How Fitting

Training camp opens today, and not a moment to soon. In a mere few days, there will be hockey played at Madison Square Garden, albeit the preseason variety. The way the Mets are going through the motions, just the sight of the Garden ice is something to look forward to.

I was not at Citi on Tuesday/Wednesday, but had the pleasure to be there Thursday, the most miserable of the three value dates. That place was dead (yet somehow in the middle of the game, the Shake Shack line was still wrapping around, just not outside the line barriers). If you wanted to go to the field seats late in the game, you could have. The staff almost felt sorry for us and were not checking tickets. Ah, the one benefit for your team stinking it up- good seats and small crowds. Still a few more home games to attend- is there anything to look forward to?

We can see Angel Pagan trotting out to the outfield day by day, with Jerry showing absolutely no discipline for each and every boneheaded mental mistake. I don't care if he's taking care of it in-house. Don't put him out there in the next inning. That's what we want to see. Are you worried about his confidence or that of Bobby Parnell, who continues to take a beating in his Bad Bobby starts. There were two Good Bobby starts, but a lot more the other way. He's making Oliver Perez look consistent.


Last night, you knew Cole Hamels would eventually shut down the Mets. The Mets knocked him around twice already this season. An outing like last night was bound to happen.

It's time someone just drills Chase Utley, making it count. This guy has been leaning over the plate forever and enjoys getting nicked on the elbow. What's there to lose? A pitcher getting thrown out? We have a deep (number of people, not talent) bullpen. Suspension? Who cares? Philly baserunners? We're going to lose anyway.

Are we done with the red hats already? Seriously. How about next season we bring back those navy blues and teams have options to wear the red or the blue.

Isn't This a Pitcher's Park?

That makes 5 homeruns in the last 7.1 innings of Nelson Figueroa as a starter in Citi Field. Good thing his next start is to open up the next road trip.

Elmer Dessens was given the 8th inning yesterday, albeit trailing by a run and not in a setup man role, but sure enough served one up to Derrek Lee on his first pitch, a second-decker.

I know there's absolutely no other way to the get the crowd going these days, but I can't stand the noise meters on Citivision. They were seemingly appearing at some point of every Met at-bat in the last few innings.

Same Start, Different Result

I'm watching this game from the Promenade last night and I got this feeling of deja vu. I flip back in the scorebook of games I attended this season to look at 6/10. Mike Pelfrey vs Cole Hamels- yep. Mets knocking around Hamels at a rate of two hits per inning, knocking him out after five- yep. 4-1 lead- yep. Blown save in the late innings- NO.

Pelfrey got hit by Hamels and it seemed to ignite the Mets. The team needs more of the response Pelfrey displayed. Just a little passion. You don't have to charge the mound. Just make sure the other team knows you're ticked off. Jerry went nuts too, arguing another pathetic call by an umpire this season. You gotta love it.

The Mets held on, and it was good that they did, considering how many Phillies fans were in the ballpark. There was even a strong "Let's Go Phillies" chant early on that had to be drowned out by boos. It helped the atmosphere though, big time. This was the most life Citi Field had all season and the Mets are pretty much out of it.

Jayson Werth has a smug look for his face shot that appears on the big screen for his at-bats. Jayson, it's ok to crack a smile. We'll settle for you going 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts.

I'm done with Anderson Hernandez. Unfortunately it's either him or Wilson Valdez the rest of the season. Joy.

We have now learned that the out-of-town scoreboard does not support anyone that scores 20. The Yankee 16-7 lead over Boston, suddenly was cut down to a 10-7 lead, then Boston had an 11-10 lead. WTF? The game was removed from the scoreboard shortly thereafter to prevent any further confusion. Of course, anyone who had been taking a peek at the scoreboard throughout the game knew exactly what happened. A 20-spot? It could be a long winter for Yankee haters in New York.

Only for Die Hards

Livan is pretty lucky these games don't matter much anymore. He got zero reaction as he was pulled from the game last night. The crowd does not care. They were busy doing the wave in the late innings before they all left en masse in the 8th.

It takes great patience to stick around in game like last night. Got a seat upgrade for last night's stellar affair thanks to a friend who could not attend, and sitting in left-center you really appreciate that new video board in the right field corner. Indeed, that would be something I would complain about had those been my seats. So at least you could say it was sort of a good time. Although that's tough to say when you look at the product on the field.

