Never Forget 69

A Painful and Symbolic Event

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:34:00 -0400

Driving back from North Carolina on Saturday, I fumbled with the radio trying to get WFAN. Around Salisbury, Maryland, I was finally able to pull in the 50,000 watt station. The first thing I heard was Wayne Hagen saying that David Wright had finally sat up at home plate with the trainers hovering over him. Gulp!

Another glaring indication of how this Mets season has gone. I kept wondering while on vacation if this season could get any worse. Each night, the scores on ESPN were not making me feel any better that the Mets had any chance of getting back in it this year. Then the icing on the cake was Wright getting plunked on the head. There is not a more symbolic event this year than what happened to Wright on Saturday.

The core is completely gone, on the disabled list, a season of injury like no other. Thank goodness David will be okay and I’m glad to see that common sense prevailed in disabling the third baseman. In fact there is no reason to bring him back even when he comes off the list. Why take any chances with Wright’s future on a season that has become meaningless.

You can criticize David’s loss of power or his bad throws to first all you want but there is no bigger gamer the Mets have than David Wright. Marty Noble of MLB.com has hinted at David struggling with a groin injury all season and that could be why he has not hit for power or appears to be dogging it out of the box. But Wright would never use an injury as an excuse or stay out of the lineup. Now, the concussion has given him and the Mets no choice.

The Mets should rest Wright, Reyes, and Beltran the rest of the season. There is no point in bringing any of them back, especially David. The worst thing that can happen is for Wright to get hit again. Regardless if Wright is in the lineup, the Mets will finish in fourth place. It’s time to start thinking about next year.

It’s also time for MLB to make the 100MPH helmet developed by Rawlings mandatory. A lot of players do not like it because the way it looks, big and clumsy. But if it’s mandatory, all hitters will look just as silly, no one will stand out.

A couple of years ago, minor league third base coach Mike Coolbaugh died of injuries suffered when struck by a batted ball in the temple. Had he been wearing a helmet, he likely would have survived. Since then, all line coaches in the major and minor leagues must wear a helmet, a common sense solution a bit tardy in being implemented.

Although, Wright was wearing a helmet, the model he and others currently use has little padding on the sides. The helmet prevented Wright from severe head injury but did not protect him from a concussion. Baseball should do everything it can to protect its players before a player is severely injured or God forbid, killed.

Last Saturday, Wright, Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers, and Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda were all hit in the head, Kuroda by a batted ball. Thankfully, none were seriously injured beyond concussion. Hopefully, Saturday will serve as a warning to MLB to get safer before it’s too late.

Wright Is Not The Problem

Lou Di Falco — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:23:00 -0400

I hope I do not offend anyone by this because honestly I think most Mets fans are passionate and intelligent when it comes to baseball. But there are a few fans that are simply out there. The latest case in point is fans calling up sports talk shows and blaming David Wright for the Mets woes.

David Wright is hitting .360 and contrary to popular belief he does get clutch hits. It's not his fault there are not a lot of Mets on base when he comes up. It's not his fault Jose Reyes is not in the lineup to drive in. It's not his fault there is no one in the lineup behind him to offer protection. If you look objectively in regards to what is wrong with the Mets, David Wright should be at the bottom of the list.

Two cases brought up recently include the flubbed pickup on Wednesday night that allowed the tying run to score and the at bat in the eighth inning on Thursday night when he swung at a "pitcher's pitch" as pointed out by SNY broadcaster Keith Hernandez.

Now David Wright does makes errors, who doesn't? He rushed the play on Wednesday. He does make errant throws at times too. But do not forget that David Wright has won a gold glove the last two seasons. I love the way some fans say we know he (David) really isn't a gold glove player. Let me get this straight, he bought his gold glove trophies on E-Bay? He was voted the gold glove winner against his peers not against Brooks Robinson or Mike Schmidt (who by the way was an awful third baseman when he started out).

Yes, David was over anxious on Thursday. He was in a hitter's count and should have taken the pitch. He didn't, but after the at bat, no one picked him up. And that's the real problem. Baseball is not a one man sport the way basketball is. If you think Wright is the problem, ask yourself this. Where would the Mets be without him? The fact is offensively, the Mets are where they are because of Wright and Beltran. Who else is hitting once Wright's turn is over? Tatis is not hitting a lick. Murphy has not done anything compared to what he did last season. The corner outfield positions are not producing (although Manuel really needs to keep Church in the lineup) and they are getting little production from their catchers. I know Omir Santos has had some huge hits for the Mets but you have to wonder why he bounced around so many organizations. It looks like pitchers are figuring him out now. He likes high pitches and lately he is not getting any.

