FEELING BETTER ABOUT THINGS

I'm happy to report that my second visit to Citi Field felt good. More like home. I feel a lot better about my relationship with the Mets right now...and it didn't hurt that they won the game.

A couple of items of good news as well:

1) The place can get loud when it wants to. When Francisco Rodriguez toed the rubber against Albert Pujols in the 9th inning it was better than anything I saw on Opening Night. I want to see what the playoff atmosphere would be like there.

2) Someone with the Mets must be reading my blog. Because in the middle of the 8th inning, the Mets no longer play 'Sweet Caroline'...they do a "Meet The Mets" sing-along. Awesome. Just what the new ballpark needs.

I'll have some new pics and other Citi Field updates next week.

APPOINTMENT VIEWING

If I lived in New York, I would be at Citi Field tonight. Matter of fact, every time Johan Santana pitched at Citi Field, I'd want to go.

I think anytime he steps on the rubber at that field, he's capable of throwing a no-hitter.

I especially thought that tonight, going against the Nationals, but he's already given up two hits as I write this.

Instead of a no-hitter, though, he's struck out 8 batters through 4 innings.

I'm telling you, something special every time he steps on that Citi Field mound. (Not that he's been too shabby on the road, either.)

It's one constant in this year that might be inconsistent with the Mets - at least we know what we're getting once every five days.

So if I'm in New York, and Johan Santana is scheduled to throw, I'm going. And if I can only watch on TV, I'll be watching.

It's going to be that kind of year for Santana.

NO RELIEF

The verdict is in from one visiting team, and Citi Field drew less than rave reviews. At least, its visitors' bullpen did.

Todd Coffey of the Brewers (I had the Brewers' feed of the game on Sunday) says that from the visitors' bullpen at Citi Field it's a terrible view - you can barely see second base. He says he has no idea what's going on in the game. There's a monitor, he says, but it's on a time delay. Coffey called the bullpen "poorly designed".

And upon further review, he's probably right.
All in all, it doesn't bother me. The visitor's bullpens always get the short shrift in new places - call it part of the home field advantage.

It's a unique design, the bullpens at Citi Field. The benches are right next to one another. The other day the SNY cameras showed Pedro Feliciano just hanging out and talking to one of the Padres' relievers.

What I wonder is when things turn sour out there. The image of bench-clearing brawls is always of the bullpens emptying and relievers trickling in from the outfield to join in the fray on the field.

Citi Field may become the first park in baseball history where the players leave the bench...and head for the bullpen for the brawl that starts out there.

MORE APPRECIATION: Just publicly showing appreciation for what you already know - the Southern Bureau rocks. I love the series-ending recaps. It's also comforting to know that when I'm sick, like I was this weekend, the blog won't go for days without an update. Also, good nuggets of information - no sooner did the Southern Bureau suggest that Luis Castillo would be back to batting second than he was...for a day.

CITI FIELD PART TWO

Too much to say about Citi Field to confine it to one posting:

I wanted to give you some visuals to illustrate what I was talking about yesterday. Here's the gate comparison I was talking about comparing San Francisco to Citi Field (maybe it's not entirely accurate, now that I see the pictures...incidentally, it was SBC Park when we were there. I kept calling it AT&T Park...I don't even know what it is now. And I've given you the side view of Citi - that's where these high gates are):













And then here's the field comparison I was talking about with PETCO ("Where The Mets Go") versus Citi Field, particularly with the outfield walls:















A couple of more comments about the experience:

-We parked in the lot, and were lucky enough to choose a spot near an exit (we got to the park around 3:30 for the 7:10 start, so we had our choice of spots), which turned out to be a direct shot right out the door. That was lucky.

-But it was great that we had the car there. Since we were there so early, we were waiting for the gates to open, and that's when one of the vendors right inside the gate decided to start selling the 'collector's edition' programs for the first game at Citi Field. (He kept looking over his shoulder like he was doing something wrong, selling them through the gate.) So after I bought the program, rather than carry it around all night, I was able to put it in the car and keep it in nice condition. I was excited about that.

-Interestingly, there was texting interference all night. Clearly I didn't have much trouble sending out texts, since I was able to update Twitter all night, but when I tried to send a picture of the big flag to the Southern Bureau to post on the blog, it wouldn't go through. Then, when I walked through the concourse later in the night, a bunch of texts started to pour into my phone that had been sent hours before. So if you texted me Monday night, that's why I didn't reply.

