With a lot of teams 100 games into the season, it’s starting to get clearer who is in contention for the American League Most Valuable Player award.
All of these players come from winning teams, and most come from teams that are in playoff contention.
Just Missed: Torii Hunter (Los Angeles Angels) and Vernon Wells (Toronto Blue Jays).
The Setting: A Cleveland Indians publicist welcomes the sparsely scattered media to an Indians press conference. The club’s owner, Larry Dolan, walks out and addresses them.
“Good afternoon, everybody. I called this press conference today to address the faithful fans of the Cleveland Indians.”
“We are currently in the midst of another disappointing season, sitting in last place in the division and nearly 20 games from our rivals, The Detroit Tigers, and current division leaders, the Chicago White Sox.”
“As a result of our on-field failings the past few seasons, our attendance has declined steadily since 2007. We currently risk averaging less than 20,000 fans per game for the first time since 1992, back when the team still called Cleveland Municipal Stadium home.”
“Contrary to popular belief, I want the Indians organization to be as successful as you do. I can only hope to someday return to the prominence we experienced in the mid- and late-1990’s, where we became the first Major League ballclub to sell out before the season even started.”
And that is why we’re here today.
I recently found myself out on Ontario Avenue when my phone rang. I answered and after about a minute of conversation, the phone call was lost. This has in fact happened on several occasions with my new iPhone 4 from AT&T.
Frustrated once again, I reached my office in Progressive Field and turned on the news. Coincidentally at that exact time, I caught a news story on the newest version of the iPhone. Dropped calls have become a common complaint amongst many consumers.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, announced a press conference to address this issue. But alas, I found out that there was a way to fix this problem in a more frugal manner (which, contrary to what some fans want to say, is not a euphemism I use for “cheap”).
Apparently, if you stick a small piece of duct tape to the lower left side of the phone, it will fix the problem of inadvertently disrupting the signal with the new antenna.
That’s why it surprised me that Steve Jobs wanted to spend money when I all need to do is find some duct tape. That’s like keeping a promising pitcher who’ll just ask for more money when his contract is up.
So for you Cleveland Indians fans, here is what I propose to fix our attendance issues: “Tribe Tape.”
A single 6-inch piece of duct tape (choose between red, blue or white) bearing the logo of your favorite team! Choose between Chief Wahoo, the fashionable cursive Indian “I,” or a throwback logo.
This will be handed to you at the gate, at which time you should immediately find your seat. Once there, place “Tribe Tape” over both of your eyes, sit back, and enjoy Cleveland Indians baseball again!
I’m sure some of you are thinking that there is a better solution; this was my exact thought when I heard about using duct tape on my $300 iPhone.
However, you won’t realize the benefits until you try.
Just think: you no longer have to feel constrained by knowing the score, who’s up, or which inning it is. In fact, our public address announcer won’t even use player or team names when colorfully describing the action to you!
Anyway, your eyesight is just one of the five senses you can use at the ballpark. Plus, I saw this special on the Discovery Channel once where if you take away one of your senses, it enhances the other four to animal-like capabilities.
By June of every season, the crack of the bat will pop louder in your ears. The National Anthem and seventh inning stretch will resonate like an opera house. The hot dogs will taste juicier.
The smell of peanuts and cotton candy will permeate through the air to tickle your nose. And the frosty cold beer in your hand will feel like you’re gripping an icicle.
“Tribe Tape” won’t take away from the game. No, no: it will actually intensify your baseball and Indians experience, all without having to witness the blooper reel that is our team.
Oh, before I forget — for you special fans brave enough to sit in foul-ball territory, a replica Indians helmet garnished with a softball facemask will be waiting for you in your seat to prevent any visits to the dentist after your family outing to the ballpark.
This, however, needs to be returned to the seat upon the game’s completion. We’re not made out of money like some companies, eh, Apple?
But wait, there’s more! “Tribe Tape” will not only be to your benefit at the ballpark, but can allow you to keep that oblivious feeling at home.
The next time you open up the sports page at the kitchen table, just apply “Tribe Tape” to the whole American League Central standings!
And as a precautionary measure, I’d also like to suggest purchasing an additional piece of “Tribe Tape” for a the low cost of $39.95 to apply over the “trades and transactions” portion of your sports page.
That way, we will no longer crush your hopes and dreams during the trade deadline again!
So you see, Tribe fans, it will be okay to purchase tickets for the whole family for a Cleveland Indians game again.
If duct tape can fix my $300 phone or affix my rear light to my car, then it’s good enough to fix our team! We don’t need to make like Steve Jobs and pour money into a unfortunate dealing.
