Thursday, June 22, 2006
Baseball notes
The Minnesota Twins are getting a stadium, among other baseball notes
Saw a note from a Twins-Red Sox game a little more than a week ago, that caught my eye, “Crisp fouled a pitch off in the third inning that got stuck in a speaker along the third baseline and never came down.” Sox outfielder C. Crisp participated in one of the strangest quirks of the awful excuse for a baseball stadium that is Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Technically, it is not a stadium, from The New Bantam dictionary… "Stadium---2.outdoor sports arena usually oval or horseshoe shaped, with tiers of seats for the spectators.” The indoor domed monstrosity that is the triple H Metrodome doesn’t qualify as a stadium, let alone a place to hold baseball games, which are supposed to be played on a field.
Fields are much more likely to be found outdoors than inside. There is nothing about the Astroturf on the Metrodome floor occupying the physical space where the field of play would normally be found, which conveys the vaguest allusion to the concept, field. Even the green is the wrong color, a sickly pale green, that looks as if a regular, healthy green had been mixed with chalk dust and sandblasted on to concrete as an application process, leaving it looking like a bad pair of circa 1980’s acid washed jeans. In the jargon of the game, Astroturf was for a long time referred to as carpet, but even that has gone out of vogue, as players and announcers alike realized the turf has more in common with pavement, than it does with carpet, let alone a carpet of grass, like a field. The concept being, when baseball is played out of doors in a field it is quite unlikely to result in a ball going up and never coming down, esp. a foul pop-up.
Baseball stadium building for about a thirty year period during the late 60’s, the 70’s and early 80’s was atrocious, see Riverfront, Three Rivers, Exhibition and Veteran’s stadium among others. Imagine an era where Shea Stadium, under the flight path for LaGuardia Airport, is defined as one of your most aesthetically pleasing stadiums.
But good news non-Minnesota tax paying sports fans, and I am not talking about the new and improved synthetic Astroturf, that has been appearing all over baseball in recent years, which along with owners’ realization that players are among their most valuable assets, is indeed good news for all.
However, the good news I am talking about concerns the Twins!! Just as this publication called for at the start of the season, the Twins are going to tear down the Hubert’s Metrodome and start playing baseball outside in a stadium with no roof. Now as alluded to above, it can be argued that this is only good news if you’re a non-Minnesotan. Because if you are a Minnesotan, you can be pissed that of the estimated cost of stadium construction, currently $522 million, (beware the cost overruns) $392 million is to be financed by the taxpayer, and $130 million is to be financed the Twins owner, Carl Pohlad. Hard to feel like that's a good deal. A further discouraging note for Minnesotans, the state’s House, Senate and Governor agreed to $248 million in state money for an on campus stadium for the University of Minnesota’s football team, one of the Metrodome’s other tenants. That’s a lot of citizens money for stadiums, be they outdoor, no foul balls in the ceiling or not.
From a baseball-centric point of view, however, as Twins Manager, Ron Gardenhire, says, “[the] Metrodome looks like an office building.” Hard to see that as a compliment, one has to think that means he isn’t so excited that they play their games there either, and like the rest of us baseball Luddites, can't wait to get out of the cubicle and back into the non-recirculated open air of a stadium with a field of grass.
The new ballpark is scheduled to be open beginning with 2010 season. We will keep you posted in this space on the progress of construction and its costs.
See link to the AP’s story…
The Clarion Content also endorses Googling the news. Google’s sub-site for searching strictly news sources. See Google the News
Construction on the new New York Mets stadium is now visible across from the outfield fences of the current Shea.
One more quickie baseball note, I still think 85 wins is going to be enough to win the NL West, and possibly the AL West, too, although there a team might need to get to 90. Distortions brought to us by the unbalanced schedule, which would be far less disconcerting were it not for the playoffs having been expanded to eight teams.
Saw a note from a Twins-Red Sox game a little more than a week ago, that caught my eye, “Crisp fouled a pitch off in the third inning that got stuck in a speaker along the third baseline and never came down.” Sox outfielder C. Crisp participated in one of the strangest quirks of the awful excuse for a baseball stadium that is Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Technically, it is not a stadium, from The New Bantam dictionary… "Stadium---2.outdoor sports arena usually oval or horseshoe shaped, with tiers of seats for the spectators.” The indoor domed monstrosity that is the triple H Metrodome doesn’t qualify as a stadium, let alone a place to hold baseball games, which are supposed to be played on a field.
