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="OlerudOwned":6g7lnc1q]Wiffle ball field?! Yes![/quote:6g7lnc1q]
Something to keep Luis Castillo occupied during Mets games.
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seawolf17
Feb 06 2009 02:19 PM
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Someone call Jay Horwitz and reserve the Wiffle Ball field for the 1st Annual CPF Wiffle Ball Challenge NOW!
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Feb 06 2009 02:22 PM
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As if they're gona let a bunch of fat old guys play there. That's what the stadium is for!
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metsguyinmichigan
Feb 06 2009 02:31 PM
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="seawolf17":342a7vcz]Someone call Jay Horwitz and reserve the Wiffle Ball field for the 1st Annual CPF Wiffle Ball Challenge NOW![/quote:342a7vcz]
Count me in! I throw a nasty knuckleball, taught to be by the grandson of the Wiffle Ball inventor!
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metsguyinmichigan
Feb 06 2009 02:32 PM
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="John Cougar Lunchbucket":pp18ks0l]As if they're gona let a bunch of fat old guys play there. That's what the stadium is for![/quote:pp18ks0l]
Did we resign Moises? :)
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Rockin' Doc
Feb 06 2009 08:44 PM
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A rooftop, wiffle ball field would be so great. I just wonder who the Mets expect to use it.
Count me in if the CPF has a tailgating and wiffle ball outing.
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Edgy DC
Feb 16 2009 06:36 AM
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Old apple salvaged, touched up, and re-displayed:
<img src="http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20090213/capt.ab75dab403fb4b1da2a9e81708265865.mets_home_run_apple_baseball_nyr104.jpg">
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Benjamin Grimm
Feb 16 2009 06:56 AM
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I expect that one day not too far in the future, I'll photograph my kids in front of that apple.
And one of them will photograph ME in front of that apple.
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metsguyinmichigan
Feb 16 2009 09:03 AM
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Heck yes!
Looks liek they've polished it up a bit.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Feb 16 2009 11:26 PM
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Our Blarney Stone?
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metsguyinmichigan
Feb 17 2009 09:29 AM
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[url:3cklbsyt]http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo185/saltzy23/Citi%20Field%20Tour%202-13-09/[/url:3cklbsyt]
Here are a bunch of shots from Citi Field.
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metirish
Feb 17 2009 09:59 AM
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="metsguyinmichigan":2n4aanae][url:2n4aanae]http://s374.photobucket.com/albums/oo185/saltzy23/Citi%20Field%20Tour%202-13-09/[/url:2n4aanae]
Here are a bunch of shots from Citi Field.[/quote:2n4aanae]
Some really great pictures in there , thanks.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Feb 17 2009 10:41 PM
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This apple business gets one to thinking... has there been any talk at all of where Mets HOF displays might be?
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batmagadanleadoff
Feb 17 2009 11:37 PM
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="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":2ab86e70]This apple business gets one to thinking... has there been any talk at all of where Mets HOF displays might be?[/quote:2ab86e70]
Behind the 20 foot high Jackie Robinson statue, and slightly to the left of the world's biggest collection of Johnny Podres memorabilia. Space permitting.
="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":2ab86e70]This apple business gets one to thinking... has there been any talk at all of where Mets HOF displays might be?[/quote:2ab86e70]
What Mets HOF display? Everything was sold. The only thing left is an old Joe Frazier jock strap.
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metirish
Feb 18 2009 01:06 PM
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The original Home Run Apple from Shea Stadium is installed in the Bullpen Plaza (an area open to the public behind the bullpens) at Citi Field. (New York Mets / February 13, 2009)
The original Home Run Apple from Shea Stadium is installed in the Bullpen Plaza (an area open to the public behind the bullpens) at Citi Field. A new Home Run Apple will be in place in centerfield at Citi Field. (New York Mets / February 13, 2009)
these go along with the picture Edgy posted.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Feb 18 2009 01:13 PM
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I was reading that baseball fever thread and apparently a few of the posters there have photos showing dozens of seats with obstructed views due to railings and so forth, mainly in the front-row promenade area. They are agitating the papers to do an expose on it, etc.
Does this photo post?
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Gwreck
Feb 18 2009 01:20 PM
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That photo posts fine, but that's not the real problem. The photo posted is taken from mid-section in the Promenade Infield Reserved. That's a $25 seat, and a railing in front of you is certainly a small obstruction but not the end of the world.
The real problem is the first two rows of the Promenade Club and Promenade Box seats, the best of which are $75 seats. In those seats, if you are sitting down/are short, a LED board will apparently block your view of a good part of the field closest to you.
There are also some key obstructions in the aisle seats in the low rows of the Promenade Reserved/Promenade Reserved Infield, because their are staircases at the front of the section that will be blocked with people and unfortunately-placed railings.
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Gwreck
Feb 18 2009 01:22 PM
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Yep, those are more of those staircase obstructions. If you're in the lowest couple of rows of the Promenade Reserved or Promenade Reserved Infield, you can count on being obstructed either from the railings or the flow of people on the stairs.
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metirish
Feb 18 2009 01:25 PM
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If your view is obstructed just go into one of the fine restaurants and drink some expensive wine .
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Feb 18 2009 01:36 PM
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="Gwreck":9shv8h7q]Yep, those are more of those staircase obstructions. If you're in the lowest couple of rows of the Promenade Reserved or Promenade Reserved Infield, you can count on being obstructed either from the railings or the flow of people on the stairs.[/quote:9shv8h7q]
That's a fucking disaster
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Kong76
Feb 18 2009 01:45 PM
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Guess I'll reserve judgment until I actually sit down and see if I'm obstructed.
I'm further out than that shot, but I hope I don't have to look at the infield through
Plexiglas or whatever that is.
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metirish
Feb 18 2009 01:47 PM
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Are those bottle holders on the iron railings in the last picture?
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Gwreck
Feb 18 2009 02:12 PM
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Yes.
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Gwreck
Feb 18 2009 02:19 PM
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="Kong76":2l1n755i]Guess I'll reserve judgment until I actually sit down and see if I'm obstructed.
