Rejuvenated Offense, Vargas Spoil Torre's NY Return, 8-4
After tonight's victory over the Dodgers, I couldn't help but think of Lou Brown's famous quote from Major League Two:
"Now, we won a ball game yesterday. If we win one today, that's two in a row. We win one tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before."
Three wins in a row for the first time in a month.
While that's a good accomplishment for the boys from Queens, a closer look at how they've won tells me these bears might actually be coming out of hibernation.
Take tonight's game for example. Carlos Delgado turns in a web gem? David Wright goes 2-4 with two homers off a righty? Louis Castillo gets 3 hits in the same game? Seven runs driven in with two outs? Five players with at least two hits? A second straight lights-out performance from the pen?
Yes, you read that last paragraph right. Trust me, I've triple-checked those stats, and was adjusting my TV throughout the game to make sure I hadn't entered an alternate universe.
These past three games are a glimpse of what this team is capable of. From top to bottom, the team is playing to their potential, and every aspect of the roster that had been a problem has been a strength over this short stretch.
The boys showed the fight and the heart we've been waiting for in coming back not once, but twice from the brink of defeat in last night's thriller against the Marlins, and kept that momentum going into tonight's game.
More importantly, that come from behind victory did something to this team. David Wright spoke about it after the game, saying, "That's the kind of game we won in '06. Those are the games when you build confidence and get swagger".
On any ballclub I have ever been a part of, you could always look back once the season had ended, point to one singular moment or game and say, "that's when we became a team." Obviously you're a team in that you are a collection of players who play together and want to beat the other team, but I'm talking about the true meaning of the word.
Everyone is pulling for the guy next to them. Everyone feeds off each other. When your backs are against the wall, you pull together and do it for each other, because you don't want to be the one that lets everyone down. You genuinely care about the people you are playing with, and they care about you in return. You know there's no way you'll lose the close games and that you can always come back no matter what the odds, because you share that bond with each other.
Some people may think those types of things don't happen anymore, and that they certainly don't happen in professional sports. But ask any championship team and they'll all say these same qualities are what propelled them to a title.
Last night was the first time all season where I saw those things from this group of players. It was a collective team effort to come away with that victory, and you could tell the joy the players had when they mobbed Fernando Tatis at the end of the game. They looked like they had just won it all. Tatis looked like he'd just gotten the biggest hit of his life. And it was May 28th.
It's that type of emotion that this team's been missing, and it was once again evident in tonight's game. Maybe it took an event like that for the Mets to truly become a team, and all sings point to that being a case.
That's right people, last night could very well be the night we look back at in October as the turning point of this season.
And I've got to give credit where credit is due. Hats off to Willie Randolph. Showing cojones in sitting down Delgado for two straight days, playing the hot bats off the bench, everything he's done in the past three games has been great.
A three game winning streak and me praising Willie Randolph? I've stepped into the Twilight Zone. And I'm loving it.
Yahoo! Notes
Reyes singled twice and has reached base in 29 straight games. … Wright grounded out and struck out in his final two at-bats. No Met has hit three home runs in a game at Shea. … While Martin was charged with an error for the catcher’s interference that let Vargas reach, the runs that scored after the two-out play were officially earned. According to scoring rules, it couldn't be assumed that Vargas would have made the third out.
Notes
Reyes reached base for the 28th straight game. … Tatis, ordinarily an infielder, made a tumbling catch at the right-field wall to rob Helms of an extra-base hit in the second. … Beltran’s fourth-inning double extended his streak of getting on base to 31 consecutive starts. … Met pitchers recorded 16 strikeouts. … Aaron Heilman pitched two innings for New York and struck out four of the six batters he faced.
As I sit here watching the Amazins put the finishing touches on a 5-3 victory over the Florida Marlins, I can't help but take a closer look at who is in the lineup tonight.
In case you didn't catch the game, here's the squad Willie Randolph put on the field tonight, in no particular order:
Reyes-SS
Evans - LF
Castillo - 2b
Wright - 3b
Easley - 1b
Beltran - CF
Tatis - RF
Castro - C
Santana - P
Notice anything interesting about that group of players? That's right people, three bench players and a rookie call-up. Half of the position players who played tonight have been deemed "bench players". My question to the Mets is, why?
Tatis is 6-14 since coming up from Triple A. Easley has been great off the bench throughout his tenure in New York, and would have had outstanding numbers last season if not for that gruesome ankle injury.