I hope Alex Cora is back next season. For him to continue playing on two bad thumbs since back in May- that's all about the team right there. The Mets need more guys like that.

Last Men Standing

David Wright hit the disabled list. A fitting end to a movie with a sad ending where the bad guys manage to kill all the heroes with the final blow coming in painful fashion.

However, there were still some characters alive and active, albeit not the stars with names like Reyes, Delgado, Beltran and Wright. Not including our catcher, they were the remaining starting three from opening day and they all came through this afternoon. Luis Castillo hit a 420 foot homerun- more on that in a sec. Jeff Francoeur (not on our opening day roster but you get the point) with the leadoff single in the 9th. And Daniel Murphy, who finally comes through vs. a lefty to win the game. That's all we have left.

Castillo was hell bent on hitting a homerun today. Did you see the swing and miss in the first inning? He wanted to hit one in the left field landing section. To those unfamiliar with Citi Field, the left field landing section is the second deck in left field, a poor choice of a name, considering that only a couple balls have gone in there all season. He didn't do it in the first, but sure did in the fifth to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. I think Castillo should permanently bat right-handed. Would you take .300 and and OBP of .380 with 1 HR or a .270/.350 with a much higher slugging percentage? The guy's got power from that right side and is a completely different hitter who can drive the ball with authority.

This is a small but noticeable thing: why does Anderson Hernandez not dive for that ball in the hole that gave the Giants the 1-0 lead? If he stops it, the run does not score. It's says a lot and shows you why a team like the Nationals would be fine with handing him back to the Mets.

Is there anyone else who by the third inning thought that Mike Pelfrey was going to throw nine no-hit innings, but the Mets were going to lose 1-0 in 10?

Some more Citi Field notes from a hot Sunday: Please get rid of that Jon Stewart "Let's Go Mets" clip. Also just when I thought I'd have a nice relaxing lunch in the shade of the bullpen plaza I see that it was blocked off for some private party. I hope this is not an every game occurrence.

Let's Not Get Too Excited

These were the Giants we're talking about, an offense that's worse than that of our depleted Mets. However, the start by Bobby Parnell last night was very encouraging. A pitch limit of around 80 and he still manages to go six? That's efficient, but it helps with a free swinging team who's only threat is a guy by the name of Pablo. Bengie Molina's not hitting homeruns here and his groundballs are automatic outs as long as an infielder manages to stop it from going into the outfield.

Very impressed by the improvements at Citi Field last night. The giant screens in the right field corner and the Promenade food court were now working. Here's to being able to eat there an watch the game. Not too be too picky, but another one in the bullpen plaza would be the icing on the cake.

Although I am not a Promenade row 1 ticket holder you have to feel good for them now that they are starting to lower those LED ribbon boards, which previously obstruct your view if you sit comfortably in your seat. Only left field is done, but they'll get to the rest.

How can we forget about the presence of the championship banners on the big wall in the outfield? There is so much space there you would think this would have been a no brainer in the initial design. I guess they were saving the space for advertising but thought better of it.

Finally, I have to get to games earlier so I can finish eating before the first pitch. The Omir Santos grand slam, David Wright's first opposite field homer of the season, and Angel Pagan's leadoff shot last night, all homeruns missed. I guess it's nice that the Mets like to jump on the board early.

Five Months Too Late

As per Adam Rubin, the Mets are wearing throwbacks this weekend and there were be some additions to Citi Field. Championship Banners that be viewed from the field? What a concept!

As for the "throwbacks"- proceeds going to charity my foot. The Mets are getting a cut somewhere and are doing anything they can to get some additional revenue. If you want to wear throwback jerseys, bring back the home look from the 60s. Cream color, Blue and Orange with pinstripes, no black. I love Mr. Met, but he does not belong on the team jersey, even if it's a small patch. Come to think, is there any team out there that features their mascot on the jersey? I could think of one hideous example from the 1995-96 NHL season.

Crack

Nelson Figueroa was getting hammered. The oohs and aahs off every crack of the bat in the first and second inning gave you an idea of what was happening if you were not paying attention to the field. I felt really bad for the guy. Here he was, his final shot, deserving of the start (I don't care what you're hearing on talk radio, his AAA performance says otherwise), friends and family in attendance and he gets shellacked.

Not the kind of game you want to take your old man to, which looked to be over early when it was 6-0 after two. My Dad went to another game with my brother earlier this season. That one was 5-0 after four and ended up an 8-0 loss. Poor guy. Had a good time though.