I'm further out than that shot, but I hope I don't have to look at the infield through
Plexiglas or whatever that is.[/quote:2l1n755i]
My guess is that it'll only affect the first couple of seats in off the aisle in the first couple of rows. But that really sucks for what would otherwise be really good seats becoming really crappy ones.
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Kong76
Feb 18 2009 02:24 PM
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Yeah, I got 5-6 in row one of some section way out in left field. I'm going to
have nightmares tonight.
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Gwreck
Feb 18 2009 02:26 PM
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Which partial plan are you doing? We wanted to be on the infield so we wound up in row 14, but right behind the plate...
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Kong76
Feb 18 2009 02:31 PM
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Sunday plus five or whatever they call it. I guess I'll call the talking heads in
the ticket office tomorrow and see if I can find anything out.
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Gwreck
Feb 20 2009 07:41 PM
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Scoreboard being tested:
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Edgy DC
Feb 20 2009 08:02 PM
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side effects of quirky angles = bad.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Feb 20 2009 08:42 PM
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I hope Wright can get the cycle.
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metsguyinmichigan
Feb 20 2009 09:02 PM
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I'm glad we're winning!
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Gwreck
Feb 20 2009 09:48 PM
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Notice the absence of Castillo in the lineup...
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Edgy DC
Feb 20 2009 10:39 PM
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Yeah, Murph looks like he's at second there.
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dgwphotography
Feb 21 2009 05:03 AM
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These obstructed view pictures aren't exactly making me miss Shea any less...
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Nymr83
Feb 21 2009 05:27 AM
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="metsguyinmichigan":3q5f8l8q]I'm glad we're winning![/quote:3q5f8l8q]
I'm digging the new scoreboard, what kind of team wouldn't be winning in their own ad? maybe the knicks? :)
scoreboard lineup:
7 Reyes
28 Murphy
5 Wright
21 Delgado
15 Beltran
19 Church
17 Tatis
23 Schneider
57 Santana
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soupcan
Mar 05 2009 08:33 AM
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Who has a guess as to what these circles in front of the rotunda are going to be...?
[url=http://www.wcbs880.com/pages/3966824.php?imageGalleryXRefId=965611#imgXR]More pics.[/url]
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Mar 05 2009 08:37 AM
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I thought they were gonna bury the apple in one of them. Now I think maybe they are lightpole-holes or something.
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soupcan
Mar 05 2009 08:39 AM
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Too big for lights, no?
I was thinking statues but that middle one seems way too big for that.
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 05 2009 08:50 AM
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The Times has a story about Citi . I put some of the most stupid comments in bold.
THE METS’ NEW HOME: CALL IT THE ANTI-SHEA
By KEN BELSON and RICHARD SANDOMIR
c.2009 New York Times News Service
NEW YORK — For those fans who hated Shea Stadium, fear not: Citi Field is nothing like its predecessor, the last bits of which lie in ruins a few hundreds yards away.
The Mets’ new park, which will open its doors for a Georgetown-St. John’s baseball game March 29, is far more intimate than Shea and corrects some of the old stadium’s worst faults.
Citi Field will hold about 42,000 fans, 15,000 fewer than Shea. The park is enclosed and many seats wrap around the outfield, so it feels much cozier than Shea’s open-ended bowl, which favored watching football.
ùù During an extensive tour of Citi Field on Tuesday, Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer, spoke in the Acela Club, a restaurant in left field that will have 550 seats, table service, a bar and wine cabinets for frequent patrons.
ùù “There’s all this light and air, and then you’re looking back at the field,” Wilpon said. “We want to make people feel they’re in a living room.”
ùù The seats throughout the stadium are angled toward the center of the infield, reducing the need for fans, particularly on the field level, to crane their necks toward home plate.
ùù Sitting in their seats, few fans will see the chop shops in Willets Point, the cars roaring past on the Van Wyck Expressway, the subway yards to the south or the U-Haul sign. They will still get a crystal-clear view of the planes on their final approach to La Guardia Airport. Some things never change.
ùù Citi Field has many nooks and crannies that are nothing like Shea’s tired symmetry. The grandstand that hangs over right field, for instance, was inspired by the old Tiger Stadium, which Wilpon visited with his grandparents as a child. Fans in center field will get a bull’s-eye view of the bullpens, with Aaron Heilman only in the visitors’ half, which is on a slightly raised level, with some protection from fan saliva.
ùù The 16-foot wall that rings much of the outfield means a Endy Chavez-like catch to save a home run is unlikely, though.
ùù Going for food or a bathroom break will be a lot easier. The concourses are far wider, bathrooms are more numerous and beer drinkers will not have to wander far for a microbrew. Gabila’s knishes will return thanks to convection ovens. (The old knishes were fried, which helps explain the heartburn they generated.)
ùù The chance of a plumbing malfunction has also been reduced: The Mets have installed waterless urinals, an eco-friendly touch.
ùù The walk from the subway station to Citi Field’s front entrance will take about as long as it took to reach Gate E at Shea, but an acre of planters, trees and other landscaping will usher fans to the new park’s brick exterior and ornate rotunda named for Jackie Robinson. Bricks embedded in the capacious plaza include inscriptions from fans who paid $195 to $345 for the privilege. Several applications were rejected because the language was deemed insulting of New York’s other baseball team. ùù Citi Field’s exterior is a splendid architectural response to the dullness of Shea, while the inner bowl is muted. Shea’s candy-colored plastic seats are gone (along with generations of chipped paint on the handrails) in favor of dark green seats everywhere.
ùù “Dark green is the color of a classic ballpark,” said Dave Howard, the team’s executive vice president for business operations, as he stood ankle deep in snow. “And we thought the other team in town would use blue.”
ùù Citi Field, with 28 different seating categories, also feels more fragmented than Shea, which had sections of box and reserved seats that stretched from one foul pole to the other. The collection of far smaller blocks of luxury suites, party rooms, restaurants and exclusive box seats spells exclusivity or exclusion, depending on your point of view.
