First Last Game at Citi Field Tweet This Post
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.
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| 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 5th, 2010. It’s only 184 days away.
Tags: Baseball, Citi Field, fire jerry manuel, fire manuel, football, goodbye, jerry manuel, Mets, Shea Stadium, stadium
Best 2009 Mets Acquisition Tweet This Post
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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Tags: 2009 mets, 2009 mets acquisition, acquisition, Citi Field, free agents, Mets, pepsi porch, Shea Stadium, trades
Still Want To Go To Shea? Tweet This Post
Well you can, with the MTA.
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| From MetsStuff |
Tags: i miss shea, miss shea, mta, Shea Stadium, still want to go to shea, train
Shealogy Tweet This Post
It’s over. Shea Stadium is officially demolished. We all want to equate the stadium to an old friend, maybe one that had seen better days, one that would be sorely missed. To me, the most chilling moment was that last game, that last walk out. All the pictures, all the drive-bys, all the reports since then have felt empty because without baseball Shea was just a building.
Shea Stadium died five months ago. That’s when it contracted that terminal illness that we all knew would take her life within months. Yesterday it finally happened; Shea Stadium took it’s last breath. To me, it was a relief. Finally she’d been put out of her misery, having her innards photographed and displayed for everyone to see, her illness discussed across the world.
I ask that you remember her as she was in her glory days, and not in her sickness. Don’t remember the final tumble of those ramps, or the demolition of the scoreboard. Remember the fans rushing the field after that first championship, even if you weren’t there. Remember Ventura’s Grand Single, Pratt’s home run, the glove that never came down, Seaver, Strawberry, That amazing June comeback against the Braves in the 8th, or whatever your favorite moments were.
She’s in a better place now, in our minds, on our blogs, on our highlight reels. Take a month, or 53 days, to mourn. A new friend waits on the horizon. One you don’t quite know yet, one you’ve only exchanged the briefest of words with. You may be skeptical you can ever get along, or that you’ll ever love again, but you will. It has tough foundations to fill, but rumor is it’s up to the task.
Tags: demolotion, eulogy, future, past, shea, shea goodbye
Jets At Shea Tweet This Post
The elusive picture of Shea for the Jets. Notice how the field level is rotated. This picture is from 1964.
Tags: field level, field level rotated, jets, jets at shea, shea
Crossword Tweet This Post
It’s the off season(except for two teams..damn them), and as I hate rumors, I haven’t been posting much.
I noticed this in today’s AMNY crossword puzzle, and while it’s true in a past tense sense, it’s a little outdated now.
65 Across: Shea Player.
It’s obviously Met (Although Jet would also work, since both teams used to play there, and neither do now), but right now the Mets don’t have a home. They’re still on the moving truck between them.
Jets at Shea Tweet This Post
I know I saw a picture at one point, but I can’t find any on the internet at the moment.
Does anyone out there have a good picture of the field level rotated out to accommodate the Jets?
Tags: field level, jets, Mets
All or Nothing Tweet This Post
Shea was great on Saturday. And hopefully it’ll be great on Sunday. Hopefully this isn’t actually the last game. Either way I’m going to take 6 zillion pictures. It’s going to be insane, and we won’t know the final of the Brewers game until the middle of the Shea Goodbye ceremony, which will make it all the more nerve wracking.
What Johan did was amazing. Oliver Perez never moved from his spot leaning on the railing in the front of the dug out, and was one of the first out to congratulate him. Here’s hoping he was taking notes.
Tags: brewers, Johan Santana, Mets, Oliver Perez, playoffs, shea goodbye
Division Title is Brewing Tweet This Post
Regardless of the struggles for the division, the Brewers inability to win games has put up a safety net for the Mets. They own a substantial lead over the wild card challengers in
There are nine games left, which is also the magic number to clinch the division outright. Seven is the magic number to clinch the postseason altogether. Both are doable. This team looks good right now; finding ways to win, capitalizing on errors, and not letting their own errors hurt them.
86 wins in the book, with nine to play. Chances are they don’t win every one of them, but end up with a comfortable 90-92. Which is where they’d have been last year if their collapse had been mini instead of total. Time to finish it out, put the Phillies away, and win this division. Leave the final weekend at Shea for Shea, not trying to make the playoffs.
Argenis Reyes really should just told he can come back next year. His spot in the lineup should just read ‘out’. I know Castillo has been slow returning from the DL, but so has Church, and we’re not killing him. Castillo is better than Argenis, and a hurt Castillo is better than a hurt Easley, and I don’t think Castillo’s that hurt. Maybe he’s lost a step here and there, but he still can run the bases, still can draw the walk, still gets on base. If he can get on base, and Wright, Beltran and Delgado can hit, then everythings peachy. Argenis Reyes however, hasn’t had a hit in over a month spanning 12 games. He’s had one walk in that span. Castillo accomplished both last night.
Citi Field: Home of the Mets, and only the Mets. Tweet This Post
News today confirms what has probably been the plan all along. A shiny new Home Run Apple at the Citi. This is just as it should be, I don’t understand those that want the same old decrepit apple from Shea. It’s worn out and needs to be replaced anyway. Moving it would be as silly as taking the seats from Shea to put in Citi Field.
A lot of stuff about Citi Field hasn’t been decided or released yet. There will be plenty of Shea mementos, and plenty of references to the Mets, despite what some people like to think. For example, the neon guys from the outside of Shea will be featured in one of the clubhouses somewhere, and while we can’t see them, they’ll be there. I’m sure other things will as well. Citi Field is not some Dodger tribute either. The façade of the rotunda will resemble Ebbett’s Field, which I think is a nice touch for the part of the stadium that will be named one of the few baseball players that actually transcends the sport. There are a couple of names for landings and areas that are tributes to old Dodgers and Giants, and you might say it’s a bit too much, and maybe it is. However, there will be plenty of Mets stuff all around, as well as any new memories and additions that happen will likely to Mets related. These Dodger/Giant references are merely the way to recognize and remember the past that led to the creation of the Mets. It’s a way for Mets fans and the next generation to not forget the roots of the team, while we move into a new state of the art facility designed specifically for the New York Mets. Next summer, when the Mets are making memories and leaving their mark all over the place, no one will be thinking about the Dodgers.
Another misconception is that the average fan is being priced out of Citi Field. This is just people overreacting to little snippets of news and expectation. The facts are that there will be plenty of affordable seating at the Citi, and the concessions are likely to be on par with Shea, just with more options and better quality. I’ve heard from a variety of season ticket holders, and while the top prices for the very best seats are obscene, some people are actually paying less than they are this year. There are definitely reasonable priced tickets, and it will be possible for everyone to see a game at the Field next year. I believe the cheapest ticket is going to be $12, compared to $5 this year. There will probably be the occasional special and discount too. And this doesn’t include the Standing Room Only tickets, which they haven’t discussed yet.
Of course, there are some things about the new stadium that aren’t perfect. Despite the ‘good views everywhere’ philosophy, I don’t like the limited seating. Financially I understand why it was done; it would probably take decades to replace the cost of building those extra 10k charging what they’d be worth. While more legroom and closer seats is important, those next 10 thousand people that get left out of the big game would rather be inside than out. However, the Mets rarely average more than the capacity of Citi Field, and the only reason they did this year is because it’s the last year at Shea.
All in all, I’m looking forward to Citi Field a lot. Shea Stadium has a lot of memories, but just like everyone eventually moves out of their first apartment that was falling apart but fun nonetheless, it’s time for the Mets and the fans to move to a better home.
Tags: apple, home run apple, Mets, prices