Castro had two RBI's tonight, both coming with two outs, the second one providing a huge insurance run late in the ballgame. Tatis also had two RBIs tonight, and Easley went 1-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
The beauty of these three guys was seeing them manufacture the team's final run. Easley started the rally with a single, and Tatis was hit by a pitch. Castro then came through with a base hit, and Tatis went all the way to third, displaying the hustle on the basepaths that Mets fans have so desperately wanted.
These three guys had a hand in all 5 of the Mets runs tonight. Is it merely a coincidence that Carlos Delgado was not in the lineup for two of his patented rally-killing strikeouts? Maybe. But like most intelligent Mets fans, I highly, highly doubt it.
This lineup flowed well tonight, and it all goes back to my point. These guys are all players with something to prove. Castro is a career backup, who rightly has felt for some time he should be playing on a more consistent basis. Granted, Schneider has been solid defensively and manages the staff very well, but there's no reason why Castro's role can't increase.
The same can be said for Easley and Tatis. Easley has been great at every position the Mets have placed him, so there's no reason why his role shouldn't increase as well. Tatis has been extremely productive thus far, so why not place him in the lineup more often?
The underlying theme here is that guys who are not considered "every day players" are coming through with the big hits, showing the fire, and hustling more than the "every day players".
Why shouldn't Delgado and Easley platoon at first base? Why can't Easley also platoon with Castillo at second base? Why can't Tatis assume right field duties until Church returns? Why can't Castro play twice a week instead of once?
These guys all have something to prove, and that's why they're playing harder - and better - than some of the guys who are playing every day for this team. My message to Willie Randolph: Show some cojones, and put the exact same lineup out there tomorrow. It not only lets the regulars know that their spots aren't set in stone, but it helps the reserves to know that if they do play well, they'll get in the lineup on a regular basis.
It worked tonight, so why mess with it?
• RHP Pedro Martinez will make a rehab start Wednesday for Class A St. Lucie in the Florida State League. Martinez has been on the disabled list since April 2 with a strained left hamstring. The Mets have tentatively set a return date of June 3 at San Francisco.
• RHP Matt Wise was placed on the disabled list with weakness in his shoulder. His fastball over the weekend topped out at 82 mph. Replacing him on the roster is RHP Carlos Muniz, who was recalled from Class AAA New Orleans. Muniz made three scoreless appearances for the Mets in April.
• 1B Carlos Delgado was given a “clear his head” night off Tuesday. Damion Easley played first base and drove in a run with a first-inning sacrifice fly.
My apologies for not having this up on Sunday, but as a recent college graduate I wanted one more Memorial Day weekend on the Jersey Shore before I entered the working world.
I also wanted to give the boys from Queens a chance to show me something - ANYTHING - to help make the tone of this column a little more positive. But, sadly, they let me down once again.
Like myself in the bedroom, the Mets started out with a bang (last Sunday's game against the Yankees) and then got more and more disappointing as the week went on.
As always, I'll wrap this baby up with my overall thoughts on the team's direction, as well as react to your comments.
But now, it's that special time that you've all been waiting for. It's time to break down this sorry week of Mets baseball, good, bad and ugly style.
The Good
Last Sunday's Beat-down Of The Yankees: It's these types of efforts that can send you up the wall as a fan. This was by far the most complete effort the boys have put forth so far this season.
They hit (11 runs on nine hits), pitched (Ollie Perez was outstanding, going 7 2/3 innings and surrendering two runs on only three hits) and played defense.
Moises Alou and Carlos Beltran were the only starters without at least one hit. Team MVP Ryan Church and Jose Reyes each went deep, and Carlos Delgado was robbed of a home run after the umpires mistakenly ruled the ball was foul.
Games like this provide a glimpse of what this team is really capable of, when everyone plays to their potential. But, that in itself has been the root of the Mets' problems this season; the inability to have everyone playing at their potential at the same time.
If they can figure out a way to get that happening on a consistent basis, they have the ability to blow teams out every night.
Nick Evans: Talk about a debut to remember. A Double A outfield prospect, Evans was called up after Alou and Church went down with injuries (more on those in a moment). A .292 hitter at Binghamton, the 22 year old went 3-4 with three doubles and two RBIs in Saturday's 9-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies.
