Going Nine: Night And Day

Written by: Mark Healey on 17th April 2009

Going Nine: Night And Day | read this item

“That was hard to watch” – Yankee manager Joe Girardi.

It’s pretty safe to say that both the New York Mets and New York Yankees would have preferred different outcomes for their respective home openers this week. Yet no single defeat in a 162-game season could overshadow the successful debuts of MLB’s two newest showpieces.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was on hand for both openers, and was very pleased with what he saw.

“The problem this sport had in the ’60s and ’70s, they built bowls. They all looked alike. They really weren’t baseball stadiums. I used to make a joke, but I was sort of facetious, is that if you had a little too much too drink and you woke in one of those parks, you wouldn’t know if you were in Pittsburgh, St. Louis or Philadelphia because they all looked alike.”

When asked by AP’s Ron Blum if the rest of baseball should be jealous of the obvious advantages that the two New York teams will derive from their new venues, he answered quickly.

“New York teams have always had an inherent advantage, and that’s fine. That’s the way it is. If people are sitting worried, and complaining about that, they should have better things to do,” he said.

Considering the “have-have nots” and revenue sharing rhetoric of years past, that last statement seems like a complete reversal of attitude, but I digress.

***

The new Yankee Stadium, in all of its brand new bombastic glory, got a huge assist from the weather on Thursday. The brilliant sunshine, light breeze of sixty-degrees and a sky so blue you’d think the angels were Yankee fans, made for an incredible spectacle.

Yes, the stage was set; a sellout crowd of 48, 271 on hand to witness a coronation. However, the Cleveland Indians made like Oliver Cromwell and treated the Yankees bullpen like Charles I, erupting for a nine-run seventh inning in a 10-2 win over the Bombers, ruining their historic home opener.

Like the Citi Field opener, which had a dramatic home run from David Wright as a highlight, the Yankees had a few moments to remember in an otherwise forgettable contest.

Thunderous cheers were heard for former Yankee captain (and ex-Mets skipper) Willie Randolph, whose grin was as wide as it was at last year’s send off for the old Stadium. Maybe even wider? Possible.

Other former Yankees to get huge reactions from the crowd were David Wells, Bernie Williams, Rickey Henderson, Reggis Jackson, Dave Winfield, Luis Sojo, Mel Stottlemyre, Paul O’ Neill, Yogi Berra, Tino Martinez and Luis Sojo.

The Yankees’ first hit in the new park belonged to Johnny Damon. The used-to-be leadoff hitter followed Derek Jeter’s fly-out with a solid single to center in the bottom of the first. He moved to second when Teixiera was hit by Cliff Lee. Nick Swisher had a great at-bat before hitting a ball solidly to center. Jorge Posada ended the inning with a check-swing grounder to first.

A first inning of firsts. Drama, aura and mystique? Perhaps not, but tidy. It would continue that way for a few innings.

Posada would hit the new Stadium’s first home run (the 223rd of his career, surpassing Don Mattingly for eighth place on the all-time Yankee list.) in the fifth to tie the game, 1-1. In the top of that inning, he gunned down the speedy Grady Sizemore trying to steal second. While Important to show the hometown fans that his arm is sound after off-season surgery, it seemed at the time even more important that immediately following the play, Victor Martinez rapped a single that would have easily scored Sizemore had he been safe.

“I was very happy for Jorge,” said Girardi. “We don’t talk a lot about individual stuff here, but he means a lot to this franchise, and he’s coming back from a very serious injury.”

Sadly, for the Yankee Stadium throng, Sizemore would exact his revenge later, belting the new cathedral’s first-ever grand slam in the seventh off Yankee left-hander Damaso Marte. Marte also allowed a solo blast to Victor Martinez in the subsequent at-bat. He had replaced right-handed reliever Jose Veras, who allowed three runs in the beginning of the seventh without getting an out, and was booed off the mound.