ùù Everything has a new name, as well. There’s the Ebbets Club, the Delta Sky360 Club and the Caesars Club. Seaver, Hodges and Stengel have their names on three of the five party suites. The name game is not done, either.
ùù “In this economy, you don’t turn down sponsors,” Wilpon said. “Anyone who’s willing to pay ½ hellip ¾ .”
ùù The suites, apparently, will not be just for baseball. Howard said that the club had already booked bar mitzvahs in the Caesars Club. A 150-seat auditorium could host corporate events.
ùù While all the major construction is finished, many little touches remain. The kitchens are filled with refrigerators and even French fry baskets, but much of the equipment is unplugged, out of position and covered with layers of dust.
ùù The much-improved sound system and scoreboards were getting a workout. A version of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” played loud and clear. The LED scoreboards that line the facades were ready for June. One read: “David Wright .320 AVG 15 HR 66 RBI.”
ùù Wilpon said the team had not decided who would throw out the first pitch on opening day April 13. But he said it would be great if President Barack Obama did it on Jackie Robinson Day two nights later.
ùù With the sun setting, dozens of employees were waiting in the parking lot next to the park before their orientation sessions. Gary Brown, who worked at a concession stand for two years at Shea, said he and his friend Faruk Stokes were looking forward to their new workplace.
ùù “Any type of progress is a good thing,” said Brown, who lives in Corona, Queens. “It’s a beautiful facility. I just hope the team is more successful here.”
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 05 2009 08:51 AM
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="soupcan":28vgfpu9]Too big for lights, no?
I was thinking statues but that middle one seems way too big for that.[/quote:28vgfpu9]
Fountains and plants?
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metirish
Mar 05 2009 09:38 AM
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Crop circles?
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SteveJRogers
Mar 05 2009 09:53 AM
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="metsguyinmichigan":1150e6ur]="soupcan":1150e6ur]Too big for lights, no?
I was thinking statues but that middle one seems way too big for that.[/quote:1150e6ur]
Fountains and plants?[/quote:1150e6ur]
That is the word according to those who post on the Baseball-Fever.com Citi thread. The holes are for floral arrangements and a fountain.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 13 2009 10:29 AM
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/14504460@N ... 165829740/
Apparently, some Met history might make it into the new place, in a nifty way: silhouettes above each CitiField entrance commemorating corresponding memorable moments in Mets history-- Left Field gets Endy's catch, Right Field gets Swoboda's, etc.
The bullpen gate is as yet unadorned (if not Tug or Jesse, post-'86, may I suggest a David Cone "warming up" silhouette?), although it's possible that the lonely Seaver sil (in the middle of the linked set) ends up there.
A subtle and well-executed (and, sadly, all-too-rare) note of tribute, methinks.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Mar 13 2009 10:36 AM
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Very nice.
Wasn't that easy?
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Edgy DC
Mar 13 2009 10:41 AM
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I'd have to see it in poyson, but Rocky's sihouette seems mostly obscured behind the letters. Raise it up 18 inches or so, say I.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 13 2009 10:51 AM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 13 2009 11:09 AM
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Rocky diving under/in front of the sign, and Endy reeling in Rolen right in front (sign-as-wall) would have been the tits, no?
But, hey, minor quibble.
I like Orosco's Post-WS Daily News cover for the Bullpen Gate.
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soupcan
Mar 13 2009 10:53 AM
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="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":1391jq7m]I like Orosco's Post-WS Daily News cover for the Bullpen Gate.[/quote:1391jq7m]
Oooh, good call.
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Edgy DC
Mar 13 2009 12:35 PM
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That article is pure hackery.
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G-Fafif
Mar 13 2009 12:38 PM
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="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":3qghjbcz]I like Orosco's Post-WS Daily News cover for the Bullpen Gate.[/quote:3qghjbcz]
You'd have to clearly mark it as Jesse and his moment of triumph. Otherwise, the sight of a Mets reliever down on his knees conjures visions of 2008 and all the saves that were blown.
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G-Fafif
Mar 13 2009 12:43 PM
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="Edgy DC":384aoame]That article is pure hackery.[/quote:384aoame]
I don't mind this narrative, to a certain extent, for my own Polo Grounds-loving reasons, but does the author (or the News' editorial page editor) think this is a startlingly new observation?
Also, Mays played for the Mets in '72 and '73. Being too young to remember 1969 is no excuse for not getting that much straight.
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Edgy DC
Mar 13 2009 12:49 PM
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No, his position is fine, but it's late in the day, cherry picked, and his always-has-been, always-will-be tone as if his position is so self evident is weak.
I also have a dislike for columnists who ask questions out loud and then provide their own answers. You're a journalist. If you have questions, direct them at people and find some answers.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 13 2009 12:49 PM
Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Mar 13 2009 12:59 PM
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="G-Fafif"]| ="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr"]I like Orosco's Post-WS Daily News cover for the Bullpen Gate. |
You'd have to clearly mark it as Jesse and his moment of triumph. Otherwise, the sight of a Mets reliever down on his knees conjures visions of 2008 and all the saves that were blown. |
Fists raised to the heavens wouldn't mark it clearly enough? (Am not sure any of the 2008ers had the arm strength left by season's end to raise 'em above his head.)
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soupcan
Mar 13 2009 12:58 PM
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Met fans would certainly recognize a silhouette of Jesse in that pose. No question.
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SteveJRogers
Mar 15 2009 06:53 PM
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From Baseball-Fever, well, FINALLY a familiar face appears!
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Edgy DC
Mar 15 2009 06:59 PM
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I'm guessing Johnson and the '86ers will go in next to that.
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seawolf17
Mar 15 2009 07:35 PM
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="Edgy DC":okbu00pg]I'm guessing Johnson and the '86ers will go in next to that.[/quote:okbu00pg]
Or maybe Alston and the '55ers.