Now, I know teams don't have a book on a kid who's making his major league debut, so I don't expect him to go 3-4 every night. But there's something deeper going on here. This guy brought a shot of life into the clubhouse with his fantastic game. Check out the postgame quotes from that contest, and everyone in the Met clubhouse talks about him with enthusiasm and smiles.
These are the types of players the Mets need to be playing every day. Maybe Nick Evans isn't quite ready to be an every day major league player, but if he keeps playing this well, why would he be sent back down when Alou returns?
Take a look at the Florida Marlins. They are a young team with a low payroll, and they're in first place. Young players bringing the fire and intensity to the ballpark every day, trying to prove themselves, trying to show they belong.
Nick Evans embodies this type of ballplayer, as does Angel Pagan. Maybe the Mets need to start thinking about playing players with something to prove, instead of players who are mailing it in.
Claudio Vargas against the Rockies: Finally, somebody on the club showing some spine.
With the Mets needing a start and a long outting against the Rockies on Saturday, Vargas volunteered to throw on three days rest, and was outstanding.
The Amazins had dropped a heart-breaker the night before, falling to Colorado in 13 innings. With the bullpen depleted, it was imperative for Vargas to go deep into the game, and he did not disappoint.
Seven innings and only two runs on three days rest is the kind of outing the club needed, and figures it was a guy trying to prove himself that gave it to them. I'm sensing a pattern here people!
The Bad
Jose Reyes At Shortstop And On The Bases: I don't know what the record is for the number of times in a season one Mets player makes a humongous error or baserunning blunder in a key situation, but Jose Reyes has to be rapidly approaching it.
His error on Sunday against the Rockies on a double-play ball led to John Maine surrendering three runs, and his error in last night's game against the Marlins led to runs as well. You cannot give a team four outs in an inning and expect to come out of it unscathed; it's playing with fire and you almost always get burned.
With that being said, those blunders happen over the course of a season. They pale in comparison to Reyes getting picked off in the tenth inning of the Rockies game on Friday night.
Nobody out and Reyes on second base, and he gets picked off?! Where, exactly, are you going Jose? You're in scoring position, you're scoring on anything to the outfield that's not fielded on one hop, what's going through your head in that situation?
That's just it, nothing. These errors and baserunning mistakes show a blatant lack of focus, and something needs to be done about it. Sure, he's hitting the long ball recently, but these brain farts are becoming more and more frequent.
He needs to be shown that his spot in the lineup isn't set in stone, (ahem, Willie) and that these types of things cannot keep happening. Whether or not that will actually happen, we'll have to wait and see.
Church and Alou's Injuries: Church's injury, while the worst one possible for the Mets at this point, was the product of hard-nosed, albeit reckless play.
Mr. MVP was simply trying to make something happen, and it ended up costing him time on the field. He could have taken the play off, like so many of his teammates would have, but he didn't, and tried to take Escobar out and break up the double play.
Church has injured himself running into walls in the past, so this injury came as no surprise to me. He plays balls to the wall every time he steps on the field, and I for one, absolutely love it.
While the play may have been stupid in that particular situation, if that's the way you play the game you can't turn it on and off. It was a hard-nosed play, and he came out on the short end. He'd do it again if he had the chance, and that's why he's rapidly becoming a fan-favorite at Shea.
It is his second concussion since becoming a member of the Mets, and that could pose as a serious problem down the road. Hopefully it doesn't, because watching this guy play has been one of the few joys of this season thus far.
I wish I could say the same about Mr. Alou. In case you missed it, good old Moises injured himself AGAIN, taking himself out of a game against the Braves with a strained calf, and landing himself on the DL AGAIN.
This latest injury has prompted me to refer to Mr. Alou in every future column as "Sick Boy". How someone can be hurt this often in one two-year period is beyond me.
It tells me he just cannot withstand the rigors of being an every-day player anymore, and needs to be coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter. He can still rake, but getting him for 50 at-bats at a time and then losing him for a month isn't going to do the Mets any good.
If the club is going to get the maximum value out of Sick Boy, they need to keep him healthy, and the only way to do that is to play him sparingly so he can keep from breaking down.
Monday's Meeting Of The Minds: Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the meeting between the Wilpons, Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph. Actually, I used my stealth abilities to sneak in, but that's a column coming later on today, so stay tuned.
Management gave Randolph a vote of confidence, and Willie was given the chance to talk about what he meant by his famous comments about his portrayal on SNY. Minaya and Randolph then had a press conference and took questions form the media.
