Below is scans from The Sporting News 1993 Baseball Yearbook previewing the 1993 season.  It’s not real positive.  There are even a lot of parallels you can draw to this year.  The Mets are hoping Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen can fully recover from surgery and return to Cy Young form.  The Mets needed to cut payroll after having the highest one in MLB history in 1992 yet finishing 5th.  GM Al Harazin is hoping most of the 1992 failure was due to injury.

Other interesting tidbits:

It’s due or die time for Todd Hundley.  (Perhaps the same for 2012 Josh Thole?) The 1992 Mets trust Hundley’s defense, but are unsure if he’ll ever be a good hitter after hitting just .209 in his rookie year.

Harazin is still happy with the David Cone for Jeff Kent and Ryan Thompson trade.

The Mets depth in the minors includes Jeromy Burnitz, Brook Fordyce, and Bobby Jones.

The Mets bullpen, besides John Franco, will also feature Mike Draper, a Rule V pick they took from the Yankees.  Imagine how that’d go over these days?

The Mets open the season at Shea Stadium to play the newly minted Colorado Rockies.

This is from last week.  Why is there a phantom NYY on the out of town scoreboard?

There are plenty of parts of Citi Field that remind me of Shea Stadium.  Being able to watch fans wind their way into or out of the stadium is one of them.

I always love taking random shots of things and areas around the stadium.  Citi Field doesn’t create standing pools of water like Shea did, but here’s a part that does accumulate some water.

Optimistic Mets Fan? Are they talking about me? Oh, Bill Gallo?  Okay then.

Not trying to step on the toes of Metspolice’s ’80s week, but I came across these 1969 playoff ticket stubs (Not mine, I wasn’t alive) and figured the Thursday before the second half would be the perfect time to post them.  (And a much longer post I have planned complaining about FIP is lazily unfinished)

That’s the clinching game of the NLCS, which I’d forgotten was only a five game series.  Game 3 of the World Series, presuming they mean game 3 and not home game 3, would’ve been the Agee catch game and the first World Series game ever at Shea Stadium.

The Mets announced this weekend that they will have Pyrotechnics night again this year.  They also announced that they renamed the last two sections of the Left Field Landing seats to Mr. Mets Landing, and will be discounting them.

Mr. Met’s Landing is a new, specially priced area of the ballpark.

Sections 338 and 339 in Citi Field’s Left Field Landing are priced at $10 for kids 12 and under and $20 for adults ($20 and $30 respectively for four Marquee game dates)

Mr. Met will visit both sections during every home Mets game.

I sat in the future Mr. Mets Landing section late last year.  That post has some pictures, and I’ll share some here as well.  What I was most shocked about was how much I actually enjoyed the seats.  I’d previously been under the assumption that the Landing may have been the worse section in the ballpark due to the overhang above you making it tough to see the scoreboard, and the Landing itself blocking you from seeing the left fielder.  This is still probably the case if you’re beyond rows 5-6 or so, but otherwise I think Mr. Mets Landing will end up being pretty popular.  You get a view of the game from nearly dead center, which is similar to the view you get on the TV cameras at home.  You get the view from behind the pitcher as he throws his pitch, as opposed to watching from behind the batter.  You’re more a part of the team on the field than the team at the plate, and I think this is one of the best things Citi Field has going for it that we didn’t get to experience at Shea Stadium.

I was at the inaugural Pyrotechnics night last year, and I had a good time.  I was initially skeptical; Fireworks night had been my favorite promotion growing up and I was sad to see it go.  I turned out to be pleasantly surprised; given the name change I did not expect fireworks, but the Pyrotechnic display that we did get was pretty good.  Not that there weren’t issues with it, but it was new and exciting and I had fun.  I’m planning to go again this year.

The Wheel of Time turns, and Mets seasons come and pass, leaving games that become legend. Legends fade to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called 2010, an Age yet to come, an age long past, a press conference started in Flushing. The conference was not the beginning. But it was a beginning.

