Greed is Good.

I anxiously await the Wallace Matthews article which criticizes the new Shea Stadium:

"The Boss says his new ballpark will be 'better for the fans.'"

It will be. I guarantee it. From the water fountain in the dugout to the carpeting in the press box.

"Do you like the idea of paying even more for your seat than the already league-high ticket prices at Yankee Stadium?"

Yes, if it results in a nicer stadium and a continually great team to watch.

"Do you not mind the prospect of being shut out of a game because the new park will have between 5,000 and 7,000 fewer seats?"

I don't mind.

"Are you OK with the idea of cozying up on the couch in front of the TV set because that is now the only seat for a Yankees game you can afford?"

Sounds like heaven.

"Have you grown accustomed to seeing one precious bit of New York history after another fall to the wrecker's ball?"

Yes. Like they did in 1974 to the real Yankee Stadium.

"If you answered yes to any or all of those questions, then The Boss is right. The new Yankee Stadium will be better for you."

I can not wait.

"What really makes this deal so distasteful is that it has been built on 15 years of ever-changing lies, each with the same purpose: to enrich the Yankees and rip off their fans."

Does any Yankee fan feel ripped off lately?

"All of this, of course, was designed to obscure the real reason: The old House That Ruth Built doesn't drive enough revenue, in the current vernacular, or at least not as much as it should."

I'm not sure if this has been obscured too much. Everybody knows the Yankees want to maximize profit potential. I think they're fairly upfront about it.

"Never mind that last night, for an essentially meaningless game between the Yankees and Orioles, more than 52,000 jammed their way into the park, or that this year they will top 4 million in attendance for the second year running."

Four million fans, all of whom are supposedly being ripped off.

Please stop saying games are meaningless and homeruns are meaningless and baseball is meaningless. The Yankees are in a pennant race. That win might put them in the playoffs.

You're a sportswriter. Find the meaning. Make up a meaning. Johnny Damon's homerun might have saved a dying kid in the hospital.

Even in the Yankees had a 20-game lead in the AL East, you just pointed out that there are 52,000 people jamming their way into the park. At the very least, it's meaningful to them.

"At an average ticket price of $50 a game - the high is $115 - the live gate alone generates some $2.5 million a night, times 81 nights. Throw in concessions, merchandising and the $60-million rights fee from the YES network, and you've got quite a haul."

Yup. Quite a haul. Ain't it wonderful?

Money is the fuel that drives the entire enterprise.

"Ah, but the new Stadium will have 57 luxury boxes, costing upwards of $500,000 each, where the well-heeled can attend a cocktail party with their backs to the game."

Thanks, well-heeled with your backs to the game!

You just paid for 1/4th of a middle reliever.

Now, when I'm sitting comfortably in front of my TV, I don't have to suffer through as many Carlos Almanzars blowing the game in the seventh inning.

"There will be a gourmet restaurant that will make you long for a $7 hot dog."

A gourmet restaurant sounds like the worst thing imaginable. The children! Somebody please think of the children!

You know what I eat and drink when I go to Yankee Stadium? Nothing. Maybe overpay for a cheap beer, but that's about it.

Why? Because the food is a ripoff.

Kind of like the $8.00 tub of popcorn at a movie theater.

Nobody's putting a gun to your head to eat a $7 hot dog.

"There will be amenities you cannot imagine and only the most privileged will be able to afford."

I have a fairly strong imagination. What amenities will be provided that only the most privileged will be able to afford? A topless oil massage by Jorge Posada's wife?

It's probably just some overpriced wine coolers and chicken fingers.