2010 is shaping up to be a year of high volatility in baseball’s trade market, with an unusually high number of difference-making players being moved. As Major League Baseball‘s non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaches, a flurry of last minute deals have been agreed upon, boosting some teams’ world series chances, while diminishing others. If, like many of us, you’ve gotten overwhelmed by the flood of activity over the past few days, don’t worry. SeatGeek is here to help. We have compiled a brief, yet comprehensive, review of the biggest trades that have been made, that still could be made, and their implications on the field, and at the box office.

Winners

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies made a mistake by letting Cliff Lee go in the off-season. This is a fact. However, the Phillies took a huge step towards rectifying this error yesterday as they finalized a deal with the Houston Astros for ace Roy Oswalt, instantly creating what is probably the most feared rotation in the National League, as well as cornering the market for starters with the first name Roy. When paired with Halladay and Hamels, the top of the Phillies rotation is primed for a deep run in the playoffs, and it is appearing more and more likely that the Phils will be playing in October. They have won eight games in a row, to pull within 2.5 games of the Braves for first place in the NL East, and are only 1.5 games out of the wild card. A newly motivated Oswalt, combined with a resurgent Phillies offense should help the Phillies in their bid to win their third National League pennant in a row.

Texas Rangers

The Rangers have been one of the best stories of this season, coming out of nowhere to lead the AL West by 8.5 games. Led by MVP candidate and triple crown threat Josh Hamilton, and a stable of good young pitchers such as C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis, The Rangers have made a statement during the first half of the season. In order to continue their shredding of the AL West, and to improve their playoff chances against high powered teams such as the Yankees, the Rangers have been extremely active in the trade market. Despite ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the Rangers have not been dissuaded from taking on millions of dollars in salaries.

Getting the midseason trade market started off with a bang on July 9th with their acquisition of Cy Young candidate Cliff Lee. Since joining the Rangers, Lee has thrown a complete game in 3 of his 4 starts, and has surrendered more than 2 runs only once. The Rangers also improved their offense yesterday by trading pitchers Evan Reed and Omar Poveda for infielder Jorge Cantu. Cantu will most likely take over 1st base responsibilities, and adds yet another productive bat to the Rangers lineup. Cantu is well on his way to another season of close to 100 RBI, and is on pace to hit over 40 doubles for the third straight year.

Over the past week, Rangers transacted ticket prices are up to $49.50, 11th highest in the league. In the three weeks since July 9th, the date of the Lee Acquisition, Rangers tickets have been trading at an average of $45.96, a 22% increase over the previous monthly average of $37.67 for the period between 6/9/2010, and 7/8/2010.

Minnesota Twins

The Twins quietly bolstered their playoff chances as well yesterday by acquiring loser Matt Capps from the Nationals in exchange for two minor-leaguers. Capps comes as a welcome addition to a Twins bullpen that has struggled without perennial all-star closer Joe Nathan, who is out for the year with an elbow injury. Capps is certainly an upgrade over interim closer Jon Rausch, another former National. Check out ESPN analyst Jonathan Costa’s interesting breakdown of the two relievers.

The Twins are also having success at the box office. They recently overtook the Red Sox for first place on SeatGeek’s weekly ticket price index. For a team that was seriously being considered for contraction a few years ago, this is a fantastic accomplishment.

Historical Minnesota Twins Ticket Prices

The opening of beautiful new Target Field has definitely helped ticket prices for Minnesota, but it is not the only factor. Prices for Twins games have been steadily increasing over the course of the season, as opposed to starting out high, and slowly dropping over the course of the year. This phenomenon indicates that ticket prices are more correlated to the Twins on field product, than the novelty of a new stadium.

Other Deals

Smaller trades, but still of some significance include the Padres’ acquisition of aging star Miguel Tejada from the Orioles. Tejada hit .269 with 7 HRs and 39 RBI in 97 games for the Orioles this year, with a measly .308 OBP and nausea inducing .670 OPS, behind such offensive stars as Ian Desmond of the Nats, and Yuniesky Betancourt of the Royals. Tejada will most likely split his time between third base and shortstop. Hopefully for the Padres, a change of scenery will reinvigorate the 2oo2 AL MVP.

