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I never made it to Yankee Stadium–never really cared about it that much, possibly because I never thought it had a special feature like the Green Monster at Fenway, the Ivy at Wrigley, or the overhangs at Tiger Stadium.  Or possibly because my feelings on the Yankees have run the course from indifferent in the 80’s when they were a non-factor, to actively disliking the way they make a mockery of the game with their checkbooks today.

And despite my lack of caring about the original Yankee Stadium, I’ve now found another reason to despise the organization–they’re pairing up with Steiner Sports to sell off mementos from the old stadium–from bricks from the old Monument Park ($149) to bleacher benches ($449 to name your seat) to entire pieces of the old facade (a measly $50,000). And don’t forget about some dirt, sod, and a bathroom sign–or maybe the one of a kind dugout bat rack (reserve not met at $1,800–and no word on whether it’s from the Yankees dugout or visitors dugout).

Any time you can invoke a slogan like “Ruth Built It, Now You Can Take it Home,” you should really think twice about what you’re doing.  Of course, without knowing how many chunks of sod, bricks, and pieces of facade are available, it’s difficult to guestimate how much Steiner Sports and the Yankees are going to profit from this sale.

What’s almost guaranteed is that the City of New York won’t see any of that money–despite having pumped nearly $2 billion worth of public money into the new stadium in the forms of cash, subsidies, and tax breaks.

But hey, at least the general public will have the opportunity to buy quality seats at a reasonable price or get some quality parking spaces for the game…

A few days ago Rich posted a compelling write-up focused on the joys of the World Baseball Classic. His writing got me to take a glance at a couple games, something I hadn’t done previously.

I’d never been staunchly anti-WBC, but it seemed to me as though the timing of the event made the games nothing more than glorified exhibitions with some semblance of national pride supposedly on the line.

I won’t go as far as some have in calling the tournament a farce and a “World Baseball Money Grab by the Joke of a Commissioner.” But I do think there is at least one thing someone is going to have to address if this tournament is going to be the Classic it is billed as being: Injuries.

The main concern I’ve heard teams voice through the media about the WBC is their legitimate worry about players who are just starting their spring trainings going out in a highly-competitive atmosphere before they are ready and getting themselves hurt. And it’s playing out so far this spring.

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When Rich started writing for Brushbackpitch.com last month he asked that people get their ranting and raving about the steroid scandal done with because he was tiring of reading about them every day.

He may have gotten his wish.

Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire and the respective allegations against them have at least temporarily taken a hiatus from the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. They’ve been replaced by the resignation of Jim Bowden as he’s investigated for any role he may have played in the skimming of Latin American players’ signing bonuses.

Bowden reportedly denies any wrongdoing and he claims his resignation is due to the distraction caused by media scrutiny of the investigation.

Fair enough.
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Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training, and by the end of the week, the entire membership of the Major League Baseball Players Association will be concentrated in either the state of Florida or the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. For every player in each location, there will be at least two reporters with one question to ask them: “Are you now, or have you ever been a user of steroids?” For the players who have spent more than five years on a major league roster, the next question will be “Are you on the list of 104?”

It’s been seven years since Jose Canseco washed out of baseball. It’s been five years since he published his book, Juiced. It’s been four years since baseball’s Black St. Patrick’s Day, when Congress called Canseco, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Mark McGwire to testify before them (Curt Schilling, hoping to get his picture in the paper, also tagged along).

McGwire’s silence that day destroyed his chances of being named to the Hall Of Fame. Palmeiro’s righteous – and fraudulent – indignation did the same to him. Sosa conveniently forgot how to speak English in the committee room, but the guess here is he won’t see the dais at Cooperstown anytime soon, either.

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Bud Selig says being blamed for the steroid era “bothers the you-know-what out of him,” according to ESPN.com and other media reports.

Fair enough. Major League Baseball’s commissioner is entitled to his opinion. But he’s wrong.

Sure, Selig isn’t complicit alone. The Major League Baseball Players Association and every single player that ever stuck a needle in his ass shares the blame. But Selig has been the commissioner of Major League Baseball since 1992. He’s seen the league through some remarkable lows and some performance-enhanced highs.

And while he has taken great pains to see to it that a system has been put in place that will deter future players from taking steroids and using performance enhancing drugs he cannot, as that leader, say he doesn’t deserve some of the blame.

That a homerun record that stood for nearly four decades was broken three times in five years didn’t raise some suspicions?

That players would finish one season and return the next with a completely different physical look didn’t make him do a double-take?

Bud Selig can talk all he wants about being stonewalled by the union or being worried about another work stoppage. If you have concerns about steroids and you don’t fight those concerns you are complicit.

If you don’t get up on mountain top and scream “this is a problem and we need to fix it” until the union buckles, you are complicit.