Fields are much more likely to be found outdoors than inside. There is nothing about the Astroturf on the Metrodome floor occupying the physical space where the field of play would normally be found, which conveys the vaguest allusion to the concept, field. Even the green is the wrong color, a sickly pale green, that looks as if a regular, healthy green had been mixed with chalk dust and sandblasted on to concrete as an application process, leaving it looking like a bad pair of circa 1980’s acid washed jeans. In the jargon of the game, Astroturf was for a long time referred to as carpet, but even that has gone out of vogue, as players and announcers alike realized the turf has more in common with pavement, than it does with carpet, let alone a carpet of grass, like a field. The concept being, when baseball is played out of doors in a field it is quite unlikely to result in a ball going up and never coming down, esp. a foul pop-up.
Baseball stadium building for about a thirty year period during the late 60’s, the 70’s and early 80’s was atrocious, see Riverfront, Three Rivers, Exhibition and Veteran’s stadium among others. Imagine an era where Shea Stadium, under the flight path for LaGuardia Airport, is defined as one of your most aesthetically pleasing stadiums.
But good news non-Minnesota tax paying sports fans, and I am not talking about the new and improved synthetic Astroturf, that has been appearing all over baseball in recent years, which along with owners’ realization that players are among their most valuable assets, is indeed good news for all.
However, the good news I am talking about concerns the Twins!! Just as this publication called for at the start of the season, the Twins are going to tear down the Hubert’s Metrodome and start playing baseball outside in a stadium with no roof. Now as alluded to above, it can be argued that this is only good news if you’re a non-Minnesotan. Because if you are a Minnesotan, you can be pissed that of the estimated cost of stadium construction, currently $522 million, (beware the cost overruns) $392 million is to be financed by the taxpayer, and $130 million is to be financed the Twins owner, Carl Pohlad. Hard to feel like that's a good deal. A further discouraging note for Minnesotans, the state’s House, Senate and Governor agreed to $248 million in state money for an on campus stadium for the University of Minnesota’s football team, one of the Metrodome’s other tenants. That’s a lot of citizens money for stadiums, be they outdoor, no foul balls in the ceiling or not.
From a baseball-centric point of view, however, as Twins Manager, Ron Gardenhire, says, “[the] Metrodome looks like an office building.” Hard to see that as a compliment, one has to think that means he isn’t so excited that they play their games there either, and like the rest of us baseball Luddites, can't wait to get out of the cubicle and back into the non-recirculated open air of a stadium with a field of grass.
The new ballpark is scheduled to be open beginning with 2010 season. We will keep you posted in this space on the progress of construction and its costs.
See link to the AP’s story…
The Clarion Content also endorses Googling the news. Google’s sub-site for searching strictly news sources. See Google the News
Construction on the new New York Mets stadium is now visible across from the outfield fences of the current Shea.
One more quickie baseball note, I still think 85 wins is going to be enough to win the NL West, and possibly the AL West, too, although there a team might need to get to 90. Distortions brought to us by the unbalanced schedule, which would be far less disconcerting were it not for the playoffs having been expanded to eight teams.
Comments:
Some Recent Baseball comments
“Wow, How’s about Twins Catcher Joe Mauer!!” If you could here me now, I am doing that in a Mel Allen voiceover for ya. Let’s try that again, “How’s about a catcher winning the batting title? Hasn’t happened since pre-WW II, when Ernie Lombardi did it twice. We’ll be right back with some TWIB notes.” Rumor has it two other catchers, at least one of whom was a Cincinnati Red, did it.
See a favorite baseball history and research site link
I was amazed at the ‘rents newest copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia. I enjoyed it tons. Fabulous, hours of entertainment. For baseball wonks like me...
here it is at Amazon
I was amazed to note how far up some of the all-time lists ManRam is. RBI's & HR's especially. I should clarify, Jim Rome and his clones refer to the delightful character who is Manny Ramirez as ManRam. In fact, it is one of those nicknames that fit so perfectly that though I don’t know the genesis of it, I hardly even questioned it. It’s as if it were obvious by the way he butchers the outfield, floats through the game and life in general, Manny Ramirez is the ManRam. He lives it. Even now, I have no idea if my presumptions about where this nickname came from are right. I just see it as symbolic of how he seems to operate.
Another amazing fact, from the Baseball Encyclopedia was how much The Rick has second place by in the All Time Stolen Base leaders category. Nobody else owns any major offensive category by anywhere near this much. Also by the by…Bill Simmons mentions Rick’s delightful habit of referring to himself in the third person in this weeks column. This was the first time in ages, a Bill Simmons column didn’t draw a single out loud laugh. I am just that over fantasy football?? Or I miss it soooo bad, I can’t deal? Anyway last weeks column on Bill’s process of picking an English Premier League team to root for was a wild hoot. Simmons columns
Thank goodness Barry didn’t get picked as an All-Star.