The Chicago White Sox acquired pitcher Edwin Jackson from the Diamondbacks in exchange for RHP Dan Hudson and LHP David Holmberg. Jackson went 13-9 with an ERA of 3.62 with the Tigers last year, but has posted a 5.16 ERA so far in 2010 with the D-Backs. The White Sox are reportedly also looking to land a bat, such as Adam Dunn.

Other moves include Dan Haren moving from the D-Backs to the Angels, Scott Podsednik joining the Dodgers, and the Braves acquiring Alex Gonzalez from the Blue Jays for Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes

It will be interesting to see whether any more moves are finalized before 4 PM tomorrow. At this time of year there are plenty of teams in contention, but only 8 will make the playoffs. Keep following SeatGeek to learn how these transactions and more affect ticket prices for the rest of the season and beyond.

Feel free to email me at jonathan@seatgeek.com with any questions, and remember to like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter @SeatGeek and @SeatGeekMLB

At SeatGeek, we have been working hard on creating new ticket pages, which show average transaction price of each team on the secondary market, average listing prices, a historical ticket price tracker, top home/away games and more (See Minneosta Twins Ticket Price Page). Transaction price is a great way to gauge fan sentiment, since it shows how much fans are actually willing to pay on the secondary market for tickets to see their team play. These pages also rank the teams by who has the highest transaction price for tickets over the course of the last week, and in essence, these rankings are a reflection of fan sentiment of that team.

Since we’ve began keeping track, the Boston Red Sox ticket prices have been the highest. The number one ranking has been due to the overall high demand for Red Sox tickets. The Red Sox are a great team, with a great fanbase, and Fenway Park has one of the smallest capacities in all of baseball, making it that much harder to get tickets. These factors, and more, have driven Red Sox prices on the secondary market up to an average of $90 in 2010. Recently, however, the prices of tickets have been trending downward, and the average sits at $79.

As the Red Sox prices have decreased, the Minnesota Twins prices have increased. The Twins are currently riding a five game win streak, and two weeks ago swept their division rival Chicago White Sox at home, who had won nine games in a row prior to that series.

While the Twins have been playing well, a major factor in their high ticket demand has been the fact that the Twins are playing in a brand new stadium in 2010. 2010 is the first opportunity fans get to check out Target Field, and demand for tickets is very high – which drives up the price of tickets for Twins games. Recently, Twins ticket prices have been transacting for $80!

If you are wondering where your favorite team ranks amongst the rest of baseball, SeatGeek has a page for that too! Click here to see the prices and rankings for each team in the MLB.

Over the past week, transaction prices show that the Twins and Red Sox are 1 and 2 respectively, followed by the Blue Jays, Mets and Giants. See the screenshot below for the top ten teams in the MLB, and visit the MLB team pages for the complete rankings.

With these pages, fans, writers, bloggers and fans alike can inform themselves on how their team’s ticket sales on the secondary market are doing, and they can relate this data to fan sentiment.

If you have any questions regarding the data or usage of these pages, feel free to email justin[at]seatgeek.com. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek for more sports news and ticket information.

Alex Rodriguez hit another home run yesterday for the Yankees, giving him fifteen on the season, and 598 for his career. The home run snapped a slight power drought for A-Rod, and put him only two home runs away from joining the 600 Home Run Club!

Last week, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker released their report on when and where Rodriguez will hit the milestone 600th home run. They determined that he is most likely to hit it on July 25, versus the Kansas City Royals. The most likely section for him to hit it is Section 136, while the most likely seat – dubbed “The Money Seat” – is Section 135, Row, 18, Seat 6.

See the full report here!

A-Rod hit one home run in the past three games since the All-Star break, and if he continues this pace, he will in fact hit number 600 on July 25th against the Royals. A home run every third games means he will hit 599 on July 22nd, during the first game of the series versus KC, and 600 on the last game of the Yankees current homestand.

