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Monday, March 30
Citi Opens
by
Lou Di Falco
on Mon 30 Mar 2009 07:56 PM EDT
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.
Friday, March 27
Much To Do About Nothing
by
Lou Di Falco
on Fri 27 Mar 2009 04:13 PM EDT
What is all the fuss about John Main’s command or Ollie Perez’s fastball? When, all of a sudden, has spring training reliably predicted how the season will go?
So far this spring, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 14-10. The World Champion Phillies are 10-14, Florida is 10-13, the Mets are 10-13, the Nats are 11-13, and the Braves are 17-8. Honestly, I think the Braves are going to contend. They are a much improved club but do you honestly think these records will represent how the National League east will fair in 2009?
Spring Training is a time for players to get their act together. They need to get physically fit and use the ballgames to work out new ideas or simply get out the kinks. Nobody in either dugout cares less about who wins or who loses. Certainly no fan wants to see their team lose consistently in the month of March but as long as a team is around .500, there really is no reason to panic. When spring training ends, there is no dog piling on the field by the team that has the best record. Players only celebrate the fact that spring training is finally over!
And this season has been worse than usual. Because of the World Baseball Classic (which really needs to be moved to another time during the year), spring training began earlier in February than ever. The first spring games were played around February 25th. That’s not spring training, that’s winter training.
Most clubs have had key players away for almost three weeks while the classic was being played. This spring was an education in evaluating Mets prospects because that was about all there was in each game until teams started to get eliminated in the second round of the WBC.
Nick Evans has had a great spring. He’s a good young ballplayer. Is anyone out there seriously going to consider Evans this year’s Triple Crown candidate? I doubt it.
Tonight will be the first time Jerry Manual will be able to field his opening day lineup since David Wright is due to play. That’s of course unless somebody comes down with a hangnail between now and game time.
Meanwhile, hysterical media types like Craig Carton and Joe Benigno continue to have a stroke over problems on the field. Last spring, everyone was gaga over how John Maine was pitching. When the season began, he couldn’t get past the fifth inning before throwing 100 pitches proving that what happens in Port St. Lucie stays in Port St. Lucie.
The two years the Mets won the World Series (so long ago…) they compiled very mediocre spring records. It seems that fans now not only expect, and perhaps demand, their team wins 162 straight games but they also must sweep the spring too.
The only thing that concerns me in regards to March baseball is injuries. That is something that should concern every baseball fan. So far, the Mets have been fairly healthy and that’s a good thing. I’ll start to worry about wins and losses on April 6th when the Mets open the 2009 campaign at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. That’s when the games begin to count.
Thursday, March 26
Opening Day and The Economy
by
Lou Di Falco
on Thu 26 Mar 2009 03:55 PM EDT
Update -
Yesterday on WFAN's Miked Up, Mets Executive Vice President of Business Operations David Howard was interviewed by Mike Francesa. In the interview, Howard admitted that although season tickets are selling better this year than last, they have not sold as many complete season ticket packages as they had expected. About 200 seats were still available for opening day and were being held for season ticket packages not yet purchased.
In an effort to stimulate sales and to sell out opening day, the Mets decided to create a new package offering left over opening day tickets with four additional games from April and May. The pack is called the Opening Day Pack and gives the buyer the choice of games to pick from during the first two months of the season.
Howard pointed out that the cost of many of the 15 game packages are less than the five pack being offered. His remarks were in response to fans who were angered over having to purchase the 15 games to get opening day tickets only to see a five game pack released at this late date. Another point Howard made was that with the 15 game pack, the games are spread accross the entire season and not just in April and May.
Howard is correct. There are 15 game packs remaining whose ticket prices are lower than the five packs being offered. In fact, some of the 15 packs remaining appear so affordable, I'm considering one myself.
Original Post - March 26
Just when you thought you were shut out of opening day, low and behold you can go to the Mets home opener at Citi Field after all.
Back in the winter you could have obtained opening day tickets by purchasing some sort of season ticket plan. There was the full 81 game plan, two forty game plans, and several different 15 game plans, some that included opening day. Then the Mets held a lottery and selected a number of lucky applicants that received the opportunity to buy tickets to the home opener. When single game tickets went on sale, I checked and the Mets website showed me that indeed the home opener was sold out.
