Previewing The Home Stand Ahead: Interleague Is Back!

The Basics

• Dates: June 12 - June 18
  
• Games: 6
  
• Teams: 2
  
• Night Games: 3
  
• Weekend Day Games: 2
  
• Mid-week Day Games: 1

Well, that run in first place was short-lived, huh? Last week we were celebrating the Yankees flag flying proudly atop Yankee Stadium. Today, the flag is back in its familiar second place position. The good news is that the cross-town rival Mets are coming to town tonight, which should quickly clear the air of the stench that was left behind by the Yankees futility in Boston. Both the Yankees and the Mets are coming off of disappointing series with their division rivals, so expect there to be a lot of tension in the crowd between New York fans rooting for different teams. The only other series in this home stand is against the Nationals. Unless Stephen Strasburg signs with the Nationals today and is in uniform by Tuesday, there isn't much that is compelling about those games. Maybe Adam Dunn will hit one into the upper deck in right field? That would be cool.

Tickets

New York Mets @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)

Fri, Jun 12 at 7:05PM 4,000+ tickets from $41

Sat, Jun 13 at 4:10PM 6,000+ tickets from $48

Sun, Jun 14 at 1:05PM 7,000+ tickets from $25

Compare all 3 events

Washington Nationals @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)

Tue, Jun 16 at 7:05PM 9,000+ tickets from $9

Wed, Jun 17 at 7:05PM 10,000+ tickets from $11

Thu, Jun 18 at 1:05PM 9,000+ tickets from $13

Compare all 3 events

As would be expected, the Mets' first trip ever into the new Yankee Stadium has made for a hot ticket. The same cannot be said about the games against the Nationals. Mid-week games against the worst team in the National League will always result in stagnant ticket sales. If you scout out Craigs List and Stubhub during the day on Tuesday or Wednesday, you are sure to get tickets for $10.

In other ticket news - this may be a week old, but it is still interesting. Apparently, Governor Patterson had not yet reenacted the Eliot Spitzer law that allows for unlimited markups on secondary market ticket sales. In other words the law was in limbo, meaning that the previous law that only allows for a $2 markup per ticket was temporarily back in place. Last we checked, tickets were going for way more than $2 over face value on Stubhub for the Mets series. Stubhub spokesman Sean Pate had this to say in the NY Daily News article:

"New Yorkers have enjoyed an open and free market for ticket resale for the last two years which has seen average resale prices decline sharply," Pate said. "We have every confidence they will continue to do so once the governor has reviewed this legislation to continue the open resale marketplace for tickets."

On the other hand, constant Yankees-basher Richard Brodsky wanted the $2 rule in place to stay:

"The law is the law," Brodsky said. "They shouldn't be winking at it."

Ticket holders were left confused. The Yankees and Stubhub have a pretty solid deal in place, so it seemed unlikely that there was going to be a complete upheaval in the ticket scalping laws. Then again, Dick Brodsky has it in for the Yankees and has been lobbying like crazy to make life hell for the franchise.

This past Tuesday, Governor Patterson ended the drama and signed the ticket scalping law extension. We'll check back in 365 days when the extension expires...

(Thanks to Kevin [reg3835] for pointing us in the direction of the Patterson signing the extension update!)

Weather

We were thinking about skipping this section since Steve from NYNJPAWeather.com is an avid Mets fan. Then we thought better of it, since rain is in the forecast, and Steve is a good guy! Here is what he has to say about this dreadful early summer weather, along with some words about the Subway Series:

What can I say, I love this upcoming series. There's nothing like Mets VS Yankees for me on so many levels, regardless the weather conditions, I'm always amped for my Mets to go up against the Yankees. I still remember the first Friday of the Mets/Yankees series where Dave Mlicki shocked the world, or at least Mike Francessa on WFAN.

Anyway, enough with my memories of old, back to the weather forecast! I wish I could say that clouds will clear, showers will end, and some actual summer conditions return to the New York City metro. However, then I would be dead wrong with the forecast.

For tonight, overcast skies and a northeasterly wind around 5 to 10 mph can be expected through the game time.. A risk of widely scattered and weak showers will remain over the Bronx throughout the game, but I don't think a postponement is in the cards. These showers will be on the light side. Otherwise, a cloudy and drizzly night can be expected. Temperatures will range from the mid 60's to mid 70's, but will feel like the 50's.

The stationary front will hang around the Bronx tomorrow afternoon as well with a better chance of scattered showers through the game. Once again, these showers will not be wide spread nor heavy, but may lead to a delay in the game from time to time. Winds will be light and variable. Temperatures will range from the mid 60's to possibly 70 degrees.

On Sunday, the stationary front will slide south of the Bronx by Sunday afternoon with a few scattered showers still lingering around the region. Overall though, partly cloudy to overcast skies can be expected with winds from the north around 5 to 10 mph. Temperatures will range from the lower to mid 70's for highs.

Through the rest of the home stand, generally the same forecast can be expected with variable cloud cover and a risk of showers each day. Temperatures will generally remain in the mid 60's to lower 70's for the games.

PS.. GO METS!

So, it looks to be another dreary home stand weather-wise. In other news, Steve is one "Go Mets" away from being persona non grata around these parts. Tread lightly, Steve. Tread lightly.

Stadium News and Notes

• Bait and Switch?