At least there was some fight in this one as the bullpen kept things in check, highlighted by 3 1/3 scoreless from Tim Redding of all people. The Mets chipped away, but the attitude from the Citi Field faithful spelled defeat from the beginning. It's really sad how many times the scoreboard has to display the "get loud" meter to get the crowd amped up.

Mark Reynolds is an absolute freak. This guy mashes balls like he's playing in a slow-pitch softball league.

Joel Pinero faces the Mets tonight. Should be interesting considering his last couple of starts in Flushing, where he has been dominant.

Was That Really Worth It?

The latest I have ever arrived for a game was last night. The sixth inning.

It was pouring after work, so why go to Citi Field and spend cash when you can eat dinner at home. So that's what me and my wife (who was supposed to go with me) did. Thinking there could be a long delay with a start time of 8:30 or worse, 9:00, I told her to stay home despite her cravings for Box Frites. I called a buddy of mine a little after 7:30. See you there in about 45 minutes? Easy enough. He's coming from Astoria, the place where we hear about that steakhouse on the radio all the time, just a short drive over the left field fence.

I'm out the door with the radio and I hear Steve Somers saying they are throwing it back to Howie and Wayne at 7:55. Damn, that grounds crew means business. When I got a radio signal on the 7 train when I transferred at Roosevelt avenue, they were ready for the first pitch. OK, so I miss an inning or so.

At the foot of the train steps I wait as the Mets are due up in their half of the first. Ten minutes later, a phone call, it's my buddy.

"Man, this bus is really bad."
"Oh, you are stuck in traffic somewhere? How close are you?"
"No, I'm still waiting."
"Waiting? Where?"
"In Astoria, on 21st and Astoria Blvd."

My "buddy" managed to go further out, closer to Manahattan, just to wait for a bus that was probably going to crawl after the rain and whatever traffic there was, instead of simply hopping on the N and maybe catching one of the last 7 express trains at Queensboro Plaza.

Despite the encouragement from him to just go in and not wait, I waited. That's what buddies do. Thank goodness for the Mets team store adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. Perfect view of SNY broadcast while you wait outside the stadium.

Of course the game flew as I waited. Three solo homeruns and nothing else and before you knew it we finally passed through the turnstiles during the top of the sixth. Even at 9:15 there is still a steady flow of people coming down the steps with every arrival of a 7 train. I wonder just how late people arrive. Anyway, we got a nice field level view of David Wright's solo blast to tie the game.

I thought it would be fitting if we get nine innings in anyway via a 15 inning affair, seeing the way the game was going. But Sean Green threw a wild pitch after inducing a bases loaded double play with no one out in the eight. Oh well. Was it worth it? Yes.

Sweet Sunburn

The streak is over. The Mets won a workday afternoon game with me in attendance.

All it took was one big inning, where there was hit after hit, the highlight coming from Angel Berroa (Angel Berroa!) knocking a double into right center field. With Johan being Johan, that's all the team needed.

The weekdays matinees have been memorable for all the wrong reasons in the last couple of seasons. Up 7-0, with Tim Redding pitching the 9th, and then Alex Cora dropping a toss from David Wright for a force out creating runners on 1st and 2nd with one out, of course I was thinking the worst. Blowing a 7-0 lead with be the cherry on top. A double play by the next batter put all those fears aside.

If you sit on the third base side, it does not take long for the shade to come over you and allow you to enjoy the rest of the game in comfortable fashion. Not quite as fortunate for the noon start time. No sunscreen today. Ouch. And to think I watched the first couple of innings in shaded standing room areas to kill some time to allow the sun to move some. Didn't wait long enough.

The Shake Shake line was just as bad at 11:35am as it is at 6:45pm.

Five in a row, with game 2 of the day-night double dip underway in just a little over two hours.

Scoreboard Watching

When you're hot, you're hot- all things go your way. I could've called Luis Castillo out from the Promenade Level. What was Razor Shines thinking when you are up 3-0 with no one out in the 8th inning? Sure enough, Francoeur struck out and Tatis popped up in the following at bats, so maybe Razor knew something we all didn't.

It didn't matter in the end. Sean Green did his best to prevent us from catching the 10:17 out of Woodside, but failed. You gotta love that 7 express with 61st as the next stop. If you can get from your seat in the Promenade at 10:00 and be on a train at 10:17 (in addition to having a little luck on your side), you know traffic flow leaving the park has greatly improved at Citi.

