I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to too.
Title: Mitch Hedberg joke.
As a New York sports fan, this weekend was filled with mixed emotions. The Yankees were humiliated by the Red Sox in a sweep. The Jets drafted a potential franchise quarterback in Mark Sanchez. And the Rangers have been pushed to the brink by the Washington Capitals. A lot of ups and downs. Mostly downs though. The beating the Yankees took over the past three days was historic. Up by two runs in the ninth with two outs on Friday, Jason Bay added another gut-wrenching moment to "Mariano Rivera's Greatest Hits Against the Red Sox" by hitting a two-run home run. Then, in the eleventh, Kevin Youkilis and his goatee hit a walk-off against Damaso Marte. On Saturday, Jason Varitek hit a grand slam off A.J. Burnett and Boston put up a bunch of crooked numbers on the board, ultimately defeating the Yankees 16-11. To complete the sweep, Jacoby Ellsbury stole home off Andy Pettitte and New York's offense didn't come out of the locker room. It's Saturday, April 26th. The Yankees record: 9-9. So this is what $200+ million buys you these days. Mediocrity.
Prior to the series against the Washington Capitals, only a small minority gave the Rangers a shot to win. This was the Capitals' series to lose. But when the Rangers took a 2-0 lead, the perception changed. New York had shown to take advantage on power plays and contain Ovechkin with solid defense and Lundqvist between the pipes. But now, the Rangers are facing a Game Seven in Washington for a shot to play the Bruins in the second round. It's always nice to say that, "Well, this shouldn't even have been a series. We should be happy with a Game Seven", but it's the wrong attitude. When a team takes a 2-0 lead, expectations change . A game seven is a disappointment for the Rangers now. However, this is what faces them on Tuesday at 7:00ET. It's time to adjust those expectations again.
I have already stated my feelings regarding the Mark Sanchez pick (see below) for the Jets. So far this off-season, new head coach Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum have added key free agents Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard, and traded for pro bowl wide receiver Lito Sheppard. What was missing? A quarterback. Kellen Clemens has had a limited amount of career starts, so it is difficult to get a gauge on his skill set. But with the selection of Mark Sanchez, it became clear what the Jets think about Kellen Clemens. My only thoughts are, if this is their direction, don't let Sanchez ride the pine long. Because before you know it, Kellen Clemens wins the quarterback job, performs exceptionally but not well enough to make the playoffs, and then the whole Jet organization has no idea what to do next. "Do we keep him? Do we trade him? What about Sanchez? Where am I?" Quarterback controversies are never a good thing.
Okay, I'll admit it, I'm lazy. This whole attendance thing is a lot of work. Well, not really. Just really tedious. I have to go to ESPN.com, go to the MLB Scoreboard, find the attendance for each game, and write them up here. I just don't have all that time. I have more pressing things to attend to, such as watching Celebrity Apprentice. That being said, I will provide the link to the attendance figures for the days games and give the average for the day. Deal? Sounds good. I'll think of something else to post about on a daily basis and isn't that difficult.
Saturday, April 26th 2009 (MLB Scores)
Average Attendance: 29,673
Headlines
Red Sox outslug Yankees 16-11
Despite the Red Sox best efforts to lose the game yesterday, the Yankees proved once again that currently, they are the inferior team in this rivalry. At no point during the game did I think the Yankees were going to win. Even at 6-0 I knew that Boston was going to somehow crawl their way back into it. They always do. New York was handed a gift in the seventh inning when a ball went through Dustin Pedroia's legs and two runs scored. At that point they led 10-9. But wouldn't you know it, Mike Lowell hits a three-run homer the next inning. And that's all they would need. Tonight, Andy Pettitte faces off against Justin Masterson looking to avoid the sweep. I feel stupid being so emotionally invested into an April baseball game.
Day 2 of the NFL Draft starts...now!
Day 1 had a few surprises. My team, the Jets, traded their first round pick, their second round pick, and three players to the Cleveland Browns for the #5 overall pick. With that pick they chose USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. In the days and weeks leading up to the draft, I became more and more enamored with Sanchez. He seemed to be more mature than any quarterback coming out of the draft in recent years. Also, he is mobile and has a fairly accurate arm. The one question on him was regarding his arm strength. That may have been an issue with another team, but with Jets west-coast style offense, downfield passes are a rarity. Bottomline, the Jets needed a quarterback. They must have felt that Kellen Clemens will never rise above holding a clipboard for his entire career and that Sanchez was worth what they traded for him. There will be a lot of pressure on Sanchez as the football season nears closer. As a top 10 pick he will be expected to win the quarterback's job and lead the Jets into the playoffs in one year. He'll have in his shadow Joe Namath, who Jet fans still stand at attention for every time his name is uttered. But at the risk of sounding like a "typical football analyst guy", I think he has "it". Whatever "it" may be.