The All-Star game blows and definitely shouldn’t be for home field in the World Series, what a ludicrous joke..brought to you by used car salesman Bud Selig. Author of the only tied All-Star game. Still attempting to demonstrate how two and even three wrongs don't make a right.
The Trade Deadline is coming!!
The Yanks should trade with the NL East, realistically, it is over for everybody in the division but the Mets. The rest of them, even if they could somehow eek out a Wild Card (read: illegitimate playoff invitation) would get swept immediately upon arrival. The player I was most hoping for was John Smoltz, but now that the Braves have declared themselves buyers buy going for closer Bob Wickman…not sure they'd trade Smoltz.
Still John Schuerholz is a smart operator.
If I was Cashman/Steinbrenner I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to trade Phillip Hughes for John Smoltz. I am not throwing in Cano. Or Wong.
I would throw-in A. Rod, if Atlanta would give the Yanks back Chipper. Heck, if I am Steinbrenner, I’d give’em Hughes and A. Rod for Smoltz and Chipper, and agree to pay 1/2 the difference between A-Rod and Chipper’s salary for the rest of their contracts as a sweetner. Or if I’m Cashman, I’d say, “If you let us get away without the salary difference make-up, we will throw in our next best minor leaguer.” Who is Jose Tabata, according to ESPN the magazine. Never heard of him myself, but there are limits, and following anyone’s minor league baseball career is one of mine. (Jordan's was the last one.)
Speaking of the Braves, by the way, did I write off the Braves, way back??
Am I still doubting the Tigers? Yes. Why?
How atrocious and illegitimate is the National League Wild Card going to be? Could the Wild Card and the NL West winner both be under .500 or is that mathematically impossible?
The umpiring seems especially bad this season. Could it be related to the umpire firing-resignation idiocy of a few years back. We have more crappy umpires, or fewer good ones, hence more bad calls. Among the worst see Hunter Wendelstadt, C.B. Buckner, Angel Hernandez. Nothing bothers me more than an inconsistent strike zone.
Ugh, and did the Clarion lay the jinx on A-Rod’s defense or what??! see link from May 11th The Clarion was commenting on how good he looked in the field, simply on the basis of personal observation. Since then he has disintegrated to the point where I heard Jim Rome use his name and Chuck Knoblauch’s together in a sentence this week. Now Rome may have said something like, “I am not quite ready to say A-Rod has gone Chuck Knoblauch yet, but way to back a brother up…” meaning he hadn’t given him the full indictment, yet, but, it is just mortifying when people start thinking you have entered Steve Sax-Chuck Knoblauch land. (And who was that Mets catcher who couldn’t throw the ball back to the mound?? Help me out sports fans.)
Mike Francesa from WFAN in New York correctly noted yesterday, the Twins are in the Wild Card race the rest of the way. They are 32-8 in their last 40 games, not only do they have Santana and Liriano pitching great, but Brad Radke has won five straight decisions, too. Wow!! They are coming hard.
I am an MLB.tv junkie...
But having said that, it is fascinating to listen to the out of town announcers take on certain issues. Case in point the Texas Rangers announcers take on A-Rod’s recent defensive slump. They said they had heard he has the yips. This was the perfect metaphor insofar as it extends the Tiger Woods analogy, that A-Rod was making about himself the other night.
see quote in this article
The Rangers' announcers also opined that maybe he was just in a slump and in NYC slumps, like everything else are different. In the city that is the financial center of the universe, a city that never sleeps, perhaps, everything is micro-analyzed, overly broken down, overly considered. No. You don't say. Yet this felt like a very Taoist, Eastern critique on some level.
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“Wow, How’s about Twins Catcher Joe Mauer!!” If you could here me now, I am doing that in a Mel Allen voiceover for ya. Let’s try that again, “How’s about a catcher winning the batting title? Hasn’t happened since pre-WW II, when Ernie Lombardi did it twice. We’ll be right back with some TWIB notes.” Rumor has it two other catchers, at least one of whom was a Cincinnati Red, did it.
See a favorite baseball history and research site link
I was amazed at the ‘rents newest copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia. I enjoyed it tons. Fabulous, hours of entertainment. For baseball wonks like me...
here it is at Amazon
I was amazed to note how far up some of the all-time lists ManRam is. RBI's & HR's especially. I should clarify, Jim Rome and his clones refer to the delightful character who is Manny Ramirez as ManRam. In fact, it is one of those nicknames that fit so perfectly that though I don’t know the genesis of it, I hardly even questioned it. It’s as if it were obvious by the way he butchers the outfield, floats through the game and life in general, Manny Ramirez is the ManRam. He lives it. Even now, I have no idea if my presumptions about where this nickname came from are right. I just see it as symbolic of how he seems to operate.
