View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

All Of Baseball Bleeds At Least A Little Cubbie Blue

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Al Yellon is the managing editor of Bleed Cubbie Blue, a baseball blog dedicated to the Chicago Cubs and their incredibly loyal, lovable fans. Misery loves company and as the Cubs continue to flail well below .500, thousands of Northsiders flock to the blogosphere, trumpeting their ideas for how to cure 103 years of futility. Al was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about the 2011 Cubs, Wrigley Field, and the MLB trade deadline.

As a blogger/independent contractor who has no real direct affiliation with the Cubs organization, how much of your job involves making sure the team does right by the fans? Has Bleed Cubbie Blue ever had direct or indirect influence over a specific front office decision? If so, what does that say about the leadership within the Cubs organization? Frankly, I would find it hard to root for a team that is easily influenced by the fans. Of course, I’m a Baltimore Orioles fan and most of us wish the current owner Peter Angelos would simply just go far far away and leave the team to Cal Ripken.

I’m not sure what you mean by this. I don’t consider my “job” as being anything except trying to write accurately about what’s going on with the team. If I see something wrong, I’ll say it. If I see something right, I’ll say that, too — which appears to me to be different from some Cubs bloggers, who seem to write with the viewpoint “everything the Cubs do is wrong”. I don’t feel that way.

I don’t believe that I have specifically had influence over any front office decision, though I do believe what I wrote last year about the mess in the bleachers did result in some positive changes in how security deals with drunk idiots.

What in the world is going to happen to Wrigley Field? You have people like Peter Gammons calling for massive renovations while a lot of loyalists hope to preserve the great history and integrity of the field. Do you think that the new ownership is going to be willing to spend the money to update certain aspects of the field, sort of like what the Henry/Werner/Lucchino group did in Boston w/ Fenway?

I believe the park will be upgraded and renovated in a very similar way to what happened with Fenway in Boston. Money is currently an issue, so it may take a few years, but I know ownership is committed to getting it done. Gammons’ comment about Wrigley being a “dump” was not only wrong, but misinformed. There’s nothing wrong with Wrigley; it has been maintained well and the team puts money into upkeep every offseason.

As you tweeted last week, the Wrigley Field bleachers were wide open during a summer Sunday for the first time since the ’70s. Is this a case of the dreadful economy making it harder for the good people of Chicago to buy tickets or are we finally seeing Cubs fans take part in a little civil disobedience and say: “unless we start winning we’re just not going to hand over our hard earned money”?

It’s a little bit of both. The team has priced tickets far beyond what the current performance of the team OR the current economy will bear. It will get worse in September even if the Cubs play well for a month or so, after schools are back in session and the weather gets cooler.

The Cubs will have to significantly lower some prices in order to get people back in the park.

How do you see the 2011 season ending for the Cubs? Who stays? Who goes? Hope for the future? You can have Felix Pie back if you like.

This will be a very interesting week leading up to the trading deadline next Sunday. It’s very possible that several veterans will go. Current rumors involve Kosuke Fukudome and Carlos Pena, but many others might be dealt before the deadline — or even after, since they’d probably all clear waivers.

That will give hope for the future; the 2007-08 core, that won two division titles, did well, but it’s time to turn the page and start fresh.

No thanks on Felix Pie, incidentally.

views from Wrigley Field courtesy of @SmartAlexander and @ChiStreetStyle

Talking Shop with Talking Chop

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Martin Gandy is the lead writer for Talking Chop, a baseball blog dedicated to the Atlanta Braves and their fans. The Braves are once again competing for a spot in the NL playoffs, and with a big series opening tonight vs the Pittsburgh Pirates, the blogging business is booming. We asked Gandy, known throughout Talking Chop circles as “gondeee”, about the View from Your Seat feature on his site as well as his feelings on Turner Field and the secret to the Braves success in 2011.

Having people share a view from their seat is such a great way to allow fans to network with other fans. Why did you decide to add this feature to your site? Where do you see this particular idea heading? For instance, do you think non Braves fans visiting Turner Field for the first time will stop by Talking Chop to see where to sit, what to eat, etc?

I got the idea from Andrew Sullivan’s blog and his View From Your Window series. I’m always looking for ways to bring more reader interaction into the blog, and I also like how the View From Your Seat posts break up the page as one scrolls down the blog. Even if you’re in front of a computer screen you’re still able to peek into games, from all angles. Including minor league Views also gives people a window into all the different levels of baseball that exist out there.

