Miracles Do Happen- Look What The Yankees Just Did

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Posted By: Bruce Dorskind

Yankees adjust premium ticket prices
Tuesday, April 28, 2009 | 3:47 PM

BRONX -- The Yankees have reviewed their ticket prices and are making some changes.

Spokesperson Alice McGillon released the following statement by the New York Yankees:

"A few weeks ago, I indicated that in light of the economy we would review the pricing of a small number of our premium locations at Yankee Stadium; specifically, our Suite Seats. I mentioned a small number of locations because in excess of 3.4 million seats, including 37,000 full season equivalents as well as approximately 85 percent of all our premium locations have already been sold. Yet, there are a few hundred Suite Seats in our premium locations that have not been sold on a full season basis. As a result, and for many of our fans who have already purchased full season Suite Seats in such premium locations, the Yankees are announcing today a program that adjusts certain prices and benefits affecting such Suite Seats," said Hal Steinbrenner, Managing General Partner of the New York Yankees.

For the 2009 regular season only, the following price adjustments and benefits are being adopted effective immediately for a few hundred Legends Suite and Delta Sky 360 Suite Licensees.

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A. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 15A, 15B, 24B and 25 will be reduced from $2,500 to $1,250 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

B. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 11, 12, 13, 27B, 28 and 29 will be reduced from $1,000 to $650 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

C. All fans who purchased full season $2,500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row, in Sections 16 - 24A, will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the first row in Sections 16 - 24A for each of the remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season.

D. All fans who purchased full season $1,250 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $1,250 Legends Suite price category for 24 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

E. All fans who purchased full season $850 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $850 Legends Suite price category for 8 games and in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 4 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

F. All fans who purchased full season $600 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 10 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

G. All fans who purchased full season $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 8 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

H. Future 2009 regular season sales of full season $1,250, $850, $600 and $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses, will receive comparable (dependent upon the price of the Legends Suite and Ticket License) benefits during the 2009 regular season, subject to availability.

I. The Delta SKY 360 Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 218A - 222 will be reduced from $750 to $550 for each regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

In addition, for 2009, so as to encourage fans to purchase full season ticket plans in the Field Level Sections 115 - 125, the Yankees are also adopting a program affecting a few hundred seats. And, for our fans who have already purchased, on a full season basis such Field Level seating priced at $325 Sections 115 - 125, the following program is being adopted effective immediately:

A. Going forward all fans when purchasing, on a full season basis, three (3) full regular season ticket plans priced at $325 per regular season game in Sections 115 - 125 will receive a fourth full regular season ticket at no additional cost.

B. All fans who have purchased full season plans priced at $325 per regular season game will receive complimentary regular season tickets within Sections 115 - 125 for remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season as follows:

1. If you purchased two (2) or three (3) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every other regular season game, commencing with either the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009 or the Friday evening game on May 1, 2009 and alternating for the remainder of the season.

2. If you purchased four (4) or five (5) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

3. If you purchased six (6) or seven (7) full season tickets you will receive three (3) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

4. If you purchased eight (8) full season tickets you will receive four (4) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Wow, I guess the Yankees were tired of being embarrassed by all of those empty seats.

Will Randy Levine shut his big mouth now?

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Posted By: peter ullman

that's good to see. I was starting to feel a little embarrassed to be a Yankees fan...with the ridiculous ticket prices...and somewhat gaudy new ballpark.

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Posted By: Kenneth A. Cohen

I guess there's a limit to the extent that the sheep are willing to be sheared.

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Posted By: D. Bergin

This IS a miracle!

An even bigger miracle would be me coming up with $40,000-$120,000 to attend Yankee games for a season.

Let's see. I can pay my mortgage.............or I can go to one Yankee game and sit in the big shot seats for a day.

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Posted By: Dave

There's zero reason to even consider buying those premium seats, even at the slashed prices.

