Yanks Come Crawling Back

Regular readers of Inside Cheez will recall that I did not purchase my usual Yankee Stadium ticket plan this season, which I chronicled in my post "Priced Out at the Stadium" on February 25th. It was my small way of protesting the ridiculous ticket prices at the new stadium, and the improper way (at least in my opinion) that I was treated by the Yankees. After more than 20 years of loyalty, I was told to "take it or leave it".

Now, with empty seats visible at Yankee Stadium for every single game, the Yankees have come crawling back to the very fans they spurned just 6 short months ago.

Out of nowhere, I received a phone call both at home and and work from a Yankees ticket agent. "Wow! This must be important", I sarcastically thought. So I immediately called back.

"How can we get you back in the Stadium", was the first question I was asked when I reached the agent who called me. I laughed, then proceeded to tell the agent (who was very polite, by the way) my whole story: how I had season tickets for years, in the same section of the Stadium, and how much I paid last season. I kindly told him I was insulted by the Yankees "take it or leave it" offer of obstructed view, $85 seats, and that I'd be happy to come back if they could offer me a plan similar to the one I had previously. I told him it was clear that the Yankees thought they could strong-arm me into buying more expensive seats, when they absolutely could have given me my usual seats.

The agent then made his pitch. He was prepared to offer me 4 pairs of weeknight games (against mediocre teams like Toronto and Kansas City) for $45 a ticket. A little better than $85, but $20 more than the seats I had originally ordered.

How does this make sense? In February, the "best available" tickets were $85, and now suddenly $45 seats are available? Also, in May I tried to exchange rain check from last season and was told the cheapest tickets available were $85 (in that case I would have received $27 dollars off, which was last year's ticket price, instead of paying the full $85 - gee, thanks!). What gives?

I'll tell you want gives. The Yankees still haven't learned their lesson. They're holding back the cheaper tickets for individual game buyers (the ones who are more likely to spend big since they only go to one game), and in turn screwing over the real fans, the ones who'd like to go to multiple games like me.

I refused to take the bait. I politely declined the agents offer, and then he hit me with another strong-arm tactic. "Unless you purchase these tickets, we cannot guarantee your seniority for season tickets in 2010". Unbelievable. I have to pay $360 for 4 games I have no interest in attending, in order to retain the right to get ripped off again next season?

"I'll take my chances", I said, and I hung up.

Somehow I don't think that's the last call I (or hundreds of other former season ticket holders) will get from the Yankees. I can't wait to see what pitch the Yankees have up their sleeves next.

MLB All Star Game: does anybody care?

While flipping channels last night I stumbled upon the Home Run Derby on ESPN, and being a baseball fan, I stuck around for a while. I watched just enough to see Albert Pujols hit a few bombs at the beautiful new Busch Stadium (a great ballpark, by the way), and then be eliminated from competition. And suddenly it hit me...the All Star Game is on tonight!

How could I forget, you ask? Because the MLB All Star Game, while still the most exciting of all professional sports All-Star games, is as boring as watching paint dry.

How did this happen? When I was a kid back in the 70's, I used to love watching the All-Star game. Terrific players like Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Steve Garvey and Jim Rice seemed to be in the game every year, and it was fun to watch, year in and year out. No more.

Back in the 70's, the fans voted for the starters, and voted with their hearts - not the stats page on their fantasy baseball roster - and the starters played virtually the whole game. They were only lifted late in the game if it was out of reach. Think Pete Rose was ever taken out of an All-Star game without asking out? Think again...

Now, the fans still vote, but they vote based on stats as well as stature. Nice for the players who are having great season, but not so nice for the viewers. The players and managers also get a say - leaving us with starters like Jason Bay and Aaron Hill - great players, but not the type of players I'd waste a Tuesday night watching. And when the 5th inning rolls around, future Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols will be out of the game, and in their place will be borderline All-Star players like Jason Bartlett and Brad Hawpe. Try staying up til 12:15am watching that.

Call me crazy, but I'd still like to see the all-time greats playing in this game. A match up of Ken Griffey Jr. vs. Randy Johnson or Chipper Jones vs. John Smoltz would absolutely capture my interest. Instead, we'll likely get Ben Zobrist vs. Heath Bell in the 9th inning with the game on the line. Thanks a bunch, but I'll pass...

