Happy Opening Day 2009!

The Mets are already 1/2 game up on the Phillies!

Banking On Opening Day Tickets! Did the Mets Misread The Market?

I've gone to every Mets Home Opener for as long as I can remember. When I would take the day off of work to go to the game, I insisted HR record the day off as a "personal holiday" and not just a vacation day.

This year, I will not be there. By choice.

I would love to be there. LOOVE to be there. But the price has been set too high for me.

For the past several years, the only way to get into Opening Day at Shea Stadium was to buy a six, seven, or eight game ticket plan (depending on the year). This year the Mets made available a FIFTEEN game pack that included Opening Day. The prices weren't too bad, but the games thrown into the mix with the Opener were not exactly gold must-see. All the games were weeknights (or weekdays). The lowest price for the pack was about $300 a seat. I live in Central Jersey and have a one year old son. Maybe when I was 21, single, and living on Long Island I could go to fifteen weeknight games, but that's just not realistic now. I also was a little put off by the way the Mets tried to leverage the one game they knew everyone wanted to be at to get people to buy tickets they knew they'd have the hardest time selling.

I passed.

As a long time plan holder, the Mets called me to ask why I wasn't renewing.

I explained my rationale, and the salesperson (nice fellow) reasoned with me that by not buying the fifteen game plan I was missing out on an opportunity to get goood seats in the new ballpark, and that I could just sell any tickets for games I couldn't get to on StubHub.

I passed.

This week the Mets announced that they were making a special FIVE game pack available that included Opening Day and any other four games in April or May. On the surface, this was a much better deal than the fifteen game pack (previously marketed as the only guaranteed way to Opening Day), and folks who bought the fifteen game pack were rightfully miffed. There was still a catch though, to this five game pack. These tickets were field level, and had a much higher price point. Even though you could pick any five games, you would have a hard time getting a package for less that $485.

I passed.

I have paid about $100 for a baseball ticket exactly one time. Once. A guy I knew knew a guy who had front row season tickets to Shea a few years back and a group of us took advantage. I forget the actual price but it was around $100 a seat. I did that once. I would do it again, for Opening Day 2009, because it's a very special occassion. But there is no way I am going to commit to five games at about $100 a pop. For a baseball game! Insane.

Like I said, I do want to go to Opening Day. And I've been watching the ticket availability on StubHub and other broker sites. In early winter you couldn't get an Opening Day seat to Citi Field for less than $1000. Later on the lowest price was around $450. Last week it was $280. Today I saw a ticket there for $180. The face value of that seat was probablyless than $30, but the point is that ticket prices are dropping. The most telling thing is that while the lowest price for Opening Day tickets are around $200, you can buy a ticket for the next game for under $20. Twenty bucks. Same opponent, same seat, two days later saves you $180.

But I digress to the point of this blog posting. I am fully aware that two nights later is not the same as Opening Night. But I think back to that Mets salesperson trying to persuade me to buy a plan, and even my friend who suggested we but teh five game pack and sell teh other four games.

I am worried that the Mets have misread the market, and have duped thousands of season and plan holders into the same midset - that these tickets will be in high demand all season long. I think a lot of people "invested" in ticket plans this year, with teh intention to go to the games they wanted to go, and break even or even make money by selling the rest on stubhub. I know for a fact that the stubhub angle was used as a sales pitch at least once by the Mets (on me). But I think the reality is that the market is not going to be what the Mets thought (and sold).

Ticket prices went up this year, and they went up last year about 20% over the 2007 season. So the tickets being sold for Citi are much more expensive than the ones at Shea just two years ago. I surmise that the reason the Mets felt they could raise the prices so much is they saw their tickets being sold at prices much higher than face value on ebay for the past few years and thought that their ticket prices must be too low. And I tend to agree that the Mets should be allowed to sell their tickets for market value, and had every right to raise their prices to the market. But the flaw in the logic was thinking that just because some people were willing to pay much higher than face value, that it meant many many people were willing to pay thos eprices. It's forgetting that the vast majority of ticket holders paid face value for the tickets and were very happy doing so. Even ignoring the current economic climate, I still think the Mets misread the market. Add in that recession on all of our minds, and then add in the double surcharge that stubhub collects (15% from the seller, and another convenience fee to the buyer) and suddenly the marketplace is flooded with overpriced commodities.

