Mrs. Met is back!

Today's Culinary All-Stars event at Citi Field was meant as an unveiling of the food offerings for next month's MLB All-Star Game at the ballpark, but it was the unannounced appearance of walking, gesturing Mrs. Met that drew as much attention as the myriad food samples on display at the Caesar's Club.

I tagged along with the wife, who was invited by Aramark, and if there was anything that was going to pull me away from the (limited edition) All-Star Meatball Hero, it was a big-headed woman walking into the club. She was there -- with a nametag, as if she needed one -- to glad-hand the guests and pose for photos. She looked hungry, though she tried to hide it behind that ever-present smile.

She's not much for words, so it's not like we chatted for a bit. I did talk with one of the retail (hats, jerseys, etc.) managers, who said that Mrs. Met does have a uniform, so I suspect she'll be making some appearances during ballgames, as well. We'll have to see this weekend.

As for the food ... I should have fasted more. As in skipped dinner last night. There was just. So. Much. The last time we went to one of these events, before (I think) Citi Field's second season, we split a Shackburger, simply for the pleasure of having a free Shackburger. This time, we didn't think of it, not with Mex Burger sliders (a smaller version of the burger from Keith's Grill), lobster rolls from Catch of the Day, mac and cheese (lobster, bacon and three-cheese options) from the suites menu, beef brisket sliders from Blue Smoke, fries from Box Frites and, from the in-house chefs, loaded tater tots (cheese, bacon and scallions), several panini sandwiches and the aforementioned meatball hero. And that's just what we sampled and shared between us. There was pizza and sushi and Pat LaFrieda meats and Mama's of Corona sandwiches. I'm not sure you could get through it all in a nine-game homestand, and this was meant as an unveiling for just a three-day event -- the Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game, the Home Run Derby, and the All-Star Game itself. Anyone attending all three will definitely not go hungry.

If you're attending any of the three events, bring your appetite (and, no doubt, your credit card), and be sure to seek out the All-Star Meatball Hero (available near Section 138) and some of the other new or unfamiliar offerings. The Mets and the vendors are rolling out some all-star eats for an All-Star event.

Grilled shrimp po boys and lobster rolls at Catch of the Day

Box Frites with pesto, buffalo blue cheese and smoky bacon sauces

Major League Grilled Cheese -- swiss, cheddar, gouda and bacon

Sliced sirloin and cheddar panini, with pepper relish and crispy onions

Chef-carved grilled black angus skirt steak, with German fried potatoes and creamed spinach

A different Opening Day

Ready to go

This one had a different feel to it.

At previous Mets openers (I know it wasn't Opening Day, Opening Day, but it's still the return of Mets baseball to its home ballpark, so I like to refer to it as Opening Day) in recent years, there's been that sense of optimism and excitement, anticipation of a promising season to come. Even last year, when there were more doubts than this year (more on that in a moment), I think I had a more positive feeling overall.

But last week, for the first time in several years, I just didn't feel that same sense of positive energy about the season to come. Last Friday, the feeling was more of hope -- desperate hope, not anticipatory hope. More, Oh please don't let this team finish in last place, and less, Let's shoot for the division and see if we can't fall back into the wild card.

But this year's Mets team, I think, is more of a mystery than last year's (hence the greater sense of doubt in 2010 than in 2011). Going into 2010, the thinking (here, at least), was that 2009 was so sabatoged by injuries that if the stars could just stay healthy and if David Wright could get comfortable in Citi Field, the team had to be good for at least 85-88 wins, which would put it in contention in September. But the doubts were still there that they could be healthy (and it didn't help that Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran started the season on the disabled list, that Jennry Mejia was in the bullpen when everyone felt he should be in the minors developing as a starte and that Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews Jr. were on the team, period).

In 2011, though, I sense more of a feeling of curiosity. Nevermind the roster, the changes in the front office, the manager's office and the owners' bank accounts have us wondering more about what the future holds than what the past has brought. Sure, there were very few changes in on-field personnel besides the long-desired shedding of two particular contracts, and that should give us very little hope, but I think the installation of a new philosophy brought on by Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins has us wondering -- perhaps expecting -- this team to overachieve a little after so many recent years of underachievement. Instead of the "ifs" centering on the negative like last year -- "if Wright can't hit at home... "if Beltran's knee can't hold up ..." -- it seems to be more of a positive spin -- "if Dickey can repeat his breakout year ..." "if Beltran's knees can hold up ..." And maybe some of that comes from the fact that everyone seems to be picking the Mets last in the NL East, or at least no better than fourth. (Personally, I couldn't see them finishing last ... until this past weekend. But even that is just one series, one that showed a bullpen with some holes and perhaps one that wasn't yet in sync, and changes have already been made.)

Anyway, you can't predict a season based on 10 games, or even four (remember how good things looked after game four?), or even two weeks' worth. If the Mets are well back in last place come May 1, then I'll be severely disappointed, but until then, I'm just going to have to look at it as this group getting its footing. It's all I can do. I can't be one of those cranky, bitching, complaining, booing Mets fans. There's no enjoyment in that for me. I like to be happy, and sometimes it seems like those fans just can't be.

A look back: Mets openers

Soon, Casey and I will be riding the rails out to Flushing for another Mets opener (and a Mr. Met bobblehead!). In celebration of baseball coming back to Queens for the season, I've pulled some photos from past openers. I don't have photos from each of the past 12 openers I've been to, but here's a sampling of what I do have.

My first opener, 1991

 Look at the price!

Coming off the train, 2004


Introductions, 2004


Groundskeeper Bill Butler's skyline, 2005


Mr. Met coming off the 7, 2006


On the 7 for Shea's last, 2008


Presenting the good luck wreath, 2008


Citi's debut, from the video board, 2009


After Citi's unveiling, 2009


A bigger flag, 2010


David Wright's home run, 2010

Photo fun: That's a red apple!

I've wanted to try this technique for a while now, but the lack of Photoshop and patience kept me from giving it a shot. But I had the hankering to give it a whirl recently, so I picked a simple shape and got decent results. More to come, perhaps.

Orange you glad they're not black?

I've come to enjoy Bethany Heck's Eephus League site since she was featured on Uni Watch a few weeks ago (and not just because she gave me a nice plug). There's a lot of cool stuff there, so it's worth a look around.

