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Statistics Rising

You can make yourself crazy over-analyzing baseball.   A week ago the Mets rotation wasn’t pitching deep into games, the bullpen couldn’t get anyone out, and people were all set to write the Mets off.  Now they’ve run off a stretch of five wins in a row, the pitchers have pitched well from rotation to bullpen, and they’re scoring runs in all sorts of ways from home runs to errors to simple clutch hits.

 

The last time a major New York sports team other than the Mets won a home game was last Sunday the 17th when the Rangers and Yankees did it.   Since then the Rangers and Knicks both got bounced from the playoffs and the Yankees are 3-3 including dropping the last two home games against the White Sox with each of their two closers, Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano, blowing saves.

 

An aside on the Yankees: For a team as old as they are, it has to be a little worrisome that they’ve postponed so many games already doesn’t it?  They’ve played far fewer than anyone else, and in fact only played four games last week.  Those three games will have to be made up, and it’ll eat into days off and rest time for some of these veteran players.

 

You could make excuses about the quality of the Mets opponents, but I could make excuses that they were a bloop or a lucky bounce away from winning some of those games they lost too.  Regardless of who is in the other dugout, the Mets are playing good baseball right now.  When this team is playing well, they’re capable of beating anyone.  The question has always been if they’re going to stay healthy enough to have the chance to play well, and can they sustain the success longer than the slumps they might go through when guys are struggling?

 

Also worth noting is that if the only reason the Mets are winning is because they’re playing bad teams, why can’t the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks?

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New Mets Ticket Specials

Way back before Citi Field’s construction, and a playoff berth, prompted a surge in attendence at the Mets home ballpark they often offered ticket deals via Wendy’s, or LIRR, or the always popular “Bring a Pepsi Can, sit in the picnic area” deal.

Well, with dwindling demand this year the Mets have again started in on some of these promotions. 

You may have noticed an increased presense by Pepsi this year, particularly Pepsi MAX.  Pepsi is really pushing their diet soda this year, and being a big sponsor of the Mets it’s particularly evident at Citi Field.  Last Wednesday they were giving away samples before the game next to a giant inflated Pepsi MAX bottle and a pitch speed tent they had set up. 

On Friday they had huge bins of free Pepsi MAX cans to give away to Mets fans as they exited the park.

They also have a ticket special;  Pepsi MAX Mondays. 

“In partnership with Pepsi, you can now maximize your outing at Citi Field with Pepsi MAX Mondays. Starting at $80 you can get 4 Monday game tickets in the Pepsi Porch and 4 Pepsi Fountain Sodas.”

 

They’ve got the BJs Club-House sections, specially priced at $10 for kids and $20 for adults.

McFadden’s always has special happy hour packages than include tickets.

And McDonalds has a deal where if you donate $1 to the Ronald McDonald House you can get select tickets 50% off to value games in May and June.  Tickets will cost anywhere from $14 to $48 after the discount.  Plus the donation and normal ticketing fees of course.

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It Gets Windy At Citi Field

The wind played havoc on the baseball last night, and I saw Shannon at Mets Police retweeting a couple of people at the game talking about how windy it was.

 

To give you an idea of how windy it gets, I’ve got a video below.  This was taken in the cup holder in dead center field behind the Big Apple seats.

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Keith’s Grill And Custom Made Burgers

Keith’s grill, which I wrote about earlier this month, was featured on SNY the other night.

There are two different types of burgers that Keith Hernandez helped create, and both come with kettle chips and a Tootsie Roll pop.  You get whichever is the next flavor to come out of the box, although I’m sure the cashier wouldn’t be _too_ annoyed if you asked for a different one.

Right now they’re only set up to do one burger at a time, but they said they’re hoping to have both available for the next homestand.

 

The Mex Burger

On Wednesday I had the Mex Burger, and while I’d still give the edge to Shake Shack, it was a pretty tasty burger.  I look forward to trying the Gold Glove Burger when I get a chance.

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Keep Doing That

Swing and a Miss

The Mets starting pitcher, R.A. Dickey pitched as well as, or better than, the Astros pitcher Bud Norris.  Dickey pitched eight innings and gave up four runs, for a 4.5 ERA on the day, and Norris pitched six innings and gave up three runs, also equaling a 4.5 ERA.   I’d give the tie-breaker to length, especially since relievers are generally not as good as starters.

The Mets also out-hit the Astros. The Mets got 12 hits, with three extra base hits, and the Astros got eight, with three extra base hits.

Of course, when all was said and done the Mets made a variety of mistakes and lost the game.  The Mets cannot afford to lose these games that are practically handed to them, but if they continue to pitch and hit like they did today, they WILL win most of those games. What they need to do is identify what they’re doing wrong that’s giving them such a low amount of runs per hit, and why the opponents hits seem to be worth so much more. 

