Last night, I went to the first ever (exhibition) game at new Yankees Stadium.  It's a great looking place, mixing elements of the previous two stadiums with now standard ballpark amenities.

On the outside, its very reminiscent of the original - an imposing hunk of concrete. I didn't get to explore too much, but there didn't seem to be anything too interesting surrounding the building (statues, photo ops, etc). I do like the gold lettering at the main entrance.

When you enter the great hall, its more open than before, and you can walk all the way around now.  Typical of HOK parks, the field is not hidden as you walk the concourse.  It has a classy look, keeping with Yankee tradition.  I didn't notice anything directed towards teens or younger kids, like radar guns or playgrounds. Large player banners add some snap, but overall the place is very gray. 

For eats, the Yanks have joined the new era and you can now get sushi, Asian noodles, and southern BBQ. There's even a Hard Rock.

On the field, it still feels like Yankee Stadium.  The dimensions are the same, the blues got a bit darker, and the iconic white-columned facade trims the top edge all around.  Its still a pretty big place. The jumbo screen is the best I've ever seen - gigantic pore-showing hi-def brilliance. You can see into both bullpens clearly. The out of town scoreboard is much improved and its good to see both teams lineups continually posted.  Views of the field have improved, so you can see the outfield corners much better.  My upper deck, close-to-the-edge seat was $40, but will be more like $75 in season.  Better seats have comfy cusions. 

All that said, its still no Progressive Field and I look forward to Grady driving a long solo shot to open the place up and dampen the hometown spirit.

Times are different now, but in the Hart days, you could always count on at least 1 big signing or trade every off season.  One guy who would come to town and make you think, however unrealistically, there was now enough to take it all.

Matt Williams, Travis Fryman, Roberto Alomar, Chuck Finley, Davis Justice...

It might not be prudent to make a big deal right now. But it sure would be fun.

"It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."

Imagine Grady saying that? At this point in time? Or ever? I don't think so.

After his homer nonsense, you'd think he'd might lay low, but that lovable Manny is just being, well, you know...

GO C.C.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like baseball.  Because whenever you think you know it, you get bitch slapped.

So lets play "Who Woulda Thought?"  

That Ryan Garko would have only 3 less homers than Travis Hafner, who only has 23.

That Hafner could have such a sub-Pronk year and the team would have such success.

That Franklin Gutiérrez and Asdrubal Cabrera would be the desperately needed catalysts to get the Tribe going.

That any pitcher would ever walk AstroCab to get to Pronk.

That the Indians would beat Johan CYtana 5 freakin'  times.

That the White Sox would be last (or close to it).

That the Indians would make the postseason (with possibly the Major's best record) after stinking up the joint following the All-Star break.

That Joe Borowski could lead the AL in saves.

That Fausto, after last year's troubles, would be an ACE (maybe the AL ERA leader?)

That Paul Byrd (who many here would've traded for a good pair of sneakers) would a near ace.

That Cliff Lee would fall off the cliff and into AAA.

That Jensen Lewis would step up and Fernando Cabrera would fade away.

That Josh Barfield (what a great trade!) would suck.

That the much maligned Eric Wedge could very well be the Manager of the Year

And one that I wish - that the Indians, who couldn't beat the Yankees once in the regular season, sweep them in the ALCS and - what the hell - go on win their fist World Championship almost 60 years)!

The Entitled by Frank Deford

About a minor league player/manager who makes it to the bigs as manager of the Tribe. He has to deal with a pampered star who is accused of an assault.

Not sure why they picked Cleveland as its not exactly spoiled player town.

Haven't read it yet, but sounds like it might be good. There's a review on Amazon by Terry Pluto.

Over at mlbtraderumors.com, they're looking for someone to cover the Tribe. I'd say that person could be found on LGT.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

A couple points they mention:

"He's a good player, but like I say, you can draw it up any kind of way, he ain't me, and that's the bottom line."

You guys want this jerk? Is his production worth the mouth? The negative influence on a young team? Injury risk? Think he'll be happy in a re-building franchise?

No thanks. He's Cancer.

Presenting the big payoll, over-confident, and newly humiliated NY Yankees...

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"Dealing" is a good read for Tribe fans, but probably not as interesting for the regular baseball fan.  Covering the post-Jacobs rebuilding era, it describes how the mighty mid 90's teams fell as a result of economic changes, new ownership, and just a loss of novelty.

Its unusual to read a "historical" book thats so current (it takes you up to the Marte trade).  More time has to pass to see if Shapiro's vision is a solid one.
The book works a lot better if the Indians were having the successful year we anticipated.

Dick Jacobs is shown to be a shrewd business-god who took advantage of the Dolans' anxiousness to own a franchise. The Dolans obviously took off more than they could chew, but I give them credit for being genuine Tribe fans. Jacobs apparently owned the Indians as a moneymaker and knew exactly when to get in and out.  I also give the Dolans props for being anti-Steinbrenners and letting Shapiro do his thing.  A lot of teams seem to have no plan about how to escape their losing ways.

John Hart gets somewhat rapped for his win-now manuevering, but when the Indians were a top team and the money was rolling in, I can't say I blame him.

Pluto repeats some points to pad out the book. I would've liked to get some more juice on topics like Milton Bradley's antics, Eddie Murray's firing, or Charlie Manual's abrupt dismissal.

For a baseball book, it was disappointing to see no photos inside. And an index is never a bad thing either. Overall, though, not bad.

"Yes, we have a job opportunity in the Cleveland area...

Well, we currently have a Mr. Johnson in the position, but quite frankly, he's just not working out.

Yes, there is some traveling required, but the pay is excellent and we do have incentive programs like Jeremy Sowers Bobble Head night.

Uh-huh, and just how quickly do you think you could get to the downtown area? We're right on Ontario Street..."