I learned something in an interesting post on Monday: The Mets' ballpark is the only one of the 30 in MLB without yellow foul poles. Orange is always better, of course, but it's nice to know that the pleasing aesthetics also make the ballpark unique among its 30 peers. (Can ballparks have peers?)

Anyway, the visual evidence I didn't know I had:

The shadows are creeping in

Some fans and beat writers are looking at this road trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia as a make-or-break stretch of six games in the Mets' season.

But I think it's already broken.

This isn't just about yesterday's debacle against the D-backs, which, had things been a bit different (say, New York had won five out of six from Arizona, with yesterday being the one loss), might otherwise be looked at as just a learning experience for Jon Niese. The young lefty still threw 51 of 83 pitches for strikes and should soon learn how to get a left-hander out even after two straight hits. Mets Police and Metsgrrl (not to mention a kick-ass headline on the game recap) have summed up pretty well how I felt sitting out there in Queens yesterday. I'm sure there are plenty of other good summations, but I can't bring myself to read anymore.

But yesterday's events confirmed for me what might be the core problems of this team.

I'm not part of the camp that thinks a roster overhaul is in order, that trading David Wright or Jose Reyes or Carlos Beltran is what is needed to get things going in the right direction. Those guys -- particularly Wright and Reyes -- are the core and that's who they need to build around to get back on top of the NL East. And I'm glad they stood their ground at the trading deadline, not making a move for the sake of making a move (which it sounds like this one guy behind me yesterday wanted to see). Dealing a few mid-level prospects for a Jake Westbrook or Ted Lilly or Chad Qualls wasn't going to make up four or five games in the standings. Besides, it sounds like whoever the Mets contacted to sniff out a trade was asking for Niese or Ike Davis -- or both -- as a starting point. No, thank you.

And I'm not sure the Mets had too many tradeable veterans to send away to bring back a young player or two. Pedro Feliciano was probably the most attractive candidate, and maybe he could have been moved, but relief pitching is at a premium, and if this team is a few offseason moves away from fielding a legitimate contender, Feliciano is going to be part of that foundation. Francisco Rodriguez is probably untradeable (and, I'm sorry, for all his faults, he's not really any worse than most other closers. Overpaid? Sure, as are pretty much all ninth-inning guys not named Rivera). Jeff Francoeur? He can be dealt in August -- and he just might be, once we all get a look at the standings on Sunday night.

So I'm fine with the lack of activity at the deadline, because these three key problems aren't solvable in a July trade or two.

1.) Three particularly bad contracts are holding Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel hostage. That is, they don't have the flexibility to improve the roster with the three-headed albatross of Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and Alex Cora. Ollie and Castillo are untradeable, unless the Mets get another bad contract back in return. And for the money they're making -- at least that Perez is -- it's hard to designate them for assignment and eat that money, whether or not you believe the team is in financial straits because of the Madoff mess. Still, no one who was at the ballpark yesterday would care if they heard tonight that one or both was booted off the roster. And Cora, as a versatile backup infielder (even if he can't hit), isn't a bad contract for one year, but when he's starting 41 of the 61 games he's appeared in (numbers that should, at the very least, be reversed) and when he has a terrible vesting option that becomes guaranteed as soon as he plays in that 80th or 81st game, then it's a bad contract, because then you're stuck with a .200 hitter again next season.

The one tarnished silver lining I can find in these deals is that Omar stood his ground when Bengie Molina wouldn't take the Mets' one-year offer. (Though Cora's deal was also done this offseason, which doesn't help matters.)

2.) The faith in John Maine in the rotation -- and, relatedly, Perez, too -- helped sink the Mets this season. I don't think there was any question as to whether Maine would make the rotation this spring, or that he would be the No. 2 starter. Maine's ceiling may have once been as a No. 2, but he had done nothing since 2007 to show that potential. Going into spring training with Maine and Perez as the Nos. 2 and 3 didn't help. A contending team needs those slots to be rock-solid firm, not based on potential and hope for a bounce-back season. Mike Pelfrey and Niese certainly pitched like consistent top-of-the-rotation starters in the first half, but if Pelfrey doesn't get over this dead-arm period (or whatever it is) and Niese doesn't rebound from Sunday, the Mets can't go into 2011 with those two as the rock-solid Nos. 2 and 3.

This has been discussed elsewhere this season, but the Mets are pretty lucky that they didn't overpay (in dollars or years) for some of the free-agent pitchers that we were all clamoring for in the offseason, myself included. Jason Marquis hasn't pitched for the Nationals since April, I think; Ben Sheets is done for the year; and John Lackey would have been way too many dollars for certainly too many years. Joel Pineiro (10-7, 4.18 for the Angels) and Jon Garland (10-7, 3.60 for the Padres) would have helped keep Hisanori Takahashi in the bullpen, but would either have really made that much of a difference? (Both might have, but then Niese would be something like 12-2 for Buffalo right now.) Which brings us to my third key problem that has soured 2010 ...

3.) Why can't this team win on the road? At 20-33, the Mets are playing .377 ball on the road. Want to know who has better winning percentages away from their home parks? Toronto, Kansas City, Cleveland, Oakland, Milwaukee, the Cubs, Houston, Houston, Colorado and the Dodgers. The Mets are playing .635 baseball at home, better than everyone but the Braves, Phillies, Yankees, Cardinals and Rockies. If the Mets could play just close to .500 on the road (I'm talking 26-27 at this point, if they'd won six more games -- how about three in Arizona, one in Puerto Rico, and one each in San Francisco and Los Angeles), they'd be a half-game out of first as they begin a three-game set at Turner Field.

With such a difference in home and road winning percentage (at a .257 difference, the only teams with bigger gaps are the Tigers, .346; Braves, .285; Cardinals, .275; and Rockies, .276; and Atlanta leads baseball with a .723 winning percentage at home!) I don't know how that can be explained by anything other than the manager and coaching staff. As explained in Nos. 1 and 2, Manuel is a bit hamstrung because of some of the players on his roster, but if they can win 63 percent of their games at home, they shouldn't be losing 63 percent on the road. As much as I love Howard Johnson, he has to shoulder some of the blame when the team is shut out three times on the same road trip for the first time since the early '90s, or whenever it was. And then they added a fourth shutout for good measure. And Manuel, who I gave credit to when he had the team in first place back at the end of April and within half a game as late as June 27, has to do something to get this club a winning road trip. His refusal to use K-Rod for anything but a save situation in a tie game on the road is maddening. What's the point of keeping Rodriguez for a save situation that only might appear when Ryota Igarashi or Raul Valdes is taking the loss in the bottom of the ninth or 10th?