Part of the problem with the Mets over the last several years is they are always short in some aspect of the game. Last year it was the bullpen. This year it's depth. While credit needs to be given to Alex Cora and others that have stepped up, there are no bench players on the team to make up for a Reyes and a Delgado. Omar Minaya did a great job fixing the pitching over the past couple of years. He obtained Johan Santana and restructured the bullpen. But what did he do for the lineup? How much better off would the Mets have been if Minaya had gone out and obtained Raul Ibanez instead of letting the Phillies get him. Look at the protection Ibanez gives Howard and Utley. Wright is hitting .360 with nobody behind him.

I'll tell you what is wrong with David Wright. He wants to win as badly as you, the die hard Mets fan, wants to win. David is painfully aware of how beat up the Mets are right now. If he is to blame, he is to blame for trying to hard, trying to hit a home run in the eighth inning on Thursday night instead of going the other way and getting on base. He's one man, one player, there is only so much he can do and he is doing a lot. As long as the Mets hierarchy does not succumb to the few loud mouths that call into the talk shows, and keep David Wright in a Mets uniform his entire career, I guarantee he will go down in Mets history as one of the greatest all time Mets along with Seaver and Piazza.

So for those few Mets fans who don't spend much time really analyzing the problem, stop blaming David Wright. You sound as ignorant as Yankee fans bashing A-Rod.

Citi Opens

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:56:00 -0400

Craig Carton was taking the Mets to task this morning for opening up new Citi Field to a college game. He felt the Mets once again bumbled their way through instead of doing the more classy thing like opening up with the Mets playing in the game. After all, that's what the Yankees are doing this weekend.

Honestly, I never saw anyone make more out of nothing than Carton. I really liked him when the show first went on the air but during the last few months, he has become somewhat irritating. But that's a story for another day.

So after almost three years of construction, Citi Field finally opened to heralded reviews. I was not there so I can only report on what others have said. Most everyone I saw on television, heard on the radio, or read in the papers or Internet agreed that the Mets new home is simply spectacular.

Of course not everyone is happy. One fan I saw on ABC News said the park was very cold looking and it would take time for her to warm up to the place. Was she kidding?

A more alarming piece was on the Stadium Insider site, a site devoted mostly to the Yankees. A streaming video showed an obstructed view seat in section 523, row 3 seat 1. The stairways that lead up to the promenade reserved seats have glass barriers and brush aluminum railings. If you are seated near them, it's possible your seat will have an obstructed view. The streamer made mention that if your season tickets are in this seat you will have a miserable summer because the railing goes right through home plate. Also, people coming up and down the stairs all game long will make it difficult to see the action. What he did not mention, and to the Mets credit, is that those seats will only be sold for single games when absolutely necessary and likely at a discounted rate. They have not been made available to season ticket holders. The Mets are well aware of the few seats that have partially obstructed views.

Contrary to Carton's assessment, I think it was a great idea to feature a college game at Citi Field and I would hope it is not the last time. There is no reason the new home of the Mets cannot be used for other baseball activities. This is nothing new. Shea and Yankee Stadiums have often hosted college and city high school tournament games.

What is so strange is to think that we Mets fans have such a fantastic new home. Most of us are cynical and always expect the worst. We bashed and dumped on poor old Shea for so long, what are we going to do now? When I saw the lady on TV complain that Citi Field looked so cold, I felt she was a real Mets fan. Only a true Mets fan could look at this marvelous new facility and say something negative about it.

Let's face it. We Mets fans have been stepped on, kicked, and beaten for years. At the hands of Yankee fans, who enjoy playoff baseball just about every year, we have felt like second class citizens. It's hard to believe that we have such a tremendous ballpark to call our own.

Sure, I know the new Yankee Stadium cost almost twice the price of Citi Field. Many will say it is superior to Citi Field but I don't see how. One person I know, a die hard Yankee fan, told me the seating bowl of Citi Field is much more interesting than Yankee Stadium. The Yankees were forced to recreate the old stadium. The Mets were under no such restriction-thankfully.