Not bunting with only three precious outs left on the first pitch with one of the fastest guys in the game on first base would also go a long way towards not losing.

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5-1 Homestand Still Alive

I wanted the Mets to go 5-1 on this homestand to claw their way back to respectability.   If they lose the first one, the third one, or the 6th one, the resulting record is the same.  I’m sure the Mets understand this, but I’m going to head out to Flushing tomorrow to make sure they start winning again.  (Follow me for in-game thoughts and pictures from around Citi Field)

 

While it’s still April and very early, the longer the Mets play losing baseball the better they’ll have to play, for longer, to make up for it.  While I still believe the Mets are a good team, and certainly better than this, there does come a point where they’re going to have to show it.  They don’t have to come out blazing to a 10-1 stretch and just destroy everyone, but they do have to play consistent baseball and win more games than they lose.

 

They just need to win, and it doesn’t need to be pretty.  It could  be a 9-walk complete game shutout.  A 4-error game where the opposition fails to capitalize.  Jose Reyes could power the offense with three home runs in a 9-8 slugfest.  At this point they just need to start putting up Ws.  It starts with not giving free bases, not giving up outs, and not making too many dangerous mistakes in the field.  But it also starts with picking up your teammates when they do make a mistake, such as Wright did diving to get Lee at third base after Turner’s error.  Pitchers need to start striking out a batter after an error and not getting rattled by it and the fielders need to stop thinking they need to get two outs at once and stop panicking in the field.

 

Divisions are not won in April.  In fact, three of last years playoff teams were at or below .500 on May first.  There is still time for the Mets to settle down and start playing better.   There’s plenty of time for Collins to stop playing guys that tend to suck, and for Alderson to wish those that suck away into the cornfield for players from the minors or other clubs that suck less.

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The Mets and Brooklyn Brewery

I may be channeling Mets Police a bit here, but there has been a depressing change at Citi Field this year that I want to take note of.

The Mets, at the four specialty food stands in center field, no longer serve Brooklyn Brewery beers on tap.  When I mused earlier last week that the Citi Field may have one of the best beer selections in the majors, it was off the premise that those four beers were on par with any other beer anywhere else. Without them, The Mets aren’t even in the conversation.
After much discussion and inquiry on Twitter this weekend with other beer and Mets fans, the folks at Brooklyn Brewery clarified:

“BrooklynBrewery:
@Ceetar The Mets asked for more than we could afford to remain in play at D. Meyer’s stands. Previously the rates were very fair. 2good2BTru”

The last bit hits it on the head. Two good to be true.  The Mets, as a business, realized that they had a hot commodity and raised the prices beyond what a small business like Brooklyn Brewery could afford.  It makes sense; Those stands are in high demand, and are you really going to wait on another line for beer when you’ve got a tap right there?  Craft beer is making great strides, but most people still aren’t that particular and don’t really care if there’s a specialty crafted beer that matches the cusine they just bought.

 

note: Good Food Stories found the same thing.  Here’s their write up of Citi Field’s food this year, complete with pictures.

 

There is still a demand for good beer at Citi Field. This isn’t a knock on what’s available at Beer Island, or the couple of good taps they have around the stadium.  Goose Island Summer is on tap, which is good. Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat is not bad.  Blue Point, at Catch of the Day, has their toasted lager available and is a brewery local to Long Island.   You can still get Brooklyn Lager in cans.

Nevermind about the pairing of the beers with the food at Danny Meyer’s stands; Plenty of Mets fans would be content with just being able to buy the beer at a separate stand, even buried in the Promenade somewhere.  I often lamented that if I wanted to get a Shackmeister Ale I had to wait on the long line, even if I didn’t want food.

Other stadiums do this.  Citizen’s Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia has a great amount of local varieties of beer available.  I don’t think they’re any bigger than Brooklyn Brewery, although I’m sure the overhead and rent in Brooklyn is significantly higher.  I haven’t been there yet this year, but the Phillies served at least these seven local beers in past years.

– Flying Fish Pale Ale Draft
– Sly Fox Pikeland Pilsner Draft
– Troegs Sunshine Pilsner Draft
– Yards Tavern Ale Draft
– Pennsylvania Lager BTL
– Victory Hop Devil Ale BTL
– Victory Hop Devil Ale Draft & Victory Prima Pilsner Draft
I’ve maintained that while it’s more expensive, I don’t think Citi Field has priced out it’s fans just yet.  There are still affordable ways to get to the games, even with families, even if they’re harder.  However, I’m wondering if we’re going the way of creating a place that only corporations can afford at the expense of the local flair that we all know and love.  I miss the days of the National League team flags on the walls instead of advertisements.  I understand the necessity of it, but it saddens me that we can’t also find a way to accomodate the local venders that make New York so great.  We’ve got a rotunda honoring a great baseball player and historical figure, but the beer representing the pennant he won isn’t, to my knowledge, sold in the ballpark.

