In a bit of a departure from last season, we haven't had to write many of these posts!  Unfortunately,  rain and thunderstorms are popping up to the west of New York City, threatening to put a damper on tonight's game against the Orioles.  As always, Steve from NYNJPAWeather.com is on hand to help us navigate the atmospheric conditions:

TONIGHT at 7:05 PM: Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible around the start of the game, but will quickly weaken after 7 PM. Scattered clouds with winds from the west around 5 to 10 mph, which will blow out to center field.  Temperatures will range from 72 to 64 degrees.  No impacts on the game is expected.

Game Delay Potential: LOW: Showers and thunderstorms may delay the start of the game up until 8 PM.

Game Postponement: None: No impact is expected from the weather.

Steve is currently providing live updates on his website and his feeling is that these storms will collapse and there will be baseball in the Bronx. He won't completely rule out a delay, but tonight definitely won't be a washout.

We'll be sure to provide updates if there are any changes to Steve's forecast.

You can find radar below. Click the link for the most up to date image

If you're a regular reader around these parts then you are probably aware that last night the Yankees set a thrilling record: Lowest attendance so far at Yankee Stadium III. While it's a new low, games with an attendance of about 40k were never out of the ordinary at this time of year in Yankee Stadium II. It just goes to show that people aren't super excited about a new stadium like they were last year.

Last night was the first game in the 11 game midweek plan and I am sure that helped bring some people out. I sit in 417 for this particular plan and saw a lot of familiar faces from last year in the upper rows of the section where they stick small partial planners. Lower down the crowd was thinner, which is fine with me because it means less heads blocking my view.

Here is the view of the game from my seat in 417, Row 12. While these aren't as good as my seats for this plan in the old stadium (Tier 3, Row R) I do like them a lot.

As a bonus you can see how thin the crowd at the game. Most of the sections in the infield/foul territory were about two-thirds full and as you moved to the outfield it got noticibly emptier (except, of course, the Bleachers).

Like I mentioned in my post about the E-Savers yesterday, the Yankees have trouble moving the expensive Batter's Eye tickets for medium and low demand games. Even after dropping the direct sale prices to $50, they didn't fill up:

There weren't many kids or college students around, I believe due to the double whammy of it being a school night with muggy weather and close to finals. The usual small but annoying crowd of rowdy drunk folks was also noticeably absent. I am a cranky old lady and this was fine with me to be quite honest.

A small crowd looks bad on TV and sounds dead, but it was actually pretty lively in the stadium where I was sitting. There's only so much noise you can really generate from the Grandstand but people were very into the game, and when Randy Winn hit a three run homerun (that was a total bomb) into the Yankees bullpen that bounced up into the bleachers everyone in my half-full row stood up and screamed "WHAT THE HELL?" (this is an edited version of what was actually yelled, you can use your imagination to figure out the actual phrase).

When Winn came up to bat later he received a very loud applause, that was probably half-sarcastic but well-deserved.

I had an excellent time with my fellow plan holders up in the breezy reaches of the Grandstand. Big crowds for big games are an experience, but small crowds when everyone is on the same page about bizarre happenings (I mean seriously, a Randy Winn home run???) are fun too.

With tonight's announced attendance of 41,571, the Yankees have set a new record low attendance at Yankee Stadium. The previous low was on 4/21/09 when the Yankees drew only 42,065 on a drizzly and cold night for a game against the A's.  You can track this year and last year's attendance with the NYY Stadium Insider Yankee Stadium Attendance Trackers.

As we noted on Twitter last night, people were practically giving away tickets for tonight's game.  A co-worker scored tickets in the Grandstand for $4 for tomorrow night's game, so expect more of the same.  Guess there aren't many Orioles fans traveling up I-95 to see their team play in the big ballpark in the Bronx.

The Yankees have announced their first E-savers of the year, and they are for this week's Baltimore series. In case you're unfamiliar, E-savers are (usually) sponsored discounts on tickets in certain areas of the stadium. Last year, they were limited to the Batters Eye and Audi Club seating but it seems like they've expanded that now to certain areas of the Main level and the outfield Field level as well as the Mohegan Sun seating.

Here's the pricing:

To get the discount, go to the Ticketmaster page for the game in question (here are handy links for May 3rd, May 4th and May 5th) and select the amount of tickets you're looking for in the Promotions and Special Offers area. You'll need a password, which is newerabowl.

If you're curious about the Batter's Eye seats, this is about a good a deal as you're going to get for them. The Yankees discount them so often you have to wonder if they'll ever just drop the price from $125 to something more reasonable.

In the past couple of months, we have created some fairly extensive standing room only ticket guides for Yankee Stadium, both here on NYYSI and for our other gig over at FanSnap.com. Unfortunately, this post is going to contradict some of our previous advice, especially regarding the value of the "cafe seats" at our favorite standing room only spot - section 120AS.

We were at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, standing behind the aforementioned section 120AS, and we noticed that these "cafe seats" behind the wheelchair section were empty.  Curious about the regularity of this occurrence, we asked the security guard on duty.  Interestingly, she told us someone was ticketed in those seats, but upon arrival complained about the view and had since been moved elsewhere.  Apparently, this was the type of person who threatened letters to the front office, so the security guard quickly diffused the situation by finding them a seat with a better view - a rare show of good customer service at Yankee Stadium.

