The Mets Police

April 29, 2009

Mets AAA Bisons Are 2-15 And A Disaster

The words of Tony Bernazard, the man who allegedly tried to undermine Omar Minaya last year, and the man who could potentially be the next GM of the Mets.

We’re very disappointed as an organization. The whole Mets organization is disappointed that this has to happen like this. We are doing everything possible to change it around. … This team is not as bad as this. We’re in a collective slump and we’re trying to bring in some players who can help us.”

The Bisons are batting just .196 as a team and have scored just 45 runs in the 17 games. They are 1-11 at home â€” and have yet to post a win over a pitcher. The lone win came April 12 against Pawtucket, when Nick Evans belted a 15th-inning walk-off home run against Pawtucket catcher Carlos Maldonado.

Guest Writer: Citi Field: Whoâ€™s Ballpark is it Anyway?

Today we are pleased to welcome Jason Antos into the extended Mets Police force. Jason is a local history writer with a focus on Queens. In 2007, he authored Shea Stadium: Images of Baseball, part of the Images of America series. More recently Jason was interviewed by the Daily News about the lack of Mets history at Citi Field. Today he shares his thoughts with us on that subject.

Citi Field: Whoâ€™s Ballpark is it Anyway?

By Jason D. Antos

There are many milestones that mark a change in the course of a persons lifetime. For some itâ€™s a first kiss or graduating from college. For others it could be landing that first important job, marriage or the birth of a first child. For me, I can honestly tell people the exact time, date, and place that marked a major change in my own life. The end of my youth.

I arrived early on that rainy and raw Wednesday morning, the 18 of February to say goodbye to an old and dying friend who was about to take itâ€™s last breath. After entering the parking lot I was afraid that I had missed the final moment in the life of Shea Stadium. So much of it had been destroyed and it was hard to tell if anything was left. And then suddenly it was there, the final piece. A small crowd had gathered at the base of the last section consisting of walkway ramps that spiraled to nowhere and ended just above what was once section 5, located between home and first. Steel workers were cutting the final beams and Breeze Demolition had left their mark on the stadium by spray painting a farewell message in big orange lettering; BREEZE DEMOLITION – LETâ€™S GO METS IN â€˜09 – SHEAâ€™S GOODBYE!

Struggling against the cold wind and rain, I trained my video camera on the place where the Beatles once played, Seaver pitched, the New Breed cheered, and Bucknerâ€™s play cost his team a victory and helped ours to a World Championship. At approximately 11:25am a siren blared out three sharp bursts and, as everyoneâ€™s cameras rolled and flashed, the rope was pulled and what had been reduced to a virtual house of cards collapsed in 10 seconds. And then it was over. Shea Stadium was gone forever, reduced to a mound of grayish blue ash and twisted steel.

I couldnâ€™t help but notice the irony of it all. This area had been labeled in the 1930â€™s by F. Scott Fitzgerald in his famous work The Great Gatsby as â€œThe Valley of Ashesâ€. Ceasing the opportunity, I followed the NY1 news team behind the protective wall and stood just feet away from the rubble. I recorded every minute I could get of the interview between the news crew and the men who pushed the button that erased the park which honored William A. Shea, from the face of the Earth. While looking through the cameras viewfinder all I could think about was Gatsby and his description of Flushing Meadows as a â€œfantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardensâ€.

Not able to bare anymore I left the site never to return until just a couple of weeks ago. This time it was to attended the first event at Citi Field, a game between St. Johnâ€™s and Georgetown University. Like most of the 40,000 people who showed up that day, all I was interested in was touring the new ballpark at the cost of just five dollars a ticket. It was the cheapest tour I had ever paid for.

It turned out to be a surreal afternoon.

Now, whenever experiencing something new one must always keep an open mind. And to tell you the truth I tried. I really did. But I couldnâ€™t help it. After the initial shock and excitement wore off, reality began to sink in. Where were the comforts of our past home? To me it did not feel like I was home. The stadium for all its modern attractions and features does not have an identity. Where are the team colors of blue and orange? The Manhattan skyline above the scoreboard? Where were the homemade signs? Where are the Mets insignias? And where the hell was Cow Bell Man!?

The outside of Citi Field is a monument to advertising. Several billboards offering everything from Pepsi to Atlantic City are displayed.

The major fault of Citi Field is that it is a homage to the borough of Brooklyn and to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The tribute to Jackie Robinson is one of the more tasteful things that have appeared in these new corporate dominated ballparks. However, that is offset by the overbearing presence of the Dodgers. The Ebbets Club Restaurant, The Ebbets Lounge, and also the replica of the Gowanus Canal Bridge in the outfield are in my opinion very inappropriate for a stadium located in Queens and the home of the New York Mets. These elements distract from the game and provide an improper atmosphere. Almost a half century of Met accomplishments has been completely ignored.