BernBabyBern from one of our favorite websites, It Is High, It Is Far, It Is... Caught wrote in with the following tale:

Went to the new stadium last week, I'll be blogging a bit about it. One thing that got me a little upset was a it of a bait-and-switch the team is pulling. The $3 kids' hot dogs, which the team bragged so much about before the season, have apparently been taken off the menu, although the signs for them are still up. I went with my kid to get one in about the sixth inning, and was told they didn't have any. I said "Wow. Sold out already?" I was told no, the weren't carrying them anymore. "We stopped sometime after the first home stand. I guess they weren't selling well enough. They really need to take them off the menu board." But they were more than happy to sell me the $5 hot dog for my 6-year-old. So, there are approximately 1,000,006 food items for sale in that place and the ONE thing that gets taken off the menu within two months is the cheap kids' hot dog? Ugh.

We can't confirm that these $3 hot dogs have been pulled from the menu at most concession stands, but we do know that they still exist at the "Kids Cafe" cart. This cart is located in the corridor by the ticket sales booth, inside of the stadium, at the end of the great hall. Right around the corner from the fruit stand. Very easy to miss, and probably not an accident.

• Staying Kosher

Last week, Rob Iracane, fellow Yankees fan from the great baseball site "Walkoff Walk," sent out a message to the Twittersphere, inquiring about the shawarma at the kosher cart at the new Yankee Stadium. We haven't yet tried this kosher food, but here are some photos of the cart in action, and of the prices (sorry for the blurryness):

• Cheers and Jeers
  

Unlike last home stand, there are plenty of Yankees that have left themselves open to criticism. First, however, lets focus on the positive!

Cheers - Mark Teixeira - If there is one guy immune to any potential crowd abuse during this home stand, it is Mark. Can anyone say MVP candidate?

Jeers - The candidates for this one are seemingly endless. A.J Burnett continues to suck, home grown guys like Melky, Cano and Jeter are all on the interstate over the past week or two, and the bullpen is in shambles. However, the one guy who may experience a derisive welcome home is 2009 fan-favorite, Nick Swisher. Although he has been swinging the bat extremely well in June, his head seems to be elsewhere. There have been numerous fielding and baserunning gaffes, and it seems like he has lost his mental focus. That, combined with the recent Twitter-gate make Swisher most likely to be booed on this home stand.

Which Games We'll Be At

Stadium Insider dad wanted to make some of his season ticket money back, so we offloaded our Friday night tickets for a decent profit. Lets just say that both season ticket holders didn't agree to this philosophy. In any case, we'll be at the games on Sunday and Wednesday. There is a strong likelihood that Sunday's game will be the last one that Nick will be attending before he moves to North Carolina next weekend. Come and visit us in section 428, row 10. Parting gifts in the form of cups of beer will surely be accepted by both of us. On Wednesday, we're going to be all uppity in the Audi Yankees Club. What is a better treat for father's day than taking your pops for a $65, all you can eat dinner? If you're in the Audi Yankees Club on Wednesday, look for the people that have 10 helpings of the most expensive food. Good thing gluttony isn't some kind of sin or anything...

Special Shout-Out

This week's special shout-out goes to Heather, the best girlfriend that an obsessed sports fan/blogger can ask for. This blog, along with a barrage of sporting events on television tend to take some attention away from this fine young thing, but she sticks around and is always a source of love, affection and companionship. You may have noticed a lower volume of blog posts lately, and it has a lot to do with making a concerted effort to pay attention to the important things in life. Its the best for everyone this way. Read the full post, after the jump

Angels Rain Out From May 3 Rescheduled For September 14

As we predicted way back on May 3, the rained out game between the Yankees and Angels will be made up on a mutual off day on September 14 at 7:05 PM.

There should be an interesting crowd for this one. The original crowd likely had many Sunday plan holders, so a Monday evening game might not be the easiest for those fans to get to. Therefore, we'd expect the secondary ticket market to be ripe for the picking, even though the game will feature two playoff contenders in the midst of a pennant race.

We'll be there, and instead of having Audi Yankees Club access for that May 3 early afternoon day game, we'll have the opportunity to enjoy another delicious, all you can eat dinner (by paying $65, of course).

But that leads us to the question of what happens to people who had the seated tickets in the Audi Yankees Club? If you forked over the $140 for the seat and the meal, you likely enjoyed a meal on May 3, and then had to suffer through the disappointment of the postponement. Now, the game has been rescheduled for September 14, and those tickets will still be valid. How will the Yankees prevent them from getting another free meal? I don't see any way that they can. If anyone can shed some light on this, please leave a comment. Read the full post, after the jump

Time Magazine Shows You How To Get The Most Out Of The Legends Seats

Since we did something similar with the Audi Yankees Club last month, we thought we'd pass along Time Magazine's attempt to get their money's worth out of a Yankee Stadium premium ticket offering.

The article was written by an un-funny Yankee hater, but it is worth reading to fantasize about being afforded the luxury of being a glutton in the Legends Suite for a day:

The Yankees were up 2 to 1, but obviously I had other concerns. A waiter came by with a bag of peanuts ($5) for me to down while I considered the menu. To start, I went with a box of chicken fingers with spicy buffalo sauce ($10), a lobster roll ($15), a hot dog ($5) and two large unsweetened iced teas ($7). And another giant bag of peanut M&Ms ($5). The waiter looked at me suspiciously.

