Mets vs. Your-Name-Here Stadium

[metsmarathon]

metirish wrote: My first reaction was to think it was Wright.

wright would never wear that shade of lipstick

[metsmarathon]

having been to both, i like citi better than that other place in the city. i just think it could have been better. they did a good job with the architectural details on the metal work in the outfield / scoreboard area, and i really like the bridge, but on the intereior of the stadium, it's fairly lacking, and feels cramped. i don't know that it could be better, of course, it just felt plain on the inside. and the staricases are utterly dreary.

say what you will, the rotunda is nicely done for what it is, and i like hte exterior.

i love that the marlins went modern. we need more modern, stylish baseball stadiums.

oh, apparently, the new marlins park plays big, or at least it played big yesterday for stanton, who hit a pair of 400-ft bombs that found the outfielders' glove. i wonder how much that will play in to the way their season unfolds. the bigness of citi sure had been blamed for many of the metsies' ills, hadn't it?

[Ceetar]

I love Citi. Maybe I'm just biased, I dunno. I love the Bridge particularly, and the building behind it is nice too if downplayed and I love the way it randomly reflects things on sunny days. The Pepsi Porch is nice too, and a lot of those things do fit with the overall 'NYC' theme of it.

I've long since accepted advertising is going to ruin everything and to expect big glaring ads everywhere and I just look past them. Like I said earlier, I loved the pennants on the walls (and on the flag poles) but those things were probably gone by the time I was 10.

I like and I don't like Marlins park, and I Feel like I should give it a visit before I truly judge it. I like the old Orange Bowl sign being dropped into the concourse like oranges fallen off trees (was that the intent?) even though I have not even the slightest interest in the actual Orange Bowl.

The HR thing is gaudy and ridiculous. but fine, whatever right? The aquariums..I dunno..it's neat in a way but I just internally cringe about the care and condition of the fish.

The advertising on the board is done nicely though, yes, but I wonder if they're done putting advertising up, if they're still trying to hold out for 'higher' offers, and if they'll keep it like that if say Tropicana offers them enough money but it HAS TO be like _this_. And I agree with Edgy about the convention center thing. Also, the trapezoid is still bothering me.

But then the silly dancers/cheerleaders/champagne chandelier .. but that's Miami, and I also hate Miami/Florida so it's probably built into that.


YSIII is a mall.

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Did the Marlins tip their hand? Is that David Wright, Andy Warhol style, in a Marlins cap on the scoreboard?

I'm pretty sure that's [crossout]Mike[/crossout] Giancarlo Stanton.

[batmagadanleadoff]

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Does it help your opinion of the place or hurt it to hear Loria waxing about how the green is supposed to be a Joan Miro tribute?

Jackholishness aside (and Lord knows, he oozes it from every orifice), I'm fairly certain I would have rather had his eye overlooking Citi's construction than, say, Jeffy's.

[Edgy MD]

He's a rich dilettante art dealer. He feels an emptiness where his soul should be and he tries to fill it by using his millions to buy and sell scraps from the tables of those who did have a shining soul. Drops his millions to buy into the legacy Mir� dreamed up in his own glorious head.

Nits. Any fool can order a mix of paint.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Oh, totally agreed. I'm just saying, he's happened to push out a much less shtick-y, more-interesting ball yard than our extraneous-outfield-nook-benighted, last-of-the-retros number.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: I love Citi. Maybe I'm just biased, I dunno. I love the Bridge particularly, and the building behind it is nice too if downplayed and I love the way it randomly reflects things on sunny days. The Pepsi Porch is nice too, and a lot of those things do fit with the overall 'NYC' theme of it.

God bless you. You're OK in my book. (I think).

[batmagadanleadoff]

More Bobblehead Museum fan video while the ballpark sound system goes all psychedilc with Disraeli Gears sounds and then some MonkeeMusik.

41CS7WpQhjU

Between that music, that scoreboard, and that bobblehead display, I'm there this year, Jose or no Jose.

