also snapping photos of what he sees for your enjoyment. Keep coming back for more photos.

Andy Pettitte takes the field for his first-ever workout at the new stadium

Russ Salzberg interviews Yankees starting CF Brett Gardner

Brett Gardner signs autographs for the fans

The field is ready for its first-ever batting practice

A look at the stadium’s new HD screen

Continue reading →

April 2, 2009

So it begins ….

By Jon Lane
William Blake wrote, “The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom.” At first glance, the new building on 161st Street and River Avenue is a modern-day manifestation of this sentiment.

I was in the building a mere five minutes, and the stadium already made enough of an impression to last a lifetime. For those few moments, it wasn’t only about a day’s work but an appreciation of what it took to get here and the payoff of a collective effort between organization, borough and city.

As I type, the towering screen above center field is showing Bernie Williams playing an instrumental version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as part of the Hard Rock Caf�’s celebratory guitar smash, a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of the Hard Rock Caf� at Yankee Stadium.

I’m barely getting started. Upon my arrival to the Hard Rock at Gate 6, across the McDonald’s on River Avenue at 8:30 this morning, it’s been non-stop touring and picture taking, with a hardy welcome breakfast in between. There’s lots more coming from today’s workouts. The Yankees are back in town, and there’s an exciting team and breathtaking ballpark to discuss.

Right now, Ace Frehley is playing a live version of his hit, “Back in the New York Groove.” You cannot make this stuff up!

11:45 a.m.
The Yankees are in town, back as a unit for the first time since saying farewell on September 21, 2008, but for the first time since 1923, the place next door is silent and empty. No ghosts, no relevance. It’s really strange.

Back at the Hard Rock, once I got a chance to poke around. I played the role of paparazzi. Numerous dignitaries were made available for photo opportunities. Outdoors rehearsing were children from the Bronx-based Renaissance EMS, an organization down the street at 161st and Third that offers music classes to neighborhood kids. It’s an affordable program offering mentorship and education to teach self-discipline through the use of music.

“Kids learn to be disciplined by learning instruments and using that knowledge in a constructive way,” said Wayne Jeffrey, a guitar instructor at Renaissance.

At the end of the Great Hall, high above the Yankees’ team store, lies a gargantuan high-definition video screen. In between the screen and the main entrance at Gate 4 was a classically designed tribute to Yankees history, photos of the many greats that played in pinstripes.

Lenny Caro, president and C.E.O. of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce, who worked with the Yankees and New York City to make this building a reality, praised the effort in creating jobs during tough economic times. The cynical outlook is that while Johnny Six Figures can afford the best seats and enjoy the luxurious aspects of the new Stadium, Joe Lunch Pail can use the experience of being in the building as a suspension of disbelief.

“It’s hard, I’m not going to say it’s not,” Caro said. “The average guy is not going to come to 10 games a year. He may come to four or five. We need to forget. We get up every morning, put on the news and you’re depressed in two minutes. If you can get a little sunshine for that day, take advantage of it.”

1:47 p.m.
A couple of notable quotes from Hal Steinbrenner, who met the media after Joe Girardi:

On selling a beautiful, but pricey experience during an economic recession:
“We understand a lot of our fans are struggling. This is the worst recession in most of our lifetimes. At the same time, I think baseball has always been an escape for people. What we’re going to provide here is an unbelievable experience for thousands and thousands of our fans. Despite the troubles they’re going through right now, maybe they’ll be able to get away for two or three hours and get their mind off things. We’re going to make that experience tremendous. We see that as our role. We provide entertainment and we’re going to do it right.”

On the perception that the new Yankee Stadium is a splashy and gaudy endeavor being marketed during a terribly tough time for New York City:

“We started building this two years ago and there is no doubt times were different. I don’t see this as ostentatious or flashy. I see this as classy. We did our best to bring all the tradition this great franchise has had the last century into this ballpark and at the same time make it as nice as we can for our fans. If some people want to call it flashy, so be it. I just think this building is classy and will be here a long, long time.

On whether Joe Girardi will be on the hot seat if the Yankees fail to reach the playoffs:

“I haven’t even thought about it. As far as I’m concerned we’re going to make the playoffs. Our fans expect that every year and we expect that every year; my dad expects that every year. This like that, we’ll cross that bridge if we come to it, but I’m not expecting that at all.”

