There was so much I loved about today. I loved not going to work, I loved the 4:10pm start time that allowed me to make my leisurely way to the ballpark. I loved the ride on the 7, blue and orange everywhere. I loved pulling into Willets Point and seeing Citi Field from that angle for the first time in months, the parking lots full, tailgates going strong. I loved coming down the stairs and seeing the apple and the rotunda and people posing for photos everywhere you turned. It was hope. It was reprieve. It was full of optimism.
It’s finally here! I can’t wait to get on the 7 train and head out to Queens tomorrow. A few helpful reminders:
All gates open 2 1/2 hours before first pitch. If you want your Mr. Met bobblehead (and who doesn’t), get there early.
Weather: “A chance of rain after noon. Increasing clouds, with a high near 54. East wind 6 to 9 mph becoming south. Chance of precipitation is 30%.” So bring a rain poncho.
The lines for food will be insane. New staff, people have been gone a long time, tomorrow is not the day to get your Shake Shack fix. Eat beforehand, bring some snacks, go to Madison Square Park after the game if you must have a Shack fix tomorrow.
Allow extra time, people walk slower on Opening Day than they do any other day of the year (or so it seems)
The Mets claim that there are R.A. Dickey shirts for sale at the ballpark. There is also the lovely Opening Day commemorative pin. If you want to shop, allow extra time.
Remember, the game ends during rush hour so there will not be a 7 Baseball Express after the game. We’re all on the milk train back to Grand Central.
Other questions are likely answered in my Citi Field Guide (which will get updated for 2011 after I’ve gone to a couple of games next week).
Today’s guest post is from Metsgrrl.com reader Brad Jasper
I always get so jealous when I see fans of other baseball teams tweeting these hilarious promotional commercials starring the team’s players and mascots. It’s usually some clever inside joke or a humorous language barrier issue amongst the players that really hypes the fan base. Personally, I love these commercials, after all, it’s only a game and we should constantly remind ourselves that it should be fun to play and fun to watch. So here I am, an outsider, watching these commercials laughing at what I think is the punch line, but deep down I am wishing that my team, the team that plays in the media capital of the world, could have these types of commercials.
There was no way I was sitting four rows from the top of Citi Field for another year. No way. I called the Mets constantly about this, were told, repeatedly, that there was no way to move (yet), that there was nowhere to move us. I kept saying, I understand that you can’t move me down in my section, but how about moving me towards third base (so I could see into the dugout). I waited, and waited, and waited, waited until December, when they were going to release tickets held by other ticket plan holders. Row 9, Row 10, but moving pretty far out, further out than we wanted to go. I waited, and there was still nothing. I waited, and then we accepted that the best we would do is row 9 or 10 all the way out almost at Promenade Reserved.
The problem, of course, is that the Promenade Reserved Infield is the only ticket at Citi Field that is fairly priced. It is the only truly affordable ticket. There really are enough full season ticketholders in that price level for that reason.
I finally said: enough. Enough with dealing with the Mets.
MLB ALIENATES 45% OF THE FAN BASE ONCE AGAIN WITH THE “MLB FAN CAVE”.
So apparently, there was some kind of contest somewhere, and the result was that two dudely dudes won and are going to be spending the season sitting in the old Tower Records (RIP) location on 4th and Broadway, watching baseball games and offering sparkling commentary and hosting special guests, in something called “The MLB Fan Cave”. Okay, whatever. It’s a dumb quasi reality show kind of concept, and MLB is trying for some kind of relevance in that space (I guess). This would be a dumb marketing stunt that would have been easy to ignore, if it were not for this:
Right. Because when I think Opening Day, the first thing I think of is, “Gosh, I wonder what a professional underwear model thinks about the 2011 baseball season.” It’s too bad there are no women working in the industry you could ask. Next time you have this problem, I’ve compiled a list you can start with. After the jump.
THOUGHTS ON THE TERRY COLLINS BLOGGER CONFERENCE CALL.
Today, Mets bloggers were invited to participate in a conference call with new Mets manager Terry Collins. It seems like we can’t turn around without being invited to a conference call these days, not that I’m complaining.
This one was particularly tough for me because I had a big product launch at work which began at 2:45am this morning. I worked all weekend. I mention this because the invitation to participate came in the middle of all of this and I needed time to sit and think of a good question. Luckily, the new Mets Weekly came to the rescue when they interviewed players and asked them about Terry Collins, and Angel Pagan (among others) mentioned that he was a real “player’s manager”.
Voila, I had my question. Or at least one I could ask.
Today’s guest post is from Metsgrrl.com reader Julia Quadrino.
November 13, 2010. My mom and I were on our way to Chelsea Piers in New York City for baseball clinic taught by David Wright. To say I was a nervous wreck would be an understatement. I was shaking violently from the moment we left the house until the moment I saw David.
Not expecting to win, I had entered a contest online to win a baseball clinic taught by David Wright. I was going to play baseball with a superstar watching me. I was by far going to be the oldest one there, being 15 now (I was 14 at the time I entered). I had played recreation league softball for the past couple of summers, but that was really just for fun as opposed to actually learning. Besides learning the “fundies” from Keith during broadcasts, I really hadn’t had too much baseball knowledge when it came to me having to play. My biggest fear was being shown up by some 6 year old baseball prodigy that just so happened to win this contest, too.
POST-SPRING TRAINING BLOGGER CHAT WITH SANDY ALDERSON.
I need to get some photos of Sandy Alderson, because I have none, and so I have to start every conference call post with a photo of Mr. Met.
The transcript is up, so I will not give you the word for word; you can also go read my Twitter feed from 6:30-7pm tonight for highlights.
It blows my mind that I get invited to these. Of course, it also blows my mind that my cat decided that the exact moment the call started was the right time to start ripping apart a cardboard box in my office. My entreaties that I was on a conference call with Sandy Alderson had zero effect. I am beginning to doubt his level of Mets fandom.
