Tag: baseball

sports

By George, A New Stadium

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The NY Yankees have announced they are building a new stadium in a deal worth around $800 million that is being almost totally privately funded. That means its coming out of George’s pocket, not yours or mine, for the most part which is a breath of fresh air. In a nice bit of creative financing, the stadium will be financed by 40-year tax-free bonds issued by a local development corporation created by the city and state. The Yankees will have to shell out about $50 million a year in interest payments but that cost has the nice benefit of allowing the yankees to pay significantly less in revenue sharing each year to the rest of Major League Baseball. Why fund other teams when you can fund the construction of your own stadium? Very smart and shrewd move guys, I applaud you.

I for one am thrilled by the idea. I love the current stadium and have loved (though not necessarily enjoyed – losing games suck) every second that I have spent in it. The fact is though that its old, it needs to be updated and it needs to generate more revenue that it currently does, especially if the Yankees are to remain the Yankees. So, a new stadium at some point to me was a definite. It just was a matter of when, where and how. So, when the stadium proposal was publicly unveiled, I was very happy to see that it contained lots of good details, like how the current stadium will be kept for the use of local amateur, high school and college leagues and how “not only will the new house retain the feel of the current ballpark with identical field dimensions and bullpen placements, but many planned features will actually recapture some of the original features eradicated by the extensive renovation that was done on the old stadium from 1973-75.”

When I was a kid, when Steinbrenner would rumble and threaten moving the team to NJ, I quaked in my little sneaks and prayed that moving day would never come. Over the years it was been a nagging fear and now I don’t believe it will happen. The Bronx Bombers stay in the Bronx. Period.
After the jump, check out pics of the new stadium.

Aerial view of Yankee Stadium from southwest
View from behind home plate
View of the front entrance
View of Monument Park and the Batter’s Eye Club
sports

Lipso for MVP

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It seems that a .309 batting average with 30 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 runs batted in is good enough to be added as a choice to the “Who has been the Riversharks MVP to this point in the season?” poll on the Camden Riversharks web site. The poll is below the fold so you’ll need to scroll down to see it.

Do me and everyone who has “lipso” as part of their name (whether first or last) a favor and go vote for Lipso today. He’s currently tied for the lead with 33% of the votes. I believe my faithful readers can push him over the top.

sports

Lipso Nava spotted on LI

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My friend Eric called me today to say, “Dude, Lipso Nava is in the Post!” Turns out, his new team, the Camden Riversharks, played the Long Island Ducks last night. The Ducks now have John Rocker on their team so they are getting tons of media attention, especially since he recently said: “I’ve taken a lot of [stuff] from a lot of people, probably more than anybody in the history of the sport. I know Hank [Aaron] and Jackie [Robinson] took a good deal of [stuff], but I guarantee it wasn’t for six years.” Um, how many burning crosses were placed on his lawn?

Anyway, the Post states that in the 7th inning, “Rocker started off well, going 0-2 to the first batter, Travis Anderson, before Anderson ripped a line-drive single to left. He then walked Kevin Jordan, throwing a one-hopper to the plate on ball four. He promptly loaded the bases when Lipso Nava singled through the right side of the infield to load the bases.”

Ah, the NY Post, the most eloquent of newspapers, where all the writers should win Pulitzers….

sports

Lipso Nava is kicking up Winter Heat

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I can’t believe that someone has the name Lipso Nava. Not only is there a guy with the name Lipso, but this career minor leaguer is one of the leading batters in Venezuela’s Winter League. If his email address was his first name, first initial of his last name it would be lipson@weird.com. As it is, his name sounds like a family festival I would go to each December or a genetic condition that may be passed from one generation to the next in my family. He is now also my new favorite baseball player on name alone, supplanting JJ Putz, a relief pitcher in the Mariner’s organization.

I first heard of him in an ESPN article about how dangerous Venezuela is for baseball players. “Career minor leaguer Lipso Nava gave himself up for dead when a gun was pressed against his temple by a thief who demanded Nava’s new Hyundai Elantra.” I feel for him and his family, not just because he is my namesake. I’m hoping to meet him one day – hopefully he’ll back in the US soon playing nearby so that I can get a picture, his autograph and who knows, maybe grab a beer with him.

ramblings

Art Imitating Life Imitating Art – or – My New Favorite Baseball Team

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My co-worker Jason will be taking a trip out west in a few weeks. One of the things he likes to do when travelling to different parts of America is to seek out and go to minor league baseball games in those areas. In looking for minor league baseball clubs around Sante Fe, New Mexico, he discovered the greatest baseball club throughout the land: the Albuquerque Isotopes. This club, the Florida Marlin’s AAA club, was named after, yes, you guessed it, the Springfield Isotopes from “The Simpsons.”

This is the second pro-franchise that I know of that has been named after a fictional team. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks were named after the Disney movie of the same name (and not the other way around as some would like to believe) but the ‘Topes are a hell of a lot cooler. I’m hoping that Jason will pick up a tee shirt for me. Ever since learning of this club’s existence, I cannot get the Simpson’s version of “Talking Baseball” out of my head:

We’re talking softball, from Maine to San Diego
Talking softball, Mattingly and Canseco
Ken Griffey’s grotesquely swollen jaw
Steve Sax and his run ins with the law
We’re talking Homer, Ozzie and the Straw….

Even the ‘Topes mascot looks like the mascot from the Simpsons, the one that “Dancing Homer” took over for. I wonder if there are any merchandising tie-ins at the park. I’ll have to wait for Jason to return with his report. I can’t wait…