While A-Rod seems poised to reach this milestone during this current homestand, there are indications that he may not hit two home runs in the next six games. As much as everyone wants to see Rodriguez hit number 600 in front of the home crowd, the home run could come in Cleveland or Tampa Bay – the next two destinations for the Yankees after their series against Kansas City finishes up.

In the event that A-Rod heads into the series versus the Indians at Progressive Field with 598 or 599 home runs, SeatGeek and Hit Tracker will have updated predictions, including the most likely sections in their stadium, as well as a probable trajectory and “Money Seat”.

Since the passing of Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner, we saw a substantial increase in Yankees ticket prices, as fans wanted to get to the stadium to pay their respects to two Yankees’ legends. With the tributes over, we can expect that now, Yankees fans are coming to the stadium hoping to witness history by seeing, and maybe even catching, A-Rod’s 600th home run.

Below is a chart with the average transaction prices of the upcoming games at Yankee Stadium, as well as a table showing the average listing prices in Section 135 and 136 for each game. As expected, the average transaction price for these games versus the Angels and Royals are less than for games versus the division rival Rays. Also, the average listing price for Sections 135 and 136 are substantially higher than the average transaction price for the games as a whole, since face value for these outfield sections are on the higher end for tickets for Yankees games.

If you’re looking to put yourself in the right place to potentially catch the ball, SeatGeek is the place for you to find your tickets. We have several listings aggregated from StubHub, RazorGator, and so on, in Section 135 and 136 for the upcoming Yankees games.

If you want the best chance to catch the ball, you need to be sitting in “The Money Seat”, on July 25. While SeatGeek doesn’t have that exact seat listed, there are two seats for sale that are pretty close. For that game, there are seats listed in Section 135, Row 18, Seats 1 & 2 (only 4 seats down from “The Money Seat”) for $98. If A-Rod does in fact hit home run number 600 there, all you’ll have to do is barrel through only four people to get to the souvenir ball!

As A-Rod approaches 600 home runs, be sure to check back with SeatGeek and Hit Tracker to see their updates. If you have any inquiries, feel free to email justin@seatgeek.com. And as always, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @SeatGeek!

Every four years the entire World turns their attention to the game of Soccer.  In America we tend to become consumed with the game for a month, and go back to our regularly scheduled programming.  The World Cup in America tends to be an excuse for Americans to gamble, booze, and this year, show our true hatred for the Brits.  With that, here are my picks to advance out of the Group Stage into the Round of 16 (Note: I like to think that I know a lot about soccer.  That’s a comment coming from the guy who holds a middle school record for most goals allowed in a game, 12).

Group A

France- the French should advance easily out of this group with a great attack of Henry, Ribery, and Anelka.

Mexico- has advanced to the round of 16 in the last four World Cups, a trend that should continue in 2010.

Group B

Argentina- with arguably the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, the Argentinians will advance with no problems.

Greece- I’ll be honest I know nothing about the Greek team except they are ranked 12^th in the world and 21 of their 23 players have last names ending in a vowel followed by the letter “S”.  How can you bet against that?  Well in the case of Greece, its hard to place a bet on anything when your country is bankrupt.

Group C

United States- this might be the best squad the U.S.A. has sent to the World Cup.  Although they lost a lot of speed with the injury to Charlie Davies, the team will be physical in their opening match against England and eventually advance as the top seed of this group.

England- the Brits will be involved in the Revolutionary War II June 12^th, and like the first war the outcome will not different.  The Brits shouldn’t worry though because Slovenia and Algeria are terrible, making advancing to the final 16 easy.

Group D

Germany- even without team captain Michael Ballack, the team should be fine because of their stellar defense.

Serbia- it was a tossup between the Aussies and the Serbians, and since I know very little about each of the teams I took a look at the last names of the players.  Like in the case of Greece, Serbia won out because their team had a whopping 18 of 23 players who had last names ending in “IC”.

Group E

Netherlands- the Dutch are a solid team up front with Dirk Kuyt and Ryan Babel and at the midfield position with Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel.  The Dutch advance easily.

Cameroon- will be the only African country to advance to the round of 16.  The performance of Samuel Eto’o will be the key to how far team Cameroon will make it in this tournament.  An amazing turnaround in 20 years for a country that was god awful in World Cup Soccer for Nintendo.