[batmagadanleadoff]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Bobblehead Museum fan videos [youtube]aXRXH9haZZk[/youtube]

I count at least 12 one time Mets Bobble-headed in this video (none in a Met uni) and one Bobble that looks like a one time Met but the uniform number on that Bobble would be wrong if it represented the one time Met I'm thinking of.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Bobblehead Museum fan videos [youtube]aXRXH9haZZk[/youtube] I count at least 12 one time Mets Bobble-headed in this video (none in a Met uni) and one Bobble that looks like a one time Met but the uniform number on that Bobble would be wrong if it represented the one time Met I'm thinking of.

Best part of about the bobble display is that it moves so the heads all bobble. That's cool!

[batmagadanleadoff]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Bobblehead Museum fan videos [youtube]aXRXH9haZZk[/youtube] I count at least 12 one time Mets Bobble-headed in this video (none in a Met uni) and one Bobble that looks like a one time Met but the uniform number on that Bobble would be wrong if it represented the one time Met I'm thinking of. Best part of about the bobble display is that it moves so the heads all bobble. That's cool!

And the 12 one time Mets bobbling in the Bobblehead Museum are:

Carlos Beltran (Royals)
Henry Blanco (Twins)
Mike Piazza (A's)
Rickey Henderson (A's)
Joe Torre (Yanks)
Frank Viola (Twins)
Yogi Berra (Yanks)
Cliff Floyd (Marlins)
Jeff Conine (Marlins)
Luis Castillo (Marlins)
Jeff Reardon (Twins)
Hideo Nomo (Dodgers)

I also thought I saw a Ron Gardenhire (Twins) bobblehead, but the bobble's uni # is 36, not Gardy's 35.

[Guest themetfairy]

We just got back from a quick trip to Miami to check out the new place. I'll post pictures in the next day or two - it's going to take me a little while to go through them.

The place has its pros and cons. The retractable roof was an important feature - it poured Friday night, but that didn't affect the game at all. It was humid inside with the roof closed, but reasonably comfortable. The roof was open last night, which was much nicer. The Bobblehead Museum is kitchy but fun, and there's something for everyone in the collection. The monstrosity in the outfield only goes into motion for home runs, so we didn't see it in action. There's a club called The Clevelander which is like the Modell's Zone meets Mardi Gras - truly wild, and catering to those who show up at the ballpark but who have no interest in baseball.

As far as the basics go, the seats are comfortable and the sightlines are good. Friday's game was not quite a sellout, but very full. But there were a lot of empty seats for last night's game, despite the fact that they had post-game fireworks. The crowd was loud and enthusiastic, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone wearing clothing that was purchased prior to a week and a half ago. The food was expensive but good, with lots of bars spread out throughout the ballpark.

All in all, it was a good place to watch a game. The place has its quirks, but it certainly owns them, for better or worse.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Sounds like fun! Looking forward to your photos.

[Guest themetfairy]

Thanks michigan

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

It's a week at the new place, and they're having problems selling out?

I'm reminded of a BillyWags quote, and it isn't "Know your place, Rook."

[Guest themetfairy]

Not a week. They had the one game, and then went on the road, so this was the team's first weekend home series.

And yeah, they didn't sell out.

[Guest themetfairy]

Here are some pictures from the place -


The plaza outside is pretty nice -



The roof was closed Friday night, due to the rain. The sculpture is pretty bizarre looking up close (we didn't get to see it in action - they don't play it before games, during the 7th inning stretch or after wins, and we didn't see any home runs while we were there) -









I love the Bobblehead Museum -







The Clevelander is an odd area for a ballpark. It's like the Modell's Zone meets Mardi Gras, with bars and a pool. You have to be 21 to enter, and I doubt anyone down there really cared about the game -



