According to Costa, the Padres complained of the obstructed view from the visitors bullpen, and the Mets are now renovating the area so that the bullpens are side by side on the field.

…i wonder if this will change the dimensions of the ‘Mo Zone’ area in right field…

For more on these changes, including pictures of these changes, check out Costa’s post here.

…i.e., they’re finally turning them on…

Also, they have begun installing photographic imagery of famous Mets and historic moments in team history on the Field and Promenade Levels. 

For instance, the image in this post, of Darryl Strawberry, Keith Hernandez and Dwight Gooden, will cover the side of the Empire Suites by section 106 in the Right Field corner on the Field Level, while another celebrating the 1969 World Series championship will cover the other end of the Empire Suite Level on the third base side near section 126 on the Field Level, among others.

…i appreciate the effort… i do… but, is it me, or do the Mets seem to be shying away from their traditional blue and orange… first, these pictures and the ones outside are all black and white, muting the vivid uniform we’ve come to know and love… second, if you notice, the blue and orange they do incorporate around the ballpark is actually the dark navy-blue and red-orange from the Citigroup color scheme… anyway, it’s just something i have noticed the last few times i was there, then reminded of when seeing these new photos…

Additionally, championship banners are now on display on the wall in left field.

…nice… no brainer… as opposed to sticking them out back, under the bridge, where they had been hiding… thanks…

According to the release, “The Mets will announce plans for additional recognition of club history in the weeks ahead.”

In addition, Adam Rubin, in a post to his blog for the Daily News, says that there are changes being made at Citi Field, including the installation of championship banners along the left field wall.

For more on the jerseys and these changes, check out Rubin’s blog.

Shark requests, ‘Organ music,’ writing, ‘The season started promising and then the noise idiots started getting carried away again.  This will be an easy fix once I buy the team.’

…i’m with you, shannon… i noticed this over the weekend when watching the games in San Diego… sure, every now and then Petco would rip in to ‘Everybody Clap Yo Hands,’ but, for the most part, it was organ music… and, i wondered what it must be like to watch a baseball game in person, while also being able to have a conversation about the game without shouting…

“Maybe it is the ghost of Shea,” Alex Cora told Joel Sherman of the New York Post, in what is a sarcastic, but interesting and funny review of the injury-plagued season.

…sure, why not… or, perhaps it’s the medical staff… or, maybe it’s just really bad luck… who knows… like i suggested a few weeks ago, there are people who believe the Mets training staff may give too much slack to players, who they let dictate how they’re feeling, how they’re progressing, etc., instead of the team just telling the player how it is… i do know the team’s doctors are well respected around the game… i believe the Mets were willing to accept this all is a freakish accident, but i think this recent run, losing niese, shffield and castillo, may force them to overhaul the training staff, if for no other reason than to give confidence to new players… i mean, be it superstition, or a bad rep, if you’re a free agent, do you want to walk in to that clubhouse right now… hell, i’m just a blogger, albeit an injury prone blogger, and and i’m paranoid of walking within 10 feet of that place…

Earlier this month, Mark Herrmann in Newsday:

“The Mets received permission from Major League Baseball to show the live feed on video screens the instant the ball is in play, allowing fans to follow action they might not see live. Also, an additional video board will be installed in the rightfield corner after the All-Star break… more Mets memories will be reflected with displays in the park this summer, and that there are bigger long-term plans to give the place a Mets atmosphere.”

…i was there yesterday, did a lot of walking around, and didn’t notice much difference from before the break… that said, i never got the impression, be it from the Mets, nor from herrmann’s report, that sudden changes would occur for the first game back home… i understood this to mean the team has plans, and will slowly roll things out as they get to it…

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.

…oh, jeez, this again… ok, fine… let’s see what we’ve got…

Carton, Esiason and their staff selected the ‘Curly Shuffle,’ ‘Blame it on the Boogie,’ ‘I Like it Like That,’ and ‘Mama Said Knock You Out,’ to join the organization’s selections, which include ‘Meet the Mets,’ ‘Twist and Shout,’ ‘This Land is Your Land,’ and ‘Shout.’

According to Carton, the eight choices will up for vote on Mets.com at some point in the next week or so.

…again, why does there have to be sing a long in the first place… and why do we need to go through this every season… just play Meet the Mets… or don’t… or, frankly, at this point, play Sweet Caroline, play the theme to MASH, whatever, just pick something…

…hey, here’s a song idea: Watch the Game… how about that one… how about you stop distracting me with songs, and trivia, and t-shirts, and let me actually watch the game, and talk to my father about the situation at hand without having to shout over the public address system… just a suggestion…

As usual, while out at the ballpark, I will be making live posts using Twitter, including pictures and random observations, which you can follow below:

To subscribe to my Twitter feed, go here.

“It is the biggest park that I have ever played in in my life… You know, I actually feel sort of sorry for some of the guys out there because their power numbers are really going to take a hit; guys like David Wright, Beltran, Delgado.  The days of them hitting 35, 40 homers – they’re over.  I juiced the ball just right of center field as hard as the good Lord can let me hit a ball, and it hit midways up the center field wall for a double; and every time there was a long fly out or a double that hit off the wall or something, David Wright would run by me and go, ‘Nice park.’  He’s a little frustrated with it, but on the flip side of that, you got a guy like Jose Reyes who’s liable to hit, in a healthy year, 25, 30 triples in that ballpark because if you split a gap you can run forever.”

…wright will be confronted with this questions by reporters today, i am sure, and he’ll deny it or spin it, i am sure, and i don’t know why… the park is big, and i wouldn’t blame him for being frustrated…

By the way, Ripken Baseball, which is a fantastic show, airs nationwide exclusively on SIRIUS XM Radio’s MLB Home Plate channel.

In a post to NY Baseball Digest, Mike Silva writes, “I believe the park is ok, but the Mets should consider lowering the high left field padding so you can still get a homer on a line drive. That would be a nice compromise.”

…it cuts both ways, though… the Mets struggle to hit home runs, so do the opposition… instead, i prefer the Mets keep it as is, and start truly building a team built around pitching, speed and defense, which, by the way, would not only play to building’s strength, but it also plays well on the road…