And so that's how I see it. Others may not agree, but for some reason I like to find two or three points that seem to be the root cause of the problem. I guess it's something of a baseball butterfly effect -- had things been different in these particular instances, then maybe, just maybe, everything would have turned out better in the end (or to this point).

As for this road trip, I can't see how anyone thinks this time will be any better than the last one. It's now August. There are two months left in the season, 29 home games and 28 road games (if I counted and subtracted correctly in my head). If the Mets play at their current rates at home and on the road, they'd go 51-30 at Citi and 30-51 on the road. Yes, folks, that's a .500 season. Except, for this road trip to "make" them, they need to do no worse than 4-2. There's not enough time left to break even in six games in Atlanta and Philly, not when there is another trip to each one still to come. They have to make close ground, winning two out of three at each stop this week. They can't afford any steps back.

And I don't think they can do it. The sun may not have set on this season, but it's casting some very long shadows.

My one final thought to wrap up this discourse is this: After the heartbreak of 2007 and '08 and the frustration of nothing going right in 2009, I just wanted a competent, competitive team. I let myself get excited over first place at the end of April and half a game out five weeks ago. I enjoy it when my teams are winning and I can't stand to criticize and nitpick their faults. I know someone who gets worked up over every at-bat, nearly every pitch. I just can't be a fan like that. I just wanted a team that had a chance to finish a strong second in the division, to look down on the Braves or Phillies, even if it meant the other one was on top and some team from the West was the Wild Card winner.

So much for that. Guess I'll have to look for some room on that Reds bandwagon. It'd be nice to see some fresh blood make some noise in October.


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Photo Flashback: Meeting the Mets home and away

Night at Oriole Park

I'm finally catching up after a whirlwind weekend. After working long into the morning on Thursday, I went to that afternoon's Mets-Padres game before going back to work that night. And who would've thought that of the two matchups -- Mat Latos vs. Johan Santana and Jon Garland vs. Jon Niese -- that it would be the Niese game that would turn out to be nearly perfect?

When Wednesday's game was rained out and the doubleheader announced for Thursday, I was psyched that Johan drew the afternoon start. I would've enjoyed seeing Niese -- I've seen him before, as far down as the Class A Sally League -- but I'm never disappointed when I get to go to a Johan game. As it turned out, I did get to enjoy Niese's performance on SNY, watching much more closely than if I'd been at the ballpark.

Padres vs. Mets, 6/10/10

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On Friday, my wife and I hit the road at 1 p.m. -- an hour later than we'd hoped, but I needed to sleep in a little -- and got to our Inner Harbor hotel a little before 5. Even though we were an hour behind schedule, we still trudged up through the Mount Vernon neighborhood for cold beer and good food at The Brewer's Art (make time for it the next time you're in Baltimore), even though it meant missing the start of the game when the light rail took forever to come afterward. We waited for about 20 minutes and watched three northbound trains pass by.

Once there, we entered at Eutaw Street and walked around to our seats on the third-base side, behind the Mets' dugout. It had been nearly eight years since I'd been to Camden Yards and I think almost 18 since I'd been anywhere but the Eutaw Street concourse, so I didn't recall the layout of the main concourses. While Oriole Park began the retro ballpark trend, one significant change in most of those that followed is the open concourse that allows fans to see the game as they're circumnavigating the stadium. It doesn't detract much from the experience for me, and I actually found it quaint and another retro aspect of the design. The concourses are still wide, but they open through vast wrought-iron gates to the surrounding streets and as you walk to your section, you notice the immense support poles holding up the slanted structure above you. Writing now, I wish I'd paused to take a few pictures (though it's not like there aren't any out there, or like I'll never go back there), but at the time, we were weary and late and eager to get to our seats. Then once there, we didn't move until the Mets had wrapped up their 5-1 victory.

Mets at Orioles, 6/11/10

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The Mets' zero-sum games

It hasn't happened in the Majors in six years and hasn't been done by the Mets since September 1969, but it was completed tonight: A three-game shutout sweep. Amazing.

In some ways, I was as nervous heading to the ninth as I get during no-hit bids going into the final inning (or, if it's a no-hit bid by a Met, into the seventh or eighth). This wouldn't just be a sweep, but a resounding one, shutting out one of the best offenses in baseball (they are at home, at least) for three straight games. This series could turn out to be not just a statement (it already is) but a springboard. I'm still not sure exactly what this team has -- if it has enough to reach the playoffs -- but if it can play with this kind of confidence, energy, attitude and pitching (especially the pitching), it can make the NL East race very interesting (and hopefully not ultimately heartbreaking).

I think these Mets are starting to play to their ballpark. If Jose Reyes can get on base and use his speed, if Luis Castillo can make contact to move runners over (though, as Keith Hernandez has said on air, I'd like to see more hit-and-run calls than straight sacrifice bunts), if Jason Bay, Ike Davis and David Wright can drive them in with doubles (and a few home runs), and if the bottom of the order can provide opportunistic base hits, they can win a lot of games without a 30-homer hitter.

But none of it will matter if they can't keep it up on the road. Now they're off to Milwaukee for three and San Diego for three, the first road trip since the 2-6 swing through Miami, Atlanta and Washington that had Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya at Turner Field and the buzzards circling Jerry Manuel's office. In the past two seasons, the Mets are 5-9 in those cities, and three of those wins came in a sweep at Miller Park in '08. Otherwise, 1-2 at Miller and 1-3 and 0-4 at Petco.

Let's see where this trip takes them. A 4-2 swing has to be the benchmark for this feel-good feeling to last. Anything less, and it's back to wondering.

Where it all began for Chipper

This isn't a piece of trivia that I had tucked away in my brain, but if you'd asked me which team surrendered Chipper Jones' first Major League home run, I'd have said something along the lines of, "It would have to be the Mets."