Billy the Marlin was circulating in the late innings -




After Friday's extra inning game there was a concert by Daddy Yankee. Despite the name he was pretty good, but since we had a long day we didn't stay too long -



The roof was open on Saturday, which was lovely -






And the post-game fireworks show was nice. Not spectacular, but nice -

[metsmarathon]

i'm really kindof shocked that all the structural bits of the miami spectacle are exposed, and that they're so inartfully done. it's like they built the art pieces and then decided to make it move. and then when they built it it fell down, so they had to tack on some additional structural supports.

i don't understand why the mechanism for the jumping flipping marlin is exposed like that, especially since behind it is a prime pedestrian space. if it was up against a wall where only maintenance folk could see it, fine, but this way, it's only art from one side.

the tacked on support bars on the orange bit are especially bad. that could easily have been built into the structure, or at least better hidden. shit, paint it orange on the back at least. it just looks like they panicked and grabbed whatever leftover structural members thay had lying around the worksite.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Awesome photos, Fairy!!!!

I love the view of the Miami skyline.

Yeah, the exposed mechanism is ugly, but it took the Mets a year to get Citi tidied up and improved. These are little touches.

[MFS62]

Nice pictures, MF.
Michigan, isn't it in the rules somewhere that all photos of downtown skylines taken from baseball parks must include a Budweiser sign? It may be a law in some States.

Later

[Guest themetfairy]

Thanks guys

[metsmarathon]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Awesome photos, Fairy!!!! I love the view of the Miami skyline. Yeah, the exposed mechanism is ugly, but it took the Mets a year to get Citi tidied up and improved. These are little touches.

i dunno.. its kinda like if htey'd only designed half a black hat for the apple to come out of, and you could see the mechanicals from behind it. or if the big ol' 42 and a big ol' angle iron holding it in place at the bottom.

really, it's as if it was designed never to be seen from behind, only they placed it in the stadium such that it could.

they are little touches, sure, and they're much more the fault of the artist, who clearly forgot that people could see the back of his spectacle, rather than the marlins. i'm just really surprised by it, is all. i get that nobody really ever looks at the back of a painting, but this is a 3-d structural work, meant to be seen from all angles. the artist should be ashamed that it came out looking so unfinished.

this is more than a stairwell needing some fresh paint, or some signage late to come up. these are large parts that surely would be a pain to install in a working ballpark. maybe they got delayed, i guess, and will be slapped in on a long road trip...

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I guess we'll see how it plays soon enough but already talk that the players are unhappy with how the ball is carrying there. If it keeps guys like Stanton neutralized for a while then that's OK with me.

[Ceetar]

They probably didn't tell the designer where the monstrosity would be going, so he figured against a wall since it'd be beyond the wall.

They didn't even consider if it would be distracting to batters when placing it though, so clearly not a lot of thought went into it.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I'd bet anything that the exposed mechanism was (ahem) by design. Totally calculated, every step of the way. What? No body ever saw anything like this before? Like the exposed gears on some wristwatches or clocks? Or the exposed chain, chainstay and pulley on a bicycle?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: They probably didn't tell the designer where the monstrosity would be going, so he figured against a wall since it'd be beyond the wall. They didn't even consider if it would be distracting to batters when placing it though, so clearly not a lot of thought went into it.

Why would it be distracting to a batter? Why would it be any more distracting than the Mets home run apple?

[Ceetar]

the home run apple is a black box and invisible normally. This is a light colored monstrosity in the field of vision.

I'm only saying it because it became a concern during the exhibition games. It seems like it ultimately wasn't an issue, but it was brought up by a couple of hitters.

[Guest themetfairy]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I guess we'll see how it plays soon enough but already talk that the players are unhappy with how the ball is carrying there. If it keeps guys like Stanton neutralized for a while then that's OK with me.

We never saw the thing in action because they only mobilize it for home runs. There were a couple of shots that we were sure would be out on Friday and Saturday that just died in the outfield (although I understand that we missed a couple of homers yesterday).