You can come to the games without having to worry about whether you’ll see a catastrophe of a game. Simply apply “Tribe Tape” and cheer on the Indians like it’s 1995!
And before I close, just in case anyone from the Pittsburgh Pirates or Baltimore Orioles is watching, “Tribe Tape” is a patent-pending product.
Thank you for your time. It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame! Go Tribe!
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Over the past week or so, SeatGeek has worked on our version of a MLB midseason report—ticket style. We took a comprehensive look at how each team’s ticket sales on the secondary market have been, and we power-ranked each team based on the transaction prices for tickets for each team. Here’s links to what we’ve done:
As the second half of the season commences, we wanted to look at the top 15 games from this point on, as determined by the highest average transaction price for tickets for the game. Not surprisingly, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are involved in almost every one of the top games for the second half of 2010.
Each game of the Red Sox last series in New York at Yankee Stadium (from September 24 – September 26) and the Yankees last series in Boston at Fenway Park (from October 1 – October 3) is included in the top fifteen, as well. Also, every game in the top fifteen takes place between teams in the American League.
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Terror gripped Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas when a fan fell 30 feet from the upper deck while trying to catch a Nelson Cruz foul ball Tuesday night.
Eyewitness accounts of the fall, which was not caught on video, say the middle-aged Texas fan fell from the Club Concourse section. As he fell, he tried to grip the railing of the Suite Section one level down before finally landing on the field level section below.
Graphic evidence of how horrific the site was for fans, players, umpires and announcers can be seen without ever seeing the fan fall.
Click here to see a video showing the reaction of the umpire and some of the players on MLB.com
Listen to the chilling audio account here. Four different calls—all equally disturbing.
Much of the broadcast video has already been removed from YouTube and other web sources (including the original link from this story) as MLB has been using their Copyright leverage to keep this situation as under wraps as possible.
Home plate umpire Chris Guccione reacted in such a visceral way to seeing the fan fall—more violently than I’ve ever seen an official react to anything before—that it is hard to see how he could refocus and call a game after that.
Two Cleveland Indians players, left fielder Trevor Crowe and shortstop Jason Donald, immediately dropped to the ground and appeared to be praying for the fallen fan.
Vladimir Guerrero and Cruz looked on with stunned disbelief in their eyes.
Fans were crying and even the announcers of both teams had trouble describing the spectacle while their voices began to tremble.
The game was stopped for 16 minutes while emergency workers were able to take the fan out on a stretcher.
After the game resumed, the stadium resembled a mausoleum. You could hear a pin drop.
Even with the hometown Rangers pounding the Indians 12-1, the stunned Rangers faithful could not bring themselves to cheer.
Which raises the question, should this game have continued at all under these circumstances?
Remember, little kids are in the crowd—witnessing a tragedy that even grown men seemed to be having trouble digesting.
It seems like if games can be postponed due to rain, they can certainly be postponed do to traumatic events such as these. The ensuing silence from the Rangers fans seemed to indicate they would have been okay with that.
I am just wondering how umpires and players are supposed to settle in and forget what they just saw and play good baseball. This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill adversity that all athletes are expected to face and overcome.
They had to have been thinking that they just witnessed a man die.
These are the times when you have to acknowledge that this is all just entertainment and look at the big picture. Did MLB really think the fans that remained were going to be entertained after that?
From the sound of the crowd, they were far from it. If the scoreboard was any indication, it seems as though the players lost their focus as well.
As of Wednesday morning, there is no word as to the condition of the fan that fell, other than he was able to move all of his extremities. MLB and the Texas Rangers are continuing to be highly cautious on how they release information regarding this story.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
L.A. Angels ace Jered Weaver was officially named to the American League All-Star team this afternoon, according to MLB.com and confirmed by the Angels.
Weaver will be replacing New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia, who manager Joe Girardi says will not be able to pitch due to the way their rotation schedule is playing out.
Weaver will probably not be able to pitch for the same reason, unless tonight’s game against the Chicago White Sox is postponed. The game is currently in a 45-minute rain delay.
Weaver (8-3, 2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), was a controversial exclusion from the squad. He currently leads both leagues in strikeouts and quality starts.
Although it doesn’t look like he is going to get to play, the move would at least allow Weaver to be acknowledged in front of his hometown fans as an All-Star. The Midsummer Classic will be played in Anaheim.
This will be the 27-year-old righthander’s first All-Star appearance.
Weaver has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons at .663.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
At the end of June, SeatGeek released their MLB power rankings ticket price edition. In that article we take a look at how each teams’ tickets were transacting on the secondary market, and we promised a more comprehensive report to come. Throughout this week, up to the All-Star break, we will be giving you those updates, division by division.
