Shannon Shark @metspolice – Page 4119

March 31, 2009

Yankees: No Sheppard…but no Jim Hall either?

I think it’s obvious we won’t get much (if anything) out of Bob Sheppard, but where’s Jim Hall?

Is Paul Olden the guy that’s been doing the Super Bowl the last few years who sounds like Balok from Star Trek? If so that’s NOT GOOD Yankee fans. I’m not sure it’s him.

LoHud blog says they haven’t announced the announcer for the opener, but I find it odd Jim isn’t doing the Cub games. Boooo. He’s been the understudy a long time and has “the sound.”

From mlb.com

The New York Yankees announced today that longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard will be unavailable at the commencement of the Yankees’ 2009 inaugural season, including the club’s workout on April 2 as well as the first exhibition games at Yankee Stadium on April 3-4 and Opening Day on April 16, as a result of his continuing recovery from a bronchial infection.

For the Yankees’ workout day on April 2 and their exhibition games vs. the Chicago Cubs on April 3-4, Paul Olden will substitute for Mr. Sheppard in the public address booth at Yankee Stadium while he continues to recover at his home on Long Island. A 12-time Super Bowl public address announcer, Olden’s broadcasting career spanned 17 years, including two seasons in the Yankees’ television broadcast booth from 1995-96, alongside Bobby Murcer and Phil Rizzuto.

This season marks the 58th anniversary of Sheppard’s debut as the Yankees’ public address announcer. His first game was on Opening Day, April 17, 1951, as the Yankees defeated the Boston Red Sox, 5-0.

“I will not be able to be at Yankee Stadium for the series with the Cubs or Opening Day,” Sheppard said. “My personal physician advised me to wait until I am ready. It is in the hands of God. I am looking forward to doing games in the new Stadium.”

March 31, 2009

Let’s Make The Union The Bad Guys (Opening Night)

Got a comment from a reader:

BPALM said…

Get over the day game for opening day. It is a union rule that the Padres cannot play a day game after traveling cross-country to NY. This has nothing to do with the Mets and/or ESPN

I don’t think it has anything to do with anyone, I just think it sucks. I decided to research what BPALM said and the only thing I could find was this which suggests he’s right on fact…

Teams are entitled to an off day for trips from the Pacific Time Zone to the Eastern Time Zone. The Commissioner is empowered to grant seven exceptions to this rule each season, no more than one affecting each club, to allow a club to play an East Coast night game the day after a West Coast day game. Except for transcontinental trips, off days are to be non-travel days whenever possible. As a result, teams head straight for the airport after the last game of a series, even if it’s a 16-inning night game, rather than return to their hotel to rest and travel the next day.

Assuming the above is correct (I’m a blogger not a lawyer), then Bud has already at least stepped in to grant one of his seven exemptions, or the game would be played on Tuesday (which it probably should have been). That being said, the “legality” or it overlooks one thing:
The court of public opinion.

If there were a massive public outcry (which there won’t be at this point), the Mets could take the high ground of “we asked the Commish” – who then could blame the union. I’d love to see the union tell Joe Fan how hard it would be to play at 4:05 instead of 7:05. Waaaahhhh.

Not gonna happen, but seems like I’m not the only out there who’d prefer a day game. I’m going to hold out hope the Post publishes the article (they interviewed us) and that Boomer and Carton wake up to a slow news day. Ya Gotta Belive right?

https://metspolice.com/

March 31, 2009

The Hooligans Will Be Back – Beer Ban Lifted In Yankee Bleachers

Looks like they won’t be bringing everything over from the old stadium. According to the NY Post, the 9-year ban on beer sales in the Yankee Stadium bleachers will come to an end when the gates open on the new ballpark.

The bleachers at Yankee Stadium can be the most raucous place a sports fan will find in the US – and for the most part – especially during these last nine years – it has been a great place to go even if you aren’t a Yankee fan. I’ve sat out there with Mets gear on and taken some good natured abuse, but never felt threatened.