Hopefully the Mets new home will give us fans a bit more self esteem. But to be honest, I really don't need my baseball franchise to make me feel better about myself. If it benefits the Mets players in that way then so be it. I certainly hope Citi Field inspires the Mets to play as much as it will inspire us to root.

Wright On

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 08:32:00 -0400

The scene just was just a bit odd. Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones hugging David Wright while Jimmy Rollins crossed the plate. Rod Serling must have been near by. Can world peace be far off?

That was what happened on Tuesday evening when Mets third baseman, David Wright, lined an opposite field single down the line to win the USA a berth in the WBC semi-finals.

It was amazing how many Mets dominated the elimination game between the USA and Puerto Rico. Carlos Delgado hit a home run. Carlos Beltran made a spectacular catch against the center field fence. And Nelson Figueroa did a nice job pitching for Puerto Rico.

But when all was said and done, it was David Wright, who has been unfairly characterized as a non clutch player, who made the difference. The USA trailed Puerto Rico heading into the bottom of the ninth by a score of 5-3. USA rallied and scored a run to make it a one run game. With the bases loaded, David Wright stepped up to the plate and ended the game with a single down the right field line. The clutch hit propelled the USA into the semi-finals, a place that eluded them in 2006.

You can say what's the big deal, who really cares? The players do. That was evident after the winning run crossed the plate and the team mobbed Wright. These players take this event very seriously. The only negative comments I have read are from players on teams that have been eliminated.

Please do not tell me that there was no pressure on Wright, that the WBC is meaningless. As mentioned, the players take this tournament very seriously, ask Derek Jeter. With the US about to be bounced out of the classic for the second time in as many tries, Wright came through.

And get the parallel in history. Davey Johnson is the manager. The USA was down by two runs (5-3) but rallied to win. Not on a ball through the first baseman's legs but a liner over the first baseman's head. Admittedly not as exciting as Game Six but it was pretty weird.

The win guarantees an entry to the semi-finals for the USA even though they lost the seeding game last night to Venezuela.

There are problems with the classic however. If you hadn't noticed, these games are being played in mostly empty stadiums. It remains to be seen if that will be the case this weekend when the semi-finals commence at Dodger Stadium. In comparison, first round games held outside of the US were far better attended. The Tokyo Dome was packed when Japan played and had solid attendance in other games. Perhaps in the future, the Classic should be hosted entirely outside the US. The WBC is a big deal for these other countries. Unfortunately US fans, for the most part, do not feel that way. It will be interesting to see in twenty years how popular the World Baseball Classic will be.

David and Goliath

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:59:00 -0500

Actually I'm a little surprised David Wright reneged on an interview with Mike Francesa last Friday but I'm kind of glad he did.

Since last September, Francesa, the pompous radio sports talk show host on WFAN in New York, lambasted Wright for the Mets failure to make the post season. Francesa's contention is that Wright hit terribly in the clutch during the last week of the season. Mike's solution was that a breakup of the core group of players was necessary for the Mets to move forward. He said many times that trading Wright should be considered.

I was outraged at the time of such a suggestion. David Wright is one of the best players ever produced from the Mets farm system. Take a look at his numbers. Since 2005, his first full year in the majors, Wright has averaged better than 112 runs batted in, 29 home runs, scored 106 runs, 81.5 walks, and 21.5 stolen bases. His OBP/SLG/AVG for his career is .389/.533/.309. David Wright is one of the best offensive players in baseball. How do you replace such a talented third baseman given the fact he is just 26 years old entering his prime?

Defensively, no one works harder at his position than David does. He has improved so much from his rookie season that he has won the NL gold glove at third the past two seasons. Only a couple of years ago, Mike Francesa made the claim that Wright would eventually have to move to first, that his glove would hurt the Mets at third. As usual, Francesa was way off the mark.

Francesa's argument last October was that Wright was unable to get the big hit when the pressure was on. There is truth in what he is saying but how much of hitting in the clutch is what caused the Mets to stumble the last couple of years. David Wright himself said that he did struggle and knows he must stay within himself in the future. But was he really the reason the Mets lost last year? We all know the answer to that is not true.