UPDATE: The Jets have traded up to draft Iowa running back Shonn Greene. Here are some of his finer college moments. Oh, I'm excited.
Rangers coach Tortorella suspended for Game 6
In case you decided not to watch the third period of Game 5 when the Rangers were down by four goals, New York head coach John Tortorella got into a verbal confrontation with a fan behind the bench and then throwing a green water bottle at the fan. For his actions, the NHL has suspended him for one game. Makes sense. Because if players take a swipe at an unsuspecting opponent, they get a few minutes in the box. But throwing a water bottle at a fan because he was being antagonistic calls for an immediate one game suspension. Though, I guess I understand the NHL in this case. Fighting with a fan is never a good idea and the NHL needs to keep every fan they can get.
MLB Attendance Study (Day 6):
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres (Petco Park)
Attendance: 41,665
San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks (Chase Field)
Attendance: 37,253
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies (Coors Field)
Attendance: 31,476
Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins (Dolphin Stadium)
Attendance: 26,412
Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 31,335
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
Attendance: 46,707
Washington Nationals at New York Mets (Citi Field)
Attendance: 39,960
Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ballpark)
Attendance: 33,015
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics (McAfee Coliseum)
Attendance: 15,432
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
Attendance: 37,699
Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Attendance: 41,160
Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox (U.S. Cellular Field)
Attendance: 30,383
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Attendance: 23,186
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals (Kauffman Stadium)
Attendance: 37,647
Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angel Stadium)
Attendance: 43,542
Average: 34,459.47
Figures
Where is the one place everyone ends up after a long night of drinking (or driving around)? The diner. Even if we don't want to. Ever since I started going out with my friends late, I have never began the night with the intention of ending it face down in a side dish of cole slaw. But for the better portion of my weekends over the past few years, I have seen myself ordering a turkey club on rye at 2 o'clock in the morning. And I believe we all do it. You know why? Because the diner is packed at 2am, every weekend. No one WANTS to end up there. Eating late is bad for you and after a long night of consuming large amounts of alcohol, it should be the last thing anyone does. We do it for many reasons:
1. We're hungry. You have probably spent the last 5 to 7 hours getting ready, talking to your friends, hitting on girls/guys, drinking, and generally just shooting the breeze. In those hours, food was not consumed. The body can only do so much, for so long without fuel. It's time to eat. Also, if you are one of those ravers with the glow sticks and pacifiers who party until dawn, it's time for breakfast. Then it's perfectly reasonable to order a short stack.
2. We don't want the night to end. The bar just had its last call, where is there a place that's still open? The diner! No one wants to go home so early. The night is young, my friends. Plus, if the diner has a liquor license like most do, it can be a place to replenish you buzz. This place is a triple-threat!
3. It's somewhere to recap the night. A lot of stuff may have happened. "He said what to her?" "The bouncer kicked who out?" It's a good place to recount the night's comings and goings while in a semi-conscious state. Besides, chances are you'll forget most of what happened if you tried to remember it the next day.
There is one constant gripe I have with diners and that is this: Anyone walking in the door after midnight is more often than not, inebriated. Usually, the hostess will sit you down and hand you a giant menu. After about 17 seconds, they ask you what you would like to order. Please, give us more time! I can barely see straight, you gave me a menu the size of an atlas, and you expect me to know my decision before my butt sinks into the cushion. I need at least ten minutes to gaze into the pictures of the burgers until the drool coming out of my mouth does the talking for me.
MLB Attendance Study (Day 5):
Pittsburgh Pirates at San Diego Padres (Petco Park)
Attendance: 25,601
Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics (McAfee Coliseum)
Attendance: 20,140
San Francisco Giants at Arizona Diamondbacks (Chase Field)
Attendance: 27,865
Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angel Stadium)
Attendance: 43,083
Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies (Coors Field)
Attendance: 36,151
Toronto Blue Jays at Chicago White Sox (U.S. Cellular Field)
Attendance: 27,103
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
Attendance: 45,812
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals (Kauffman Stadium)
Attendance: 36,363
Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 25,316
Philadelphia Phillies at Florida Marlins (Dolphin Stadium)
Attendance: 29,032
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
Attendance: 38,163
Washington Nationals at New York Mets (Citi Field)
Attendance: 40,522
Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Attendance: 20,215
Atlanta Braves at Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ballpark)
Attendance: 30,060
Texas Rangers at Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Attendance: 24,319
Average: 31,316.33
Big Papi warns Joba
On the eve of the first game of 47 between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, David "Big Papi" Ortiz offered a few pieces of advice for young Yankees starter Joba Chamberlain:
"None of that, man -- just play the game the way it's supposed to be, and that's about it," Ortiz said, referring to Chamberlain. "This is a guy, as good as he is, the next step for him will be to earn respect from everybody in the league. He's not a bad guy, but when things like that happen, people get the wrong idea."
