Mike has opened the floor to every disgruntled Met fan who has stepped inside Citi Field. Of course, the number of those people compared to the rest of Met fans is approximately 0.012%. But hey, WFAN is the voice of the fan, so that's what we get.
I will state upfront that I am a Met fan. Not like that's a huge secret that this blog is populated by Met fans. So I heard the first two segments of Mike and wondered if he was being fair. And I think he is. On a Tuesday in April, with no big sporting events, no PED scandals, no more deaths, what else is there to talk about? The opening of this ballpark is a big deal. Obviously, some people are missing the days at Shea. The same Shea stadium which was brought to the ground by criticism and it's out-datedness. Yet apparently, the Mets have built a stadium worse than Shea. That is if you believe the first hour of a sports radio talk show in New York represents the overwhelming majority of opinion of the quality of this new field.
Mike said after hearing a couple of callers vent, "Hey. This isn't coming from me. It's coming from you guys." Deep in his heart of hearts he wish he could rip the Mets a new one. Instead, he'll let everyone else do it. Mike noted how the Mets were going to have to place 'a premium on defense' because the outfield was so good. I have a feeling that one will work itself out and actually become a home-field advantage.
But while this is a worthy topic today, I don't anticipate much stadium talk about after June 1. Then we can settle into baseball talk. And when they rip down Citi Field in 40 years, some of us can call up and complain about how the new park sucks.
Speaking of over/unders, what are the odds that the day after the new Yankee Stadium opens, it's a lovefest? But that is in essence the difference between the two teams, their fans and their culture. I'll leave it to you to fill in the blanks.
And Now, A Note From Brian Powell
14 years ago
19 comments:
i look at yankee stadium on tv, and besides the jumbo screen, it looks exactly the same as the one across the street, with a hint of new comiskey here and there.
am i wrong? now im sure the ammenities are top notch, and the halls and promenade and outside are spectacular... but if i were a yankee fan, i wouldve wanted SOMEthing different about the field... like the dimensions or something. but then again, the yanks pride themselves on being boring but market it as 'tradition.'
The only thing I want Mike to specifically rip on for Yankee Stadium is that god awful netting blanketing the TV when the ball is in play...
Yankee fans are incapable of self-criticism. Mike is excusing Swisher's embarrasment yesterday as 'having a little fun'. Do you think he would feel the same way if the Phillies were beating the Mets by 15 in Citizen's Bank home opener and Reyes was laughing and pitching.
Mike would spend 5 1/2 hours saying it was the difference between the Yankees and Mets.
Hey my own thread! How cool is that?
Mike has been fairly and largely unfairly been bashing the Mets and every possible thing about them since late last season and it looks like he is going to continue until the Mets shut him up.
I could go on forever about his rants against the Mets,their fans, their ballpark, etc. but let me just say that to me it shows his ignorance/arrogance/ and most importantly his lack of professionalism while doing sports radio in NYC.
Of course early next week he will do the same show for the Yankee fans praising the stadium in the Bronx. I have no problem with that-- the Yanks did it right and deserve credit.
I look forward to attending a game at Citifield and I'll enjoy walking around the ballpark and taking in what the concessions have to offer. It is a beautiful new park!
That being said I do have some complaints regarding the actual playing field. To me it is a poorly designed "Pinball Machine" with the uneven fence, the Modell's area in RF, and most importantly the way the stands angle down the lines. We will see some well hit balls down the line that should be a double or triple that when hit right will bounce directly off the stands and bounce back towards the infield for a hard hit single.
This does'nt even take into account that we will see the outfield fences moved in within the next 2 years!
I just don't understand why the Mets incorporated such "trickery" into a new field.
I watched both the Mets and Yankee games last night. The Met game was competitive till the end yet today I got 1 hour of Met bashing and a few minutes of the Yanks have some growing pains??? Did I not see Nick Swisher pitching? Did I not see Edwar Ramirez look like he needed a few trips to the concessions himself to gain a few pounds in order to reach home plate?
I'm just looking for some fairness and intelligent talk on sports radio. Mike is'nt capable of either.
JD
wow, leave it to fatso to complain about the whiffle ball field at citifield.
he wants it closed during the game because kids should be watching the game instead you know... doing what they want to do.
the pope has spoken, indeed.
