Yankees show interest in Bill Hall

The Eric Chavez era may be coming to a quick close, the Yankees are reportedly in "serious talks" with Bill Hall according to Ken Rosenthal. The Yanks would use Hall in a utility role, a spot the eight year vet has done before with the Brewers and Red Sox.

Bill Hall looks a bit like Justin Tuck of the
New York Giants.

The deal would likely be a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. As long as its a minor league deal, I think its a nice move. Signing Hall would be an upgrade over the injury prone Eric Chavez. Hall also is younger and can play multiple positions, something he proved with the Red Sox in 2010 when he played 7 different positions.

Currently in AAA the Yanks have Brandon Laird and Ramiro Pena available as back up infielders. Neither give the Yanks much on offense, and can mainly play the infield, a spot Eduardo Nunez is expected to fill. Hall can play the outfield, and still give some offense (he did hit 35 home runs in 2006). With the addition of Hall, the bombers would likely pass on a DH for now, possibly waiting until spring training starts to see if prices fall.

How will Yankee fans treat A-Rod in 2012?

Hated A-Rod

Two hits. That's the best Alex Rodriguez could muster in the 2011 ALDS. It didn't help when A-Rod struck out to end the bombers season for a second straight year in the bottom of the ninth. In the days following the loss, Rodriguez was bashed over and over, it seemed clear that Yankee fans had made the million dollar man the scapegoat.

We have all seen this movie before, A-Rod the villain. Boo'ed by the Yankee faithful for his postseason failures and "not being clutch" only to be every ones favorite Yankee when he succeeds. Just look at the past, after terrible performances in the 2005 and 2006 ALDS, Rodriguez felt the wrath of Yankee fans. But a monster 2007 seemed to change everything, even after he opted out of his contract most Yankee fans acted like that never happened. Now fast forward to spring training 2009, Alex is outed for his past steroid use and admits it. Once again many of the fan base blasted him on talk radio and other media outlets, but a 2009 postseason in which A-Rod practically carried the team changed everything.

Loved A-Rod

But what about this season? After another postseason flop, and back to back injury plagued disappointing seasons Yankee fans will be ready to pounce. The situation is similar to 2007, when Yankee fans were ready to throw him to the wolves, only this time the odds are against another monster season. Alex will need to produce for Yankee fans to get off his back, the expectations are lowered with his current age and injury issues but the fans still want a top 10 caliber third baseman, a fair expectation from one of the greatest players to ever play.

Plenty of Yankee season tickets up for grabs

Could see more games when teh attendance is like this.

Compared to past years the Yankees put season plans on sale much earlier this year. Before the holidays you could actually purchase some plans. It was a sign then that even the Yankees realized they are going to be spending alot of time this year pushing tickets.

Right now you can grab seats for almost any type of plan, any place in the stadium. This is a sign unseen for the past few seasons, especially since the new stadium opened. This is great for partial plan holders like myself who were able to upgrade to seats they wanted, but could never get (Moved from 12 game plan to Saturday plan). But for the Yankees it shows a problem that has been brewing the past few seasons. The Yankees have made the playoff each season since the new house has opened but yet they are still losing ticker holders. The easy answer is the prices, sure the Yankees still had the second highest attendance in baseball last year but it won't be the case this year. With the economy still a mess, the bombers chose to raise prices on the cheap seats, thus causing more fans to drop out.

It could be the price of winning, the price of a superstar players, and the price of living in New York but the Steinbrenners and the ticket office have also out priced the market. Last season, tickets for undesirable games could be had for one dollar or even less. What is the point of buying tickets if they can't even be sold for face value back. Of course if you plan to attend the games and like your seat location it makes sense but otherwise its doesn't make sense. The Yankees have built themselves quite a mess, this could be the first season at the new stadium, that the wings of the upper deck may be empty just like at the old place.