Shannon Shark @metspolice – Page 4292

July 22, 2008

Yankee Stadium Neanderthals

I debated on whether to write about this for a while, but ultimately decided I should address this. First let me say I am first and foremost a baseball fan. The Mets are my favorite team, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate and respect history and players from other teams. Yes, I do root against the Yankees, but at the same time I acknowledge their players and revere their history. How can any true fan of the game not honor the Babe, Gehrig, Mantle, Yogi, etc. (I don’t honor DiMaggio if you are wondering why he is not on this list). Over the last 20+ years I have been to well over a hundred games at Yankee Stadium, and while not my favorite place, I will shed a tear when the wrecking ball strikes its hallowed walls.

I have been to 15 major league and about 40 minor league parks and nowhere have the fans been worse than at Yankee Stadium, particularly those in the upper deck. It’s not even close. Do they get rowdy at Fenway? Yes. Obnoxious in Phlly? We all know this. Rude in Chicago? On occasion. Boisterous at Shea? You betchya. But in all these parks and others, I have never felt that I was in any physical danger for just being there. Meanwhile on more than one occasion at Yankee Stadium – most recently at the All-Star Game – I have been worried about my safety. Yes, I was wearing a Mets cap and jersey, and I know that some will say I was taking chances on wearing that up there. But why shouldn’t I be able to wear this, especially to an exhibition game? You would think I was wearing a Manchester United jersey at a Liverpool match.

I have seen some horrible things from these “fans” over the year. I was at the game against Toronto in (I think it was 85) when they booed the Canadian National Anthem. I’ve seen an Orioles cap taken off someones head and set on fire. I’ve seen women verbally abused because of how they dress or the jersey they wear. Worst of all, I was at the game where Clemens beaned Piazza. How did the goons in the upper deck react? As Mike was being taken off on a stretcher they were chanting “Bye Bye Mikey”

Don’t get me wrong, I know most Yankee fans are not like this. Some of my closest friends are Yankee fans, and we enjoy a great give and take. I am talking about the base level fan, which I have only ever experienced at Yankee Stadium.

Yes I root against the Yankees – but I would never disrespect their fans or their players the way I have seen those upper deck hooligans behave.

July 22, 2008

Thoughts on Posada, Jerry and The Crowds Tonight

So I can’t kill the Yankees for resigning Posada after the year he had in 2007, but I think it goes to show yet again that in the history of baseball from Berra to Bench to Mike Dodgers Piazza that catchers break down after 35. Jorge may have some great years left, but they won’t be behind the plate. Mets Police know a little about shoulder injuries and these take a long time to heal.

I wonder if the NYY’s will outdraw the Mets tonight – both teams are home. Since we’ve established we can’t truse paid attendance, I will use television technology to eyeball the crowds. I was at the Stadium last night and it wasn’t filled, but it was probably 49,000 or so.

So everyone likes Jerry because the Mets are winning, but would we like him if they were still playing .500? I think yes. He’s fun to watch, feisty with umpires, seems to know how to use a bullpen, and knows how to use a bench. If he can get inside OverReyes’s head, watch out. I didn’t know much about him – I pay as much attention to the White Sox as I do the Phoenix Coyotes – and he was awfully quiet when Willie was around (except that one game Jerry got thrown out of)….but I like what I’m seeing. As I stated when he was hired, I hope he runs off 15 straight championships before retiring and going to the Hall of Fame. What will be great about that is some jerk wearing a “26 to 17” t-shirt.

July 22, 2008

Who Makes The Patches?

A good story from the Ledger. A nice lady from Cranford New Jersey is the one to thank (or blame) of the Mets look hideous in 2009.

As Major League Baseball’s vice president of design services, Occi, a 52-year-old mother of two who has lived in Cranford for most of her life, is the woman behind MLB’s “look” — the one who is charged with keeping America’s pastime fashion forward.

“The look of the game, or the look of the club, it’s what people embrace,” Occi said recently. “That’s how people show their exuberance toward the team. There’s nothing better than to go into a ballpark and see everybody dressed in all the licensed merchandise, which is how they show their passion for their club. That’s great, that’s wonderful.”

Read The Story

July 22, 2008

Lawmaker Wants To Ban PSL’s

NJ Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone is talking about banning PSL’s in New Jersey.

Mets Police will keep a careful watch on this one.

July 22, 2008

A Night At The Stadium

Mets Police went to the Bronx last night. What struck me were the amount of flashbulbs every time Jeter and A-Rod stepped in. A random mid-inning at-bad in a blowout, and it’s like Game 7 of the World Series. Every time.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Bob Sheppard and want him to be back at Yankee Stadium and I want him to be in the Hall of Fame – but two things.

1. I’m getting really used to Jim Hall. It actually sounds “weird” to me when Shep-on-tape intros Jeter.

2. The Shep-on-tape would be cool once per game. It loses the magic when it’s every time.

I’m starting to think that Yankee Stadium III might be, oh, “New Comiskey.” Citi Field looks like it will have the charm of some of the newer parks (like my Stadium Crush on Citizens Bank Park) – and YS3 looks like a big monolith, that’s on 161st and River but on the wrong side of the street. I really don’t understand staying in that area if you’re not where the ghosts are.