I had great Saturday Tier seats close to home plate for the last few years and they cost me a few grand... I was shut out of those seats in the new stadium (because everyone was pushed out of those premium seats into mine!!!!) So I ended up getting Sunday bleacher seats... best move I ever made.

Now my seats are less than $400 per year, non obstructed. I'm right underneath the retired numbers wall and you can roam around the stadium freely and catch the game from just about every angle. And the best part of the stadium is the CF bar that overlooks the entire field (which is now my watering hole.)

What initially pissed me off became a blessing at the Yankees expense. Now if Girardi would finally figure out what the rest of baseball knows (we need a long man in the pen)... maybe the Yanks would really be on to something.

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Posted By: CoreyRS.hanus

They're still grossly overpriced.

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Posted By: Dave

Going to the stadium is hilarious right now. The upper decks, bleachers and outskirt seats are completely full... yet right in behind home plate it's a ghost town.

I'm talking full sections EMPTY in there. Everyone looks at each other in the full areas and raises their eyebrow... Is it any wonder that the same management who got Brown, Pavano, Johnson, Karsay, and Giambi over rated the worth of their product???

I just hope this doesn't bankrupt them. Although I wouldn't mind seeing 9 hungry players on that field again instead of a few each day. I love the Pinstripes but they make it so damn hard sometimes.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Maybe authorities should take season ticket holders into custody for a mental health examination, to see if they're mentally competent... Anyone buying a PSL and then the season ticket, gotta wonder about 'em.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Despite their $200 million payroll, they have crappy pitching and can't even play .500 ball. Why would anybody want to pay what the Yankees were asking for tickets? Worst deal imaginable, and it was a huge embarrassment to them when the camera panned all the empty seats behind home plate.

I say lower box seats to $12 and charge 75 cents for the bleachers. That's fair.

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Posted By: Jim VB

"I say lower box seats to $12 and charge 75 cents for the bleachers. That's fair."


Well Barry, you know as well as I do that your scenario won't happen until they can get the star players to play for $80,000 - $100,000.

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Posted By: barrysloate

You know Jim, there are players in the league who make a tenth of what some Yankee players make, and they are in fact more productive. Never has a team gotten worse value, dollar for dollar, than the Yankees.

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Posted By: brock

Barry,
May i ask what team you like.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Anyone been to a Yankees game this year? If so, how good or bad was your seat, and what was the total cost of the outing??


From those figures we should see that we here are not really baseball fans. Most of us aren't. What are we? We are fans of 19th and 20th century baseball. Maybe fans of turn of the (last) century baseball. But we aren't fans of PSL's and $1500 tickets, are we?

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Posted By: brock

I have been twice so far. First was the second exhibition against the Cubs. I only paid $15 for upper Tier around 3rd base. Good view. And i went to opening day. Paid $250 for section 208, middle level around rightfield foul pole.

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Posted By: Jim VB

Barry,

Some teams (quite a few actually) have done a much better job than the Yankee front office of using their available resources. The Marlins, the Rays, the Twins, to name a few have managed to be competitive on and off, by using their farm system and young players, but these teams can not stay competitive for years on end. They all have trouble paying competitive salaries as soon as the players become free agents. Twins had to let Santana go, and don't be surprised when they have trouble keeping Maurer.

Flowing from George down, the mood in the Yankees has always been to "win now, not later." As a fan, I love that level of expectation. I know they won't win, or even make the playoffs, every year. But losing will never be accepted like it is in many cities.

And, not to make excuses for this year, (because it's way too early) but they currently have on the DL:

starting 3rd baseman
2nd string 3rd baseman
starting outfielder
starting pitcher
set-up relief pitcher

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Posted By: barrysloate

Brock- I've actually been a San Francisco Giants fan since I was a kid, but they have been so bad lately I've stopped watching. I'm still trying to figure how they lost the 2002 Series.

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Posted By: Rob D.

I've heard of some Yankees fan who paid for a PSL, bought season tickets and at the conclusion of every home game drive to Parsippany, N.J., to have their tickets graded by SGC.