Finally, Justin in NYC sent this e-mail, which I'm not sure he meant for publication, but I will anyway. Not only is it a good point, but it illustrates how he keeps an ear to the ground for me from the NYC radio stations, which I appreciate:

"Johnny,

Lots of people were calling up and complaining to Francesa today about how they thought Citi Field tried so hard to embrace New York's national league history, that it was ignoring Met-specific history.

They were saying it looks like Ebbets Field and has the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, but none of that has any direct link to the Mets except that Wilpon grew up in Brooklyn. Your thoughts?"

I think this is an interesting point, because it's sort of what I'm getting at when I talk about the Mets Hall of Fame. At Shea Stadium, it was hidden outside the Diamond Club, which I didn't actually go into until last year, the final year of its existence. In other words, the casual fan never saw it. And I don't know where that is at Citi Field - but obviously it's not prominently displayed, because I didn't see it. I would love if it was in the Rotunda, but I don't think it is. (This is what the Arizona Diamondbacks did so well - they have their 2001 trophy front and center as you walk in - and they have zero history. It spices up an otherwise boring ballpark. In Pittsburgh, where there's a ton of history, there's not much visual evidence of it. One of the flaws of a beautiful ballpark.)

But we need to remember, when thinking about this, that the Mets represent National League baseball in New York City. The whole reason they are blue and orange is because of the Dodger blue and the Giants orange. So there is sort of a connection to those teams, and I think it's an appropriate connection to Ebbets Field.

Yes, I would have liked for there to have been a mention of the 40th anniversary of the 1969 champions (which I'm sure will be celebrated this year, but has been overshadowed by Citi Field), and I would love for the Mets to trot out the 1986 Mets every game. I also think the orange stripe around the outfield walls would look cooler on a blue wall, showing the Mets colors. But the championship banners are flying in the new park, and the exterior of Citi Field (you can see it a little bit in the picture at the top) has pictures of Mets from every era.

What history the Mets have is displayed. You just have to look for it. And there's nothing wrong with the Mets carrying the New York National League baseball torch. So long as, now that they've introduced the world to their throwback ballpark, they start putting more of an emphasis on their own history.

NEW YORK: CITI FIELD

I have a feeling this entry is going to come off in an "I didn't like Citi Field" kind of way. But it's not that at all.

It's just that this ballpark visit was different. It wasn't a visit at all for me...it was a test run. I could make snap judgments on Nationals Park and PETCO Park ("Where The Mets Go") because they were visits. One-time deals (though some of them I liked so much that I may go back in the future).

With Citi Field, I will be going back. Often. And I had to see how it fit, so to speak. Use whatever analogy you like - I was trying it on for size; I dated those other ballparks, this one I am going to marry (that's kind of a weird one). I didn't expect to feel that way - I was over-the-top excited about going. But once I was in the park I knew it was going to be a different kind of visit.

Don't know where else to put this, so I'll do it here, I guess. If you were following me on Twitter last night (which turned into a pretty neat summary of events in the end), you read that I walked past Fred Wilpon outside the park. I am terrible when it comes to recognizing famous people. But I notice when there's an important-looking older person...and we walked past an important-looking older person that looked a lot like Fred Wilpon. So I said to my dad, "Was that Wilpon?" We walked back in the direction we came from, since the other way was a dead end, and passed him again, talking to Mike Lupica. Hence, the picture. I would like to say I barged in there and shook his hand and said, "Congratulations on this fine-looking ballpark" (or maybe I should have asked his permission to take Citi Field's hand in marriage [if it's such a weird analogy, why am I continuing with it?!]), but I did no such thing. I did snap the picture, though, which is kind of an intrusion of privacy that I usually wouldn't do. So I'm getting there.

OK. Now to the park. First of all, there's no denying the park is beautiful. When you think about Shea Stadium versus Citi Field, it's obviously no comparison. Just look at it up at the top of this post. The exterior, modeled after Ebbets Field, reminds me of AT&T Park, as I wrote the other day, with its high iron gates and the curved-window look. I've never been to Coors Field, but the light towers at Citi Field remind me of its light towers. And it's funny the Padres were in town last night, because the outfield walls/dimensions/layout remind me of PETCO ("Where The Mets Go").
What I'm not buying, and I hinted at this on Twitter last night, are some of the biggest deals people have been talking about this whole time. All I've heard about is the overhang in right field, reminiscent of Tiger Stadium. Well, it's not that much of an overhang. Yes, it juts out to the field eight feet, but only where the wall suddenly goes back in right. So it's not the entire right field overhang. No one had made that clear before. And there's been all this talk of how fans can get right up to the visitors bullpen and harrass the opposing relievers. From what I saw, that's not true - there are a lot of barriers...or else you need a ticket for that kind of access that I didn't have.

