NY Sports Examiner: Mets beat Padres 7-2 for first Citi Field victory

Easy enough night for Jerry.   The “Good Ollie” arrives.  I hated everyone wearing #42, it looks silly.   I guess Jerry feels no lead is safe….K-Rod was warming up with a 5 run lead.   The Mets need some serious outfield practice.  I don’t recall that ever being a topic in the major leagues….Murphy is going to cost us a few runs isn’t he?   Quick recap at the link.

NY Sports Examiner: Mets beat Padres 7-2 for first Citi Field victory

Details For Yankee Stadium Opening Day

From a New York Yankees Press Release.  To nobody’s surprise, they “get it” unlike the DodgMets.

The New York Yankees will inaugurate Yankee Stadium with its first-ever regular season game on Thursday, April 16 at 1:05 p.m. ET vs. the Cleveland Indians.

Gates will open to fans with valid tickets beginning at 10:00 a.m. The Yankees are asking fans to be situated in their seats by 12:00 p.m. in advance of pregame ceremonies. Please budget ample time when planning your trip and be sure to consider using public transportation.

Ceremonies will begin at 12:10 p.m. with the West Point Marching Band performing John Philip Sousa’s “Washington Post March” and “Stars and Stripes Forever” in a tribute to the original Yankee Stadium’s opener on April 18, 1923, when Sousa performed on field with the Seventh Regiment Band prior to the game. The West Point Band will also play the “Armed Forces Medley.”

More than 40 distinguished Yankees alumni, such as Whitey Ford, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Reggie Jackson and Willie Randolph, will be introduced on-field, followed by baseline introductions for both teams. (A complete list of attending alumni may be found at the end of this release). Yankees Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Colors will be presented by a joint FDNY and NYPD color guard. After a 75-foot-by-150-foot American flag is unfurled in the outfield by West Point Cadets, Kelly Clarkson, winner of the first season of American Idol and two Grammy Awards, will sing the national anthem. At the conclusion of the anthem, the 174th Fighter Wing, an Air Force unit based in Syracuse, N.Y., will fly over the Stadium in F-16C Flying Falcons. The unit executing the flyover returned to the United States last August after supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom at Balad Air Force Base in Iraq.

The home plate and pitching rubber to be used in Thursday’s game is the same set that was used in the final game at the original Yankee Stadium. It was brought to the current Stadium on November 8, 2008, in a ceremony that included Yankees executives, former players, and two local Bronx high school youth groups, Youth Force 2020, led by Turner Construction, and the ACE Mentoring Program, led by Tishman Speyer. Following the game, the items will be dug up and placed in the Yankees Museum, located in Yankee Stadium near Gate 6.

All fans in attendance will receive an inaugural season commemorative pin.

For information on parking, please visit www.baseball-parking.com or call (866) 330-7275.

Located directly across the street from the site of the original, the new Yankee Stadium is a living museum with architecture that celebrates the spirit and tradition of the franchise. While firmly rooted in the past, the Stadium has a vision toward the future, incorporating the best in technology and state-of-the-art guest services. All of the Stadium’s modern amenities exist within the framework of classic elements of the original, most notably the instantly recognizable frieze that again circles the grandstand. Among the countless fan-friendly elements, massive video boards give Yankees fans more information than ever before, and concessions have been placed on open concourses, allowing for continuous viewing of the field.


Alumni Attending Opening Day Ceremonies
• Luis Arroyo
• Jesse Barfield
• Yogi Berra
• Ron Blomberg
• Bobby Brown
• Horace Clarke
• Jerry Coleman
• David Cone
• Chili Davis
• Bucky Dent
• Al Downing
• Dave Eiland
• Ed Figueroa
• John Flaherty
• Whitey Ford
• Joe Girardi
• Rich “Goose” Gossage
• Ken Griffey, Sr.
• Ron Guidry
• Charlie Hayes
• Rickey Henderson
• Reggie Jackson
• Tommy John
• Jim Kaat
• Don Larsen
• Hector Lopez
• Tino Martinez
• Lee Mazzilli 
• Gene Michael
• Jeff Nelson
• Graig Nettles
• Paul O’Neill
• Joe Pepitone
• Willie Randolph
• Bobby Richardson
• Mickey Rivers
• Buck Showalter
• Bill “Moose” Skowron
• Luis Sojo
• Mel Stottlemyre
• Ralph Terry
• Bob Turley
• David Wells
• Roy White
• Bernie Williams
• Dave Winfield

The below from LoHud Yankees blog.