Matt Cerrone had a posting on the topic of ticket brokers on Metsblog today, and there were many people posting in the comments section that they had regular season tickets available for sale, and that they "only" wanted face value for them. They only wanted to sell them for what they paid and weren't looking to make a profit. But what if they overpaid for them in the first place? I suspect that there are many fans out there who suddenly find themselves in the position of being amateur ticket brokers and are going to be stuck selling their tickets for less than they paid. They are going to take a loss they weren't prepared to take, and the Mets helped talk them into it.

I don'[t have a problem with ticket brokers, per se. Professional ticket brokers would sell those Opening Day tickets for a large amounts, sell teh rest for face value or below, and still come out ahead. But the average fan who got involved in this are going to go to the hot games like Opening Day and the Yankees series, and not be able to sell the rest.

As for me, I picked up two tickets for $36 each to the Sunday April 19th afternoon game against the Brewers. They are even giving a way a magnetic calendar, previously an Opening Day tradition. So that will be my Opening Day. I don't even have to use up one of my vacation days to attend it.

And he shall be Livan! And he shall be a good man.

Meet The fifth starter for the Mets - Livan Hernandez.

 

Livan has beaten out Jon Neise, Freddy Garcia, and Tim Redding for the 5th spot in the Mets rotation.  Welcome to the fold, sir.

 

Jon Niese will stand by in AAA, and Freddie Garcia has agreed to stay with the organization and build up his arm strength in either AAA or extended Spring Training.

 

Livan makes a great amount of sense for the Mets fifth start job.  We should be very optimistic for this.  Part of the Mets trouble the last several years for the Mets has been the over-reliance on the bullpen.  The Mets starters rarely seemed to be able to give teh bullpen a break, and even though the 'pen should be vastly improved this year, the Mets don't want to burn them out.  Livan Hernandez threw over 199 innings every year from 1998 to 2007, and pitched 180 innings last year.  His best days are behind him, and he doesn't strike many batters out anymore, but if he stays healthy, goes out and pitches six innings every fifth day, the Mets should be able to have enough offense to win many of his starts.   

 

The question is, does this make Pedro Martinez officially a transplanted ex-Met?  Maybe, but maybe not.  WFAN and the tabloids are all freaking out about Oliver Perez's dismal performance this spring, especially after Danny Wharthen and Jerry Manuel expressd concern that Ollie may not have been working all that hard while pitching for Mexico in the WBC.  He's apparently about 15 lbs overweight and needs a good kick in the rear.  Add John Maine's less than stellar spring and suddenly the Mets rotation isn't so rock solid.  Mike Pelfrey looked good on the mound until yesterday, but he's hobbling around the clubhouse.  Should the Mets give in to Pedro's demands and get some insurance for the rotation?

 

Let me hear your thoughts.

Parking at Citi Field will cost $18 in 2009

Parking at Citi Field will cost $18.00, Dave Howard announced today on WFAN.

It was $15.00 in 2008 and $14.00 in 2007.

image link
Gary Dunair on Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14504460@N02/

I Feel Duped

I feel duped. I feel like a fool. A naive fool. And I am upset.

Today, via a link from Metsblog, I learned that Jeff Pearlman has a book coming out about Roger Clemens, and in the book Pearlman cites "several sources" as saying that Mike Piazza used steroids and even admitted as much to writers he trusted.

As the hundreds of major league ballplayers who turned to performance-enhancing drugs throughout the 1990s did their absolute best to keep the media at arm's length, Piazza took the opposite approach. According to several sources, when the subject of performance enhancing was broached with reporters he especially trusted, Piazza fessed up. "Sure, I use," he told one. "But in limited doses, and not all that often." (Piazza has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but there has always been speculation.)

There has always been speculation? By whom? Why had I never heard such speculation? Actually I had heard the opposite, that Piazza's name had never been linked with steroids! When the Mitchell Report came out, some Mets fans crowed that the Yankees should give back the 2000 World Series title to the Mets because of all the juiced up Yankees named in the report vs. the number of Mets from the 2000 squad. I never once heard a whisper about Piazza. As recently as a few weeks ago, Craig Carton on WFAN said that he loves to needle Mike Piazza, and tell him he should have been on the juice so that his fly ball off Mariano Rivera would have gone over the centerfield wall at Shea. Call me a fool, but I had really bought into the amazing story of a 62nd round draft choice who had become the greatest hitting catcher in major league history sheerly by hard work (and family connections).