(Of course I'm kidding. SGC doesn't slab tickets.)

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Posted By: PC

I got hold of the draft press release. Interesting, the PR people must have thought better of the original clause J., which was deleted and which read as follows:

"J. We apologize to anyone who purchased the Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses and Delta SKY 360 Suite and Ticket Licenses because we clearly took advantage of your diminished mental capacity. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a sharp slap in the face or a brain scan."


btw -- this Yankees fan stopped paying the ludicrous prices after 1992. Only time I go is if I get the firm's seats, or someone's corporate tickets. Sorry, I'd rather spend the money on something or someone else.

To put things in perspective, I went a Myrtle Beach Pelicans game two weeks ago. With a coupon someone gave us in line, four of us got in for a total of $18. Granted, that's "single A Advanced" minor league baseball, but dollar-for-dollar compared to Yankees tickets, we got to see a good baseball game at a great price.

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Posted By: Jim VB

"I've heard of some Yankees fan who paid for a PSL, bought season tickets and at the conclusion of every home game drive to Parsippany, N.J., to have their tickets graded by SGC."


Rob,

That's a lie and you know it! The season ticket holders from NJ don't stay to the conclusion of the game. They leave in the 7th to beat traffic over the bridge. (Hell, when Rizutto was alive and broadcasting, HE used to leave in the 7th and listen to the game on the radio while driving home.)

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Posted By: D. Bergin

In the last several years I've seen Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and a slew of other major leaguers play for the Twins AA club. Beautiful stadium, great concessions and food at cheap prices, between innings entertainment and fireworks. Cost - 5 bucks for perfect view seats right down the 1st or 3rd base line. If you really want to splurge and sit in box seat right behind the dugout it might cost 15-20 bucks.

The baseball ain't bad either.

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Posted By: Rob D.

Jim,

All I know is that if I had an ultra-high-grade ticket stub in my possession, I wouldn't be waiting until the end of any game to get it entombed with that ultra-high number on the flip.

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Posted By: Greg Theberge

I kind of like what the Sox "just did" even better.

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Posted By: Rich Klein

I know I have a partial season ticket plan -- 8 games @ about 15 each per ticket.

$5 per game for parking

AND by spending I think an extra $2 per game; my wife and myself have pretty decent seats; and have the opportunity to go through what is called the "Teddy Line" which is usually free Burgers; Hot Dogs; Chicken Sandwiches; and one other meat. Also get chips and sodas as well. It really is a great deal and is much closer to where I live then the Rangers. Plus, you do get to see some good prospects. I vividly remember Hunter Pence a couple of years ago and even saw some Texas League playoff games.

I've taken friends and relatives to these games -- and everyone enjoys them almost as much as the big leaguers.

Regards
Rich

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Posted By: Richie

Brooklyn Cyclones & Staten Island Yankees offer much cheaper tickets. When buying tickets for family its the best way to go. Its much easier on the wallet. My wife and kids love it also.

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Posted By: JimCrandell

Dave,

In AA did you think that Mauer and Mourneau were better than Jason Kubel. I saw them all play in High A and I thought that Kubel was as good as any prospect Twins have had last 10 years. I also liked Doug Deeds who I believe is playing AAA ball for Cubs.

Jim

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Posted By: Patrick McHugh

Total joke. Trying to get money to pay ster-rod. Would anyone on this board really pay over 1k to see a regular season baseball game? I feel sorry for all the new yorkers who have to pay for this and the other citi stadium. Come on up to ct for a new britain rockcats game yes double aa twins. For 10 bucks you will see better baseball and better players. Doubt me. just check who has played there lately. Yes sabathia came through when he actually was good Mauer, Morneu, Hunter. Santana, Ortiz, and so many others that are now in the majors. Why for just over 1k i may be able to have season tickets in the dugout! In fact i will give an open invitation to all net 54 board members to come on up i will take you to a game and i belive you really will have a great time!

