Major League Baseball 2009

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Maybe they just didn't finish the idea in their heads? They figured the nice close dimensions would help their homerun totals... Just didn't follow that through and realize that it would help the other team too, especially if your pitching is suspect

It's the same dimensions. That's what's odd.

But not facing exactly the same direction.

Actually, both stadiums do face the same direction.

 

[Scout101]

Funny, baseball writers seem to agree with me on this one, when discussing this very problem:

The new Yankee Stadium is just across the street from the old park, but it's not aligned quite the same way as the old Yankee Stadium. In the late-afternoon shadows in the old park, the sun was in the eyes of the left fielder. Now the sun sets into the eyes of the center field and right fielder.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4080195

Buster Olney, not a random blogger.

so...?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Funny, baseball writers seem to agree with me on this one, when discussing this very problem:

The new Yankee Stadium is just across the street from the old park, but it's not aligned quite the same way as the old Yankee Stadium. In the late-afternoon shadows in the old park, the sun was in the eyes of the left fielder. Now the sun sets into the eyes of the center field and right fielder.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4080195

Buster Olney, not a random blogger.

so...?

Oh. I misunderstood. I thought you meant general compass directions and all that. They both face...northeast, I think...towards the subway line (in both cases you can see the 4 train go by during a game), but not *exactly* the same angle.

 

[Aragorn]

Even though tonight's Yankees-A's game was rained out, there were still seven home runs hit at new Yankee Stadium.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Even though tonight's Yankees-A's game was rained out, there were still seven home runs hit at new Yankee Stadium.

I'm not following...

 

[tomalak301]

It really sucks that the Giants have an off day and the A's are in New York. It's not raining here. In fact, the weather now is 91 degrees and quite hot. Great baseball weather.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm still pissed that the A's can't get their new park.

 

[Aragorn]

Even though tonight's Yankees-A's game was rained out, there were still seven home runs hit at new Yankee Stadium.

I'm not following...

It's in reference to the 28 home runs hit at new Yankee Stadium in the first six games.

 

[mimic]

I'm still pissed that the A's can't get their new park.

Seriously, what's with your obsession with teams getting new ballparks?

 

[tomalak301]

I'm still pissed that the A's can't get their new park.

Seriously, what's with your obsession with teams getting new ballparks?

I've been wondering that myself as well. If it's a "how many Ballparks can I get to in my lifetime" type deal, than I'm all for it, but if not, that's just a "something" obsession.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm still pissed that the A's can't get their new park.

Seriously, what's with your obsession with teams getting new ballparks?

Because in a lot of cases, they bloody well needed them. A couple of them (A's, Rays) still do.

I mean, you're a Phillies fan. Obviously Veterans Stadium needed to go, didn't it? And I think it was universal among Pirates fans that Three Rivers sucked just as bad. The Mets sure don't miss Shea, and the Reds needed to get the hell out of Riverfront. And I dare you to go up to any Blue Jays fan and even mention the phrase "Exhibition Stadium". Shall I go on?

I'm not against all old parks - Fenway, for example, is just fine, I've been there - just ones that suck (re: multipurpose). In this case, the Oakland Coliseum. Don't even try to tell me that the A's still want to play there. It's the only cookie cutter left in the US. Its time has come and gone. And while Tropicana Field is not, technically, a multipurpose stadium, it needs to go as well - it's a warehouse with a baseball field in it. Pity the Rays' new ballpark fell through, I would have liked to see it built.

If it's a "how many Ballparks can I get to in my lifetime" type deal, than I'm all for it

That too. I'm taking up my dad's mission to see every ballpark in the majors. He's done it, now it's my turn.

 

[Canadave]

I'm still pissed that the A's can't get their new park.

Seriously, what's with your obsession with teams getting new ballparks?

And I dare you to go up to any Blue Jays fan and even mention the phrase "Exhibition Stadium".

Actually, I think you'll find quite a few of them. Sure it sucked and it was called the "Mistake by the Lake" for a reason, but I'll be damned if it didn't have a quirky sort of character. It actually makes me rather sad that BMO Field is so pedestrian in comparison.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Seriously, what's with your obsession with teams getting new ballparks?

And I dare you to go up to any Blue Jays fan and even mention the phrase "Exhibition Stadium".

