Citi Field

[robardin]

My prediction: the Mets will move aggressively on B. Molina and Bay for C and LF, re-sign Delgado for an incentive-laden one year deal plus an option (or even an incentive-rich two year deal with some kind of deferred payment structure), and pick up one, maybe two of the second-tier starters left. Seeing how much Randy Wolf got makes it fairly possible there will only be ONE pitcher picked up from the likes of Jason Marquis, Ben Sheets, etc.

Since Omar seems to love reclamation gambles, they should try to pick up C-M Wang. If he can bounce back not only would it be a good pickup, it would also be a measure of retribution for how the Yankees managed to slap their logo on players like David Cone, Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, Al Leiter, Robin Ventura... Not to mention the ready made large fan base they'd draw from the Chinese (and largely Taiwan-derived) population right there in Flushing that currently mostly ignores the Mets.

Let's not forget the setup man either. With Putz and Wagner both gone, who's setting up for K-Rod? Sean Green? Pedro Feliciano? Shall we try out Eddie Kunz again?

Matt Capps (erstwhile closer for the Pirates) just hit the market but has a lot of bidders...

[SparkyL]

The tour started in the Caesars Club . . .

No problemo...

Enter the 1st base VIP enterance. Go up to Ceasars Club, where there are refreshments, Mr. Met, and the 1969 and 1986 WS trophies. . . . .

Again, all in all it was a pretty great tour.

Thanks for the very detailed description of the tours.

The bottom line is that the CF tour absolutely blows the NYS tour away. In fact, with the Yankees clubhouse/dugout as the only area not open to the public on game day on the tour, I would call the NYS tour the NYS tease.

[tugger]

"This is a final reminder that the recent payment due date for Season Ticket renewals has passed. In response to many account holder requests for additional time in making payment, we have extended the deadline for payment to the end of the year."

"At which time you will be sent another final reminder that the recent due date for Season Ticket renewals has passed."

[Perseus71]

"This is a final reminder that the recent payment due date for Season Ticket renewals has passed. In response to many account holder requests for additional time in making payment, we have extended the deadline for payment to the end of the year."

"At which time you will be sent another final reminder that the recent due date for Season Ticket renewals has passed."

It's nice to see that the full season ticket holders are finally talking back to the Mets. They must have really hit a roadblock to have to make an announcement like this.

[Gary Dunaier]

I wonder where this *Pitcher* will be coming from???

[robardin]

If only he were left- handed!

[cringey]

So what will Season Ticket holders think now?
Cardinals offer Holliday 8 year 16-18 million per year contract.
Bay is waiting for Mariners to make their offer...
Looks like Omars big off season will be: Blanco, Cora, Coste, Hessman, and overpaying Molina for 3 years.

[Mongoose]

So what will Season Ticket holders think now?
Cardinals offer Holliday 8 year 16-18 million per year contract.
Bay is waiting for Mariners to make their offer...
Looks like Omars big off season will be: Blanco, Cora, Coste, Hessman, and overpaying Molina for 3 years.

http://www.keepcash.com/coupons/freds/

[BayonneMetsfan]

If yesterday's events don't illustrate any clearer that this ownership does not care about winning and does not care about you, the fans, I don't know what else will. It's time for us to stop wallowing in our self pity waiting for this pathetic regime to save our franchise. These incompetent fools couldn't save themselves from a bucket of crap. It is time to ACT. DO NOT BUY TICKETS TO METS GAMES IN 201O UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Citi Field NEEDS to be as EMPTY AS POSSIBLE in 2010. It's the only way the Coupons will ever get it. They won't go the extra mile, they won't make the effort acquire the players we need to win a championship, I don't think they have the slightest clue how to operate a professional franchise. Does anyone actually believe these clowns have even the slightest ability to run a lemonade stand at this point never mind a supposed major league operation? HOW THE HELL are the Philadelphia Phillies able to outmaneuver us for premiere talent on multiple occasions? As of two years ago, the Phillies were no different from the Cincinnati Reds. Think about that. They were the Cincinnati Reds. Now look. But whatever. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT'S TIME TO ACT. We need protests. We need demonstrations. We need to make Citi Field as empty as possible and we need to force Fred and Jeff Coupon to SELL THE METS NOW.