And it was. It came, naturally, at Shea Stadium, where he hit 19 long balls in his career. The only places where he hit more were his home ballparks. He has one at Citi Field, hit last September, in 11 career games there to this point. The Marlins' home ballpark (the name keeps changing, so why bother putting one in when it could be obsolete in another year?) has yielded 16 homers to Chipper, a native Floridian, so he's got a chance to hit three or four more there in, presumably, 18 games this year and next before the team moves into its new home in 2012.

It might be worth noting, too, that Chipper's seven homers off of Steve Trachsel are the most he's hit against any pitcher, but three of those came when Trachs was a Cub. The four Trachsel allowed as a Met equal the four Bobby Jones, wearing orange and blue, allowed to Chipper. Rick Reed also allowed four homers, but one was with the Reds.

Where Jackie's impact was felt most

I still remember April 15, 1997, when I sat in a lounge in my dorm at Notre Dame and watched as Jackie Robinson's No. 42 was retired throughout baseball by Bud Selig, standing at a podium at Shea Stadium. Behind him stood Jackie's widow, Rachel, and President Bill Clinton. The significance of the occasion, the 50th anniversary of Robinson's debut with the Dodgers, was clearly underscored by the presence of these heavyweights. That night inspired me to write a short story based on Robinson's debut for a class that semester. If I ever dig it up and decide I'm not going to try to have it published, I'll post it here.

But in that rec room at O'Neill Hall, 700 miles from home, no Major League baseball within two hours, I felt a bit of pride at being a Mets fan far away from New York that night. I'm sure the choice of Shea Stadium for the ceremony had more to do with the Dodgers being in town than the Mets being home, but maybe only a little. New York, after all, was the city in which Jackie played all 10 years of his career. He worked in the city, lived in Connecticut, died there and was eulogized and buried in New York. When the Dodgers left for Los Angeles -- a year after Jackie retired ... after being traded to the Giants -- Jackie remained in New York. He may have starred in four sports at UCLA, but once he left L.A. and made his way through Kansas City and Montreal to Brooklyn, New York was where he stayed.

The Dodgers, of course, do a fine job of celebrating their history, even the Brooklyn Era now more than 50 years since they left the borough, and they deserve to have Robinson as a focal point of their legacy. But if there is one place where Jackie's impact should have a permanent footprint, I think it's New York.

I first started contemplating this argument a year ago, when Mets fans regularly criticized the Jackie Robinson Rotunda at Citi Field. That commotion has died down a bit this year, now that the Mets have made an active -- and admirable -- effort to celebrate their own history (because they're not going to be adding much to it this year, I'm afraid), and I'm glad. I love the Robinson Rotunda. I don't look at it as celebrating the career of a Dodger; I see it more as championing the life of a man who changed not just baseball, but America. Ebbets Field is gone and now, too, so is Yankee Stadium. The only place left in New York to truly get close to Jackie is his gravesite. Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, where he played his first game for the Montreal Royals, is also long-gone and the city's cool statue stands miles away from the stadium site, near a subway station in the Journal Square business district. Brooklyn has a middle school and a statue where the minor league team plays, but Coney Island is a long way from Sullivan Place. Even Robinson's Hall of Fame plaque is different from the one he knew.

Robinson obviously has a connection to L.A., but it's as a college athlete, even if that's all Los Angeles had in the '30s. He made his name in New York, and it's what he did in New York that he's known for across the country. The Yankees wouldn't set aside a corner for Jackie if they were the only team in New York. I have no problem with Mariano Rivera continuing to wear No. 42 for the duration of his career, but up until a few years ago, they refused to include it among the retired numbers at the ballpark, when the other 29 clubs had long displayed the number on their walls. So to me, Queens, the borough bordering Brooklyn, and the Mets, the National League successor to the Dodgers, are the next best option for a baseball shrine to one of its seminal figures.

I'm not old enough to remember a burning Bronx (I -- or my family -- celebrated my first birthday only that September) let alone three-team summers in New York. A lot of what I know of the Dodgers in Brooklyn comes from Doris Kearns Goodwin's memoir, but after reading that book, I had a strong feeling that if I had grown up in the '40s or '50s, I would've been a Dodgers fan. So maybe that's why I'm proud that it's the Mets' ballpark that is home to a great tribute to a great man who died four years before I was born and whose lasting legacy did little for me, personally, beyond giving me the opportunity to watch guys like Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, Torii Hunter, CC Sabathia and Jason Heyward play ball.

The rotunda's a great way to enter a ballpark, and for all the unique touches designed for the stadiums built since the early '90s, it may be the most inspired and unique. Petco Park and Oriole Park may have their warehouses, Coors Field the Rocky Mountains in the distance, Busch Stadium the Gateway Arch, PNC the Pittsburgh skyline and AT&T McCovey Cove -- but those were already on-site and the architects just had to work them into their designs. The rotunda, obviously copied from Ebbets Field, was resurrected, and just as a generation of Dodger fans recalled walking through it in Brooklyn, a lot of young Mets fans today will grow up to have what hopefully become fond memories of Citi Field's rotunda.

This year marks just the third time since 1997 that the Mets have not been home on April 15. Only in 2000 and '03 did they wear gray uniforms, and those weren't even official Jackie Robinson Days -- the moniker took hold in 2004. The Mets are 8-4 on April 15 since the ceremony at Shea in '97 and have won six of their last seven on this date. Both road games prior to today's happened to be in Pittsburgh, in 2000 (a loss) and 2003 (a win). The one loss since '04 came in 2006, with the 2007 game getting rained out when a nor'easter hit the East Coast, wiping out several games that Sunday. The Mets honored Robinson at their next home game, the following Friday, and lost to the Braves, but because the game wasn't played on April 15, I'm not including it in the 8-4 record.

Today, they'll honor Jackie in Denver and 14 other cities. But every day, he's honored in New York.

Diving into Mets history

'69 pins

Earlier this week, I went to the Mets' website and searched for tickets to last night's game on Stubhub. I considered two seats in the front row of the Pepsi Porch -- I can't wait to sit there, hanging over right field -- but then when I checked the weather and saw 50 degrees and a chance of rain, I thought better of it. Instead, I bought Promenade Club tickets that also gave us access to the Acela Club -- providing us with three options (they had Caesar's Club access, too) to get out of the cold, rain and/or wind.

