New Yankee Stadium - Coors Field East???

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:22 am

I was able to pay a visit to the New Yankee Stadium over the weekend. I didn't get to see my Indians 22 run outburst, but did see yesterday's game, the second game of the series where a game changing homer squeaked over the wall in RF.

Buster Olney is reporting that the Yankees are privately worried about the balls (20 HR's in 4 games) flying out in the first four games.

ESPN-Buster Olney

It would have to have you a little worried now about starting Yankee SP's against high powered lineups at home.

Jensen Lewis, who gave up Jeter's and Posada's dink shots over the weekend commented that they were both "Pop flies in any other park."

The problem, if it is for real, is complicated by the fact that there are no fences to move back down the line.

My own observation is, that while the field dimensions are the same, the stadium is smaller inside, and it seemed like any ball hit high to right was carrying.

Here is a good look at the NEW Yankee Stadium

New York Times

Now here is a look at the OLD Stadium

You can clearly see how much more open the Old stadium was - especially behind the fences. Also, the new scoreboard and signage is much more enclosed than the old stadium.

Now - I know it is just one series and too small of a sample size to project anything - but could we be looking at 50+ HR's for Teixeira???

And how much will this effect Yankee starters???

We will see - just don't ask CW Wang.

[ April 20, 2009, 02:43 PM: Message edited by: Ryan Carey ]

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:39 am

We will bump this back up by adding that the New stadium was strangely quiet. Not a lot of chatter. Much of this can be blamed on the half empty corporate seats between the bases. In years past opposing players would be treated to harse conditions from creative fans. At Sundays game the worst I heard was someone telling Cody Ransom "you stink". I'm sure it was still lively in the bleachers - but it wasn't at Field level seating.

billywaz · Post by **billywaz** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:52 am

Ryan,

I was busy doing some work for school yesterday and had the game on.

It was amazing to me how many empty seats there were, and the announcers even mentioned that the cost to go to a game at the new Yankee Stadium is quite pricey!

I also totally agree that right field seems REALLY short, and could produce mucho homers (especially for lefties) this season.

Should be an interesting year in the Bronx!

sportsbettingman · Post by **sportsbettingman** » Mon Apr 20, 2009 12:20 pm

Kiss all of the Yankee hitting records goodbye in 20 years...or break out the dreaded asterix...or remodel the entire first few rows and move the wall back in the offseason.

Navel Lint · Post by **Navel Lint** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 1:32 am

Are 4 games now the accepted sample same for all future projections?

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 2:13 am

Originally posted by sportsbettingman:

Kiss all of the Yankee hitting records goodbye in 20 years...or break out the dreaded asterix...or remodel the entire first few rows and move the wall back in the offseason. Those records are safe, Lance.

Wang pitches for the Yankees

RedRyder · Post by **RedRyder** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:24 am

Hi Mr. Doughboys, thought of you the other day while watching a Yankee game and one of the field reporters gave an "on pace" projection for the homers hit at the new stadium this year...I said to myself, "And what would Dan say to that?!!"

Love the latest sig...

King of Queens · Post by **King of Queens** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:39 am

Originally posted by RedRyder:

Hi Mr. Doughboys, thought of you the other day while watching a Yankee game and one of the field reporters gave an "on pace" projection for the homers hit at the new stadium this year...I said to myself, "And what would Dan say to that?!!"

Love the latest sig... Jules, you gonna be on TV again this week?

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:43 am

Thanks Jules.

I was on pace to hurl 120 times during that first week with all of the the "on paces".

I'll be pm'ing you soon about a previous post of yours.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:56 am

Originally posted by rucrew2:

Are 4 games now the accepted sample same for all future projections? I did reference the small sample size at the end of my post - so I agree it is too early to know anything concrete.

That being said this was/is still the biggest baseball story from last week and worth discussing. Also-isn't this more fun than complaining about owner's names etc.

The Daily News made it THE top story today - and the top theory backs up my own hypothesis of the shell of the stadium being different and creating different wind flow than the old stadium had.

This weather person said that "the old stadium had more stacked tiers and a large upper deck that acted like a solid wall and caused wind to swirl more and be less concentrated.

The less sharp slope of the upper deck in the New Stadium could enable winds to blow across the field with less restriction. In addition the slope of the new seating would also lead to a downslope effect on the field, which, depending on wind direction, would tend to cause air to lift up in RF.

14 of the 20 shots went to RF

If the tier shape is indeed the problem, games will be affected only during times when the winds are from a westerly direction and above 10 mph. This typically occurs in the spring and late fall in NY."

It will be interesting to see how this plays out as weather patterns change here in the city.

Another factor may be the new concourses behind the seats are much wider than they were across the street. Those were mostly enclosed, while the new ones have numerous large openings, giving breezes more of an opportunity to become a factor.

Also - the old stadium faced East. The new one faces a touch more to the South

My friend was also at the game on Sunday, in the Upper deck, he joined me later in the day and said he was freezing up their the winds were so strong and swirling.

A Yankee employee was quoted today in the paper saying. "It's like a TORNADO up there. I was waiting for the wicked witch to come by"

The 20 home runs set a record for the most hit in the first four games of a new ballpark, eclipsing the 18 hit in Cincinatti in 2003.

Also - believe it or not Wang only surrendered one of the Home Runs.