[Jim Vaz]

If yesterday's events don't illustrate any clearer that this ownership does not care about winning and does not care about you, the fans, I don't know what else will. It's time for us to stop wallowing in our self pity waiting for this pathetic regime to save our franchise. These incompetent fools couldn't save themselves from a bucket of crap. It is time to ACT. DO NOT BUY TICKETS TO METS GAMES IN 201O UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Citi Field NEEDS to be as EMPTY AS POSSIBLE in 2010. It's the only way the Coupons will ever get it. They won't go the extra mile, they won't make the effort acquire the players we need to win a championship, I don't think they have the slightest clue how to operate a professional franchise. Does anyone actually believe these clowns have even the slightest ability to run a lemonade stand at this point never mind a supposed major league operation? HOW THE HELL are the Philadelphia Phillies able to outmaneuver us for premiere talent on multiple occasions? As of two years ago, the Phillies were no different from the Cincinnati Reds. Think about that. They were the Cincinnati Reds. Now look. But whatever. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT'S TIME TO ACT. We need protests. We need demonstrations. We need to make Citi Field as empty as possible and we need to force Fred and Jeff Coupon to SELL THE METS NOW.

I will agree with you that the fans should be asked and urged to stay away, i
its the only way we can put any hurt on those bufoons.

Ok though, the 2007 Phillies were hardly the Reds.
Lets face it, Phillies were building that thing for a while. So we won the 2006 NL east, big deal they were already on the rise and rising fast.
They also have a competent organization and general manager who knew how to build a team from within, and this is why they are able to continue to add pieces, and the reason why we had one of the worst teams in 2009 and still can't make many moves, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOTHING good to give up. Our system is shot, there is nothing good coming up or thaty anyone really wants.

Back on topic...

[lorwood]

Instead of running to Home Depot to buy a few gallons of orange and blue paint they should have tiled the stairwells with mosaics of great Mets moments.

Of course this would cost more money so as with all things owned by the coupons cheap is better!

[Jim Vaz]

Instead of running to Home Depot to buy a few gallons of orange and blue paint they should have tiled the stairwells with mosaics of great Mets moments.

Of course this would cost more money so as with all things owned by the coupons cheap is better!

Well since they already have the banners on the outside of the stadium as well as the added the pictures through the concourse areas it would be sort of repetitive to have more of the same pictures in the stairwell.

As far as I'm concerned its a stairwell, whatever is there doesn't really matter.

[Tullydew]

If yesterday's events don't illustrate any clearer that this ownership does not care about winning and does not care about you, the fans, I don't know what else will. It's time for us to stop wallowing in our self pity waiting for this pathetic regime to save our franchise. These incompetent fools couldn't save themselves from a bucket of crap. It is time to ACT. DO NOT BUY TICKETS TO METS GAMES IN 201O UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. Citi Field NEEDS to be as EMPTY AS POSSIBLE in 2010. It's the only way the Coupons will ever get it. They won't go the extra mile, they won't make the effort acquire the players we need to win a championship, I don't think they have the slightest clue how to operate a professional franchise. Does anyone actually believe these clowns have even the slightest ability to run a lemonade stand at this point never mind a supposed major league operation? HOW THE HELL are the Philadelphia Phillies able to outmaneuver us for premiere talent on multiple occasions? As of two years ago, the Phillies were no different from the Cincinnati Reds. Think about that. They were the Cincinnati Reds. Now look. But whatever. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IT'S TIME TO ACT. We need protests. We need demonstrations. We need to make Citi Field as empty as possible and we need to force Fred and Jeff Coupon to SELL THE METS NOW.

Citi Field wont be empty. Fans will buy tickets on Stub Hub for half price this year from all the fools who actually have season ticket plans.

Just dont buy tickets from the Mets directly, buy from the fans for 1/2 the price.

[GordonGecko]

Sure. The pics really do it no justice though. You have to see the stairwell in its entirety.

Those walls are painted in a dark hue of Orange and Blue, which makes them look very nice and appropriate. It's when you go into those brighter fluorescent shades that it begins to look tacky. Good job by the Mets

[headshoes]

Just got a sneak peak of the 2010 promotional schedule:

4/5 -- Throw in the towel day.. Each fan will receive a white towel to throw onto the field prior to the start of the game and 2010 season.

5/21 -- Omar Minaya Dunk Tank Day -- Frustrated with the team, its roster and everything else. Come on out to Citi Field and throw $5 Baseballs at Omar in the tank! Tell him, how you really feel!

7/11 -- Free Slurpees to all in attendance..

9/13 -- Jay Horowitz Bobble Head Day... Need I say more..