Smart planning, if I do say so myself, but I'll get to that. We arrived early to walk through the new Hall of Fame and Museum in the rotunda. Unlike Opening Day, there was no line, so we could take our time without being crowded. It's a great display of the team's history and a nice touch going into the club's 49th season, giving them some space to work with next year for any 50th anniversary exhibits they may consider.

I particularly enjoyed the uniform displays. There's a timeline that shows examples of each style worn throughout the team's history, plus more jerseys in the front to highlight various players and moments in the last 48 seasons. Looking at the sizing tags gives some idea of the evolution of ballplayers' physiques -- David Wright wears a 48 jersey, Tom Seaver wore 44, Jerry Grote caught in a 42 and Bud Harrelson sported a 38. Manufacturers and technology probably play a part in jersey sizing over the years, but I can't imagine there's a Major Leaguer today who wears anything smaller than a 44. And those who do go that low are the likes of Alex Cora (I checked on one of his game-worn jerseys for sale on the concourse, $200 for a white Coolbase version), not any pitchers of Cy Young ability.

I also dug the World Series press pins. The four from 1969, '73, '86 and 2000 are on display, and the '69 and '86 ones are also mounted at the center of the Commissioner's trophies. Compared to the sparse Yankees trophy in Trenton on Thursday night, these are blinged out. Of course, press pins are probably a thing of the past anyway.

Another historical touch comes as the result of the lineup's new display at the top of the escalators in the rotunda. Above a field level concession stand on the first-base side are nine Topps reproductions of former Mets: Keith Hernandez, Rusty Staub, Cleon Jones, Wally Backman, Ron Darling, Tug McGraw, Bernard Gilkey, Bud Harrelson and Robin Ventura. It's a fun collection to look at, both for the card designs and the players themselves ... except for Gilkey. Really? He's one of the nine Mets chosen for this display? The obvious question is, Why not Piazza? But there are a host of other candidates for the spot: Koosman, Matlack, Carter, Alfonzo, Garrett, HoJo, Mookie, Gooden, Strawberry, Knight, Olerud, even Hundley. Or even Nolan Ryan.

I didn't dwell on it much. From there, we went on to a pregame dinner at the Acela Club and watched the game from the Promenade Club, out of the wind, until the eighth, when we decided to split a Shackburger and didn't have to wait in line for it -- though did have to wait for them to make it. It was there as we waited when Jeff Francoeur hit his second home run of the game, establishing two interesting marks. It was the first four-homer game for the Mets at Citi Field and the first time two Mets hit two home runs each at home since Shea's first year, 1964. Earlier, while in the Promenade Club, I noticed a graphic on SNY that showed visitors hit 79 home runs at Shea in 2008 and 81 at Citi in 2009 -- perhaps another indicator that the Mets' lack of power in '09 was not because of their new ballpark but more an indication of their depleted lineup and, hopefully, a change in approach for the one constant in the lineup through the season, namely David Wright. So if Rod Barajas and Francoeur can hit two apiece and Wright can pound one off the wall on a chilly, windy night, I'm hopeful there's a rebound afoot this season.

How I saw Opening Day

A sunny, warm mid-70-degree day. Is this really Opening Day?

Indeed it was, yet we kept pinching ourselves and discussing whether it really was as good as it seemed. My mom and my pal Dave arrived separately from Casey and me, but we all met up in Danny Meyerland in center field before the game, munching on garlic parmesean fries and washing them down with Brooklyn Summer Ale, new to Box Frites this year.

After our appetizer, we made our way to our seats in the first row of section 137 in left-center field. I decided to splurge a little for the opener, choosing seats in a new vantage point and in a location where we'd be comfortable. Mom commented several times throughout the day how nice it was, especially the legroom as she stretched out and propped her feet on the screen in front of us. Looking over the wall before the game, we found ourselves situated between the banners for the 1986 World Series champions and the 1988 NL East champs, directly above the 384 mark. When Jason Bay hit his triple, I stood up and leaned out a little to watch Chris Coghlan pick up the ball on the warning track and fire it in, too late to third base.

Sitting in left-center made for some good scouting. Gary Matthews Jr. surprised many out there, and to me he looked like he had a good read on fly balls, taking charge in calling off Bay and Jeff Francoeur at times and going back and coming in with ease. Yes, he looked shaky on some, but that seemed to be more from the effects of the wind on the baseball than Matthews' ability. I certainly hope we don't have to critique Matthews' and Angel Pagan's play in center for too long, but at least they each got off on the right foot.

The same could not be said for the Marlins' Cameron Maybin, who flailed at the plate (as many do against Johan) and had an adventurous day in center field. A couple of bloop hits fell in front of Maybin, out of the reach of any infielders or Coghlan, but that isn't necessarily Maybin's fault. It is a vast outfield, and who knows how the Florida coaches had Maybin positioned. But on Rod Barajas' double in the four-run sixth, it seemed that Maybin was overmatched and out of position from the moment Barajas swung.

It was very easy to get caught up in David Wright's home run and Johan Santana's solid six innings. We didn't care that it's just Opening Day or that Johan can't pitch every game. It's the start of a new season; Spring Training is over and we'll worry about Game 2 on Wednesday. In fact, as Marty Noble's game story in that last link pointed out, the Mets did a lot of things right to start off 2010 that were problems in 2009 -- they brought home runners in scoring position (4-for-10, plus a sacrifice fly), tacked on runs (extending a 2-1 lead to the eventual 7-1 final) and put up a big inning (a four-run sixth immediately after Florida had cut the margin to 2-1).

Wright's homer was a particularly good sign after all the talk in the offseason about his power outage last year and the discussions in Spring Training about his enhanced physique. I truly believe he'll hit 20-25 out this year for a variety of reasons, not least among them the fact that Bay provides some protection in the lineup and once Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran return, Wright will hopefully bat with some threats on the bases more often than he did in '09. And after having the foresight to record Wright's home run in last year's home opener, was pleased to snap a photo when he hit his first this year. It wasn't until later that I realized that it was the first long ball of Wright's career that did not count for at least one of my fantasy teams. After some fortunate draft positions in the long-running keeper league (three players per team, with no one player allowed to be kept for more than three years in a row) Dave and I are in, this year I couldn't keep Wright and didn't have a chance to draft him before Dave did. But at least another Mets fan benefitted.

