|
In a report by Mark Hermann from Newsday, there will be some changes made to Citi Field that will be performed after the All-Star Break.
Hermann says that the Mets have received permission from Major League Baseball to show live action on it’s video boards as soon as the ball is put in play.
In addition, there will be a bigger celebration of the team’s history displayed throughout Citi Field but there will be no changes to the field configuration.
…the key for me this season is for the park to have more identity which it appears the team is addressing…whether it had to do with them not having enough time to complete the stadium the way they had planned or it was a miscalculation, I am happy that changes are coming and I am looking forward to what will be done…
…as far as off-season changes are concerned I would like to see the height of the walls lowered in left field and to bring the Mo’ Zone in to eliminate that cavern in right field…keeping it a pitchers park but making it a little easier to get one out…
For more on these changes, check out Hermann’s article in Newsday.
I was at the games this weekend and felt that the rotunda had an emptier feel than I thought it would. I don’t think there was much more than the team store, the 42 monument and two video screens
Is there any particular reason the Jackie Robinson Rotunda can’t feature Mets history? The man ushered in the era that has marked the entirety of the Mets existence…I don’t think it’d be incongrous to use the area to showcase Mets history as well.
I agree. I think it is nice to remember a great historic player but he didn’t play for the Mets. Unfortunately it would be strange having Mets and Dodgers pictures/video’s in the same room. Eventually I would like to see the rotunda in Robinson’s name only and the memorabilia moved into a museum in the park. I would love to walk through the Rotunda with pictures of Hodges, Stengle, Rusty, Seaver, Koosman, Darryl, Keith, Gary, Lenny etc.., maybe display the World Series trophies. Make it a Mets statement, not just a memory of a non-Met and gift shop.
Not sure if someone mentioned this but why dont they show pictures and videos of history that led up to the foundation of NY Mets baseball. Ie. start with Jackie Robinson and the Giants and go thru history up until the founding of the NY Mets….
The live feed is a start, but they need to start playing back instant replay’s of close plays. I know they don’t want to stir up the fans if its controversial or to insult the umps, but the fans have no idea what happened or cant even appreciate a nice catch or bang-bang play. It’s always nice to see the close-up after the fact.
The fences need to be addressed as well. I don’t mind it being a pitchers park but you can’t have huge power alleys AND double-high walls. I mean, pick one or the other. Either short walls, but deep, or short distance and taller walls.
Do you know of any other ballpark that shows instant replay of controversial/close plays? I don’t think it’s allowed by the MLB. Can you imagine the reaction by the crowd and the manager if the replay clearly shows a blown call agains the home team?
Umpires are going to make mistakes its part of the human nature of the game and showing a replay that shows that the ump was clearly wrong solves nothing. The call won’t be overturned so why give fans a reason to be rightfully angry for the rest of the game and possibly endanger the umpires.
I agree with ya, the only thing that would accomplish is putting the umpires in danger, not that there hasn’t been a couple that have deserved it. But for the most part it’s bang bang plays they miss. Of course being in position for those plays helps tremendously and there seems to be an epidemic of late on Umpires being out of position.
I’m in agreement with you. In fact I do think the MLB doesn’t allow it.
Can you imagine the reaction of someone like Lou Pinella if the instant replay clearly showed the ump had blown a call that went against the Cubs? I think Lou would throw a fit to end all fits.
I was actually at the Dodger game when Livan pitched. I’m not sure if it was because I was by the Shake Shack, but the big tv there showed plenty of replays when the ump made the bad call on the Castillo to Cora double play. But now that I think of it, they never show replays on the main screen facing the field, so yeah, I agree with you on the replays on every tv.
Chase Utley didn’t seem to have any problems getting the ball out near the Mo’s Zone.
none of the opposing teams seem to be having trouble, the walls should stay as is, not hurting Brian Schnieder at all, jeez, much ado about nothing.
Agreed. I like the quirky dimensions.
Utley’s homers at Citi were fairly cheap ones really. Just over the very corner wall, the shortest distance from home plate. Sheffield has managed some like that in the other corner but the right field corner is an easy shot, one of the few easy out-of-heres in the entire field.
If thats how the park plays where a HR is easy to hit down the line than they need to bring in players that can take advantage of that. The problem fans are having with the park is solely on Wright struggles to hit a HR because he doesn’t pull the ball. Alot of his HR’s in his career are opposite field gappers or line drives in the power alleys that are now being caught. If he can’t be successful in this park with his game and he’s not hititng more doubles than they need to procede as if he’s a avg and doubles hitter and go out and sign a big bat and move Wright to the 2 hole.