Since Joba entered the league in 2007, he has established himself as somewhat of a headhunter. And by headhunter I mean, he often throws baseballs at Kevin Youkilis' head. Why just Youkilis? Who knows. Maybe he doesn't like his bald head and goatee. I sure don't.
Though, I am not sure what Ortiz's motives were for a quote like that. It is not as if Chamberlain doesn't understand the consequences for throwing a 98 miles per hour fastball as someone's head. If Joba had the intention to do so prior to the quote, I'm guessing Ortiz politely asking him not to won't deter him.
In the end, this just adds a little more spice to a rather dull April rivalry.
Empty seats are forcing Mets and Yankees to talk prices
Maybe they will lower the prices for those seats and just charge a leg.
Late Night 90's Song:
MLB Attendance Study (Day 4):
Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Centre)
Attendance: 15,487
Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Attendance: 11,723
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 26,081
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners (Safeco Field)
Attendance: 17,639
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
Attendance: 40,039
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Attendance: 12,852
New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
Attendance: 38,522
Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park)
Attendance: 36,395
Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angel Stadium)
Attendance: 38,543
Average: 26,364.56
The Melk Man, Henrik Lundqvist, among other things
Rangers defeat Capitals 2-1, lead series 3-1
There's nothing quite like hopping onto a bandwagon. For 82 regular season hockey games, I may have watched 30 seconds of action, and that was by accident. I probably sat on the remote or thought something else was on that channel. But now, with the Rangers only 1 win away from facing the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals, I can't help but watch. Since the playoffs started, I have not missed 1 minute of play. With all the power-plays, icings, cross-checkings, high-stickings, and things of that nature, I am nothing short of enthralled. Those last few minutes of the Rangers game tonight were exhilarating. I was glued to the television and was able to sufficiently ignore any of my work.
Melky Cabrera homerun lifts Yankees over Athletics in 14 innings
Is this the beginning of the end for Brett Gardner? Clearly it's too early to make that decision. But Melky is making a valiant effort to take back his old job. At the beginning of the season, it seemed as if the difference in Gardner and Cabrera was negligible. Not anymore. Looks like they will be splitting time over the next few weeks. Could get interesting. One thing is certain, Brett Gardner would look out of place in this music video.
Lions are looking to sign Stafford before draft
Makes sense. The Lions NEED a player who has the potential to change the makeup of that franchise, specifically a quarterback. Quick! Name any Detroit Lions quarterback. Couldn't think of one, could you? No, Joey Harrington doesn't count. He may have been under center, but that doesn't make him a quarterback.
Detroit Lions first round draft picks (Last ten years):
1999: Chris Claiborne (USC), Aaron Gibson (Wisconsin)
2000: Stockar McDougle (Oklahoma)
2001: Jeff Backus (Michigan)
2002: Joey Harrington (Oregon)
2003: Charles Rogers (Michigan State)
2004: Roy Williams (Texas), Kevin Jones (Virginia Tech)
2005: Mike Williams (USC)
2006: Ernie Sims (Florida State)
2007: Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)
2008: Gosder Cherilus (Boston College)
All together now...who? I mean, there is some talent in there, but no true "franchise" players. The Lions are hoping Matthew Stafford can change a decade of ineptitude. My only concern is that the extent of their draft analysis was based solely around his performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon:
MLB Attendance Study (Day 3):
New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
Attendance: 35,622
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 26,725
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
Attendance: 38,738
Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, Game 1 (Fenway Park)
Attendance: 37,494
Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox, Game 2 (Fenway Park)
Attendance: 37,290
Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Centre)
Attendance: 13,090
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Attendance: 13,509
Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Attendance: 10,868
Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park)
Attendance: 32,759
Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium)
Attendance: 43,342
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (Nationals Park)
Attendance: 15,567
San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants (AT&T Park)
Attendance: 26,593
Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks (Chase Field)
Attendance: 19,147
Florida Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates (PNC Park)
Attendance: 10,655
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners (Safeco Field)
Attendance: 16,476
Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angel Stadium)
Attendance: 43,047
Average: 26,307.63
Late Night 90s Song:
If you have any suggestions for songs or basically anything, let me know. The comments are at the bottom right.