On Opening Day more than other days, I find that I want to see as much of the game as I can and am not as interested in walking around for other vantage points. I crossed Shea Bridge a couple of times and we entered through the rotunda, passing the Home Run Apple's new home out front. And after leaving through one of the exits on the first-base side, we saw Jerry Seinfeld and family (plus Tom Poppa, the host of the Seinfeld-produced The Marriage Ref) walking to their car in the ultra-VIP parking lot. They were in a small group and stopped at the edge of the lot, which would've been an easy opportunity to politely ask to take a photograph, but we chose not to bother him with his kids in tow.

So we didn't see the new Mets Hall of Fame (other than in passing as we walked up the stairs in the rotunda) or make our way down to McFadden's in center field. But we're already going back on Friday; I went to Stubhub and bought some slightly reduced Promenade Club tickets for the game against the Nationals and I hope to get there early to visit the museum and get a good spot in the Acela Club. We'd like to try fine dining at the ballpark just once, and I figured a cool, possibly rainy night against the Nats in April isn't a bad choice. I could've bought first-row Pepsi Porch tickets instead (another Citi Field goal for me), but with the possibility of rain, I figured sheltered was better -- even if Adam Dunn is in town.

Here are the rest of the photos of Opening Day, a truly beautiful and gorgeous day at Citi Field.

Don't forget your appetite at Citi Field

As I promised, here is my wife's write-up of the new culinary offerings at Citi Field this year. It's much better than I could've done, and not just because I don't like sushi.

I really should be having only a light breakfast right now so I can fully partake in the fare this afternoon.

It's a gorgeous 62 degrees in the metropolitan area this morning, folks, heading up to a beautiful 76. Time to play ball!

Happy Opening Day!

Citi Field's All-Star Luncheon

Drew Nieporent, Scott Kleckner, Floyd Cardoz and Dave Pasternack

My wife and I had the chance to go to Citi Field today for the unveiling of this year's menu. I'll leave the full culinary write-up to Casey (look for it on Opening Day, because she's timely like that), but I will say this: It's a big advantage to eat in pairs. We were able to sample more by sharing, particularly splitting a burger from Shake Shack. Not that we needed to sample it, but it was free. Like we were going to pass that up. So we ate well, to say the least.

The 2009 season at Citi Field was a rookie season for sure, and I think the changes, improvements and upgrades will be readily noticeable throughout the ballpark this season. In some ways, maybe it's understandable that some things wouldn't get done, some of the more cosmetic aspects of the design, the first season. (That said, I don't recall hearing about any lack of history at Yankee Stadium, but I haven't been there for a game yet. Plus, we all know how obsessed they are with every last detail of their history, so I'm sure they were planning way ahead for that.)

As for what's in store for 2010, most notable, to me, is that the Mets have expanded access to the Caesar's Club, Promenade Club and Acela Club. In other words, a wider range of tickets (and prices) now will get you into those more exclusive areas. For many of us, the open air and a Shackburger are more than enough to enjoy a game, but it's nice to know that, if those areas are going to be there, more people will be allowed into them.

Other additions throughout the ballpark include the gluten-free foods, Hanover Cafe Korean cuisine and Tai Pan Chinese, and a rum bar, all at the World's Fare Market. The Excelsior level will have sit-down dining in the Caesar's Club, and Big Apple Brews will have an additional outpost in the food court behind home plate on the Promenade level. And many of the chefs are adding menu items: grandma slice with vodka sauce at Cascarino's (outstanding; I've had it at other places) and a crab cake sandwich at Catch of the Day were two that stood out.

Finally, I approached executive vice president Dave Howard to ask about the Game 7 marker in the Fanwalk, and he said that it would be corrected. "It may already have been removed," he said. And sure enough, as Casey and I walked around the outside of the ballpark afterward to look at the Mets history markers, workers were installing a generic Fanwalk panel in a spot that fell in line, chronologically, with where Game 7, 1986 would be.

Opening Day is 12 days away, but this made it seem that much closer. Starting to get excited now ...

Hockey at Citi Field?

I don't read the New York Post (I wanted to be a journalist, not a muckraker, so "The Post" in my mind was always the Washington Post, mentioned in the same breath as "The Times," not with "The News."), so I have to credit Mets Police for bringing this to my attention: It appears the Mets would like to host the NHL's Winter Classic, perhaps as soon as next year. But Larry Brooks also mentions how Yankee Stadium had come up in speculation for next year's game and he cites the same conflict I did a few weeks ago: how can the stadium fit both a college football bowl game and an NHL game around the same time? For that reason alone, Citi Field may have an advantage in getting the metropolitan area's first Winter Classic.

And speaking of hockey, while New Year's celebrations had me at the computer sporadically the past few days, Martin Brodeur notched his 105th shutout on Dec. 30, moving him within five of Walter Johnson's baseball record, which I've playfully decided is the North American team sports record for individual shutouts.

Shades of Mays

There's been a lot of talk about Fred Wilpon's dual homage to the ballpark of his youth, the Dodgers' Ebbets Field, and Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson in the design of Citi Field. Some Mets fans hate it; some Giants fans wonder where the love is.

As a fan of history -- particularly baseball's -- I have little problem with either nod to the past. To me, it's honoring New York's baseball history. The Rotunda celebrates Jackie Robinson and the ballpark resembles Brooklyn's old yard. In a way, the Dodgers left both behind.

But so far, it appears that Citi Field is playing a little more like another former New York ballyard -- the Polo Grounds. The outfield dimensions -- 277 feet to left field, 455 to center, 258 to right -- aren't anywhere close, of course, but with what seems like Death Valley in center field and a haven for triples in right-center (the Mets have 11 home runs this season and eight triples), there are some similarities beyond the green seats.