Like everyone says, the home teams have no problem hitting HR’s so leave the park as is and just bring in some guys whose game is line drives down the line.
David Wright is our franchise player. If we have a ballpark that turns him from a top statistical player in mlb into a middle-tier player, then that is a major problem for the Mets and they need to do something about it.
a .330 hitter with a ton of doubles, 100+ RBI’s and 30+ SB is not a mid tier player. You don’t have to hit 30+ HR’s to be a franchise player.
You’re right. However, as he gets older, the stolen bases will go down and if the power doesn’t increase, he’s not a superstar any more. DW was a legitimate power bat the past 3 years – easily comparable in his abilities to Chipper, and now he has adjusted his swing to the point where he’s not hitting the ball out of any park. He’s changed his whole game around – and while he’s still great, he’s not a #3 or #4 or #5 hitter that he has been. If you’re comfortable with him hitting singles and doubles and batting .330 that’s great, but he won’t be the slugger in your lineup. And I think everyone in the Mets organization wants him to be a slugger. Because sluggers fill seats and sell merchandise better than anyone. It’s a business. They’ll move the fences in after the year. You’ll see.
Wright is my favorite player but you don’t ajust the dimensions of a park around 1 guy. You adjust the team to the park. If the Mets changed the dimensions and Wright goes out and tears a ligament his career is over. You need to build a team around how a ballpark plays so you consistently will win. It is a pitchers park. Get good pitching and D with players that can hit for power and get on base.
Look at the Yankees with a predominantly lefty team. That was because of the short RF porch. Look at the Red Sox with righty power or lefties that went the other way to bang it off the monster. They didn’t lower the wall when they won the division with the lowest HR totals in baseball. They found other ways to win.
Metsrule, It’s not just Wright it’s a team thing. BUt with that said I agree it’s not time to move the fences in just yet. I think the power struggles for the team as a hole are a result of the team A) getting fewer good pitches to hit because the lineup was so anemic. and B) I think they are pressing, and when a player is not relaxed and fluid in the batters box the power definetly suffers. I don’t think it’s any coincedence that Schneider and Tatis were able to drive the ball out of the park on Sunday because the game was (seemingling well in hand) and they were relaxed and got a pitch to hit. OH by way the team did just trade for a guy that pulls the ball in F-Core. Having Pagan and F-Core in the lineup seems to make a difference. Heck having the same lineup 2 days in a row helps tremendous just for the psyche of the team and the fans!
not having the same lineup 2 days in a row is Manuel’s fault not necessarily injuries. Manuel says he wants to reward players for good play but then sat Church or Murphy after great games.
I hate the obsession with asymmetry with these new fields. They shouldve just had the same exact dimensions/wall height as shea. It was fine for 40+ years why go changing it. The fence height in LF is a little ridiculous since even balls that are absolutely crushed only seem to go 2 rows back. I know it works for both teams but other teams come in for 3 games deal with it and leave our hitters deal with it for 81 games and it could start to cause frustration.
I agree. the height of the walls should uniform across the field. They shoud be the same height they were at Shea – 8 feet I think.
I agree as well, Shea was great the way it played for homers. My son and I are fond of saying, “that’d be over the wall at Shea.” I can’t help but think it’s demoralizing to have your blasts hit the high walls in the gaps. The Phillies play in a park that rewards hard hit flies and this carries over to their conidence elsewhere, while the Mets’ hitters hit spooked about the same thing, and adjust their hitting as a result.
Everyone talks about hitting but how much confidence are the pitchers getting pitching at Citifield where those balls are staying in the park. The Phillies pitchers ERA’s are ridiculous and they have to hate pitching at home where an easy fly ball turns into a HR. Not everything is about hitting.
If free agent pitchers want to come to the Mets because it’ll make there ERA look good than i’m all for that. Build the team around speedy guys and double hitters and dominate pitching, not a team that relies on the HR’s to win games. The problem is we have over the hill bench players playing everyday in Sheffield and Cora and occasionally Tatis and not speedy guys that would benefit from the bigger park offensively and defensively. Plus its the first year and no one knew how the park would play. Now that Omar knows what players could strive at Citi, he can build the team for years to come the way they need to.