MLB Attendance: A Study (Day 2)
I just realized that keeping track of the attendance numbers for every game in the MLB will be time-consuming, frustrating, and rather pointless. But since I started it yesterday, I will finish it. Because I always finish what I start, even if it's terrible. That's why after accidentally watching the first episode of this season's Celebrity Apprentice, I have watched every episode since. And boy is it awful. Every Sunday there is a two hour episode. Two hours! But because of my sticktoitiveness (That is actually a word), I will watch every agonizing minute until, God-willing, it ends. How about those attendance numbers?
*Please be advised. I am using the attendance numbers from ESPN.com.
New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
Attendance: 35,506
Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 26,360
Cincinnati Reds at Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
Attendance: 38,403
Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays (Rogers Centre)
Attendance: 20,996
Florida Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates (PNC Park)
Attendance: 9,917
Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees (Yankee Stadium)
Attendance: 42,065
Milwaukee Brewers at Philadelphia Phillies (Citizens Bank Park)
Attendance: 40,605
Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Indians (Progressive Field)
Attendance: 11,408
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (Nationals Park)
Attendance: 15,439
Chicago White Sox at Baltimore Orioles (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Attendance: 14,801
Tampa Bay Rays at Seattle Mariners (Safeco Field)
Attendance: 19,582
Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Angel Stadium)
Attendance: 41,627
San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants (AT&T Park)
Attendance: 39,314
Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks (Chase Field)
Attendance: 25,411
Average: 27,245.29
MLB Attendance: A Study
Ever since the economy took a turn for the worse back in September and October, I have been wondering what sort of effect it would have on attendance in the four major sports (Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Bull Riding). And only two weeks into the 2009 MLB Season, we've seen significant drops in attendance, especially in the two new stadiums, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field. There's no denying it. Watch a home Met or Yankee game this season, you'll see empty seats by and around home plate. You know, the sections that would normally seat people who rely on updates of the game on their BlackBerries even though they are so close, they could smell A-rod's perfume. Unless the prices of those seats drop, they will collect dust until September. The situation will only get worse during the proverbial "dog-days" of summer, when teams begin to drop out of playoff contention and people decide to use their limited disposable income on more important things. Like a Vin Diesal movie.
Far be it for me to actually conduct a legitimate statistical analysis of attendance in Major League Baseball. If that were the case, I wouldn't begin two weeks into the season and do it based solely on boredom. That being said, I will track the attendance of every game in the MLB this season and by using the math I learned in the seventh grade, average them (or find the "mean". Thanks Mrs. Quinn!).
I decided to do this right after I watched the Marlins play the Pirates in Pittsburgh this evening. I understand that the game was being threatened by rain, games in April are practically meaningless, and the Pirates are perennial losers, but that doesn't excuse the fact that there was only 8,790 fans who went through the turnstiles. Maybe the hard-working, redblooded Americans in Pittsburgh were taking an overtly literal boycott of pirates after the events in Somalia, but I highly doubt it. This situation is going to get worse before it gets better. Lets track it, shall we?
Florida Marlins at Pittsburgh Pirates (PNC Park)
Attendance: 8,790
Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros (Minute Maid Park)
Attendance: 23,308
Baltimore Orioles at Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
Attendance: 37,865
Atlanta Braves at Washington Nationals (Nationals Park)
Attendance: 12,473
Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks (Chase Field)
Attendance: 25,788
Average: 21,664
- @robdelaney His fault. He should've had his hands in fists. Doesn't he understand science?
- @YankeesWFAN So a coaches only responsibility is to make sure his players don't mutiny?
- Amendment 28: All links should open in a separate tab.
- @YankeesWFAN But he can't hit. He hasn't had an OPS over .900 since 2009.
- Oh, I get it. It's "MAID in Manhattan". Because she's a maid.
Subscribe to my RSS feed!
- Another step… May 19, 2012
- Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA April 8, 2012
- Screw it. April 2, 2012
- We did it! January 11, 2012
Tags
Recent Comments
- John Z on Game 2: Knicks vs. Celtics
- John Z on This is great
- scarurtia on Innuendo, thy name is New York Post
- Carter Ward on Jason Whitlock, Erin Andrews, Deadspin, ESPN, etc.
- BrenOrdet on And we all know how painful that can be…
Meta
StatPress
Visits today: 43Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
