Author: Media Goon @mediagoon

What was one of the unique selling points of Citi Field was the fact that it had The Shake Shack. Now the Nationals are getting it?

The Nationals announced on Wednesday that renowned restaurateur Danny Meyer and his Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) will bring the very popular “Shake Shack” concessions concept to Nationals Park this season.

They are also getting the other Danny Meyer food stands too.

Other new concepts from Meyer and his group include pit barbecue at “Blue Smoke,” Belgian-style fries and dipping sauces at “Box Frites,” and authentic Mexican food at “El Verano Taquería.”

Okay. I have an idea Shannon might like. Since the Nats took the Mets “unique” foods, maybe they can also take something a lot of us Mets fans don’t like. No, they took Ollie already. Maybe the can take the black jerseys, dropshadow, and hybrid hats.

To read the whole story was from Nationals Buzz.

There is a feeling I am really starting to get. Seems to me that a lot more blue and orange is being used and less and less black in a lot of the Mets materials. I just received my 15 game plan ticket book and it looked very classic to me.

Here is the front cover of the ticket book:

Blue,orange, and white for the slogan. I am not a fan of the slogan but everything can’t be about me. Some of you (Shannon) can nitpick about the use of the black binding if you want though.

Upon opening the book and getting to the tickets, you see:

Classic looking. I like the orange box makes the text stand out more. One hat and three jerseys.Nice.

Let’s take closer look:

Classic blue hat. No hybrid. No all black.Just classic blue. People it might be a sign. I think it might be time for the Blue Cap Army to make a comeback.

Mets patch no black in it.Looks to me like it’s the sleeve of the pinless home jerseys. Again the logo looks classic. Yes, I know Shannon it’s missing the little NY.

The cream colored home alternate jersey. Nice jersey. Black drop shadow not so nice. Only “black” included in these tickets.

This seems to be the throwback NY jersey from a couple of years ago. Look at that smiling Mr Met that is on the sleeve of that jersey.

I might be totally wrong but it does seem that the Mets look like they are trying to build upon their tradition. I just love the look of these tickets. Mock me if you guys want, but I am having a really good feeling about the start of the regime change.It seems that it is infiltrating the whole organization with more classiness.

The Mets really sent out a nice package for us 15 game plan holders.I figured it would be way different then the season plan holders. From what I have seen in pictures they look to be the exact same package.

When I opened my UPS box I was shocked to see this:

I know a lot of you are going to complain about the Mets blowing money on this packaging and I don’t blame you. But like in the past this is where I figure our extra fees go that the flex plan holders had waived.

I proceeded to open the blue (not black) box with the silver Mets logo to reveal this:

Blue and orange tissue paper wrapped around my ticket book and what looks to be the my plan holder gift on the right.Also, the inside of the box has the Mets game calendar printed on the bottom of the cover.

I pull out my gift to see yes the Mets did slip something black into this well done package:

Well played Mets. Well played indeed sneaking the block box in.

Here’s a pic of what is in said box:

I wonder how Shannon feels about the face color on this watch. I am just impressed that it’s a better gift the the “Injoy the floating feeling” gift that we got last year.

Thank you to the Mets for a well thought out boutique packaging that was sent out to us. I appreciate it. Classy looking packaging, classy looking gift, and it seems a GM who is trying to make the franchise classier as a whole.

I am going to get into the look of the tickets in a later post today.

Very, very interesting read from NYTIMES.com. I will comment as we go along.

The Mets, long one of baseball’s most highly valued franchises, have lost millions of dollars in recent years, including nearly $50 million in 2010, according to two people briefed on the team’s finances.

Nearly lost 50 million dollars last year? And this isn’t even the stuff about Madoff. Just cost of doing business expenses.

The losses — the club’s falloff in revenue was the largest year-to-year decline for any major league team in recent years — are certainly jarring for a franchise operating in the nation’s most lucrative market. In 2009, the Mets, boasting one of the sport’s most expensive payrolls, opened the season in a new park, Citi Field, and the club took in revenue of more than $350 million. Still, it lost close to $10 million, according to the two people briefed on the matter.

Opening up of a new ball park and lost close to $10 million. Has that happened anywhere before? I am far from a financial guru and I definitely do not know about other baseball cities and their finances at all. But, WOW.

The falloff in revenue in 2010 for the Mets was one of the most striking for any club since the losses suffered by the Florida Marlins in 1998, when their roster was decimated by cost-cutting ownership a year after the team won the World Series.

Really? This is as bad as the Marlins fire sale in ’98? OUCH!

And sales of what are known as full-season equivalents — a mix of small and large season-ticket packages — are projected to top out at 10,000 this year, less than half the total sold just two years ago. Without any major player signings after last season’s 79-83 record, there might not be much for fans to root for.

The Mets would not comment on their financial situation, other than to say that ticket sales for the 2011 season are up over the same time last year.

Ticket sales are gangbusters I thought. I guess maybe single game ticket and flex plan sales are up. The people who had plans must have ditched them and went for the smaller flex plans and single tickets.

There is a lot more in this article and its getting late. So, you can read more here and get your own take on the story.