Another amazing fact, from the Baseball Encyclopedia was how much The Rick has second place by in the All Time Stolen Base leaders category. Nobody else owns any major offensive category by anywhere near this much. Also by the by…Bill Simmons mentions Rick’s delightful habit of referring to himself in the third person in this weeks column. This was the first time in ages, a Bill Simmons column didn’t draw a single out loud laugh. I am just that over fantasy football?? Or I miss it soooo bad, I can’t deal? Anyway last weeks column on Bill’s process of picking an English Premier League team to root for was a wild hoot. Simmons columns
Thank goodness Barry didn’t get picked as an All-Star.
The All-Star game blows and definitely shouldn’t be for home field in the World Series, what a ludicrous joke..brought to you by used car salesman Bud Selig. Author of the only tied All-Star game. Still attempting to demonstrate how two and even three wrongs don't make a right.
The Trade Deadline is coming!!
The Yanks should trade with the NL East, realistically, it is over for everybody in the division but the Mets. The rest of them, even if they could somehow eek out a Wild Card (read: illegitimate playoff invitation) would get swept immediately upon arrival. The player I was most hoping for was John Smoltz, but now that the Braves have declared themselves buyers buy going for closer Bob Wickman…not sure they'd trade Smoltz.
Still John Schuerholz is a smart operator.
If I was Cashman/Steinbrenner I wouldn’t hesitate for a minute to trade Phillip Hughes for John Smoltz. I am not throwing in Cano. Or Wong.
I would throw-in A. Rod, if Atlanta would give the Yanks back Chipper. Heck, if I am Steinbrenner, I’d give’em Hughes and A. Rod for Smoltz and Chipper, and agree to pay 1/2 the difference between A-Rod and Chipper’s salary for the rest of their contracts as a sweetner. Or if I’m Cashman, I’d say, “If you let us get away without the salary difference make-up, we will throw in our next best minor leaguer.” Who is Jose Tabata, according to ESPN the magazine. Never heard of him myself, but there are limits, and following anyone’s minor league baseball career is one of mine. (Jordan's was the last one.)
Speaking of the Braves, by the way, did I write off the Braves, way back??
Am I still doubting the Tigers? Yes. Why?
How atrocious and illegitimate is the National League Wild Card going to be? Could the Wild Card and the NL West winner both be under .500 or is that mathematically impossible?
The umpiring seems especially bad this season. Could it be related to the umpire firing-resignation idiocy of a few years back. We have more crappy umpires, or fewer good ones, hence more bad calls. Among the worst see Hunter Wendelstadt, C.B. Buckner, Angel Hernandez. Nothing bothers me more than an inconsistent strike zone.
Ugh, and did the Clarion lay the jinx on A-Rod’s defense or what??! see link from May 11th The Clarion was commenting on how good he looked in the field, simply on the basis of personal observation. Since then he has disintegrated to the point where I heard Jim Rome use his name and Chuck Knoblauch’s together in a sentence this week. Now Rome may have said something like, “I am not quite ready to say A-Rod has gone Chuck Knoblauch yet, but way to back a brother up…” meaning he hadn’t given him the full indictment, yet, but, it is just mortifying when people start thinking you have entered Steve Sax-Chuck Knoblauch land. (And who was that Mets catcher who couldn’t throw the ball back to the mound?? Help me out sports fans.)
Mike Francesa from WFAN in New York correctly noted yesterday, the Twins are in the Wild Card race the rest of the way. They are 32-8 in their last 40 games, not only do they have Santana and Liriano pitching great, but Brad Radke has won five straight decisions, too. Wow!! They are coming hard.
I am an MLB.tv junkie...
But having said that, it is fascinating to listen to the out of town announcers take on certain issues. Case in point the Texas Rangers announcers take on A-Rod’s recent defensive slump. They said they had heard he has the yips. This was the perfect metaphor insofar as it extends the Tiger Woods analogy, that A-Rod was making about himself the other night.
see quote in this article
The Rangers' announcers also opined that maybe he was just in a slump and in NYC slumps, like everything else are different. In the city that is the financial center of the universe, a city that never sleeps, perhaps, everything is micro-analyzed, overly broken down, overly considered. No. You don't say. Yet this felt like a very Taoist, Eastern critique on some level.
