New Home, New Problems

Balls continue to fly out of the New Yankee Stadium this year. The new park has seen a recorded 26 homeruns in six home games. That is one more than the previous record for the first six games at a major league venue. It didn't seem too odd at first, but when you look at the number of homeruns hit at the old Yankee stadium then it is certainly cause for concern.

General Manager, Brian Cashman, even said that the organization will have to start monitoring the number of balls flying into the stands. There is no doubt that the new Yankee Stadium is a home run ball park, but it doesn't seem possible that 26 can be hit in six games.

Well, there is an actual reason to this homerun problem. It has been reported that the new stadium was built into a different wind pattern direction as the old stadium. The old Yankee stadium had more stacked tiers and a large upper deck. The higher deck acted like a solid wall which would cause the wind to swirl and be less concentrated. The new stadium is less stacked. This allows the wind to blow entirely across the field with less restriction. Balls are given a much more forceful lift, causing more homeruns, especially towards right field. If this is the case, then games will only be effected with more homeruns on days that winds are higher than 10mph.

If I'm not mistaken, September and October have higher winds than the summer. Just another advantage for the Yankees. Not only do they pay for three players at prices higher than it took to even build the stadium, but they could possibly score more runs than already projected. We'll see how the season will progress, and whether the Yankees are forced make a change to their new home.

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

The biggest story to hit the news this week was the tragic, unexpected death of Angel's rookie, Nick Adenhart. The 22-year-old from Silver Spring, Maryland was in a deadly car accident in Fullerton, California only 3 hours after he made his Major League Debut on the mound.

Adenhart and two other friends went out late Wednesday night to celebrate the most impressive game of his short career. The three were victims of an alleged drunk driver as their Mitsubishi Eclipse was slammed into at 50mph while sitting at a red light. The cowardly driver in the Toyota minivan thought he could flee the scence on foot, but was eventually caught and charged with three counts of murder. Adenhart's dad was waiting for Nick and his friends at the nightclub where they were to celebrate, but Nick never made it.

When I heard the news, my heart sank. I had literally just watched Nick play that same evening when he pitched 6 scoreless innings, gave up 7 hits, and struck out 5. I thought it was some sort of sick joke. Untimely deaths occur in Major League Sports every so often, but none of them had a bigger effect on me than Nick Adenhart. The young age made his death more heart-breaking...and after he just pitched his greatest game of his life makes everything seem unfathomable.

It's disgusting that a drunk driver is always able to walk away from an accident without a scratch. It just puts things into perspective. Some of these big time baseball players take for granted the money they make. They should just be happy for the blessed opportunity to even play in the Majors. They should thank God every single day to be lucky enough to step foot onto a baseball field, that they are fortunate enough even to be alive. Players like Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez wait until their chump-change offers get turned into $180 million, and quite frankly, I have to pop a few TUMS in my stomach because it makes me want to puke. Nick Adenhart was just a kid who had a simple dream to play in the Majors. He didn't have to make millions. He was happy enough to get the chance to do what he loved, play baseball.

Nick Adenhart was able to fulfill his dream of one day playing in the majors. His career was shortlived, but his legacy will last forever. Maybe it was a coincidence that he played for the Angels......

An Opening Day To Remember

Opening Day brings a sense of optimism. There is nothing like the feeling of beginning a fresh year tied for 1st place. Despite 11 straight losing seasons, hopes were high, and the enthusiasm was greater than I've ever seen it at Camden Yards. Even the terrential rain that hit Baltimore on Monday didn't seem to touch the bright attitudes of Oriole fans. Everyone has in their hearts that this is the season we break our losing-record streak, and who better to start off strong than against the most hated team in sports, The New York Yankees.

The Baltimore Orioles hold one of the best Opening Day records in the history of Major League Baseball. The last time the Yankees and Orioles met on Opening Day was back in 2002. Tony Batista hit a Grandslam as the Orioles roughed up "Future Hall of Famer", Roger Clemens, for 8 Earned Runs. Final Score: Orioles 10 Yankees 3. A similar situation occurred Monday as the Orioles once again slaughtered one of the best pitchers in the league. C.C. Sabathia was the Yanks starting pitcher. He went 11-2 last season with 7 complete games and an extremely impressive ERA of 1.65. Those poor Birds never stood a chance against the 6'7'' 290 pound power lefty. But I guess the big man C.C. was thinking more about what sort of deli spread there would be in the locker room after the game. The O's beat up on Sabathia pretty badly. They put up 6 Earned Runs, and never looked back. It's almost as if the Orioles thrive off of embarrasing not only the best pitchers in the league, but the New York Yankees, on Opening Day. If only they knew how to play this well in September. My blood pressure would be lower, and I would probably have more hair because I hadn't pulled all of it out by All-Star Break. I guess the $161 million contract for Sabathia is really paying off, Steinbrenner!

The highlight of the game was not Sabathia's poor performance. It was the opportunity that Baltimore fans got to boo hometown kid, Mark Teixeira. For those of you who are not following, Teixeira grew up in Baltimore and always watched the Orioles when he was younger. It would've been a great chance to have a hometown hero born and bred play in his backyard. Fans were excited for this possibility. He eventually landed a deal with his own Baltimore rival, The New York Yankees. We understand that the Yankees are able to dish out hundreds of millions. No harm, no foul. Although the press conference in New York was a slap in the face to the entire city of Baltimore. When Teixeira officially became a Yankee, he gave his speech about how he always looked up to Yankee Hall of Famer, Don Mattingly. He continued to jabber about how he would go to Oriole games as a kid and wear his Yankee hat, and support the Yankees. Not exactly the safest thing to do in Baltimore. Teixeira says, "It was worth it." It wasn't the fact that he signed with the Yankees that made Baltimore feel betrayed, it was the extremely positive statements about New York that was the twist of the dagger. When Teixeira took the field for the first time as a Yankee, he wasn't exactly welcomed with open arms.

A Special Treat For Baltimore

In midst of the NCAA Tourney, NFL Draft talk, and MLB's upcoming season, there is the forgotten sport of Soccer that is hitting the news. It is important to follow what is going on around your hometown from time to time. But, I guess when the Ravens are in the their off-season, and The Orioles have not quite started their own season, then it could be difficult to keep up with Baltimore sports. However, this summer, our hometown of Baltimore will be receiving quite a treat.

It has been announced that two of the largest, most successful soccer clubs in Europe, AC Milan and Chelsea FC, will play a match in July at M&T Bank Stadium. The match will be Friday, July 24, at 8 p.m. The European soccer clubs will be in the midst of their pre-season preparations, so it is highly likely that the team's greatest players will be on the field in Baltimore.

Even if you are not a soccer fan, nor have you ever touched a soccer ball, this event is actually very special. Our own hometown of Baltimore will get a rare opportunity to see some of the greatest, most important athletes from around the world. People do not realize that Soccer in Europe is way larger than the NFL or MLB in America. For those of you who know nothing about AC Milan and Chelsea, they are two of the most prestigious, historic soccer clubs in Europe. AC Milan (Italy) has won the most international competitions in the world. Chelsea has been known to be the "New York Yankees" in the European League. They stack their team with the best players and pay them money even A-Rod has never seen.

Enjoy soccer, or not, this match will be one of the largest, most talked about events around Maryland this year. You can bet that the AC Milan/Chelsea match will be the most prevalent game Baltimore has seen in quite a while, and it will definitely be worth watching. I suggest everyone mark their calendars for July 24, and witness hometown history.