Group F

Italy- the defending champs might be in the easiest group in the entire tournament and because of this single fact. they will advance with no trouble at all.

Paraguay- this group really sucks and Paraguay is the best of the worst, I guess.  Does it really matter who the second team that comes from this group since they will probably lose their first game in the round of 16?

Group G

Brazil- is one of the favorites to win it all this year and rightfully so with a roster that includes Robinho, Kaka, and Luis Fabiano.  Although in the “Group of Death” the Brazilians should survive to tell about it.

Portugal- I had to pick Portugal here because Drogba for the Ivory Coast will be limited in how he plays with the cast on his arm.  The Portuguese are no slouches though, led by one of the best strikers in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo.

Group H

Spain- the odds on favorites to win it all with Brazil, the Spaniards head into the World Cup with one of the deepest and most balanced squads.  They are a lock to advance to the round of 16.

Chile- similarly to Group F, this group is a battle for second.  The Chilean squad is pretty young and fairly talented and they get the edge for second because of these factors and that my favorite baseball player growing up was Chili Davis.

Questions? Comments? I highly doubt there are but for some reason if there is you can contact me at Chris@seatgeek.com and on Twitter @SeatGeek.

Here at SeatGeek, we forecast the price of tickets using an algorithm that incorporates many factors that affect ticket prices on the secondary market.  One of those factors is other events, especially sporting events, that are occurring in the same city at the same time.  With that in mind, I set out to write about what I thought would be the decrease in ticket prices for baseball games in cities where their basketball and hockey teams had made it to the post season.  Upon analysis of the data, however, I was surprised to find that that was not the case.

Interestingly, our data shows that there is no drop in ticket price for baseball games when their city’s hockey or basketball team is playing in a playoff game in the same city, on the same night.  A great case to support this is Boston Red Sox ticket prices on May 28.  On this Friday night, the Red Sox were scheduled to face the Kansas City Royals.  Meanwhile, the Celtics were slotted to play the Orlando Magic in Game Six of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.  Despite the immensely important playoff game going on in the same city, tickets for the Red Sox game were in high demand.  The average price of tickets sold for that Red Sox-Royals game was $103, which is only $4 less than the $107 season average for tickets sold.  Considering the Royals are not a very desirable opponent to see, there generally would be a drop in ticket demand and ticket price for that game anyway.  But for there to be only a $4 drop in price from the season average while the Celtics were playing a playoff game is staggering.

Is the Green Monster green for the Celtics?

This case was not exclusive either.  Throughout the playoffs, tickets for baseball games have maintained their average price despite the postseason games going on down the street.  Nonetheless, luckily for those Bostonians that were in attendance for the Red Sox loss on the same night the Celtics advanced to the finals, the Celtics win meant at least two more home games in Boston.  Perhaps next time around our data will be different, and Boston fans will make sure to catch the game at TD Garden, rather than the game at Fenway.

The  SeatGeek Sports Blog will be doing Team Profiles for all the Major League Baseball teams over the next couple of months.  Each profile will include 5 topical questions about the team, answered by those who follow the teams the closest, the bloggers.  For the Tampa Bay Rays Devon Rogers of Riseoftherays.com was nice enough to provide some insight on the team.

SeatGeek: Over the past couple years the team has been able to go from a perennial “loser” to one of the most talented teams in Major League Baseball.  Over the next couple of off seasons it seems that it will be difficult for the Rays to keep some of their top talent (i.e. Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford) if they are unwilling to spend big bucks to keep them.  So in the future will the Rays increase the amount of money they spend as a team or are they committed to continuing to build within?

Devon Rogers: I think it is a little bit of both. The Rays payroll has increased substantially over recent years, but the ownership has said that this year will be the year to win it as they cannot spend as much in the future. They will continue to use their great minor league system to fill holes while signing who they can. We saw this with Zobrist and I think we will see this with Pena in the offseason.

SeatGeek: What is the feeling amongst Rays fans about the 5 year contract extension for Ben Zobrist?