This should have been the point where Randolph was relieved of his duties as manager. It's been rumored that Lee Mazzilli would be a possible candidate for the job, and Gary Carter has said he would be more than interested in the position.
Mazzilli in my opinion never got a fair shake in Baltimore. Constant injuries, no pitching, he was doomed to fail from the beginning. It would be worth giving him a shot as an interim manager for the rest of the season; at this point, what do the Mets have to lose?
The Ugly
Boy oh boy. Do we have an Ugly section this week. Basically the entire week could have been put into this category, but to save me from developing an ulcer, we'll just stick to the really putrid stuff.
The Four Game Sweep In Atlanta: Did anybody see this coming after the way the Mets played against the Yankees? I sure didn't.
The Mets showed up in Atlanta a completely different team than when they left New York. They couldn't hit (nine runs in four games), they couldn't pitch (name me one Mets pitcher who threw well in any of those games), and they looked like they were mailing it in from the first pitch.
It showed me something much worse than four losses, however. The Braves were sharper, they played crisper baseball, they hit behind runners, they had timely hits, and they pitched well from the top of the staff to the bottom.
To put it bluntly, the Braves are everything the Mets think they are. They are a scrappy team with a great lineup that out-hustled the Mets from the first pitch of game one.
They played with the sense of urgency interdivision games require, and the Mets did not. It showed in every aspect of the game, right down to Willie Randolph's "stoic" appearance.
If the Mets can't get up for a four-game series against their division rivals, what CAN get this team amped?
Mike Pelfrey: A season that started out with so much promise has quickly gotten away from young Pelfrey. He was the recipient of some poor run support in a few starts, so his record should be a little better than it is, but he's had two straight awful outings.
Six straight losses could be detrimental to his development, especially when he's pitching worse now than at any point so far this season. If it continues, the Mets may need to send him down to Triple A to work on his stuff, and (gulp) think about moving Aaron Heilman back into the rotation.
Thoughts On Your Comments
Thanks again for the comments this week, they've all been great. I got some great feedback on the Mets Team Meeting Official Transcript column, and trust me it was just as much fun to write as it was for you guys to read.
As always, if there's anything you guys would like to see in this or any of the other stuff I've written, feel free to leave a comment.
Overall Thoughts On The Amazins
This team is slowly killing me, half-assed loss by half-assed loss. 2-7 over the past nine games, 5 straight losses against the NL East, and a 23-26 record. Last night's crap-fest against the Marlins put the team 6.5 games back of the Fish, and it's getting to the point where the team could be out of the race by the end of June.
Drastic changes are needed. The meeting of the minds before Monday's game should have brought the end of the line for Willie Randolph, but instead a vote of confidence was given. Lee Mazzilli and Gary Carter are sitting on a platter. Go out and get one of them Omar, or you'll be on the chopping block along with Willie.
DENVER (AP)—Willie Randolph didn’t get the pick-me-up he needed Sunday when the New York Mets lost 4-1 to the Colorado Rockies, whose patchwork lineup included four recent call-ups.
One of them, Seth Smith, hit his first major league homer, a three-run shot off John Maine to back an impressive start by Aaron Cook (7-3). The right-hander allowed four hits, all singles, in his seventh career complete game and first since July 25.
Awaiting New York’s embattled manager back home Monday is a meeting with ownership amid speculation that his job is in jeopardy.
After a losing streak that dropped the Mets (23-25) below .500, general manager Omar Minaya made a surprise visit Friday to Coors Field and issued a tepid statement of support for Randolph to reporters. Randolph, however, said his boss gave him no assurances behind closed doors.
Take a good, long look at the above picture of Willie Randolph and New York Mets' owner Fred Wilpon. It may be one of the last ones of its kind.
Baseball guru Buster Olney joined Charlie Steiner on XM Radio's MLB Home Plate channel on Friday afternoon to discuss the Mets and Randolph's future with the team given his recent remarks and relationship with management.
Most Mets' fans may point to the team's recent performance, locker room bickering amongst players, and lack of team leadership as the primary reasons for Randolph's imminent departure.
However, Olney claims that the main reason Willie should get ready to clean out his desk lies in the remarks he made in an interview with Ian O'Connor of the Bergen (N.J.) Record claiming that he is disliked because of his race and that the team's own television network, SNY, has not been portraying him accurately in the dugout.
