Taking a Bite out of the Big Apple
"Every game here is like the World Series," says former Indians pitcher Jaret Wright. The righthander succinctly sums up what its like to play for the Yankees in New York. The atmosphere here is like no other in the game of baseball. The media in New York usually outnumbers the players by a 2-1 margin making it uncomfortable for players who are not used to that type of scrutiny.
The history and tradition of baseball is a living, breathing thing at Yankee Stadium. Monument Park located beyond the center field wall pays homage to Yankee greats of the past. When Grady Sizemore takes his position in center field he does so knowing that Joe DiMaggio once roamed the same grassy plain. Before CC Sabathia took batting practice here on Wednesday, Jeremy Guthrie told him that he would be stepping in the same batters box that Mickey Mantle once stood in. "That’s awesome," said Sabathia. "I want to get some pictures taken of me swinging the bat here. I mean how many guys can say they got to hit at Yankee Stadium?"
Yankee Stadium is located uptown in the Bronx. If you take the 4 train downtown to Grand Central Station you will be smack in the middle of the busiest city in the world. Just a few blocks from Grand Central is Times Square, The United Nations Building, Park Avenue and all that midtown has to offer. If you find yourself near Grand Central at lunch time then take the 6 train downtown to Canal Street. Walk a few blocks to Mulberry Street and check out historic Little Italy. The street is lined with restaurants and bakeries and you can’t go wrong with any of them. My personal favorites are Il Fornaio and Pellegrino’s, located only 2 doors from each other.
If you decide to make a trip to the big apple then make sure you bring your wallet. Prices here are enough to give Midwesterners a serious case of sticker shock! A bottle of beer will cost you $8.25 at the hotel and at Yankee Stadium a cheese steak sandwich runs $9.75. Of course living in NYC is a whole different story. A small two-bedroom apartment on the low-end will cost around $2500 a month. A parking space might cost as much as $500 monthly unless you have an SUV then the price suddenly jumps to $750.
New York City. It’s a great place to visit but, I wouldn’t want to live here.
Underworld 
Jim Delsing!
Matt, with all due respect i think or hope that i speak for all of the Tribe fans when i say that we need to talk about how to imporve this poor excuse for a baseball team. There’s no excuse for our play its pathetic were supposed to be a playoff team but how are we doing that with Wedge and Shappairo, who i know can manage to win, are bringing up these rookies or trading away our good players who can win. I just dont get it, i can make a case that we are the worst team in the majors. They are definetly not impressing me right now and they are goin down hill more and more its depressing.
Hi Matt–
WHy didn’t you mention anything about what went wrong with the Tribe in Chicago. I mean, I like reading about Italian bakeries in NYC and all, but your paid to talk sports and give us some insight. So, how bout it?
Not to be overly “politically correct,” but “midgets” is an offensive term. They prefer to be known as “little people.”
I think what has plagued the Indians all season long has been inconsistency. The starting rotation has had its good moments but, their lack of putting a string of quality starts together has hampered the team’s ability to get on a roll.
There have also been times when the offense has struggled to get a big hit to break a game open. In New York (Hafner, Martinez and Broussard are a combined 1-21) the middle of the order has failed to produce and the end result is 2 more losses.
Defensively they have been among the worst teams in the league which puts more pressure on the pitcher and ultimately the offense because they are constantly have to come back and make up for those mistakes.
All of this adds up to a very frustrating season because this team has shown signs of being a very good club, but every time it looks like they are ready to take off, they go backwards.
Eric Wedge says individually and collectively this team needs to get tough and play with some desperation before this season slips away.
With Casey Blake going on the DL and Franklin Gutierrez coming up from Buffalo, what is the likelyhood of Trevor Crowe being called up from Kinston to take Gutierrez’s place in AAA? Or will they bring someone up from Akron?
Well, I hope that Gutierrez will be back in Buffalo soon because he is just not cuttin it. Then again not many guys on this team is either.
Here is the only question I want answered from the ownership of the Indians and Shappairo. The fans bought ALL the tickets for an entire season prior to the season starting. No one else in baseball does that. The Indians response is we have to wholesale all the talent because there is no money to keep them.
My question is: What else can the fans do? If selling out the entire season is not enough, then they might as well stop playing because there is nothing else the fans can do. This is what is known as pouring pee on my boot and telling me it’s raining.
The Indians are without question, running out of time. At 15 games out of first place, Cleveland has an elimination number of 78. The only two teams in baseball with a smaller elimination number are the Pittsburgh Pirates(76) and the Kansas City Royals(67). The Indians are no better off in the wildcard race at 13 games behind frontrunning Chicago and an elimination number of 81. The only teams behind the Indians in the AL wildcard race are the Angels, the Devil Rays and the Royals. This club needs to be turned around now or a playoff berth will be slipped from the Tribe’s grasp for the second year in a row. Something needs to spark, and it needs to happen now. There is a ton of talent on this year’s Indians team, maybe more so than the Detroit Tigers. With speed demons like Sizemore and Gutierrez, and power hitters like Hafner, Martinez, Blake, Broussard, and Perez, topped off with talent in the rotation with C.C., Jake, Cliff Lee, and Paul Byrd, this team should be right up with Detroit and Chicago. The Indians are now closer to the 5th place Royals in the standings than to the Tigers and White Sox. The Indians always seem to “find a way to lose” as Tom and Matt put it and they need to start finding ways to win.