Yesterday, the Mets announced that additional opening day seats are available and they can be had by simply buying an additional four games. The four games must be selected from games in April and May. Just for the heck of it, I went on to the Mets web site to see what is available.
On the ticket page, the Citi Field Opener pack is laid out nicely. You can choose seats in the Metropolitan Box, Field Box (both on the field level) or Caesars Club Bronze (second level). Being not of much funds, I plugged in two seats for the Caesars Club Bronze, the cheaper of the three choices. I also picked games featuring the weaker clubs to drive down the price as much as possible. In other words, I did not select games against the Phillies or Braves as much as I would rather see those teams than the Nationals or the Marlins.
When all was said and done, the cost of my two tickets for five games was $950.00. That's almost a thousand dollars for five games, two hundred dollars per game, one hundred a seat. Selecting the Phillies and Braves for the additional four games raises the price over an additional 200 dollars. I'm not saying the price is not reasonable, it's just not reasonable for me. I would guess not for a lot of other people either. You may think I'm not a die hard fan. I would say that is not true. I, like a lot of other people in this bail out economy, am simply not in the position to pay that kind of money for five games which does not include travel, parking, and concession costs. And if you think I am bashing the Mets, I am not.
The Mets are also feeling the pinch of this economy. They are simply trying to stimulate ticket sales by offering the home opener as an incentive. The point of all this is the Mets are moving into a state of the art, brand spanking new ballpark, having not sold out opening day. That has more to do with the economy than the last two failed Septembers do.
It is very likely that once opening day passes, each game of relative insignificance will be played before a number of empty seats. If you have not noticed, the economy is still bad even though the incentive plans put forth by Obama and the congress are starting to show some positive effects. However, major economists on both sides of the aisle agree that the recovery will be slow and expect it to take a year or perhaps even longer. Given these facts, new park or not, I can't see every Mets game will be a sell out.
And it's not just the Mets. Boston Red Sox tickets are available for certain games. This is historic considering the Red Sox have sold out every game now for a number of years. The Red Sox fans have not grown tired of their team and Boston is still expected to content for another championship. Therefore if Sox tickets can be purchased, you know the economy has something to do with it.
If you happen to think the Mets are out of control with their more expensive tickets ($495 per game), get a load of this.
A friend of mine, a Yankee fan, loves to take his family of five to a game on the Fourth of July. I watched him enter ticket information for the game against Toronto. He made the mistake of selecting best seats available. When the five available tickets came up, we could not believe our eyes. The cost of one game for five came out to be $13,423.50, $2600 per seat plus service charges. That's college tuition for a semester at some colleges. Who in their right mind would pay such an outlandish price for a single baseball game?
Those seats are the most expensive the Yankees have to offer. So the fact they came up suggests no one is buying them. With corporations being looked at with a scrupulous eye, don't expect too many CFOs to approve corporate tickets. Not at those prices.
We may be witnessing the pendulum beginning to swing back the other way. The most expensive seats at the two new ballparks are not selling because the economy is so bad. That means less revenue which will translate into less money being offered to players. At some point, the bubble has to burst. Whether that is happening now or not still remains to be seen but make no mistake, the pin has been pushed into the bubble.
Wednesday, March 25
Mets 2009 Annual
by
Lou Di Falco
on Wed 25 Mar 2009 09:15 AM EDT
Maple Street Press has published their Mets Annual 2009 edition. For 12.99, this 128 page volume written by Matthew Silverman and Greg Spira is a must for any Mets fan. The book includes lots of numbers, stories, and information on your favorite team and their brand new home.
This is a great resource for Mets information. The year book size soft cover book features much more information on each player than last year's edition. And there are no advertisements.
In Mets Annual 2009, each player is given a page with loads of stats, photos, and a write up. Statistics include charts depicting hitters hitting zone averages. They even break down averages on the types of pitches hitters saw, a very comprehensive analysis of each offensive player. Pitchers are given the same treatment. Stats include how pitchers fared against different types of hitters in different situations. An excellent analysis of the defensive aspect of the game. A must read for anyone who is a Mets fan or into fantasy baseball.
