My 2nd Citi Field experience (with pics): Deja vu all over again

When I saw the Mets play at Citi Field last year for the first time, I didn’t expect Bronson Arroyo to toss a shutout — but he did. When I was at the game last night, I expected Phillies ace Roy Halladay to do the same thing — and he nearly did.

Doc threw eight beautiful innings, holding the Mets to four hits without walking a batter and ousted Mets spot starter Pat Misch in a 4-0 win.

The Mets would’ve had a legitimate shot to win this game if it weren’t for their three ugly errors which cost Misch three unearned runs. Ruben Tejada’s attempted double play turn sailed into left field, Misch fielded a bunt and threw it into right field, and David Wright let a grounder go through his wickets.

Despite the errors, the most comical part of the night was listening to the boos from fans as Francisco Rodriguez trotted out from the bullpen. It was his first game of eligibility after assaulting his father-in-law.

Now for some pics:

Look at all of that red! In left field, there were more Phillies fans than Mets fans.

The only time we saw the new home run apple was during the seventh inning stretch.
Here’s a picture of the original home run apple, now located in front of the stadium.
Here was the view from our seats ($20 face value).
And here were the bozos sitting in front of us. The guy on the right’s shirt says, “Don’t mess wit da Mets, Aaight!”

You can check out more photos from the game on my Facebook page!

A-Rod breaks out in Royal dismantling

While I was at Citi Field watching the Mets get embarrassed by rabid Phillies fans, the Yankees were at work in Kansas City. Alex Rodriguez powered the charge with his fourth career three-home run game and five RBIs in an 8-3 blasting of the Royals.

Best of All: It was A-Rod’s best game all season, and he put it all together in his last three at-bats. Even better news: A-Rod is saying Kevin Long found something in his swing that made the difference tonight.

Long has also made a big impact on Curtis Granderson, who slugged his 11th homer and hit two balls to the warning track tonight. I’m starting to think the new Yankees team MVP is K-Long.

Jorge Posada also homered and reached base in three out of five chances. Every Yankee hitter had at least one hit tonight.

Worst of All: Phil Hughes pitched a quality start, but didn’t strike out a single better.

Coming Up: The Yankees look for the series victory Sunday afternoon. Be sure to join the conversation with me on Twitter!

My Citi Field experience (with pictures)

I was at Citi Field last night for my first time. The stadium was nice, the food was good, but the team stunk. Unfortunately, the latter is the most important aspect of a new stadium to a baseball fan.

Bronson Arroyo of the Reds twirled a four-hit shutout, and the Mets looked as ugly as can be. One play in the fourth inning was a perfect representation of how they’ve been playing.

With Brandon Phillips at third, Jerry Hairston missed an attempted squeeze bunt, so the Mets had Phillips picked off. Catcher Brian Schneider threw to David Wright, and then he threw it past Schneider as Phillips slid home. No error was charged to Wright, and Phillips was credited with a steal of home.

I took the subway to the field and below is the view from the subway. Apparently, the parking lot on the left is where Shea was.
Here is the view from my seats ($90 face value is ridiculous! But I bet Yankee Stadium prices are even worse…).

The Ebbets Club sections behind home plate really appealed to me. Of course they had open seats, but they wouldn’t let us in.

I was a little confused about the main entrance featuring Jackie Robinson. It just seemed a little to much Dodgers history, where the Mets history (as little as it is) should be located.

A few more observations of the stadium:

• There were not a lot of vendors, leaving a lot of open space in the surrounding walkway. I’m only comparing it to the old Yankee Stadium where there was almost no places without vendors.
• All of the best food places were behind the outfield seats. Why clump all of the places together? It was extremely crowded.
• I had the Penne from the Pizza vendor. It was delicious.