9/10-9/12 "Champage Series" -- Korbel is the sponsor here.. Come on out to Citi Field where you will get a chance to see a team CELEBRATE at Citi Field.
(It will not be the Mets... as they are playing the Phillies.)

All Home games will include 1 *LUCKY* Fan to come out and pitch the 8th inning...

[GordonGecko]

http://www.keepcash.com/coupons/freds/

don't quit your day job

[Mongoose]

don't quit your day job

I wasn't especially trying for laffs; I was just trying to succinctly point out that Fred is cheap - and that while charging fans the highest prices in the league. But it's a special, stupid cheapness. Fred will be too cheap to sign Mike Mussina (for example) and then wind up signing Kevin Appier at almost the same price. It's irritating to watch.

But didn't you quit your day job? I forget: was it to join the Peace Corps or was it to bring the world more joy as a full time ticket scalper?

[chedda man]

guys Im in no position to tell people how to spend their money, but you have to be a moron to shell out any kind of dough to the Mets this season. I pity those who will buy tickets and support this disgrace of an organization who cares more about Sandy Koufax than winning a Championship.

[ribant]

I get the marketingese of making the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and even the Weekend plans "+". After all the weekday games are thrown in without any charge above full face price.

But weekday+? What's the plus there?

[headshoes]

Omar taking matters into his own hands.. literally..

I am the BIG BOPPER you all been waiting for!!

[Gary Dunaier]

[robardin]

This is probably revisiting a topic long settled by long-time BBF'ers, but I only came across this site/thread earlier this year.

I remember before Citi Field opened that many sources (ultimately fed from Dave Howard, Mets Executive VP of Operations) reported that the view from the the (presumably lowest) seats in Prom Reserved would be the equivalent of the (presumably back rows of) Mezzanine Reserved level at Shea. ...

Is that true, though? My first time in Citi Field, I sat in Section 331 Row 9, and my impression of the view of the field was that they were about the same as Mezz Box. ...

I eventually found this enlightening schematic provided by nymdan back in mid-2007:




If I read this correctly, the [height of the] back few rows of the Excelsior level correspond almost exactly with the former Mezz Box seats. Prom Box/Club at Citi Field correspond almost exactly with the height of the front few rows of Mezz Reserved, but pushed forward by about 35 feet or so (which is considerably closer). Or, if you think of it the other way around, as if you took Mezz Box seats and raised them to the level of Mezz Reserved, while also moving forward towards the field ever-so-slightly.

And Prom Reserved... Really is very similar to Upper Box/Upper Reserved more than anything else. Yes, the front few rows of Prom Reserved are at the same height as the back rows of Mezz Reserved while being closer to the field, but the same was true of Upper Box already at Shea.

Total distance-wise (point to point, like if you held a rope from home plate to your seat), sitting in Rows 1-3 of Prom Reserved appears to be about the same distance as sitting at about Row C of Mezz Reserved at Shea, but at a steeper angle by about 5 degrees. Which is not rewally that bad a comparison.

By analogy, Prom Club is Mezz Box moved higher and a bit closer.

Again this may be old hat, but was new to me: from reading another BBF thread on "ballparks that were never built", I found stadiumpages.com and ultimately this very useful schematic that superimposes Citi Field onto Shea Stadium from above (see below).

The cutaway view from the side I found before appears to be from behind home plate. The further out you go, the farther away the seats at Shea become relative to Citi Field's seats -- because Shea was a circular bowl, while the stands at Citi Field "hug the field". This must be what the Mets mean by a "more intimate" view of the park, and by that measure I have to admit now that they are right, especially on the 3B side.

Once you go past a line drawn from 2B to 3B extending into the stands, the worst seats at Citi Field (Row 17 of the Prom Reserved) are as close as, or closer than, even the frontmost rows of the Upper Level used to be -- or, equivalently, the rearmost rows of Mezz Reserved, but without an Upper Level covering them and pushed forward towards the field. The further you go, the closer you are.

Let me put this another way. People have often commented here, and bitterly, that as soon as you start moving farther away from the line directly behind home plate at Citi Field, you begin losing the line of sight down the foul line to the foul pole on that side of the field. This is simply a fact. By the time you're even one or two sections off from dead center, you're losing some of the warning track, and then part of the outfield grass, and then more of the outfield grass; by the time you get all the way to the foul pole, you're missing about 25-30 square feet of the outfield grass plus the warning track in the very corner of the outfield.

Now this is certainly annoying, but (a) it is the cost of actually being CONSIDERABLY closer to the field than at Shea, and (b) as I've shown in other pictures from seats down the line, it happened at Shea also, you just had to move farther from home to start noticing.

