Build It

With the Marlins new stadium basically a reality, I'm left to wonder, why not the Mets? Since 2000, the Marlins have drawn 6,318,990 while winning a World Series and drew less than a million people in 2002. The Mets on the other hand have drawn 12,743,248 people since 2000 and are no where near a new stadium. The Marlins have a hard time becoming relevant even after a World Series victory in Florida and will receive a bump in attendance without a doubt with a new stadium, but will it be sustained? The Mets now occupy the worst stadium in baseball by popular consensus. Worse than football fields turned into baseball fields, which says a lot (Shea was a baseball field built to allow football games). Sure public money is always better spent on things like schools, hospitals, fireman salaries, the homeless problem, feeding hungry kids, etc, but if every other city can get a new stadium, why not the biggest metropolis in the US of A? Baseball brings things back to the community like sales tax on millions of tickets and millions of dollars, income taxes on players who make a little bit of change, provides jobs for people, provides wholesome entertainment, provides a haven for men to get away for their wives or girlfriends, provides business for surrounding areas, etc. People opposed to stadiums like to twist it so that new stadiums are a complete sunk cost which is untrue. Does it cost the city? Yes, but a lot of the difference is made up over time. The city does reap benefits from sports teams and makes money off their existence and have been making money off their existence over the years. Every once in while, it is necessary to give back in my opinion. This is one of those times that it is necessary. Wilpon has the network on the horizon so he can kick in more money than he could of ever kicked in and he's bringing in the players. The Mets can have the house that Petey built or the house that Wright built.

The Marlins were in the World Series in 2003. One of the local channels up here was asking people on the street in Miami who was in the World Series. Some said the Yankees, some had no idea, but one thing was constant. They had no idea the Marlins, the team in their own backyard, were in it. Sure the TV station could have completely misrepresented the people down there and took whatever interviews they wanted to portray town that does not care about baseball, but the attendance numbers seem to back it up. If the Marlins, Brewers, Pirates, Astros, Padres, etc. can get new stadiums, why not the Mets who have a dedicated fan base that shows up to see a losing team. This needs to get done and needs to get done soon.

After the Yankee's get their new stadium, Shea will only have Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, and Dodger Stadium as the only structures older than theirs. Dodger Stadium was redone and is actually nice. Fenway and Wrigley have nostalgia, and Shea has big neon baseball players. I know what you are thinking. What's more NYC or Broadway than obnoxious neon? I say smart money is that the neon ballplayers will never come back into style or have any charm. The bottom line is that Shea stadium has been around for too long. I like going there, but when I went to Coors Field and Camden Yards it made me truly see how bad Shea really is. You go to other fields and it is not just a game, but it's an experience. It is much more fun and entertaining. At Coors people are around hours before game time inside and walking around. Going to the batting cages, speed pitch, etc. A new Stadium will truly equal increased revenue streams for the Mets unlike a lot of other teams for the main reason of big business in their back yard. Corporate sponsors, luxury boxes, and season tickets are the name of the game and NY can supply that while other markets cannot. A new stadium will help the Marlins out as much as it helped the Brewers, which is not much. Baseball has a long way to prove it's important in South Florida and until it does, I have a hard time believing a new Stadium will help out. However, it's very important to NYC win or lose. A new Stadium for the Mets can be a win win for the team and the city.

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Pitchers and catchers report today. However, my sources inside the Yankee organization tell me that Jeter and A-Rod have been "pitching and catching" all winter. I wonder who exactly was the catcher?

Pedro has been working out vigorously in preparation for this upcoming season.


His workout consists of lifting five pounds over his head

..and arm wrestling Koo


...and tossing fat men.

Really, I could not be more excited to see this guy pitch. He looks like he's out to prove something. Anyone else see a HUGE year from Pedro coming? Anyone remember what happened the last time the BoSox thought a HoF pitcher was done at 33?

Said Galarraga: "I want to help the team, not only when I'm playing. I can help the team, telling my teammates what they're doing good and bad, like another coach."

"When Gary was called to the grand jury, he told them that he was using a cream that the grand jury then informed him was steroids. Gary has long been opposed to any type of performance-enhancing drugs."

What that really means is that he has been opposed to any type of performance enhancing drugs except while HE was on them. Just thought that may need some clarification. I'm always against cheating too when I'm not actually cheating myself.

Trot give us a ton of great quotes:

The Red Sox [stats, schedule] right fielder was put off by the way Rodriguez recently boasted about how the Yankees third baseman's early morning work-out regimen started at 6 a.m. and lasted six hours.

"He said he's doing all this while 600 players are still in their bed," Nixon began." I said, "What's wrong with me taking my kid to school? I'm not a deadbeat dad, you clown."

"I work out for three hours in the weight room, and I hit for another two or three hours (later in the day)," continued Nixon, the father of two infant boys. "What makes you so much better?"

The clown reference came up again, when Nixon talked about reading what Rodriguez was going to do the next time he hit an infield dribbler intercepted by a Sox pitcher.

"He said the next time, (instead of slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo [stats, news]'s hands) he's going to run him over," Nixon said. "It's like, OK. You're a clown."

A clown who apparently is not cut from the same cloth as some of his Yankees brethren, according to Nixon.

"I'm not going to talk about him. He's a great athlete, he's a great competitor," Nixon said, backpedaling a bit before sticking his foot back in, "but ask my opinion, if you look at the Yankees, who am I looking at? It's (Derek) Jeter. I don't know if that rubs him the wrong way, or not. He doesn't care what I think. I know that."