Do you know why if this team is down by 5 in the 8th, most people will turn off their tv’s? If this team is down by more than 1 in late innings, no one believes in a come back. Because it’s tough to score in bunches when you’re hitting singles and doubles. I understand what you’re saying, but each team needs at least 2 guys who are a real HR threat and who can tie or win the game with one swing. We had 3 – 2 are on the DL and 1 has lost his power. Now all we got is Sheffield and he wasn’t even in the plans in March. This is a guy who would otherwise bat 6th…or probably 7th…Funny how things work out…
zer09 a man of logic. this whole “build a speed team with defense” thing is all well and good until youre down 2 in the bottom of the ninth with a guy on 1st. wouldnt it be nice to not have to get 3 more hits to tie the game?
I really hope the walls go through NO changes and stay exactly as they are. Its not like we are hitting a ton of HR on the road.
Maybe its annoying for the guys now, having to deal with it for 81 games, but if the team is built right, 5 years from now, this could be the biggest home field advantage around. If the team centers around defense, speed, pitching and gap hitting, then its tough for anyone to beat us. Power teams will come and see balls die while we are dropping doubles and triples, all while playing solid D and good pitching. Thats near impossible to overcome if everything works out correctly. plus, strong D and good pitching will translate fine enough even in places like CBP where power has the advantage.
“power teams will come in and see balls die”….the phillies are our biggest rival and a “power team”, they didnt seem to have any problems. howard has hit a couple, ibanez has hit a couple, utley has hit a couple, rollins and werth have found the seats. Im not so sure it will give us an advantage when we will need 2-3 hits to produce ONE run with our speed while philly takes 1 swing and matches us. Make the stadium fair then just build a good team nevermind this nonsense of building a team for citifield bc what do we do the 81 games we are NOT in citi?
The Mets record against the Phillies at CitiField is 3-2 and both loses were extra inning defeats without Delgado and Reyes in the lineup. Its not like the Phillies came in and mashed the ball and crushed the Mets. Yes they hit some HR’s but who knows what the outcome of those games would have been if the Mets had atleast one of Delgado or Reyes who could have hit a game changing HR, triple or SB that would have given the Mets 1 extra run to win in the 9th. The Phils had a healthy team during those two extra inning games!!
Excellent points!
remind me the manor in which they won those games? I have this image of a 430 ft homerun hit by raul ibanez in extra innings. Alot easier to score in those tight games when it can be done with one swing. Im not saying you have to have 8 mashers but you need 2. i honestly dont think 8 carl crawfords or jose reyes’ is going to help you still need an adam dunn type somewhere in there or a carlos lee type.
One of the things they should consider but never will is the ridiculous amount of advertising (they even have a Lincoln/Mercury ad buried between the bullpens) as it has made a nice stadium look like the junkyards across the street. On each video board, the advertising is disproportionately larger than the video.
The height and distance of the fences cannot be changed mid-year so that’s moot for now
i don’t think they’ll cut the ads. i mean, every major league park looks like this nowadays.
and if they did, tickets would probably be too expensive for anyone to bear.
No major league park has as many garish ads (I’ve been about 20 of them). They don’t even have high profile advertisers (Arpielle Rental Equipment covers the main video board)….or 1-800-BUY-GOLD…..they are not generate high quality revenue (name brands, etc.)…..the ticket prices are already obscene and will need to go down unless they can handle a 30-40% non-renewal rate.
Have you seen new Yankee Stadium? Here’s an article showing some nice ads from there…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04062009/sports/mets/new_mets_field_clobbers_yanks_from_tv_st_163157.htm
Agree COMPLETELY and this was my biggest complain from the get-go, even bigger than the lack of Mets history.
This is economically driven though – I think their intention was fewer sponsors with deeper packages, and when those didn’t materialize they’ve been selling to lower-tier advertisers they can boot out when the big boys come back. In the mean time, yes it looks like a poor man’s Time’s Square…but hopefully it sorts out in years to come.
The Arpiel Equipment Race is the worst thing I’ve ever seen though. Of all the things to race in NY…
Change the color of the walls — make them Mets Blue & Orange, not Giants’ Black with Orange Trim.
I wouldn’t mess with the height/depth yet; let’s see how a couple of years of FAs feel about coming to the Mets first…I’m thinking that good pitchers might like a good pitchers’ park, and I’d rather grow hitters & buy pitchers.
I agree. As an ex-NYer, I finally got to Citi Field last week and was struck by the lack of the combo orange/blue which is really the signature of the team. It didn’t help that they’re playing the dodgers and the rotunda feels like an homage to the dodgers. I know it’s called Jackie Robinson rotunda but it has to be make more mets-like.