I see this series continuing for as long as folks will send in pictures, and there’s been no shortage of late. Last New Years I put together a slide show that scrolled through dozens of Views from the previous year — that was well received, especially during the height of the baseball off-season.

In general, are Braves fans happy with Turner Field? Seeing as how it was built to host the ’96 Olympics, can it sometimes feel a little too multi-purpose/cookie cutter like say Fulton County Stadium?

It was refitted to just be used for baseball after the Olympics, and is one of the better stadiums to watch a game in (I can say that after having been to all but seven current stadiums). Every year they continue to add features to improve the stadium, like the huge HD screen in the outfield. The Braves don’t do the best job of creating a wonderful fan experience, but they do a pretty good job of it. There are a lot of things to like about the Ted.

As far as MLB south of the Mason-Dixon line goes, the Atlanta Braves are pretty much the only show in town. Why is it then that the team struggles to draw fans? I feel like the Braves, one of the top organizations in all of baseball, should be higher than #15 for average attendance this season. Is this just a case of an apathetic Atlanta sports base or perhaps something as simple as say the weather?

Fans can sometimes get spoiled by winning, Braves fans certainly were for a long time. There are a myriad of reasons for not filling the stadium. Traffic in Atlanta can be an obstacle to attending games during the week, especially during the school year. Keep in mind most folks live outside the city, so it’s at least a 20 to 30 minute commute to and from the game, and much more during rush hour. The heat is certainly a factor for some. I would say that Atlanta is also primarily a football town, as is most of the South, so baseball can take a back seat to football even during the football off-season.

The 2011 Braves are once again competing for a spot in the NL playoffs. What has made this particular team so special and what kinds of move do you think the Braves will make before the trading deadline?

The rookies and young players have really shined this year. Craig Kimbrel, Freddie Freeman, and Brandon Beachy are all rookies who will likely compete for the ROY at the end of the season. Other young players like Jason Heyward, Jonny Venters, Jair Jurrjens, and Tommy Hanson have really come into their own as stars of this team. The pitching has been the thing that has paced this team. The Braves go as their pitching staff goes, that was true in the 90s and it’s especially true this year.

views from Turner Field courtesy of Talking Chop

Monday Morning Musings: Sleepless in Seattle Edition

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A Quick Trip Around the Bases

1B – Welcome back David Wright, we totally forgot you were missing. The Mets third baseman returned from the DL this weekend after nearly two months away from the game. In his first action back, he helped guide the Mets to a 7-6 win Friday night over the Florida Marlins with a couple clutch RBI doubles, and then allowed with a big home run Sunday afternoon. But the big question is, why wasn’t his return more publicized? Shouldn’t we all have been made more aware that a star like Wright is returning after two months away? I watched nearly 2/3 of the SNY telecast last Thursday when the Mets lost to the Cardinals and I can’t recall either Howie Rose or Ron Darling mentioning a single thing about Wright returning from the DL. You would think it would have been much bigger news. Maybe the strikeouts, and throwing errors, have added up and Mets fans no longer regard Wright, alongside Jose Reyes, as the savior of the organization. A nice ballplayer, but not a superstar.

2B – The Seattle Mariners have now lost 15 games in a row and yet some how maintain a higher winning percentage than the Baltimore Orioles. Adding insult to injury, Camden Yards had been dealing with 100% humidity this past week. It’s so hot and sticky out there that Boog Powell himself set up a dunk tank in front of his famous BBQ stand. Back to the Mariners for a second, how does a team with two stud arms like Michael Pineda and Felix Hernandez lose 15 games in a row? I don’t care how anemic the Mariners offense may be, those two studs are natural born streak busters.

3B – C’mon Pirates, don’t fail me now! Having officially jumped on the bandwagon a few weeks back, it was tough to watch the St. Louis Cardinals storm into sold out PNC Park and take 2 of  3 from the Pirates. However, thanks to some marvelous hustle by Pirate left fielder Xavier Paul, Pittsburgh was able to salvage Sunday’s affair in extra innings to remain in a tie a top the NL Central with the Cards and Milwaukee Brewers. Tough to handicap this race. On paper, this is as good a chance the Pirates have had to win a division in quite some time. What is a little concerning is that both St. Louis and Milwaukee are willing to trade for a few quality players before the deadline. But what about the Bucs? Pittsburgh hasn’t been in this position in quite some time, plus has a history of “thrifty” ownership, so it’s really hard to figure what they are going to do this week. With the NFL set to announce an end to the lockout, the Pirates must retain their mid-summer swagger or else PNC Park is going to revert back to an abandoned, broken down iron works while their fans flock to worship at the foot of Heinz Field.