[ April 21, 2009, 12:05 PM: Message edited by: Ryan Carey ]

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:23 am

Originally posted by Ryan Carey:

this was/is still the biggest baseball story from last weekNew Yorker much?

Navel Lint · Post by **Navel Lint** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:01 am

Originally posted by Ryan Carey:

quote:Originally posted by rucrew2:

Are 4 games now the accepted sample same for all future projections? I did reference the small sample size at the end of my post - so I agree it is too early to know anything concrete.

That being said this was/is still the biggest baseball story from last week and worth discussing. Also-isn't this more fun than complaining about owner's names etc.

The Daily News made it THE top story today - and the top theory backs up my own hypothesis of the shell of the stadium being different and creating different wind flow than the old stadium had.

This weather person said that "the old stadium had more stacked tiers and a large upper deck that acted like a solid wall and caused wind to swirl more and be less concentrated.

The less sharp slope of the upper deck in the New Stadium could enable winds to blow across the field with less restriction. In addition the slope of the new seating would also lead to a downslope effect on the field, which, depending on wind direction, would tend to cause air to lift up in RF.

14 of the 20 shots went to RF

If the tier shape is indeed the problem, games will be affected only during times when the winds are from a westerly direction and above 10 mph. This typically occurs in the spring and late fall in NY."

It will be interesting to see how this plays out as weather patterns change here in the city.

Another factor may be the new concourses behind the seats are much wider than they were across the street. Those were mostly enclosed, while the new ones have numerous large openings, giving breezes more of an opportunity to become a factor.

Also - the old stadium faced East. The new one faces a touch more to the South

My friend was also at the game on Sunday, in the Upper deck, he joined me later in the day and said he was freezing up their the winds were so strong and swirling.

A Yankee employee was quoted today in the paper saying. "It's like a TORNADO up there. I was waiting for the wicked witch to come by"

The 20 home runs set a record for the most hit in the first four games of a new ballpark, eclipsing the 18 hit in Cincinatti in 2003.

Also - believe it or not Wang only surrendered one of the Home Runs.

[/QUOTE]Interesting write-up, and I did see your comment about the sample size. I was referencing my statement to Sportsbettingman who was getting ready to rewrite the record books.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:36 am

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

quote:Originally posted by Ryan Carey:

this was/is still the biggest baseball story from last weekNew Yorker much?

[/QUOTE]Should have said the biggest story from a "fantasy perspective."

I live here yes, but Yankee fan or Yankee hater(I am the latter

) - they are the Dallas Cowboys of baseball. It is not by accident that they played 4 Opening Day games to start the year.

Yankee news is big news. They were the Game of the Week for most of the country on ESPN, MLB network and Fox respectively three sucessive days I think. Throw in four area newspapers, multiple All-sports talk radio and all the team, local and national networks based here and you can understand how things get overblown here.

And even though the Dodgers and Giants now reside on the West Coast - like it or not, New York will always be the capital of baseball.

[ April 21, 2009, 01:48 PM: Message edited by: Ryan Carey ]

RedRyder · Post by **RedRyder** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:42 am

Originally posted by King of Queens:

quote:Originally posted by RedRyder:

Hi Mr. Doughboys, thought of you the other day while watching a Yankee game and one of the field reporters gave an "on pace" projection for the homers hit at the new stadium this year...I said to myself, "And what would Dan say to that?!!"

Love the latest sig... Jules, you gonna be on TV again this week? [/QUOTE]Negative...I'm gonna fade into the background and lose myself in managing my baseball teams!

Return of the Aces · Post by **Return of the Aces** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:48 am

Ryan, I went to both Yankees games this weekend. While Saturday's game was a complete debacle for the Yankees (and my fantasy team-I have Wang), Sunday's game was rather close and low-scoring until the 8th inning.

As a partial season ticket holder, I agree that the stadium was not as enthusiastic as the old Stadium in past years, which is primarily due to the premium empty field level seats around homeplate/3rd base. The Yankees will need to rectify this situation asap. This season I was moved out of the field level seats by the season ticket holders that did not want to pay for those tickets. My section on the main level was rocking before and after the Posada homerun.

It is difficult to pinpoint the cause for all the home runs and it could be an anomaly. I read one article in the NY Times that showed that the fence in right field is at a different angle than in the old Stadium and that may account for a 5 or 6 feet shorter disparity in parts of rightfield. The article also indicated that at least 6 of those homers may have been fly outs in the old Stadium. So both the wind currents and accurate field measurements have to be considered.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:54 am

5 more homers yesterday including a 400+ ft shot to center by Jeter, two from Melky Cabrera and another video reviewed one off the bat of Kurt Suzuki. This story is not going away just yet.

In fact it has another aspect that has been added. Looks like Yankee fans will need to get used to waiting as umpires go to the videotape as it looks like we are going to see a lot of fan interference reviews this year.

I sat inside the foul pole in LF and can report that the fans are right on top of things at the new stadium.The OF walls are also reportedly a foot shorter than the old park. Add in the extra seating behind the fences in both RCF and LCF and it is easy to see that this will be a problem for OF and umpires all year

Atlas · Post by **Atlas** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:37 pm

How about calling it "Coors-Lite" ?

I was there for Saturdays fiasco.