Minutes later the food arrived. The lobster roll was an exaggerated pink paste on white bread. The hot dog was a hot dog. But the chicken fingers and buffalo sauce were a revelation. So I ordered another box ($10). I also remembered that I had brought a friend with me, so we talked a little between bites. But I needed to say focused. When a waitress came by with a tray of pasta plates — remember, this is technically a baseball stadium — I asked if the pasta was any good. Turns out no one had tried any: "Everybody just looks at me like I'm crazy." So: pasta ($15)! And while it was terrible pasta, I felt very good eating it.

We're wondering if the "say focused" typo made it into the magazine as well, or if that is an online-only article. Anyway, back to the "review." It isn't surprising that the food for the Legends Suite is terrible - Legends Hospitality Management runs the place and sources the food. They are a newbie of a company, bound to deal with some growing pains.

Meanwhile, Lobel's supplies the food for the Audi Yankees Club, making it the clear choice if you want to enjoy top notch food while attending a game at the new Yankee Stadium. Read the full post, after the jump

The Audi Yankees Club - Dinner Is Worth The Price, But We Are Still Undecided About The Cost Of Membership

ATTENTION: NEW STADIUM INSIDER HAS MOVED TO NYYSTADIUMINSIDER.COM. FOR ALL OF THE INFORMATION YOU COULD EVER WANT ABOUT AUDI YANKEES CLUB, PLEASE VISIT OUR NEW AND IMPROVED WEBSITE!

On Monday night, we had the rare pleasure of having access to one of the upscale, members only clubs at the new Yankee Stadium. A friend in the ticket office left us one day passes for the Audi Yankees Club, so we were able to skip the $975 membership charge, head over to the private elevator entrance near gate 2, and get right to our $65, all you can eat dinner.

There are essentially three options for people who find themselves in the Audi Club.

• First, you can be a member of the club (either via a season membership or one day pass) and hang out by the bar area, with tons of 42 inch HDTVs in your sight-lines, but hardly any views of the field.

(We spent about 3 minutes in this area on Sunday in the rain, got bored, and left).

• Next, you can pay $140 (reduced to $90 for the games against the Rays, and hopefully other games throughout the season) and you can have seats at the front of the club that are stacked in rows facing the field:

Which give the fans views of the field similar to this:


(taken from behind the seats)
These people have access to an all you can eat buffet featuring high end food, cooked right in front of your eyes at action cooking stations.

• Third, and the option that we enjoyed on Monday night, is for people who have access to the club via a membership or one day pass, and want to eat dinner. These people can be seated restaurant style (the Audi Yankees Club takes reservations every day between 10 AM and 3 PM) either two hours before game time or right at game time. The seats are at the back of the club, and only feature glimpses of the field of play. If you choose this option at game time, you will miss seeing half of the game live. Of course, there are HDTVs scattered throughout the restaurant, and the radio broadcast is piped in through the speakers, so you will always know the game situation.

Upon being seated and ordering drinks, patrons have full reign over the all you can eat buffet. Unfortunately, we forgot to snap a photo of the menu, but here is a photo we took of the menu on Sunday for lunch (there is also a sample menu on Yankees.com:



On this particular night, we hit the jackpot - the main courses were lobster tail and filet mignon. In addition, there was a stuffed pork loin, Boston clam chowder, mini salmon burgers, mini spicy sausages, a vegetable/noodle stir fry and various salads and a domestic cheese spread. There was also a hot dog station set up for people who want to be totally ripped off enjoy typical stadium food. Finally, there was a desert bar with various pastries, fresh fruit, and freshly cooked, warm fruits wrapped in a crepe-like dough and covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon.

Knowing exactly what it would take to get our money's worth, we headed right for the lobster station:



The lobsters seemed to be broiled in the back and then sauteed in pans for everyone to view. They were served with some tasty, generously-sized potatoes (first rule of the all you can eat buffet is steer clear of the carbs), and butter sauce to dip the lobster tail in. The chef even threw some extra bits of lobster that had been separated from certain lobster tails onto everyone's dish.

The lobster tails were relatively small, but they were all you can eat, so size did not matter. What did matter was that they were delicious, and our table for two at nine of them. That's right, nine.

Next up was a trip over to the filet mignon station, which was initially an extreme disappointment. For the first 25 minutes of our dinner, every time we went to get some of the filet, there was none available, and the carver told us more was cooking and would be out in 10 minutes. After three trips of heading up and seeing this:



We were convinced that as many lobster tails as we could eat, we had been scammed. After all, the real highlight of the menu was the filet mignon, and we kept on having to settle for salmon burgers, mini sausages and stuffed pork.

Still, we were troopers, and took advantage of these steak-less times to try out all of the other food, and check out the surroundings. We were surprised to see the weird old guy who dances around (Disco Stu) in the club:


He didn't seem to be eating.

Unfortunately, these tense moments without the beef also led us to some other dissatisfying revelations. The Boston clam chowder (appropriate since the Yankees were playing the Red Sox on this night) was colder than room temperature, which is no way to eat a good Boston clam chowder. Even after a couple of trips back to try for a fresh batch, it was still cold. They will have to work on their soups at the Audi Yankees Club.

Also, one of the carvers was repeatedly violating an important health code, right in front of everyone's eyes. Some people would come up to the station holding a half-full plate of food in their hands. They would hand it to the carver, and at one station the carver placed that dirty-bottomed plate onto a stack of fresh plates while carving the meat. Whoever received the next "clean" plate on that stack would actually be receiving a plate with the bacteria from someone else's hands on it. Knowing that the carver was an amateur and that the restaurant is brand new, we informed another employee, who moved the clean plates to a different location so this health code violation would no longer occur. Hopefully they solved that problem for good.