Devon Rogers: The feeling is that the Rays got another great contract for a talented player. Ben Zobrist is a fan favorite amongst Rays fans because he is a great person, and he is a great player since he can hit and play almost anywhere. They did not spend too much on him, and based on his performanc, he deserves it. Ben is one of the people to stay with a team he likes for his career, and he likes it here, so that probably helped in negotiations. Rays fans, including myself, love Zorilla for his playing ability and the fact that he is great to the fans.

SeatGeek: Are there any Rays minor leaguer(s) who could have an impact in the majors this season?  If so, give me a little scouting report.

Devon Rogers: I think there are a few, but mainly Desmond Jennings and Jeremy Hellickson. Desmond Jennings is a toolsy outfielder who is most likely an option to replace Carl Crawford. You could see him as a September Callup who could give guys rest down the stretch without losing too much playing ability. Jennings has the speed, average and home runs. He has more power than Crawford and should be a great player. His only downside is that he has had injury troubles throughout the minors, which is why he is not already in the bigs. Hellickson is a right-handed starter who could slot in to the rotation if there is an injury or somebody struggling. If that doesn’t happen, he could end up in a similar role that David Price played in 2008. He is an all-star caliber starter when he makes it here.

SeatGeek: What over the last two years has changed in B.J. Upton’s game to make him go from one of the young rising stars in baseball, to someone who looks lost at the plate?

Devon Rogers: In the beginning it was his shoulder. He was playing through a torn labrum. Then we saw him mashing in the 2008 playoffs and he had surgery. You said it correctly, he looks lost. He swings at just about anything and pulls off the ball. He is still salvageable, but he needs to figure out something quickly.

SeatGeek: What is the secondary market like in Tampa? Do more people buy tickets off the secondary market or from the team?  If someone was coming to the Trop for the first time where would you recommend they sit?  Why do the Rays have such a hard time selling tickets when they are in first place?

Devon Rogers: I do not buy off of the secondary market, but the team encourages Stub Hub. Scalping also happens, as it is legal as long as it is not on Tropicana Field property. I think most of the sales go through the team though. If they were looking for value, I would recommend the outfield. There are not many bad seats out there and they are not much more expensive than the upper deck. All outfield is the same price, so you could sit in the first row for the same price as the last. The lower you go the better. If money is no object, there is the Whitney Bank Club and the Home Plate club. The Whitney Bank club has an all you can eat buffet and leather seats located under the second deck on the lower level. The Home Plate club has the same buffet, but these seats are the leather seats in the first 3 or 4 rows behind home plate, approximately 50 feet from the plate. I believe the Rays have such a hard time selling tickets due to the economy. The economy has been hit especially hard in this area and most families cannot afford to go to the game. Also, some people in Tampa are stubborn to come to St. Petersburg to see a game. They believe that the stadium should be in Tampa so they don’t have to drive as far. That is a stupid reason, but it is mostly the economy.

I’d like to thank Devon for taking the time to answer some Rays questions from SeatGeek.  You can find Devon Rogers at Riseoftherays.com.   Watch out for more MLB Team Profiles weekly on the SeatGeek Sports Blog.

Last night the Lakers were able to pull off a game 5 victory at home, with a buzzer-beating layup by Ron Artest. While a win is a win, and this win put the Lakers ahead in the series 3 games to 2, Artest’s late game heroics covered up some disturbing signs for Los Angeles.

First of all, the Lakers blew an 18 point lead they held with under four minutes to go in the third quarter, a collapse of epic proportions that got swept under the rug because of the victory. The Lakers were plagued in the fourth quarter by poor decision making, and shoddy shot selection. Glaring examples of this were Artest’s not one, but two ill-advised jump shots with one minute to play and the Lakers up by 3. The second of those two came with 22 seconds on the shot clock! Come on Ron, you know better than that. Hold the ball. Take your time, set up a good shot, and make it harder on the Suns to come back down the other end.

Additionally, the Lakers continued to take way too many 3-point shots, racking up 24 attempts, and hitting only 7. A team is not going to win on a consistent basis shooting under 30% from the 3-point line unless it gets tremendous play from its big men. To the Lakers’ credit, they did manage to pull down 19 offensive rebounds, which compensated for their sloppy shooting to a certain extent.