One thing that was not an improvement was the second scoreboard in right field. Gone were the lineups and pitch count. At least the pitch count could be found on one of the auxiliary scoreboards. If you didn't keep a scorecard, your only hope for knowing the lineup was memory or checking who's in the on-deck circle. Instead they made the second scoreboard in right a stretched out copy of the left. I know they are trying to satisfy the fans with obstructed views down in the left field reserved, but having two giant scoreboards almost side by side showing the exact same thing is a waste of resources.

Thankfully, the second board went out in the third inning. Zap. It was gone. Not sure if it was intentional, or a malfunction, but I'm glad it happened. I'm sure many others in the park would appreciate the return of the lineups. Don't you miss that giant Shea board now?

In order to please those who can't see Citivision is it too much to ask for that feed to be piped into all those TVs down there instead of the SNY broadcast? I'm sure they can make that happen. Leave the SNY broadcast on the TVs in all of the concessions, and have Citivision run on all the screens for the audience in the lower levels. Now everyone can watch the Kiss Cam. And we can have our lineups back.

Four in a row with Johan up next. Maybe there's some hope.

Lifeless

Talk about dead. Not only the team, where there was another listless performance, an 8-0 loss. How about Citi Field? The fans are frustrated, but the boos aren't as vociferous. And what is there to boo? The team simply stinks right now. It's not even about underperforming high-paid veterans, the target of such boos. There's no hope. The fans know it. Manny Ramirez barely got a reaction in just his fourth game off the suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Mike Pelfrey struck out a Dodger in the second inning and there was NO reaction from the crowd. You usually get something even for strike 1 or strike 2. But barely a reaction for strike 3? Wow.

I want to give Citi Field time for some real meaningful games to be played there before you can judge the atmosphere. Gary Cohen made a big deal about the place being juiced up for the Phillies series a couple of weeks ago. I tend to agree with Gary on many points, but not this one. The place has not come close to Shea in the pumped-up-for-a-game environment just yet. Everyone's busy getting tacos in the first couple of innings and then the lower bowl is spending the rest of the game in the Delta/Ebbetts/Caesar's Club. It's sad, but it's the reality of today's world.

As for the latest injury report from Omar Minaya yesterday: expect Reyes, Beltran, and Maine to miss the rest of the season.

***

Chris Pronger signed a seven-year extension with the Flyers. Have fun with that contract in a couple of years when he becomes another aging Derian Hatcher.

A Game Of Redeeming Features

After seeing this McGehee fellow, one had to wonder, "who the hell is this guy?" We got to know Mr McGehee very well last night. First he one-upped Luis Castillo on a dropped pop up- it was easier than Luis' attempt, although did not happen with two out in the ninth inning. Too bad Castillo's miscue did not happen in the top of the ninth a couple of weeks ago. Perhaps he would have had the chance to redeem himself with a grand slam in the bottom half. Sure. Luis Castillo? Never mind Luis, how about a MET homerun?

Granted, the Mets did come up with a nice little ninth inning rally last night. That was quickly snuffed by one pitch from Trevor Hoffman, who induced Brian Schneider (who seems to get juiced up when he finds two men on base) into a game ending double play.

Then there's news like this on Beltran. The Mets are overly optimistic when it comes to injuries, and the Post is doom and gloom. Can we find any middle ground here?!?

On a side note, while the Mets were being knocked around in Milwaukee, I was running the old Shea bases at Citi. I was at the Mets new home for a company party in the Caesars club, and I must say, if you have a special occasion and want to hold an event, the place works. How much it costs to rent for a few hours I have no idea. However, if you are in charge of ordering the food for your party, please do not pick Flan for dessert.

After Further Review…

Citi Field will lead the league in homeruns needing the aid of instant replay. For the second time in this homestand, the Mets benefited. Both times they were awarded homeruns for just missing them. In Citi Field, almost is good enough. Maybe the umps feel pity for the Mets and their paltry homerun totals.

Following the questionable homer, Ramon Castro hit one that fooled Gary Cohen, getting an “it’s outta here!” while harmlessly falling into the left field corner. That was the exact same ball he hit in Fenway the other night that just got out over the monster. Only in Fenway Park.

Adam Dunn is a monster. Anyone know where that ball he hit landed?

Gary Sheffield continues to look like the Sheffield we were hoping for.

