There is a pretty hot topic on Metsblog.com today in regards to Citi Field and it’s homage to Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Instead of posting a response I figured I would espouse here.

There are some that feel that the Mets are shortchanging themselves by paying to much attention to Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Somehow the Mets should only be exploiting there own history. Here’s my take on the situation.

The Mets will forever be tied to previous New York National League baseball history. Their birth was the result of the Dodgers and Giants leaving run down stadiums in run down neighborhoods for more profitable pastures. If emotions can be put aside, no one in their right mind could have blamed Walter O’Malley and Horace Stoneham for taking their teams to the left coast. That was clearly articulated in the HBO special, the Dukes of Flatbush, that I strongly recommend you see.

New York attorney William A. Shea fought to build a new Continental Baseball League that would include a franchise in New York. So threatened was Major League Baseball that an expansion franchise was granted to the city and the Mets were born. There is no question that the ambition behind attracting a new team to New York was due to the escape of the Dodgers and Giants. Because of that, the Mets borrowed royal blue from the Dodgers and burnt orange from the Giants to create their team colors.

Shea Stadium was a functional and practical stadium built at a time when symmetrical, modern, and no obstructing posts were the rage in ballpark architecture. Also it was dual purpose. City planners everywhere, not just New York, saw a great advantage of a stadium that could serve multi purposes. That’s why Shea never had the character of an Ebbets Field, a Fenway Park, or even a Yankee Stadium.

All has changed since the construction of Oriole Park in 1992. Now every team wants that neighborhood style quirky dimension ballpark. So when the Mets wanted to build a new stadium, which began in the late ‘90s, they chose to model the park after something historic. Fred Wilpon, because of his love for the Brooklyn Dodgers, chose Ebbets Field as a park they would model the Mets new stadium after. Some of the remarks made suggest that Citi Field is an absolute clone of Ebbets Field. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First off, Ebbets Field is tiny in comparison to Citi. Although its exterior façade, its brickwork and arches, are taken from the old Brooklyn yard, there are other aspects of the stadium totally unrelated. There is a lot of steel work throughout the park including the light towers reminiscent of the many bridges in the city and like the Mets emblem, is symbolic of the interconnectivity of the five boroughs. Plus the interior of the ballpark looks nothing like Ebbets field. The seat colors are different, there are no posts, and there certainly were no amenities at Ebbets Field like there will be in the Mets new park. Plus Ebbets Field had no overhanging stands in right field. In fact, there were no stands in right field.

Citi Field will have a rotunda in honor of Jackie Robinson. Ebbets Field had a rotunda too but its scale and grandeur is dwarfed by what they are building in Queens. And although Jackie Robinson was never a Met, he was a National League player in New York who broke the color barrier in baseball. He is an American hero and deserves a place in the New York National league’s ballpark.

True, there is an Ebbets Club and a Coogan’s Grill in Citi Field but make no mistake, it will be the Mets home. There will be Mets championship banners hanging. There will also be a Mets museum that will honor Mets history and their former home. And perhaps most important, there will be Mets players on the field.  

Ebbets Field has a special place in Fred Wilpon’s heart but Jeff Wilpon will eventually own the team and he is too young to recall the Dodgers of Brooklyn. Jeff traveled to many baseball stadiums in the major leagues to find what would work and what wouldn’t so it was not just Ebbets Field that is the sole inspiration for Citi Field.

Jeff Wilpon grew up with the Mets in the ‘60s and ‘70s’ and he understands their history and how important that is to New York. I doubt very much he will let it be forgotten.

I watched quite a bit of the Marlins-Phillies game on MLB-TV last night. I thought Florida might come back but every time they scored some runs to tie or make it close, the Phillies went ahead again. The Marlins made it interesting in the ninth but Brad Lidge recorded another save preserving the Phillies win. That’s 66-0 now heading into the ninth inning for Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s win cuts the Mets lead to 1.5 games in the division but are still back two in the loss column. The Mets play the Nationals tonight beginning a two game series. So far this season, the Mets are 8-4 against Washington. The Nats have had a dreadful year but have been playing much better of late. Washington took two out of three from the Phillies a week ago. I know this is a different year but the Nationals helped bury the Mets last September. I think Jerry Manuel would agree the Mets have something to prove against Washington.

