Courtesy New York Newsday

(April 17, 2009) New Yankee Stadium has been praised widely for its beauty, majesty and sight lines - except, of course, for those infamous $5 bleacher seats with the sports bar in the way.

But far more people watch any given game on television than in person, and their views of the new big ballpark in the Bronx are much less than perfect.

Many fans e-mailed after the exhibition games against the Cubs to express frustration that the important "high home plate'' camera angle is marred by the protective netting behind the plate.

YES has been working on the problem for weeks, initially lowering its position to avoid the wires that hold up the net. (In part because there is less area behind home plate in the new stadium, the net is larger than it was at the old one for safety reasons.)

For yesterday's opener, which also was televised nationally by the MLB Network, it appeared the tension on the net itself had been eased, taking it out of view on some plays up the middle.

That camera angle is crucial for showing where a ball hit into fair territory is headed.

John Filippelli, YES' president of production and programming, declined Thursday to discuss that or other TV challenges at the new stadium, including views down the lines in the outfield.

But on Tuesday, Yankees president Randy Levine said "safety is the paramount thing'' and suggested most complaints have come from journalists.

"We don't think it's a very significant factor here at the Yankees,'' he said. "I know some of you in the media might think so. But we're not hearing it.''

(I should have shown him the inbox of my BlackBerry at that point, but I didn't think of it.)

Levine said the Yankees and YES always look to improve the product, including camera angles.

But he said, "There's been a lot of attention to the high home shot; I think way too much attention . . . We think, with respect, you guys have made a lot more of it than there really is.''