Stadium Insider has been SHUT OUT of the B Plan

I just got off the phone with the Yankee ticket office. Unfortunately, my 2005 seniority for my Tier Reserved MVP, section 1, Row M was not enough to keep me in the B Plan. I was informed that I will be automatically assigned to one of the 20 game plans. The upside? It will cost way less money. The downside? I won't get tickets to opening day at the new Stadium and I won't get a postseason ticket guarantee. For anyone out there waiting for the bad news in the mail, feel free to call on the phone today to get it over with. The ticket office is open this weekend due to a high volume of calls from B plan ticket holders. You can get in touch with them by calling 1-800-913-9793.

The surprisingly friendly, but business-like ticket rep also let me know that I will automatically be put on a waiting list for the B Plan and they will be going down the list in order of season ticket seniority as soon as the accept/decline and payment period ends for the B plan assignments.

Some other items of note that I found out from the ticket rep:

- There will be two separate 20 game plans for disenfranchised former B plan holders - one starts with the 2nd game of the season and is every 4th game thereafter. The other starts on the 4th game of the season and is every 4th game thereafter. You will not get to choose which 20 game plan you are assigned to if you were shut out of the 41 game plan - they will automatically assign you to one of those two plans

- You have the choice of downgrading to a weekend plan an being put into the pool for those assignments. In that case, you won't lose your spot on the waiting list for the B Plan, but you will have the opportunity to guarantee less of a payment to the Yankees since the weekend plan is such a small number of games. I am not clear whether a former B plan holder who was shut out of the 41 game plan, assigned to a 20 game plan and CHOOSES a weekend plan will have priority over a previous weekend plan holder. I would assume it would be based on some combination of seniority and previous ticket plan, but I'm not sure.

- The ticket rep acknowledged that fear of being put in my situation is likely the cause of being shut out. He said that people got caught up in the excitement of the new Stadium and wanted to guarantee a plan in the new Stadium. For that reason, many people upgraded to full season - even if they didn't want to purchase 81 games or couldn't afford to do so. Essentially, those people are now ticket brokers. The ticket rep also acknowledged that the Yankees goal going into the relocation process was to secure as many full-season ticket subscribers as possible. As much as it pains me to admit as a scorned season ticket holder, this was a smart business decision by the Yankees. Considering they are spending 1.3 billion dollars to build the new Stadium, it was their right to take advantage of the impulsive Yankee fans who were itching for any reason to throw more money away into a full season plan.

- For the high-rollers out there, $350 seats downstairs in the infield are available on the B-plan. If you have $28,000 to courier over to the South Bronx, you will be the proud owner of a Yankee season ticket plan that guarantees you opening day and tickets to every playoff game.

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First casualties reported in the 41 game plan relocation process...

Word from an anonymous commenter on a previous post (usually not too reliable of a source, but I get a good vibe from this guy) is that the 41 game plan relocation isn't off to a very good start - for him at least.

Mr Anon previously sat in box 611 of the Tier Box MVP at the Old Yankee Stadium (around section 5, on the first base side of home plate). With a seniority date of 1999, you can imagine the horror when he received his relocation invoice today had been assigned seats in section 407,row 7 - almost in FAIR territory in the right field upper deck, just a few rows from the top. Here are a couple of seating charts illustrating just how bad it is for Anon:

OYS:



New Yankee Stadium:


UPDATE 11:33 PM: Fresh from the comments section is more bad news:

Checked my account. I was in 442 last season, now have 334 ROW 7 offered to me. Two words: THIS SUCKS.

If this is any indication of things to come, the author of this blog might not be such a "new Stadium Insider." As I have mentioned before, I have a seniority date of 2005 and my seats used to be in section 1 of the Tier Reserved MVP in Row M. Even I'll admit that it is unfair if I am assigned better seats than Mr. Anon from the comments section.

The major issue that is going to arise from this relocation program is the utterly greedy stance the Yankees took in allowing anyone the possibility of upgrading to a full season plan, leaving the partials in the dust.

They used scare tactics and lack of information to drive people into fear-based financial decisions such as upgrading to a full season plan from partial season plans. Because of that, the Yankees are guaranteed more money, but the average Joe is left sitting in the REALLY cheap seats or even worse - at home. People who upgraded to full season plans are looking smart to some right now since they were assigned the best seat locations. They're also looking like people with a lot of disposable income in a bad economy - a luxury that most people don't have right now. Either that or they let poor and impulsive financial decisions - utilizing credit cards - control their lives. Not so coincidentally, this same type of impulsive decision-maker has been a contributing factor toward our Country's massive national debt and foreclosure crisis.

Not the news I wanted to hear heading into the weekend...

