As rumored a few weeks ago, the Cubs will play in the first two games at the new Yankee Stadium, two exhibition games the weekend before the regular season begins:
The Cubs and Yankees will play the first exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium on April 3 at 6:05 p.m. CT and April 4 at 12:05 p.m.
"The Cubs are thrilled to be the Yankees' first opponent in the new Yankee Stadium and are honored to take part in this historic event," said Cubs chairman Crane Kenney. "[Cubs manager] Lou Piniella and eight of our players had the honor to partake in All-Star Game festivities that helped say farewell to Yankee Stadium last summer, and we look forward to participating in the opening of the Yankees' new ballpark next spring."
While it's an honor to be so chosen, it's a lot of travel -- to go from Mesa on April 2, to New York the next day, play two games in less than 24 hours, then on to Houston for Opening Day.
0 recs | 66 comments
While this is kinda cool and a nice honor...
it’s not a good way to start the season by adding in two extra exhibition games, on top of the WBC. I don’t like this. Why do they have to do it right before the regular season starts? Can’t they do it in mid-March when exhibition games are supposed to be played?
kanderber - November 17, 2008
That'd be an even more difficult travel nightmare...
… not to mention the weather would be crappier in NYC in mid-March.
As it is, they could run into bad weather in NYC the first weekend of April.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
I bet both games end up rained out...
…just like that Cooperstown debacle back in May.
daver - November 17, 2008
That was in June. But speaking of Cooperstown....
they’ve decided what they’re going to do to replace the HoF Game:
Sounds like a fine idea to me.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
I know who can play
Sammy, Barry and Mark!! Just kidding. I think guys like Cal Ripken and Greg Maddux would be a huge draw and would be better than low minor league players they’ve had in the past.
Mordecai - November 17, 2008
No question about it.
If they do this on an annual basis, I’d definitely make plans to go back to Cooperstown sometime to see it.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Had a feeling I got the month wrong.
And, yeah, that does sound like a good idea – much more logical than dragging two ML teams off the beaten path of their designated schedules.
daver - November 18, 2008
Fun series
I just posted this (in a soon to be deleted fan post). I think its great. This is a prime time series that we as fans should really enjoy. For the past few years we’ve played games against cactus league opponents, be it in Vegas or Chase Field. I imagine we’ll see a lot of starters get an extra travel day, not playing the Cactus League finale. I also imagine we’ll see only the two starting pitchers scheduled to throw in NY actually make the trip.
dmlichte - November 17, 2008
That's the only way this makes sense...
… if you give the regulars the last day (Thursday 4/2) of the Cactus League off and let them take a whole day to travel to NYC (a four-plus hour flight).
And I agree, other than the two starters for those games, the rest of the pitchers for them will be minor leaguers.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
This may happen
I think that folks like Lee, Ramirez, et al will not play that Thursday. I’m not sure how travel logistics would work to send the big name players on one flight, then the Ronny Cedeno’s and Mike Fontenot’s of the world later. And as far as pitchers go, I’d bet that the three starters not pitching in NY will remain in AZ a few extra days, then will travel to Houston.
dmlichte - November 17, 2008
ISTR...
… that last March, the regulars played three innings on that Thursday, then left for Vegas. Of course, Phoenix to Vegas is less than an hour’s flight, as compared to four-plus hours and three time zones to NYC.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Here's hoping ticket pricess won't be completely astronomical
This would be a fun one, I think, for fans in general but particularly for me, as I’ve been to a lot of games at the old Yankee Stadium but don’t get to see the Cubs play very often, and I live pretty close to Yankee Stadium.
OTOH, it’s not clear if many of the regulars will play, and ticket prices could go pretty high.
(I, like dmlichte, also just posted, in an already-deleted FanPost.)
John Q Freejazz - November 17, 2008
taking on the mets?
I wonder what degree of the Yankees getting the Cubs to play this series is a shot at the Mets, attempting to retain their dominance. I imagine that the Mets will also have exhibition games that weekend. Teams opening a new stadium tend to schedule games to have a dry run and then spend the next week or two dealing with any ballpark issues. IMO, the only way that the Mets can schedule an opening exhibition series that is as compelling is if they can get the Red Sox to play them,
dmlichte - November 17, 2008
You might be right
Good thinking. It will be interesting to see what the Mets do.
John Q Freejazz - November 17, 2008
well if the Mets had any balls...
they’d bring the Red Sox in.
And if they had even bigger balls…
they’d bring in Tampa Bay.
Take that, George!
ballhawk - November 17, 2008
Red Sox...
… is the only thing that could come close to competing with Cubs-Yankees. Tampa Bay? I get the Steinbrenner tie to Tampa but I don’t see a Rays-Mets match-up drawing a ton of interest. They’d be better off going after the Phillies, Braves or some of the other east coast AL teams.
dmlichte - November 17, 2008
yea, depending on ticket prices, I'd be willing to make the 2-2.5 hr trip to see a game
philadelphiacub - November 17, 2008
I live here
but unless there are available bleacher seat for $20 or less I will skip it..
Doggie Stalker - November 18, 2008
I would think there would be.