Everyone complaining here that bitterly about how the views from their seats are so much worse at Citi Field than at Shea must have been spoiled from sitting in the innermost quarter or third of seats and in Mezz Box or Loge Reserved/Box by dint of having plans from way back -- a vocal minority of affected fans (who would also be in the best position to notice, from having been to so many games). My own Saturday plan seats at Shea (since 1999) were in Mezz Reserved, and I never got a plan any closer to the infield than MR 17 row G (other locations were in MR sections 23 row J and MR 20 row F). Looking at these charts combined, those seats would most closely map to around Rows 1-4 of Prom Reserved in height or a little lower, but set farther back from the field.

Here's that aerial superimposition of Citi Field (in blue) on Shea (in gray), with my Sat Plan seats in MR 17 Row F and MR 20 Row G circled and labeled in RED, and my seats at Citi Field in Section 332 Row 3 and 518 Row 2 circled in GREEN.



While by elevation from the ground they'd be in the first few rows of the Prom Reserved at Citi Field, in terms of being set back from the field, my old seats would be COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BALLPARK! That's pretty eye-opening.

[ETA: I see now I'd mislabeled where Section 332 is -- the schematic overlaying Shea on top of Citi Field was done before the Acela Club was designed in, and my green circle/arrow for 332 should be moved over another box or so, as Section 333 was cut in half for the Acela club.]


And finally, those seats would be CHEAPER at Citi Field: to sit in Prom Reserved Infield (Section 518 Row 2, where I am/will be now) is slightly cheaper (at an average season cost of $24.26) than sitting in those Mezz Reserved seats were back in 2006, which cost $25.49 on average (ant they would have cost considerably more in 2008, at $32.63). If I were to get seats equivalent to my last Saturday Plan in MR Section 20 Row F at Citi Field, that'd be about Section 525 (in the back rows at that), which would cost an average of $18.41 per seat.

I've been guilty of griping and grousing about the view from my seats and how being relegated to Promenade Reserved is such a ripoff... But no longer will I do so. The data speaks for itself, unless I'm looking at these diagrams wrong, in which case please enlighten me... But otherwise, I will eat my sarcasm and henceforth SHUT UP about the "bad sightlines in the infield" at Citi Field. I would rather lose the corner (and miss seeing what, 5-10 plays all year, mostly of the foul ball variety?) and sit that much closer to the field for the location, than have what I used to have at Shea.

[Shea1012]

I wasn't especially trying for laffs; I was just trying to succinctly point out that Fred is cheap - and that while charging fans the highest prices in the league.

Can you explain to me just how the highest payroll in the NJ makes the owners cheap? Poor decision makers, perhaps, but cheap? This is the same team that traded and extended Johan, got Beltran, Pedro, K-Rod, Putz, Wagner, etc. Obviously, the moves haven't resulted in a title - but there are 30 other teams in baseball trying to sign players - we can't just sign every single FA and trade for every single available A+ player out there. It really confuses me as to why anyone would call the ownership cheap, it's simply not true from where I sit.

[ribant]

Can you explain to me just how the highest payroll in the NJ makes the owners cheap? Poor decision makers, perhaps, but cheap? This is the same team that traded and extended Johan, got Beltran, Pedro, K-Rod, Putz, Wagner, etc. Obviously, the moves haven't resulted in a title - but there are 30 other teams in baseball trying to sign players - we can't just sign every single FA and trade for every single available A+ player out there. It really confuses me as to why anyone would call the ownership cheap, it's simply not true from where I sit.

Shea,

You hit it right on the nose.

The Wilpons are not cheap. They do try to get the most bang for thier buck, as any smart business owner should. But in the end they open the wallet.

However, I don't think they are the best judges of talent or give the slightest damn about clubhouse chemistry.

And what really makes them look bad is the other NY team spends like crazy, judges talent better, and since King George finally shut his mouth around 1995 created a clubhouse players want to join.

And with all that spending and dynasty hoopla most years they barely won the wild card.

[dstoffa]

And what really makes them look bad is the other NY team spends like crazy, judges talent better, and since King George finally shut his mouth around 1995 created a clubhouse players want to join.

And with all that spending and dynasty hoopla most years they barely won the wild card.

Well, one big difference between Queens and the Bronx is that the Bronx knows / admits that they made a mistake, and will eat those mistake signings / bad contracts if needed. The Queens folks would never do that.

Cheers!
-Doug