well.. the stRangers have put an expiration date on their offer to Zito of this weekend, I think it's 6 years/$84 million (with an option for a seventh at $15m)... which I don't think is bad for a pitcher who's fastball isn't what it used to be... they're hoping that he'll be like Maddux or Rogers (I never thought I'd use those two together as an example) of someone who knows how to pitch... but I guess the possibility of him being a stRanger is over now...
Boras won't blink... not when there's BoSox and NYY money to be had out there...
Edited to post that, holy moley, the SFGiants 7 years and $120 something... which, after taxes and cost of living is about the same as the stRangers! without the heat...
The first date posted for Pitchers and catchers to report for spring training is Feb 15 (Cleveland Indians) ... which I believe is 48 days from today...
While I'm certainly not in favor of high ticket prices, I'm addicted to going to as many live games as I can.
Maybe it's the my upbringing, when I had to beg my parents to drive from Connecticut to finally see Yankee Stadium.
I consider it my good fortune to now live within 15 minutes of Dodger Stadium, and never tire of going .
I space out sitting in 'good' vs 'bad' seats. Since I rarely go to a bar, or blow my money on other vices, Dodger (and Angel) baseball games have become the luxury items I allow myself.
I also enjoy walking to the local ballfield and watching Little League. It's all good.
Of course when I'm home I'm tuning into whatever gaame is on. I can watch The Devil Rays vs Royals and be happy.
And it's still way cheaper than football or basketball games.
The winter withdrawal is getting to me. I..need...Dodger...Dog.
In someways ( bear with me on this one) I wish the Sox hadnt won the series ( blasphemy!), Not only do the Sox have the highest ticket prices in the majors, but I have a better chance at landing a seat on the next moon shuttle than a ticket at face value from the box office--that leaves the scalpers--and since the hype of "Red Sox Nation" has grown to fever pitch-here and around the country-the demand is such that for decent seats, parking and all the hoohah--you can shell out 4 or 5 hundred bucks for a game if you bring a date and an easy 200 going it alone....Which is good for commerce I 'spose but misses the entire point of baseball....the days in Boston where you could just drop what you were doing and think "Lets go to the game tonight..." aren't there unless you are willing to take quite a little sting-- Its actually easier for me to go to the Bronx, Baltimore or even Toronto, if I want to see the Sox--which somehow just isnt right.
I built my love of the Sox by having a paper route and being a short train ride from Fenway as a kid where I could get in for $1.00 and enjoy a summer day and baseball. The RedSox marketing frenzy has taken that great aspect of the game far away and it will probably never return ( unless they go 54-108 some year), which, although it is fun to watch them win, takes a huge part of the game, the spontaniety, away from the common fan as well.
Every game is on TV which is Ok, but its not the ballpark experience-that especially you hiway know during these years anyway much better than me. I dont know what can be done, if anything, because the commerce of the professional game has grown so huge---I go once in awhile-and do enjoy myself--but even though I do love it I get conflicted whether or not to support the escalating inaccessibilty ---The game is the same -but the business of the game is out of control..
Like Hiway it doesnt really matter all that much where I am -These days I get as many kicks (maybe more) watching a little league or High School game-when Im old maybe the sox will suck again and I can spend my elder years being one oif the curmudgeons i saw as a child roosting around the ballpark
I hear you both... thank God we have a minor league park here as well although the stRangers are 10 minutes from my house and the Frisco Roughriders are an hour.
I see these (much) bigger contracts being handed out this winter and I see the owners crying foul again at the next CBA negotiations... they're gonna want (and probably need) a salary cap to protect themselves from themselves...
Because the "luxury tax" thing aint workin'... it would be nice to see a level playing field and managers manage...
It's a shame that there isn't some way of taking in a Fenway game on the cheap.
Even at Dodger Stadium, which automatically draws over 3 million a year, even when they're awful, which is usually, you can still get a 6 dollar ticket either in the outfield bleachers, or the 'red zone' miles above the area behind home plate.(course it's not 'red' anymore-the stadium is all 'pastels'now)
The outfield is cut off from the rest of the park. You can't even take a walk around the stadium from there. You also can't buy beer out there, and the food is limited to Dodger Dogs, nachos, and peanuts. I don't like watching games looking in from the outfield, so my preference when I just want a cheap seat is to go behind home plate.