On a positive note, food was very good.
To boot most of the blue is navy – looks like Broncos colors.
ExileInLA, you do realize the saying is “grow the arms, buy the bats” right? buying pitching costs WAY too much and is very risky (see: gil meche, oliver perez, carlos silva) buying bats is alot more cost effective and less risky (see: adam dunn, raul ibanez, orlando hudson).
I disagree with the conventional wisdom. You can buy enough bats to get a team to October if you want, but October success requires 2 ace starters and a lights-out closer; if you have that, you should win 3 of 5 and 4 of 7 even if everything else goes wrong.
True aces (Santana, Halladay, Lincecum, etc.) take long enough to develop out of the minors that most of them hit their peak during their arb-eligible years (players with Gooden-type starts are so rare that you can’t plan for that) and stay there for about 5 years; you get them either as FAs or by trade when they’re on the verge of FA (which means you pay FA bucks AND lose talent). I think it’s better to acquire aces the way the Mets got Santana, and think that the only reason to trade young arms with potential to be #2-3 starters (a la Pelfrey) is if you get a #1 back.
PS – with the current roster, if they think that Beltran can be back around Aug 1 & Delgado around Aug 15, then I’d sit tight; they’re still short an ace, but unless PHL gets Halladay it doesn’t matter b/c nobody in the NL has 2 aces. The only “big name” trade that I’d consider before the deadline would involve sending either Wagner or Putz, if recovered, for a better middle IF. I don’t expect Reyes back, and don’t want Argenis or Valdez or Ramon anywhere near CitiField in October.
Citifield in October? Beltran playing on Aug 1? What are you smoking?
It’s July 14!
It looks like Reyes will be back before Beltran and Delgado will be back before either of them. None of them back before July 31. Our best power threat is Sheffield and past Santana our rotation is as stable as the NY weather. Do you honestly believe the Mets have a shot at October?
i also notice that
they NEVER show replays of the Opposing team hits or great plays.
Hope the following changes also occur:
(i) move the flags away from the score board. The flags block the view of most people on the first base line from seeing, for example, the Mets line up.
(ii) with respect to those few sections whose last row ends up on the main walk-around level, (A) move the seats forward a couple of inches so that the row width is the same as every other row in the section (this will improve the sight line) and (B) add protections like the Yankee provide (either raise seats slightly (which is also needed to improve sightlines) and add a fence behind it so that the people moving behind the seats do not bump or spill bear on people sitting in the seats.
(iii) on each row, add one more drink holder. Note this occurs on every single row in the stadium. Each row has one less drink holder than there are seats (this is true even in the premium sections).
I’m a 20+ year season ticket holder and addressed your issues and some others like holding people at the end of the aisle while ball is in play….did this in writing to Dave Howard at the end of the first homestand.
No response.
Sorry, one more.
Bring back the metallic bottles of bud (red bottles) and bud light (blue bottles)!
All In-Bev products should be removed in favor of real beer.
Live feeds of the game have always been shown on the video boards when the ball is put in play. This is not new – I know for a fact as I’ve watched with my own eyes ha
Dont know if anyone mentioned this but I would like to see another out of town scoreboard across from the one now. If you site in left field it is impossible to see the scores.
Keep the dimensions the same and the wall height the same. It will only make it easier for the opponet to homer as we dont homer on the road and a home run hitter can hit it out of any park.
Agree. The Mets, for whatever reasaon, just don’t hit HRs. Wright has 1 road HR. Their other two legit HR hitters are on the DL. They are LH oriented so RCF would reduce HRs. But its not like Citi is the old Yankee Stadium with 463 to RCF or Braves Field in Boston or Griffen Stadium with 400+ LF. Plus its not 500′ to LCF either or 600′ to CF and the fences aren’t 75′ high. All those 400′ HRs to LF would still be HRs.
Look at the minors and list the players with 10+ HRs. There is just no power in the organization.
Without Delgado Next year there is not a guaranteed 30 HR guy on the roster even if they played at CBP. Beltran is a 20 – 30 HR guy now and Wright is probably a 20 HR guy too and they are our biggest boppers under team control for 2010.
I agree with Michael, the Mo’s zone should be eliminated next year. That area simply does not play fair. It’s a blast out there as it is (Utley’s homers were down the line and I believe according to calculations would NOT have been out of Shea) and it kills RH hitters with power the other way.
But before that–the walls MUST be made blue. Cerrone did a piece of photoshop earlier showing how it would look with blue walls–the difference in it having the feeling of a Mets ballpark was striking.