Despite the fact that Randolph apologized to the Mets' organization and SNY in front of the media and to WFAN's Ed Coleman, Wilpon and his son Jeff, the team's COO, have not been returning Willie's phone calls.
When Steiner asked Olney if he would bet the family farm that Randolph would be gone as Mets' manager by the time next week rolled around, Olney cited the above silent treatment given by management as his justification for an affirmative response.
Although Olney seemed to indicate that a strong series in Colorado may help elongate Willie's tenure, the main reason he has not yet been let go is that the Mets do not have a good replacement in mind.
Bench coach Jerry Manuel's name has been tossed around, but the feeling in Met-land is that Manuel's personality is too similar to that of Randolph and that when a team is looking to change their manager, they tend to look for somebody that has the opposite (or at least a different) style.
Olney claims that the Mets have been considering Jim Fregosi as a potential replacement for Randolph. Fregosi last Major League gig was with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1999 and 2000 when he managed them to two straight third place finishes and a .515 winning percentage. He has previously managed the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels.
His best season came in 1993 when he led the Phillies to a 97 win season and the World Series, only to fall to his future employer, the Blue Jays. Despite some success with the Phillies, Fregosi has a career .484 winning percentage as manager during the regular season and a .412 winning percentage during the postseason.
Olney claims that Fregosi would be a welcome change from Randolph in that he is good with the media and that he could be helpful in helping get Jose Reyes back on track after four months' worth of up-and-down baseball. It is said that Randolph and Reyes do not have a great relationship [Shocking!].
However, the always reliable Wikipedia claims that, "One general criticism of Fregosi was that he was a manager who relied on veteran players and was unable to develop younger players."
Is this the direction that the Mets are going in?
In the words of Willie Randolph, "Huh? It smells a little bit."
To be honest, this is getting sickening. It would be different if this team couldn't do better, but they can.
The Mets have a good starting rotation, they a pretty good bullpen, and a nice lineup. Speed at the top, along with big boppers in the middle, and decent guys at the bottom of the order.
The problem all year has been hitting with RISP. It seems to especially be a problem for Wright, Beltran, and Delgado.
I'm not saying that everyone on the team has been dreadful, but they all could be better.
Watching this team is like watching a movie that you've seen and even when you don't remember what happens, it hits you and you get disappointed all over again.
The pitching has been fine generally, but you aren't going to win ballgames consistently when you only score 9 runs in a 4 game series sweep.
What's worse is all of the off the field stuff surrounding the team. This team just needs to forget about what has happened this year and go out fighting for their lives. That's what the Phillies did last year, and it worked well for them.
In general, this is a "soft" team. They all need to get that swagger back from a couple of years ago, and just play. I'm tired of hearing excuses about this and that and why in general they aren't playing well.
Like David Wright said, they need to be "ticked off" when they play like crap. But unfortunately, it just doesn't seem like anyone is physically distressed about the teams struggles.
If they give a damn about Willie Randolph, this weekend against the Rockies needs to be played well and we need to win.
In the top of the fourth inning on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium, Carlos Delgado hit a three-run home run down the left field line giving the New York Mets a comfortable 6-0 lead over the New York Yankees.
However, a quick wave of the arms by the Yankees and their fans gathered together an aging, pot-bellied group of zebras (aka the umpiring crew) to give little thought (maybe that was all their miniscule cerebrums could handle) to overturning a game-changing play.
Did the umpires go down the left field line to look for any physical evidence?
No. They clearly decided to ignore the idea that the ball may have left a marking on the foul pole (which it did), or that the foul pole left a marking or the ball (which it did), or consider the large bounce the ball took as a result of hitting a large metal pole.
Clearly the Yankees, who made minimal effort to present the case that the ball may have gone foul, have never done anything dishonest, or couldn’t have been unclear as to where the ball went.
There is more to this story than the umpires’ lack of executive functioning, however.
Sure, instant replay would have been nice, but MLB isn’t employing it right now, so it couldn’t have changed anything.
No, the other big element to this story is the lack of arguing on the part of Mets’ Manager Willie Randolph.
Third base coach Sandy Alomar Sr. was the first of the Mets’ personnel to argue the call. This made sense as he had a good view of the ball and was already on the field.
Randolph was next, but barely got out onto the field and returned to the dugout seemingly satisfied with the umpiring crew’s willingness to take three runs away from his team without any sort of investigation.