The bullpen area (that's it above, through the gate), seems to need some work. From what I could tell, it had one of the nicer-looking entry points into the park, but it was really empty. I got the impression from a couple of places that the Mets didn't quite know what to do with them yet. This was one - there are picnic tables set up, as well as the old apple from Shea (new apple also shown at right), where people can take pictures. But it was kind of empty. No concession stands...so I guess you have to carry your food to these tables.
Speaking of concessions, all anyone had been writing about was the centerfield food area, so that was mobbed (I like how they kept the skyline there above the restaurant...not sure if that's the actual skyline from atop the Shea scoreboard). Luckily, quick thinker that my dad and I are, we figured everyone and their brother was in center field...other concessions were probably empty. They were. I had a chicken sandwich, which was good...but everything was very expensive.

The opening ceremonies were nice, but I would have liked some more history. I heard there were old-timers in the building - they should have been introduced and trotted out. Seaver to Piazza was good, and I liked the continuance from the end of Shea...but there could have been more.

(Incidentally, just to throw out a prediction, I bet the Yankees do something involving the old Yankee Stadium when they open the new one Thursday. Like walking across from one to the other. It's still standing...and that has to be by design - they can't possibly be that behind schedule. I'll have some (not-so-great) pictures of those two parks later in the week. )

I feel like I'm throwing out way too much information here, but I have a lot on my mind about this park. So here it continues:

My biggest flaws with the park are:

Someday the Mets will buy out the surrounding area and put in some restaurants and make the area surrounding the ballpark an enticing place. Like Pittsburgh/Baltimore, with their fan walks. They can't exactly duplicate San Francisco's exterior because San Francisco has the water right there, but anything other than junkyards and scrap heaps would be a better backdrop.

Another problem, though I didn't look much for it, was I don't know if the Mets Hall of Fame is displayed any more prominently at Citi Field than it was at Shea. I'll look into that more over the summer.

I already mentioned that there were a couple of places in the park that seemed not-thought-all-the-way-through - the bullpen area was one, and the area above the Rotunda is another. It seems like a usable space, but not a lot is there right now. Maybe that's a good thing...it's not too crowded.

The exits were terrible. Perhaps that's because no one really knew where they were going and it was the first time 40,000+ were trying to leave at the same time - but I didn't see anything other than some crowded stairwells trying to leave the upper sections of the park.

One last complaint (for now, I guess), is that when you come out of the rotunda in the front, you don't walk right out and see the field. There are walls there (some sort of restaurant or the press boxes or luxury boxes are in the way, I think). One of the best things about the park in Houston, and Fenway Park first and foremost, is when you walk out of the tunnel and see the field. I was hoping the field would be right beyond the Rotunda, but it wasn't. You have to walk a bit to get that view at the right - and then the overhang is so low it made me a bit claustrophobic. I didn't love that.

I did love the Jackie Robinson Rotunda - very unique, very appropriate, it's something that sets Citi Field apart.

I loved that there was organ music all night long. My dad made the excellent point that at no point was there blaring music - and the organ played "Meet The Mets" before the game - nothing beats that.

I loved that the first hit at the park for the Mets was a David Wright double. I love that the Mets have a home park that people won't be making fun of. I didn't mind the billboards - people are saying it's too corporate - I think it adds a minor-league-type feel to the park. It feels more throwback that way.

I love that I'll be able to keep going back to this place and find out new things and get more comfortable there as the years go on. I love that this is the place my children will go when they go to Mets games, and I'll be able to compare it to Shea Stadium the way my dad was comparing it to the Polo Grounds for me last night.

Despite the fact that I left the park last night thinking it wasn't perfect (and therefore had no shot of living up to my expectations), I love Citi Field. Like Shea Stadium was for the first 30 years of my life, Citi Field is going to be a sort of home away from home for me. I had 30 years to get acclimated to Shea. I've only had one day at Citi Field.

I can't wait to go back.

TODAY'S THE DAY!!

Follow "johnnymets" on Twitter for constant updates from Citi Field.

