Mets 9-11 August

We looped back to New York to catch Shea Stadium. Unfortunately, during our first pass through New York, only the Yankees were scheduled to be in town. This time we stayed in Queens near the Queensboro Bridge. It made for an easier commute to the park and it gave us an opportunity to spend longer in the city. We had one extra day that we could spend in either New York or Detroit. We chose New York as it gave us a better opportunity to meet up with Kyle, Rob and Lauren. This turned out to be a good choice as on the extra day which was originally scheduled as a no game day, the Mets played a make up game against the Pirates which we took in as a bonus. We were rally pleasantly surprised by the logistics of getting to and from Shea. Unlike Yankee Stadium, there are extra subway trains put on at the end of the game which are non-stop to Queensboro Plaza. As for the Stadium itself, it is little wonder why a new one is being built. The fans are great--despite all of the hype and press, the Mets fans were a much better crowd than either the Yankee Fans or the Boston Fans, the team is in the midst of a resurgence following the change of managers, and the club has reps almost everywhere willing to help. It ain't the South, but its the closest that we have seen north of Baltimore.

If you take a close look at this picture, in the upper deck, just to the right of the foul pole, you can see a number 20. This is the spot where the mammoth home run hit by Tommy Agee in the 1969 World Series landed. It is certainly a distinguished event, however, given all of the other events in Mets history, this is one of the few that is documented on the grounds of Shea Stadium. It is a bit of a shame. Maybe the new stadium will have more historical references.
The Mets lost the first game to the Marlins. In fact, the Mets were never really in it. It seemed like there was something missing. The team acted like they collectively had the flu.
Over the back of the current center field wall, you can see the new stadium rising from the dust. During every game there is a video tour presented on the jumbotron. It looks like this is a well though out adventure, but the proof will be in the pudding as usual.

In game 2, the Mets started out with a bang and never looked back. Well almost never. In the 8th inning, the relief pitching tried to give away the farm, but some good defense stopped the bleeding before it became fatal.

Well, this is the make up game with the Pirates. Just like our trip to Pittsburgh, the weather was not cooperating. However, the teams played through intermittent showers, and the Mets handed the Pirates a victory on the back of more poor relief pitching.

As for the Stadium Rankings, the First Division remains unchanged and consists of:

• Wrigley Field
• PNC Park
• Turner Field
• St. Louis

As for the Second Division, it has been adjusted to include Shea:

• Baltimore
• Milwaukee
• Cincinnatti
• Toronto
• Philadelphia
• New York Yankees
• New York Mets
• Cleveland
• Washington
• Kansas City
• Chicago White Sox
• Boston
• Minnesota