10 a.m.: Gates open
12:10 p.m.: West Point Band performs in center field
12:30 p.m.: Introduction of Yankees alumni, introduction of home plate and mound from old Stadium
12:42 p.m.–12:53 p.m.: Baseline introductions
12:53 p.m.: Introduction of giant American flag, unfurled by West Point cadets.
12:53:30 p.m.: Flyover introduction, 174th Fighter Wing
12:54 p.m.: Presentation of colors by NYPD/FDNY Color Guard
12:54:30 p.m.: National anthem by Kelly Clarkson
12:56 p.m.: National Anthem, F-16C flyover
1:01 p.m.: Ceremonial first pitch: Yogi Berra
1:04 p.m.: Umpires and managers to home plate
1:06 p.m.: Yankees take the field
1:08 p.m.: First pitch

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@metspolice

Second Class Citizens (From Flushing University)

Strong words here…Flushing University and a taste below.

For the record, I don’t think being pro-Mets makes you a racist.

I was disappointed to find out that the main entrance to the new stadium that I’ve for so long to enter has been made into a tribute to a player that never even wore a Mets uniform – and to a team that left town over 50 years ago.
A tribute to a Brooklyn Dodger.
Mets fans enter their team’s new stadium – a stadium that from the outside is also supposed to evoke memories of that long-dead team from the Borough of Churches – and are inundated with images of a man who played the game at a time where the home team did not even exist.
What other Major League Baseball team would ever build a shrine to a player that never even wore their uniform?
..
Is this franchise’s history of so little importance to the Wilpon family that they thought it more important to build a monument to the Brooklyn Dodgers and their heroes? Perhaps instead of a gigantic outdoor food court, it would’ve been nice to see something celebrating the 48 seasons that the Mets have played National League Baseball. Apparently that was too much to ask.

The rest is here.

www.metspolice.com
@metspolice

Mets VP David Howard’s Interview With Francesca Will Make You Very Mad

The Mets Today blog broke down this David Howard interview really well.   I see no reason to mimic what they did.  Go read their breakdown.

I’ll just give you a taste to get your blood boiling.

The way we characterize “obstructed” is if you have an obstruction, something in front of you — a beam, a pillar, something that’s blocking your view. That’s not the case here. It is a function of the geometry of the building.

Really David?  I invite you to check out some of those pics over there on the right hand of the blog.

Dave Howard
Tuesday April 14th – Dave Howard Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the New York Mets addresses some concerns about Citifield

www.metspolice.com
@metspolice

New Stadium Insider reports Yankees to hang photos…maybe the Mets will learn.

So head on over to New Stadium Insider for some Yankee Stadium updates…
 
 
The interesting (to me) tidbit is that the Yankees are going to hang photos around their new industrial cinderblock palace.  It’s nice to know the Yankees read the blogs.
 
Perhaps the Mets could learn from this.  
 
I was imagining an alternate reality where the Mets take me up on my offer to be a consultant.
 
Shannon (last winter):  Hey Jeff, we really oughta hang us some Mets stuff.
 
Jeff Wilpon:  yeah price it out!
 
Shannon (an hour later):  Jeff it will cost X thousand to get Y things.   Would be 6 weeks delivery or for an extra grand we can have them in two.
 
Jeff:   spend the grand!
 
    Jeff and I could have all kinds of discussions….
 
Shannon:  Hey Jeff, since Gooden are here tonight, we should have them come on the field and wave.
 
    or
 
Shannon:  Hey Jeff, we should probably ask MLB to give us the Dodgers on April 15th…and to work the schedule so we don’t have a night opener.
 
Jeff:  Great idea…make that call today.  Imagine we had to open against the Padres or someone…
 
    or
 
Shannon:  I was thinking.  For the opening of the new stadium we should probably wear the traditional blue caps with the pinstripes.
 
    or
 
Shannon:  I noticed we have a ton of room on the fence for retired numbers…and we still have a lot of tickets unsold for April 28th against the Marlins.  What if we have a night for Keith and retire #17? 
 
I have lots of ideas like this, but I digress.  The Mets will find me eventually.   I don’t even want money, just run all this crap past me.
 
Anyways…check out New Stadium Insider today.