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Jorge Posada LAUGHS at your lo-def stadium video screens

(Photo: WCBS 880)

Pictured above is a video test being administered on Thursday, January 29 inside of the new Yankee Stadium. As you can tell, that screen is huge. If it looks this great in photos, I can only imagine how impressive it is when you are at the game. As River Ave Blues noted earlier this week, don't expect to see in-game replays of controversial plays on that mammoth 58 by 103 foot screen - it is against MLB rules.

Be sure to check out all of the rest of the photos that WCBS 880 shot from inside of the stadium. There are even some photos from inside of John and Suzyn's radio booth, but we'll let the guys over at It Is High... cover that one!

For a change, the eye in the sky, Tom Kaminski is NOT responsible for these photos. We can only assume he is up there, watching like a hawk, waiting to snap some more impressive aerial photos.

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B-Plan season ticket holders - check your mailbox tomorrow!

The day of reckoning is finally upon us - B-plan season ticket assignments for the new Yankee Stadium in 2009 are in the mail.

Early signs are not promising for B-Plan holders. We were welcomed with this message on Yankees.com today:

Overwhelming Demand for 41-Game Plans:

Due to overwhelming demand for 41-Game Plans, we strongly suggest that Licensees accept their initial seat assignment. The demand for 41-Game Plans will definitely exceed the available 41-Game Plan seat locations. Accordingly, any 2008 “B” Plan Licensees who have requested a 41-Game Plan seat assignment, but who do not receive one initially due to the current lack of availability, will be assigned a 41-Game Plan seat location, if any inventory remains, prior to the commencement of the 41-Game Plan pool process.

41 game assignment letter

I have a feeling there are going to be some disappointed Yankee fans tomorrow. Hopefully we here at New Stadium Insider make the cut.

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Derek Jeter: petty thief?

This used to be the sign that you would see on the walk from the clubhouse to the Yankee dugout, now it is the sign that you see on the walk of shame if you are one of Derek Jeter's many sexual escapades.

Take that, Torre! A-Rod may be "A-Fraud" but golden boy Derek Jeter is a THIEF!

As it turns out, Jeter likely had permission from the Yankees to take the famous sign with Joe DiMaggio's quote (pictured above).

For many years the male 18-24 demographic would clamor for the chance to see this famous sign up close and personal on the Yankee Stadium Tour. Now, the only chance you'll have is if you are in the FEMALE 18-24 demographic, with genes of Minka Kelly quality, on the Derek Jeter bedroom tour. How times change.

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Things are getting psychedelic at the new Yankee Stadium

Roxanne over at WCBS880.com alerted me to these brand new Tom Kaminski chopper photos of the new Yankee Stadium.

Apparently, they are on shrooms over there, because this stuff is trippy:


Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880


Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880


Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880


Photo: Tom Kaminski/ WCBS 880

Thanks for being groovy, Rox.

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Hal Steinbrenner: "Single game tickets will be set aside and will go on sale in March"

A bit of news that I missed from yesterday, definitely pertinent to readers of this humble weblog. Apparently, Hal Steinbrenner was on WFAN yesterday and he said that there will be tickets set aside to go on sale every game day and that individual game tickets should go on sale at the beginning of March.

Nothing is definitive, but that is as close to an official on-sale date for 2009 Yankees single game tickets as there is right now. No word on what parts of the new stadium there will be ticket availability in. From previous digging, we have been figure out that the back rows in all Grandstand sections are being set aside, but no word on who they are being set aside for.

The plot thickens...

Keep checking back for more information as it becomes available.

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Pettitte comes crawling back, brings his dynasty prowess to the new Stadium

Word from the Yankees is that Andy Pettitte has signed a one year, incentive-sweetened deal that could earn him over 12 million. The base pay is around $6 million - a far cry from the $16 million that he earned last year and that his agents were sure he could get.

Perhaps Andy was on the sidelines watching the Joe Torre book drama unfold and realized how easily his Yankee legacy could be ruined? The franchise, his teammates and most importantly the fans of New York stood behind Andy during last year's PED fiasco, and he owed it to everyone to come back and be a piece of the puzzle in the quest toward World Championship number 27.

Andy Pettitte's distracting offseason prior to 2008 was likely a contributing factor to his 2nd half fade and should issues. As Yankee fans, we can only hope that Andy has been working out hard back in Texas (WITHOUT THE HELP OF ROGER CLEMENS), preparing for the 2009 season and let his agents deal with all of the drama of his next contract.

The important parts of the roster are now set. For the nostalgia crowd, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada will carry the dynastical torch to the New Stadium for position players, Mariano will represent the great bullpens of the 90's, and Andy Pettitte will represent the starting pitchers who toiled away to bring the City of New York 4 championships in 5 years.

80 days until the new Stadium opens its doors!

