Queens

On Evil Premonitions

Shea Stadium, 2008

Saturday, April 12th, 2008
Milwaukee Brewers vs. New York Mets
Shea Stadium
Major League Baseball, National League
Queens, NY
1:10 PM


Outside the Game:
This was just another Saturday game at Shea -- PATH and subways all the way. However, in preparation for the new field, they have finally renovated the subway stop entrance/exit for the stadium with a more copacetic situation that relieved the previous funnel effect of one tiny entrance that plagued getting the hell out of Flushing after a game.


At The Game With Oogie:
I splurged for some lower-deck seats behind first base. The day was a little overcast so I didn't bake like a pig on a spit as can sometimes be the case in the lower deck in the summer.


The Stadium:
This was the last year for the other stadium in New York as well. Shea was never a jewel, but it was home, even with the constant air traffic from LaGuardia. So if you don't like it, fuck you. (Lord knows this house of horrors has done the same to its fans over the years.)

Citi Field loomed just past the center field wall. Since last season, it grew out of a parking lot into a new stadium that one hopes will get completed, unlike its predecessor. I am ambivalent towards it, but will shall see.

The countdown to the new stadium was handled on the outfield wall in a pre-game ceremony by Mr. Met.


The Game:
This was the Shea Stadium debut of Johan Santana. The Mets jumped out to an early lead, but Santana kept on giving up home run after home run, leading to a 5-3 loss. This also would be a harbinger of the season to come, or certainly, at least, it’s pathetic end.


The Scorecard:

Brewers vs. Metropolitans, 04/12/08. The Brewers win, 5-3.

The scorecard is part of the $5 program. The card is a heavy weight cardstock two-page spread that has a good amount of space, even if you were to, say, meticulously record balls and strikes.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2008 NY Last Stops

Queens

GAME 6

Shea Stadium, 2006

Date: Thursday, July 6, 2006, 7:10 PM
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Metropolitans
Shea Stadium
Queens, NY
Major League Baseball, National League
Promotion: Steiner Amazing Moment Print of Mookie Wilson from 1986 World Series


The Stadium & Fans:
People hate on Shea all the time, but f*ck them. Maybe it's just my history with the place, but I don't see what's so awful about it. Sure the new park will be nicer, but there's nothing wrong with what they have now. And as long as Tropicana Field and RFK exist as MLB stadiums, there's no way you can even think that Shea is among the worst in the majors.

The crowd was good for a mid-week game. There were a minimum of the new bandwagoners and tourists going to see a game as "something to do."


Scorecard:

Pirates vs. Metropolitans, 07/06/06. Metropolitans win, 7-5.

The $4.00 Shea program is one of my favorite scorecards, beyond the obvious reasons. Full-page with big boxes and printed on heavy-weight paper, it makes keeping score much easier.

Miscellanea:
Right before the start of the game, as the cooling night breeze started to blow across the field, I felt happy for the first time in years.


Travel & Other Non-Game Activities:
I managed to catch and express 7 out to the game, so that was nice, and on the way back, there wasn't a Scrum of Death trying to get back onto the 7 as is often the case, so easy going both ways.


The Game:
Traschel still took ten minutes between each pitch, but the Mets manage to knock off the Pirates, 7-5. The game wasn't even as close as the score would suggest. Reyes was running around the bases like a kid in the playground after eating a Pixie Stix, and David Wright took the team on his back again and went 2-4 with a homer and two RBIs.

Click here to see all the pictures from this trip.

2006 The East