Citi-Field

I was pre-disposed to not like the new Citi-Field. The reason was this: I couldn't be more tired of the fashionable baseball stadium as museum to, or better -- mausoleum of, a game that people used to enjoy. Obviously Baseball's rich history and grand tradition is something that differentiates it, and that Major League Baseball is wise to market, but in too heavy a dose it sucks the life out of the game.

Having gone to my first game there, there were certainly things I liked. I liked the fact that the stadium is physically on the street. With any luck, auto-body row will, over the next few years, be replaced by bars and restaurants. I liked the vertical-ness of the stadium. The upper decks are far more on top of the field then they were. Finally, the expansiveness and openness of the vending areas is pleasant and smart.

One of the things the new Yankee Stadium, I'm told, does wonderfully is that it feels very much like the old Yankee Stadium. There was no attempt at that with Citi-Field. Instead, it is supposed to feel like the old Ebbets field. Having the Jackie Robinson Rotunda as the centerpiece no doubt strengthens that feeling. The Mets, themselves, of course, never played in Ebbets field and Jackie Robinson never played for the Mets. The architecture is less a homage to the Mets, or even the Dodgers, then to the self-indulgent owner of the Mets, who, evidently, grew up a Dodger fan.

The most off-putting influence on citi-field is the Phillie's Citizens Bank Park. While there are many nice features of CBP which could have sensibly been imitated, the Green (seats) and Maroon (usher's uniforms) color scheme was emphatically not one of them.

Symbolically, perhaps, the most disheartening feature was the short shrift the scoreboard got. Three quarters of the space is taken by ads. More space was alloted to a Chevy ad then to out of town scores, lineups, current batters stats, etc combined. A good chunk of the stadium has no view of either the (tiny) scoreboard or the jumbotron.

In sum, to go to Citifield is to be reminded of the disregard in which the Mets hold their fans.

K-Rod

If one considers BAa, OPS and K/BB to be far better measures of a relievers worth then ERA or Saves, then I am not sure the mets wouldnt be better of with, for the same money, 3 of Hoffman, Fuentes, Springer, Saito and Rhodes instead of K-Rod.

Look at the numbers:

K-Rod	Righty	26	3-year, $37M
SEASON	TEAM	TBF	K/9	K/BB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2006	LAA	296	12.08	3.5	0.197	0.276	0.333	0.607
2007	LAA	285	12.03	2.65	0.204	0.299	0.306	0.604
2008	LAA	288	10.14	2.27	0.216	0.314	0.316	0.629
Putz	Righty	31	1-year 5.5M
2006	Sea	303	11.95	8	0.207	0.245	0.284	0.528
2007	Sea	260	10.3	6.31	0.153	0.202	0.252	0.452
2008	Sea	211	10.88	2	0.256	0.36	0.389	0.749
Fuentes	Lefty	33	2008: $5M
2006	Col	274	10.06	2.81	0.209	0.301	0.372	0.672
2007	Col	255	8.22	2.44	0.206	0.299	0.323	0.621
2008	Col	256	11.78	3.73	0.205	0.277	0.293	0.566
Wood	Righty	31	2-year, $20.5M
2006	ChC	86	5.95	1.63	0.253	0.326	0.52	0.846
2007	ChC	101	8.88	1.85	0.207	0.31	0.299	0.606
2008	ChC	276	11.4	4.67	0.219	0.288	0.344	0.63
Hoffman	Righty	41	2008: $7.5M
2006	SD	248	7.14	3.85	0.205	0.25	0.316	0.566
2007	SD	235	6.91	2.93	0.228	0.276	0.358	0.63
2008	SD	180	9.13	5.11	0.224	0.263	0.394	0.655
Springer	Righty	40	2008: $3.5M
2006	Hou	240	6.94	2.88	0.211	0.277	0.394	0.669
2007	StL	257	9	3.47	0.181	0.248	0.265	0.511
2008	StL	205	8.05	2.5	0.212	0.286	0.31	0.593
Rhodes	Lefty	39	2-year, $4M
2005	Cle	175	8.93	3.58	0.206	0.263	0.269	0.532
2006	Phi	214	9.46	1.6	0.261	0.376	0.383	0.757
2008	--	146	10.19	2.5	0.224	0.31	0.256	0.557
Saito	Righty	38	2008: $2M
2006	LA	303	12.29	4.65	0.177	0.243	0.262	0.503
2007	LA	234	10.91	6	0.151	0.209	0.239	0.448
2008	LA	197	11.49	3.75	0.226	0.294	0.299	0.594

Also scary, having lived through Wagner and Benitez who where great regular season closers that could be counted on to blow playoff games, is K-Rod's recent postseason performance.

Finally, the Mets do not really need another immature 26 year old on their roster. Adding a nucleus of steady veteran hands might go a long way towards avoiding yet another september meltdown.