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metirish
Mar 15 2009 08:04 PM
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I like it , who is that.......I'm kidding , I'm kidding.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Mar 15 2009 08:09 PM
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Up there until they can sell the space a la the lizard above, prolly.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 15 2009 08:14 PM
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Enjoy it now for free; take it home in 30 years for $690,000 as CitiField gives way to People's Republic of China presents Shamwow! Park.
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seawolf17
Mar 15 2009 08:38 PM
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="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":h17a01f9]People's Republic of China presents Shamwow! Park.[/quote:h17a01f9]
That was excellent.
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 15 2009 08:53 PM
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="seawolf17":31zy52xl]="Edgy DC":31zy52xl]I'm guessing Johnson and the '86ers will go in next to that.[/quote:31zy52xl]
Or maybe Alston and the '55ers.[/quote:31zy52xl]
Badass!
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SteveJRogers
Mar 18 2009 04:59 PM
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Mural is complete
Both off of Baseball-Fever.com
And it looks like Shea's ghosts have moved over already
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 21 2009 02:25 PM
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The skyline lives! I'm glad to see that it made the trip over to Citi Field.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Mar 21 2009 04:02 PM
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Nice photos and an enthusiastically positive review here:
[url:3bkz11bv]http://metsgrrl.com/index.php/site/comments/the-metsgrrl-citi-field-preview/[/url:3bkz11bv]
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 21 2009 11:22 PM
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Caryn's work is a friggin' public service.
I feel like I did as a 5-year-old, waiting for the Millennium Falcon I'd get on Christmas.
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themetfairy
Mar 22 2009 06:59 AM
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It does look lovely - I'm looking forward to seeing it.
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Benjamin Grimm
Mar 22 2009 07:34 AM
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I'm having doubts as to whether I'll get there in 2009.
I just pretended to be a ticket buyer for seats for a weekend game in May. No Promenade seats seem to be available. They instead redirect me to 100 level seats in left field, which seem okay, and at not-too-awful a price. But That's six weeks from now. My standard approach has been to wait until three or four days before to buy tickets. (I want to see what the weather will be.) I don't think I'll have that luxury anymore.
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G-Fafif
Mar 22 2009 08:43 AM
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I can feel the psychic barrier that has kept me from embracing this new place beginning to seriously crack. Probably has something to do with this is where the Mets are going to play in their home uniforms, and that there is no other physical option in the immediate vicinity available for that activity.
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seawolf17
Mar 22 2009 11:14 AM
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="G-Fafif":16qx2n7l]I can feel the psychic barrier that has kept me from embracing this new place beginning to seriously crack. Probably has something to do with this is where the Mets are going to play in their home uniforms, and that there is no other physical option in the immediate vicinity available for that activity.[/quote:16qx2n7l]
Yep, me too.
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Benjamin Grimm
Mar 22 2009 11:21 AM
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Not me. That won't happen until I actually see that I'll be able to go a couple of times per year.
I don't have any bad feelings about the place, but I also don't have any connection to it either. At least, not yet.
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soupcan
Mar 24 2009 08:56 AM
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The grass looks nice.
I'll now go on record as saying I approve of the new apple. Mainly because its not coming out of a ridiculous top hat.
An apple is easily recognizable as a symbol of NYC. If it simply has a Mets logo on it or says 'Let's Go Mets' when it pops up, I'm very cool with that. However, if says something like 'Citi - the core of banking in the Big Apple' or some other stupid ad, I'm out baby.
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metsmarathon
Mar 24 2009 09:07 AM
Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Mar 24 2009 09:11 AM
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they're just shoving the citi-branding all up in our faces with every opportunity, those bastards! i mean, look at that repeated arc in the outfield grass, and tell me you don't see the affront of yet another little red rainbow. how fitting that this arc is painted in glorious shades of green, echoing the fields of taxpayer cash funneled into citibank and, therefore, citifield, from the ground, up.
it sickens me.
really, it doesn't. i just wanted to be the first to mention the similitude between the arcing turf and the citi logo, whether its intentional or just a logical extension of the border between infield and out.
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 24 2009 09:09 AM
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="soupcan":30e9w3y7]The grass looks nice.
I'll now go on record as saying I approve of the new apple. Mainly because its not coming out of a ridiculous top hat.
An apple is easily recognizable as a symbol of NYC. If it simply has a Mets logo on it or says 'Let's Go Mets' when it pops up, I'm very cool with that. However, if says something like 'Citi - the core of banking in the Big Apple' or some other stupid ad, I'm out baby.[/quote:30e9w3y7]
Aw Soup, I never even considered they'd do something like that. Now I'm worried!
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G-Fafif
Mar 24 2009 09:49 AM
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="soupcan":303y480g]I'll now go on record as saying I approve of the new apple. Mainly because its not coming out of a ridiculous top hat.[/quote:303y480g]
I think I liked the hat more than the apple a) because it brought me back to the Magic Is Back season that inspired its construction and b) because once they went from Mets Magic to HOME RUN, I got a continuing kick out of the incongruity of it.
The relocated original apple is good to have on the premises, but I'm a touch disappointed that its new top hat is so small. More of a straw hat now.
Alas, men haven't worn either since JFK decided the look wasn't for him.
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G-Fafif
Mar 24 2009 09:50 AM
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="metsmarathon":ws77e5n1]they're just shoving the citi-branding all up in our faces with every opportunity, those bastards! i mean, look at that repeated arc in the outfield grass, and tell me you don't see the affront of yet another little red rainbow. how fitting that this arc is painted in glorious shades of green, echoing the fields of taxpayer cash funneled into citibank and, therefore, citifield, from the ground, up.[/quote:ws77e5n1]
And every mention of insurance runs is surely a thinly veiled bonus payment to the former AIG.
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metirish
Mar 24 2009 09:57 AM
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And every Bill Webb shot of the NYC skyline from now on will be greeted by Gary with " great Citi shot".
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G-Fafif
Mar 24 2009 10:05 AM
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"Good group of bench players Jerry Manuel has" will be a telltale sop to Citigroup. Pitchers who are automatic will be no more than plugs for Citi's network of ATMs. And when Delgado deposits one over the right field wall...