There are many articles included also, some that focus on Citi Field and the Mets former homes, Shea Stadium and the Polo Grounds. A nice feature of the book is in depth coverage of the Mets minor league system including schedules of all of the affiliates. Included is an article of how Buffalo, the Mets new triple A affiliate, served as the first triple A team in club history.
There is a wonderful piece on the 1984 Mets. This being the 25th anniversary of the first team Davey Johnson managed, it is interesting to look back and see how those great teams of the 1980s began with this club.
Speaking of anniversaries, this is the 40th for the 1969 Mets, the first Mets World Series championship team. Mets Annual 2009 includes a feature regarding that miraculous team. There is a detailed analysis of the NL East, a review of the 2008 draft class, many great photographs, and a lot more.
I highly recommend Mets Annual 2009. I wore out last year's edition, often going to it during the games. With all of the new statistics that have been added, I'm sure I will do so again this year. You will too. You can find Mets Annual 2009 here or at news stands. ISBN: 1942-0560
Tuesday, March 24
Phillies Right Back to Work, Mets Resting
by
Lou Di Falco
on Tue 24 Mar 2009 04:28 PM EDT
File this one under the heading of why the Phillies beat out the Mets consistently. Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran returned from the WBC almost a week ago and have yet to appear in a game. David Wright and J.J. Putz returned today and did not play in today's loss to Houston at Kissimee. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, also with team USA, returned to spring training today and both were in the lineup for the Phillies who beat Toronto 7-6. I know it's spring training but I wonder about the work ethic of the Phillies stars vs. the Mets stars. Perhaps I am being a bit unfair but after two seasons of being beaten out by those Phillies, it's hard not to notice.
Monday, March 23
More Pictures Before the Park Opens
by
Lou Di Falco
on Mon 23 Mar 2009 02:04 PM EDT
Saturday, March 21
Citi Field Interior Photos
by
Lou Di Falco
on Sat 21 Mar 2009 11:31 PM EDT
Stadiumpage.com has posted brand new interior shots from Citi Field. The photos were taken by Chris Swann. In them, you will see the skyline from the old scoreboard at Shea Stadium has found a new home. Plus, the Apple has grown a stem, the grass looks recently groomed, more signage is up, and the Jackie Robinson Rotunda is nearly complete. Oh, and who is Ben?
Friday, March 20
The Future of Omar
by
Lou Di Falco
on Fri 20 Mar 2009 09:52 AM EDT
Will the Mets GM, Omar Minaya, be back in 2010 if the Mets do not make the playoffs this season?
It depends but certainly if the Mets fail to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season it may be difficult for him to return. Minaya did get a contract extension and there is no question that the Wilpons like Omar. But from a public relations standpoint, you wonder how much rope he will have.
Regardless of the Mets failings in late September the last two seasons, credit must be given to Minaya for making the Mets relevant again.
Prior to the Mets hiring Minaya, the Mets were in the midst of one of their many stretches of seasons playing under .500 ball. After winning the National League pennant in 2000, the Mets barely played over .500 the following year then dwelled at the bottom of the division the next three seasons. The failure to sign Alex Rodriguez in 2000, the poor selection of manager Art Howe in 2002, and the horrendous trade of Scott Kazmir in 2004 forced the Mets hierarchy to bring back Minaya and right the foundering ship.
Minaya acted quickly signing Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. Omar also hired New York's first black manager, popular Yankee Willie Randolph. In 2005, the Mets played much better finishing over .500 with an 83-79 record and challenged for the wild card. Then in 2006, the Mets ran away with the division after Omar traded for first baseman Carlos Delgado and signed closer Billy Wagner. They came within one game of the World Series and that's as close as the Mets have come to a championship since.
The Mets have not played bad the last couple of seasons, in fact they have been one of the better teams finishing with 88 and 89 wins respectively. However, the dismal collapse of 2007 and the failure to make the playoffs late again last season has left a bitter taste in a fan base starving for a championship. It has been 23 years since the Mets last won a World Series and nine since they have been in one. Certainly, no one wants the teams we suffered through prior to Minaya coming here. But after 2006 and having good talent at the prime of their careers, the clock is ticking.