Unlike Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel has openly talked about the collapse and insisted the Mets would not be over it until they get to the playoffs. His approach, and it’s one I agree with, is to challenge the Mets players in regards to last September and keep them aware of what went wrong. So far, the Mets have responded. Last year, the Mets had six games in September with Washington. They lost five of the six games including a three game sweep at Shea Stadium. It had better be different this year especially since the Mets division lead is much less than it was this time last year.

What will it mean to the Mets that Billy Wagner is gone for the season? Honestly, not much. Considering that he has not thrown a pitch since August 2 and during this time the Mets have gone 22-11, they pretty much are doing well without him. That does not mean that sometime in the next nineteen remaining games that the Mets won’t wish that Billy was around to save a game or two. Quite simply, what can the Mets do? Luis Ayala has converted five of six save opportunities. Brian Stokes has been terrific. Duaner Sanchez seems to have gotten something going of late as well. Pedro Feliciano has enjoyed some success as a one batter specialist and Joe Smith has pitched well too. It seems like it has been a month of Sundays since Aaron Heilman has thrown a pitch but so far the Mets are piecing the bullpen together nicely.

The bigger question in regards to Wagner will be what to do for next season. Obviously that will be something to ponder when this season concludes, hopefully sometime in late October. Hopefully the relievers, particularly Luis Ayala, will take Billy’s injury as an opportunity to really make a statement. It’s pretty amazing when you consider that Ayala struggled so mightily with the Nationals this year and now finds himself in the closer role for the division leader.

Jose Reyes is struggling again in the month of September. Sorry I’m not buying the “here we go again” scenario. And his swoon last September was not the reason the Mets blew their lead, it was the pitching. Even without Reyes hitting well last September, the Mets scored enough runs to win. In the twelve losses from September 17th last season, the Mets averaged 4.5 runs a game. In five of those twelve losses, the Mets scored 6 runs or more. That should have been enough to win two more games that would have given the Mets the division title. So while sports writers continue to hold Reyes accountable, it was the pitching that did the Mets in last season.

I am not totally admonishing Jose Reyes however. He struggled a great deal in the Phillies series this past weekend which suggests that Jose does succumb to pressure. In the three game series, Reyes had no hits including a 0-9 in Sunday’s doubleheader. What amazes me about Reyes is that he is so talented but yet his baseball instincts are so bad. I can never understand why Reyes, with his speed, does not bunt for a base hit two or three times a week. When he gets into these funks, he pops up a lot. Plus he had tended, lately, to strike out on pitches outside the strike zone. Personally, I think Reyes puts way too much pressure on himself especially when Jimmy Rollins is in the building. Jose still needs to learn who he is and understand the great talent that he has. It will be interesting to watch him as September unfolds.

The Citi Field special on SNY was very good. The ballpark has really taken shape and looks like it will be fantastic when it opens. One concern I do have is that some of the seating will come with obstructed views. For example, the right field porch that hangs over the field is a nice quirky feature but if you are not sitting in the first couple of rows, you will not see any plays hit into the right field corner or near the right field wall. That’s the price you pay (no pun intended) for seating that is closer to the playing field. Of course the big video board in center field will allow fans to see plays they may not be able to see from their seats. Overall, Citi Field will be a huge improvement over Shea Stadium. And how do critics justify their argument of not enough seats in Citi Field when the Mets did not even sell out the Philadelphia series. The Mets do not draw the way the Yankees do and their analysis of a 45,000 capacity may be on the mark. If the Mets continue to be a contender and the number of seats become a problem, well that’s a nice problem to have and I’m sure the Mets will figure something out. The Citi Field special will continue to air throughout the month.