The Mets Game at the New Citi Field

Keith Edwards invited me to attend a New York Mets game with him at Citi Field, the Mets brand new stadium, on May 9th. I GLADLY accepted.

Keith's uncle had 4 tickets for the Mets game, and Keith returns the favor later in the season with 4 tickets to a Phillies game. I picked Keith up at his house about 8:45 AM, and we made the 30 minute drive over to Hamilton, NJ to catch the New Jersey transit to NYC. It is about an hour and 15 minute train ride to Penn Station, and a round trip ticket is about $21. It certainly beats driving in NYC traffic, and there is $10 or so in tolls, if you drive. NJ Transit is definitely the way to go.

We ate lunch at a pizza shop in Penn Station and then caught the Long Island Railroad over to Flushing Meadows - Queens, where the Mets Stadium is located. You could also take the subway, but it is much longer with many stops and one train switch. The Long Island Railroad is a direct shot, and the Mets Stadium is the second stop. On our train ride over, we marveled at all of the parking on top of retail stores. To save space in New York City, you actually park on top of the Best Buy or Home Depot where you shop, instead of having an adjacent parking lot. Necessity is the mother of invention, and with limited space in NYC, roof parking lots are a great innovation.

Citi Field is a very nice stadium, with a beautiful brick facade. The seating is a great improvement over the old Shea Stadium (which has already been torn down by the way). Shea had many obstructed view seats, where you had to judge the location of a fly ball based on where the fielder was moving because the seating deck above you did not allow you to actually see it. Citi Field is a much better design.

When you enter Citi Field, you come through the gallery pictured here. Escalators whisk fans away to the higher levels. It is pretty efficient. The human traffic entering and leaving was remarkably manageable for a pro baseball game. Even the trains weren't jammed full, as they were running extra trains for the game. Like all of the newer MLB baseball stadiums, Citi Field has excellent concession stands. Burgers, Nathan's Hot Dogs, pizza, chicken, you name it; this stadium has it.

This was like no other day at Shea Stadium. I can't believe that we did not have to pay extra for this, but Sebastian Bach, lead singer of 1980's hair band, Skid Row, sang four songs prior to warm-ups. He covered two Queen songs and then closed with "18 and Life" and my favorite - "I'll Remember You" (Craig, if you are reading this, I can't hear that song and not picture Ron Dyer lip-syncing with choreography). I am pleased to report that Sebastian appears to be getting along well, and he still executes the high pitch screams in the chorus for which he is known. I have provided a small video clip, with audio, for everyone's enjoyment below.




BabaBooey, Executive Producer of the Howard Stern Show, threw out the first pitch for the game. Honestly, it was the worst first pitch I have ever seen. The umpire, who was not paying attention, was struck by the offering about 15 feet outside of the right handed batter's box. Luckily, he was not injured as the pitch never broke the 45 mph threshhold. I hear Stern deservingly abused him for the next two weeks. It was bad. He was there for a good cause though - bringing awareness for children with autism.


After the game, we went to meet Keith's sister, Christina (and her husband J.R.) for dinner. They were in Manhattan for a wedding that same weekend. On the way to dinner, I took this picture of the Empire State Building.












We also passed Madison Square Garden, which is located directly above Penn Station. It was the first time I actually walked outside at Penn Station to see it.

BUSTED!!! He didn't actually go in... I swear.








We ate at a restaurant called FATS - Fat Ann's Truck Stop. The food was actually pretty good. They had biscuits and gravy as an appetizer (and keeping with my blogging tradition, I took a picture of my food). I could not resist ordering biscuits and gravy in Manhattan. They weren't bad, but they don't compare to my grandmother's. This is more proof that you can find anything in Manhattan.

Special thanks to Keith for making this day possible. I certainly did not think I would get to see either of the new NY stadiums in their inaugural seasons. It was awesome!

REFLECTIONS - Abby and Wendell The Cat

Keith has a full house - Keith, his wife Meg, almost 4 year old twin daughters Kate and Abby, baby Olivia and Wendell the Cat live in their house in Flourtown. The video below was taken at Keith's and Meg's Kentucky Derby Party. Abby, one of the twins is holding Wendell the Cat and telling me all about him. Unfortunately, you cannot make out everything she says because of the adults talking behind her in the kitchen. I try to repeat it all, especially her last comment. She is so funny!!!

My favorite part of the video is how Abby sways back and forth with Wendell. She carries him around the house like he is a barbell sometimes. If you look at Wendell, he appears pretty relaxed. According to Keith, noone else in the house can get away with carrying him or swinging him around like this. He runs from Keith and Kate, Abby's twin. For some reason, he likes Abby.



Perhaps the best part of this story is how Wendell got his name. Wendell has actually been a part of the Edwards family longer than Kate, Abby and Olivia. You see, Wendell the Cat is actually named for Relief Pitcher, Turk Wendell (once again, Keith's love of the Mets showing through). Turk Wendell is known more for his superstitions than he is his record as a closer. He chewed three pieces of licorice every inning and forced the umpire to roll the ball to him at the mound rather than throw it to him to begin an inning. He would also wave at his CF and wait for him to wave back before beginning an inning. My favorite - he wore a necklace of animal claws, horns, etc that were trophies from game that he had killed while hunting. Wendell the cat is a much calmer and more conventional namesake.