HR – Congrats to Bert Blyleven, Pat Gillick, and Roberto Alomar on their inductions into the Baseball Hall of Fame this weekend. My favorite Alomar story is where he would purposely bunt a ball foul down the third base line just so he could draw the infielders in a bit, which would then open up the left side of the diamond for one of his patented opposite field seeing eye singles. Those are the kind of stories you tell the grandchildren NOT the whole spitting in the face of an umpire incident which will unfortunately stay with Alomar the rest of his life.

view from Great American Ball Park courtesy of @JamenElbert

Avoid the Heat Dome By Burning Fossil Fuels

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Here’s a quick preview of some of the “major” sports on tv this weekend. A lot of folks love to whine about the lack of sporting events during these the dog days of summer but for me, I look at these next few weeks as an opportunity to catch up on some of the sports that would go otherwise overlooked if it weren’t for the fact that there was nothing else on. And when it’s as hot outside as it is right now, better to burn all sorts of fossil fuels by hovering in front of your AC alongside the incandescent glow of your HDTV than attempting to brave life under the heat dome. (I swear, somebody needs to trademark the phrase “Heat Dome” before Tom Cruise get’s his hands on it and makes it the title of his next Mission Impossible movie.)

Tour de France: If you happen to tune in to Versus this weekend, prepare to be absolutely blown away by the conditioning of these great cyclists. Of course, unless you’ve been living under a rock this past decade, you probably still have some doubts as to whether or not these athletes are cheating. And honestly, just how do these guys ride 200K up a series of high mountains and bounce back in time to do the same thing all over again the next day? You could pump my blood full of as much oxygen as you want and I’m still not coming anywhere close to the top of Alpe-d’Huez unless it is by helicopter.

RBC Canadian Open: Only for the few golf struck souls still fighting their way through Open Championship withdrawal. Or, if you happen to live in the lower 48 and are looking for a brief respite from theses excruciatingly hot/humid conditions, tune in and experience beautiful Vancouver complete with its temperatures  in the 70’s and humidity low enough that the horizon won’t look like it is covered in a waxy film.

MLB Baseball: And you thought you were close to overheating. The Mets and Cardinals completed their game Thursday in a little over 2 hours. It was so hot at Citi Field today that even Roy Halladay became a little dehydrated and he’s not even scheduled to start again until Sunday…in Philadelphia. Some of the marque matchups this weekend include White Sox/Indians, Tigers/Twins, and Braves/Reds. Safe to say that the AL Central and NL Wild Card races will become a bit clearer by Monday.

Women’s Professional Soccer: What, now that the World Cup is over you don’t care anymore? Unfortunate but certainly not unexpected.

view from Citi Field courtesy of @paulsidoti

 

32 Things We Learned While Not Thinking About the NFL Lockout

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If my twitter feed is correct, and Chris Mortensen is not intentionally misleading us all, then the NFL lockout is going to end on either Thursday or Friday. After roughly 131 days of modest suffering, a lot of us football fans have been able to dedicate much more space in our brains to other important pursuits. What follows is a quick list of 32 things, 32 being the # of NFL teams, we here at VMS learned while doing everything humanly possible to not look, listen, or touch anything having to do with either Roger Goodell or DeMaurice Smith.

#1 – how to properly restring a weed wacker.

#2 – that Rosie Larsen may or may not have been murdered.

#3 – and that we really don’t care anymore because we’re never ever ever going to watch another episode of The Killing on AMC.

#4 – to not just blindly trust the quality of a new show because it airs on the same network as Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and The Living Dead.

#5 – unless that network is HBO.

#6 – which in that case, check out Game of Thrones. Think Lord of the Rings with fewer hobbits and much more sex.

#7 – speaking of a royal family, we learned that Philippa is about to become a very popular name for newborn girls worldwide.

#8 – bridesmaids can wear white and wear it very well.

#9 – on the subject of politics, President Obama was in fact born in this country.

#10 – ignorance should not be construed as patriotism.

#11 – and if you are going to accuse somebody of something so potentially destructive you better have your facts straight. [Read more…]