The Field

[Namaste]

one time common

[Omar]

You didn't see Swishers upper deck shot with the roof closed I guess. And Gabby's oppo.

At the foot of the pop-art sculpture that dominates any view of gleaming new Marlins Park is a semi-circular section of wall that swoops slightly into center field before curling back to meet the traditional outfield wall. The quirk creates the platform that holds this $2.5-million home run sculpture and it means some 418 feet away from home plate is a nook in the outfield, a triangle where triples will be born.

During batting practice Monday, as the New York Yankees too their swings, a few observers with experience being around ballparks could read the future in that nook.

It's an easy spot to bring the walls in a little bit.

Whenever a new ballpark opens -- and this is the eighth in eight consecutive years for Major League Baseball -- and the dress rehearsals are done, the question immediately shifts to one thing: how will it play? The St. Louis Cardinals got a feel for it during their batting practice Tuesday, and many of the hitters left the cage talking about how big the place is, how far a ball has to go to reach the walls let alone eclipse them.

"Big stadium," Yankees pitcher Hiroki Kuroda said through an interpreter after making a start at Marlins Park on Monday night. "So, I think it's going to help a lot of pitchers."

The Yankees spent two days at Marlins Park before returning to their Grapefruit League grind. I canvassed their clubhouse Monday to get a sense of what the Cardinals can expect when they open the ballpark (officially) tonight on national TV.

ON HITTING

"If you hit it went," outfielder Curtis Granderson said. "There weren’t any cheapies. Even in batting practice. The guys that hit them normally hit them that far. I didn’t notice anything too different."

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who gushed about having a big-league ballpark in his old neighborhood, likened the place to Citi Field, and then added that the Marlins' ballpark was less-forgiving than the home of the New York Mets. Left unsaid was the fact the Mets have moved the walls in this season after seeing a power drain on their lineup since moving into the Citi.

The dimensions at Marlins Park are imposing, and inventive.

It is 392 feet to the right-center gap. The gap. It is 418 feet to center. It's 386 feet to the power alley in left field. It's 335 feet down the line in right, and its 344 feet down the left-field line. Matt Holliday quickly noted however that the distance in left field goes from 344 to far rather quickly because of the straight-line wall that juts back toward the Clevelander, the night club past the wall in left. The Marlins have also posted distances to other parts of the park. It's 446 feet to the seats on the second deck beyond right field. It's apparently 502 feet to the section of seats beyond center field. The Miami Herald beat writer Clark Spencer likens the dimensions to Coors Field. The altitude? Not so much.

"It's a bigger ballpark," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "You kind of look at the lineup that the marlins are going to be rolling out. They’ve got some boppers in there. They’ve got speed. There are going to be a lot of triples hit into this ballpark. A lot of doubles and a lot of triples. It doesn’t feel like a place with a lot of homers hit. (Giancarlo) Stanton will. Stanton can hit them out of Yellowstone, you know."

ON FIELDING

Granderson spent some time in center with the piece of work behind him (see the story from the P-D on the Marlins here for an explanation) and reports back from the frontier that it's not as big out there as maybe you think.

"I felt like I was playing shallow but yet I was right up against the wall," Granderson said. "I can’t tell. In BP it looks huge when you’re standing at the dugout or when you're hitting. It looks enormous. When you’re out there it doesn’t feel as deep. The gaps are big though. It just doesn’t feel as deep."

ON THE ROOF

The Yankees played one game with the roof closed, and then on Monday the Marlins opened both the roof and the windows that sit Miller Park-like near the concourse beyond left field. Marlins president David Samson said the team is on the lookout for a "jet-stream effect" when the rook is open and the windows are either open or closed. They want to see how it effects play (read: hitting) depending on the open/closed combination.

The Yankees had differing views of the ballpark with the roof open and the roof closed. Several said they didn't think the ballpark's play changed with the roof open because the walls didn't move in at the same time. Granderson said he didn't see/feel much of a difference. Swisher disagreed.

"With the roof open and the roof closed it’s completely different," said Swisher, who hit a home run at the new ballpark Sunday. "With the roof open it feels bigger. Obviously with no roof it looks bigger."

Swisher also mentioned that the dirt in the infield was a little, well, sluggish for runners. The Cardinals' fielders didn't mention much after their workout on the field Tuesday, though coach Jose Oquendo to a measure of the infield grass and expected it to "play fast."

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
No stranger to opening a ballpark and all the kinks and quirks that reveal themselves throughout an entire season, Yankees captain Derek Jeter took a more measured approach to describing the new Marlins' park. He mentioned first that the roof means the city and fans can count on no rain delays or rainouts for the first time in club history. He mentioned that the ballpark will be a draw because it's guaranteed to be cool even in July, whereas the other place, the Dolphins' Sun Life Stadium, was a microwave oven in the summer.
And he mentioned the dimensions, but only through the prism of a championship.

"You've got to hit it, I know that much," Jeter said. "It's a pitchers' park. But if you want to win, you need a pitchers’ park."
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Source

[Bobbob1313]

"You've got to hit it, I know that much," Jeter said. "It's a pitchers' park. But if you want to win, you need a pitchers’ park."

This is an extremely odd thing for a 5-time champion with the Yankees to say.

[Omar]

Wasn't the former Yankee Stadium much more neutral, and rather deep in certain parts?

[Bobbob1313]

It had shallow lines, deep alleys and a pretty normal center field, as far as dimensions go. But I don't think it was at all a pitcher's park.

And the new one (the one in which he won his most recent championship) is definitely not a pitcher's park.

He should have said "If you want to win, you need exceptionally talented players." You don't 'need' any sort of park to win.

So, I guess in fairness, it was just a weird thing for anyone to say.

[Metes]

Perhaps he meant that for the Marlins to win, they need a pitchers' park.