They’re not going to charge MORE than regular season prices. IIRC the new Yankee Stadium bleachers will continue to be $12. If the games sell out, there will be plenty of tickets on the street if the weather is cold.
Al Yellon - November 18, 2008
Ok I'm in
Even if I do plan to be at Spring Training the week before.
Doggie Stalker - November 18, 2008
Thanks to the two of you for posting...
… at almost precisely the same time I did.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
This doesn't read quite right.
It reads like I’m being snarky, and that wasn’t my intention.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
jerk store called
cubswynn - November 17, 2008
...and they're all out of you!
daver - November 17, 2008
Al, maybe you remember the year....
…but I remember going to an exhibition game in Wrigley the day before the season started against Milwaukee (? when they were still in the AL). Unseasonably warm day for the first of April. 1990 or so?
Anyway, I’m surprised they don’t do more of this type of stuff. Weather permitting, of course.
carmen_fanzone - November 17, 2008
1991 was the year.
It was 85 degrees that day (a Saturday). Two days later, Opening Day, it was 40 and drizzling.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Cool, thanks!
Sat in the left-center field bleachers that day. Good times.
PS: You have one helluva memory. LOL.
carmen_fanzone - November 17, 2008
LOL
That one, I remember well. That kind of weather in early April doesn’t happen very often!
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
I think that Lou, DeRo, and Marquis might be happy about this.
I seriously doubt that anyone else will be. Isn’t the idea of the exhibition season to prepare for the regular season? Why make everyone take two four-hour plane flights just so that the Yankees can fill their coffers? What if they make the trip and the games are rained out — do they still get a guarantee?
I at least hope that the guys get frequent flier miles and first class meals. The Yankees could have invited the world champion Phillies who train in Florida and open at home a mere 90 miles away.
DeRoMyHero - November 17, 2008
I'm tellin' ya, folks...
…Roy Oswalt is going to no-hit the exhausted Cubs on opening day and our 2009 Boys In Blue will spend the rest of the season protesting. Oh, what an ignominious spectacle these exhibition games shall be.
daver - November 17, 2008
hilarious
philadelphiacub - November 17, 2008
That will only happen if...
… the game is played in Milwaukee!
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
The Cubs don't protest games.
The White Sox do. Dadgumit. (Please tell me someone gets this reference)
kanderber - November 17, 2008
got it
Shanghai Badger - November 17, 2008
LMAO
Got it. That had to be one of Hawkeroo’s most embarrassing moments.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Definitely got it.
That was an unforgettable Hawk “highlight.”
daver - November 18, 2008
I agree with this.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Speaking of exhibition games...
I don’t know if this has been mentioned here (I haven’t been checking as much since the season ended so badly), but the Cubs are going to be playing at least one game in Las Vegas before the season starts. I’m pretty sure it will be a Friday-Saturday thing again. This year it will be quite early; I want to say sometime in the first week of March.
Sorry if this is old news.
Zachary - November 17, 2008
Do you have any links or info that would corroborate this?
Because there is nothing on the Las Vegas 51’s website about this… and they’d be the hosts, and if this is happening, they’d normally have announced it by now.
Unless you have a link or other source for this, I’d say you’re wrong.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
I don't have a link, but I have a source
You can choose to reject this info since I have no way of proving it, but I work with a guy who does security at Cashman Field. He knows I’m a big Cubs fan, and a couple weeks ago he told me that there will be two “Major League Weekends” in Las Vegas this year. I’m fairly certain he said it would be Cubs-Mariners again, and that it would be in early March. There will be two different teams playing at Cashman Field right at the end of spring training. Last year he let me know about the Cubs dates before it was officially announced anywhere.
I can ask him about it tomorrow and then report the specific dates.
Zachary - November 17, 2008
I'd appreciate that.
If you can email them to me in addition to posting, I’d appreciate that as well.
Al Yellon - November 17, 2008
Really though,
this reminds me of going to Japan to play. Nice trip, neat experience, but what does it do for your ball club? Nothin. The negatives outweigh the positives. The Vegas thing wasn’t bad. Playing the D’Backs in Phoenix for an exhibition was the best.
mrcubsfan - November 17, 2008
I think this is utterly pointless
bren - November 17, 2008
Complaining
This is an awful lot of complaining for adding in about 4 hours of flying time for the players total. The flight to New York will be about 3 hours longer but the flight to Houston will only be about 1 hour longer. With the game starting at 12:05 Central, the team should be in Houston by 9 or 10PM. Then they have a full day off in Houston and the game doesn’t start until the the next day at 7:05. Last year they probably got to Chicago at about the same time, had a day off and had to start at 1:20. I just can’t figure out for the life of me how this could possibly affect the team.
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Two extra games...
on top of a 162 game season. You don’t see how these meaningless games could have an effect? What it Ramirez, Soto, etc. gets hurt and misses the first half of the season?
kanderber - November 18, 2008
Assuming...