The Mets, who have been known for good pitching through much of their existence, are going to have to become known for their center fielders, too -- particularly those with above-average defensive skills, like Carlos Beltran. Citi Field gives the outfield captain a lot of room to roam, and if they're going to have any chance of competing year in and year out, they're going to need a skilled center fielder who can run down long fly balls that don't get over the wall.

This point was highlighted for me watching Gary Sheffield's potential double become an out in the glove of Marlins center fielder Cody Ross on Monday night. When I watched it again later, it reminded me a lot of Willie Mays' famous catch in the 1954 World Series.


In no way is Cody Ross equal to Willie Mays, and catching a fly ball in April is nothing compared to running down a drive in October -- plus turning to make the throw to prevent a runner from advancing -- but the two catches did look a little similar to me.



I'm sure it won't be long until Beltran drops our jaws with a play of his own. He's definitely done it before.

When Sheffield hit that ball, my initial thought was that he might be the first player to sink one in the Home Run Apple's bucket. He fell short, but David Wright also came close later with his triple. And Austin Kearns was the first to hit a homer into the batter's eye around the apple when he did so on Sunday.

So that's the pool: Who will be the first player to drop one inside the apple's hideaway? My money's on Carlos Delgado.

Hello Citi

Shiny and new

The Mets' home opener this year was a night game because the team preferred to play the game on a Monday and leave Tuesday open, probably for two reasons: To hold its annual Welcome Home Dinner and to have the flexibility of pushing the game back one day in the event of rain. That way, fans who bought tickets specifically for the home opener would have them, rather than those who bought tickets for Game 2 of the season lucking into the first game at the new ballpark.

By choosing Monday, the Mets were told it had to be a night game because their opponent, the Padres, played on the West Coast on Sunday. MLB or the Players Association (or both) would not force San Diego to play Sunday afternoon in California, fly to New York that night and play the next afternoon.

Too bad -- it probably would have worked out better for the Mets if they had.

So it didn't quite feel like Opening Day in New York on Monday. I didn't have to get up too early after working Sunday night; I didn't have to be ready to go when my mom arrived at the house. The Mets were opening the gates at 4:30, two and a half hours before first pitch, so we were in no rush. Figures that we arrived in Manhattan with no delays and found free street parking on the first block I turned onto. Our wait on the 74th St. platform in Queens was long because we just missed a departing 7 train, but we still arrived at Willets Point at 4:10, and the crowd outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda was already filling up the fanwalk.

Of the 42,000-plus fans who attended the sold-out opener, probably half that arrived before 6 p.m. When we walked in, we made our way around the field level concourse to make our way to Danny Meyerland behind the scoreboard in center field. Mom wanted a Shake Shack burger in her first Citi Field experience, and who was I to suggest otherwise? We crossed the Hell Gate Bridge, gazed upon the old Home Run Apple, and waited a mere 10 minutes for a pair of perfect burgers, fries and two beers. We shared a picnic table with an older father and son and, once finished, continued our walk around the field level.

The temperature hovered in the 50s, but the warm sun made it feel like a pleasant 60-something. If only it had been a day game. In the end, though, whether it was a truly mild night, or the roof over our heads in the upper reaches of the Promenade level kept some body heat in, or the park's construction cuts down on the wind gusts coming off the bay, I walked out of there at 10:30 feeling the warmest I can remember after attending every Mets opener -- all of them day games -- since 2000.

Overall, there was a weird feeling to the game. Yeah, it was the Mets' first official game back in New York since last September, but with the St. John's-Georgetown game (which I attended) and the two Red Sox-Mets exhibitions at Citi Field (which I did not go to), this one didn't feel quite as significant. Maybe the late date played a part, and the fact that Spring Training went so long and included the somewhat meaningful games of the World Baseball Classic put me in midseason form back in March. But despite the significance of the game, I didn't have the Opening Day butterflies of anticipation I usually have.

Yet at the same time, once Mom and I climbed up to our seats, I didn't want to leave. I got hungry later, but didn't bother to go get the nachos I was interested in trying. We had peanuts with us, but I didn't feel like waiting in line for a beer. I didn't want to miss much of the action, so I'll save more exploration and taste testing for future games.

It wouldn't be a Mets game, though, without the bitching. Fans behind me, fans in the bathrooms, fans on the concourse -- they all found something to whine about. Yeah, the concourses were a bit crowded, but that's to be expected for the first game in history. Not many of the 42,000 tickets went unused, I'm sure. Now imagine 15,000 more people at Shea, where you couldn't see the field from any of the concourses (with the exception of behind home plate on the limited-access field level), and Citi's walkways are boulevards.

Exiting is a bit cramped, with thousands of people making their way through relatively narrow doorways to descend switchback stairways, but again, nearly 42,000 people waited until the last out, not wanting to miss the potential for a comeback. There won't be too many games in which 98 percent of the people in attendance go the distance. There are always the early exiters, those who want to beat the rush to the subway, the LIRR, the parking lot. That's the only thing about which I would raise even the slightest gripe.

I'm sorry -- as much as I enjoyed going to games at Shea, the new place is better. It was needed. It was time.

Classy Kalas

One of my friends didn't believe my sincerity when I expressed my condolences on Harry Kalas' passing and added that I considered him the classiest member of the Phillies organization. Coming from a Mets fan, he said it was an empty expression.

I said I was sorry if it came off that way, but it's true. Of all the people I met covering the BlueClaws, Kalas was the one I was most excited to come across. (OK, maybe top two, because Tug McGraw was pretty sweet, too. But Tug was more the guy's guy -- I'm not sure too many people would put him under the "classy" column, and I'm not saying that is a detriment to his character.) But somewhere, I still have the mini cassette with the Kalas interview on it.

Plus, as my Yankee fan boss will tell you, I'm a baseball fan first and a Mets fan second. I certainly appreciate the game's history and icons, and Kalas certainly was that. Among the others I met who I'd consider classy are Ryan Howard, owner Dave Montgomery, former assistant GM Mike Arbuckle, former Lakewood manager Jeff Manto, Marlon Anderson and the late former pitching instructor Johnny Podres.

The Mets put Kalas' image on the video screen before the home opener on Monday and mentioned the death of Mark Fidrych ("Moments ago we also learned of ..."). They were a sadly recent addition to the annual moment of silence the team has to start the Opening Day festivities each year honoring those who have passed away since the last game.

