The one thing we can always count on is change. There are always big changes going on around us, but this week, I am keenly aware of some big changes happening in my world.
The New Yankee Stadium was in the media this week. The Yankees COO, Lon Trost, did a tour of the construction site with the local media and gave an update on the process, the costs, and the project overall. I, for one, am very excited about the new Stadium and can't wait for it to open. Yankee Stadium is one of my most special places on earth, but I have a lot of confidence in the Yankee brass that they will build the greatest baseball stadium money can buy. My confidence was boosted this week when they announced that they would NOT be selling the naming rights. The estimated price would have been $50m per year, and I can't express how important it is for die hards like me that they will be keeping the name Yankee Stadium.
The music business is changing, has been for years, and will never be the same. I was in my car on Friday, listening to my iPod on shuffle which is my standard. A song from Jon Bon Jovi's solo record, Destination Anywhere, came on. I took the iPod off of shuffle and listened to the entire record, just as I used to when I had a five-cd changer and had to listen to cd's front to back. That was how I got to learn entire albums and not just singles. Now, people download one song off of iTunes if they want as opposed to the whole album. The single off of the JBJ record is Midnight in Chelsea. That's one of my least favorite songs on the album. I think that there is some great material and Jon is missing the boat by not using some of it on tour. How loud would the girls scream if Jon sang a song titled Naked...even if they didn't know the song?
Two takeaways from the paragraph above:
1. The departure from entire albums is a great loss for music as an art. There are amazing songs that never become hits and less people will find those songs if they don't have to buy the whole album.
2. If you don't have Destination Anywhere, I highly recommend it. One of Jon's most adult albums as far as writing and while there are definitely typical Bon Jovi lines, the material is great. Janey Don't You Take Your Love To Town is still one of my all time favorite Jon Bon Jovi songs.
For the first time since 1995, Joe Torre will not be sitting in the manager's office at Legends Field overseeing Yankee spring training. Joe Girardi will be the new manager and I can only hope that he has half of the success that Joe Torre had. I will miss Mr. T (as Derek Jeter calls him) and wish him well in LA, but am rooting hard for Girardi, even if I wanted Donnie Baseball to get the job. Who knew he had a crazy wife???
I know that baseball is changing with the whole Mitchell Report. The way that we look at certain players will never be the same. I am sorry for that. I want to remember Roger Clemens for the competitor he was on the field...not the guy walking the halls of Congress fighting for his name and his legacy. I don't think we are any better off after The Mitchell Report than we were before it. The new rules are in place and were before the report. What good is dragging back the past?
The look of the blog has changed too. Gone is the black background thanks to Mr. Fresh. If anyone has any other suggestions or requested topics, I am happy to oblige. I am looking forward to pitchers and catchers reporting this week and the Bruce tour to kick up again at the end of the month. Hopefully, that will provide plenty of material.
Until then..."Stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can..."
JN
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