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Tear the old dump down... Its for the kids

A google map shows the proximity of the Macombs Dam Ball Fields to the Old Yankee Stadium

Now that the trophies, front office, ghost of Scott Brosius, Mystique & Aura, and nearly everything else are moved out, there is only one thing left to do - tear down the old Yankee Stadium.

On a fateful day in 2006, the City of New York closed down Macombs Dam park, home to some of the only ball fields in the South Bronx in order to start construction on the new Yankee Stadium. I remember those fields well. During my formative years in high school, I played on them often. I went to a Catholic all boys high school on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and one of our division rivals in sports was All Hallows high school - located in the Bronx. No matter the sport, soccer or baseball, a different kind of adrenaline surged through my veins when I was playing in the shadow of the House that Ruth Built. Something about playing there made me feel like I was somehow becoming a part of New York City history. I was one of the thousands of New York City high school kids who had the honor of playing baseball and soccer on such sacred ground.

When I heard that the new Yankee Stadium was set to wipe out the fields of Macombs Dam park, I became a bit melancholy. Never again would I be able to pass by those fields and point out where I scored the game-winning goal, or swiped a game-changing base. However, those places on the Earth would now be a part of an even greater history - that of the New York Yankees. To ease the sting a bit more, plans dictated that the fields of Macombs Dam Park were going to be completely rebuilt in the footprint of the old Yankee Stadium, giving generations of New York City kids even better fields to play sports on.

Fast forward three years and the opening of the New Yankee Stadium is nearly upon us. Meanwhile, the old Yankee Stadium is still erect, without any signs of its impending doom. Today, an article by Barvey Araton of the New York Times points out that community board members in the Bronx don't expect the new parks to be ready until 2011 at the earliest, while urging the City to do the right thing and tear down the old Stadium. That means by the time the new fields are ready, it will have been at least 5 years from the time that New York City kids last had ball fields to play on in the South Bronx.

If I had been in high school for the four years from 2006-2010, I would never have had the exciting experience of playing a competitive sport in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. Every day that passes with the old Yankee Stadium standing stubbornly in place is another day that children of New York City lose out on that chance, with no opportunity to go back.


The fields of Macombs Dam Park are torn down in 2006

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Driving force behind the "Lonely Yankee" revealed - backstabbing Joe Torre

I'm sure you'll read about Joe Torre's backstabbing book, set to hit shelves in early February (I'll be doing my best to somehow pirate it so Torre doesn't see a penny of my money).

It looks as though this is going to be a yearly incident. Spring Training is set to arrive and Joe Torre tries to stir up controversy in the Yankee clubhouse - even though he is long gone, fulfilling his "dream" of managing the Los Angeles Dodgers. All of that aside, this incident has caused me to have somewhat of a revelation. Remember that "lonely Yankee" article in Sports Illustrated a couple of years ago by Tom Verducci? Yes, that same Tom Verducci who co-wrote this soon to be Joe Torre exposé. It was pretty obvious at the time that Verducci had some unprecedented access to the clubhouse to be allowed to write an article ripping apart every aspect of the team's best player. Now, it is clear that Joe Torre was the driving force behind the polarizing article that came out just days before the 2006 playoffs - the fateful series against the Tigers featuring Torre's famous panic move of batting A-Rod 8th in the key game.

Since Torre left for greener pastures in Los Angeles, I have been pretty forgiving. Last March, I questioned the outward bashing of Torre in some articles out of Spring Training. Joe Torre was a leader of men during the late 90's and early 2000's and led the Yankees to an unprecedented run at the top of Major League Baseball. He did his time in New York and we can all commiserate with someone getting tired of the daily grind of doing the same job for over a decade. That being said, his bitter and petty obsession with the franchise since his departure has me thinking that there may never be a "Joe Torre day" at the new Yankee Stadium.

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Will Yankee tickets even be on sale for the general public this year?

Buried in this article about the Yankees and Mets' struggles to sell their premium seat offerings is the following bombshell:

While the Yankees point out that every non-premium seat in the house is sold out for 2009, they’re still looking for the payout from the more expensive real estate.

Seats that range from 350-$2,500 a game are now being marketed by Prudential Douglas Elliman, a prominent residential real estate brokerage. In a story that was recently reported by the New York Times, the Yankees’ decision to rely on a third -party was borne out of simple math: Seven luxury boxes out of 59 remain unsold. And of the original 4,000 premium seats, some 1,000 are still available.

Woah, lets back up for a second. If every non-premium seat in the New Yankee Stadium is sold out, that means they would have had to CONSIDERABLY oversell their non-premium season ticket plans. In this economy, there are sure to be season ticket account holders who just can't make their payment. The Yankee assertion that non-premium seat offerings are completely sold out means that they have season account holders waiting in the wings for the deadbeat's seats.