Okay, the quote barely makes sense, but the cyclical nature of the Mets history reminded me of Robert Jordan’s epic series. The Mets are again faced with a reboot of sorts, shedding some dead weight and redirected the franchise that has run off course.

Shea Goodbye

So far I feel Fred and Jeff Wilpon said the right things.   I’m sure some of it’s probably saying what we want to hear, but they’ve given the right answers and seem to have the right goals and motivation.  I’ll take it.  Words are all we have right now, until after the World Series when we can start signing guys, and even that’s nothing until we play, and win, some games.

This season wsn’t a total waste for me.  The Mets made a lot of strides in appeasing and interfacing  with fans and bloggers. They created a Twitter account and started interacting. They invited a group of bloggers ‘into the fold’ and gave us an opportunity to stand on the field and talk to players during batting practice. They’re aware that there are a lot of intelligent people that spend a lot of time focusing on the Mets and thinking about them in detail.  Giving us that opportunity this year was an amazing thrill and one I’m extremely thankful for. It also gave me a chance to meet some of the fellow bloggers that I’ve been interacting with for a while.

You may have noticed, or not, that I’ve been posted a lot less.  It’s not the Mets, although them being mostly irrelevant for a month didn’t hurt, but me.  I’m getting married this weekend and things have been rather hectic.  The Mets did not reward me with a wedding present of a NLDS game to miss, and David Wright did not respond to my wedding invitation . I probably won’t be updating much over the next couple of weeks, but I suspect once things settle down I’ll get right back into it.  I’ve got some stuff planned in the offseason including some sabermetric debates that I’ve been putting off as well as some trying to match up the title of the blog with the 2011 season and the direction of the team.  In other words, a couple of spin posts trying to justify believing the Mets can and will win the World Series in 2011. (Hey, it’s more fun than predicting doom and gloom. Aren’t you tired of that?)

Edit, 3/12/11: The Mets have announced the last two sections of the Left Field Landing have been renamed Mr. Mets Landing, and discounted.  Many of the pictures here, and in the full album here, are from this section.

Edit, 4/1/11: And now it’s sponsored and called BJ’s Clubhouse.

Since Citi Field was mostly empty last night due to the team and the rain, I moved all over the Left Field Landing section where my seats were to get a feel for it.  I’ve never sat there before, and I was surprisingly impressed with the vantage point.  At least from the front six or so rows.  Further back and you lose too much of left field for my liking.  I ventured out to the farthest section, 339, and it was almost the same as watching it at home, from the center field camera.  Actually, I could’ve reached out and touched the camera.

Center Field Camera

There was this interesting thing out above the Apple, that seems to report wind speed and direction.

Checking wind speed at Citi Field

I enjoyed the vantage point from the outfield.  Being in the first, or first handful, of rows keeps any obstructions to a minimum and you get a view point you never really got at Shea.  There was a deep fly ball by a Marlin that the crowd gasped on, but from my seat I could tell it had no shot at reaching the fence.  The Sanchez home run was probably a no doubter from everywhere, but from the outfield it was clear that there was no way it would fall short.

Dickey Delivers

From the right angle, you can actually see into the Mets bullpen bathroom.  Good to know right? If you’re bored during a game, I guess you could see which bullpen player drinks the most coffee.

Yes, That's the bathroom for the Mets bullpen

They burnt my knish.  Felt like I was at Shea.

I used to get these at Shea

I went in the Bullpen Gate for the first time.  Just to be different.  I still kind of like that area of the park.  And you walk up the stairs and Boom! Shea Bridge!

The Shea Bridge

It was a fun game.  I enjoyed myself, and the Left Field Landing seats weren’t as bad as I suspected.  I still wouldn’t recommend them if you’re not in the first 6-7 rows (just like I wouldn’t recommend the back of the Loge at Shea if you weren’t in the first 5 or 6 rows.  And even if you were in those seats, remember how annoying it was that people were constantly streaming past you?) but it was a nice change of perspective out there and they’re one of the cheaper sections in the park.