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Posted By: Rob D.

Patrick,

I appreciate your passion and pretty much agree that the fan experience at a minor-league game can be better than that at a big-league ballpark. But please tell me you don't really believe that you'll see better baseball and collectively better players in the minors than in the majors. If the players really were more talented than the ones two levels above them, they wouldn't be there.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Hello Brock. Nice photo. It looked to be a beautiful, memorable day.

And Opening Day is special... Opening Game for the park very special.


Still, $250 for the ticket. How much total, parking or train, eats, drinks, stuff... ????

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Posted By: Rich Klein

IIRC; and I don't remember like I used to.

The late great Don Flanagan was working with SGC to get them to grade tickets. It's been a while; did they ever continue with grading tickets? I know we're joking about that; but I think they did at one pt

Rich

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Posted By: D. Bergin

Dave,

In AA did you think that Mauer and Mourneau were better than Jason Kubel. I saw them all play in High A and I thought that Kubel was as good as any prospect Twins have had last 10 years. I also liked Doug Deeds who I believe is playing AAA ball for Cubs.

Jim


Jim,

To be honest I hardly remember Kubel. He just blew through AA so I'm not even sure I got a chance to see him. I went back and reviewed his statistics and yeah, he was a true minor league phenom. Morneau really exceeded my expectations in the Majors. I thought he'd be solid but not nearly as good as he turned out to be. Mauer was always just a good professional hitter. Being a catcher who could hit for a high average you knew he was destined for a long major league career.


Dave

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Posted By: CN

I have had season tickets for the Mets for many years. I locked into a plan with my brother which includes all of our kids of 10 seats in the upper deck right behind home plate and the price per game varies from $35 for a premium game to $20 for a regular game. My brother placed the games on secondary market at a slight premium and has sold about 75% of the games in a way in which we will go to a about 20 games a year for free. The seats are just great in the new ballpark. Now I just have to get over my Hockey Rangers loss tonight. CN

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

You can't beat minor league ball - I try to get out to as many games as I can during the Summer. My local club is the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association (unaffiliated). They've lowered prices on Monday's to the inaugural season ticket prices so that means my family of three will get in to the park for nine bucks. I still love going to Kansas City to see the big boys though. Going in June to see Cincy play.

Where else can you hang out with Ronald McDonald?

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Posted By: doug goodman

I guess I should talk to Dodgers management about dropping the cost of my season tickets. Best seats in baseball, fantastic view of the entire field, all of the scoreboards, the inside of the visiting dugout, and the mountains in the distance, but with the Yankees making such drastic cuts, I'm not sure if it's fair for me to have to pay $324 per seat per season.

Doug

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Posted By: Greg Ecklund

Brock,
Why is it that when posters say something even mildly against the Yankees that you ask what team they like?

I find it strange that a fan of the most historically successful team would be so insecure...is your team above criticism or are people not allowed to dislike them?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Brock is just a kid. When I was his age I would have defended the Nebraska football team tenaciously.

Good thing Al Gore hadn't invented the internets yet.

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Posted By: Greg Ecklund

Dan,
Thanks...didn't know his age, so I understand it now. I did the same thing when I was young too - as a lonely Utah Jazz fan living in Chicago I had to grow a pretty thick skin during two straight NBA Finals. I even wore my Stockton jersey to the United Center for a Bulls/Jazz game and got plenty of taunts and even some ice thrown at me.

Anyway thanks for letting me know - now that I'm a little older I try not to let grown men throwing and swatting a ball around a field effect my mood, but back in the day I remember being an especially surly little S.O.B. after the Reds swept the A's in the 1990 World Series. Still refuse to acknowledge that they were a better team than Oakland so maybe some things never change...lol.

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Posted By: Brock

Greg,
Sorry that i asked people what their team was 2 times. Also i don't really think 18 is a kid.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Brock- I wasn't offended that you asked me. Seemed like a fair question.