For the average baseball fan who can't afford to buy season tickets, this is very bad news. According to this NY Times piece from last week, the Yankees have sold the equivalent of 39,000+ full-season plans - leaving only approximately 14,000 other seats in the Stadium for other fans to snatch up. With all of the news recently about the Yankees struggling to sell premium offerings and claiming non-premium is sold out, you would have to assume that the only seats available for a public on-sale will be the really expensive seats.

As a season ticket holder, I am thrilled at this revelation. At the same time, I am well aware that the general public won't be so excited. When general on-sale date comes in February and these fans are forced to pony up a few hundred dollars for a pair of "premium seats," all hell may break loose. Should be fun.

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Video galore! An interview with the Yankees PR guy and a virtual tour of the new Stadium!

Roxanne over at WCBS880.com was on hand for the long-awaited move of the Yankee front office from the old Stadium to the new, and she even got a video interview with Yankee PR guy Jason Latimer:



No word yet on who had the honor of moving over the ghost of Scott Brosius.

In other news, this virtual tour of the new Stadium has been floating around - River Ave Blues hat tipped friend of the blog Joey H, so we will do the same. It is against Stadium Insider policy to re-post stuff like this that originated on other Yankee blogs, but this is too cool to pass up:



The one thing that caught my eye about the virtual tour was the plans for the site of the old Stadium. It appears that they will be replacing the fields that were stolen away from Macombs Dam Park in the footprint of the old Stadium. This is old news, but color me pessimistic about the speed that this transformation will take place. The Stadium isn't even being demolished until Summer 2009. When will those public ballfields actually be ready?

Talk about it in the Stadium Insider Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

New Yankee Stadium Relocation still stuck in neutral

Just one week until the calendar flips to the frigid month of February, 22 days until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training. Meanwhile, partial plan season ticket holders are still clicking refresh on their email and waiting by their phones religiously - awaiting word from the New York Yankees ticket office about their relocation to the New Yankee Stadium. The majority of the Yankees' front office moved over to their new home yesterday, but in what may or may not be some sort of ominous sign, the ticket office was left behind (they are scheduled to move on Feb 27, so expect relocation to be done by that date).

On another note, if you are one of the Yankee fans lucky enough to be able to afford FULL SEASON tickets (meaning you have already been located), don't give up hope on getting BETTER seats. There have been reports of deadbeats not paying their invoices on time, leaving their vacated seats ripe for the taking. Success has been reported by calling the Yankee ticket office multiple times per day and asking if there are any seats better than the seats currently assigned to you. It really is all about timing and luck, but there have been some success stories that I have heard about.

There are two numbers for the Yankee ticket office:

(718)-293-6000 or (800)-913-9731

From past experience, the people answering the 800 number have been relatively friendly and helpful, while the 718 number is manned by angry old men. Perhaps my experience is from a small sample size of phone calls, but I would try the 800 number first.

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What seats are left for partial plan season ticket holders?

As most people are aware, the Yankees are running behind in the season ticket holder relocation process. We are now entering the 2nd half of January and Full Season ticket holders and upgrades just finished the relocation process. 41 game and 20 game plans are next in line, but are there any decent seats left in the Grandstand? (Please note, this post is only referring to Grandstand relocation. I am speaking from personal experience and knowledge of my own situation, which is obviously in the Grandstand/Upper Deck - sorry to anyone reading this looking for information about relocation in other sections of the New Stadium).

There have been rumors that the last 3 rows in all Grandstand sections are being held back for partial plans. The Yankees ticket office has not gone on the record about this, but a quick look at RipOff StubHub should give partial plan holders some hope. If you take a look at the "odd number" games (first game of the season, third game of the season, etc.) which are the ones that 41 game plan holders receive, you will notice that StubHub has no inventory above row 11. Further, there is no inventory at ALL in sections 405,406, 407a/b, 408, 409, 432, 434a/b on StubHub - not a surprise considering outfield upper deck seats are the worst in any Stadium.

Don't just believe me - take a look for yourself at the Yankees 2009 ticket inventory on StubHub.

Also of note - it appears that all Bleacher seats are up for grabs on StubHub, so it appears those won't be available for partial plan season ticket holders.

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A must read Yankee blog - JohnSterling.blogspot.com

We don't usually take up a whole blog post to shout out another blog, but this one is certainly worthy for the endless humor they provide.

JohnSterling.blogspot.com (also known as It Is High, It Is Far, It is... Caught) has long been on the Stadium Insider blogroll. They never take anything too seriously and are always going for the humor home run.

That brings us to their "Yankeeography" series - a collection of YouTube videos satirizing the concept of the actual Yankeeography series on the YES Network, featuring people involved with the team who would never actually get one.