Instead, both bodies let the records fall and they raked in the profits that came along with the excitement. No, Selig isn’t alone in being blame worthy. Brushbackpitch is on record saying leadership at the union needs to change as well.

But Selig’s attempt to clear his name and shed blame entirely is ridiculous and shameful. With a situation such as this, no matter how much good you do in fixing the problem, you were in charge when the sin was committed. And the buck should – and does – stop at the top.

And that starts with Selig.

Would you let Kenneth Lay or Jeffrey Skilling fix Enron?

How about letting Bernie Madoff control the checkbook when he gets around to paying restitution for his alleged crimes?

It’s probably unfair to compare the allegations against Madoff and Lay with anything that Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association have been accused of doing during the steroid era.

But I don’t think it’s unfair to say that for the sake of the game’s credibility it’s still time for Commissioner Bud Selig, Union Chief Donald Fehr and the association’s Chief Operating Officer Gene Orza to call it a career.

All three were in their positions of power before and during the steroid era. They were the chief opponents butting heads during the 1994 strike season that wiped out the World Series and caused a dramatic decrease in fan interest.

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I don’t know this guy at www.east-coast-bias.com but he’s got some thoughts on a luxury tax system that would at least help level the playing field in Major League Baseball.

It’s a bit convoluted and I’m not sure it does enough to punish “small market” teams that try to ride the coattails of the luxury tax so they don’t have to spend any money out of their own pockets (Yes, this is you, Jeffrey Loria).

But it’s an interesting starting point. Tony and I may revisit this after the holidays and shoot some ideas of our own. In the meantime, do any of you have ideas on how to fix the game?

Or do you think we’re all wet? If you think things are perfect you’re entitled to your opinion as well, I suppose. But please explain why you think it’s okay that the highest spending team can outspend the lowest spending team by 10 times?

I’d like to know your reasoning.

$423 million is the amount of money a slow economy dropped revenue for the state of Washington.

$423 million is the amount of measurable media coverage TDG Communications says it has generated for the Black Hills of South Dakota since 2005.

$423 million is what oil firms are paying to settle a groundwater contamination lawsuit.

$423 million is the estimated amount a group of hackers planned to steal from a Japanese bank using a planted keylogger.

And $423 million is the amount the New York Yankees will have shelled out to sign CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira as soon as the former Ranger, Brave and Angel first baseman officially signs his deal.

Yeah. Revenue sharing and the luxury tax have done a lot to level the playing field in Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball Agent Scott Boras conducted a chat at usatoday.com this morning and made a couple of interesting revelations.

Well, perhaps they weren’t revelations. But they offered further proof that the agent couldn’t give a rip about anything more than making as much money for his clients as possible.

One questioner, from Westlake Village, Calif., asked if Boras had any concern for the fan bases of teams affected by the constant shuffling of players chasing big bucks.

Boras didn’t really answer the question, but told Westlake Village that his staff of 20 works year-round to prepare players for free agency and salary arbitration.

“When Teams call we determine if our client is interested then a information exchange occurs to define the agreed value of the player. If both parties agree we have an agreement,” he says.

Another Californian from Aliso Viejo asked about player greed and salaries during a time when “real hardworking people who get up and work 8-5 to make ends meet but are losing everything they have.”

While the question was a bit melodramatic, Boras’ response started out as a discussion of player revenues, which he says have increased from $3 billion in 2000 to $6.5 billion in 2008.

“Please keep in mind many of our clients donate millions of dollars to funds that provide tickets to children and families who would other wise not be able to attend games,” Boras wrote.

I about yacked when I read the last part. To quote the late, great Chris Farley, “Well, La De Frickin’ Da.” A big thank you to players making anywhere from what, a quarter million to $26 million a year for buying a couple tickets to each game? Is he looking for a slap on the back? I will grant him that many, many players are fantastic people and very generous. But forgive me if I don’t bow in their general direction when they share their money with the less fortunate. They should do that – just like any halfway decent person with an abundance of resources should. Charitable organizations rely on such generosity – and guess what, some people don’t want or need recognition for it. Spare me the pretend virtuosity.

My favorite answer, however, came when he was asked by New York, NY what his response would be to a salary cap. Boras, in true, self-serving fashion, responded that “salary caps prevent the true intellect of the sport from operating.”

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For opening night of the 2002 Major League Baseball season, 34,351 fans showed up in Montreal to watch the team’s last home opening game.

By then the Expos were a lame-duck team destined for Washington and owned by the league.

The highlight of that opening night, according to an account in Time magazine, came when a fan holding a “LORIA SUCKS” sign jumped up on the Florida Marlins dugout to dance and temporarily evade security personnel.

By then, as part of the agreement to sell the Expos, Jeffrey Loria had acquired those Marlins. In 2003, the team won its second World Series. Then, two years later, with no public financing for a new ballpark, Loria dismantled the team, creating one of the lowest-paid franchises in baseball.

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