Demolition & Collection

From the NY Times:

New York City is looking for demolition companies that think they can tear down Yankee Stadium without damaging any of the seats or other pieces that might be sold to collectors.

The razing of the famous ballpark is scheduled to start in March and last as long as a year, according to a solicitation form issued by the city’s Economic Development Corporation. The first stage of the demolition will involve salvaging all of the stadium seating as well as some large features like the white frieze that adorns the wall behind the bleachers and the 120-foot-tall bat-shaped boiler stack outside the main entrance.

City officials are still working out a plan with the Yankees for selling the parts of the stadium that belong to the city and memorabilia, like lockers and signs that belong to the team, said Andrew Brent, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Barring a miraculous late-season run (and losing stretches from teams they have to catch), the Yankees — likely to miss postseason action for the first time after 13 consecutive seasons in October baseball — will play their final game at the Stadium on Sept. 21 against the Baltimore Orioles.

The city already struck a deal with the Mets for the sale of seats and other parts of Shea Stadium, which will be torn down after this season.

Last week, the Mets — in first place in their division with a much better chance than the Yankees of making the 2008 postseason — began selling 16,000 pairs of seats from Shea for $869 each. The city will keep 70 percent of the proceeds from that sale and the rest will go to the Mets’ charitable foundation.

New stadiums for the teams are being built in the Bronx and in Queens, both next door to their current ballparks.

Experts on sports collectibles expect the seats from Yankee Stadium to fetch higher prices than those from Shea, which opened in 1964 and has less of a history.

If I had a $1,000+ and was big into nostalgia, I’d probably buy a seat. It’s such a strange practice, when you think about it. You’re basically spending money (a lot of money) on an object (e.g. a seat) that is essentially useless once the stadium is torn down. But, again, the seats are loaded with the ghosts of the stadium and each seat has “seen” it all, so if you’re a collector or just a fan with a good amount of money, it’s probably a nice coupe.

Oh Ozzie

Here’s what Ozzie Guillen had to say about issuing walks to Dustin Pedroia (3 times) during last week’s matchup between his White Sox and the Red Sox.

“I never thought I would walk a jockey. I must be the worst manager in the history of baseball right now, walking a guy that just came from being on top of Big Brown to beat the White Sox… I can’t believe you can change professions in one year, go from the Kentucky Derby to the Boston Red Sox ballpark.”

Ha! That Ozzie is always good for a laugh.

Very Quick Bits: Fielder, Melky, YES

Three things and quickly (I talk too much, I’m sorry):

1. Prince Fielder is a name that could come up during the offseason as a potential trade candidate. Jayson Stark (ESPN) notes that a team official (not with the Brewers) with “knowledge” of the Brewers’ offseason plans is sure that the Brewers are willing to part with Fielder if the package is right (pitching). The Giants are rumored to be interested in the big first baseman, but that’s merely speculation at this point.

The only reason I’m even posting this tidbit is because it relates to a need that the Yankees will try to address once the season is over. They need a first baseman and while Fielder isn’t the most “athletic” player around (and his numbers have slipped a bit this year), he does fit into Cashman’s concept of youth. He won’t be a free agent until after the 2011 season, so that’s definitely a plus, although Cashman (or whoever the GM is at the time) will probably have to part with a Phil Hughes to get him.

2. The final 2 bits aren’t nearly as sexy as the Fielder story, but I’m sure this news will excite some of you. Melky Cabrera has been recalled in order to add depth to the Yankees outfield situation. Abreu shouldn’t be out for too long (he could play today) so I wouldn’t be overly concerned.

3. Finally (this is like, the quickest bit post I’ve ever done), here’s an interesting read from the Daily News’ Bob Raissman. Raissman points out that YES will likely suffer now that the Yankees probably won’t make it to the playoffs (they’d lose ad revenue). He also points out that Cashman’s influence over the team has led them away from big free agent signings, which could hamper future ratings and what not. Interesting stuff, but I guess Bob didn’t hear Hank’s “CC and Burnett” spiel from the other day.

Seattle’s Joba

The Yankees basically have 3 weeks left of the season in order for them to make something happen (22 games). Tonight’s loss was a hard one, simply because the team was never really in the game until the 9th inning. Couple that with the Twins’ loss and it’s just a waisted opportunity to gain ground in the Wild Card race. It’s not all of the offense’s fault, however, as the Rays sent Scott Kazmir to the mound while the Yankees sent Darrell Rasner out there. Rasner was awful and the team just never got it going until it was too late. Alfredo Aceves was effective (5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 4 K) as he got the chance to shine a bit, but right now, a loss is a loss.

Tomorrow (that’s all the team can do, is look to tomorrow), the Yankees will face the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field for a 3-game set (luckily, I’ll be at all 3 games). It’s the perfect opportunity for them since the Mariners have been as bad as Rasner was in tonight’s game. It’s really not a stretch to hope for a sweep in downtown Seattle.

What’s interesting about tomorrow’s game is that the Yanks will take on a tough competitor in Brandon Morrow. Morrow has been Seattle’s equivalent to Joba Chamberlain. He’s an electric right-hander (24-years old) with a dazzling array of pitches (his fastball is the best, topping out at 98 mph) and it will be his first start with the Mariners. Morrow, who has always been billed as a starter, was put in the bullpen to begin the season and he took over the closer role once J.J. Putz was put on the DL (he did a hell of a job in that role too). The team wanted to control his innings due to some injury concerns, so the bullpen seemed like a good fit (sound familiar?). With nothing really left to play for (the Mariners are obviously out of it this season), Morrow was sent down to AAA to build up his arm strength as well as his secondary pitches and has now returned as a starter. He’ll be limited to 90 pitches or so and he’s got great stuff, so I think the Yankees will have their work cut out for them. However, we’ve seen what happens when a young pitcher is going through a transition at the big league level, especially with pitch counts (Joba’s first few games were tough). I’m sure that the Yankees will be very patient with Morrow, who is prone to fits of wildness, and maybe they’ll be able to chase him early.

If the club can get to Morrow in the first game of the series and obliterate his Dice-K like repertoire (cutter, fastball, changeup, slider, splitter, curveball), then the next two games are very favorable for them. Morrow will be opposed by Andy Pettitte, who has been better on the road, and Game 2 will be Sidney Ponson versus Ryan Rowland-Smith (who has been somewhat effective but he’s still very hittable). The final game will be Moose versus Carlo Silva, which I’m sure the Yankees are salivating over since Silva is as hittable as they come (he’s not Livian Hernandez bad, but he’s up there).