Today, it was Peter Abraham's turn. We all know the history between Peter Abraham and this blog, so we won't even go down that path. Lets just say he is one step away from filing a lawsuit for defamation (we here at Stadium Insider think he needs to get a sense of humor). Lets hope similar threats aren't levied against the hilarious guys over at IIH Without further ado, we present a piece that would win an internet Emmy if such things existed. They also get bigtime bonus points for using the cameraphone picture I took of the Tubby lookalike in Vegas last summer.





It is worth repeating - well done guys. Keep up the good work.


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Johnny Rockets at the new Stadium - but will the new vendors sing?

I remember the first time I was dragged into a Johnny Rockets "retro diner." It only took a few minutes of waiting for a table before the waiters started singing and dancing to decrepit jukebox hits. I almost walked out - but then I saw the awesome pop-up straw dispensers, I saw the waiter pouring the ketchup into a little paper container to dip the deliciously greasy fries in and I saw the thick milkshakes in old-school milkshake glasses. NOW my interest was piqued. A few minutes later I was sitting at a booth and the waiter dropped a nickel. Thats when instinct kicked in - I had a sudden urge to drop that nickel into the juke box and play 1961 hit Lets Twist Again by Chubby Checker. One of the first things I bought when I had my own apartment in college was that straw-holding apparatus. I still have it to this day, and I don't think I've used a straw from it, but it is awesome and I'll never get rid of it, no matter how dusty it gets.
So anyway, about the New Yankee Stadium - it is going to have vendor locations sponsored by Johnny Rockets, presumably serving staples from their menu, but definitely serving hot dogs. No word yet on singing waiters, although I assume A-Rod would be a fan (not sure if that is a gay joke, or a Madonna joke, or an A-Rod sucks joke, but when all else fails, mention A-Rod).

No, I'm not high - the proof is in the pictures:


Thanks to "Jovial Cow" on the "Something Awful" forums for the blurry, lo-res camera phone shot. I assume the cows that will be slayed to service this food establishment won't be so jovial.

There you have it - Johnny Rockets at Yankee Stadium. Need I say more?

Update: It was just brought to my attention that Citifield over in Flushing is going to be featuring burgers from Danny Meyer's shake shack. In case you have never tried a shake shack burger, you don't know what you are missing. That burger along is worth the trip to the Mets' new stadium.

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Red Sox Nation?

or more like...

Read the full post, after the jump

MTA set to open Station at New Stadium - Allows you to pay $1 more to travel less distance

According to this article in the Connecticut Post, the pricing has been released for the yet to be opened Metro North Station at the New Yankee Stadium.

If you are traveling to games from upstate New York (as far North as Poughkeepsie) or Connecticut, you will be able to get a direct train to the New Stadium. Apparently the good news is that you will only have to pay $1 more than the normal fare from your originating station to Grand Central.

Can someone explain what is good about this? You travel less distance than you would if you were going to Grand Central, but they charge you more? On top of that, this direct route to the Stadium from the far reaches of Connecticut means that Red Sox fans up there will have an even easier trip to invade OUR house.

I guess my perspective isn't the greatest on this one since my apartment is 15 minutes door to door from the big ballpark in the Bronx. I will admit that this will add a lot of convenience for a lot of Yankee fans. However, it will also probably contribute to another fare hike on my monthly Metrocard that I could live without.

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Forget the games they play between the baselines... Its all about the new amenities

Between reporting idiots from my cell phone while surfing the web via free wi-fi, eating at all of the new food vendors and playing PS3 on Sony LCD HDTVs when will I have time to watch baseball at the new Yankee Stadium? People buying the game program and scoring the game is going to be pretty much obsolete. What is the point of that anyway?

If you went to the final game at the Old Yankee Stadium and plan to attend the first exhibition game at the beginning of April, its probably going to feel like you entered some sort of time warp when you see all that the New Stadium has to offer.

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Why you should care about the Yankees signing of historic loser Jason Johnson

In light of Joe Girardi's laughable statement that Jason Johnson would be in the mix for the 5th starter spot, lets just pretend for a moment that the Yankees didn't just sign Johnson as minor league filler.

The first step would be to check out Johnson's player page on the indispensable baseball-reference.com. Jason Johnson's career ERA+ of 89 certainly isn't impressive, but what sticks out is that his career record is.... wait for it... 59-100 (.359 win %).

There is a hilarious thread over on the Pinstripes Plus message boards "discussing" the signing. A long-time contributor on the forums raised the question of where Jason Johnson's bad record stands among bad pitching records in the expansion era of baseball. The results are as follows (thanks to Pinstripes Plus member KSoch for doing the digging on this):

According to baseball-reference's play index Kaiser Wilhelm (not to EVER be confused with Hall of Famer, Hoyt) compiled a 56-105 (.348) record from 1903 to 1921, to take the cake for the lowest W% with 150+ decisions.