I'll be there before 4pm, probably, with the updates starting shortly thereafter. Game starts at 7pm.

BUMMER: I just read that Harry Kalas died this afternoon at the age of 73. One of my favorite broadcasters - loved listening to his voice. I hope the Mets make an adjustment to their plans tonight and do the right thing with a moment of silence in memory of the Phillies broadcaster.

And knowing nothing about Kalas other than what he did for a living, I'd have to think there couldn't be a more appropriate place for him to go than a ballpark.

ONE DAY AWAY

We were driving past Citi Field on Saturday, and couldn't resist pulling over to check it out.

From the outside it reminds me mostly of San Francisco, with the high, gated doorways. I never went inside AT&T Park, though, so it just reminded me of that from when we walked around the outside.

We parked and walked over to the team store...which is awesome.

From the team store we could look into the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. You could see the escalators that lead up to Field Level. But everything was shut down.

It was quite a tease for Monday's game.

I can't wait.

I'll have Twitter updates all day Monday via text, if you want to know what I'm thinking as I experience the park for the first time.

BIG WEEKEND: Celebrated a championship for a team I root for for the first time in 15 years last night as Boston University's hockey team won (in dramatic fashion, tying the game with 2 goals in the final minute, then winning in overtime) 4-3 over Miami of Ohio. It's the first championship I've cared about since the Rangers in 1994. Which is really pretty hard to believe. Hopefully this is just the start of a period of prosperity.

COUNTDOWN...

6 MORE DAYS!!!!

The weather is scaring me...but weather.com tells me Monday will be partly cloudy and 51.

Good enough for me.

I'll have a lot to update in the next couple of days...keep coming back.

A SNEAK PREVIEW INSIDE CITI FIELD (UPDATED)

A couple of reasons this is unusual:

1) Two postings already before noon on a Sunday (and I wouldn't be surprised if the Southern Bureau posts before the day is out).

2) An image of Citi Field that wasn't taken from a moving car.

As mentioned earlier this week, the sister and the brother-in-law got to go to the Mets open practice at Citi Field this morning - she sent me this picture, for which I'm grateful.

Is it possible to be in love with a building? If so, I am.

UPDATE - My sister sent three more pics:




The significance of this last picture is that my sister used to spend Mets games at Shea counting the airplanes flying overhead. Her Citi Field count has started, I guess.

METS SIGN SHEFFIELD

I guess it's time to get away from the previews and become reactionary.

And I'll say up front - I don't love the move the Mets made, signing Gary Sheffield.

I do think Sheffield has something left in the tank. It's funny this happened - yesterday I was all set to write about the team that acquires Sheffield...but did another preview. Here's what I would have written:

A couple of weeks ago the Boston Globe did a small profile on Sheffield, and how he was fired up this year and ready to put last year's disappointing season behind him. I bought in so much that I made him a last-round pick in my fantasy draft. I figured once he hit homer #500 and put that behind him he'd have a good season.

Then, after what I didn't realize was a pretty poor spring, the Tigers released him, and I heard a couple of rumors about where he would end up - mostly Cincinnati or Philadelphia. And that didn't make sense to me - as much as Sheffield was willing to suck it up in Detroit, he said he wanted to be an outfielder, but I think it's pretty clear everywhere that he would be better off as a DH at age 40. So a National League club didn't seem like a good fit, not to mention the damage a Gary Sheffield could do to your clubhouse. So I was partly rooting for him to infect Philly...and I held back from writing what a good missing piece he could be for the Reds (the veteran bat the very young team needed in their lineup) because I thought the negative influence he'd have on the players would offset the positive.

Now he's the Mets' problem. I find it disruptive - they have Daniel Murphy in left, Ryan Church in right, with Fernando Tatis spelling either/or. Sheffield, defensively, would be a step back from any of the three. Sure, I still think there's pop in the bat...but I worry because Sheffield has worn out more than one welcome. And I don't think Jose Reyes needs another person like Sheffield as a teammate - he doesn't seem to handle those guys too well.

I'm willing to give Sheffield a shot and the benefit of the doubt. But I wish I didn't have to.

METS OPEN CITI FIELD: Notwithstanding the fact that I didn't realize the Mets-Red Sox exhibition game tonight started at 6 instead of 7, and NESN has had technical difficulties most of the night which have prevented me from seeing everything....I love Citi Field. It looks really good. I can't wait to go there in a little more than a week! It does look weird to see the Mets in their home whites and not in Shea.

