LCS Notebook
Cold, Cash Affecting Attendance
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Sunday, October 18, 2009
NEW YORK, Oct. 17 -- Yankee Stadium was dotted by hundreds of empty seats during Friday night's Game 1 of the American League Championship Series -- something that would have seemed unfathomable during previous postseasons at the old Yankee Stadium, even under terrible weather conditions -- and plenty of tickets were available for Game 2 a few hours before game time Saturday night.
Game 1 was officially designated a sellout, as the Yankees said they sold all available tickets, even though the announced attendance of 49,688 was about 2,600 less than the stadium's official capacity.
At 5 p.m. Saturday -- about three hours before the first pitch of Game 2 -- a search for tickets on the team's official Web site found plenty of available options, including four seats together on the terrace level for $101 apiece.
The weather for Games 1 and 2 may have contributed to the unusually plentiful ticket availability, but critics of the Yankees' $1.5 billion stadium, which opened in April, have argued the Yankees priced out the average fan. The team sold out only seven games this season, including opening day.
Personal Catcher
With A.J. Burnett starting for the Yankees in Game 2, Burnett's preferred catcher, backup José Molina, was once again behind the plate, with starter Jorge Posada -- who is a better offensive player than Molina -- on the bench.
"Molina caught A.J. in the first round," Manager Joe Girardi said. "One of the things we talked about from Day One when we came into spring training was [that] sometimes you have to make some sacrifices. And our players have done that all year long."
Blanton Is the Choice
Within minutes of announcing Joe Blanton as his Game 4 starter, Philadelphia Manager Charlie Manuel took some time to explain his decision. But the point, more or less, was this: He could have picked anybody, such is Philadelphia's pitching depth.
Manuel on Saturday declared this to be "best starting pitching that we've had since I've been here," in part because its depth allows for him to mix and match. Manuel preferred Blanton for Game 4, because the right-hander's style counters that of Game 3 starter Cliff Lee, a left-hander.
Harlan reported from Philadelphia.