For each division, we are going to share the top ten games per division, as determined by average transaction price on the secondary market, as well as the top three games for each team in the division.
We are beginning this midseason evaluation with the American League Eastern Division, taking a look at ticket sales for the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, and Baltimore Orioles.
As noted in the power rankings, Red Sox tickets are currently transacting at the highest average on the secondary market, despite that the Yankees have the best record in baseball. The Yankees average ticket transactions are a close third.
As expected, the Red Sox top three games are more expensive than anyone else’s top three games. Following the Sox are the Yankees, Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles, respectively.
It is also not surprising that Yankees vs. Red Sox games make up most of the top ten games for the AL East. Given the rivalry, as well as the success of both teams, we have come to expect that tickets for their games, and especially their games against each other will be quite a bit more expensive on the secondary ticket market.
Interestingly, out of the top ten games for the AL East, half have occurred before the All-Star break, whereas the other half have yet to occur yet. Undoubtedly, there are numerous can’t miss events that are happening in the future that fans need to grab their tickets for now.
One of the most notable events is the series between the Yankees and Red Sox that takes place from October 1st to October 3rd in Boston. Not only is it the last Yankees-Red Sox matchup in the season, but it’s also the last series of the season. Both teams expect to be in a playoff race come October, and those last games should be exciting. As a result, two of the three games are in the top ten for the AL East, and as a whole, the series’ average transaction prices is $157.
Opening Day was popular on the secondary market, as well. Red Sox tickets for the season and home opener against the Yankees on April 4 transacted at $153, while tickets for the Yankees’ home opener on April 13 were $140. Interestingly, for the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles, fans were generally willing to pay more for to see the Yankees than the Red Sox, despite that Red Sox tickets at Fenway Park transacted for the most in the MLB.
Be sure to check back with SeatGeek for the rest of our MLB midseason reports. Next up is the American League Central.
As always, if there are any questions, feel free to email justin@seatgeek.com, and don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek.
This article is also featured on SeatGeek Blog
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Fun fact: Who has the best winning percentage of any pitcher in baseball over the past five seasons?
Here’s a hint. It’s not C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Johan Santana, Josh Beckett or any of the other pitchers the East Coast writing establishment loves to go on endlessly about.
It’s Jered Weaver at .663.
Weaver has clearly taken his game to another level in the absence of former Angels ace John Lackey, and has managed to single-handedly carry his team through a horrific stretch in the process.
The one constant for the Angels in 2010 has been quality starts by Weaver—a stat that he leads all of MLB in with 14, along with fellow West Coast All-Star snub Felix Hernandez.
At a time when the rest of the Angels rotation and bullpen were ranked at the bottom of the league in every category, Weaver kept them afloat.
At a time when his team had the worst batting average in baseball and gave him one of the lowest run support totals in the league, Weaver managed to keep his team in games and win most of them.
Weaver should not only be in the conversation for the Cy Young, but the MVP as well.
Weaver also:
The opposition is hitting .217 against him. Only Jon Lester and Colby Lewis (yet another snubbed West Coast pitcher) were better.
It is hard to be any more consistent than giving up two or less runs in 12 of your 17 starts, as the 27-year-old has done this season.
If it weren’t for Weaver, the Angels might very well be in the Seattle Mariners’ shoes right now—sellers at the trade deadline, instead of just 3.5 games out of the AL West.
Weaver doesn’t have a 100-mph, blow-you-away fastball. In fact, at times it is hard to see how he gets anyone out with a fastball that barely hits 90 mph.
The Simi Valley High School product simply knows how to pitch.
The game hasn’t seen a pitcher this crafty since Greg Maddux. Weaver is living proof that changing speeds and having control in the zone are just as important as having good “stuff.”
His ability to ring up batters through deception probably doesn’t get him noticed as much as hurlers with electric pitches like Sabathia. However, it’s his results that are electric and undeniable to anyone with an ounce of objectivity.
While most East Coast fans and writers are nestled in their beds or writing on deadline, Weaver will continue to take to the mound for his 10:05 EST starts and do his thing.
Hopefully, the outrage over Weaver’s failure to make the All-Star squad will help these misguided souls to discover this new invention called TiVo.
A whole world of baseball exists on the West Coast of your continent, East Coast homers. A world that extends beyond the former Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.
If the East Coast writers manage to discover this world in time, and Weaver continues to demonstrate the consistency he has shown throughout his entire career—maybe, just maybe—Weaver can have his vindication at the end of the year in the form of a Cy Young Award.
Until then, the Angels, the team that had 100 wins last season.
The team that is the current three-time defending champions of the West.
The team that is hosting the Midsummer Classic, will have to settle for its hometown fans cheering for one player (Torii Hunter), as he takes to the field All-Star Weekend.