The waiter service was also disappointing. Their only responsibility was to take drink orders, fill drink orders and bring checks. Our particular waiter was so inefficient that we pulled an A-Rod and tipped "only" 15%. If it takes 25 minutes to get a rum and coke, and another 20 minutes for the check, and that is your only job, you don't even deserve that much of a tip.

Eventually the filet mignon line grew to the point where it was blocking other stations, because the meat was not being prepared fast enough. Eventually, the folks running the show in the back realized this and started pumping out more steaks at a time. The filets were not grilled, but roasted, and they were mostly cooked rare to medium-rare. Perfect for true steak lovers like ourselves.

The photo below captures one of the less impressive hunks of meat that was brought out, but it was still extremely tasty:


(please note that this was at the end of the night when I remembered to take a photo, so it isn't as impressive)

All of the foodstuffs are provided by Lobel's of New York, so they are sure to be of high quality.

After five helpings of freshly sliced filet mignon, we were ready to head over to the desert bar and chow down on some delicious treats. We typically don't like our fruit warmed up, but the crepe-like treats smelled so delicious while being cooked that we had to get in on the fun:



The atmosphere in the Audi Yankees Club was definitely upscale, but not overly stuffy. Fans are allowed in with casual attire on, so the surroundings are not filled with suits. The tables are a nice touch, featuring a centerpiece of what appears to be grass, perhaps even Yankee Stadium grass:



The Yankees can easily fit more tables into the restaurant area, but for now the tables are well spread out and comfortable, benefiting from the open feel of the entire club. It remains to be seen if the Yankees cram more tables in once the word gets out and the place becomes more popular.

Before the game started, there was lounge-style music playing, which combined with the soundproof glass, really took away from the feeling of being at a baseball game. However, during the national anthem, everyone in the restaurant became silent, stood, and honored America. All of a sudden, everyone was at a baseball game. It was surreal.

The start of Monday night's game was delayed nearly 2 and a half hours due to rain, but the staff of the Audi Club never rushed any of the diners. People were welcome to take their time and enjoy the dry, climate-controlled restaurant. In fact, they were still bringing out fresh food at 9 PM, two hours after the "official" seating time at 7 PM. On nights when the restaurant is filled with one-day pass holders (not officially for sale, but on the secondary market) and the combo seat/meal ticket holders (especially of the discounted variety), the place is definitely losing money. If they are eventually able to convince enough people to drop the $975 for a membership, they should be fine - even if everyone were gluttons like us.

Overall, we easily got our money's worth, and likely much more. How often can one enjoy high end, all you can eat surf 'n turf in New York City for any price? The answer is pretty much never. Unfortunately, the menu won't feature these top-notch options every night, so we can't guarantee that dropping the $65 will always be worth it. That being said, if you have the means to treat yourself to this fine dining experience, we doubt you will come away disappointed. If all we had to invest was another $65 to enjoy a meal of this caliber, we would do it in a heartbeat.

Addendum (courtesy of mtrico in the comments):

The following beer is available at the Audi Club:

Bottled: Amstel light, Bass, Becks, Corona, Heineken, Heineken Light, Hoegaarden, New Castle, Peroni, Bud, Bud Light, Brooklyn Lager, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, Yuengling, Miller Lite, MGD 64.

Draft: Bud, Bud Light, Bud Ale, Coors Light, Stella Artois, Brooklyn Lager, Guiness, Bass.

The wine and liquor menu is too long to list.
Read the full post, after the jump

Yankees Continue To Slash Prices - This Time On Audi Yankees Club & Batter's Eye Seats

An exciting email just hit the inbox from the New York Yankees. Apparently, team executives are starting to realize that seats other than the Legends seats are overpriced at the new Yankee Stadium.

Ticket prices for the upcoming mid-week series against the Tampa Bay Rays have been slashed - specifically in the Audi Yankees Club, and the recently re-branded "Batter's Eye seats" (formerly Bleacher Cafe seats). This doesn't come as much of a surprise, since resellers and ticket brokers have informed us that the secondary market has crashed, and tickets for the series against the Rays are nearly impossible to sell.

Directly from the Yankees, here are the offers:

E-Saver: Audi Yankees Club
May 6-7 vs. Rays
Save $50 on Audi Yankees Club seats and enjoy a tiered seating climate controlled space, and a complimentary upscale dining experience. This offer is compliments of Audi.
Coupon Code: AUDICLUB

E-Saver: Batter's Eye seats located in the Bleachers Cafe
May 6-7 vs. Rays
Save $50 on Batter's Eye seats. Catch the game perched atop the Batter's eye and enjoy one of the most unique views in the Stadium. This offer is compliments of Pepsi.

In our opinion, the Audi Yankees Club seats are priced to move, while the Batter's Eye seats are still a rip-off.

In the Audi Club, you will have a top notch, all you can eat dinner, and a nice view of the field for $90. We're tempted to jump on this offer, as the Lobel's guys have told us that they distribute all of the meat served there, and with the all you can eat offer, it is a great deal. As for the Batter's Eye, drop the price below $50 and we'll think about it.