Protesting Protests

Has anyone else noticed that when Major League Baseball teams file an "official protest" of the outcome of a game, it almost never amounts to anything?

The latest instance of this occurred on Monday July 6th, when Derek Jeter was called out trying to steal third base in the first inning of a game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Jeter was clearly safe, but the umpire called him out, and according to Jeter, told him that "the ball beat him". The rule in this case of course, is that Jeter needed to be tagged to be out, but the umpire seemed to have forgotten that rule.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi argued, was thrown out of the game, and later decided to file an "official protest" of the game's outcome. That protest, like almost all others, was denied. And it should have been. If teams were allowed to protest every game in which an umpire make a bad call, the outcome of every game would in question.

The point I'd like to make here is, why allow protests at all? Human error is a part of the game, and errors by umpires happen all the time. It's a waste of the League President's time to rule on protests, and it's a waste of our time to hear about them.

The only game protest that I ever recall resulting in an umpire's ruling being overturned is the "Pine Tar Game", July 23rd, 1983 at Yankee Stadium. George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was called out by home plate umpire Tim McClelland for having too much pine tar on his bat after hitting a home run in the 9th inning (and famously went ballistic). American League President Lee McPhail overturned the umpires decision and the game was resumed a few weeks later (the Yankees lost). It was a bad decision then, and it still is. Brett broke the rules, and the ump's call should have stood.

So please consider this my "official protest" of baseball protests. They just water down the purity of the game, and make the umpires look terrible. It's bad enough we now have crystal clear HDTV replays to magnify the umpires mistakes. We certainly don't have to "protest the game" and zoom the microscope in on them even further.

Mariano the Great

I usually try to refrain from simply posting links to other stories and/or blogs. But I just couldn't resist after reading Joe Posanski's story on Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, posted on SI.com on July 1st.

It's always been my belief that Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher ever to play the game, and if anyone had any doubts, this brilliant piece by Posanski should put those doubts to rest. He uncovers some stats I never knew existed that further prove that Mo truly is the best ever.

Yankee fans will likely only have 2 or 3 more years to witness the greatness of the now 39 year old Rivera (he's recently said he'll continue to pitch as long as he's still able to get the closer's job done). I suggest you thoroughly enjoy it while you still can.

Hughes, Sergio or Alfredo?

Just when it looked like Yankees starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang had begun to turn things around, he left the game with an injured shoulder in yesterday's victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. And now that the Yankees have established former starter Phil Hughes as the 8th inning man, setting up Mariano Rivera, who replaces Wang in the starting rotation?

The answer is clearly not moving Phil Hughes back into the rotation. He's been terrific thus far in short relief, and with the recent struggles of Brian Bruney, removing Hughes from the pen would be a mistake. Besides, Hughes was so-so as a starter this year - but has been dominant as a reliever.

What about Sergio Mitre, who is now pitching well for AAA Scranton? The Yankees signed him in the off-season for just this instance, but I'd hold off if I were Yankees GM Brian Cashman. Mitre is coming off Tommy John surgery, and has only pitched 30 inning so far this season, thanks to a 50-game drug suspension. I think some more seasoning in the minors is in order.

This one's a no-brainer, if you ask me. Alfredo Aceves has been the Yankees jack-of-all-trades in the bullpen this season. Whether it's long relief, short relief, or a single batter - he's come through just about every time. And last September, he looked outstanding as a starter in a short trial with the Yanks. Also, because Aceves has pitched long relief this season (he pitched 3 innings just this past Friday night), he can easily stretch out and pitch 5 innings in Wang's spot this week.

Since Wang's returned from the DL, he has averaged about 5 innings and 2 or 3 runs per start. Aceves has proven he can at the very least match that. While Aceves will be missed in the bullpen, Hughes recent emergence will soften the blow.

Well, that's my two-cents on the subject. We'll find out on Thursday in Minnesota if Mr. Cashman agrees.