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Posted By: Dave

I think Brock is probably fed up with the finger pointing at the Yankees. A lot of current baseball fans take more joy in the Yanks losing than their own teams winning. Meanwhile the Yankees are paying some of the small market clubs to stay in business with lux Tax.

I hear what everyone says about player development but it's hard to do that when you've been on top of the league as long as the Yankees. The Rays, Twins and Marlins have all had time to rebuild... the Yankees can't do that. It's not in the George S playbook.

And as for the Yanks... I'll finish it with this because it's hard for me to be unbiased since they are my team... I love the Steinbrenners. They take their money and put it in the team. Can't say the same for most of the other owners.

P.S. The kid Hughes sure looked great last night. Need more of him.

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Posted By: Rob D.

Indeed, persecuted Yankees fans are sympathetic figures.

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Posted By: David Atkatz

"I love the Steinbrenners. They take their money and put it in the team"

No, Dave.

They take your money and put (some of) it in the team.

Some perspective. I grew up a few miles from the stadium in the late fifties-early sixties. I've been a Yankee fan all my life--saw my first game at the Stadium in 1959. But I've finally had enough of the Yankee Organization, and their arrogance, greed, and hypocrisy.

Although I continue to collect vintage (1903-1927) Yankee material, today I root for whomever are playing the Yanks.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Sorry Brock, no disrespect was meant. 18 is a young man, and even now at 42 I can still be sensitive about the Cornhuskers. You have lots of time to become jaded about big time sports like most of us. I'm a Red Sox fan, but I tend not to poke or prod at the Yankee fans in this forum because most of them I consider friends...and I also understand as a fan what it's like to go from the mountaintop to the valley of despair.

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Posted By: howard

"Barry, may I ask what team you like?"

I don't see anything wrong w/that question. However, I found the "he's just a kid" exchange between two other posters unfortunate. Posts like those should be done via e-mail. I'm sure it wasn't intentional but it came off as very dismissive of Brock because he is young. It reminded me of when I was a child and adults would talk about me as if I was not there.

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Posted By: Jim VB

" I'm a Red Sox fan, but I tend not to poke or prod at the Yankee fans..."


Dan,

You do know there was really no "Curse of the Bambino." The Sox just sucked for 86 years in a row.

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

I grew up a Dodgers fan (my dad was from Brooklyn) and hated the Yankees obviously -- but they were really unlikeable in the 70s (i.e. Reggie). I can't say that they are so easy to dislike now and even when they were winning from 1996--2006 they were still a good bunch. How can anyone hate Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neil and Jeter (yes, Jeter)? Even now they don't bother me and I admit to wanting to see them do well as I'm from New York. But I do find myself rooting hard for the Dodgers young players and Tampa Bay (I've followed them closely for about 4 years now). There's just something more interesting about watching a team put together with young players rather than high-paid mercenaries. That being said, the Yankees are hardly the only guilty ones in that department.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Howard, I agree and I already apologized. I meant absolutely no disrespect.

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Posted By: Jim VB

Hey Brock, I think Bretta's still a "kid." (Damn guy! Bragging about being in his 40's!)


It's all a matter of perspective.

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Posted By: barrysloate

I agree with Jeff that watching an underdog team like Tampa Bay succeed was a truly compelling story, even if it may only be for that one season. The Yankees are the neighborhood bully, pushing everybody around with their big bankroll. And if there is any justice in the world, it isn't really working.

Typically they sign older players past their prime to long term contracts that seldom pan out. It's true that Sabathia and Teixeira(sp) are still relatively young, but they have very long contracts that came at a huge price. They will likely have some good seasons but as their contracts near their end it is just as likely they will not be very productive.

I don't like the Yankees business model and I now find myself rooting against them. And I was a fan for many years.

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Posted By: Jason

I can safely say I hate Derek Jeter. Mainly because TV cameras love showing close ups of him even when he isn't on the field.

Go Jays!