Intrigued by the situation, we quickly sat down in the seat in question to shoot some video and take some photos.  On this day, the wheelchair accessible section directly in front of section 120AS was completely full and the the view definitely suffered because of it:

The view while sitting down in section 120AS, Row 28s, seat 2 at Yankee Stadium

As seen above, sitting down in this highly uncomfortable metal chair resulted in an unmanageable view of the game.  Of course, this could easily be rectified by standing up (thus putting the "standing" back in standing room only tickets), but people pay $75 for these tickets with the idea that there will be seats.

The view while standing behind section 120AS, Row 28s, seat 2 at Yankee Stadium

Luckily, this is not the case with all of the "cafe seating" on the field level.  Other sections feature barstool-style seating which is high enough to see over any wheelchair section obstructions:

Barstool-style "cafe seating" at Yankee Stadium

The bottom line is, your mileage may vary regarding the standing room ticket experience throughout Yankee Stadium.  In our previous posts, we have may have overstated the value of the $75 "cafe seats," especially in section 120AS.  During games with an empty wheelchair section, or if you don't mind standing, the value will be there, but it isn't as much of a no-brainer as we have made it out to be in the past.  Hopefully our posts haven't led to any regrettable ticket-purchasing decisions. Before buying any standing room only tickets at Yankee Stadium, be prepared for the ocasional obstruction, and remember that you only bought standing room tickets because all of the seats were sold out and you really wanted to be there.

UPDATE (5/1/10): Our buddy Chris (also known as "Smoov") pointed out on our YouTube video that the rendering of Yankee Stadium is wildly inaccurate.  Most notably, they have Gate 6 labeled as Gate 4.  Oops, we totally didn't notice that! Oh well, at least its on the map!

File this one in the "kind of creepy" category.  Just a few days ago, we tweeted (and even posted a Facebook update) about our strange obsession with checking Google Maps satellite view to see if the new Yankee Stadium had been placed on the map.  Perhaps its a bit of nostalgia peeking through, not wanting the fields we played high school sports on to disappear from Google forever.

Color us prescient.  Just a couple of days after our inquiries, we received word from the folks over at Bronx Bombers Beat that the day has finally arrived - the new Yankee Stadium has finally made its debut on Google Maps.  Interestingly, when checking out the satellite view, its still the same static image from 2004 before ground was broken on the former site of Macombs Dam Park:

However, Google recently introduced their brand new 3-D "earth" view to Google Maps and the game has forever been changed.  From now on, when you're pointlessly messing around with maps of the South Bronx, you'll have the following to play with:

View Larger Map

In our virtual travels, we made some discoveries.  First of all, the 3-D buildings are renderings and don't have the life of the now dated satellite view.  One of the fun parts about Google's satellite views and even street view is trying to think back to the moment in time when that photo was taken.

That being said, the 3-D feature does open up a world of new possibilities.  One example being the strange mash-up that exists when old satellite data from a construction site is combined with the 3-D rendering of the new structure that lives there. We set some of this hilarity to music in the short YouTube video below:

As you can see, while wasting time on a lazy Thursday evening, we noticed that "entering" through Gate 4 Gate 6 left us on the soccer fields and running track that many New York high schoolers played on.  Yankee Stadium's "Great Hall" was nowhere to be found, but we had embarked on a nostalgic walk down memory lane under the site of "The House That George Built."  Taking a quick left, we saw the satellite photo remnants of cars parked in the grassy lots across from the old stadium - the site of many tailgates.

We set the video to B.O.B's Airplanes featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore, from his new album "The Adventures Of Bobby Ray."  Not sure why, but it somehow captured the eerie experience of being placed back on the rundown soccer fields that called that space of the earth home before a billion dollar ballpark was placed there.

Before the fields are completely gone from Google Maps, let us all take a moment to think about the New York City kids in the past 4 years who didn't have the privilege of playing in the shadow of Yankee Stadium like some of us did.  Those fields weren't the most beautiful or well-maintained, but they were the home to many memories and for that they should be remembered.  One day soon there will be beautiful new parks on the site for future generations to enjoy, but for now they remain in limbo.

REMINDER!

This little shindig is going down TONIGHT at Finnerty's on 2nd Avenue between 13th and 14th in Manhattan on April 23 from 8:30 until the end of the Yankees win over the Angels. We've never been to Finnerty's before, but it is known to be a Yankees bar, and it gets good reviews on Yelp.

Feel free to spread the word, and also RSVP for the event on Facebook.  We have nearly 40 people who have RSVP'ed already!

* NYY Stadium Insider will not be responsible for any side-effects of consuming Jager shots, including (but not limited to), acting like an idiot, vomiting or blacking out.  We'd recommend staying far, far away from the little black poison.  You have been warned.

After two visits to Yankee Stadium in 2010, there are some things that have left us shaking our heads.  Not the play on the field of course - the Yankees are 5-1 at home - but about other things we have seen within the walls of the grand structure.