It may be the best bargain in baseball. You're a mile high, but the field is spread out below you, and the game is very enjoyable from up there. Add the San Gabriel mountains and palm trees in the distance and you've got a perfect summers evening for 20 bucks if you add a Dodger Dog and coke. (I forgot-30 including parking.)
Still I admit I spoil myself as a rule, and find ways to get seats on the loge level, 3rd base side. It's expensive-I often pay 40-50 bucks a seat, but like I said-it's my only real 'vice', and at the moment I'm fortunate enough to afford it. Still nowhere near the 200 dollar a night per, scenario that mstar describes. I'm sure it's as bad or worse at Yankee Stadium.
Now I'm reading that Dodger tickets are going up, based on their 'successful' season-ha ha.
Wow! Its costing me more than that at 'pass the hat' high school games these days
I'm sure it's as bad or worse at Yankee Stadium.
Its actually not that bad, I probably mentioned about a ton of pages ago, that I live almost exactly the same distance from Fenway and Yankee Stadium on the Mass/NY border-- Its not that bad there, you can still get reasonably priced tickets ( sometimes even at face value..) and get into to almost any game, as much as I have an in born affinity against the place Ive been down there or a few games the last few years--Its definitely not $30.00 but its not $200.00 either....I also know a few NewYorkers who will set me up from time to time--unfortunately Ive lost most of my Boston contacts
Interesting thing happened this morning--I went to a church near me, and they had a little monument out front. It was one of those "ON THIS SITE" things--- so i stopped to read it.
When the church was being built in 1791, there was several windows that were broken during the construction, so the town (Pittsfield, Mass.) issued a law prohibiting the playing of
"wicket, cricket, base ball, bat ball, foot ball, cat, fives or any other game or games played with a ball" closer than 80 yards from the building.
It was the first written mention of " base ball" apparently anywhere.
It felt sort of cool to be there, where a game was being played 215 years ago..I swear I could almost see 'em....
Well, as easy as it is to complain about ticket prices AND the way the Dbacks manage the BOB (which has been pretty lousy since the first year -- 1998), the DO have 2 sections of seats that they sell only on game days (no advance ticket sales) for $1 (one dollar). They are the farthest sections down each baseline in the upper deck. To get a seat for $1, a fan must get in line before the gates open. The box office opens when the gates open for each game (two hours before first pitch). And the seats in the first couple of rows in those sections aren't bad seats.
It's a pain in the bee-hind to wait in that line (especially for day games in the middle months of the season... 100+ temps AND no shade), but when the team is playing well, it can be worth it. The line and the B O is on the NE side of the stadium. For evening games, the sun has already made it far enough to the west so that there's at least shade.
I just finished a really good (great) Orlando Sentinel article on Jeff Reardon that was sent to me that I'll pass on--- a year or so after his arrest for robbery. Goes in depth to examine the hell he's been living in since his son died. It's sad stuff but worth the read
...a broken down Big Unit is probably still pretty good... he's probably good for a .666 winning percentage!
Indeed. I figure if he wins 12 games in 2007, that's more than any one pitcher for the Dbacks in 2006, except for the reigning Cy Young winner, Brandon Webb.
And the fans will likely be more supportive than they were for him in the Big Apple.
I dont know --no cartilege left in his knees ---coming off back surgery, (how much?) 16 or so million a year PLUS two more years?
I spose Arizona is going to use him as a draw and a name, He could be fine but he looks dangerously close to turning into David Wells to me (perpetually injured-and just when you think he'll come around the bend---doesn't)
I think the Yankees got the better end of that deal--They are loaded (loaded) with young talent in the minors, which gives them all sorts of options.
I've been thinking Johnson was about done for about 5 years now, so I clearly know nothing. I was not surprised at all that he did not live up to expectations in the Bronx-meaning he wasn't dominant in the playoffs-which is the yardstick Yankee pitchers are judged by.
I am looking forward to seeing him at Dodger Stadium again.
Ripken and Gwynn are 'no brainers' for the Hall, and I'm glad they got in first ballot. I figured they would, but you never know.
Of course the controversy is all about McGuire not getting in due to steroids.
I just saw that there were a few writers who DIDN'T vote for Ripken and Gwynn. I can only wonder what brilliant thinking went into those decisions.