Baseball Prospectus, likely the best source for baseball statistical analysis, gives David a VORP score of 66.1. VORP is Value Over Replacement Player which means the number of runs contributed over a replacement level player at the same position given the same percentage of team at bats. Wright's score is the highest on the team. Matt Holliday, who Francesa felt might be a better alternative for the Mets has a lower VORP of 61.7. Prospectus also gives Wright an EQA (Equivalent Average) score of .319. EQA includes base running as well as average to determine the player's overall importance to a team's lineup. Wright leads the Mets with an EQA .319. The league average is .260.

The 2009 Baseball Prospectus edition makes a clear and decisive point that the bullpen was indeed the culprit in regards to the Mets 2008 disappointing finish. And they point out that even though the offense sputtered at the end, the bullpen had sewn the Mets fate for most of the season. The Mets would not have even been relevant the last weekend of the season had David not produced the numbers he did.

The point is, unlike Mr. Francesa who discounts the first 150 ballgames, Baseball Prospective mathematically concludes that all games are important. Had the Mets pen saved just a couple more games, the Mets would have made the playoffs. Then bashing Wright would have never been an issue.

But instead of pointing out the glaring weakness of the Mets bullpen, Francesa, who Don Imus once referred to as the sports doctor, chose to focus on David Wright as the prime culprit. And while David admittedly struggled at the end, the pressure was mostly from within. Wright is not frightened of succeeding in New York. He has plenty of clutch hits over his career to prove that.

Regardless, Wright should have went on the show. And I bet in retrospect, he regrets not doing so. I'm a bit surprised at David's thin skin but if anyone deserved to be stood up, it's Mike Francesa. I have a strong suspicion that if Wright were wearing navy blue pin stripes instead of royal blue, the issue of choking would not have come up. Over the years Francesa has demonstrated when it comes to the Mets, the glass is half empty but it is always half full when his beloved Yankees are the subject. Now in fairness, Mike has been very hard on Alex Rodriguez but who hasn't. But for some reason, Mike has a vendetta out on Wright and even the Mets.

Another thing that gets me is how Francesa contends that not getting an everyday player this winter will haunt the Mets. His argument is that you cannot expect the regular lineup to have the same performance they had last season. Then in another breath he'll assume that Luis Casitillo will have the same season as last. You can't have it both ways Mike!

I mentioned that I'm kind of glad that Wright did not go on Francesa's show. That's because I think the bully needs to be knocked down a peg. I don't get the ora this guy has over the listeners. I'm not saying he doesn't know a lot about sports but you would think that someone who claims to know baseball better than all sports would have a more holistic view of the game. There were other Mets hitters who did not produce the final week either. Hitters that had nowhere near the stats Wright had last season. But for some reason, Francesa (and other Mets fans to be fair) want only to pick on Wright.

David Wright is one of the two best farm bred offensive players in Mets history. Darryl Strawberry is the other. Unlike Strawberry, Wright seems to have his head on straight, loves the game, works tirelessly, and loves the organization he plays for. Even though Wright should have went on the show, I'll side with him over the sports doctor any day.

More Support of David Wright

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:19:00 -0400

Just some more information to support the fact that David Wright is about as untradeable a Met as they come. The table I have included compares Wright's statistics to all the other third baseman in the National League. Wright leads the pack in almost every category.

David Wright Should Remain A Met For Life

Lou Di Falco — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:49:00 -0400

The sports genius Mike Francesa was at it again today on Miked Up, Francesa on the Fan. He was once again touting the idea of trading David Wright. He defended not trading Carlos Beltran because there is no other center fielder in baseball with comparable numbers. I agree with that. Mike also defended not trading Jose Reyes because he is an outstanding leadoff hitter and a great defensive shortstop. I agree with that too. But in his infinite wisdom, Francesa then proclaimed that Wright is expendable because there are lots of third basemen out there. This is where I disagree with the self exalted sports maverick.

Let’s take a look at what the Mets have in David Wright. Wright came up in the middle of the 2004 season. In 69 games, Wright batted .293 with 77 hits, 17 doubles, a triple, 14 homeruns, and 40 runs batted in. He scored 41 runs and had a slugging percentage of .525. Since David Wright began playing full seasons starting in ’05, he has batted in over 100 runs each season. He hit over .300 every year averaging .309 with a slugging percentage of .533. Wright’s homerun total has gone up each season with 33 in 2008. He also reached a season high of 124 RBI, a Mets record surpassing Mike Piazza. David has hit 42 doubles every year since 2005 except 2006 when he hit 40. He already has 819 hits meaning he will likely reach 1000 hits by the end of next season provided he stays healthy and it will only be his fifth full season in the Majors. Wright sports some of the best stats in baseball since he came up.