I often think that the worst thing that happened during Minaya's tenure was 2006. The Mets took everyone by surprise in only Minaya's second year on the job. Afterwards fans assumed post season entry would become routine for a few seasons. And with 17 games to play in 2007 with a seven and a half game lead, who would have blamed any Mets fan for dreaming such a thing. But the truth is the Mets had holes and 2006 was accomplished partly because the rest of the division was not very good. The Phillies came on late that summer but by then the Mets were too far ahead. That was not the case in '07 when the Mets bullpen began to falter and the consistency the Mets found in '06 was no longer existent. Still the Mets should have won in '07 but Omar and company did not do enough to strengthen obvious weaknesses by the trade deadline.
But then Omar made a tremendous deal in January of last year. He traded for Johan Santana and for a while, Mets fans forgot about the collapse of '07. Some critics sited that Johan fell into the Mets lap. I disagree. It was obvious that Boston and the Yankees, the other two suitors, did not want to spend the kind of money it would take to sign Santana and part with top farm talent. But the two clubs had to stay in the bidding for the simple reason of not wanting the other team to get him. Omar saw an opportunity and informed management that the deal would come back to them. As long as the Sox and Yanks played chicken, the Mets remained the only other club who had talent sufficient enough to satisfy Minnesota and also have the cash to sign him to a lucrative contract. Another GM could have concluded that the Mets had no chance to lure the lefty ace, moving on to lesser quality pitchers. Minaya stayed focused and ultimately got his man.
Through no fault of Santana, the Mets stumbled at the finish line again. The cry we heard from management last season was the Mets over achieved. The fact that they were in the race to the bitter end was a testament to a team really not ready to win. The bullpen was brutal. The loss of Billy Wagner to elbow surgery was devastating. No pitcher in the the pen was able to step up and save crucial games that could have helped win a division title.
This off season, Omar apparently learned his lesson from the past two seasons. He brought in two top closers, J.J. Putz who will setup closer Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod set the record for saves last year for the Angels. Sean Green was also brought in and he has the kind of arm that can be used often and in many different situations. Prime culprits Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis were traded away. Luis Ayala signed with the Twins.
A plethora of starting pitchers were also signed to compete for the number five role, a role that looks to be headed toward Livan Hernandez, El-Duque's half brother. So the focus was pitching, pitching, and more pitching. Not a bad idea. Alex Cora, the former Red Sox, was signed who will help the bench and fill in any position in the infield.
The one area of recent criticism is that Minaya did not bring in a big bat. He defended not signing Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn because the Mets were second in runs scored last year, tied with the Phillies. He points out that the difference between the Mets and Phillies last season was the bullpen. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine the truth in his statement. Brad Lidge, the Phillies closer, saved every game handed to him. The same cannot be said of Billy Wagner or Luis Ayala who was the primary closer after Billy's injury.
Has Minaya made mistakes? Of course, what general manager hasn't?. Trading away Heath Bell, Matt Lindstrom, Henry Owens, and Royce Ring might have made the difference the last two seasons. These four relievers have all contributed to their team's success although none of them pitched for a playoff team either.
It's likely Omar Minaya will be around regardless of what happens in 2009. But he would be a lot more comfortable if the Mets get to the playoffs.
Thursday, March 19
Wright On
by
Lou Di Falco
on Thu 19 Mar 2009 08:32 AM EDT
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.
Sunday, March 8
Outside of Citi Field
by
Lou Di Falco
on Sun 08 Mar 2009 10:15 PM EDT
On Friday, Yankee announcer and talk show host Michael Kay was given a personal tour of Citi Field by COO Jeff Wilpon. On his afternoon radio show, Michael was raving about the ballpark, saying that Mets fans will never feel like second citizens again when it comes to their home. His only criticisms were of the chop shops next door and seating capacity at only 42,500. I agree about the amount of seats but the Iron Triangle will be rebuilt over the next ten years.
The latest from the camera of Citi_Field from Webshots...
Citi Field Construction 3/7/09
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