On whether anything less than a World Series is letting the fans down:

“I can sit up here and say if we don’t win a World Series, we’ve let our fans down. I will stand up here and say that because that’s the mentality of everybody in this organization.”

I’ll have much more on these expectations in my 2009 Yankee Season Preview running this weekend.

Some quick press box nuances before I head down:

In the old place, the writer’s work room and dining area were in the basement, which means you had to take an elevator to and from the press box before and after games. Here, everything is in one spot. The dining room, called Sheppard’s Place after the legendary Bob Sheppard, is across the media working area. From there, a private press elevator takes you downstairs to the clubhouses.

The team is working out down before a select group of about 1,000 fans. I’ll be back later with more observations and a separate diary on reactions from Yankees players.

3:46 p.m.
A colleague and friend said it best: “Today is the happiest day of the year.” (Unless the Yankees win the World Series, that is.)

On the field, in the clubhouse and in the stands, the new Yankee Stadium has everyone at a fever pitch, making it easy to forget that the Yankees still have two games left on their exhibition schedule. There are questions that are overlooked, but not to be ignored:

How long will this freshness, this newness, last? How helpful will a private chef, whirlpools, lap top kiosks affixed in every locker and that incredibly large (100 feet wide and nearly 60 feet tall) Diamond Vision be during the dog days of summer and that inevitable losing streak? This same colleague noted Nick Swisher in the dugout laughin
g with the enthusiasm of a child celebrating a birthday and Christmas on the same day. Will Swisher’s infectious personality help lift this team through the dark days and stop losing streaks before they grow exponentially out of hand?

That’s for another day. Dry runs are set for tomorrow night and Saturday afternoon, and Swisher already picked up on a nuance different from across the street: the wind. Even though this place is one block away and facing the same direction, balls hit into the outfield was moving more towards the right.

A preview of the 2009 World Series’ deciding game? Just wondering ….

4:01 p.m.
The blending of today and tomorrow with yesterday is the essence of the new Yankee Stadium. Tony Morante is the Director of Stadium Tours and the team’s resident historian who made his first trip to the original building in 1949.

“They showed that you can put a frieze up with the lights,” Morante said. “And that was a problem we had moving from 1975 into 1976 when the Stadium reopened. They determined they couldn’t do it because it would have been too heavy. This brings back April of 1923 once again. That’s our signature, the signature of Yankee Stadium. That’s the crown that makes it so special.”

Morante and his group are working on getting all 26 championship banners ready for Opening Day on April 16, weather permitting.

“These banners are so fragile, they’ve been pushed aside for 35 years now,” Morante said. “After having them properly restored, they’re still experiencing a lot of oxidation and it’s going to be very difficult for them to weather a lot of storm.”

Thanks for reading everyone. I’m back later with a new entry detailing some great anecdotes from the players, with one, Derek Jeter, looking ahead to the inevitable dismantling of the venerable facility across the street.

April 1, 2009

Report: Bob Sheppard retiring

By Jon Lane
The new Yankee Stadium will never sound like the venerable original building. In fact, Yankees games period will never sound the same again.

The New York Times‘ Jack Curry is reporting that Bob Sheppard has decided to retire as the Yankees’ public address announcer, a position he held proudly and executed with dignity since 1951

A bronchial infection forced Sheppard to miss all of last season, including Yankee Stadium’s final game on September 21, and was to keep him home for the new Stadium’s Opener on April 16.

Former Yankees and New York Jets broadcaster Paul Olden will work the Yankees’ exhibition games against the Cubs Friday and Saturday.

“I think Bob just wants to take it easy and no longer have the pressure of, ‘Can he? Will he? Or won’t he?'” Paul Doherty, a friend of Sheppard, told Curry in an e-mail message. “And, at 98, who can blame him?”

I’ll be back later with some memories of Sheppard, often imitated but never duplicated, and a look back at his first game on April 17, 1951.

_______________________

Where do I begin talking about Bob Sheppard? Well, Peter Abraham reports the Yankees said news of Sheppard’s retirement is news to them and not official, but it’s a safe bet that barring one of the Yankees’ dramatic and theatrical surprise appearances in the mold of Billy Martin and Roger Clemens, you won’t be hearing Sheppard’s voice in the new park. Thus, time to share a few anecdotes on who is forever a Yankees legend.

