Gwreck

They used to be a bit more lenient but apparently the new park is only going to allow "small purses" or "small backpack purses," and the only beverages you can bring in are "factory-sealed bottles of water."

They do indeed have the policy of keeping the fans in their seat area. It's disgusting. As for the merit to the suit, the civil rights violation comes from the police being the ones to enforce the policy. The officers in question definitely kicked this guy out of the stadium and used physical force to do so. The news accounts when this happened last August were of the police claiming that the guy was drunk and disorderly and using profanity while the guy claimed all he said was "I don't care about God Bless America, I just need to use the bathroom." (News link here). Believe who you will, but my experience tells me that if the plaintiff does indeed have that additional witness (mentioned in the story above) on board, NYC will be paying out some bucks in a settlement on this case. Liability as to the Yankees is limited.

The thing that got me about the flyover was the juxtaposition with the Mets talking about how Citi Field was a "green" ballpark. Yes, I know the Mets and the Military are separate entities. But it got me wondering about how much fuel was wasted by doing the flyover.

I think I see Zeile in there too, in the center of the photograph, to the left of Dave Wallace's head.

The only place I see there being a disputed home run problem is on the left side of centerfield, where the wall and the stands come together. Everywhere else seemed to be pretty clear that the line was just on the top of the wall and wasn't there to split a wall between home run and in-play. Have no problem with the home run line topping the wall for aesthetic purposes. --- One other thing I forgot to mention were the ridiculous tarps that extended over the bullpens and blocked the view of the relievers. Makes no sense to have put the bullpens in a highly visible spot in the stadium if they were just going to block them later.

I tried for forget that Sweet Caroline ever happened. It got so heavily booed from my section that I couldn't tell if the sheep were singing along in the rest of the park. I think part of the problem with Seaver and Piazza is that they weren't properly introduced. The PA wasn't loud enough for much of the game/pregame ceremonies.

How many future Mets' uniformed personnel can you spot in that photo? I think I see 5.

themetfairy wrote: Um, er, we were actually in the Ebbets Club. So we probably used the same staircase, but starting from different levels. I did scope out the egress from our regular Promenade level seats, though - there's a ramp and a staircase nearby. As opposed to getting out of the upper tiers of Citizens Bank, this is much, much better designed. I don't think the Ebbets Club seats had the same staircase. Don't those seats exit to the field-level concourse? There is indeed a ramp from the Promenade that goes out at left field. But that's the only one in the stadium, I think. People on the right field side and in the infeld aren't so lucky.

Edit: Duplicate post.

themetfairy wrote: Back from the game. Too tired to think, although I thought there was a good number of staircases for post-game egress. Do you mind me asking where you were sitting? We are in the upper level directly behind home. Either of the two staircases were disasters. The wait was several minutes just to get into the staircases and then a very slow walk down. Not much pushing but if this is what it was like after a game it gives me pause as to what might happen if an emergency evacuation was needed.

Wright 4 Castillo 1 Green 1 Putz 1 Rodriguez 1

Yes, it was indeed there, with Bill Shea Jr. and a couple of other family members presenting it to Jerry.

I was there. Not much fun aside from the Wright home run. I didn't see much in the IGT about Reyes stupidly getting thrown out at second after his leadoff single in the 3rd. I felt that was a big momentum killer. He was very close -- and may have slid off the bag -- but it was still a really stupid thing to do, considering we were down 3 at the time. I didn't care much for Jerry's bullpen management in this game. When Stokes came in, I figured him for a two inning stint and not for righty matchups. Pregame introductions featured Cliff Floyd getting a very nice standing ovation from the Shea crowd and him appearing to be very touched by the gesture. Nice hat tip from Cliff. Heath Bell lustily booed (he also tipped his cap while grinning); Duaner got a mixture. No heavy booing for the Mets players. Biggest cheers to David, Jose and Rodriguez. (Granted, Johan was not there. He was mentioned but it was tough to hear over the PA at that point). Seaver and Piazza walking in from the bullpen was a nice touch but the moment was a little bit lost given how much other stuff was going on on the field at that time. No introductions/mention of Doc, Darryl, Rusty, etc. I am pleased to report that the Shea family did present the good-luck floral wreath to Jerry Manuel. It's still taking a while to get used to the new park. Having now been there several times, I think they really make a mistake by not having enough escalators. Big bottlenecks on the stairs while leaving.

You know who else -- and I totally forgot this too -- is on the Padres this year? Cliff Floyd.

In fairness to you, I remember Wright hitting his homer in Pittsburgh in the all-whites, and Piazza catching you-know-who in Houston in '04 in the all-whites as well. Although I still would strongly disagree with the sentiment that the all-white is the Mets "dominant" uniform.

="batmagadanleadoff"]I'd like to see the pinstripes as well, but I'm not expecting them. The snow whites are the Mets dominant uniform. That's the version their All Stars wear whenever the National League hosts the contest. Not always.

I wonder if there will be the "good luck" floral wreath presentation tonight. Saw no reference to it in the press notes.

When I went, they were the replicas, not the authentics, that had the good patch.

We already know it'll be the Domino's patch. I do expect to see blue hats and pinstripes, however, or else Charlie Samuels should be fired.

