Notice the plush, luxurious, empty seats... in the 4th inning
Before we get to tonight's game, let's imagine what could have been. While not passing judgment just yet on Manny Ramirez -- there is the chance it could be a mix up ala J.C Romero -- what if Manny had signed with the Mets this off season as many jorted New Yorkers had wished? I think passing judgment would be a little easier then, am I right? Also, A.J. Daulerio has a pretty great tale of almost breaking the biggest PEDs story since... well, ARod.
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Now, if you haven't read this article in today's New York Times about the Phillies having some serious swagger while up in Flushing, go read it now. There's quote after quote of Charlie Manuel at his finest.
“I think if we can put a few whippings on them, it would be good,” he said before Wednesday night’s 1-0 Mets victory. “I think that will bring out the best in everything.”
It
did not appear as if Manuel was intentionally trying to stoke the
flames of the rivalry between the Mets and the Phillies. But in a
22-minute interview, he referred to teams blowing seemingly comfortable
leads, talked about his gaudy new piece of jewelry, and mentioned how
great it would be to christen the new field with at least one victory
in this first two-game series between the teams at Citi Field.
Love that man.
News
As far as CitiField, my initial take was one of few observations. I kind of like the quirky field dimmensions and alleys. The thing that shocked me the most was the plethora of empty seats throughout the entire game. While you can't attribute this entirely to Mets fans just not caring enough to get out to the ball park, the Mets clearly have some issues there. Whether it be seat prices being to high or whatever, for a Phillies-Mets game to have that many empty seats is a shame.
The pitching duel this evening seems pretty evenly matched with two starters on opposite ends of their careers. Jamie Moyer has been around the block -- and your block and my block -- while Mike Pelfrey looks like he is slowly turning into the pitcher Mets fans have hoped he could be. Well, maybe. He still has a 6.00 ERA but is off to a solid 3-0 start.
Not much else to say about this one. It's Phillies-Mets and should be entertaining as always.
7:10 start from CitiField. Let's go Phils.
And finally, our best go out to the Phillies community and the family of former manager Danny Ozark. He was around long before most of our times, but he was a member of the Phillies family and he was lost today.