…that they still play the same number of spring games. I was guessing these were in lieu of the Vegas games or if they still play the Vegas games, then those are in lieu of two regular spring training games. I don’t think we know defiinitively that they’re playing 2 extra games. The schedule is different this year but usually they only have one off day during spring training. So if they are playing 2 extra games then they’d be squeezed in somewhere on the spring training schedule. So big deal, just play the minor leaguers
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Any idea why...
…the Yankees decided to ask the Cubs? They’re not exactly an obvious / natural pairing. They’re both historic teams, but there are several of those, including some that are more natural opponents to the Yankees. Maybe it’s that it’s the two historic teams with the biggest fan bases? And ratings are king… (though really, it’s the opening of a new stadium for the Yankees. I’m pretty sure ratings wouldn’t be an issue no matter what).
The other connection I can think of is that Ruth’s called shot was (of course) against the Cubs, so maybe it’s a way of hinting at the Ruth Era and tying it to the new ballpark…
Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone heard an official explanation of how it all came about. Obviously there are reasons. But when I first heard it, my first reaction wasn’t “Oh, cool.” It was more of a “Huh? Why?”.
CubsWin!Oregon - November 18, 2008
Because there are a lot of Cubs fans nationwide.
Al Yellon - November 18, 2008
Yeah
I understand that of course. But they aren’t the only team with a national fan base.
I guess the main answer is “because they did.” …Anyway, I was just wondering.
CubsWin!Oregon - November 18, 2008
But what others could they have had?
They wouldn’t have done the Red Sox. The Dodgers might have been an interesting choice, but LA is always committed to the “Freeway Series” with the Angels the weekend before the season starts.
Can’t think of too many others with that much of a national following.
Al Yellon - November 18, 2008
Good points...
The Dodgers were the ones that I thought were most intriguing. Didn’t realize they had the Freeway Series. The other teams with big national followings are The Braves, Red Sox (non-starter), Tigers, and vile turds from St. Louis. Giants would also have been interesting, history-wise.
Anyway, I guess given that, maybe the Cubs do make the most sense from a marketing standpoint. Though I think the Dodgers/Giants are more interesting from a history standpoint.
CubsWin!Oregon - November 18, 2008
Ratings...
…are always an issue. They essentially have cash value. If NY played an AL team, there would be no particular draw other than it’s the first game. Otherwise you’d rather see a regular season game. But you can’t normally see this game in the regular season. It might even be promoted as a potential World Series preview. Some mention of curses would be obligatory by ESPN. But yeah, I’m thinking ratings would be really high.
I think most teams play teams from the other League in these exhibition games. I know the Astros played 2 home games against the Tigers last year.
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Lou Piniella being the Cubs manager and a former Yankee player and manager
philadelphiacub - November 18, 2008
That's part of it, for sure.
OTOH, Joe Torre is also a former Yankee manager. But, as I said, the Dodgers are tied up with the Freeway Series every year with the Angels.
Al Yellon - November 18, 2008
You mean the Yankees are actually
Admitting Joe Torre was a member of their organization?
sanantonecub - November 18, 2008
I didn't say they did...
… I just said that it’s a fact.
Al Yellon - November 18, 2008
Assuming...
…that they still play the same number of spring games. I was guessing these were in lieu of the Vegas games or if they still play the Vegas games, then those are in lieu of two regular spring training games. I don’t think we know defiinitively that they’re playing 2 extra games. The schedule is different this year but usually they only have off day during spring training. So if they are playing 2 extra games then they’d be squeezed in somewhere on the spring training schedule. So big deal, just play the minor leaguers.
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Response to above
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Cubs Spring Training Schedule (Partial)
If anyone hasn’t already seen this…..
TXCub - November 18, 2008
Is there supposed to be a link here?
daver - November 18, 2008
Yeah but I screwed it up....
….let me try again.
http://springtrainingonline.com/teams/chicago_cubs_4.htm
TXCub - November 18, 2008
As an all-american damnyankee hater....
I’m proud that we’ll be able to open the house that George built with two straight yankee losses….. even if it never goes in the books.
sanantonecub - November 18, 2008
Nice ploy by Steinbrenner and Co. to get as many fans in "New" Yankee stadium as they can to pay for this behemoth!
Exorbitant ticket prices & federally funded municipal bonds to build this temple to the baseball gods! Puh-lease!
I’m interested in seeing how the Cubby’s fan base travels to New York.
As for the players traveling…Cowboy the $!%@ up and play ball! This economy is still gonna be in the $hitter come baseball season and I don’t want to hear any crying from the players about traveling when they get all of this money to play a sport.
LOUtheMETandNATSfan - November 18, 2008
CUBS FAN BASE
Well I don’t know alot of Cubs Fans that can even think about traveling to New york . The prices for Hotel and travel are bad enough . But then the $ 14.95 cheeseburger and fries at the area restaurants are enough to say stay away ….we will go to Mesa but won’t even consider NYC….
cubs north - November 18, 2008
Cubs are doing this for one reason
$$$
I wonder what the Cubs Organization gets for these 2 games
parrotinct - November 19, 2008
a "how-to" video from the yankees on how to get to the World Series?
You set yourself up for that one dude.
LOUtheMETandNATSfan - November 19, 2008
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