Castillo with the walk-off single!

Does anyone miss the neon figures on the outside of Shea?  They weren’t the prettiest, or the classiest, but they gave the place a unique character that many Mets fans enjoyed.  It’s cool that they incorporated the images into the carpets in the clubhouse, but I think a lot of what people miss about Shea is that uniqueness that right now is missing from Citi Field in many instances.

From Denver

Coors Field in Colorado features this on the side of the building.  Ignore the awesome fact that it’s actually over a park entrance that’s also a brewery where Coors tests experimental brews, and it’s still something that I would love to see at Citi Field.  Maybe instead of this simple play at the plate, they could do something similar where the ball gets under a fielder’s glove (Buckner’s?) and it flashes “Mets Win!”

I bought tickets, way back in May, for the final game of the season. I didn’t think it would matter; I figured the Mets would’ve clinched, but it had mattered for two years and I figured it wouldn’t be a bad game to be at.

From Citifield

It seems I was wrong. There is nothing to watch, and Pelfrey isn’t even making his final start of the season. This means Figueroa on the mound and who knows who playing around him. So why am I going?

A couple of reasons. It’s still baseball, it’s still the Mets, and I already have tickets. I haven’t been to Citi Field in a while due to a combination of life keeping me from being able to afford tickets (not the prices) and the Mets not being good enough to make it worth going.

I love Citi Field. It’s my favorite baseball stadium and I’m looking forward more to being in the stadium once more than the play on the field. I’ve always been a strong proponent of the new place, but the feeling I get now is similar the the ones I got at Shea Stadium late in the season. A “It feels right being here, and I’ll miss it for the next couple of months” feeling. I’ll enjoy being able to wander around, and not having to sit in my seat and stare at what’s become bad baseball lately for nine innings.

If I watched at home, I’d mentally tune out and not pay attention because it doesn’t mean much. I’d probably turn on football. At Citi I’ll mentally say goodbye to baseball, bury the 2009 season, and watch Manuel mismanage his final game with the Mets.

I’ll come home, root for the Islanders, the Giants, the Tigers and whoever is playing the Phillies. I’ll try to erase the 2009 Mets from my mind, and start waiting for April 5^th, 2010. It’s only 184 days away.

Without a doubt, the best acquisition the Mets made in 2009 was Citi Field. Given all the problems and the Mets going nowhere, the one new thing this year that helped sooth the pain and will continue to be there year after year is Citi Field.

From Citifield

The stadium was there for all 81 games is was schedule to host, which is more than most Mets can say. It’s a great place to watch a game, and my biggest regret is the season died too fast to really get a feel for how it handles the big game, and what that energy would feel like. There’s great standing room only spots, including the bridge out in center field. We got to keep the Home Run Apple; If only the whole ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ had worked for the Mets this year. Maybe that’s the problem. They certainly didn’t get the Apple to pop up every game.

From Citifield

Mobility and visibility are one of the big pluses of Citi Field. No matter where you are in Citi Field, you’re rarely a few steps from being able to see the field. It’s easy to get around the park as well. It has 360 degree mobility so that if you’re in the right field promenade you don’t have to circle the entire stadium to visit someone or something in left field reserved. You can do it without having to fight through crowded aisles or concourses, or puddles of water or vendors and janitors pushing pallets of trash or frozen burgers through the area. While it’s crowded, I have yet to encounter the type of gridlock that was prevalent at Shea Stadium. With the exception of the middle level club seats you can get to any part of the stadium with any ticket. I wish there were a center field exit to the Pepsi Porch, but I’ll live with it.

From Citifield

The food, beer and distractions available at Citi Field are great. I do agree that the focus should be on the game, but if I wanted to zone out and stare at the game, I could stay home too. I want to immerse myself in the stadium, the crowd, the beer and the food. I want to do it without missing the game, and Citi Field allows me to do this without missing whole innings, something that was common at Shea.

Well you can, with the MTA.

From MetsStuff