Let’s Go Mets

Outfit of the day:  jeans, my “Cooperstown” t-shirt ( the one with the Mets logo on the front and the names of all the Mets who’ve made it to the Hall of Fame on the back) and my Mike Piazza Jersey.

It’s been cloudy and cool all day, and rain is likely this evening, so my sweatshirt and rain poncho  are packed in my tote bag.

The drive is familiar.  We get off the highway at Flushing Meadow, Drive through the park to the lot on Roosevelt Avenue.  NYPD  won’t let us walk across the street, so we climb the steps to the elevated, then climb down on the other side of the street.  Welcome to Citi Field.  

We walk past the Home Run Apple (a relic of the late, lamented Shea Stadium), past the line of fans waiting to enter via the main rotunda. Our tickets allow us to use the Seaver Gate.  Bag search, metal detectors,and then we are inside.

Today’s giveaway:

You can actually make the Apple pop up, just like it does when one of our guys hits a homer. 

We find a place to eat.  Drew orders pastrami on rye (comes with a kosher pickle), I get sausage and peppers, and we both want Nathan’s fries.

The soft drinks come in souvenir cups.

What I paid for this meal could feed a family of four for a week (I’m only slightly exaggerating).  But oh how wonderful it tastes.  Especially the fries, straight out of the fryer.

Time for some people watching.  Mets fans in orange and blue.  A couple of Dodgers fans, here to watch the Kershaw/deGrom matchup. A guy in a Miami Marlins shirt. Boy is he confused.

And an old man in a cap and jacket, circa 1955, with the logo of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

A perk of field level seats.

The famed Apple:

Yes, we have a great view:

Six rows behind the visitor dugout.  In the middle of a cadre of Dodger fans.

I can hear the planes overhead, but it’s overcast and I can’t see them.  Last time I got a perfect photo of a plane’s shadow crossing the outfield.

The National Anthem, the first pitch, then the Mets take the field.

Play ball!

DeGrom is pitching tonight.

We seem to be sitting in an enclave of Dodgers fans. Ugh.  Feels like we wandered into enemy territory.

The Coca Cola Corner, out in right field

And further out, the Citi Pavilion and Shea Bridge

Drew walked to the bridge for a hot dog.  You can get a Nathan’s hot dog anywhere in the park.  But the place under the Corner cooks them in beer.

I had some crackerjack.

Yeah, that close.  NIMMO!

Kiss cam time.  No, Drew and I didn’t make the kiss cam.  This time.  (We were on the kiss cam about 6-7 years ago.). Tonight we saw a guy propose on the kiss cam.  Congrats to Kim and John. Getting engaged in front of 40,000 strangers ... 

Every time Chase Utley comes to bat, the crowd boos.  New Yorkers don’t forget.  

7th inning stretch

It was a good game ...until the top of the 8th, when Gsellman really blew it ...

The season started so well for the Mets. Now we fans are trying to figure out how it all fell apart.

Oh, well, at least we had the “Piano Man” singalong after the top of the 8th.

And a home run in the bottom of the 8th.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.