Enjoy your game, East Coast.
The West Coast fans are glad we could provide you with a neutral site on which to play it.
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Yet another All-Star game is upon us, which means lots of snubs, due in large part to the ESPN voters who feel no other teams exist, but the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
How many times do Steve Berthiaume and Chris Berman get to vote?
All this for a game that has consequence on the MLB World Series for some reason.
Here is a non-biased view of who should make the team.
The American League East is the best division in baseball—clearly the most talented in the MLB today by far. But only two teams from each division can make the playoffs, so who will it be?
Let’s take a look at who will finish where (and why they will finish there) between the Rays, Red Sox, and Yankees. Because let’s be honest: Baltimore or Toronto, there is always next year.
In third place and missing the playoffs:
Tampa Bay Rays
Let’s look at Tampa. They started off the season playing .800 ball, and people were talking about them playing in the World Series. It is not April anymore, and now, still, Tampa is very close to the top of the division. Their problem?
They play in the division with the two best teams in baseball.
Starting Pitching —Above Average. Looking at their starters, this is a strength for Tampa, as James Shields, Matt Garza, and David Price could be key starters for them as they push forward.
Bullpen —Average. This could really hurt Tampa, as they really do not have a shut-down guy before Rafael Soriano. So we do not really know what the game could hold for Tampa if the starter does not go seven.
Offense —Average. Good offensive team, but they still have holes in their lineup which they need to fix. They do not have a hitting catcher. Carlos Pena is batting .199 and BJ Upton acts like he does not even want to be on the team. It seems like the Rays don’t even get a hit every other week.
Coaching —Above Average. Joe Maddon and his staff are one of the best in baseball and know how to run a team.
What They Need at the Deadline —At bat, they need somebody to come off the bench or maybe a catcher that does not hit like a little leaguer.
Finishing in second place, making the playoffs, and winning the wild card:
Boston Red Sox
Let’s take a look at the Sox. They are beat up right now with injuries to both catchers, a starter, and their best player in Dustin Pedroia. But this is a team with veterans that knows how to get the job done when coming to the finish line. That is why Boston will take the wild card.
Starting Pitching —Above Average. Boston’s starting pitching is a real strength for this team and could be the reason why they are going to the playoffs as wild card winners.
Bullpen —Below Average. There is one big problem for Boston: their pen. Fans cringe when Jonathon Papelbon comes into the game. His ability to close it out is going down. And after Papelbon, who is next?
Offense— Average. Even with injuries and some known defensive players, Boston still manages to score runs when they need them—the most in the game of baseball.
Coaching —Above Average. Tito Francona and his staff are one of the best in the game, and they maybe have the best pitching coach in John Farrell.
What They Need at the Deadline —They could use another bat, but most importantly, another arm for the pen. They also need a back-end starter for the rotation, which is hit with injuries to Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz.
Now—taking the division—your AL East Champions are…who else but the:
New York Yankees
Arguably the best team in baseball, the Yankees are looking to repeat a championship run and are looking like the favorite for the World Series. But not all coming easy. Not really hit by many injuries—but rather by disappointments.
Starting Pitching —Best in baseball. The best pitching rotation in the game today is in New York. Without looking at Burnett and his pitiful run he is on, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, and Andy Pettitte combine for a record of 29-7. They should all be on the AL all-star team.
Bullpen —Below Average. Outside of the greatest closer of all time, Mariano Rivera, the rest of the Yankees’ bullpen is a joke. Joba is looking like a minor league pitcher when he is in the game, and their next go to guy is…Chan Ho Park.
Offense— Above Average. The Yankees are starting to get back some key bats in their lineup like Tex and A-Rod, but they still badly need someone off the bench. You cannot count on Colin Curtis and Chad Huffman in October, and Nick Johnson is somewhere in the Bahamas.
Coaching— Average. Joe Girardi over-manages the game too much, but they’ve got very good coaches in Kevin Long and Dave Eiland.
What They Need at the Deadline —They need a bat off the bench and maybe two solid middle relief pitchers who can solidify their pen if they are to make another World Series run.
So there is the AL East in a nutshell. It should be one second half of baseball to remember.
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The grades are in as we approach the halfway mark of the 2010 season.
What teams have lived up to the hype in the American League West, and which have laid an egg and why?
Here is a team-by-team breakdown recapping the first 81 games (almost), and what to watch for in the second half.
Who will be the movers and shakers in the second half?
What moves should teams make going forward?
Which will be buyers and sellers at the trade deadline?
Who is in the running for individual awards?
Who are the biggest disappointments and surprises?
Who will ultimately win the division, and who will fade into the abyss?