For the expansion era (post-1961) the lowest win % with 100+ decisions belongs to a fellow named Jesse Jefferson, 39-81 (.325) from 1973 to 1981.

Jason Johnson's .359 win % is the lowest for all expansion era pitchers with more decisions than Jefferson's 110. Research shows if your initials are J.J, you are bound to have a historically bad pitching record.

In fairness to Johnson, he has played for some pretty terrible teams over his career (Tampa, Baltimore, Detroit). This signing can certainly be filed in the inconsequential player transactions column, but it was nice of the Yankees to throw the rest of baseball a bone and sign one of the sport's worst players for a change.


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New Yankee Stadium Tours to begin in April

Photo courtesy of Jag9889 on Flickr.com

I had previously overlooked this, but it appears that fan tours of the New Yankee Stadium will commence in April, according to Yankees.com:

Tours of the Old Yankee Stadium have ended.

Thanks to our fans we have had a glorious run that lasted over 20 years. In 2008 alone, we’ve seen nearly 150,000 people tour The House That Ruth Built. As we look forward to moving into our new home in 2009, we are planning new and exciting tours, which will commence in April.

For further information regarding Tours and Birthday Bashes for the 2009 season, please contact the Stadium Tours department at 718-579-4594. Happy Holidays!!

As I mentioned in an old post, the tour of the old Yankee Stadium was an amazing experience. Touring the new park will obviously carry less of a historic "wow" factor, but I have a feeling the technological advancement and state of the art facilities of the New Stadium will more than make up for it.

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Whispers from the Yankee ticket office - Grandstand (upper deck) seats being held back for partial plan holders

As I have mentioned previously, there is a great ongoing message board thread at NYYFans about the New York Yankees season ticket holder relocation process.

According to a member over at NYYFans, the Yankees have been finishing up the full-season relocation process by soliciting partial plan holders to upgrade to a full season plan. Unfortunately, they are being informed that no Grandstand seats (formerly the "Tier Reserved") are left. According to reports, the "last few" rows of the Grandstand are being held back for the partial plan holders who have been on the sidelines thus far during the relocation process.

Where this leaves myself is still anyone's guess. I am a B-Plan holder with a seniority date of April 2005 and Old Yankee Stadium seats in Section 1, Row M. I have long been optimistic that my seats in the New Yankee Stadium would be somewhere in the infield, somewhat behind home plate, and in the Grandstand. As encouraging the news of seats being held back for partials is, I'm not sure enough are being held back to keep my location ideal.

According to season ticket holder reports, partial plan holders should receive their invoice sometime in January. It seems to be a daunting task, but as one astute ticket holder pointed out:

Would it be fair to assume that the 41, and two 20 game plans are going to be assigned from the same group of seats (since 41+20+20=81 games) They can essentially build a full season seat from combining these plans.

And then the remaining partials will be assigned from what's left after this?
(15+15+15+12+12+11=80 games with no opening day) and they will build a full season seat out of these plans as well?

THEN....what's left after this gets fought over by the public?

Makes perfect sense to me!

Feel free to report any personal experiences in the comments.

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The swan song for the House that Ruth built

Today there was one final glorious player introduction at the Cathedral in the Bronx. Mark Teixeira was presented with his #25 Yankee jersey and Stadium Insider was on hand to capture an exclusive photo at the chilly scene in the bronx:


Nice ski-jacket, Tex!

It seems that after the Sabathia/Burnett introduction a few weeks back, the Yankees decided to turn off the heat in the old digs. Gotta save some money and pay back the city for the tax-exempt bonds somehow!


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Vote for NYYSI as a blog you read on the WasWatching.com poll

UPDATE (1/4/09): Apparently Steve over at WasWatching shut down the poll due to some shady business by one of the blogs on the list. If I had to venture a guess, I would say Peter Abraham over at LoHud was stuffing the ballot box, but who knows. Check out some of Steve's hilarious ramblings in the comments section of his blog.

Steve over at WasWatching.com is hosting a poll asking his readers to vote for the Yankees blogs that they read.

So, why not vote and show your support for Yankee Stadium Insider / New Stadium Insider (we show up as Yankee Stadium Insider on the poll)

Thanks!

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Its the most wonderful time of the year (for stat-heads)

Uh oh! You know baseball projection season is upon us when I break out the clip-art of the guy hugging his computer - a stat-head after my own heart!

Just to whet your appetite for the 2009 season, here is a list of the various projections systems that I would put some stock into:

PECOTA - Known to be DEADLY ACCURATE - Nate Silver's baby. Still the king of the hill - subscription-based so you cheap folks should move on... (Not available until February '09)

Bill James Handbook Projections - The grand-daddy of all baseball stat guys. (Link is to fangraphs.com which offers a free version of the projections in Bill James' book on the player pages. If you are a true stat-head, you will want to buy Bill James' book.)