In the final seconds the Lakers got lucky. Kobe had another outstanding performance, coming close to a triple-double, scoring 30 points, pulling down 11 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists. However, his double-pump catch-and-shoot heave with three seconds left was ill-advised. Now Kobe, I understand that you’re the man to be taking the last shot, but with 3.5 seconds left on the clock, you had plenty of time to create a better shot than a fade-away jumper over two defenders. After the game during his postgame press conference Kobe claimed to have seen Artest cutting towards the basket as he released the shot. Whether or not that was the case, NBA fans have come to expect better looks from a player as talented and clutch as Kobe Bryant.

Here’s Kobe’s post game interview:

One other factor that played into the Laker’s victory was Phoenix’s uncharacteristically abysmal free-throw shooting. The Suns shot 69% from the charity stripe. For a team that was in the top 12 in free-throw percentage during the regular season, last night’s performance was unexpected and inexcusable. Even Steve Nash, generally a free-throw shooting machine, was only 3-5 from the line.

Last night’s game was exciting and entertaining, but don’t get fooled into thinking this wraps up the series for the Lakers. Neither team has won a game on the road. If both teams continue to play well, I predict they’ll be heading back to L.A. for game seven on Monday night.

Here are the highlights from Game 5

and if you want to see all the high-flying action and excitement in person check out the best ticket deals to game 6 & game 7

The  SeatGeek Sports Blog will be doing Team Profiles for all the Major League Baseball teams over the next couple of months.  Each profile will include 5 topical questions about the team, answered by those who follow the teams the closest, the bloggers.  For the Minnesota Twins Andrew Kneeland of Twinstarget.com was nice enough to provide some insight on the team.

SeatGeek:  How do Twins fans like Target Stadium?  Is it playing as a pitchers or hitters park? What is the secondary ticket market like now in Minnesota with a smaller stadium in terms of seats?  Where would you recommend a person going for their first time sit?

Andrew Kneeland: This early in the season, Twins fans are still learning the layout of Target Field. Although it’s impossible to tell this early, the stadium appears to favor pitchers more so than hitters. Tickets for every regular season game at Target Field in 2010 sold out in just minutes, and the demand for Twins’ tickets is certainly high. For your first game, I would recommend sitting in the second level behind home plate, allowing you to see the entire field as well as the outstanding Minneapolis skyline.

SeatGeek: Although he has struggled a bit in his last few starts, it seems that Liriano has found his control again.  Is there anything else that he has changed to get back to being dominant again?

Andrew Kneeland: These last three starts have been very forgettable for Twins fans, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that Liriano will never return to his 2006 form. The difference between ’09 Liriano and ’10 Liriano, though, is a less violent scap loading motion. This eases the strain on his arm, but allows his slider to be as deadly as ever. He will never be the perennial Cy Young threat we thought he was a few years ago, but Liriano can still be a very solid top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher for years to come.

SeatGeek: Do any Twins fans care that Mauer’s HR numbers have dropped back to pre 09 levels, or do they consider 09, in terms of power, a fluke?

Andrew Kneeland: Well, I’m sure some fans care, but with the offense producing at an excellent clip it hardly matters. I view Mauer’s home run total in 2009 as a relative fluke, but he certainly will find his power groove later this season and progress to his seasonal average of 16 home runs per season.

SeatGeek: What are the feelings of the fans toward Manager Ron Gardenhire?

Andrew Kneeland: Generally, Twins fans are very appreciative of the work Gardenhire has done in Minnesota. Although he is usually the prime scape-goat, Gardy is one of the best managers in baseball, and Twins fans recognize and appreciate this.

SeatGeek: Are there any Twins minor leaguers that will have a impact on the ball club this year? If so, who, and can you give me a scouting report? 

Andrew Kneeland: There aren’t many minor leaguers who have a chance of playing with the big-league club in 2010, as most of the team’s top prospects are either in Single- or Double-A. Third-baseman Danny Valencia is currently hitting .302/.345/.389 in Triple-A, and will likely be promoted to man the Hot Corner in a month or so. He is an average defender, and possesses slight pop in his bat. At best, Valencia is probably capable of hitting .280/.330/.430 in the Major Leagues.