I've got much more to say about what was a mostly pleasant return to baseball in Queens, but just didn't have the chance today, mostly because I focused on the photos first. That post, I hope, will come tomorrow.

Mets moniker madness

The Mets open their new ballpark tonight, and Mom and I plan to be there a few hours early to enjoy the place in its bunting-adorned glory.

This is the new beginning. The old, multi-purpose stadium is gone, the rubble -- I expect -- cleared away and the parking lot paved. The subway stop has been renamed and the dominant color you see on the approach shifted from a cool blue to a warming brick red. It is, we Mets fans hope, the beginning of a new, successful era on the field, as well. The ghosts of 2007 and 2008 -- even 2006 -- went down with that final section in February.

There's a lot of talk about what to call this grand new home, and since the name was announced, I've tried to overlook it. I'm no fan of corporate names -- calling it Brendan Byrne Arena felt much more homey than Continental Arena or the IZOD Center, and I'd hoped that Lakewood's local Pine Belt Auto Group would come forward with the cash to name the minor-league ballpark there so that people outside the Jersey Shore area would realize that Pine Belt Park was actually the result of a naming rights deal.

But when Citi Field was announced, I focused on the bright side. For one, if you didn't see it written, you could think of it as City Field -- a generic moniker that could have been home to a club in the Dead Ball Era. And at least it doesn't have the work "Bank" in the name, like in Philadelphia, or an acronym. One early guess by a colleague was HSBC Bank. That would've been worse. And at the time, before all the requests for additional tax breaks and bonds, it looked like the Mets were footing the bill --at least the bulk of it -- and not directly getting taxpayer money, in the form of higher taxes, the way some cities have done to build their parks. (As such, I hope the Nationals never find a corporate sponsor for Nationals Park.) My feeling was that if the Mets were paying for it, they could decide how to name it. Maybe if the Yankees weren't so arrogant and had sold naming rights to their ballpark (instead of just every restaurant, bar and half the sections inside), they wouldn't have had to ask for so much money from New York City. (Or they could have not signed three players in one month for half a billion dollars, either.)

But now, with the economy in shambles and the banks unable to manage themselves, Citigroup is not in anyone's good graces. I still find myself saying, "When we went out to Shea" when talking about the St. John's-Georgetown game two weeks ago. A co-worker came up with "The Shea After" as a nickname. One fan wants to essentially put David Wright's face on the place (which also has a historical reference). And in the comments over at Uniwatch, someone refered to it as Debbits Field, which is so appropriate, considering the similarities.

A part of me is definitely hoping that Citigroup's struggles will lead to a removal of the name, though only if the loss of revenue from the naming rights deal doesn't hinder the franchise's operations and player acquisitions. If they have to take the Citi off, they won't be able to go with City Field, because that will be too close to the failed original name. Mets Field would surely only be temporary in that instance, so hopefully it wouldn't come to that. But maybe they'd go back to what works and call it Shea Field. Don't do what the White Sox originally did and put the exact old name on the new stadium -- new Comiskey Park was more stadium than ballpark -- but continue to honor the man and the family who brought the Mets to New York.

Or maybe -- just maybe -- they'd go the final step in honoring one of New York's greatest heroes and name the whole place after Jackie Robinson. Should they do that, go for the inside-the-park home run instead of settling for the triple, we'd know that it was here to stay. You can't put Jackie's name on the ballpark and then take it away.

But for now, like many others out there, I think I'll stick with the alternatives, either Shea or, in print (or bytes), City Field. Or maybe I'll just sing Barenaked Ladies lyrics whenever I talk about the ballpark. As clever as Debbits Field is, that only draws attention to the black eye.

Tonight, though, I'm just ready to call it "home."

This one goes out to the one I love

Springtime

R.E.M. was the first music we heard coming from the field, but we were still on the concourse. We'd just come up the escalator through the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and we were ready to work our way around Citi Field.

While I enjoy college baseball games, we weren't there to see St. John's and Georgetown. Most of the 20,000 or so who actually made it out to the ballpark were there for the unveiling, the soft open of Citi Field -- and its food. We were barely halfway down the first-base line on the concourse when I noticed Blue Smoke out behind center field. Our trajectory was set.

They started announcing the lineups and John Franco took the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, but we stood on line at Shake Shack and Blue Smoke and Box Frites. I took off my hat as the national anthem played, but I wasn't anxious to place my order and get my food to get back to my seat (and that felt weird at first). Instead, the smell of the grill -- of the Shackburgers -- weighed more on me, and that's what I found myself anticipating more.

"If I see Danny Meyer, I might just kiss him," I said as we downed our burgers, pork sandwiches, fries and beer on a wall at the top of a stairway out beyond the center-field scoreboard.

In short, I'm hooked.

Shea Stadium had its charm, its character, its history. But it also had its rust, its gunk, its grunge, its smells and its attempt at food. Citi Field tops it all. We spent the afternoon at the ballpark and never even found where our seats, as printed on the tickets, were located. We circled the ballpark on the field-level concourse -- a first in Queens -- and did the same on the promenade (upper deck) level. We ducked into several shops, read multiple menu boards and made our way back to Danny Meyerland for a second lunch of tacos.

In 23 years of attending games at Shea, I saw games from just about every vantage point -- field level behind the dugout, boxes on the loge, mezzanine and upper levels, the top row, the picnic area, the small slivers of seats in fair territory down the lines. After one look at Citi Field, I hope to take in as many different views in must less time.

I appreciate baseball's history as much as anyone. I lament the fact that I never got to Chicago in time to see Comiskey Park and I would probably use a chance at a time machine to see games at the Polo Grounds, Ebbets Field, pre-renovated Yankee Stadium (the true original Stadium) and several other old parks. At times, I'm sure I'll miss Shea, where I saw scores of games and I'll miss Yankee Stadium, where I saw my first game. But those days should be few and far between now that the Mets have a beautiful new ballpark that they both deserve and need.

Citi Field wasn't quite complete for this soft opening -- it was just short of a full dress rehearsal, with the Mets still in Florida, after all -- but it was only a few Jackie Robinson murals and outfield advertisments short of being finished. It didn't feel like Opening Day, but it sure felt like a new era.