It’s a confusing period in Bombers history to be sure. The team looks like shit, the new building is getting lousy press, so what’s a hopeless, pathetic, widely despised shill for the club supposed to do? But enough about Michael Kay, it seems longtime Bronx fixture Freddie “Sez” is having a rough go of it as well. From the New York Post’s Jeremy Olshan :

Freddy “Sez” Schuman, the one-eyed, cookware-clanking octogenarian who’s been an unofficial pinstripe mascot for 22 seasons was forced to panhandle for tickets at the new Yankee Stadium this past weekend.

On Opening Day he had no trouble getting into the new ballpark for free through the press gate, but on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday he had to depend on the kindness of fellow Yankee fans for free seats.

“The Yankees say I am a part of the stadium. What part am I, the toilet bowl?” Schuman said. “But the fans have come through. They gave me $40, and even $100 tickets.”

The uncertainty about his future presence at the stadium has given him insomnia and indigestion, Schuman said.

Yankee officials insist that shutting out their superfan was just a “miscommunication.” When Schuman first told the Post he was nervous about being shut out two weeks ago, a team spokeswoman said “We love Freddy and will accommodate him.”

“That’s fantastic news,” said Schuman, who lost his eye in a stickball injury, now lives on a fixed income of little more than $750 a month, he said.

He cannot afford the seats at the new game, and doesn’t really need one, since he spends his time in the stadium walking around and letting fans clank his pan with a spoon for good luck.