However, adding alcohol back into the mix could bring the sections back to how they were in the 80’s and 90’s, when even the mention of another team could cause a riot. Back in those days I witnessed many examples of people being verbally, and sometimes physically abused (hats ripped off people’s heads, beer poured on people, items thrown at people). My younger sister had a beer thrown at her during a game once.

I like beer (I was weaned on Guinness), but it has been shown time and time again that alcohol when abused is dangerous. Ultimately the issue isn’t really whether beer should or should not be served, but how much should be served, and will the Yankees have adequate and active security to ensure a safe and pleasurable experience for ALL fans.

I doubt it.

www.metspolice.com

March 31, 2009

Pedro Martinez Should Sign With The Long Island Ducks

Some free advice to Pedro Martinez: Sign with the Long Island Ducks.

Pedro, nobody gives you a harder time than I do, but I’m here to help.

You need to give Ducks manager Gary Carter a phone call.

You’ve priced youself out of getting a job. The Mets aren’t going to call. The Royals have passed. You don’t seem to be moving to Houston or Oakland.

It’s time to prove you can still pitch.

You’re 37 and you think your arm is healthy. Head out to the island and show the major league scouts than you can pitch more than four innings.

Long Island will be good to you. Hometown fans will cheer you, the Mets will easily be able to spy on you, and you can live whereever it is you lived the past few years.

Ducks season starts April 23rd. If you really have “stuff” left then you should be 5 and 0 with an ERA under 2.00 by around June 15th. You do that, I guarantee the Mets will call.

www.metspolice.com

March 31, 2009

Ollie, Murphy, Livan-y

I thought I’d write about actual baseball, instead of the business of, for a change.

Since you all read the same things I do so I’ll get right to it rather than act like I’m the newspaper.

1. Oliver Perez pitched well.

As I said last week, everyone remain calm. It’s the spring. All pitchers have good outings and bad outings. Last week was panic-time, now everyone will be singing this guy’s praises.
I think we know what we have in Ollie. He’s a guy that more often than not will give a good to very good outing, but we’ll never really be able to trust him. In a Game 7 he’s just as likely to give up 5 runs in 5 innings as he is to throw a shutout. Root for this guy but never trust.

2. Dan Murphy to bat second.

I think Murph represents everything that “fans like me” want. Scrappy, homegrown, came out of nowhere, unhyped and unheralded. Like that Dykstra kid that came out of nowhere once on Monday Night Baseball.
I hope he’s real and plays with 5 and 7 for ten years.
I’m a little concerned that they are throwing him in the deep end, but with any better option playing in LA, hey let’s go for it.

3. Livan Hernandez is the fifth starter.
If you watched spring training at all this is a no brainer. He has been at worst the third best, and maybe the second best all spring. This might be this year’s great pickup that continues the Legend of Omar Minaya. I suspect it will be.

Hernandez doesn’t need to win, he just needs to eat innings so that we don’t go to the bullpen in the fifth every 5 days.

4. Jerry closed the door on Pedro

I hope Pedro finds happiness in Oakland or Houston or the Long Island Ducks. Farewell Four Inning Pedro.

5. We all seem to think Pelfrey is good

It was just 11 months ago people were sick of him, then the light went on. I hope it stays on because there’s nothing like a homegrown young stud pitcher. Does he have 15 wins in him?

6. The how many games will K-Rod save discussion?

I saw metsblog polling the fans on how many saves K-Rod will get. For those of you picking 62 or more, if this guy sees north of 45 saves then Jerry isn’t managing right.

7. Zeus is messing with me

I don’t like Friday’s forecast

8. The solution to the Iron Triangle (ugly car repair shops) will be….

Seems like most of New York discovered that it looks like Baja California over past 126th. That’s not going to last long. I predict the solution will be the Islanders new arena. I’ll flesh that out when I have more time.
I also dig that 126th Street is an actual place and part of the lexicon after all these years.

9. Opening Night is still a night game.

This is still a mistake no matter how the Padres feel about it. I am adding the Padres to the list of teams I put hexes on.

10. Two new stadiums!

Did you ever think NYC would get not one but two new baseball stadiums? In the same year? If I had told you on 9-12-01 that in eight years we’d have two new parks you’d never have believed it. Amazin’