You just knew Fernando Martinez was in trouble when he was still standing at home plate while the catcher was waiting for that popup to come down. Were you screaming “run!” as I was before it fell in play? Inexcusable no matter what your experience level is.

What’s another J.J. Putz appearance without a leadoff walk? Never mind the fact that he will break his right hand reaching out for a comebacker one of these days.

Enough of the negatives- nice job sweeping the lowly Nats. Good to see Daniel Murphy break out. Of course you almost forget that Johan Santana got the win tonight in a very un-Santana like performance, with 6 walks. Bring on those pesky Marlins.

Does freakin’ Versus HD ever work? I swear, that thing is out half the time. Speaking of hockey, a fellow Mets and Rangers fan from Queens, Howie Rose, recalls a great night 15 years ago.

Blogs are Tough

OK, I'll admit it. Keeping a blog up to date is not easy. Seeing that I have not really expressed my thoughts on the Rangers and Mets since the second to last game and the opening Cincy series, respectively, I'll throw out a bunch of random thoughts to sum up the past week or so.

Rangers:
-It was sweet to see them win that last game in Philly. So what if it gave just as hated Pittburgh home ice. Sticking it to the Flyers in their own building was fun. Add to that the shorthanded goal we got, the first one they've given up all season.
-I missed most of game 1, but was able to get to the Garden lobby with about 15 minutes to go in the third to watch on the TVs they conveniently have set up there. Works out perfectly, especially when your next train is not until 9:45. Anyway, to my dismay, a 3-1 lead was 3-3, but a sweet move by Dubinsky put the Rangers ahead to stay. Plenty of Knick fans exiting at halftime of their last home game (an 8pm start) was kind of annoying, but not too much of a distraction. I guess if there were any Knick fans that were Ranger fans, they decided not to attend this one, because no one leaving the Garden stopped to turn and look up at the TVs.
-I was not subjected to an NBC Ovechkin lovefest because I invested in this thing. However the first test was kind of a failure, as NBC HD was about 10 seconds later than the radio feed. My new toy only allowed you to delay the radio feed by 8 seconds. Decision time: watch NBC HD with Emrick and the gang or watch NBC standard def with Kenny and Dave on the radio. The latter it was. It's amazing that the Rangers have now won the first two road games of the first round to take a 2-0 series lead each of the last three seasons. Let's hope it turns out the same way (we can do without the game 3 overtime loss, which was the case vs. Jersey last year).

Mets:
-The Marlins are annoying. How is it they get away with their six year plan of winning a title, blowing it up, winning again six years later, blowing it up again, and now six years later are off to a great start, looking like a good team except for their bullpen. Emilio Bonafacio is the new Shane Victorino. Pain in the ass.
-Speaking of pain in the ass, welcome back to Citi David Eckstein, here to torment the Mets again. Padres win two of three in the first ever series in the new park. More on that in a bit.
-A sweep over the Brewers would have been a nice end to the homestand after losing the series to the Padres. However, Todd Coffey pulls a 1970's style 2.2 inning save, getting out of jam after jam to hold on for the victory.
-What the hell do the Mets have against Ryan Church?
-I know Fernando Tatis has to get some playing time, but to stick him at second over Castillo, who's red hot- I don't know about that one. To top it off, the first two batters reach base late, calling for a perfect bunt situation with Tatis coming up. Instead of pinch hitting Castillo to bunt, Tatis strikes out.

Citi Field:
-After attending the exhibition game I was in love with the place. Then I attended opening night. I'm not going to be as picky as many others who have expressed criticism, but here are my only gripes:

Ads covering the bullpen and the tarp over the bullpen. I mean, wow, do the relievers get no respect or what? No wonder JJ Putz was watching the game from the dugout today. It looks silly from a design perspective- you build these bullpens for fan access and then make it look worse than it would have if fan access was not the intent and they were built in normal spots in right and left field. Even the TV crew can't figure out who's warming up in the visitor's pen! Why bother trying to show who's warming up on TV through the chain fence, there's nothing to see! Embarrassing for a new park.

Excelsior level access. I understand not letting certain cheap seat holders to the Caesar's Club. But the concourse level as well? Let all the fans have access to those fancy bars on the Excelsior concourse. If you can go to the field level, you should be able to go there as well.

Put fans so close to the field that they can touch fair balls down the line. Genius. These umpires must be going nuts, their job is not getting any easier with the new parks.