This is the third time in less than a month I've read about Piazza's rumored steroid use. On February 26th, Joel Sherman wrote in the New York Post:

He navigated from ultra-non-prospect to 427 career homers. I can pretend that while he was doing this people were not talking about certain physical quirks that raised suspicion, notably a back full of acne. But that would be dishonest.

(snip)

For the record, Piazza says he was a clean player. "Absolutely" is the word he used. He claims he is not on the now infamous list of 104 failed steroid tests from the survey phase in 2003. "No, not that I know," he said.

To me, that last line is actually the most damning. Why would he qualify his "no" with a "not that I know"? Wouldn't he know? Hasn't it been documented that players on the list were informed? Isn't that the same flimsy reasoning that A-Rod tried to use as an alibi for his own lies?

On March 4th, former NY Times columnist Murray Chass wrote a much more direct allegation:

Circumstantial evidence against Piazza is almost as strong as it is against Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

(snip)

Now as naïve as I might have been about steroids, the one thing I knew was that use of steroids supposedly causes the user to have acne on his back. As I said, Piazza had plenty of acne on his back.

When steroids became a daily subject in newspaper articles I wanted to write about Piazza’s acne-covered back. I was prepared to describe it in disgusting living color. But two or three times my editors at The New York Times would not allow it. Piazza, they said, had never been accused of using steroids so I couldn’t write about it.

(snip)

Whatever the reason, I never got Piazza’s suspicious acne into the paper. Then all of a sudden the acne was gone. Piazza’s back was clear and clean. There was not a speck of acne on it. His back looked as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

What a remarkable development. It was a medical miracle. If teenagers could get hold of whatever Piazza used to clear up his back, they would be rid of the acne problem forever.

(snip)

But the method Piazza used became apparent to me. It wasn’t medicine or any substance; it was abstinence. This was during the 2004 season, the first season baseball was testing for performance-enhancing substances with identification and penalties attached. If Piazza had been using steroids and didn’t want to get caught, he had to stop using. If he stopped using, his back would clear up.

His back cleared up. Completely.

Now, severe backne certainly isn't enough to accuse anyone of anything, not even when it suddenly disappears. But the fact is that three separate journalists are raising this issue while also alluding to a whisper campaign. This really ticked me off at the time I read the first two articles. Why now, guys? What has changed in 2009 that causes you to put the whispers into black and white since the first part of the decade, besides the Alex Rodriguez scandal? Without new evidence, if it wasn't appropriate in 2001 or 2004 to write about Mike Piazza and steroids, it's not now. These writers were part of the PR machine that fueled New York's Mike Piazza As Hero storyline, and now all of a sudden the sure-thing-first-ballot-hall-of-famer notion isn't such a sure thing. These writers decided for themselves that this was the time they would write the angle, even though they'd been sitting on the story for years. The only thing that's changed is the way Alex Rodriguez has been selling newspapers at a time when newspapers are going out of business.

But while we can cry all we want about due process, the evidence is now out there for public debate. And there won't be a court trial for Piazza like there will likely be for Bonds and Clemens, so we won't get a jury or judge to give us a "beyond a reasonable doubt" conclusion. It's up to us. And as gullible as I may have been during Mike Piazza's Mets career, I do now feel inclined to believe Peralman and Chass and Sherman today, as wrong as I think it is for them to print the allegations.

And I am hurt.

I am embarrassed to have been so naive, and I'm bummed that there is one less "good guy" in the world of sports for us to root for. Yes, it underscores the reality that athletes make lousy role models, and that's actually a good thing to be reminded of, but it sure was fun rooting for Mike Piazza, and those memories are now inarguably tainted. Also inarguable is that if Mike Piazza used steroids, it makes him less "great." Even if 50% of the players between 1996 and 2003 used PEDs, even if it was 99% of baseball players, even if you think greenies and spitballs and stealing signs are worse than steroids, the reality is that these rumors, if true, taint the Mike Piazza Era. If you didn't think he did steroids, and evaluated his career, that evaluation must change to some degree with the knowledge that he used illegal performance enhancers that were not available to Carlton Fisk.

What a shame.

Pictures worth a thousand words, and a thousand words

Thanks for visiting today. Now I'd like to send you elsewhere! Some of my fellow bloggers have posted some photos that I think you'll be interested in.

First, Mets Guy in Michigan posts a pic from inside CitY Field that shows how the Mets have taken a relic from Shea and found a use for it in the new park. And I'm not referring to the apple!