COMMENT ON THE COMMENTS: I thank "Total AL East Homer" for reading and making their comment - but my point isn't that the three teams atop the AL East will be competing for the division and the wild card with their 95 wins - it's that the other two teams in the division will be 20 games back. In the AL Central, I think top to bottom it has a chance to have everyone in contention until the final days of the season. Unlikely, but I think that's the most competitive division in terms of ALL of the teams battling it out.

THE NEW SCENE

As far as pictures taken from the car go, this is not one of our finer efforts, but the last time we were down in New York, about two weeks ago, we snapped this picture of Shea-less Citi Field on our way back:
It was weird seeing just one stadium in that spot...even though for my whole life there was ever only one stadium in that spot.

But there it is. The new view from the Whitestone Expressway. And The Wife is celebrating because she'll never have to take another picture from the car there again.

FIRST PLAY AT CITI

This thought occurred to me the other day, so I want to make sure I broadcast it before anyone else does.
I don't think there's a better way to open up Citi Field on April 13th than by having Billy Joel sing the national anthem. He was the 'Last Play at Shea', he should be the 'First Play at Citi'. I checked his touring schedule - it doesn't seem like he's doing anything for the month of April. Maybe he's keeping himself free for just this type of occasion. I hope the Mets get him. And for good measure, I'll say keep that symmetrical theme going...Tom Seaver threw out the last first pitch at Shea...he should also open the new stadium.

Incidentally, it bothers me a little bit that the first game at Citi Field will be a St. John's game...this weekend, I think. I understand the need to have some run-throughs before the stadium opens to fans for good, but aren't next weekend's exhibition games against the Red Sox enough? Other than the disaster that was Frank Viola's years with the Mets, and John Franco's tightrope act, there's never been a St. John's-Mets connection - it's a historic game that will make no sense in the history books.

I'm sort of glad the Red Sox are the team playing the Mets next weekend, too - I'll be able to see the games on NESN here, and get a sneak peek at Citi Field. By the way - the Mets sent my dad tickets to a practice at the new stadium the morning of one of those Red Sox games - concessions will be open. Another test-run...another reason the St. John's game doesn't need to happen first.

AM I READY?

My bracket's nearly busted. The temperature nearly hit 70 today. Many other years, this weekend is the start of the baseball season.

But I'm glad it's not...because I just don't feel ready.

I mean, I have my fantasy rosters drafted and the starting lineups are just about set. I have the notebook for the 'New Baseball Pool' set up, just waiting for Week 1 picks to be entered. I'm looking forward to the newspaper and Sports Illustrated baseball previews in the next week. So logistically I'm all set. It's mentally, I think, that I'm not.

And I think I know why.

It's this late start. For months, I've known that it was nearly a full week into April before the Mets would take the field (when it counts). And almost halfway through the month when they opened up the new stadium (I guess it could be worse - the Yankees' new stadium doesn't open until the 16th). So I guess I adjusted my mental state to account for all that.

Now, let's not confuse 'not ready' for 'not excited'. It's weird, though, this year - I really am more excited about the place than the event. I can't wait for Opening Day at Citi Field to see the stadium, and to go back all summer long, rather than to see the Mets play. Maybe that will change when I see the team in uniform for the first time (it probably will), but right now I'm excited for different reasons than I usually am.

I haven't even made season picks this year...which is too bad, because I'm in a non-homer mental state, and I might nail the picks.

Maybe I'll get around to that since it's still a while before we see any action that counts.

TWEET: So, I'm on Twitter. I have to credit The Wife - she thought it might be a good way to draw some traffic to the site. So since I want to get back into the everyday blogging life I've abandoned recently, I'll try whatever it takes to get some people to read. So if you're on Twitter, follow me. It's johnnymets. Not quite sure how it works, but I'll even follow you, too. When the season starts, I might be able to 'Tweet' more often than blog...so that might be a nice little add-on feature. We'll see what develops.

PATCHING THINGS UP?

Perhaps reactionary, perhaps always in the works, the Mets unveiled a patch that they will wear on their hats this season to commemorate the first season at Citi Field.

I say reactionary, because you may remember that the Southern Bureau was among the first to comment on how terrible the design is for the sleeve patch the Mets will wear this season. Others followed in the criticism.

Anyway, the Mets are not doing away with the sleeve patch, but they have added a hat patch (a 'hatch'?) for the season.
All told, it's a better patch...but one's enough. And this is the one that should have been on the sleeve in the first place.