David is also a tireless worker, a gamer who has to be dragged out of the lineup. He has worked tremendously on his defense taking ground ball after ground ball before games. He worked so hard that he won the gold glove last year and it’s likely he will win it again this season. There isn’t a week that goes by during the season that David Wright doesn’t make the highlight reel on ESPN.

Then there are the intangibles. David Wright has become the face of the Mets. He’s a standup guy who is always ready to talk to the press no matter what the circumstance. Most importantly, he absolutely loves being a New York Met. He is one of a handful of prospects the Mets have developed who, if he stays healthy, could be headed to the Hall of Fame. Tom Seaver was one of them. Nolan Ryan was another but he didn’t go in as a Met because he was traded away. The point is David is a franchise player. Players like Wright do not grow on trees. The Mets would never receive the talent back that could justify such a deal.

Is David Wright perfect? No, but he’s damn close. I know Wright struggled with runners in scoring position this year. That can happen to any player, ask Alex Rodriguez. But was David Wright the number one reason the Mets failed this season? Don’t just look at the final game of the season. That is not where the Mets lost a playoff spot. They lost it in many other games throughout the year. The bullpen was the number one problem. The corner outfielders were another area of concern due to injuries. Pedro Martinez struggled as the fifth starter. There was little production from the catcher position and second base also was a huge issue. And don’t forget for the first half of the season, Carlos Delgado struggled mightily.

David Wright’s production with runners in scoring position may have been a problem but it was not near the top of the list of reasons why the Mets are not still playing. And if you don’t think his numbers meant anything this year, I shudder to think where the Mets would have been without them.

An optimist would look at the 2008 season and say given all the adversity, it's incredible that the Mets made it to game 162 and were still relevant.

David Wright will continue to grow. There were lessons to be learned this season and Wright is a good learner. He tried too hard at times pressing to do it all himself. He will learn to stay within himself and be the clutch player he can be. Remember, during last year’s collapse in September, Wright had a phenomenal month. He simply struggled this year at a time when the Mets needed him to produce. But to be fare, other Mets hitters were not contributing either.

Mike Francesa, for all the accolades made about him, really has no idea what he is talking about. His basic thesis is that the Mets have won nothing with David Wright. And only a fool would assume that coming within a game of the World Series in 2006 is winning nothing. David Wright was part of a division championship team. That is an accomplishment. A true baseball fan understands that winning championships takes time. Only the self absorbed instant gratification types do not understand that. I guarantee that if the Mets traded David Wright, they would take a step backward before they would move forward. It’s simply a foolish idea from a foolish sports talk show host.

Trade David Wright? That's Absurd

Lou Di Falco — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0400

Trade David Wright? I for one would not do that. I feel David Wright has the best years ahead of him. But a couple of knuckleheads who grace afternoon drive time at the opposite ends of the dial in New York think Wright is the problem.

There is no question that something needs to be done before opening day next season. An overhaul of sorts is required. Mostly, that overhaul should be in the bullpen. Many of the pitchers in that pen contributed to the demise of the 2008 Mets. How does anyone expect a team to win a division when the bullpen authors 30 blown saves? That is intolerable.

But the remarks made by Mike Francesa of WFAN and Michael Kay of ESPN Radio (both Yankee fans) reflect almost a football mentality. For two years in a row now the Mets failed on the last day of the season. Also in both seasons, the Mets compiled losing records during the last two weeks against also-ran teams. This is a problem and certainly it cannot be denied.

But you cannot reconstruct your team with the idea that next year when we face elimination on the last day of the season, we’ll have the players to win. That’s a bit absurd, don’t you think? The point is the Mets for two seasons in a row should have never been in the position to lose the season on the last day. That’s the bigger problem and that is what the focus should be on. The Mets goal in retooling the team should be to create a roster that can capture a playoff spot before the last day of the season.

This is not to say that the Mets did not choke the season away at the end. They did. This year the Milwaukee Brewers were in the midst of a meltdown that would make what the Mets went through pale in comparison. But, the Brewers righted the ship during the last week of the season going 6-1 where as the Mets went 3-4 on their final home stand at Shea. So is there a problem, yes of course. Is trading David Wright the answer? Not unless the return is so great that it almost guarantees a playoff spot next year and for years after.