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metirish
Mar 24 2009 10:27 AM
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Pitching changes will now be known as withdrawals - " Manuel goes to the mound to make a withdrawal , hey folks you too can make withdrawals all over Citi Field"
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G-Fafif
Mar 24 2009 11:01 AM
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First reliever to get sent down for giving up a key hit will be written off as a toxic asset.
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SteveJRogers
Mar 24 2009 07:08 PM
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From a Baseball-Fever.com poster, the Left Field Gate's mural is complete!
One more banner space left around the corner, inbetween Casey and Gil.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 24 2009 07:45 PM
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="SteveJRogers":1ddnwx4v]
One more banner space left around the corner, inbetween Casey and Gil.[/quote:1ddnwx4v]
Ah, yes... the Bobby Bo spot, you mean?
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 24 2009 08:01 PM
Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Mar 24 2009 08:14 PM
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| ="SteveJRogers"]From a Baseball-Fever.com poster, the Left Field Gate's mural is complete!
One more banner space left around the corner, inbetween Casey and Gil. |
The detail in the Stengel banner (your lower right) appears to be the Grote/Koosman embrace , Game 5, 1969 WS, yada yada, although it's not the iconic angle that includes Ed Charles' dance of joy.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 24 2009 08:12 PM
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G-Fafif
Mar 27 2009 06:08 AM
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Jeff Wilpon impresses Len Berman.
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soupcan
Mar 27 2009 11:42 AM
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Hey, lookie who showed up to the party...
I believe this is behind leftfield.
On edit: Scooped!
| ="metsguyinmichigan"]
The skyline lives! I'm glad to see that it made the trip over to Citi Field. |
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 27 2009 01:34 PM
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The scoreboard-topper's going to be in center; that concession-plex is the Danny Meyer street-food fantasia (mmm.... elote!).
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metsguyinmichigan
Mar 27 2009 02:16 PM
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I like it! Too bad they couldn't find a wall somewhere to hang replicas of the blue and orange tiles that used to hang outside Shea, or one of the neon players -- though apparently they are incorporated into the carpet design in the clubhouse.
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Farmer Ted
Mar 29 2009 04:05 PM
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Yup, always one douchebag that opens an umbrella the size of Rhode Island inside the stadium. That effing thing hangs over three rows.
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metirish
Mar 29 2009 04:13 PM
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saw on ABC News highlights from the game today , looks spacious , one punter complained that the area around the apple is very plain looking. The report mentioned that Bernie Madoff had season tickets in the platinum section behind home plate , valued at $40,000. The Mets say they will not go unused but didn't say how.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 04:28 PM
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If Wilpon followed his heart, he'd donate the seats to Hilda Chester's family. But Fred loves money even more than he loves the Dodgers. I wonder if the Mets make his top five.
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 04:50 PM
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Come on. We're indicting him for what you imagine he'd like to do?
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:23 PM
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="Edgy DC":z4d7oe86]Come on. We're indicting him for what you imagine he'd like to do?[/quote:z4d7oe86]
We? You don't have to join me, but Fred opened the door for this kind of abuse -- yes, it's a straw man, or straw woman argument-- when he built a Mets Stadium in the image of Ebbets Field and then decided to tack on a rotunda, -- one of its most prominent features -- in honor of a Dodger.
I don't mind the Ebbets reference so much. But that and a Jackie Robinson Routnda? Enough's enough. It's inappropriate, in my opinion. A Mets stadium is not the right place to honor a Dodger on a permanent basis -- any Dodger.
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 05:28 PM
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He was actually under intense public pressure to name the stadium after Robinson. That the rotunda --- and has anybody ever cared before what a rotunda was called --- was named after Robinson was him throwing a bone to the public, not sticking it to the public in his self-interest.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:32 PM
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="Edgy DC":3662lti7]He was actually under intense public pressure to name the stadium after Robinson. That the rotunda --- and has anybody ever cared before what a rotunda was called --- was named after Robinson was him throwing a bone to the public, not sticking it to the public in his self-interest.[/quote:3662lti7]
Why? And did George Steinbrenner face that same pressure? Or what about the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals and their new stadium? Philadelphia Phillies? Where's the Philadelphia version of the Jackie Robinson rotunda? And was Wilpon also under the same intense pressure to eliminate 10,000 seats from the new stadium and raise the prices of some tickets almost tenfold?
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 05:34 PM
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In order,
Why is irrelevant. The point is that he was.
No.
No.
Nothing that I don't know of.
You're changing the subject.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:36 PM
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="Edgy DC":jm0mylax]He was actually under intense public pressure to name the stadium after Robinson. That the rotunda --- and has anybody ever cared before what a rotunda was called --- was named after Robinson was him throwing a bone to the public, not sticking it to the public in his self-interest.[/quote:jm0mylax]
By the way, Wilpon has been sticking it to the public in his self-interest throughout his entire tenure. The evidence is everywhere, in all the details, small and large. Crappy hot dogs. Mesh trucker caps for the old-timers. A parade of car dealers pulling numbers off the outfield wall.
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 05:37 PM
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Get some rest.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:41 PM
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I wasn't trying to change the subject. I just think that these baseball owners are powerful enough to do whatever they want to do, for the most part. Wilpon doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would cave in to public pressure over the rotunda. I believe that he created the Jackie Robinson rotunda because he wanted to, and any explanation slightly inconsistent is just spin so as to rationalize the event in a way that would appeal to the largest number of people. In other words, his explanation has more to do with political correctness than sincerity.
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SteveJRogers
Mar 29 2009 05:42 PM
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="batmagadanleadoff":131szgo8]="Edgy DC":131szgo8]He was actually under intense public pressure to name the stadium after Robinson. That the rotunda --- and has anybody ever cared before what a rotunda was called --- was named after Robinson was him throwing a bone to the public, not sticking it to the public in his self-interest.[/quote:131szgo8]
Why? And did George Steinbrenner face that same pressure? Or what about the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals and their new stadium? Philadelphia Phillies? Where's the Philadelphia version of the Jackie Robinson rotunda? And was Wilpon also under the same intense pressure to eliminate 10,000 seats from the new stadium and raise the prices of some tickets almost tenfold?[/quote:131szgo8]
Because of Wilpon's ties to the Dodgers as a fan which made the Mets the "torch bearers" of the Dodger-Giant legacy. Well it did start with day one when the Met roster would feature ex-Dodgers and ex-Giants. It would continue on during Old Timers Day festivities during the '60s and '70s when Dodgers and Giants were trotted out and so on.