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What’s New At Citi Field? Keith’s Grill and More!

Unfortunately, the worst part of Opening Day was the play on the field.  Hopefully that doesn’t continue.   There are a handful of changes at Citi Field to note.

 

The bad first.  There are no longer Brooklyn Beers on tap at the Taste of NY center field concourse.  No Shackmeister Ale, no Blanche de Brooklyn, no Blue Smoke Ale and no Sabroso Ale.  Not even a Brooklyn Summer Ale.  You can still get the Brooklyn Lager around the park, but the loss of these specialty brews is disappointing.  I haven’t even seen Brooklyn’s Pennant Ale anywhere, which you think would be a given for a ballpark, never mind a team with Brooklyn roots.  I’m going to try to keep a full list of the Mets beer selections at Citi Field, and hopefully one day will add the stuff that’s hidden behind club doors this season.  If you know a blogger and beer lover that roots for a different team, I’d love to talk with him or her about creating a beer list for other stadiums.

 

The highlight of the changes to me was a new concession stand on the field level in the left fielder corner called Keith’s Grill.  It features a Gold Glove burger which is described as having been created by Keith Hernandez.

“Exactly how Keith eats his burger; A 6 oz. Brooklyn Burger on a toasted sesame bun, w/ cheddar cheese, topped w/ lettuce, tomato, two dill pickles, raw onions mayo & extra ketchup on top, mustard spread on the bottom bun.  Burger served with house made kettle chips & Keith’s favorite candy; a Tootsie Roll Pop”

I didn’t try it; the line was too long and I figured I’d go back on a less crowded occasion, but it sounds yummy.  I heard that their was a new Pastrami on Rye sandwich somewhere, but I think I remember seeing that at the Kosher cart last year.

 

There was two new beers from Hometown Brewery.  A New York Lager and a light.  the NY Lager wasn’t bad, but didn’t seem like anything special.  They were available from a couple of different carts around the park. It seems like it might be contract-brewed by the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, PA.  Which is where the Yankees AAA team plays and is in Pennsylvania, so don’t be too excited by the NY name.

 

Two new menu items at Blue Smoke.  Chipotle wings are back after a 2010 absence (I learned in 2009 that eating wings in cold weather when your hands are chapped is a bad idea) and also a fried chicken sandwich.

 

There’s an organic dark chocolate frozen yogurt bar at the Burgers and Fries concession from Stonyfield, and also a chipwich at the same place.

 

Box Frites has a sauce, rosemary ranch, which I think is a new choice.

 

There appears to be knishes available at more locations this year.

 

There are probably a couple of other changes that I missed, so be on the lookout!

 

As usual, plenty of advertising  turnover.

 

 

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My Opening Day: A Journey With Pictures

I started my day at the Apple’s tailgate.  Starting the day with beer and burgers and Mets fans before heading into the park is a fun way to go.  I had a burger and tweeted this picture at Ted Berg, which (along with the Apple’s invitation to come visit) drew him out of Citi Field.  It was great that he could find time to hang with us a bit; personally I would’ve been too nervous about getting to interview Ralph Kiner to eat much.

 

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Continue reading “My Opening Day: A Journey With Pictures”

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Ceetar’s Back At Citi Field! Opening Day!

Despite six games in the books, baseball doesn’t feel real until I return to a baseball stadium for a real game.  (Spring Training was nice and all, but it’s not the same)

 

Starting at noon today, I will trek out to Citi Field for Opening Day against the Washington Nationals.  First order of business: Read the Apple tailgate!  Following that, I intend to do a lap around Citi Field on the outside, and then a lap around Citi Field on the inside.  I like to take in the tiny minutia that changes from year to year.  Ralph Kiner will throw out the first pitch.  The Mets will bat in the bottom of the order.  Hopefully the Mets will win.

 

Tomorrow’s high is 53 degrees, and with the usual wind at Citi Field it’ll probably feel colder than that. I’ll be wearing my Dickey shirt, covered by an orange sweatshirt under my cream colored Pagan jersey.  And a blue cap.

 

One of the things I intend to focus on is the beer selection.  I’ve heard there are some new brews at Citi Field, to complement the nice selection that already exists.  I floated the idea that Citi Field has the best beer selection in the majors, but I”m thinking that’s probably not entirely true.  After I do Citi Field’s list, I’m going to do some research on other parks I attend, and other parks I don’t attend, and try to come to researched opinion on beer at baseball stadiums.

 

I’ll have a lot of pictures from Opening Day to share this weekend, and perhaps scattered among posts throughout the season.  And to top it off, I get to go back to Citi on Sunday!

 

To follow my tweets and updates directly from Citi Field before, during, and after the game, follow me on Twitter.