Tag Archives: MLB

Image

April 6th Dbacks Game All You Can Eat Seats Review About As Good As Greinkie’s Start

I went to a day baseball game yesterday because well the tickets were cheap and what else was I going to do at 1pm on a Wednesday. I bought a ticket to the all you can section at Chase field from my favorite third party ticket site Stubhub.

I bought my tickets with a credit I received from Stubhub back during the football season for some Chiefs tickets that the seller never provided to me. The ticket was like $24 bucks with fees but I only had a few bucks of real cash in my seat.

photo-2I could see by the seating map that the Dbacks had taken the crappier club seats by the foul pole and added food to make them feel like a better deal. I have sat at many stadiums in all you can eat sections and the Dbacks section was the worse one yet to date and that includes minor league teams. The section is three sections in the club level by the foul pole. So, your are a ways away from the field and the majority of the action. The area is a nice wide area and not crowded like some all you can eat sections. There is a buffet serving area where they had two steamer trays of cheap hotdogs, popcorn, peanuts and two flavors of lays (original and bbq). There was a fridge with mini bottles of water and several pepsi soda fountains with small cups. When I say cheap hotdogs I mean those small $.98 a package dogs you gets on sale fourth of July weekend. A quick trip hotdog is a 100x better dog than the ones in this section. Upgrading the hot dog in this section to a Nathan’s dog or some kind of brat or sausage would be a good idea. Nachos which are cheap would be another good idea.

The offering is not horrible but it is the worst selection of food I have ever experienced in a section like this at any level of pro baseball. If you look at the Springfield Cardinals Red Bird Roost section at the AA park the hotdogs are better, there are nachos, salad, popcorn, some kind of sweet and a ton of toppings for your dogs, chips, and nachos. It has been awhile since I was in Springfield but I think there was even a second type of food other than hot dogs. If you look at the big birds in Saint Louis the all you can eat sections include Bud products, hot dogs, sausages, peppers, nachos, soda, chips, and in some sections even BBQ, not bbq chips but BBQ.

The Dbacks in typical Dback fashion do the very least possible to say they have something and then wonder why people don’t show up to support the home team. The lack luster offerings were not a huge concern to me since I paid only a few bucks for my ticket but the cherry on top of the cheapskate pie came when I went back up to get a drink at the bottom of the 7th inning to discover that not only was all the food gone but they had turned off the soda fountains. I can understand not severing hot food all the way to the end of the game but turing off the soda fountain that takes zero employees to run is just a cheap dick move. I say this because soda is basically free these days and the Dbacks didn’t even bother to tell you that they were cutting the drinks in the 7th before they did it. There was not a sign that said fill up before the 7th  because we are cheap and are shutting this all down. There wasn’t an usher that came by and said hey you four people in this whole section if you want a refill go get it now. Nope they just let all of us walk up push our cups to the fountain and get nothing. I did this and went to another fountain and nothing. I watched a lady at another do the same and look at me like is yours broken too.

April 6, 2016“>

 

The fact that they charge extra for these seats and then can’t bother to tell you you only get 6 innings of 8oz soda just rubbed me the wrong way so I tweeted the team account on twitter and I received a reply that it is the teams policy that they stop all concessions at the 7th inning. So, I guess I was to go through the team policy manual before buying tickets.

When they say end of the 7th they mean as soon as the ball hits the guys glove because players were still running off the field when went for my refill.

The Dbacks say they need a new stadium but what I really think they need is someone in charge that actually knows what the hell they are doing. If you want to be cheap and cut off the drinks in the free section in the 7th then by all means its your party go for but put up a sign that lets the people sitting there know what rules you are playing by instead of letting ten people get up from their seats to discover a broken soda machine. All you are doing is pissing people off and leaving a bad taste in peoples mouths right before they leave the game.

A soda fountain takes all of two seconds to shut down, telling the people in the section takes two minutes, printing a sign for each soda machine that will hang up all year takes a minute, but nope you can’t be bothered to do that because why? You are saving a penny but missing out on thousands by pissing people off.

There are a ton of options for your entertainment dollar in Phoenix and so far you are only pushing me to spend my dollars someplace else.

In review I give this section  ** out of *****

I would say if you can pick these seats up on the cheap on stubhub then by all means get them fill up four extra sodas for the kids and yourself in the 5th and hope that sucker doesn’t go extra innings. I would not recommend buying these seats at face value from the team. In my opinion there is little to no value in these seats do to the lack of options and the quality of options that they do provide for the 2/3 of a game they provide them.

You would be better off buying an outfield seat and a drink and taking the light rail down to pizza people’s pub after the game. All you can eat seats should feel like you are stealing not like you are getting held up, but what do I know I only go to a ton of baseball games all over the country and actually pay for my seats so why listen to me Dbacks

Major League Baseball Has Two Big Problems. Here Is A Fix For One Of Them

Major League Baseball has two major problems. The first is the draft and the second is the Qualifying Offer system. We can tackle how to fix the draft on a different day, today we focus on the flawed system of record setting numbers of Qualifying Offers season after season.
Continue reading

Image

Cueto To Royals Now What KC

rally ribsMy Kansas City Royals pushed the go for it button today by trading for ace pitcher Johnny Cueto. I wrote a few days ago I didn’t think the Royals would be able to get Cueto because I thought he would command a much larger return than Finnegan, Reed, and Lamb.

Cueto was not the top pitcher on my list of trade targets but for what the team gave up I am happy with the deal. The only real issue I have with the deal is that all three guys are lefties. Lefties are always a more valuable asset than right handers but if you told me before today that a package of Finnegan, Reed, and Lamb would bring back an ace I would have said I doubt it.