="G-Fafif":1j14ng15]I instinctively approve all Met retaliation, proactive or otherwise, but my gut tells me you beat teams by outplaying them. Any thoughts?[/quote:1j14ng15] I think we do that at home rather than in their park. Edgy DC Apr 13 2009 08:45 AM ="G-Fafif":186wiib5]Matter raised in my e-mail group that I have to admit didn't occur to me all weekend: somebody should have slid hard or come inside to send a message/retaliate for last September, the way they celebrated on our field and such, and in general for taking such glee in eliminating us. I can't imagine this bunch of Mets doing anything like that, from the manager down to the stars, the starting pitchers, anybody save maybe for a cranky reliever or two but then you're worried about protecting a lead. I instinctively approve all Met retaliation, proactive or otherwise, but my gut tells me you beat teams by outplaying them. Any thoughts?[/quote:186wiib5] Did the Victor Diaz GameTM actually elminate the Cubs or merely break their spirits? And did the Mets inappropriately over-celebrate? John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 13 2009 08:46 AM Yes, they should outplay them. Which sort of supports my denouncing of Jerry's passive approach to, you know, scoring enough runs to defeat them. The more I think about it the madder I get. Sixth inning, new releif pitcher in, and he gives up a home run and single. Do we keep the music playing? No, we purposefully make an out to set up... Castillo? With a chance only to tie it? And when he makes an out, not on purpose, they can sidestep Sheff. Stupid Jerry. G-Fafif Apr 13 2009 08:50 AM ="Edgy DC":jat6uws2]="G-Fafif":jat6uws2]Matter raised in my e-mail group that I have to admit didn't occur to me all weekend: somebody should have slid hard or come inside to send a message/retaliate for last September, the way they celebrated on our field and such, and in general for taking such glee in eliminating us. I can't imagine this bunch of Mets doing anything like that, from the manager down to the stars, the starting pitchers, anybody save maybe for a cranky reliever or two but then you're worried about protecting a lead. I instinctively approve all Met retaliation, proactive or otherwise, but my gut tells me you beat teams by outplaying them. Any thoughts?[/quote:jat6uws2] Did the Victor Diaz GameTM actually elminate the Cubs or merely break their spirits? And did the Mets inappropriately over-celebrate?[/quote:jat6uws2] Spirit-breaking was the event in '04. Don't recall an overwhelming celebration. Hope Diaz is seeing something for his trademark. Listen, you win and you can do what you want. This is the franchise that perfected the curtain call and created the Festival of the Handshake. The Marlins made a big deal of eliminating the Mets a second time? Don't let 'em do that: the winning, that is. I didn't notice the excessive celebration until the "GET OFF THE FIELD!" chant started. It's sad when the fans have to show the indignation for the team, I suppose, but I'd prefer the Mets show their teeth as they cross the plate. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Apr 13 2009 08:51 AM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":uyqcgzju] So in summary, I'm actually pretty satisfied with most of our team but strongly disagree with the way Jerry wussed us out of Friday's game.[/quote:uyqcgzju] More or less with you, Lunchpail... Speaking of wussing out, is it me, or has Jerry gone a little Willie on us with the bullpen usage? Between playing righty-lefty with Stokes and Feliciano, sticking to one-and-done inning limits for guys like Parnell or Stokes (even in long-man/mop-up situations), and 23 (!) appearances in 6 games, I'm mildly disturbed. (The fact that this comes after a springtime of this-is-a-changed-bullpen and pitchers-who-can-pitch-to-everybody happy talk deepens that disturbance a touch.) ="G-Fafif":uyqcgzju]I instinctively approve all Met retaliation, proactive or otherwise, but my gut tells me you beat teams by outplaying them. Any thoughts?[/quote:uyqcgzju] I like the idea of doing this in their house-- something about Joe Player Dolphin stadium makes me wish the Mets would go wrestling-heel in this place. Edgy DC Apr 13 2009 08:52 AM Even the book says not to play for a tie on the road. More conservative than the book is pretty conservative. Jerry keeping Rodriguez out of the game and losing with O'Day is also a frustration. Randolph and Manuel ain't black and white. GYC Apr 13 2009 11:19 AM I ironically felt better about this series than the first one, even with the lesser results. Go figure. The big thing for me, though, is probably that I only saw one game in its entirety, so that lessens the frustration. metsmarathon Apr 13 2009 11:23 AM ="Edgy DC":1gx6ofkt]Randolph and Manuel ain't black and white.[/quote:1gx6ofkt] i would've considered them black and black.

First Hit: Reyes First double: Church, of course First Triple: None today First Home Run: Delgado First walk drawn: Beltran First strikeout Victim: Adrian Gonzalez First run scored: Reyes First Met booed: Castillo

Pregame Festivities: Seaver and Piazza for first pitch. Other Mets: Doc, Darryl, Rusty, John Franco plus Ralph Kiner. National anthem to be sung by cast of "West Side Story." 200 Veterans presenting the giant flag during the anthem. Flyover of four US Marine F18 Hornets.

Beltran 2.5 Maine 2 Church 1.5 Putz 1 Reed 1 Murphy 1

Santana 5 Parnell 1