Expect to see more of these Yankee "E-Savers" in the future, as they will do the right thing and try to fill the stadium, not matter how deep the discounts have to be. Read the full post, after the jump

Reviewing An Exciting Trip To The New Yankee Stadium

On Friday night, we headed up to the new Yankee Stadium for only the second time during the regular season. Because of all the day games during the first home stand, and because we only have the 41 game plan, we haven't been to the stadium as much as we would have liked. Last night's thriller made up for any of the games we missed. Although we misjudged the potential rain impact (drank one beer too many at home thinking the start would be delayed), we eventually arrived during the bottom of the first inning, and were rewarded with an extremely exciting game. The good, the bad, the strange, and what we ate await if you

The Good

We had the pleasure of meeting our very helpful Yankee ticket account representative. The ticket office gets a pretty bad rap, but those people work hard, and work long hours. Before ripping them a new one regarding issues you are having, think about the fact that they are human beings and that being rational and friendly will likely get you a long way. For ages, we believed that the ticket office workers were a bunch of people who were mad at the world, but if you take the time to get to know them, they are just people doing a pretty tough job. An interesting item of note - the 1-800 ticket office number is controlled by an outside ticket agency, while the 718 ticket office number is the folks housed within the stadium. This is important to understand because the people at the outside agency are disconnected from the stadium and don't know the ins and outs of the new place like the people working in the stadium do. There should be better communication between the two offices, but there isn't. Often times tickets that are obviously obstructed, or have other issues are repeatedly sold by the outside agency, and then the people at the 718 number are forced to correct their error. Once again, this is an obvious breakdown involving systems and upper management - it is not the fault of the people who you are yelling at on the phone.

We also got to meet Stan and Mark Lobel, of Lobel's Steak. They were very appreciative of the review that we wrote about the prime rib sandwich. Even though they feature the review prominently on the press kit page of their website, they didn't offer a complimentary NY Strip Streak sandwich last night. No hard feelings, we purchased one anyway. More about that in the "what we ate" section. An interesting note from our conversation, with the Lobels is that they feel the Audi Yankees Club is actually one of the better values in the new Yankee Stadium. We're not sure how $140 for seats in left field could ever be a value, but they made sure to point out that the restaurant serves all Lobel's meat, and all you can eat. They also said the view is nice from out there, so perhaps big eaters can make it worth the price of admission. We hope to have a firsthand account of the Audi Yankees Club posted to the blog this week.

The seats in section 428, row 10 are completely covered by the frieze, so when the rain started pouring down in the middle innings, we were completely covered. It was awesome seeing all of the people in the expensive seats scramble for cover while we just watched the game completely dry.

The crowd, while sparse (weather?) was into the game from start to finish. From what we hear, it doesn't come across well on TV, but the Yankee fans in our section were loud and boisterious, even when the Yankees were down 9-4. The only downside was that when the Yankees won, there wasn't the "hugging strangers" emotion that typically accompanies an epic come from behind win. We'll chalk that up to the crowd being so spread out due to the formerly lopsided score and poor weather.

All of the concession lines were extremely manageable. Lobel's was the longest one we came across, but it was being run extremely efficiently. The bathrooms also were very easy to get into and out of. It seems that everyone is getting into the flow of things, and everything is running as we imagined it would in a brand new stadium.

The shrill-voiced Tina woman who went around interviewing fans between innings on the high-def video screen seems to be gone. We didn't notice her at all. Good riddance.

The Bad

The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar is a terrible place to watch a baseball game, contrary to an interesting review on River Ave Blues last week. A friend gave us a one day pass to the bar, and we spent one inning there. It would be great if it was just a sports bar that happened to have a peek into Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, a peak is all you get, along with a total disconnect from the game and overpriced drinks. We were happy to head out of there to our seats in the nosebleeds.

Yankee fans are really starting to take booing their own to an extreme. They booed 3 or 4 relievers and had some special hate reserved for Mark Teixeira. All of the parties being booed have had their struggles this year and as paying fans it is their right to boo. We always wonder, however, what does it accomplish? Does anyone really think that Mark Teixeira wanted to strike out looking or that Mark Melancon wanted to allow 3 inherited runners to score with his first pitch thrown? They're probably more frustrated than anyone, since it is their livelyhood. Do Yankee fans think they don't try hard because they are getting paid a lot of money? We actually heard someone yelling at Teixeira, and calling him "Teixei-Rod" (clearly a jab at Tex's struggles in the clutch so far this year, even though his OBP with RISP is nearly .500). Further, after the unlikely comeback, Yankee fans on the exit ramps decided to display an inferiority complex and start "Boston Sucks" chants. Last time I checked, that was a thing that Red Sox fans did. As Yankee fans, we used to know that our franchise was better, and we didn't need to resort to chanting about the Red Sox sucking, especially when they don't, or when they aren't even playing the Red Sox. It was really an embarrassing time to be a Yankee fan.

The Yankees seem to have dumped Cotton Eye Joey. Call us crazy, but we always enjoyed that break in the 8th inning even more than the 7th inning stretch. In a stadium that kept the "tradition" of the YMCA grounds crew routine, and the played-out God Bless America, getting rid of the goofy scoreboard operator dancing around seems arbitrary. Hopefully it was a one night thing.

We still didn't see any foul balls hit into the upper deck (Terrace or Grandstand). It sucks going to a game and feeling so removed from the game that you know a ball won't come anywhere near you.