Next, Loge 13 shows how our tax dollars are being used to make sure Long Islanders find their way to ballgames.

Today I took a drive down to my local Barnes & Noble and picked up Faith And Fear In Flushing (the book!), written by fellow blogger Greg Prince. Now, normally I wouldn't mention buying a book like this before I'd read it, but I have yet to read even one blog posting by Greg that I didn't absolutely love. Also, even if this book is downright terrible (inconceivable, but stick with me), I'm just so thrilled to see a Mets blogger get published that I am too proud to wait! I feel like the entire Mets blogging community got published. Congratulations, Greg! And if anyone out there isn't a regular reader of Faith and Fear In Flushing, you are seriously missing out. Read the blog and buy the book, already!

Transplanted ex-Mets who Should Keep Their Mouth Shut

If you read Newsday today you saw some ex-Mets with opinions.  Opinions I'd rather them keep to themselves.

 

First, Gary Carter says A-Rod should be forgiven for his transgressions since he's come clean about them.  Please.  A-Rod's "apology" was so weak, so full of balogna... as Dwight Schrute would say, "Apology Rejected."

 

Tom Glavine says Pedro Martinez needs "to be mindful what the market is, what you can realistically get" and then pats himself on the back for taking less money to pitch in Atlanta.  OK, buddy.  This from a guy who took more money from the Mets even though everyone knew he'd rather pitch in Georgia.  Hey Tom, get off your high horse and go take a taxi, OK?

World Baseball Classic is hazardous to Mets health

As if it weren't bad enough that the Mets had 16 players missing from Spring Training because of this World Baseball Classic, now we are hearing the Mets players are being abused.  And I don't mean Fernando Tatis' whining that he wasn't given the same level of respect as better players.  I am not even talking about David Wright getting kneed in the head.  Something like that you can never predict, and could have happened just as easily in a Spring Training exhibition (I think).  No, my biggest gripe is the way Oliver Perez and K-Rod are being used in this tournament.  K-Rod has now recorded two 4 out saves, after recording NONE all last season.  And Ollie Perez threw 85 pitches yesterday!  IN March!  These were the Mets two biggest financial investments in the off-season, and I think it is ridiculous how the managers are not considering at least a little bit of the shape these players' bodies are generally in this kind of year, and the marathon season that is in front of them long after we forget who won this WBC.  

transplanted ex-Mets Update: Duaner Sanchez

transplanted ex-Mets Update: Duaner Sanchez
Tardy Sanchez has signed with the San Diego Padres.

Catching Spring Fever

This is the one time of year when folks in the metropolitan area start talking about college basketball. March Madness talk starts to become part of sports radio discussion, and Final Four ads start showing up as well. And then the infamous brackets start getting passed around at the office and suddenly everyone is an expert. I was sure that if it weren't for gambling, college sports would go the way of the dinosaurs, That is, until I moved down South. There, college basketball is a year round passion. Every day is another big game, and practically everyone is known by the school they support. I was told that sooner or later I would get caught up in it, but three years went by and other than knowing who Coach K was (but not how to spell the full last name), I left North Carolina without caring about the ACC any more than before I even heard of it.

So here we are in March, and college basketball is again crowding its way into the discussion, and I am here to say, March, March go away please bring on Opening Day. The WBC plays on, but without the Dominicans as Jose Reyes and Pedro Martinez couldn't beat the Netherlands to advance in the tournament. So Jose and Tatis are back in Mets camp, and Pedro Martinez will have to find some other way to show he still has the ability to pitch effectively and convince GMS that he is healthy enough to do so for a full season. I'd rather have Pedro Martinez's lion heart on the squad than Freddie G, Livan, or Redding, but it's not up to me so I'll save my breath.

I scored some tickets to see the Mets at CITY FIELD, though not Opening Day, and let me tell you I am salivating at getting myself into that ballpark. I can't wait to search for my name on the Fanwalk, pose for a picture next to the old Mets Magic Home Run Apple, and have myself some stadium fare. In fact, I told my buddy Tubby to bring his wallet because we're going to stuff our faces with the new grub so much that we're going to be the first people to clog up those new toilets! Most of all of course I'm excited to see the old Mets at the new Shea. I'm going to pretend it's Opening Day because they are handing out magnetic schedules at the gate, an Opening Day tradition as far back as I can remember. This year they'll give them out on Sunday April 19th and since I was shut out of Opening Night anyway I have the right to pretend, don't I?