$3 For 3 Balls

As we mentioned last week, the Yankees added a pitch speed machine, also known as a "fast pitch" to the Yankee Stadium experience.  While purists were likely up in arms about this, we weren't initially bothered.  After all, people spend a lot of hard earned money to attend the games and if its more about entertainment value than watching baseball, that's their right.

Of course, that was before we actually saw the setup.  Right inside of the seldom-used gate 2 entrance (its the furthest from the subway) is a children's area of sorts.  The "highlight" of this formerly desolate area of the stadium is the pitch speed machine.  Excited to blow our arms out (seriously - is there anything worse than rearing back and throwing as hard as you can without any warm-up?) we headed over to chuck a baseball at the tarp and see how fast we could throw.  As we reached down to pick up a baseball, a woman came out of nowhere and said "$3 for 3 balls." Here's some video to prove it:

It goes without saying that we passed on that opportunity. As NYYSI reader Steve points out, charging to throw the balls wasn't the worst part:

"Now, I'm well aware of how these speed pitches go. A long-time tradition at minor league ballparks, where children (and adults) get the opportunity to throw three baseballs and get them clocked by a radar gun. Sometimes it's free, but sometimes is costs a small fee.  After throwing your first two balls, you get to guess what your speed is going to be on the third ball, and you win a prize if you hit it. Sometimes, a larger prize is awarded to the person who throws the fastest ball by the end of the game. Sometimes it may be the only prize. Regardless, there's always a prize involved. For $3, you get three throws. But there is absolutely no prize involved. Three throws, and if you get fastest throw so far that day, they put it up on the dry erase board next to the speed pitch. In other words, if you have the fastest pitch that day, you win the honor of seeing your name written in temporary ink by a stadium employee."

C'mon, Yankees - can't you at least hand out a souvenir cup with "27-time World Champions" slapped on it or something?

Furries?!

As we mentioned, this setup is located in a quiet corner of the stadium that isn't easy to stumble across. So, how did we find it? Well, a bunny dressed in a "Dylan's Candy Bar" shirt showed us the way, of course:

Furries rejoice - after years of being rigid and traditional, the Yankees are finally letting your people through the gates of Yankee Stadium. Weird stuff.

This whole wacky experience had thrown us off so much, we forgot to check how much they were charging for candy at the shop. Unfortunately, we weren't there when they were giving out free chocolate on Opening Day.  The only good news was that we had finally found where the $3 Nathan's hot dogs were hiding this year.  The Yankees always find a way to hide that deal in a spot that nobody will find it!

Another new addition to Yankee Stadium is Andre Chiavelli's Vintage Sportscard Club.  On Thursday night, we saw his shop outside of the Yankees Museum for the first time and came away impressed. You can check out some video from that experience on NYY Stadium Insider's YouTube page.

No Drinks - Sorry

On Saturday, we decided to venture into the tunnel beyond the outfield wall to check out the Monument Park Store.  Conveniently located just outside the entrance to Monument Park, this small gift shop featured another outpost for Vintage Sportscard Club's collectibles.  Unfortunately, getting through the door would prove to be a hassle. Apparently they're very strict about not bringing food or drink into the shop, and they have a friendly girl standing guard at the door to make sure people adhere to the rule:

Ok, so maybe she wasn't so friendly.  The most annoying part was that we were yelled at to throw away our drink but there isn't a garbage can anywhere near the store. Seriously - we walked a couple of minutes in each direction looking for one. Finally we just left the drink outside of the store on the ground and picked it up on the way out.  That sure got us in the mood to spend money!

A Steiner Sports Power Play?

Once inside the store, we checked out the other outpost for Andre's Vintage Sportscard Club.  Fellow fans had told us about some really cool vintage Yankees newspaper clippings that were being sold earlier in the week, so we were excited to check them out.  Unfortunately, those clippings weren't there anymore by Saturday.  When we asked Chiavelli what happened to the newspaper clippings he said "Mr. [Brandon] Steiner [of Steiner Sports Memorabilia] was upset because they didnt give him space to put up his Monument Park plaques, which is a decision way above me. So they asked me to take down the pictures and they put up Steiner's monument plaques. He does a huge business with them as you know, and has for years, so he has a lot of pull. We focused on vintage baseball cards and yearbooks in the store and have been doing great."

Chiavelli is clearly trying to take the high road here and we commend him for that.  However, there is obviously a memorabilia showdown taking place at Yankee Stadium and Brandon Steiner is beating his chest.  This weekend a worker in the shop admitted as much, telling a reader of the blog that Steiner reminded them that he had "exclusive memorabilia rights" at the stadium.

A lot of people are sick of Steiner's blatant disregard for the interests of Yankees fans and this incident isn't going to make them any friends.

As the season wears on, we'll have less of these experiences - and that's a good thing,  During the first two games, we definitely contributed to the lack of crowd enthusiasm by spending a lot of time wandering around, instead of paying attention to the action on the field.  We'll be sure to update our "what's new in Yankee Stadium" post some time this week to save you from suffering the same fate.