The real crime here is that this hat sells for $35.99. When did the hats get so expensive? I used to collect MLB fitted hats - gave it up about 13 years ago or so...but I don't remember spending more than $25. Maybe $21.99? Seriously, $35+ for a hat?

MEET THE MESS

From 200 Miles From the Citi on November 11, 2006:

The Mets are reportedly going to announce on Monday that their new field, which will open in 2009, will be called "Citi Field", which is because Citibank (or Citigroup) is buying the naming rights. As far as corporate names go, that's actually pretty good. I'm pleased. Could be much worse. It could be one of those company names that people hate, and instead it would be called "The New Shea", or it could be a company that's going to go out of business and the name would have to change again (like a dot-com, or like Enron). Citibank is stable (although banks are prone to takeovers and mergers), and "Citi Field" is pretty cool for a stadium in a city. I'll take it.

Well, I certainly didn't see this coming. Ah, the ignorance of three years ago, when I thought banks were only prone to takeovers or mergers.

Let me start with this - I don't know if I've ever said this before, but I never understood the 'stadium naming rights' practice. Does rooting for the Astros over the Rays mean I am any more likely to drink Minute Maid products rather than Tropicana? Does the fact the Padres play at PETCO Park do anything for anyone except for me, with my little "Where the Mets go" joke? (I swear if someone ever steals that they had better credit me.)

I never understood why a company would throw hundreds of millions of dollars at a team just to have their name on a stadium. Never understood it. And I understand it less now, with a company that is in serious serious financial trouble pretty much wasting $400 million to call the Mets' new stadium Citi Field.

Now, as I re-wrote above - I love the name "Citi Field". It has a good feel to it, for a good city team like the Mets. It also would have been a good corporate name, because unless you really knew what you were dealing with, you didn't really know it as a corporate name. Except now everyone and their brother knows, because Citi, and somewhat by extension the Mets, have become laughingstocks because of this idiotic deal.

Part of me hopes the naming rights are forced to change because of how stupid this whole thing is. But another part of me (probably a bigger part) wants to keep the "Citi". First of all, I named my blog after the new park, for crying out loud. Secondly, if there's anyone else who has kept as close an eye on the birth of Citi Field, I'd like to meet them and shake their hand. And read their blog...that sounds like something I'd love. I just feel an attachment to the park and its name. (With that in mind, I've put a small photo history of Citi Field at the end of this post - click it to enlarge.)

In the end, something else I wrote in November of 2006 might ring even more true: it's a shame these naming rights scenarios even had to come about. And maybe the old fashioned-way of naming stadiums after people was the way to go...or at least, I'll re-offer a suggestion for the naming rights if there has to be a switch:

Some people are saying it's too bad the "Shea" name is going by the boards...I agree, but it's the way of the world right now - hopefully William Shea will be remembered by Mets fans without the stadium bearing his name. And there is one sponsor that would have been better, which Mets fans apparently voted on somewhere - MetLife.

REASONS TO LOOK FORWARD TO MLB 2009

REASON #1 - CITI FIELD For the Mets, this season is all about the new stadium. They can win the championship, I don't care (OK, I care), but that would be secondary....because the Mets won't be a lock for any kind of playoff spot until October. You can't count on anything before then, given their track record. So for the first 5 and a half months of the season, the story will be the new stadium.

There's so much possibility to a new stadium.

Features on how it's playing - favoring pitchers so far, or hitters?

What fan amenities are there?

What are the quirks?

What are the hidden features that no one knows about yet?

The Mets will be a big draw this year because of the new stadium. In the recession we're in, that puts them ahead of other teams who might see people avoiding the ballpark. They should play this up for all it's worth - a feature on the stadium during every game on SNY. Lots of shots from different vantage points. Maybe even a pre-season special. (SNY has been airing this thing with Kevin Burkhart all off-season where the stadium is still only about three-quarters completed. Update that with a final look at Citi Field...and a little bit about the taking down of Shea.)

Citi Field is the number one reason for Mets fans to look forward to 2009. Because while the team itself is no guarantee to fulfill its promise, the stadium should.

This idea was going to originally be "Reasons to Look Forward to the Mets in 2009", but I realized there are probably going to be some general baseball reasons as well as Mets reasons. So I've expanded it. Most will have to do with the Mets. Also, I'm counting up, rather than down, as we head towards the baseball season, because I'm just not sure how many items there will be in this feature. We'll go until we hit Opening Day.