As Delgado’s at bat continued, the home plate umpire warned the Mets’ dugout about their continuing to argue.
However, it wasn’t Randolph who was warned and subsequently ejected.
It was bench coach Jerry Manuel.
Yes, that’s correct folks. The bench coach got thrown out for arguing the call -- not the player who hit the home run and not the manager of the team who may have thought to stand up for his coaches and players who were in need of a lift after some clubhouse michegas.
Why did Randolph not show a little more fortitude in arguing the call?
The only explanation this writer can come up with is that Randolph did not want to humiliate himself in front of the Yankees and get thrown out of the stadium he loves so much and in front of the organization he loves so much.
Maybe Randolph is trying to do as poor a job possible as Mets’ manager while Joe Girardi is struggling as Yankees’ manager so that when Hank Steinbrenner pre-maturely fires Girardi, he can get Willie away from the Mets who will be glad to let him go if General Manager Omar Minaya, COO Jeff Wilpon, or owner Fred Wilpon have not yet sent him packing.
Kudos to Jerry Manuel, one of the few homo sapiens currently donning a Mets’ uniform, for actually showing some pride in the orange and blue and giving a rat’s behind about his team and his job.
...Move Nelson Figueroa to the bullpen. It made for a nice story for Figueroa to return home and put on a couple of decent performances, but he doesn't last deep into games. He can probably fill Aaron Sele's role from last year.
Get rid of Jorge Sosa. He can barely find the strike zone and when he does, the ball ends up closer to Citi Field than the catcher's mitt.
Speaking of catchers, now that Ramon Castro is healthy, platoon him with Brian Schneider. Schneider has a decent average thus far, but has no pop. Castro is at least a threat to get an extra base hit now and again.
Get rid of Carlos Delgado. The only league this guy could possibly play in is an over-30 slow pitch softball league; and he'd probably still hit into the shift.
Teach Moises Alou to play first base. He's one of the few guys on the team that can actually hit on a regular basis, but is a liability in left field. Too many balls are rolling into the corner and he can neither come in nor go back on a ball. Pagan should be the everyday left fielder and Endy can be reserved for pinch running and resting Carlos Beltran when he suffers from a strained cuticle.
Hire John Olerud as hitting coach. Here's the problem with HoJo. He's a switch-hitter so he has no idea how to teach a major league left-handed hitter how to hang in their against even a mediocre left-handed pitcher. Johnny O never bailed out against lefties and could rake.
Give the relievers set roles that make sense and stick with them. The last thing this erratic group of flat slider-throwing, dead change up-tossing misfits needs is to wonder when Willie is going to summon them from the bullpen. Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis are lefty specialists! They should primarily be in there against lefties. Joe Smith is a righty specialist. He should be in there to face righties! Read the stat sheet!
The Jackie Robinson Rotunda…
An Ebbets Field facade…
It looks like the New York Mets’ own Fred Wilpon will be doing plenty to honor the Brooklyn Dodgers at their new home, Citi Field, what they will move into in April 2009.
Sounds great -- a tribute to one of the game’s pioneers and a historic venue that never should have been torn down.
Just one problem, claim some New Yorkers.
The Mets, who many former Brooklyn Dodger and New York Giant fans adopted as their new favorite team, seem to be making two major gestures to honor their Brooklyn heritage, but none to honor their New York heritage.
True, they call themselves the “New York” Mets and use the interlocking “NY” on their hats in Giant orange as their primary logo, but they also use Dodger blue in their color scheme, which is seen predominantly in their current home, Shea Stadium.
A group that calls themselves the “New York Giants Baseball Nostalgia Society” has been making some noise regarding the lack of recognition that the Giants will receive at Citi Field. They realize that Fred Wilpon can do what he wants with the park, but feel as though the Giants have been slighted in Citi Field’s plans.
However, the plans for Citi Field do include a couple of nods to the New York Giants and their former home, the Polo Grounds (also the home of the Mets before the opening of Shea Stadium).
One will be the inclusion dark green seats in the stands, which was the same color featured in the Polo Grounds.
The second will be varying wall heights and angles in the outfield.
Will these elements make the New York Giants’ fans feel at “home” in Citi Field or are these features reminiscent of many current and former “retro” ball parks including Fenway Park, Citizens Bank Park, Tiger Stadium, Camden Yards, and Minute Maid Park?
