Trading Beer for Martinis, Legends for Celebs: The New Yankee Stadium

The "New" Yankee Stadium is planned to be a $1.3 billion copy of the old Yankee Stadium.

Not only will the money-pit look exactly the same, it will be built directly across the street from the field where Babe Ruth played his greatest years, the home of 26 World Series Championship teams.

From the concourses to the latticework on the roof of the stadium, most of the main characteristics of the old stadium will stay intact.

There will be exactly the same amount of bleachers as there were before. The "average" Yankees fan will be able to sit in the same seat they've always sat in, finding the same hand operated scoreboard in the same place.

Kids will know exactly where to stand if they want an autograph—after all, the bullpen and dugout will be in exactly the same place.

So why are they spending upwards of one billion dollars to create the same shrine to baseball, without the memories of championship teams and MVP's? 61 luxury suites, outdoor suites, party suites, martini bar and a members-only restaurant, that's why. 

The Yankees do not, as much as they believe it, rely on celebrities and the wealthy. They rely on their purse. They rely on George Steinbrenner's hideous check-writing habit.

Derek Jeter. World Series banners. Most importantly, they rely on a fan base that spans across New York, America and the world.

This does not only include the Upper East Side.  It also includes the run-down houses of their own neighborhood, the Bronx. It does not include only the Tri-State area; it includes family rooms in rural Iowa and bars in Japan.

The Yankees are not, as much as they believe it, dependent on the approval of the wealthy. America's pastime is founded on hot dogs and beer, not martinis and 800-thread-count sheets.

There are some things that $1.3 billion cannot fix. Though Joe Girardi proved himself worthy of a top-spot MLB position with the 2006 Marlins, he is exponentially dwarfed by the legacy of Joe Torre.

Torre's imprint upon a generation of baseball fans is irrevocable.  No one will be able to replace him.

But more than a billion dollars can buy a lot of things—namely, players. Sure, they've got the big-name veterans (Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera) and the organization-grown Joba Chamberlain. What the team lacks is the spirit of the old days.

Rivals no longer cower in the shadow of the Evil Empire. Roger Clemens' menacing arm has lost its shiny patina. Will the magic be gone forever when the hallowed batters' box of the Babe and Mr. October is no more?

At least we know that when the Yankees enter their "new" stadium in April, 2009, without having reached the postseason in 2008, we'll know it was in satisfying the tastes of New York's elite. Isn't that what the game is about?