Well, as a Yankee fan I'm glad that the new YS resembles the old one so well. I didn't want the dimensions to be any different. Unlike Shea, the old YS was a place worth replicating. It might be the house that greed built (as though CitiField isn't...), but I am happy that it strongly resembles the old stadium. Still, I'm betting you will hear plenty of complaints after the first game about similar issues...obstructed views, the netting on YES if they haven't fixed it, the parking, the service, etc. Yankee message boards have already had plenty of those. But if the dimensions were any different, there would be an uproar by the majority of Yankee fans, moreso than what we've already heard. Call it "boring" tradition if you want, but there's a lot of history at stake.
As for Citifield, it does look like a nice place to watch a game, and I intend to get out there sometime this season. But those stories about the people who couldn't see the field in the promenade level...if that's true, it's a shame. Mike is also off the mark on the whiffle ball field. Kids have no attention span, certainly not enough to sit there and watch an entire ballgame. If the Mets can take advantage of that, good for them. Why should it bother anyone else? But I think it would've been a better idea to show the game on that screen out there, so that way the parents can still watch the game while their kids play. In any case, the crowd around that mini field is going to be pretty packed if the Mets have a repeat of last season.
I thought a few callers, early in the show, hit the nail on the head. Calling into the Fan or any other show solves nothing. Express your dissatisfaction by not attending the games. I am a Mets fan and will probably watch 90% of their games this year. Mostly at home and maybe I'll get out to Citi Field a time or two. For me, I am sure I'll just be happy to be there and an obstruction will probably not ruin my time. If it does, I probably won't return. It's surprising that the designers of this building got so much wrong but while the tickets are being purchased, the Mets are obligated to do nothing.
I expect a gush fest from Mike on Thursday, simply because he's talked about the stadium in the Bronx for a long time and he is a Yankee fan. That said, if there are legit gripes from callers, he'll field those too.
I'd like to touch on a topic that was brought up in the previous post, which referenced Mike from Montclair. What is up with these people who call the show every day and think they're cast members on the show? I seem to hear "Steve from New York" call in any time I listen to the FAN, any show. Ira is a classic, so I'll give him a pass. But there's a bunch of guys that fall into this category. And I'm sure they think this makes them cool, and have friends who think so too.
I don't want to say "don't these guys have anything better to do?", because here I am posting about it on a blog, so I guess the same thing could be said about me writing this or people who write blogs...
Just something that's been a pet peeve of mine recently.
lucky, i hear what youre saying. there are some days i have the fan all day (at work, then while trying to sleep) and oftentimes, ill hear the same caller two or three times on different shows calling in to talk about the same thing and bring up the same points they brought up on other shows.
makes me think theyre really lonely people in real life that these are the people they talk to most frequently. im not trying to sound like a dick or nothing. it just kinda makes me sad.
doris from rego park (god rest her soul) is another one i would hear three or four times a day. not making fun, she sounded like a lovely lady and was a dedicated mets fan, im sure. im just making an observation.
Jason and Lucky...You forgot Jerome from Manhattan/Bronx and Eli from White Plains. Both awesome. My Dad says they should have Jerome on 6 or 7 times each show, every day.
i never hear jerome anymore. he used to be a mainstay on m&md and steve summers' show. not so much anymore tho. i think there was a time when he was banned and another time when his doctor told him he couldnt call in anymore because he would get too worked up. wonder if that was a rumor or true.
Jason...I think both of those callers were banned from M & MD. Not banned from Jody Mac on 1050 though. Jerome is too much. If he had his own show, he'd die of a heart attack in 2 weeks.
awesome, i would take the under ono the 2 weeks lol.
That Yankee net is hilarious. I feel like I'm watching a game in Ft Myers.
now that the yankees could quite possibly lose in a more pathetic fashion than the mets with their home opener, i wonder if fatso will talk about how the yankees failed to rise to the occassion just like how he criticised the mets for losing their opener.
He likes to disparage Sizemore too. I remember him calling him the "Golden Boy" in the 2007 playoffs. Wonder if he's singing the same tune now.
So nice to see the NYY start this way at home. I wonder if Sterling is drunk yet?
I want to hear his take on pinch hitting for Texiera in the 7th. People paid to see him.
Mike is actually on the radio but I'm watching YES so I have'nt heard his take on the game.
In all fairness Mike should comment on the Yankees in the same vain as he did the Mets but we all know Mike is'nt a fair/professional reporter so we will only hear his positive spin on things.
What I'm most interested in is how he could possibly say anything positive about Bernie Williams rendition of "take me out to the ballgame".
That was so bad it hurt my ears!!!
JD
i bet he takes calls and just wants to talk about the stadium experience. "forget the results of the game just now... give me your EXPERIENCE... how blown away were you by the great new york yankees!"
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