It was announced a few weeks ago that plaques will be installed in the parking lot marking where Shea once stood. The Wilpons however only want to mark the location of the bases and not where famous moments occurred. This is yet another bad move in a long series of bad decision making that doesnâ€™t take the fans feelings into consideration. The Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field are remembered by a single plaque marking where home plate was located. However, a massive apartment housing complex takes up the area in both locations. Shea Stadium is now a parking lot with sprawling open space that the Mets and Wilpons are not making good use of. It seems that Citi Group wants to move on and forget Shea and keep all the attention focused on their new ode to corporate America.

So in the end, the responsibility of keeping the memory of Shea Stadium and its greatest moments alive falls on us….the fans. What was once called the â€œNew Breedâ€ is slowly fading away and the last generation must keep this history alive when we tell stories to our children and grand children. Unfortunately, we will now have to explain both the history of Shea Stadium and the history of the Brooklyn Dodgers at the same time. For those of us too young to remember Ebbets Field might find that all a bit too difficult.

You can find Jason’s book on Shea at Amazon.

www.metspolice.com

@metspolice

April 28, 2009

Citi Field Ground Rules (Video)

This is fascinating. Sandy Alomar explains the ground rules for Citi Field. They actually do this? Who knew? This reminds me of being in sixth grade and working out what happens “if it hits the car.”

Thanks to Hotfoot which is where I found this.

www.metspolice.com
@metspolice

April 28, 2009

Yankees Reduce Premium Ticket Costs!

Statement from Hal Steinbrenner!

“A few weeks ago I indicated that in light of the economy we would review the pricing of a small number of our premium locations at Yankee Stadium; specifically, our Suite Seats. I mentioned a small number of locations because in excess of 3.4 million seats, including 37,000 full season equivalents as well as approximately 85% of all our premium locations have already been sold. Yet, there are a few hundred Suite Seats in our premium locations that have not been sold on a full season basis. As a result, and for many of our fans who have already purchased full season Suite Seats in such premium locations, the Yankees are announcing today a program that adjusts certain prices and benefits affecting such Suite Seats.”

For the 2009 regular season only, the following price adjustments and benefits are being adopted effective immediately for a few hundred Legends Suite and Delta Sky 360 Suite Licensees.

A. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 15A, 15B, 24B and 25 will be reduced from $2,500 to $1,250 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

B. The full season Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 11, 12, 13, 27B, 28 and 29 will be reduced from $1,000 to $650 per regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

C. All fans who purchased full season $2,500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row, in Sections 16 â€“ 24A, will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the first row in Sections 16 â€“ 24A for each of the remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season.

D. All fans who purchased full season $1,250 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $1,250 Legends Suite price category for 24 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

E. All fans who purchased full season $850 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $850 Legends Suite price category for 8 games and in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 4 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

F. All fans who purchased full season $600 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 10 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

G. All fans who purchased full season $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive an equal number of complimentary Legends Suite Seats in the $500 Legends Suite price category for 8 games during the 2009 regular season, as selected by the Yankees.

H. Future 2009 regular season sales of full season $1,250, $850, $600 and $500 Legends Suite and Ticket Licenses, will receive comparable (dependent upon the price of the Legends Suite and Ticket License) benefits during the 2009 regular season, subject to availability.

I. The Delta SKY 360 Suite and Ticket Licenses in the first row in Sections 218A â€“ 222 will be reduced from $750 to $550 for each regular season game. All fans who have purchased such full season Suite and Ticket Licenses will receive, at their choice, a refund or a credit.

In addition, for 2009, so as to encourage fans to purchase full season ticket plans in the Field Level Sections 115 â€“ 125, the Yankees are also adopting a program affecting a few hundred seats. And, for our fans who have already purchased, on a full season basis such Field Level seating priced at $325 Sections 115 â€“ 125, the following program is being adopted effective immediately:

A. Going forward all fans when purchasing, on a full season basis, three (3) full regular season ticket plans priced at $325 per regular season game in Sections 115 â€“ 125 will receive a fourth full regular season ticket at no additional cost.

B. All fans who have purchased full season plans priced at $325 per regular season game will receive complimentary regular season tickets within Sections 115 â€“ 125 for remaining regular season games during the 2009 regular season as follows:

1. If you purchased two (2) or three (3) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every other regular season game, commencing with either the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009 or the Friday evening game on May 1, 2009 and alternating for the remainder of the season.

2. If you purchased four (4) or five (5) full season tickets you will receive two (2) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

3. If you purchased six (6) or seven (7) full season tickets you will receive three (3) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

4. If you purchased eight (8) full season tickets you will receive four (4) tickets for every regular season game during the balance of the 2009 regular season, commencing with the Thursday evening game on April 30, 2009.

April 28, 2009

Mets Single Tickets Presale Thursday For Plan Holders

The mysterious Mets tickets plans continue to be revealed.

You may recall (but probably don’t care now that the new stadium buzz is wearing off) that the Mets only sold single game tickets for April and May. An odd move, that will probably backfire now that everyone knows the cheapest way to get tickets is from desperate season ticket holders looking to offset costs on stubhub.

But I digress…

Plan Holders will have access to a pre-sale on Thursday for single game tickets for the rest of the season. You will need a password for the presale, which wouldn’t be cool for me to share.