Marcel - The self-proclaimed "most basic" projection system. Proven to be nearly as accurate as the "deadly accurate" PECOTA. (Link is to fangraphs.com which hosts Marcel's projections).

CHONE - the earliest projection system to predict the Rays breakout season in 2008

ZiPS - Finds its home at Baseball Think Factory and is another well-respected projection system. In the past has stacked up nicely with PECOTA.

CAIRO - I had to include this relatively new system since it was designed by SG at my favorite Yankee blog, Replacement Level Yankees Weblog. Over at RLYW he has an explanation of the need for his projection system. And yes, it is named after famed utility infielder Miguel Cairo.

Some other systems that I am not as familar with, but are well-known - ESPN Fantasy, RotoWire, RotoTimes. I believe those are all paid services.

Predicting the human element of sports is impossible, so no projection system will ever be perfect. However, these projection systems are great at "discovering" an unexpected player or team. Vegas Watch (a sports gambling themed blog) regularly uses these projections system to figure out the best action to take at the various casinos. I use them to make informed decisions during my fantasy baseball draft and usually end up at the top of the standings because of it.

Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

Some new photos from inside of the new Stadium

Check out these photos of the new Stadium by KEVINF279 on Shutterfly.com. The slideshow is worth flipping through the 160 photos. My favorite is the photo below - I liked it enough that it inspired the banner at the top of the page! Thanks to KEVINF279 for the photo!



Talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

A new year, a new stadium, a new blog: New Stadium Insider is born!

2009 is here! Happy New Year!

Nothing is more fitting than a fresh start for NYY Stadium Insider with the general populace pining for change after a downtrodden 2008. Not even Yankee fans were immune to the 2008 doldrums, evidenced by their favorite team's absence from the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

Even though the recession and economic issues are likely to linger into 2009 and beyond, Yankee fans have reason to be positive. After the team's offseason spending spree, fans of the Yankees can look forward to watching 3 of the top free agents suit up in Pinstripes to try to bring them the elusive 27th World Championship in franchise history. There is also that 1.2 billion dollar stadium opening in April that has New York City buzzing. That's where we come in.

It is no secret that in 2008 we were not really the "Stadium Insiders" we claimed to be. With ticket prices rising upwards of 50%, we were forced to sell off our 2008 tickets. In 2009 we are going to return to our post as Stadium Insiders. With our 41 game plan ready to be purchased (as soon as the Yankees get to "B Plan" holders in their relocation process), we will be at alternating games starting with opening day on April 16!

2008 was a blessing in disguise for NYYStadiumInsider.com - with less "game experience" posts, we had to get creative in order to publish original content. We found our niche not only as stadium insiders, critiquing the stadium experiences of every day fans, but we also became media watchdogs for New York Yankee coverage. One has to look no further than the "NYYSI mentions" section of the sidebar to find some of our more popular posts of 2008.

There is plenty to look forward to in 2009. With the new stadium comes new experiences and Nick and I will be there to chronicle them. One exciting new feature of the blog we have planned is a food review series. With a "homegrown" catering company in place to provide the food, there are sure to be some must-haves along with some major misses in the food category. We will be there, digital camera in hand, to eat our way through the new Stadium. Many other new features are being brainstormed to help return our status as "NYY Stadium Insiders".

You will notice that there is a new name for the blog and the new web address. We have switched to a more streamlined blogger template and decided to revamp the site completely. We will now be known as "New Stadium Insider". The web address will eventually be http://newstadiuminsider.com. For now, we can be found at http://newstadiuminsider.blogspot.com. The original NYY Stadium Insider will remain in existence until the web hosting expires. All posts will remain in tact over there, but will not be imported here to the new site.

This entire site is a work in progress. One goal of the new site is for it to load faster involve less graphics and images. We plan on designing a nice graphic for the header of the page and have occasional photos within posts, but our goal is to create a snappier web-browsing experience.

Please continue to read the site an update your bookmarks! If you are a blog publisher, please leave NYY Stadium Insider as a link on your sidebar since all of the great information there will remain as an archive. Finally, the NYY Stadium Insider forums are still active, so as always:

talk about it in the NYYSI Forums! Read the full post, after the jump

New Stadium Insider Book Reviews

Occasionally, savvy PR people from publishing companies will make our day and offer us advance copies of upcoming books about the Yankees. We try our best to review them all. Here are some of the books we have covered thus far:

The Truth About Ruth and More: Behind Yankees Myths, Legends, and Lore by Peter Handrinos (April, 2009)

George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built The Yankee Empire by Peter Golenbock Part 1 (April, 2009)

George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built The Yankee Empire by Peter Golenbock Part 2 (May, 2009)

Yankee Stadium: The Final Game by Jeff Fox (May, 2009)

Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain by Marty Appel (July, 2009)