When you look at 2008, there were so many devastating losses, Mets fans became numb. How many leads did the bullpen give back? Would the Mets have been under the same pressure the last couple of weeks had the bullpen did their job? Likely the Mets would have been in position to clinch the division by mid-September had the pen saved most or even half of their opportunities.

My point is that regardless of the offensive woes with runners in scoring position the bullpen was the primary cause of the Mets failure to get into the post season. The Mets secondary culprit was the hitter’s inability to tack on runs late and get key hits with two outs.

Both issues must be addressed but before the Mets trade David Wright, they had better have some super plan. If you think the fan base is angry now, wait till David Wright starts hitting baseballs out of sight at Citi Field wearing another uniform.

On the heels of two seasons where the Mets lost a chance to go to the post season on the last day, I would be naïve to think that no player is untouchable. But in David Wright you have a franchise player who has now knocked in over 100 runs and has hit 25 home runs or more for four consecutive seasons. He struggled this year in clutch situations. That means he needs more support around him. Also David needs to grow up and realize that he cannot do it all. Part of his problem was he had too many big swings when short swings were required. David needs to get back to being the hitter he has been in the past where he took the ball the other way hitting line drives. He has to have faith in the other players around him. He needs to remove the weight of the world from his shoulders.

Mike Francesa and Michael Kay are more interested in creating controversy than what really ails the Mets. That said, Omar Minaya has a daunting task in front of him. But trading David Wright would likely hasten Omar’s exit from running the Mets, new contract or not.

Wright Goes Deep in Japan

Lou Di Falco — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 10:40:00 -0500

David Wright hit a game tying ninth inning home run in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo last night.

The Wright Stuff

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:50:00 -0400

If the Mets were smart, and with Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya in charge I believe they are, the Mets would sit down and lock up David Wright for the next 100 years.

Ramblings...

Lou Di Falco — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 16:05:00 -0400

Pardon me while I throw up. I just saw Darryl Strawberry and David Cone interviewed as they wore Yankee pin stripes at old timers day. Please!

A nice win, a nice win…

Lou Di Falco — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 10:48:00 -0400

I really thought it was going to be a long game after only scoring one run in the first inning. It looked like the Mets might have scored a few in the first the way things started out but it wasn’t to be. Never the less, great defense, gutty pitching by Steve Trachsel, and a couple of home runs was just what the doctor ordered in giving the Mets a nice 4 to 1 win over San Francisco. The win came on an evening when all other Eastern Division teams lost. I know it’s still very early in the season but a four game lead in the division is better than a three game lead. Every win is one day closer to that cherished goal of a championship. Wins in April are just as important as those in September.

Newsday had an interesting quote from David Wright. To paraphrase in regards to David playing with a slight groin pull, he said “I want to be out there, I’ll take a guy with less talent than someone with super star talent that is soft”. Wow, is David trying to say something to a fellow teammate who might have missed a few games in center field recently? I think Wright is showing that little by little he is becoming a leader in that Mets clubhouse. And in regards to Mr. Beltran: Omar please put this cat on the disabled list. It is obvious the guy does not want to play hurt. Bring up Milledge and let’s get on with this already. Maybe that will even put a little pressure on Beltran to “heal” faster.

Also according to Newsday, the city council will meet today and vote to approve the tax free bonds to finance both the Mets’ and the Yankees’ new stadiums. Apparently the Mets and Queens council were able to broker a deal that gave the local thugs the piece of the action they were looking for. While at Shea Stadium, it’s plain to see where the new ballpark will sit, just beyond the center field fence. No question there will be some disruption for residence and fans over the next three years while construction is going on. However I can’t imagine what the Bronx residence are going to have to deal with. I was invited as part of a child’s birthday celebration to a Yankee game last weekend. And parking in lot #1 and walking through McCombs Dam to the stadium, it is not very clear as to where the new Yankee Stadium will be located. There are baseball fields and parkland all around there that is going to be disrupted causing lots of distress for the locals. There is no question in my mind that the Mets plan is much cleaner which makes me surprised that the Wilpons got such a hassle from the local pols.

Hopefully the Mets can win this afternoon taking two out of three from the Giants. A win today has a double effect, it gives the Mets a nice roll as they go into Atlanta and it shuts up Chris Russo, the latter being the best reason.