Because it was at Shea where Bill Clinton and Bud Selig stood and made the pronouncement that 42 would be retired in perpetuity.
Hell, because it was at Shea that they actually honored the 40th anniversary of Robinson's debut in 1987, check out the 1988 yearbook for a photo of that festivity.
So, where were you in 1987 decrying why were the Mets honoring Robinson?
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:51 PM
Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Mar 29 2009 05:53 PM
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="SteveJRogers":37juno6t]="batmagadanleadoff":37juno6t]="Edgy DC":37juno6t]He was actually under intense public pressure to name the stadium after Robinson. That the rotunda --- and has anybody ever cared before what a rotunda was called --- was named after Robinson was him throwing a bone to the public, not sticking it to the public in his self-interest.[/quote:37juno6t]
Why? And did George Steinbrenner face that same pressure? Or what about the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals and their new stadium? Philadelphia Phillies? Where's the Philadelphia version of the Jackie Robinson rotunda? And was Wilpon also under the same intense pressure to eliminate 10,000 seats from the new stadium and raise the prices of some tickets almost tenfold?[/quote:37juno6t]
Because of Wilpon's ties to the Dodgers as a fan which made the Mets the "torch bearers" of the Dodger-Giant legacy. Well it did start with day one when the Met roster would feature ex-Dodgers and ex-Giants. It would continue on during Old Timers Day festivities during the '60s and '70s when Dodgers and Giants were trotted out and so on.
Because it was at Shea where Bill Clinton and Bud Selig stood and made the pronouncement that 42 would be retired in perpetuity.
Hell, because it was at Shea that they actually honored the 40th anniversary of Robinson's debut in 1987, check out the 1988 yearbook for a photo of that festivity.
So, where were you in 1987 decrying why were the Mets honoring Robinson?[/quote:37juno6t]
Wilpon's ties to the Dodgers are no greater than your ties to the Mets. He's a fan. OK ... a fan who was friends with Sandy Koufax before Koufax was anybody, but still, just a fan.
There's nothing wrong with on-field festivities honoring opponents. Stan Musial was honored at the Polo Grounds. Lou Brock was honored on his last visit to Shea. Willie Stargell, too. Honoring is a time-honored baseball tradition probably employed by every team. Naming a part of your stadium after a member of the opposition? I don't agree.
The Mets aren't, and shouldn't be the torch-bearers of the Dodgiant legacy, just as, likewise, the Dodgers need not erect a statute of Californian Tom Seaver.
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 05:51 PM
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="batmagadanleadoff":213hxw3s]I wasn't trying to change the subject. I just think that these baseball owners are powerful enough to do whatever they want to do, for the most part. Wilpon doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would cave in to public pressure over the rotunda. I believe that he created the Jackie Robinson rotunda because he wanted to, and any explanation slightly inconsistent is just spin so as to rationalize the event in a way that would appeal to the largest number of people. In other words, his explanation has more to do with political correctness than sincerity.[/quote:213hxw3s]
Well, you just keep believing then. And "these baseball owners," of course, continues to change the subject.
Anything that deviates from your hard-headed position is a "rationalization"? Nobody using mesh caps to broadly indict a billionnaire is positioning himself to talk about who is being rational.
A rich guy runs his business to make money. And that pisses you off. Except when he doesn't. And that pisses you off. Come on. Just stop.
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Gwreck
Mar 29 2009 05:54 PM
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| ="batmagadanleadoff"] when he built a Mets Stadium in the image of Ebbets Field and then decided to tack on a rotunda, -- one of its most prominent features -- in honor of a Dodger. |
You've got things a little mixed up. The rotunda wasn't tacked on; it was deliberately planned to be the part of the stadium that is built in the image of Ebbets Field. Nowhere else in the park is reminiscent of Ebbets.
Yes, Robinson was a Dodger. A perfunctory look inside the rotunda indicates that Robinson is being honored for much more than that.
| ]A Mets stadium is not the right place to honor a Dodger on a permanent basis -- any Dodger. |
Sorry, this Dodger's special.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 05:57 PM
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="Edgy DC":2us8tl51]="batmagadanleadoff":2us8tl51]I wasn't trying to change the subject. I just think that these baseball owners are powerful enough to do whatever they want to do, for the most part. Wilpon doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that would cave in to public pressure over the rotunda. I believe that he created the Jackie Robinson rotunda because he wanted to, and any explanation slightly inconsistent is just spin so as to rationalize the event in a way that would appeal to the largest number of people. In other words, his explanation has more to do with political correctness than sincerity.[/quote:2us8tl51]
Well, you just keep believing then. And "these baseball owners," of course, continues to change the subject.
Anything that deviates from your hard-headed position is a "rationalization"? Nobody using mesh caps to broadly indict a billionnaire is positioning himself to talk about who is being rational.
A rich guy runs his business to make money. And that pisses you off. Except when he doesn't. And that pisses you off. Come on. Just stop.[/quote:2us8tl51]
I doubt that getting the old-timers decent baseball caps, or uniforms that resembled the ones they actually wore during their playing days would've made much of a dent to the bottom-line. How much money did Wilpon save on that deal -- one, maybe two thousand dollars?
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Edgy DC
Mar 29 2009 05:58 PM
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I doubt that Fred Wilpon has any idea what you're talking about or which employee of an employee of an employee of his ordered the hats.