I read something last night about one writer submitting a blank ballot because he did not want either Gwynn or Ripkin to be UNANIMOUS winners. No player in the Hall has ever been elected by receiving 100 percent of the vote. He felt that these two did not deserve to be the first or only ones to earn that distinction. Nothing more to it than that, I understand.
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kimberly
I missed the LLWS. The boy had baseball practice 4-7. Playing in a USSSA tournament this coming weekend. The new season has just started. Can ya'll believe we are in September of the ML baseball s
mstar1
Dont scare me like that Bolsh--the way you posted I wasnt sure if it was a done deal--I had to go check....Im on the fence whether to go for Halliday or not---I'd love to have him but I'd hate to give
hiway29
I love those fan trades where players you don't care about, plus a 'prospect', are offered up for a major player. Yeah, the Jays will jump at that deal.
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Tom Strange
Maybe it'll work out for him... he's definitely on the downside of his career arc...
We traded prospects with the White Sox... it's tough to tell where we're going these days... I guess we just have to "keep the faith"...
(plus, we have the whole Buck's gone thing going for us this year!)
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Tom Strange
well.. the stRangers have put an expiration date on their offer to Zito of this weekend, I think it's 6 years/$84 million (with an option for a seventh at $15m)... which I don't think is bad for a pitcher who's fastball isn't what it used to be... they're hoping that he'll be like Maddux or Rogers (I never thought I'd use those two together as an example) of someone who knows how to pitch... but I guess the possibility of him being a stRanger is over now...
Boras won't blink... not when there's BoSox and NYY money to be had out there...
Edited to post that, holy moley, the SFGiants 7 years and $120 something... which, after taxes and cost of living is about the same as the stRangers!
without the heat...
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hiway29
Zito crosses the bay and signs with the Giants, for enough money to buy the golden gate bridge.
I didn't know the Giants wanted to throw around that kind of money. If they think Zito is going to bring them a title, they may be disappointed.
Still, in the NL west, any advantage can make a difference.
Looking forward to seeing him at Dodger Stadium. 3 more months until opening day !
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Tom Strange
Let's see..
Zito: 126 Million ARod: 250 Million
Zito: 7 years ARod: 10 years
Zito: Over $500,000/game ARod: Over $160,000/game
(assuming 35 starts/year for Zito and 150 games/year for ARod)
Although I consider him (Boras) the baseball anti-christ, I can certainly see why players want him to be their agent.
San Fran pulled a "Hicks" in my opinion, their offer was way above what the stRangers or Mets were offering... they bid against themselves.
Oh well... I don't wonder why a ticket to the game costs so much...
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Rocky
Good thing most games are televised (at least in the local markets)...
I sure can't see my self paying to see very many games.
And what, only about 7 weeks until pitchers/catchers report?
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Rocky
http://www.springtrainingonline.com/featur...rting_dates.htm
The first date posted for Pitchers and catchers to report for spring training is Feb 15 (Cleveland Indians) ... which I believe is 48 days from today...
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hiway29
While I'm certainly not in favor of high ticket prices, I'm addicted to going to as many live games as I can.
Maybe it's the my upbringing, when I had to beg my parents to drive from Connecticut to finally see Yankee Stadium.
I consider it my good fortune to now live within 15 minutes of Dodger Stadium, and never tire of going .
I space out sitting in 'good' vs 'bad' seats. Since I rarely go to a bar, or blow my money on other vices, Dodger (and Angel) baseball games have become the luxury items I allow myself.
I also enjoy walking to the local ballfield and watching Little League. It's all good.
Of course when I'm home I'm tuning into whatever gaame is on. I can watch The Devil Rays vs Royals and be happy.
And it's still way cheaper than football or basketball games.
The winter withdrawal is getting to me. I..need...Dodger...Dog.
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mstar1
You're in a great position there,
In someways ( bear with me on this one) I wish the Sox hadnt won the series ( blasphemy!), Not only do the Sox have the highest ticket prices in the majors, but I have a better chance at landing a seat on the next moon shuttle than a ticket at face value from the box office--that leaves the scalpers--and since the hype of "Red Sox Nation" has grown to fever pitch-here and around the country-the demand is such that for decent seats, parking and all the hoohah--you can shell out 4 or 5 hundred bucks for a game if you bring a date and an easy 200 going it alone....Which is good for commerce I 'spose but misses the entire point of baseball....the days in Boston where you could just drop what you were doing and think "Lets go to the game tonight..." aren't there unless you are willing to take quite a little sting-- Its actually easier for me to go to the Bronx, Baltimore or even Toronto, if I want to see the Sox--which somehow just isnt right.