Empty seats, and we're not just talking about the now-famous ones in the Legends sections. As pictured below, there was a random section of empy seats in the main level. Our feeling at the time was that section was the last section before a price break, and according to the Yankee seating chart, our assumption was correct. It looks like section 215 was nearly empty, while the section right next door, section 214B was completely full. Gameday face value of 215 is $150, gameday face value of 214B is $95. Looks like anything over $100 is a tough sell for the Yankees. Front office, we have a problem.


(click to enlarge)

Perhaps this is nitpicky, but the ramps to exit the stadium on the third base side of the upper deck are poorly designed. The decline is so gradual that any time one would save exiting the stadium because of wider concourses is lost due to the seemingly endless ramps. They could have made the ramps a little steeper and it would make for a quicker exit. Once again, we are aware this is nitpicky, but it annoyed the hell out of us.

The Strange

At times between innings, if you closed your eyes and just listened to the voice reading the fan greetings on the scoreboard, or the organ music, you felt like you were in the old Yankee Stadium. Then, you opened your eyes and were bombarded with all that is the new Yankee Stadium. At one point during the Yankee rally in the 8th inning, they were trying to encourage the fans to "make noise" and all of the video screens were flashing the message. As we posted on Twitter, it was sensory overload, and it was pretty overwhelming. Maybe it was just us who noticed this.

Also between innings - the Yankees played a video tribute/montage to former Yankee Ruben Sierra, with "I Like The Way You Move" by Outkast playing in the background. For those not in the know, Ruben used to come up to bat to that song during his second stint with the team. It showed some of Ruben's "great" moments with the team, including a walkoff home run to dead center against the Blue Jays. It was pretty bizarre seeing that tribute. We're just waiting for the Miguel Cairo montage.

Jerry Springer Sighting. The only "celebrity" shown on the huge high-def screen in center field was Jerry Spring, and he was wearing one of those cheap Yankee rain ponchos. The Yankees are really scraping the bottom of the barrel with celebrities these days. We're just waiting for a Judge Judy sighting.

What we ate

As we mentioned previously, we tried the Lobel's NY Strip Steak sandwich during this trip. The roll was the same as last time, which was fine by us - whatever type of bread they use is perfect for sopping up the juices of the meat without it getting soggy. NY Strip steak is not as naturally tender as prime rib, so instead of carving the beef and plopping it down onto the roll, they were slicing it and placing it in some meat juices to tenderize it. It definitely worked, but it also took away some of the natural flavor of the steak, and gave it more of a generic au jus flavor. We also made the mistake of getting more au jus poured on top, so the meat was overwhelmed with the generic meat sauce flavor. Don't get us wrong, it was still a great ballpark meal, and the portion size was generous. That being said, if we get the NY Strip steak sandwich from Lobel's again. we will skip the au jus - that type of sauce just isn't meant for NY Strip steak!

Even after drinking a couple of beers at home, and one with the huge steak sandwich, we drowned our sorrows with more food when the Yankees went down 9-4 late in the game. A milkshake and onion rings from the Johnny Rockets in the upper deck seemed like the perfect comfort food at the time, even though we weren't especially hungry. Although the milkshake couldn't be drank through a straw, it was still tasty - probably a slight upgrade from the Carvel helmet cup soft ice cream, and obviously it didn't have the awesome rainbow sprinkles. We paid $7, and unless it is a 95 degree night and we are craving a black and white milkshake, we don't do it again. The onion rings ($6), like the frickles from our first trip, were over-fried in heavy batter. This was good for Bobby (formerly fake IPK) since he hates onions. It went well with the milkshake, that much is for sure. However, we couldn't help but feel bad for our slowly clogging arteries.
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Plenty Of Good Seats Available For Upcoming Premium Yankee Games - And We're Not Only Talking About The Legends Seats

When it was announced that there were going to be seats on top of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, reminiscent of the "Green Monster Seats" at Fenway Park, we were all ears. When word came of a climate controlled sports bar in center field, featuring unique views from the batters eye, we were pestering Yankee ticket reps for information every day. When we found out about seats down the left field line offering unlimited food along with the price of admission, the fat guy in us reared its ugly head and we wanted in. Last week, the Yankees finally released tickets for the Bleacher Cafe, Mohegan Sun Sports Bar and The Audi Yankees Club - the public has responded with disinterest. The Yankees have misread the market yet again and just like with the "greatest seats in the world," inventory is stagnant.

A few quick searches of Ticketmaster.com reveal availability in all of these exciting seats for nearly every premium game. The first game against the Red Sox on May 4? $90 plus Ticketmaster's exorbitant fees and you will be watching the game from the first row of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. A Saturday, May 23 game against the nearby Philadelphia Phillies? $130 per ticket plus ridiculous fees and your family of four will be a chowing down on unlimited food and watching a ball game from the first row of the Audi Club. The June 13 Saturday tilt against the cross-town rival Mets? $125 will have you baking in the sun on the top of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar in Row 2 of the Bleacher Cafe seats. We can do this all day - the point is that there are plenty of seats available for the best games, and not only in the thousand dollar seats...
Some of this can be attributed to poor dissemination of information by the Yankees. For example, today we had someone comment on the blog and ask:

Is this ALL I need to walk into Yankee Stadium, sit down inside the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar" for the entire duration of the game and watch? Or do I need an additional ticket for a "regular" seat somewhere in the stadium? Do I get to spend the entire game inside the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, or do I get a limited amount of time?