I beg you.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 06:01 PM
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="Gwreck"]| ="batmagadanleadoff"] when he built a Mets Stadium in the image of Ebbets Field and then decided to tack on a rotunda, -- one of its most prominent features -- in honor of a Dodger. |
You've got things a little mixed up. The rotunda wasn't tacked on; it was deliberately planned to be the part of the stadium that is built in the image of Ebbets Field. Nowhere else in the park is reminiscent of Ebbets.
Yes, Robinson was a Dodger. A perfunctory look inside the rotunda indicates that Robinson is being honored for much more than that.
| ]A Mets stadium is not the right place to honor a Dodger on a permanent basis -- any Dodger. |
Sorry, this Dodger's special. |
I was using the phrase "tack on" as a term of art, not literally. I understand that the rotunda wasn't a last minute afterthought but rather, a key design element of the new stadium. But my point remains the same, even if it was tacked on.
Yes, Jackie Robinson was very special. I agree. But let the Dodgers erect a Jackie Robinson rotunda.
We'll just have to disagree on this one. When I buy the Mets, and build my own stadium to replace Citi Field, things are gonna change.
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SteveJRogers
Mar 29 2009 06:26 PM
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| ="batmagadanleadoff"]
The Mets aren't, and shouldn't be the torch-bearers of the Dodgiant legacy, just as, likewise, the Dodgers need not erect a statute of Californian Tom Seaver. |
So, the Braves should take down the statue at The Ted honoring Georgian Ty Cobb?
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apmorris
Mar 29 2009 06:33 PM
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="batmagadanleadoff":b4so81jp]
We'll just have to disagree on this one. When I buy the Mets, and build my own stadium to replace Citi Field, things are gonna change.[/quote:b4so81jp]
Please name it Shea.
I think CitiField looks like a Good Ol' Timey Baseball Themed Amusement Park. Maybe great for a game but it has nothing to do the Modern Post-War New York that the Worlds Fair and the Mets (and Shea) were born out of, you know - the future they promised us that never happened? The Mets are NOT the History of Baseball team and that stadium would look a lot better in the middle of a strip mall in New Jersey - between Flinger's and Chotchkie's - than in the middle of a parking lot in Flushing Meadows.
It is way too backward looking and not forward looking enough.
I think.
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batmagadanleadoff
Mar 29 2009 06:35 PM
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="SteveJRogers"]| ="batmagadanleadoff"]
The Mets aren't, and shouldn't be the torch-bearers of the Dodgiant legacy, just as, likewise, the Dodgers need not erect a statute of Californian Tom Seaver. |
So, the Braves should take down the statue at The Ted honoring Georgian Ty Cobb? |
Not if they don't want to. Plus, the Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn statues are mitigating factors.
<img src="http://www.hagenspan.com/NYMHall/essays/WarSpa.jpg" width="500">
________________________
**Photo widths edited by admin on 3/29**
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apmorris
Mar 29 2009 07:56 PM
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| ]
the Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn statues |
they both have BRAVES on their jerseys (and statues) - just thought I'd point that out.
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soupcan
Mar 30 2009 07:10 AM
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="apmorris"]
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| ="Farmer Ted"]Yup, always one douchebag that opens an umbrella the size of Rhode Island inside the stadium. That effing thing hangs over three rows. |
I believe that there are some stadia that do not allow people to bring umbrellas inside.
Now that's a good rule.
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metirish
Mar 30 2009 07:13 AM
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See , I would be embarrassed to open one that size , or if the person I was with opened one like that.Is that even an umbrella , looks like something that one would use on the beach for shade.
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Benjamin Grimm
Mar 30 2009 07:15 AM
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I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan?
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soupcan
Mar 30 2009 07:16 AM
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Shit like that always amazes me.
You're in a stadium watching a game with people behind and next to you. You know you'll be blocking people's views. Why do some people feel so entitled to doing stuff like that?
Do they just not think? Are they stupid? Selfish? All of the above? I just don't understand that kind of behavior.
Pack a fucking poncho.
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Edgy DC
Mar 30 2009 07:25 AM
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Douchebag neighbors. Story of Soupy's life.
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soupcan
Mar 30 2009 07:28 AM
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So true.
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metirish
Mar 30 2009 07:51 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":1v08570j]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan?[/quote:1v08570j]
Good call , the sign was one of the first things that jumped out at me when they were showing highlights on the News.I am trying to remember what other stadium has a similar sign , Fenway?
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soupcan
Mar 30 2009 08:01 AM
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[url=http://www.stadiumpage.com/]Comerica in Detroit...[/url]
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SteveJRogers
Mar 30 2009 08:32 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":2n7rxdgz]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan?[/quote:2n7rxdgz]
An exact replica actually. Well except the recent Pepsi "dot" replaces the vintage Pepsi bottle from that iconic signage.
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soupcan
Mar 30 2009 08:44 AM
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="SteveJRogers"]| ="Benjamin Grimm"]I'm no fan of ads, but I kinda like that big Pepsi Cola sign. It's as much "advertising art" as it is advertising. Isn't it very similar to the vintage sign in Queens that can be seen from across the East River in Manhattan? |
An exact replica actually. Well except the recent Pepsi "dot" replaces the vintage Pepsi bottle from that iconic signage. |
Close but not 'exact'.
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G-Fafif
Mar 30 2009 11:01 AM
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Company-issued release:
| ]Pepsi gains branding rights to the name-entitled "Pepsi Porch," the 1,284-seat area in right field that extends over the playing field. This interactive brand showcase at the Pepsi Porch will immerse fans in a Mets and Pepsi experience with special entertainment programming broadcast to those in attendance and watching Mets games on SNY, the television home of the Mets. A 37-foot by 89-foot Pepsi sign, evocative of the iconic Pepsi-Cola sign facing Manhattan from Long Island City, will sit atop the Pepsi Porch. The sign will face into the ballpark and be visible from downtown Flushing and nearby highways and mass transit lines. |
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Benjamin Grimm
Mar 30 2009 11:12 AM
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I don't imagine that most fans will want to be "immersed in a Mets and Pepsi experience" while at the ballgame.
I know <i>I</i> wouldn't. I just want to watch the game, without any immersion at all.