If you are an author or publisher and would like us to review your book, please head over to the "contact us" page to contact Ross and Bobby, who handle the reviews. Read the full post, after the jump

New Stadium Insider Food Reviews

As anyone who regularly reads this site knows, we love to eat food. Check back here for all of our food experiences at the new Yankee Stadium

Lobel's Steak Sandwich (April, 2009)

Audi Yankees Club (May, 2009)

The Fake Steak Sandwich and Other Yankee Stadium Food Complaints (July, 2009)

NYY Steak Restaurant Review (July, 2009)

If we haven't covered the food you are looking for in the posts above, be sure to search in the box at the top of the page. For example, if you type in "frickles" you will return the following posts:

http://newstadiuminsider.blogspot.com/search?q=Frickles

If you type in "garlic fries" you will end up at the same post as the frickles one, since we tried the garlic fries that same game.

If there is Yankee Stadium food you are curious about, but we have not yet reviews, please contact us and we'll get on it ASAP. Read the full post, after the jump

Contact New Stadium Insider via email

Email us

Ross (Founder and Editor)

Nick (Co-founder)

If you have the means to do so, please help our blog grow into the best and most informative stadium information website ever created by clicking below:

Read the full post, after the jump

About New Stadium Insider

"Thank you again Ross for your fine writing and wonderful stories. They are certainly stories to be very proud of. The fans read and have taken them to heart." - Linda Ruth Tosetti, Granddaughter of Babe Ruth

"Great work on the blog. You and Peter Abraham are mandatory reading." - Reader Feedback

"You guys seem to be breaking everything related to the New Stadium and certainly living up to your blog's title." - Reader Feedback

" I initially bookmarked the blog prior to the start of the regular season, looking for updates and any sort of information about the new stadium; however, since then, I have returned to your site daily eager to read your musings and assorted pieces you have composed" - Reader Feedback

Formerly known as "NYY Stadium Insider" (http://nyystadiuminsider.com) and founded in late-March 2007, New Stadium Insider is a blog owned and edited by Yankee season ticket holders, reaching over 40,000 unique visitors monthly and growing. The blog was born with the idea of passing along the every day season ticket holder experience to Yankee fans who couldn't make it to as many games as we do. It eventually evolved to become what it is today - one of the most unique Yankee blogs on the internet, serving as a watchdog for the Yankee organization and everything that happens inside and outside of Yankee Stadium.

The Evolution Of Stadium Insider
In 2007, NYY Stadium Insider was basically a personal journal, chronicling our experiences as Yankee fans, and our trips to Yankee Stadium. If our mother and girlfriend read the site, it was a successful day.

In 2008, we couldn't afford our season tickets, so we expanded by not only critiquing the stadium experiences of every day fans, but by focusing on the lighter side of the Yankees. We enlisted the services of hardcore Yankee fan and talented "photoshop" manipulator Kaybli (you can see some of his best work of 2008 here, while also uncovering some hilarious moments during Yankee broadcasts such as when Ian Kennedy "got jerked off in the bullpen," at least according to YES announcer David Cone.

2009 brought with it a new blog name, as New Stadium Insider was born. We can't rule out a return to the NYY Stadium Insider moniker eventually, but with the new stadium, we felt a fresh start, with a clean, crisp template was important. The new stadium brought many new readers to the blog, and its reach has grown exponentially, as have the number of posts created weekly. We added two new contributors into the fold. Yanks26 now writes the NSI Minor League Report each morning, and Bobby (formerly Fake IPK) is our resident review expert, with ocassional game experience stories and op-eds. Our goal for the rest of 2009 is to continue to be the unofficially offical blog of the new Yankee Stadium. Our coverage has expanded to all aspects of the new Yankee Stadium, as evidenced by our popular food reviews, stadium tips, first-hand reporting, and community organizing.

Leaving Our Mark On The Interwebs
Stadium Insider received over 100,000 page views in April 2009, an important milestone for an independent blog known only by word of mouth and Google seatches. We are regularly linked to by popular sports blog "Deadspin"(http://www.deadspin.com) and many other mainstream media outlets.

The tag-line of the blog "If you yell something stupid from the stands at Yankee Stadium, we'll hear it" is a sarcastic play on the tag-line of mega-popular baseball sports blog MLB Trade Rumors - "If it's whispered we hear it". Historically, Stadium Insider has been home to many gripes about the stupid things people yell at players while attending games - mostly at A-Rod, and recently at Mark Teixeira. We're here to chronicle and ridicule the stories of those not as enlightened as us.


About The Authors
[Forthcoming]

For advertising inquires, please email Ross by clicking the contact link on the navigation bar.

If you have the means to do so, please help our blog grow into the best and most informative stadium information website ever created by clicking below:

Read the full post, after the jump