Today’s news is powered by Levon Helm:

• Ticket prices for 2010:

. . . prices for more than 80 percent of the stadium will remain the same.

Some of the highest price seats will see reductions of up to 40 percent, including those in the Legends area and the Delta Sky 360 Suite. The first level of non-premium suites, which are one level up behind home plate, will be reduced from $325 to $250 or $235 per game per seat, depending on the location. . . .

The only increase will be seen by those who own tickets in a group of 1,700 seats that surround the Delta suite, which currently sell for $100 per game. Those prices will increase to $125 per game next year.

The much publicized $2,500 per game suite tickets, which were not part of the seats whose price was cut in half in April, will cost $1,500 in 2010.

[My take: I guess we should say . . . umm . . . “thanks”?]

• Joel Sherman is confused with by the hubbub over “The Joba Rules”.
• The preliminary schedule for 2010 has been released.  Here’s a review of what they have to look forward to.
• Andy Pettitte will skip his next start to rest a tired shoulder.
• Kevin Goldstein highlights the best Yankee minor league performances this season:

. . . Even though he began the year as the top prospect in the system, catcher Jesus Montero went from best prospect in the Yankee system to one of the best in all of baseball by batting .337/.389/.562 across two levels, and having no problems handling Double-A pitching as a teenager.

A 10^th-round pick last year who signed for nearly half a million, righty D.J. Mitchell cruised through the Sally League, posted a 2.87 ERA at High-A Tampa, and compiled a ground-ball ratio of nearly 3-to-1.

• Former Baseball Toaster guy Ken Arneson gets “interviewed” by Fangraphs.
• The man responsible for developing the MLB iconic batter silhouette logo will be honored before Wednesday’s game:

“I went with the silhouette because it was simple and easy to reproduce,” said (Jerry) Dior. “I thought it had a good identity — but I never imagined it would become what it has.” . . .

Chosen by a committee that included ex-Yankees president Mike Burke and former Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Dior’s vision was unveiled that fall. Framed by the words “100th Anniversary,” it appeared on uniforms for the first time during the 1969 season.

Since that point it has gradually — and literally — been woven into the fabric of the sport, establishing for baseball a palpable and enduring visual identity. The image has transcended dramatic shifts in both technology and design aesthetic over the past four decades, flying straight and true as a kind of denominational flag for all things baseball. . . .

Dior’s description bears the mark of something archetypal — a certain seamlessness in thought and production. Over the years the logo has become visually synonymous with the sport itself, an image that somehow manages to signify tradition, integrity and innovation despite its innate simplicity. . . .

So special, in fact, that it has served as the creative inspiration for various other logos. It was the basis for the NBA’s design, in particular, and has influenced the images that now represent various other major sports.

• Mel Hall turns 49 today.  Hall put together four consistent, if unspectacular, seasons for the Bombers from ’89-’92 (105 OPS+ during that time).
• Happy 50th birthday to Tim Raines.  Raines was a valuable cog for the Yanks from ’96 through ’98, compiling a .299/.395/.429 line.
• On this date in 1979, at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers hold Catfish Hunter Day to honor their future Hall of Fame pitcher who will be retiring at the end of the season at the age of 33. A 20-year-old left-hander named Dave Righetti makes his major league debut for the home town team.
• On this date in 2008, in the last homestand at Yankee Stadium II, Derek Jeter passes Lou Gehrig for the most career hits at the storied stadium. He collects his 1,270th hit in the ballpark, a single past Juan Uribe, while facing Gavin Floyd. The Yanks still lose, 6-2, to the ChiSox.