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LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr
Mar 30 2009 11:13 AM
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Like the signage... mildly-- very mildly-- put off by the modern-Pepsi-dot-with-vintage-Pepsi-lettering juxtaposition of ad styles.
From the woulda-coulda-shoulda department: making the outfield "bridges" a little more evocative of the Triboro/Queensboro/Whitestone trifecta (not sure I buy the supposed Hell-Gate connection) would have made for a nice little architectural curlicue.
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OlerudOwned
Mar 30 2009 11:35 AM
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Wouldn't have minded immersing my eyes in Pepsi at the ends of the last two seasons.
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metirish
Mar 30 2009 11:41 AM
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The language of such releases are all the same , jeez sounds like I'll have the expreince of my life if only I was sitting in the Pepsi porch.
I do like Pepsi though
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Farmer Ted
Mar 30 2009 01:13 PM
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The Pepsi sign is a big FUCK YOU to Atlanta and Ted Turner's phallic Coke Bottle.
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John Cougar Lunchbucket
Apr 02 2009 01:31 PM
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Those pinball machines are too close to the wall, and one another, to be playable.
However, I think can whip Jose Reyes' butt on either table.
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themetfairy
Apr 02 2009 01:39 PM
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I love the pool table!
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DocTee
Apr 02 2009 01:41 PM
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The pool table is coin operated?
You can buy any of these items in 35 years when the Mets move to a new stadium. I call dibs on the leather recliners.
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soupcan
Apr 02 2009 01:59 PM
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This carpet is god-awful.
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Benjamin Grimm
Apr 02 2009 02:23 PM
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I agree. It's garish. It's nice that they're honoring Shea with the neon players, but those big grey baseballs are hideous.
The first thing I'd do is replace that carpet with something with a blue-and-orange 1960's Shea Stadium shingle pattern.
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Edgy DC
Apr 02 2009 02:27 PM
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I'd do a pattern based on an acne-covered back.
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soupcan
Apr 03 2009 10:44 AM
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Delgado, last night.
Cool, huh?
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Edgy DC
Apr 03 2009 10:51 AM
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How does the warning track soil/clay stay packed like that?
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Fman99
Apr 03 2009 10:53 AM
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="Benjamin Grimm":29ka38qg]I don't imagine that most fans will want to be "immersed in a Mets and Pepsi experience" while at the ballgame.
I know <i>I</i> wouldn't. I just want to watch the game, without any immersion at all.[/quote:29ka38qg]
Little known fact, the Jimi Hendrix Experience was originally known as the Mets and Pepsi Experience.
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metirish
Apr 03 2009 01:04 PM
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| ="soupcan"]Delgado, last night.
Cool, huh?
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Beautiful picture , one for the mantle I should think.
This story went with that picture in the NY Times
| ]
Mets Get a Late-Night Sneak Preview of Citi Field
By BEN SHPIGEL
Published: April 3, 2009
Out from the buses they spilled, marching through a gate, down a corridor and around a corner until, finally, there it was. Home. The Mets’ shiny, new clubhouse awaited. And as Carlos Delgado poked his head inside at about 10:55 p.m. Thursday, he surveyed the sheer size of it all and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the big leagues.”
His teammates, arriving at Citi Field fresh off a flight from Florida that landed two and a half hours late, followed suit, each more mesmerized than the next. After locating his locker, José Reyes opened a cabinet and wondered aloud how much clothes he could fit inside. Pedro Feliciano plopped into his ergonomic chair. Shaking his head, Razor Shines could manage only a “Wow.” Then he said it again.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Bobby Parnell said. “The other guys, they’re used to this.”
Their curiosity piqued, players wheeled their hand luggage to their lockers and started to explore. John Maine and Mike Pelfrey bounded down the steps, past the sprint track. “Mainer, you want to race?” Pelfrey said.
Ascending another set of stairs, they funneled into the dugout, joining Delgado and Carlos Beltrán. Everyone looked up, almost instinctively, and then out, to the fences, scoping out the dimensions.
Ryan Church, pointing toward the 415-foot marker in right-center field, told Delgado, “I don’t think they made it deep enough.”
For the occasion, the lights had been turned on — “I should have brought sunscreen,” Darren O’Day said — and the grass glistened. But with rain in the forecast for Friday, when the Mets are scheduled to play Boston in an exhibition game, a tarp lay over the infield, preventing Johan Santana and friends from climbing the mound. Undeterred, many of the pitchers walked in the grass toward right-center, toward the bullpen, as quickly as their suits and dress shoes would allow them. Every few feet, J. J. Putz stopped, pointed the camera on his cellphone and snapped. The Mets occupy the bottom level of the two-tiered bullpen — just as the Phillies do in their ballpark — and the bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello wandered in. Assessing where the plate will be, he got into a crouch for a few seconds.
As “In My Life” by the Beatles played, the lights suddenly went out. All part of the plan, explained Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer, as a montage of highlights, player introductions and construction footage played on the video screen. Luis Alicea, the first-base coach, spotted Wilpon and thanked him. “Beautiful,” Alicea told him. “Absolutely beautiful.”
When it ended, Wilpon escorted everyone into a tunnel behind the plate that led to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. As workers took a break from polishing the terrazzo floors, Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar Sr. walked slowly, taking time to read each of Robinson’s nine values, which are inscribed in the floor. Behind them, Putz slipped his feet into Robinson’s footprints. They matched.
“Size 14,” Putz said.
On the way back inside, Howard Johnson took a detour to show two of his apt pupils, Nick Evans and Daniel Murphy, the video room and the batting cage. Murphy gazed through the window. The door was locked.
“Tomorrow,” Murphy said.
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soupcan
Apr 03 2009 02:28 PM
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Stole this from baseball-fever.com...
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metirish
Apr 03 2009 02:30 PM
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That needs a lot of dents in it.....too shiny.
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Edgy DC
Apr 03 2009 02:38 PM
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Needs a top hat is what it needs.
Strikes me that a cool reverence to the polo grounds could have been done by putting a recess in the wall out there.
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