TBS Sunday Baseball Schedule for out of market Mets fans

For all you transplanted Mets fans out there, here's the TBS Mets broadcast schedule (blackouts apply) for April and May:

 

Sunday April 12, 1 p.m.
Mets @ Florida Marlins

Sunday May 24, 1:30 p.m.
Mets @ Boston Red Sox

The Dirty Sanchez Era Is Over

Put away those goggles.  Call him Tardy, Dirty, or just washed-up, but Duaner Sanchez has been released by the New York Mets. 

 

http://www.metsblog.com/2009/03/10/news-mets-release-duaner-sanchez/

 

 

 

FOX Baseball Schedule For Out-Of-Market Mets Fans

If you're a Mets fan who lives outside of SNY coverage area, and you are unwilling or unable to purchase DirecTV Extra Innings, here are the Mets games scheduled to be on national television this season on FOX:

 

All games 4 p.m. unless noted.

 

Saturday, May 2, 2009 (*3:30 PM ET)

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

 

Saturday, May 16, 2009

New York Mets at San Francisco Giants

 

Saturday, June 13, 2009

New York Mets at New York Yankees

 

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Tampa Bay Rays at New York Mets

 

Saturday, July 4, 2009

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

 

Saturday, July 18, 2009

New York Mets at Atlanta Braves

 

Saturday, August 29, 2009

New York Mets at Chicago Cubs

 

Saturday, September 12, 2009

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

 

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Darryl Strawberry and Moises Alou

Adam Rubin has some tidbits on some former Mets over at Surfing The Mets, the Daily News Mets blog:

 

Darryl Strawberry says he would have taken steroids if they were available to him during his playing career.  

 

Moises Alou will retire from playing baseball after the WBC.

We Now Interrupt This Mets Spring Training To Bring You An International Tournament

I could not post this weekend because I was too busy holding my breath over the Johan Santana Elbow Crisis. Now that the crisis has passed(?) and the winter storm has passed as well, I can write a few words about Spring Training. Just in time for Jerry Manuel's first Mets Spring to get blown up by the World Baseball Classic. Can anyone even remember who won the last time they held this thing?

So, in case you missed it, here's a round up of the goings on at Mets camp, other than us all freaking out about Johan and until Jose Reyes, K-Rod and company took off to play for the WBC.

Schmuck Francessa had a feud going with Ryan Church and David Wright. Wright and Franny have patched things up, but apparently Mikey doesn't want to admit he was wrong about Church so he isn't willing to try and smooth things over. Schmuck and His Lap Dog were ignorant as a duo, but at least they were entertaining. As a solo act, the WFAN drivetime show is so tediously dreary that I'd rather just listen to music. Speaking of which, check out the Heartless Bastards' new album. It is great!

Newsday's David Lennon has an interview with Pedro Martinez. Petey says he's not willing to accept a low base pay with incentives deal at thi spoint because he feels "a lot better than the last four years," and that the only team he's personally sat down with is Omar Minaya and the Mets, because he pays people to do that. Speaking of Newsday, I've thought a lot about Newsday's plan to pay for their online service since posting about it on Friday. Maybe I rushed to judgement before finding out the intended terms? Or maybe it's the fact that Cablevision charges for internet service, and then charges to read media coverage (Newsday.com) about the other entities it owns (Knicks/Rangers) that is so troubling. Either way, check out Neil Best's watchdog column (while you still can) for an interesting back and forth between him and his readers. Food for thought, whichever side of the debate you're on.

Former Mets pitcher Tom Sturdivant has passed away at the age of 78. Tom pitched 16 games as a reliever for the Mets for the better parts of two months in 1964.

Look for SNY to soup up their Mets broadcasts this season with some new high-tech HD features. They are called

• SNY magnify
• flow motion
• pitch differential
• speed tracker
• distance tracker

Check out this tech-y article for details on what the heck these things are. It remainds to be seen how long these things will be in placed before we find them intrusive. Also not mentioned is what corporations will be sponsoring these gadgets. I predict the LensCrafter Magnifyer, Moen Flow Motion, Empire Roofing Pitch Differential, Illy Espresso Speed Tracker, and Garmin Nuvi Distance Tracker. wocka wocka wocka.

OK, that's all for now. I guess I didn't write all that much about Mets spring training? Anyway, today transplanted ex-Mets pitcher Mike Hampton was roughed up by the A-Rod-less Junkees, allowing four runs and six hits in two innings.