The defeat certainly muted what was an otherwise wonderful day in the Bronx, but Yankee fans – who were screaming “We Want Swisher!” after Marte gave up his second homer of the inning, a reference to the outfielder’s scoreless pitching effort in the Yankees’ blowout loss in Tampa on Monday – are hoping the ineffective bullpen of the first week of the season is not a sign of things to come.

In any event, the new Yankee Stadium is majestic and every bit as imposing as the original, meant to make you go “Wow!”. Simply put, it is a newer, roomier version of the place across the street, with an incredible Press Box (not that any of you care, but just sayin’) and lots and lots more room.

But is the “frieze” atop the Stadium that makes it breathtaking, and surreal. That small nod to the Yankees of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and Mantle makes all the difference. At least to this writer, it does.

***

Unfortunately for the New York Mets, the beginning to their inaugural game did not start off as planned either, as an unlikely power display by Jody Gerut sent New York right-hander Mike Pelfrey’s third pitch of the game over the center field wall.

Despite the eventual result, a 6-5 defeat to visiting San Diego, the club did enjoy an impressive debut of their new ballpark as well. Citi Field, after last weekend’s exhibition games against Boston, opened its doors for the first time. Everywhere from the Pepsi Porch to the Shake Shack, Mets fans – resplendent in their blue, orange (and black), were abuzz about their new toy.

The entrance of Hall of Famer Met pitcher Tom Seaver and the soon-to-be enshrined Mike Piazza from the Citi Field outfield to the mound was a continuation from the “Shea Goodbye” ceremonies from last season. They christened the new home of the Flushing Faithful as they said farewell to the old one.

I spent much of the pre-game touring the various parts of the new ballpark with The Queens Ledger’s Nick D’Arienzo, a family friend and very respected colleague. A extremely talented writer, a keen observer and well-versed in Mets history and baseball lore, D’Arienzo was the perfect guy to tag along with.

You can read the first of his “Top Ten Things to Love about Citi Field” series by clicking here:

As for this writer, at first glance, Citi Field is a wonderful venue. From a purely aesthetic point of view, Citi Field it is also a baseball fan’s dream. The overall feel is that of a modern-day version of the fictional Knights Field (played by Buffalo’s War Memorial Stadium in the film “The Natural”), mixed with nods to many of the existing HOK parks in Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Philadelphia. The nods to Mets’ owner Fred Wilpon’s cherished Ebbets Field are all over the place as well, but more so outside the park rather than inside.

The biggest criticism of Citi Field is a familiar one to many Mets fans, and it has more to do with a perception of current ownership’s lack of commitment to Mets history (and a preoccupation with those of other clubs, like the Brooklyn Dodgers).

“…I have been a Met fan from the inception. Not a Dodger or Giant fan. They were gone a long time ago. This is no disrespect to Jackie Robinson’s memory, Rotunda, or accomplishments. I am glad to hear that Fred Wilpon is building a Met HOF with no “timetable”. It should have been in place with the opening of Citi Field. … Just show me a proud Met legacy. Brooklyn thought so much about the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field that NYC built a public housing project over it so spare me … “
METSFANINFLA, NY Daily News Blog “Surfing The Mets.”

What I am hearing is that the Mets fan could care less if their team history doesn’t stand up to their crosstown rivals, or even the teams that dumped their faithful Gotham for the blonde bombshell on the West Coast. They love their Mets, and they want to celebrate them every time they come to the ballpark.

It’s not a lot to ask, and certainly not a lot to do. But when you see black hats on Opening Night, I think you’re getting your answer.

To hear more on this subject, click below to listen to the latest edition of “Baseball Digest LIVE”, where Mark Healey talks to Newsday’s Wallace Matthews on the new stadiums

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Topics: Baseball Digest LIVE, Cti Field, Ebbets Field, Fred Wilpon, Yankee Stadium

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May 3, 2009 at 9:20 pm

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