The Wilpons crack me up. They’re like the college kid who scrambles the morning before his parents come up to visit to get rid of the condoms, beer bottles and bong.
“Let’s just throw some blue-and-orange stuff up on the walls as fast as possible since these fans have this crazy idea that the Mets’ stadium should recognize Mets’ history”
yea, the lack of planning is a bit puzzling. I mean, the team says they plan on introducing mets history to the park, but why wasn’t it done in the first place. I’m ok with the dodger references, but its the fact that initially there were more dodger references than mets. Why couldn’t a mets museum, historic photos, WS banners, retired numbers, etc…why couldn’t this have been incorporating in a big way and not just a last minute thing like they forgot.
Its the principal of the matter that gives off this feeling of “oh, my bad”
I get that maybe the priority was getting the place open, but if nothing else they could have used alot of the decor that had been added to Shea in recent years…of course they were trying to sell all that.
It is puzzling and is another dent in the faith we have in the Wilpons, but hopefully in a few years we will forget that it wasn’t there to begin with.
One thing I will say though, they did a good job in Shea’s later years sprucing the stadium up with Mets stuff – the picture banners in the concourses, the montage on the rim of the loge, etc. When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s there was no Mets stuff inside Shea either.
Leave Ebbetts alone
If our franchise player can’t hit in our new park, then maybe he shouldn’t be our franchise player. If he can’t adjust his game to the park, then trade him. His value hasn’t diminished that much and his contract is good. I would expect a servible replacement at 3B and a #2 starter, plus a good 1B prospect.
Umm, he did change his game. He changed it to being a hitter who concentrates on the gaps and OBP and steals. That’s why he’s not hitting the HR’s. It’s not every player who can completely change their game and still be very successful. I have no issue with DW being this kind of hitter and leading the league in hitting while getting only 15 hr’s. Mets just need to get a player who can replace the lost power. Someone remind me why we didn’t sign Adam Dunn to begin with? He’d be a great compliment and would probably make up the 6 games we’re behind in the standings….
I am all for Dunn but lets not go over board here. he would NOT have helped us makeup 6 games.
You don’t think that 23 HR 62 RBI and a 398 OBP would have helped us make up the gap left by Delgado? I think we Dunn in the lineup we make up at least 4 games easy.
The walls are too high (and the wrong color). Not only is it robbing us of HRs and eventually scaring off free agent sluggers, it eliminates exciting over-the-fence grabs.
You mean like the ENDY catch of 2006?
Yes! I don’t mind that we (and the visiting teams) are robbed of hr’s, but a stolen hr is one of the most exciting plays in baseball, and everyone’s done it from Beltran to Cameron to Endy to Floyd to Alou. You’ll never see that play in Citi.
It’s a good point, though I don’t mind the high walls, it does give Citi a somewhat unique feel that you don’t have elsewhere anymore. They did essentially have that at Commerica in Detroit, but, like with Citi, they found it so much of a pitcher’s park that they essentially just created a new closer, lower fence and left a larger gap between the fans and the fence. That did have the advantage of making it almost impossible to have a fan interfere with a HR ball.
If they make any changes to the dimensions it shouldn’t be until after 2010 when they have been able to see how the field truly plays. Right now the Mets aren’t hitting homers anywhere, so bringing the fences in and making it easier for the opponent to hit more homers doesn’t seem like a bright idea.
If they do anything they should move home plate out from the backstop. This will make the fences closer, but add more foul territory keeping it fairer for the pitchers. This will be the easiest way to alter the configurations without ruining seating.
For instance, if they lower the LF fence, the entire seating section will have to be rebuild because it would be up too high and build right into the fence. Building a shorter and shallower fence would mean those seats become even more obstructed. If there is a homer robbing catch 20% of the crowd wouldn’t be able to see it anyway…
PLEASE CORRCET ME IF IM WRONG. No team has won the world series the first season in a new stadium. 2010 is only a year away.
It pains me to say this, but there is in fact one team that won during their first season in a new park….Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2006 St.Louis Cardinals.
I thought it was strange being in the outfield area with food that you couldn’t see live action. That is good to hear. We all know the Mets need to add Mets Memories to the stadium and change the outfield wall color to light blue. Newsday also mentioned an additional video board will be added in RF which help the people along the left field line and in the outfield a good chance to see replays.