The Yankees have information about the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar on Yankees.com, but when perusing Ticketmaster.com, it is a real leap of faith to spend $90 plus fees for a ticket in what is termed as a "sports bar."

A few days ago, the anonymous author of the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar review on River Ave. Blues contacted us regarding the sports bar. He mentioned that a friend of his was curious about the secondary market for the interesting seats in the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar and the Bleacher Cafe. Apparently, she is willing to pay $45 for seats in the Mohegan Sun Sports bar - tickets with a face value of $90. There is obviously a gap in what these seats cost, and what they are deemed to be worth by Yankee fans. Obviously, a secondary market cannot develop unless the tickets are sold by the organization first.

As usual, we come prepared with a solution for the Yankees' problems. The organization does not have any season ticket holders to answer to when considering ticket prices for the Audi Yankees Club, the Bleacher Cafe, or the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. While this means they are unable to scare people into buying more games than they want, it also allows the Yankees to be flexible with the ticket prices. There has been much speculation lately, regarding the Yankees lowering ticket prices. There is no better place to start than with these fascinating seating options. People will certainly be interested - but only on their terms. That is why were are endorsing ticket auctions, run by the Yankees, deciding what these seats cost. Why leave the seats empty, especially seats from unique perspectives that Yankee fans have not yet experienced?

Bidding should start at the following prices:

Bleacher Cafe

A view from the Bleacher Cafe seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

Face Value: $125
Recommended Auction Starting Price: $35
Even pricing these seats at three times the face value of the bleacher seats just next door seems a bit absurd. That being said, the seats have backs, unlike the bleachers, and they are closer to the field of play than any of the upper deck seats, so $35 seems to be a good compromise. For mid-week day games, the Yankees may not even receive bids. For premium games, perhaps the Yankees will eventually come closer to reaching their original face value. Let the fans decide.

Mohegan Sun Sports Bar

A view from the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

Face Value: $90
Recommended Auction Starting Price: $55

We'll admit that the climate control offered by the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar has the potential to be highly sought this summer. That being said, the Yankees are trying to charge $90 plus fees for the privilege to watch a game from a sports bar, through a tinted glass window. The scoreboard is nowhere in sight, and crowd noise is non-existent leaving fans completely disconnected from the game they are paying a lot of money to attend in person. Start the bidding at $55 and let the market play out.

The Audi Yankees Club

A view from the Audi Yankees Club seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

Face Value: $140 ($75 for ticket, $65 for food)
Recommended Auction Starting Price: $120 ($70 for ticket, $50 for food)

All you can eat food has a price, and we think $50 is a fair one. As for the cost of the actual seat, we recognize that it isn't too far out of line with the pricing in the rest of the stadium, since seats directly below are $60. When considering the climate control, the Yankees actual kept pricing in line with seats that have actually sold out for most games. The food seems a bit pricey, and for auction purposes, we would recommend lowering the cost of it. Remember, these seats are not selling at their inflated prices, so cuts need to be made somewhere.

It will be a shame if the Yankees are stubborn and keep current prices for these seats in place. The Yankees, always in denial, will likely attribute slow sales in these seats to lack of information and recent on-sale dates. They need to come to grips and fast. The first games ever in the new Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox are fast approaching, and seats remain unsold. As die-hard Yankee fans with jobs that provide a bit of discretionary income, we still can't justify paying what the Yankees are asking - even for premium games, and even though we are curious about the seats. If that isn't a problem that needs to be addressed, what is?
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UPDATED AGAIN: Pricing Information For Bleacher Cafe, Mohegan Sun Sports Bar and Audi Club Tickets

Please note - there have been considerable changes to this post since it first went live. We will be keeping this up at the top of the blog for the beginning of the day on Thursday to make sure that everyone sees all of the up to date information.

As usual, the Yankees website is basically useless when it comes to finding out simple ticket information. Many Yankee fans are itching for additional information regarding some of the more interesting seating options in the new Yankee Stadium. Being the intrepid reporters that we are, we did the digging in order to save you the time. Here is the information:


Bleacher Cafe


A view from the Bleacher Cafe seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

PRICE
$125 in advance
UNKNOWN day of game
Information Source: Ticketmaster.com, confirmed by an article published in NY Magazine this week.

These seats are the Yankees answer to the "Green Monster" seats and are perched atop the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. We have been told by multiple sources that the view is amazing, and we can confirm that the view from behind them is very majestic. That being said, these seats are being billed as the equivalent to the Green Monster seats at Fenway, but they are nothing like them. While the Green Monster seats are a little over 300 feet away from home plate, these are over 500 feet away. The $125 price tag while bleacher seats directly adjacent are $12 is sure to leave a bad taste in buyer's mouths. As far as we know, these seats don't come with any special amenities, not even admission to the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar directly below. $60 would have been a reasonable price for these seats.

Mohegan Sun Sports Bar


A view from the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

PRICE
$90 in advance
$95 day of game
Full-season membership available to full-season, 41, or 20 game plan holders with field level seats ONLY for $750.
Information Source: As of yet unpublished information via a reliable ticket office source, Yankees.com A-Z Guide.

