Happy Birthday Carlos Beltran

We have truly entered the Twilight Zone, Mets fans. Castillo is getting cheered and David Wright is getting booed. On the bright side, Johan Santana has two runs to support his pitching effort, thanks to the birthday boy and some shoddy Expos defense.

Comparing the Mets and Angels respective homes

If the Mets have an American League soulmate, surely it's the California Angels of Anaheim.  They're an expansion team that shares a media market with one of the most storied franchises in baseball... And maybe that's about it.  But as I sat in the club level of Angel Stadium on a gorgeous night' I couldn't help but compare and contrast the stadium with Citi Field.  This was my first visit to this stadium, but I've only been to Citi twice so it's as fair as I can be...

The first thing I noticed was all the green.  The seats were green, the walls were green, and the railings were green... Yet it didn't occur to me that I was sitting in a ballpark that could be the home field for any team other than the Angels.  A big part of this, of course, must be the fact that the place is called Angel Stadium! And when you approach the entrance to the stadium you know exactly what you're there to see - the giant A's caps leave no doubt.    Does anyone think there'd be nearly as much griping about black outfield walls or Dodgers Rotunda if Citi Field were named Mets Park?  Maybe.  But actually the biggest signal of all that I was at an Angels game was: the fans.  The green seats were awash in red.  Something about that color red that unifies fans - go to a Cardinals game or even a Rutgers game and the place will be filled with fans donning the same color.  (He other thing that's red are the ads.  Almost without exception, all the ads in the park are red.  Maybe if the schlubs who "designed" that Arpielle sign had incorporated some orange and blue - it would still be ugly, but at least it'd be Mets ugly.

We have the Pepsi Porch, the Angels have the Budweiser Patio.  In centerfield we have a giant apple, they have, a waterfall! They have open air bullpens as well, but there is no tarp blocking the view from or of above.  Parking cost eight bucks but the food inside wasn't cheap.  I did get a free banner as a giveaway, commemorating the fact that Vlad Guerrero and Lou Gherig are the only 2 players to have achieved some sort of esoteric offensive feat I neglected to take note of.

The crowd was into the game pretty well, and I felt some tremors that were either caused by fan frenzy, trucks on the nearby freeway, or maybe it was an earthquake?

It was a real nice experience, even though I saw the Mets blow the 4-0 lead I heard them achieve on the xm radio in the car, on the centerfield out of town scoreboard.  You can't have everything, you know.  

Live Video from the California Angels Of Anaheim game

This video was sent without the express written consent of the commissioner

Reporting Live From Angel Stadium

I find myself in Anaheim today and managed to get into Angel Stadium for free thanks to a generous fan in the parking lot. Parking was $8.00 by the way, on a beautiful night for baseball

Can You Spot The Differences Between These Two Photos?

The first photo shows the view from section 522 Promenade at Citi Field, according to Mets.com. The second is the photo I snapped from my seat in section 522 on April 19th. Not even counting the giant heads in my way, the silver bar, black bar, and yes the plexiglass all blocked my view (never mind that what went on on the field that day weren't worth watching anyway). These were not sold to me as "obstructed view" but should qualify as such under Dave Howards declaration of the definition of an obstructed view on WFAN. I will let you know what the Mets response to me is.

Speaking of Dave Howard's appearance on WFAN, he was untruthful when he said there are TV's at every concession stand. That is absolutely false. In the food court above the Jackie Robinson Rotunda there is not one TV in the whole section. You can hear the audio, but there are no sets. It would be a perfect place to put a giant screen behind the seats, like they have in the centerfield food area, but alas there is nothing. Dave Howard needs to walk around his stadium a little more before he goes on the radio.

And while he may be playing a weird game of semantics when he says there is blue in the forest green colored seats, will he also try to say there is blue in the black outfield walls? These black walls need to be turned blue, pronto. Just erase the black like you want to do with Doc Gooden's signature!

Look, all in all it is a beautiful ballpark, but the Mets should get a partial refund from HOK, and I should get one as well for my obstructed view seat.

This doesn't qualify as an obstructed seat at Citi Field?