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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Matthews: Replay reveals another annoying tic at Citi Field

~~####~~####~~Coprographia Alert!~~####~~####~~

You know that at some point, that conversation will take place between Jeff Wilpon, architect of the monstrosity that is the new home of the Mets, and his dad Fred, who apparently doesn’t care about much beyond the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.

You just wish someone would have told Kid Wilpon, and Lonn Trost, his counterpart across town, that the ballparks are not supposed to be the stars of the show, the ballplayers are.

Both of them have tried oh-so-hard to force things into their new playpens - in the Bronx, a ridiculous overdose of luxury and in Flushing, a cloying collection of tics that are supposed to be nostalgic, but are in reality just silly and contrived - but all they have added to the mix is distraction and controversy.

...Clearly, on those nights when Papa Wilpon was waxing rhapsodic over Ebbets Field to Little Jeffy, he neglected to mention that its little eccentricities were born of the necessity of having been shoehorned into the heart of a bustling neighborhood, not to satisfy some yuppie’s idea of charm or evoke memories of an old man’s childhood.

The Mets, on the other hand, had plenty of money and plenty of choices, a decade to plan it and $800 million to spend on it.

All that time and all that money. Couldn’t they have simply built a ballpark?

Repoz Posted: May 28, 2009 at 03:02 AM | 18 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
Related News: General, Business, NY Mets, NY Yankees

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1. Benji Posted: May 28, 2009 at 03:37 AM (#3196892)

I must use the Met story to congratulate Gary Sheffield, who has been terrific. I have never been happier to be wrong about a move.

2. Crashburn Alley Posted: May 28, 2009 at 03:58 AM (#3196906)

How many replays have the Mets won this week? 3? Can't say there's no home-field advantage.

3. Russlan will never be fond of Jason Bay Posted: May 28, 2009 at 05:13 AM (#3196946)

The Mets are 4-0 when it comes to replay but last night's game was the only one that went their way that shouldn't have. It was called a double and there was no conclusive evidence the other way, at least not on the Mets broadcast.

4. We don't have dahlians at the Palace of Wisdom Posted: May 28, 2009 at 06:08 AM (#3196956)

How many replays have the Mets won this week? 3?

I thought I heard five, but I'll trust Russlan with four. Just more proof that the umps, like all red-blooded Americans, hate the Mets.

5. Russlan will never be fond of Jason Bay Posted: May 28, 2009 at 06:28 AM (#3196962)

The Mets are 5-0 on the season, 4-0 in the last 5 games.

6. Chris in Wicker Park Posted: May 28, 2009 at 08:00 AM (#3196970)

You know what's really annoying? Wallace Matthews.

7. RB in NYC (Now with New Running Goal!) Posted: May 28, 2009 at 10:32 AM (#3196987)

I'm kind of torn on this issue. Part of me thinks--ugh--agrees with Matthews that stuff like the weird walls at CitiField are a gimmick that exist for no real reason other than the seem "old-timey" and people like old-timey in baseball.

On the other hand, they are more fun than uniform distances all around. So I don't know what to think.

8. fra paolo Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:02 AM (#3197005)

Last night, the park helped the Mets win one, and everybody went home happy

Clearly he did not listen to the Nationals' radio broadcast. They went home complaining about how CitiField was full of angry fans and obstructive hot dog sellers.

I agree with the author. Griffith Stadium had a wacky wall arrangement because somebody wouldn't sell a plot of land, not because Clark Griffith thought it would be nifty to have the wall jut in there. Sticking features here and there because 'it's fun' or 'like the old times' is eventually going to be the ruin of this generation of ballparks.

9. Chris Dial Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:15 AM (#3197010)

Sticking features here and there because 'it's fun' or 'like the old times' is eventually going to be the ruin of this generation of ballparks.

I don't know about that. Having a catwalk in play probably is, but I like eccentricities in the park. I also like when it is harder to hit HRs. I liked the flagpole in Tiger Stadium and the monuments in play in Yankee stadium.

I will pass on another generation of Riverfront/Veterans/AFC stadia.

10. Craig Calcaterra Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:20 AM (#3197011)

I will pass on another generation of Riverfront/Veterans/AFC stadia.

I'd suggest that the uniform dimensions and lack of architectural quirks were not the biggest problems of that generation of stadia. The problem was that the sightlines sucked, they lacked any sort of comfort, they orginially had astroturf, and they gave off a depressing, institutional vibe. There's no reason why modern stadiums can't bring all of the comforts they do while not having silly quirks driven by nostalgia rather than necessity.

11. Repoz

Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:23 AM (#3197014)

and the monuments in play in Yankee stadium.

At least they left the statue alone at SS.

12. bunyon Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:26 AM (#3197016)

I'm with Dial. I agree the quirks could easily be overdone, but I also see no reason to have uniform outfield walls across the league. I don't get the argument that the wall should be at a uniform distance in one stadium and another uniform distance at another. If you want uniformity, pick a distance and install it around MLB. Hell, you should then put every minor league and college wall at that distance. Whatever the reason for the development, I like that all baseball fields are different. Different foul territory, different distances to the wall, etc.

In the end, I'd rather a field be too quirky than not enough.

13. zack Posted: May 28, 2009 at 01:05 PM (#3197101)

How about just not having advertisements that are the same color as the ball.

14. Win one for Agrippa (haplo53) Posted: May 28, 2009 at 01:27 PM (#3197131)

You know that at some point, that conversation will take place between Jeff Wilpon, architect of the monstrosity that is the new home of the Mets

I realize Wally Matthews doesn't really deal in anything but extremes, but Citi is not that bad. It's not the most fantastic park I've ever seen, but it's certainly not unpleasant. Greg Prince called it 89-73 field, which fits it to my mind.

Upon visiting, I decided my biggest beef was with the huge advertisement/video board in center field. It gives the park a claustrophobic feel, its primary purpose is for the ads (considering how small the video board is compared to the ads) and it blocks what might have been a nice view of what I think is Flushing Bay. I visited during a day game and you could see a sliver of the recreational boating on the bay between the LF seating and the CF board. Granted, there's a highway between the park and the bay, but I wish I could have seen more of the outside from my upper deck vantage point.

15. There are no words... (Met Fan Charlie) Posted: May 28, 2009 at 01:35 PM (#3197146)

Wally Matthews Rips Wilpons! Film At 11!

16. Sam M. Posted: May 28, 2009 at 01:59 PM (#3197190)

You know, I have resolved not to read any more of Wallace Matthews' diatribes about the Mets. But I just have to say . . . if I were Matthews, I would ask the headline writers at Newsday never, ever to use the phrase "annoying tic" in my stories again.

Because it's just too easy.

17. JJ1986 Posted: May 28, 2009 at 02:16 PM (#3197214)

Bob Carpenter and Rob Dibble absolutely lost it last night. They spent the rest of the game complaining about replay and wondering how to get the umpire out of the league. And Dibble even thought it was conclusively a home run, but didn't care because all of the calls were going against the Nats.

18. Crispix Attacks Posted: May 28, 2009 at 11:26 PM (#3198027)

Wallace Matthews is an annoying tick.

The catwalks in Tampa Bay are the ONLY odd thing in a new stadium which happened by serendipity instead of out of desire to be unusual, so for that I thank them.

How about just not having advertisements that are the same color as the ball.

What color should they paint the ball?

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Matthews: Replay reveals another annoying tic at Citi Field

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