A WRECK

This Shea Stadium situation is much more upsetting to me than I thought it would be. Remember when I thought they would demolish it in one fell swoop and I wanted to be there to see it? I'm second-guessing that thought process.

Though I do almost wish now that it was gone all at once instead of piece by piece.

It's like a train wreck - it's so gruesome to me, but I can't take my eyes off it.

As we drove by Monday for what could be the last time, The Wife asked, "How much longer am I going to have to take pictures every time we drive by the stadiums?" Unfortunately, the answer is not much longer.

As you can see below, the progress in just a couple of weeks since my last visit is pretty staggering. (It doesn't seem like it from the way Shea looks, but these are pretty much taken from the same angle.)

A SAD SIGHT

I drove by Citi Field and the remains of Shea Stadium this weekend en route to my brother's show.

And as much as I was looking forward to this whole deconstruction process, following the building of the new stadium, I've now decided I don't like seeing Shea being torn apart.

I think I'd rather just see an empty space than Shea in the state it is in now.

Buy me that! Oh...uh...nevermind.

Creative team needs a buyout: The hot trend in baseball is to have a fancy patch on your uniform to signify anything important happening in your franchise. Mainly its a way to make money - all the fans will want to buy the fancy patch. The Mets decided to do just one of two.

They got the new patch - but they clearly don't want anyone to buy it. Who would want to? That's it on the left. Yes...THAT'S IT. Just the Citi Field logo with "Inaugural Season" on it. No shot of the stadium. No mention of the stadium. Just that.

The patch - and the Mets - are getting killed on a national website, and rightfully so. As the writer pointed out - it does kinda look like the Domino's logo.

Of course - as I type this - I wonder if Johnnymets has already ordered one for the whole family.

Onto the guys who might be wearing that snappy patch next year....

Makes me Red(ding) in the face: Forget Derek Lowe - sign Tim Redding! The Mets have come to terms with free agent pitcher Tim Redding. Redding's ERA last season: 4.95. Is he the number five starter? If they don't sign Lowe, he might be the number two starter! Its becoming clear - the Mets must sign Derek Lowe.

Home of the Brave?: Uh oh. Suddenly the Braves are the front runner to sign Lowe. Atlanta clearly wasn't expecting John Smoltz to bolt to Boston, and now they're in panic-mode. Will the Mets respond? At least they still have Pedro* to fall back on.

Don't go Pedro!: Uh oh....again. Pedro* has begun negoitations with the Marlins. Suddenly the Mets options are dwindling. I need a beer. Several beers. In fact...lets get...

Three Sheets to the wind: Based on the pitching market, the Southern Bureau completely endorses the latest Johnnymets post: The Mets must sign Ben Sheets.

-SB

600 Miles From the Citi

Its the Southern Bureau. In case you're wondering - I'm the one on the right.

Thanks to Johnnymets for the invitation to join the site. Obviously I'm just trying not to get in the way, just keep it going with a (hopefully) clever posting every now and then. I'm more of a baseball guy, so you won't see much on the Jets - and you'll be sick of me during Mets season. So until then - just a few posts until we figure out what exactly I'll be doing around here. Or until Johnnymets fires me.

Here we go:

How Lowe can you go?: Or - how high will they go? Turns out Derek Lowe doesn't think he can feed his family on just 12 million dollars a season. He wants 16 mil. At this point, you've gotta figure the Mets will give it to him. When the backup plan is Randy Wolf, Lowe seems like a pretty good option.

Where's Rey Ordonez when you need him?: The Mets depth chart shows they currently have no backup infielders (I'm not counting Fernando Tatis). Can't you picture an Alex Cora-type player showing up on this team? Second base is obviously a concern too, so I wouldn't be surprised if two backup infielders show up on opening day.

What about the Hanukkah party?: Hopefully the Mets got their money in advance for the naming rights to the stadium. Citigroup decided to cancel their "Christmas Train Display" due to the fact that they're - you know - broke. Annual savings: $240,000. That's a pretty nice train set. My workplace's annual Christmas budget: probably about $14.

Its kinda blurry: Next time I thought I'd give a photographic tour of Wilmington - home to Michael Jordan, former Met Trot Nixon, and future Met Bradley Holt. But in johnnymets tradition, I'm going to take all the pictures from a moving car.

- SB