Actually, I think you'll find quite a few of them. Sure it sucked and it was called the "Mistake by the Lake" for a reason, but I'll be damned if it didn't have a quirky sort of character.

Most of the multipurpose/cookie cutters in the US didn't even have that. They had no character at all. They were utterly soulless, bland, mass-produced monstrosities. Shea, Atlanta-Fulton County, RFK, Three Rivers, the Vet, Riverfront, Qualcomm, Busch II, the Kingdome...well, you can understand why they called them cookie cutters. Almost indistinguishable from one another. (Shea actually had one redeeming feature: it wasn't completely enclosed, thus it had something remotely resembling a view of the outside. Although from the air it looked like a huge concrete Pac-Man )

As for Toronto, though, I'm willing to give them a pass on this. Rogers Centre looks pretty darn good. They put in some effort on that one. As much as such a thing could be possible, that's a multipurpose stadium done *right*. And it definitely helps that the place is relatively new. I wouldn't call it a cookie-cutter. Though I would definitely not want to stay in one of the hotel rooms that overlooks the ball field - too much isolation from the game (sure, they can see the game, but can they *hear* it?).

 

[Pegaritaville]

It really sucks that the Giants have an off day and the A's are in New York. It's not raining here. In fact, the weather now is 91 degrees and quite hot. Great baseball weather.

Maybe it's just me, but 91 degrees doesn't sound like great baseball weather. At that temperature, you can probably smell people six seats away!

Sure were a lot of postponed games Monday. I'm guessing the weather on the east coast wasn't so good. Guess I shouldn't have bitched about the few snow flurries we had today.

 

[tomalak301]

It really sucks that the Giants have an off day and the A's are in New York. It's not raining here. In fact, the weather now is 91 degrees and quite hot. Great baseball weather.

Maybe it's just me, but 91 degrees doesn't sound like great baseball weather. At that temperature, you can probably smell people six seats away!

Play a night game and the temp. goes down. Also, it's in San Francisco. Would have been a great night at the yard. Also, at least it wasn't raining.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

And I dare you to go up to any Blue Jays fan and even mention the phrase "Exhibition Stadium".

Actually, I think you'll find quite a few of them. Sure it sucked and it was called the "Mistake by the Lake" for a reason, but I'll be damned if it didn't have a quirky sort of character.

Most of the multipurpose/cookie cutters in the US didn't even have that. They had no character at all. They were utterly soulless, bland, mass-produced monstrosities.

Hugh Douglas of the Philadelphia Eagles would disagree:

"I love the Vet. I'm serious - the roaches and the rats. That place is real, man. That's ghetto. And ghetto is good in football."

Of course, it was obvious that it was time for a change, but Veterans Stadium was loved even when it was hated. It's AstroTurf of death was clearly unacceptable in today's world and Phillies owners were convinced a new stadium would get better attendance (they were right, but a better team helped a lot too).

How much clamor is there for a new stadium in Oakland, anyway?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Hugh Douglas of the Philadelphia Eagles would disagree:

"I love the Vet. I'm serious - the roaches and the rats. That place is real, man. That's ghetto. And ghetto is good in football."

I disagree. And so would the 49ers... Linky

No team deserves to play in a stadium that sucks. The 49ers don't deserve Candlestick, the A's want out of the Coliseum, and the DC United *definitely* don't deserve RFK.

How much clamor is there for a new stadium in Oakland, anyway?

By the team? Plenty. And if the team wants a new ballpark, they should get one. Simple as that.

 

[Timby]

And if the team wants a new ballpark, they should get one. Simple as that.

Sure. And if a team wants a new ballpark, its ownership should do what Peter Magowan did and raise private financing to cover the costs, instead of trying to hold cities hostage and plunge them deeper into debt through outlandish public funding. A baseball team is not worth the financial stability of a city and state (oh, hello there, $1.5 billion given to the Mets and Yankees for their new stadiums).

 

[SmoothieX]

I tuned into that one late and was wondering why Buck and McCarver were rambling inanely even more than usual until I saw what the score was.

 

[tomalak301]

I tuned into that one late and was wondering why Buck and McCarver were rambling inanely even more than usual until I saw what the score was.

I was wondering why that game was still on despite the Cardinal/Cubs game going down to the wire.