We have spent a lot of time discussing these fascinating seats. At first we were told they were only membership, then we were told they were only ticketed, now we can confirm that that the bar will be a hybrid, and the non-seating areas of the bar will be for members:

The Mohegan Sun Sports Bar, one of two membership clubs in Yankee Stadium, is a spacious, air-conditioned space located in centerfield above historic Monument Park. Its location allows for great views of the playing field as well as Monument Park below. Two cocktail bars are located inside, and guests can watch the game through the windows facing the playing field or on various high-definition video monitors inside the bar. Individual-game tickets are also available. For information, please visit www.yankees.com.

The Yankee somehow manage to get everything wrong. Why would they make things even more elitist and only allow Field Level ticket holders into the sports bar? According to our source, it is due to very limited space inside of the bar. On the other hand, the Yankees are probably just cutting to the chase - the only people affluent enough to pay $750 for a membership that allows them to buy drinks in a sports bar at a baseball stadium are the field level ticket holders.

There will not be a membership card with a barcode to get in. Each member will receive a paper ticket that is good for each different game. The Yankees somehow see this as a means of preventing scalping, but we don't quite understand the logic:

the passes will be printed on an individual game basis in a booklet (no barcodes). Hopefully we don't have as many people selling the passes as "tickets" to the game on craigslist or ebay as the membership passes won't get you through the gates and will only get you into the designated areas.

Isn't it easier to sell that paper membership pass than it would be something with a barcode? Wouldn't it have prevented scalping to somehow build the membership onto the barcode of the individual game tickets, since only season ticket holders are allowed to purchase the membership? Even providing the members with some sort of membership card would have been a better idea. We'll have to be on the lookout for those passes on the secondary market so we can check out the exclusive sports bar. It is interesting to note that those people paying $750 for the season pass will never be allowed to sit in the seats at the front of the bar, facing the field, as those are reserved for specific ticket holders.

Speaking of the seats, if the view on the 3-D seat selector is any indication, you can expect to be annoyed by partitions separating the glass panels when trying to view the game through the window. Paying $95 to sit in a sports bar does not seem like a great deal to us, but perhaps we are overly negative? $75 would be fair, especially if they threw in a voucher for a hot dog and a soda. As for the $750 membership, we mentioned previously that it would have been a great deal for an obstructed view bleacher creature, but it looks like that is not an option. Go figure.

Audi Yankees Club


A view from the Audi Yankees Club seats, courtesy of the 3-D seat selector on Yankees.com

PRICE
$75+$65 facility fee = $140 advance (includes unlimited food and drink, excluding alcohol)
TBD day of game
Full-season membership available to any season ticket holder for $975 (unlimited food NOT included for people with a membership). Tiered pricing for lower plans.
Information Source: As of yet unpublished information via a reliable ticket office source

The Mets used to have a crappy "box" like this at Shea Stadium. They would stick you out in crappy seats in left field and overcharg you because you had "unlimited food." At Shea, the food was the low-end Aramark catering, so it was hardly a deal. Then again, they didn't charge $140 for a ticket, or $975 for a membership for those seats. Even worse, the unlimited food is ONLY available for the people ticketed per game, and NOT for people with a membership. Therefore, we don't quite see the value in a membership. The ONLY way we can see this as a deal is for the $975 membership option.

If you plan on spending more than $975 on food and non-alcoholic beverages while at Yankee games this year, you should jump on this. We don't know the menu for the Audi Yankees Club, but if you have $5 obstructed view seats in the left field bleachers, and you can get unlimited food and shelter in bad weather for $975, in might not be a terrible idea. As for the views, they are subpar, but not obstructed.

A more reasonable, but still overpriced price for the individual game tickets in this section would have been $50 for the ticket and $50 for the food, on an individual game basis. $140 is pretty absurd. Who would pay that?

For the record, the passes for the Audi Yankees Club will work the same way as the passes for the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar. With your membership, you will have the chance to pay to eat what they claim is top-notch food. Time will tell if the food will actually be as advertised. The individual per diem membership passes will certainly have resale value for people who buy this membership and then can't make it to the stadium for specific games. We'll certainly be on the lookout for secondary market deals, just so we can chow down on the [kind of] free food!

While we'd love to check out a game from all of these locations, it appears that the Yankees have priced us out. In the case of the Bleacher Cafe seats, there are just too many other spots in the stadium that offer similar views for 1/8th of the price. According to Ticketmaster.com, tickets are still available in the Bleacher Cafe seats for the first two series at home, excluding Opening Day. Beyond that, it doesn't look like the Yankees have made them available. This seems to indicate that they are not too confident in the $125 price going over well with fans, and there is the potential for it to change.

The Audi Yankees Club is not a good deal, no matter how the Yankees spin it. We spent way too much time deciphering how much you needed to spend on food daily to make the membership worth it, and then found out that food isn't even included when you pay $975 for a membership. We're not quite sure what that $975 is getting for people.
On a 40 game plan, we would have to plan on spending $24 per game for food and non-alcoholic beverages and go to all 40 games in order to make buying the $975 Audi Yankees Club membership worth it. Along those lines, if you attend all 81 home games in 2009, you would only have to plan on spending $10.75 per game to be able to justify the cost of the membership, providing you with unlimited food. How many people actually go to 81 games though?

We can't even consider the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar tickets because we are not special enough to have season tickets on the Field Level. Any predictions on how long that policy lasts? Unless they are offering some kind of free food with that $750 membership (and they're not), it is the second worst value in the entire stadium, trailing only the Audi Yankees Club.
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