Now as far as dimensions to the field go. DO NOT CHANGE THE WALL HEIGHT OR DISTANCE. I love the fact that it is hard to hit one out. True homerun hitters have gotten them out. We will never out homer the Phillies. Why make it easier for guys like Victorino and Utley, tradionally not HR hitters that much more of a threat. The way to combat it is sign some more power. Plus pulling in the walls reduces the emphasis on good D. Why did we get Francoeur?
I have heard on one website that the Mets have thought about making the LF wall lower but to me that is stupid. If they wanted to do that they could have lowered the seats and given those in the OF a better view. If they do that, unless you are in the front row you will sit there wondering, did it hit the wall, was it over the line or under. Not a good idea.
I also saw on another website that the Mets have started lowering the bannisters that have caused many of the obstructed views.
Make it even tougher!
Place plexy-glass or a net below the peps-porch so that we create a “Green Monster” type impediment.
That will eliminate the Utley-type HR.
I’d be for that if they eliminated the Mo’s Zone. I’m all for eliminating fly ball homeruns, but I don’t think hitters should have to hit a ball in the gap 410 feet to get it out, and I believe that’s about what it is with the wall height at the back of the Mo’s zone. That’s both rediculous and really plants bad seed into players’ heads. I blame Mo’s Zone more than anything else for Wright’s power problems. He hit two balls to that gap and decided he’d never hit one out, so anything he’s hitting the other way he’s trying to hit on a line.
You cant hit a homer in to the lower deck in the Mo Zone because of the overhang, not the distance. There is no homer arc low enough…
I’m thinking that after the grievances about the bullpen are heard in the offseason they will have to alter the fences to make the visitor’s bullpen flush with the home one. I can’t imagine them being able to keep the visitor’s bullpen buried back there; which is one of the major design flaws of the stadium.
I also agree that lowering the fence in left field would still keep it pitcher friendly. There’s a happy medium to be had like in SF or Detroit. They were smart unlike the Yankees though because it’s way easier to move fences in than out. In the long run Citi will be the better of the two of not already.
Also I would love for them to take the Robinson stuff out and put it in a museum and then make it dedicated to the Mets. It’s sorta sad compared to other ballparks the lack of Mets feel to it. Is a statue of Tom Seaver that hard to come up with? When are they going to retire Piazza’s number???
I agree about the bullpens. I thought it was strange the way it was configured. I have a feeling they will turn them so that both can setup a bench to watch the action and then throw towards where the old apple is instead of parallel to the outfield wall.
Not sure if someone mentioned this but why dont they show pictures and videos in the rotunda of ALL NY baseball history (except Yankees ofcourse) that led up to the foundation of the NY Mets organization??? Ie. start with Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers, and the Giants and go thru history up until the founding of the NY Mets…. You could leave Jackie Robinson’s stuff up but expand on it.
I think Citi Field is awesome because it is a pitchers park. If the Wilpon’s (coupons) decide to ever really go for it, think of the pitchers that will want to come to the Mets. It could be scary. Anyone can sign a Dunn or .250 hitter with power. Show me a guy that can win 18-20 wins that wants to come to your team and I’ll take that any day.
Plus, watching the HR derby last night, do the Mets have anyone capable of doing what we saw? No. We do not. Wright is a hitter that can hit HR’s. He is not a HR hitter. I look at him like Big Poppy. A great line drive hitter that can hit for some pop but he isn’t ever going to hit 500 HR’s like Sheff.
I thought the Mo’s Zone would be gimmicky and to a degree it is but I haven’t seen too many shots that went into the upper deck that would have been caught if not for the overhang. That would be annoying. What annoys me more was Utley’s creeping over the wall HR’s in RF but they would have been out in Philly so it doesn’t matter.
If the Mets were hitting them out on the road then I would re-consider the Citi dimensions but they have more at home then on the road. I understand that they have changed their approach but one has to decide would you rather have Wright hit .330 with no power or .300 with power? That is tough. If he wasn’t striking out so much I would say .330 but with the strikeouts I would rather see .300 with pop. Steve Phillips brought up an interesting point last night. He said it might have been good for Wright to hit last night because his stroke has changed and the contest could have given him some power practice. Just as he lost it last year he could find it this year. Just a thought.
For next year we potentially can have holes at C, 1B, 2B, LF and if the Mets trade a core player SS, 3B or CF. There are enough power hitters that play some of those positions to get the necessary pop. What we need are pitchers dimensions to attract the Hallidays of the world, not the Perez’s.
Yeah, I know it’s out of fashion to say it, but–make the wall blue. Just do it. It looks SO wrong not being blue.