I built my love of the Sox by having a paper route and being a short train ride from Fenway as a kid where I could get in for $1.00 and enjoy a summer day and baseball. The RedSox marketing frenzy has taken that great aspect of the game far away and it will probably never return ( unless they go 54-108 some year), which, although it is fun to watch them win, takes a huge part of the game, the spontaniety, away from the common fan as well.
Every game is on TV which is Ok, but its not the ballpark experience-that especially you hiway know during these years anyway much better than me. I dont know what can be done, if anything, because the commerce of the professional game has grown so huge---I go once in awhile-and do enjoy myself--but even though I do love it I get conflicted whether or not to support the escalating inaccessibilty ---The game is the same -but the business of the game is out of control..
Like Hiway it doesnt really matter all that much where I am -These days I get as many kicks (maybe more) watching a little league or High School game-when Im old maybe the sox will suck again and I can spend my elder years being one oif the curmudgeons i saw as a child roosting around the ballpark
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Tom Strange
I hear you both... thank God we have a minor league park here as well although the stRangers are 10 minutes from my house and the Frisco Roughriders are an hour.
I see these (much) bigger contracts being handed out this winter and I see the owners crying foul again at the next CBA negotiations... they're gonna want (and probably need) a salary cap to protect themselves from themselves...
Because the "luxury tax" thing aint workin'... it would be nice to see a level playing field and managers manage...
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hiway29
It's a shame that there isn't some way of taking in a Fenway game on the cheap.
Even at Dodger Stadium, which automatically draws over 3 million a year, even when they're awful, which is usually, you can still get a 6 dollar ticket either in the outfield bleachers, or the 'red zone' miles above the area behind home plate.(course it's not 'red' anymore-the stadium is all 'pastels'now)
The outfield is cut off from the rest of the park. You can't even take a walk around the stadium from there. You also can't buy beer out there, and the food is limited to Dodger Dogs, nachos, and peanuts. I don't like watching games looking in from the outfield, so my preference when I just want a cheap seat is to go behind home plate.
It may be the best bargain in baseball. You're a mile high, but the field is spread out below you, and the game is very enjoyable from up there. Add the San Gabriel mountains and palm trees in the distance and you've got a perfect summers evening for 20 bucks if you add a Dodger Dog and coke. (I forgot-30 including parking.)
Still I admit I spoil myself as a rule, and find ways to get seats on the loge level, 3rd base side. It's expensive-I often pay 40-50 bucks a seat, but like I said-it's my only real 'vice', and at the moment I'm fortunate enough to afford it. Still nowhere near the 200 dollar a night per, scenario that mstar describes. I'm sure it's as bad or worse at Yankee Stadium.
Now I'm reading that Dodger tickets are going up, based on their 'successful' season-ha ha.
They claim the 6 buckers aren't going up tho.
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mstar1
6 Bucks?
Wow! Its costing me more than that at 'pass the hat' high school games these days
Its actually not that bad, I probably mentioned about a ton of pages ago, that I live almost exactly the same distance from Fenway and Yankee Stadium on the Mass/NY border-- Its not that bad there, you can still get reasonably priced tickets ( sometimes even at face value..) and get into to almost any game, as much as I have an in born affinity against the place Ive been down there or a few games the last few years--Its definitely not $30.00 but its not $200.00 either....I also know a few NewYorkers who will set me up from time to time--unfortunately Ive lost most of my Boston contacts
Interesting thing happened this morning--I went to a church near me, and they had a little monument out front. It was one of those "ON THIS SITE" things--- so i stopped to read it.
When the church was being built in 1791, there was several windows that were broken during the construction, so the town (Pittsfield, Mass.) issued a law prohibiting the playing of
"wicket, cricket, base ball, bat ball, foot ball, cat, fives or any other game or games played with a ball" closer than 80 yards from the building.
It was the first written mention of " base ball" apparently anywhere.
It felt sort of cool to be there, where a game was being played 215 years ago..I swear I could almost see 'em....