I’d like to thank Andrew for taking the time to answer some Twins questions from SeatGeek.  You can find Andrew Kneeland at Twinstarget.com and on Twitter @Akneeland.   Watch out for more MLB Team Profiles weekly on the SeatGeek Sports Blog.

It has been reported that the farm from the famous baseball movie, “Field of Dreams”, is being sold for a whopping $5.4 million dollars.  The rumor that my sources have been telling me is that there are two potential buyers for this legendary property and their names are Kevin Costner and Cal Ripken Jr.

 To the average person this would be two logical people to be interested in buying a baseball field.  The “Iron Man” Cal Ripken used to play baseball, and this field would a great asset to have.  “Crash” Davis/Billy Chapel/Kevin Costner was the star of the movie that took place on the field, besides a man with as many surnames as Mick Foley/Mankind/Dude Love/Cactus Jack needs to have something like this to fit his baseball persona.  What people don’t know about these two individuals is that this is not the first time their paths have crossed.  To keep it short there is an urban legend throughout baseball that in 1997 Costner and Ripken’s wife were found “together” by Cal. Ripken proceeded to beat the hell out of him. Since Cal was not at the stadium for the scheduled game,  the Orioles canceled the game due to “lighting problems” and Ripken’s consecutive game streak was saved.

 Flash forward now 13 years to 2010.   My sources, who if I disclosed their identities would completely ruin the little credibility that this story has, said that Costner was clearly the front runner for this property and looked to have it locked up until Ripken heard about the sale.  Depending on who you talk to Ripken was quoted by people close to him, “I wonder how that two timing Costner will feel when he sees me mending the fences and mowing the corn field” and he told these same people that his message to Costner would be like Dallas Braden’s grandmas, “STICK IT!”.  I’m not sure how this story is going to end, but it should at least be amusing.

 For those who couldn’t guess, this story is fake.

I’d like to preface this post by explaining that I have actually met Jerry Manual and thought he was pretty cool guy and I hope he doesn’t get canned, but If he does I need to be ready.  So I have decided as an unemployed bum with coaching experience, to write a cover letter describing my qualifications incase the Mets are looking for someone else to drive the team into the ground.  Below is a copy of what the aforementioned cover letter would look like:

Christopher J. Matcovich

31 Forrest Street           Airmont, NY 10932     (555) 555-5555

Chris@seatgeek.com

 To Mr. Wilpon,

 RE: Mets Managerial Position

                 I am writing in hopes that you would consider me for your soon to be vacant Managerial position with the New York Mets.  I have a strong passion for baseball, and besides that I need a job.  I feel my coaching experience and my strong passion for baseball would be a great fit for your organization.

               I will tell you why I am the man to resurrect this franchise and bring them to glory once again.  First, unlike the current manager, I can put a sentence together that is not bookended with the phrases “Uhhhhhhh” and “hahahahah”.  As for my experience, I’m considered the Connie Mack of youth baseball in the Lower Hudson Valley.  Last summer I led the 13U Suffern Titans to a 13-5-1 record and to the Northern Valley Independence Day Tournament Championship.    I’d like to say the kids were a huge part of this success, but when you’re stealing signs and providing the pitchers with Vaseline it’s hard to make that statement.   Oh, I almost forgot about my playing days.  Where do I begin?  I made my first Little League All-Star team at 13 years old and it looked like I would be going to play ball at good ole STATE at that pace.  Then at age 17, when I was trying to leg out a grounder to the shortstop, I came up gimp.  I was told it was plantar fasciitis; my career was over almost as quickly as Alyssa Miliano’s show “Romantically Challenged”.

                 Thanks for reviewing my application, but I don’t see this as being a hard decision for the team with my level of qualifications (besides I couldn’t be any worse than Dallas Green, Art Howe, Willie Randolph, or Jerry Manual).  So why don’t you give me a call next week and we can talk numbers.  Thanks.

 Sincerely,

Christopher J. Matcovich