In the Baseline

One Major League Baseball rule that's always driven me crazy is the fact that when running to first base, players must run in foul territory to avoid being hit by a thrown ball (this really only comes into play when the pitcher or catcher fields a bunt). There's a line drawn parallel to the foul line, about two feet into foul territory. The runner must run between this line and the foul line, or risk being called out if struck by a ball.

The problem with this the base is in fair territory! How can a runner run in a straight line to first in foul territory, and still step on the bag in fair territory? The answer is: he can't.

Players get hit by thrown balls running to first all the time, and the latest instance I witnessed (on television) was in the Thursday night Yankees-Braves game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Robinson Cano was stuck in the back by a thrown ball, but was (correctly in my mind) ruled safe by the umpire, causing Braves manager Bobby Cox to go ballistic. Understandable so, because I've seen the same play called the opposite way plenty of times. Cano was running on the line about a foot from first base, which he of course had to do in order to touch first base. If he were running completely between the lines, he would have missed first base entirely.

My solution? (Now, this isn't exactly original - I've heard many smart baseball people suggest it numerous times) Extend first base into foul territory! Make the base twice the normal size, so in cases like this the runner can stay in the designated base line and still easily touch first base.

Baseball purists I'm sure would balk at this idea, but think about it: what makes more sense? Seeing players called out for doing what they must do to be safe (touch first base)? Or sticking to the "pure" baseball rules that a base must be a certain size? Many old school baseball rules have evolved over the years when common sense finally prevailed. It's about time this rule is changed for the better as well.

Asian Pitcher Crisis

The recent struggles of Boston's Daisuke Matsuzaka and New York's Chien-Ming Wang add fuel to the fire that's been raging in my brain for a while. Why do Asian pitchers seem to dominate at the beginning of their careers, then slowly (or sometimes suddenly) fade away? Take a look at some of these examples:

Matsuzaka - 2007: 15-12, 4.40 ERA
2008: 18-3, 2.90
2009: 1-5, 8.23

Wang - 2006: 19-6, 3.63
2007: 19-7, 3.70
2008: 8-2, 4.07
2009: 0-5, 12.30

Hideki Irabu: 1998: 13-9, 4.06
1999: 11-7, 4.84
2000: 2-5, 7.24

Chan Ho Park: 1997-2001: 75-49, 4.29
2002-2006: 33-33, 5.59

Hideo Nomo: 1995: 13-6, 2.54
1996: 13-11, 3.19
1997: 14-12, 4.25
1998: 6-12, 4.92

Nomo had some decent years and some not-so-decent years until he retired in 2008, and Chan Ho Park has had some success recently, but you get the idea. All of these pitchers came to the United States with quite a bit of hype, lived up to it for the most part initially, then dropped off. Some more significantly than others. Whether Matsuzaka's and Wang's struggles will continue remains to be seen.

But why is this? Is it that many Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese pitchers rely on trickery and funky pitching motions to get hitters out? Possibly. Major League hitters are the best hitters in the world, and once they get used to seeing a strange pitching motion such as Matsuzaka's, they begin to figure him out.

But if this were true, what about Wang? His motion is pretty straightforward. Nothing funky about it, just a sinker that no longer sinks.

My theory is three-fold. First, Asian pitchers are worked to the bone in their homeland, at an early age, well before they come to the Major Leagues. In Japan, the workouts are much more grueling than in the U.S. and Matzuzaka, for example, pitched more innings in Japan before the age of 25 than many pitchers throw in their entire careers.

Second, because of the intense media scrutiny in Asia, these pitchers have more pressure on them than any other pitchers in baseball. This may cause them to try a bit to hard, or pitch through injury for fear of letting down their country, leading to less than stellar results.

Lastly, has anyone ever considered these guys might be a bit homesick? Think "Lost in Translation" in reverse. It's gotta be tough doing any job for more than a few years in a foreign country, let alone perform at a high level with 100 media members following your every move.

The fact of the matter is: Asia doesn't want to lose it's best pitchers to America, and because of this they're using them up and burning their arms out before they even get here.

Will we ever see an Asian pitcher dominate for his entire career? We might, but only if that pitcher is Asian-American - born and bred in the good 'ol U. S. of A.