New Yankee Stadium:
-Why don't they just call the first row of the bleacher area Jeffrey Maier row? It took only until the 4th game for a controversial homerun call due to fan interference. There are going to many more of these. Citi is not much better. Watch for the first homerun in left field to be touched by a fan and deflect off the orange stripe on top of the fence and back into play. The instant replay rule must have allowed these designers to have the first row of seats so close to the homerun fence. It's like they want the new parks to set a record for most homeruns requiring instant replay.

Citi Field Review

After almost three years of looking at construction photos, it was finally time. The first game at Citi Field. Coming into the day, all that you could think was "just get me in the damn ballpark" considering the weather. It was a steady rain most of the day. Any other day you complain about the Mets not calling the game early enough and making people come in, pay for parking, pay for dinner and beers, sit for an hour, then find out there's no game. Not on this day. Just get us in, game or no game.

Going down the stairs to exit the "Mets/Willets Point" stop was nothing new. You get out and head left towards Gate E. No more. At the foot of the steps, you were transported to a different place. It's amazing, the last game last October, the new place was up and pretty much done on the exterior, yet this time without our big blue toilet bowl casting a shadow over it the scene is completely different. There was a sidewalk and new parking where what used to be day of game ticket sales and the Mets bullpen.

The Jackie Robinson Rotunda was packed as expected. It was just several minutes before first pitch, so we made our way over to the left field game walking along what used to be the spot for the old apple and just beyond the visitor's bullpen. How appropriate it was that the left field gate featured a silhouette of "the catch", not too far from the spot Endy gave us hope in game 7.

Damn the place smelled good as you walked in. If you were slightly hungry, you were quickly starving. We took the stairs up to the promenade. A good way to get the blood moving on a chilly evening. After nightmares of plexiglass and stairway obstruction, I was relieved to find that my seats were just fine. Perfect view of every scoreboard. Solid seats that you don't have to pull up. Maybe people will be less inclined to hop down seats when making their way down a section. I can't tell you how many broken seats I sat in at Shea.

After one inning, we left our seats to explore the park. Every line for food was at least a 10 minute wait. Centerfield on the field level was shoulder to shoulder. The early start and curiosity of the new place had people hungry and wandering. Wide concourses to ease congestion? Not today, but give it a few games.

Approaching kiddie field and the dunk tank came my first minor gripe. Where the video/audio of the game? No clue what's going on if you're out here. Maybe that will change by the opener.

The Pepsi Porch was above us, but how the heck do you get up there? That's for later. Over the bridge, we peered down at the old Shea apple. The 360 was completed as we arrived at the Rotunda. How quickly the place changes to a museum.

We can take elevators now? That we did, back up to the Promenade for dinner on the picnic tables behind homeplate.

Caesar's Club on the Excelsior level was very nice. A good place to warm up on a cool night or cool down on a steamy one. However, it's probably the only time we'll ever get in. There was no one checking tickets at the door we entered. They were everywhere else, and again later when we tried to get in again.

Exiting the club on the right field side we found the entrance to the Pepsi Porch. Again, another place to hang out and watch the game from a different vantage point. Those junkyards out back gotta go.

One other negative about the place is that maybe there are too many hiding spots. There were more than a few people lighting up to smoke.

An hour rain delay did not ruin things one bit. We were not really paying attention to the game anyway, but if we wanted to we wouldn't miss much. There are TVs everywhere you look. Except Kiddie Field of course.

The old apple in the bullpen plaza got a nice restoration job in the offseason. In a way you kind of wish they kept it dingy and beat up the way it was. It's a heckler's delight down there, with only a chain fence separating the fans from the visitor's bullpen.

Can you believe this is home now? I thought I was on a road trip and was expecting to either go back to my hotel after the game or drive a few hours to get home. Looking forward to a return on opening night and many more games after that. Oh yeah- the Mets beat the Red Sox and closed the game with Putz in the 8th and K-Rod in the 9th. Looking forward to many more results like that as well.

My Citifield Seats?

Credit to the folks over at baseball-fever. If you are looking for updates on Citifield construction and ticketing information, this is the place, period. Less than a week until the first exhibition game (unless you count the St. John's- Georgetown game that's happening tomorrow). Never have I looked forward to a baseball season more than this one. The Rangers usually hold off the anticipation, but unless they get hot and go on a nice little playoff run, I'll be happy with freezing my butt off at some April night games in the new place.