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Rocky
Well, as easy as it is to complain about ticket prices AND the way the Dbacks manage the BOB (which has been pretty lousy since the first year -- 1998), the DO have 2 sections of seats that they sell only on game days (no advance ticket sales) for $1 (one dollar). They are the farthest sections down each baseline in the upper deck. To get a seat for $1, a fan must get in line before the gates open. The box office opens when the gates open for each game (two hours before first pitch). And the seats in the first couple of rows in those sections aren't bad seats.
It's a pain in the bee-hind to wait in that line (especially for day games in the middle months of the season... 100+ temps AND no shade), but when the team is playing well, it can be worth it. The line and the B O is on the NE side of the stadium. For evening games, the sun has already made it far enough to the west so that there's at least shade.
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mstar1
Wow
Its good to hear that MLB still has a $1.00 ticket somewhere!
If I can find a cheap flight I can fly across the country, take in a game at the BOB and fly home cheaper than I can get in a game at my own ballpark!
Orlando Sentinel
I just finished a really good (great) Orlando Sentinel article on Jeff Reardon that was sent to me that I'll pass on--- a year or so after his arrest for robbery. Goes in depth to examine the hell he's been living in since his son died. It's sad stuff but worth the read
remind me once in awhile not to complain
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Tom Strange
As we slog our way towards "The Super Bowl" (and hope that Tony Romo can overcome that play), I have only these words to say to you all:
Pitchers and catchers in five and a half weeks.
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Rocky
39 days!
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Rocky
Okay, so it's NOW 38 days.
And apparently it's now official (pending a physical examination), the Unit will take his Spring Training in Tucson rather than in Florida.
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Tom Strange
...a broken down Big Unit is probably still pretty good... he's probably good for a .666 winning percentage!
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Rocky
Indeed. I figure if he wins 12 games in 2007, that's more than any one pitcher for the Dbacks in 2006, except for the reigning Cy Young winner, Brandon Webb.
And the fans will likely be more supportive than they were for him in the Big Apple.
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mstar1
I dont know --no cartilege left in his knees ---coming off back surgery, (how much?) 16 or so million a year PLUS two more years?
I spose Arizona is going to use him as a draw and a name, He could be fine but he looks dangerously close to turning into David Wells to me (perpetually injured-and just when you think he'll come around the bend---doesn't)
I think the Yankees got the better end of that deal--They are loaded (loaded) with young talent in the minors, which gives them all sorts of options.
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hiway29
I've been thinking Johnson was about done for about 5 years now, so I clearly know nothing. I was not surprised at all that he did not live up to expectations in the Bronx-meaning he wasn't dominant in the playoffs-which is the yardstick Yankee pitchers are judged by.
I am looking forward to seeing him at Dodger Stadium again.
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Tom Strange
................W...L....ERA....G..GS..CG
2004 ARI..16..14...2.60...35..35....4
2005 NYY..17...8...3.79...34..34....4
2006 NYY..17..11...5.00...33..33...2
I've thought he was "finished" as well hiway...
Even if he is coming off of surgery for a herniated disc... we'll take those numbers here any day...
Plus... he's such a mental guy and I think he really feels 'at home' in Arizona...
I really was surprised his numbers were so good in NY because of the impression you get from the media up there...
Of course (1) he and the press didn't get off to a good start there and neither gave an inch and (2) like hiway said: it's about October up there.
I think it's probably going to turn out to be a win win situation...
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Rocky
THAT could be because he IS at home in Arizona. He LIVES here.
Anyway, changing the subject just a little...
MLB.com is now reporting that Cal Ripkin and Tony Gwynn HAVE BEEN elected to the HoF... in their first year of eligibility.
I say they both deserve it.
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hiway29
Ripken and Gwynn are 'no brainers' for the Hall, and I'm glad they got in first ballot. I figured they would, but you never know.
Of course the controversy is all about McGuire not getting in due to steroids.
I just saw that there were a few writers who DIDN'T vote for Ripken and Gwynn. I can only wonder what brilliant thinking went into those decisions.
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Rocky
I read something last night about one writer submitting a blank ballot because he did not want either Gwynn or Ripkin to be UNANIMOUS winners. No player in the Hall has ever been elected by receiving 100 percent of the vote. He felt that these two did not deserve to be the first or only ones to earn that distinction. Nothing more to it than that, I understand.
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