I could start with April 17, 1951, when he entered the limelight as the voice of Yankee Stadium, but I’ll wait. Instead, I start at Sheppard’s days as a speech professor at St. John’s University. My father-in-law worked at Suffolk County Federal Bank in Babylon, N.Y. The bank offered speech courses to better serve its customers. On the side, Sheppard taught those courses with my father-in-law as one of his students. Well before Sheppard became a Yankees institution, he was a man of class who once said that being a Professor of Speech is far more important than his work as an announcer.

That lineup on 4/17/51, Opening Day against the Red Sox, included future Hall of Famers Phil Rizzuto, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra. The Yankees defeated who years later would become their bitter rivals, 5-0, on the only day when DiMaggio and Mantle shared an Opening Day outfield.

I first met Sheppard in the Yankees dugout before Game 1 of the 1997 Division Series. I knew who he was (who didn’t?) but it was the first time I was able to place a face to Yankee Stadium’s booming, dignified and impeccable “Voice of God.” He greeted me as “young fella” and although he wasn’t as open to the media at that time — he politely declined an interview request about the playoff experience at Yankee Stadium — we spent about 10-15 minutes talking about the Yankees and their history. It was the first day he met me, yet were were talking like old chaps at the watering hole after a day’s work.

In subsequent years I ran into Sheppard either in the Stadium cafeteria – he’d be making a cup of Joe before heading up to his office — or more likely waiting for the elevator. On days I wasn’t on a tight deadline, I’d head for the clubhouse with less than two outs in the ninth inning and the game in hand to avoid the mass exodus from reporters and fans alike. Sheppard would be there too, except he’d be ready to bolt straight for the parking lot, into his car and on the highway back to Baldwin, N.Y. (the south shore of Long Island). Every hello was the same: with a warm, wide smile, quick thoughts on the game and pleasantries until next time.

Earlier I wrote Sheppard was one often imitated but never duplicated, which is one of fame’s highest honors. Still, a couple tried. One was Reggie Jackson, who after a game was making small talk with reporters until breaking into his best routine.

Another was Derek Jeter. The captain’s was not as good as Reggie’s but holds Sheppard in high enough regard that he had his ntroduction recorded on tape before his at-bats. For all of last season, every time Jeter walked to the batter’s box, you’d hear Sheppard’s voice ring, “Now batting for the Yankees, Number 2, De-rek Je-ter.”

It’ll be interesting to hear some of the Yankees’ takes on Sheppard’s retirement. Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez and others all had their name called by Sheppard, like so many of the game’s greats, as well as those just passing through. Alas, with all due respect to Paul Olden or whomever is chosen to sit in Sheppard’s chair, Posada said it best in an interview last March.

“Yankee Stadium is Bob Sheppard.”

There will never be another.

April 1, 2009

One more and done

By Jon Lane
The Yankees bid farewell to their Spring Training base in Tampa, Fla., this afternoon following their game against the Philadelphia Phillies. CC Sabathia is on the hill for his final tune-up before taking the ball Monday in Baltimore for Opening Day. The team flies back to New York later and will work out at the new Yankee Stadium tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. It’s about time too. I wholly agree with my colleagues Joe Auriemma and Jim Kaat that Spring Training is just too darn long.

Thursday morning marks the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium with a celebratory guitar smash, not a bad way to kick things off. For the record, the HRC sent me its hours of operation:

Non Game Days
11:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Game Days
10:00 AM – 10:00 PM (for 1:05 games)
11:00 AM – 12:00 AM (other start times)

Phone Number: 646-977-8888

Beginning with the HRC opening, I’ll be on location keeping a diary of the day’s events as well as Friday night during the new Stadium’s first dry run, the exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. Word has it Cubs fans are equally stoked to see the new place and it’ll be interesting to hear thoughts from manager Lou Piniella (a popular Yankees star and manager in the 1970s and ’80), and former Yankees Ted Lilly, Alfonso Soriano and Luis Vizcaino.

News and notes
Xavier Nady, hit on the left elbow yesterday in Sarasota, Fla., was a precautionary scratch.

According to Peter Abraham, these players have been added to the roster for the Cubs games on Friday and Saturday:

Doug Bernier
Kevin Cash
Shelley Duncan
Dan Giese
Steven Jackson
Justin Leone
Todd Linden
John Rodriguez

It’s official, Derek Jeter will lead off and Johnny Damon will bat second on Opening Day and beyond.