The deadline is 5 days away which means the Royals still have a ton of time to ad some more pieces. I think the Royals will try and be aggressive because of two things. The first is that we didn’t give up a ton in the Cueto deal. The top prospects are still there in the system to be moved if the right deal comes together. Two I think the trade market for pitchers is not nearly as strong as the Royals thought it would be two weeks ago.

I think the Royals could use a bat and an infield bench type guy but I honestly don’t know if it is a pressing need. Gordon will hopefully be back in a month, Orlando has been playing well, Dyson isn’t to shabby either, and you have Gore for speed again if needed. Oh, and Rios is starting to hit a little better. Jay Bruce was the guy I thought we would go after and since I doubt that deal didn’t get done with Cueto today it is safe to say it won’t happen by Friday. Upton I think will cost too much $$$ for what he is worth. I think if you are willing to spend another 6-10 million on a piece before the deadline another stud pitcher is the place to look.

Hamels is rumored to be top the list for the Rangers and the Dodgers but what if the Royals sit around another day or two looking around at Hamels, Gray, Sale, or any other ace like players locked up for a few years and say fuck it lets go with a godfather offer get the guy this year and if all else fails we can trade in this winter or next year at the deadline. This is by far the ballsiest way of thinking but it could work. I know Sale and Gray are said to be not on the market but a big enough offer could get the deal done, get you a World Series ring, and you can restock the farm in a year. Hamels would probably be the cheapest in prospects because he is on the market currently. Sale being in the division is more or less a pipe dream but never the less it would be worth a call if you are ready to pull the trigger on a whopper of a deal. Gray is the best option for this wild man trade idea. He is good, he is cheaper, he is in Oakland and Billy likes to get creative and be ballsy.

The next option is to go after yet another rental pitcher with Price, Latos, Haren, and Jeff S..youspellit..ja all will cost you less than the 3 above but there is no chance of getting any prospects back. It is World Series or bust with another large chunk of the farm dying.

I personally like both ideas. I think this is the year to cash in the chips before all of the young talent we have becomes way too pricey to keep.

The last option is my least favorite not because of the player but because of the money. James Shields could be brought back into the clubhouse he took to the World Series last year but the Padres overpaid him in my mind and did the contract in the wrong order. His salary goes up each year after this year to $2o millionish each year. The $63 million owed to him is a ton for a guy that is getting older but you know he would fit in the clubhouse well. I think the Shields option is only viable if the Padres are willing to eat a $15-20 million of the deal or if they are willing to take 40 cents on the dollar in prospects and throw in an Upton or infielder.

The final what the fuck trade idea. Craig Kimbrel.

The Royals go will a pennant by bullpen and get Kimbrel. This won’t happen but could you image if it did?

Herrera, Davis, Holland, Kimbrel

Need I say more? You get 5 innings then NO RUNS FOR YOU!

Image

Trade Deadline Ideas

The trade deadline is fast approaching for all of baseball. Like most fans I have no idea where anyone is going to end up. I also am probably selling too short on many players in hopes my team the Royals can add something big. Now with all of that being said lets talk about what might happen.

Cole Hamels  – I do not see the Royals being able to pay the price in talent and the price in $$$ to the Phillies. Everyone more or less wants Hamels. The Dodgers have all the money in the world it seems and need another big arm to run the billion dollar machine.

I think the Royals could afford to bring in Hamels if they made another move to get rid of some salary. The books get a little heavier for next year now that Vargas is going to be taking up 10-12 million the next 18 months while somewhere in Arizona in shorts sitting next to a doctor. The bigger issue in my mind is the amount of prospects the Phillies will want in return.

The deal for Hamels that I would push for if I am the Phillies is attaching Ryan Howard and part of his awful deal onto the trade. The Dodgers are most likely not going to let go of their top few prospects in any deal which could become a sticking point in any Hamels deal. The Phillies were said to be willing to eat all but $10 million or so of Howard’s deal during the summer. If I am the Dodgers I use my truckloads of cash as a level B prospect in the Hamels trade. I pitch the Phillies take your pick from prospects 5-15, another from 20-35 two below the 50’s and we will take on $25-35 million of the Howard deal.

David Price – The Tigers are said to be sellers but the AL Central fan in me doesn’t believe it. If Price is dealt it will most likely be to a team that thinks they can sign next year. This brings the Dodgers back to the front of the line. I think the Dodgers could build a package around Ryu who is hurt but under control for another 3 years and Puig who is signed through 2018.

The Tigers could send a package of David Price, Yoenis Céspedes,  & Joakim Soria, to the Dodgers for Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu

This deal allows the Dodgers to get Price on this years roster and betters their chances of signing him next season. It also gets Puig who many thing would be addition by subtraction gone but with a stop gap replacement in Céspedes for a playoff run. This deal also brings much needed bullpen help.

The Tigers get back two All-Star caliber players that are under team control for several years on deals that are steals in the current market. The three biggest trade chips the Tigers have are used in this trade but bring back the biggest return in MLB proven players.

This deal strengthens the Tigers for next year for sure without completely killing their chances at a wildcard spot.

Johnny Cueto – There is lots of talk of Cueto coming to the Royals. I think this one has a chance but again I think some other team will throw more prospects at the Reds than the Royals can match.

Cueto – To Cubs

Jeff Samardzija – Goes to the Blue Jays. I have no clue for what but that is what I am feeling.

Mike Leake and Jay Bruce – To the Royals. I think this deal makes sense. The Royals get to spend less in prospects and cash on this pair and with Bruce they get  player to used or traded next year.

I think if the Royals make this deal they would have enough prospect value left to make a run at another bat or more likely another pitcher like Haren, Latos, or one of the Padres guys not named Shields.

I think the Shields deal keeps him out of the Royals plans because he got overpaid last summer.

 

Image

Kansas City Royals ALL-STAR Lineup Sluggerrrized

royals final vote