Former Yankees right-hander Jeff Karstens, traded to Pittsburgh in the deal that brought Nady and Damaso Marte to New York last July, won the final spot in the Pirates’ starting rotation. Good for him. He’s a good guy who though soft-spoken always had something intriguing to say. He’s been vexed by injury, so let’s see what he can do to keep his job secure.

Ross Ohlendorf, another player the Yankees sent to Pittsburgh in the trade, will be the Pirates’ No. 4 starter after a lights-out spring. Ohlendorf posted a sparkling 0.87 ERA and is in position for a breakout season from where I sit.

UPDATE
3:13 p.m. The Yankees released a statement from Joba Chamberlain, who today pleaded guilty to a Nebraska charge of drunken driving and was given probation.

“I am glad to put the legal aspect of this behind me. I made a mistake and hope over time to turn this into a positive learning experience for me and others.”

Chamberlain will rejoin the team tomorrow for the workouts at Yankee Stadium before returning to Tampa., Fla., to pitch in a Minor League game on Sunday. His first regular season start is April 12 in Kansas City.

March 31, 2009

Spring Training is way too long

By Joe Auriemma
Years ago, once the baseball season
ended, the players would shut down completely in the offseason. Most of
these Major Leaguers had jobs to make extra income. I know most people
can’t even fathom the thought that Hall of Famers, Yogi Berra and Phil
Rizzuto used to work at a men’s shop in Newark, just to try and support
their family, but it’s true. This was a time in which players needed a
lot of Spring Training action to get back in shape and ready for the
marathon that is the baseball season.

Nowadays, most players
don’t have to worry about a second job and treat baseball as a year-round profession. By the time most of them report to camp in February,
they are already in shape. To be fair, a lot of these player do shut
down for at least a month after the season is over to rest, but even
the pitchers now throw in the offseason to keep up their arm strength.

This spring season was longer because of the World Baseball Classic games, and when it’s all
said and done the Yankees are going to play 37 exhibition games. That
is literally almost a quarter of a 162-game schedule. That’s also not
including the time in which they report to camp just to work out the
first week-and-a-half.

I spoke with John Flaherty and Jim Kaat
about the Spring Training season down in Tampa, Fla., and both agreed that the
Grapefruit/Cactus campaign is way too long. Flaherty told me that most position players are
ready to go by March 15. If that’s the case, there is almost three more
weeks until the regular season actually starts after the time frame in
which Flaherty told me position players are fully ready for the season.

I
tried to get the pitcher’s perspective on the spring season when I spoke
with Kaat. He told me that even though pitchers need more time
to strengthen out their arms and stretch out their innings, he
concluded that the spring schedule is ridiculous. One thought that he
had was make the Spring schedule only 15-17 games in the month of March
and just have the pitchers report maybe a week earlier than the
position players. Most of these pitchers take the time to stretch out
their innings over at the team’s Minor League complexes anyway in
extended Spring Training games.

As for getting a good look at
potential fringe players that managers have to put on their final
rosters, I think teams can see them in the
shortened spring schedule, simulated games, Minor League games and at
practice during the month of March.

I, like most fans, are just
ready to get this baseball season going now. I’ve been ready for the
last two weeks and I think from the reaction of a lot of the players,
they have been more than ready too.

March 31, 2009

Ready to Rock!

By Jon Lane
Prior to Thursday’s workouts will be a pretty cool unveiling of the new Hard Rock Cafe at Yankee Stadium. Bernie Williams will be on hand along with rock legends Ace Frehley (KISS), Scott Ian and Frank Bello (Anthrax), Darryl “DMC” McDaniels (RUN DMC) and Anton Figg (Late Show Band). The restaurant/bar will officially open for business with what’s being billed as a Celebratory Guitar Smash.

The new Hard Rock Cafe Yankee Stadium is located at Gate 6 of the new facility. Williams is releasing his second CD “Moving Forward” and will be playing “Take Me
Out to the Ballgame” with children from the Bronx-based Renaissance
EMS, which received Hard Rock guitars at the Cafe ground-breaking last
spring, when Alex Rodriguez signed a huge Hard Rock guitar dressed in pinstripes.

Williams was a great ballplayer and is a fabulous musician. His first project, “The Journey Within,” is fantastic. As far as the Hard Rock, you can’t go wrong here. Rock and roll and Yankees memorabilia under one roof? Money. The food is pretty good too; I’d recommend the hot wings or the burger.

This from MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch: The Hard Rock is rumored to be staying open until 1 a.m. after Yankees home games. Nice!