New Mets!

New Citi Field! New cream colored jerseys! New David Wright!

Yes, there was a lot to take in at sun-soaked Citi Field yesterday. Me and Sip were back in the saddle again, hitting up the Mets' home opener alongside a few other friends. It was my sixth straight Opening Day (I took a break in college); Sip said it was his 15th straight (evidently he did not take a break in college).

I got to the ballpark early yesterday and had some time on my hands, so I took a lap of Citi Field to take in some of the upgrades to the exterior. Everything about the fanwalk and the banners that you've read on Metsblog is spot on -- they're very nice touches.

(Although one of them brought out the copy editor in me. See the plaque above? Look closely at the "Miracle Mets", specifically the close quotation marks -- they go the same way as the open quotation marks, like there are two open quotation marks rather than an open and a close. Can we please get this fixed? It looks sloppy.) 

I didn't have a chance to look in the Mets Hall of Fame, it was just too packed. I'll check it out this weekend; for now, the upgrades really began and ended with the Apple outside.

I remember when the Mets were touting the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. There was a lot of talk from Mets brass and commentators on SNY about how the giant blue 42 in the Rotunda would become a meeting ground for fans, and a regular place for a photo op.

I understand why they might have thought that, but the 42-as-destination never materialized as far as I could tell. Honestly, the 42 isn't prominent enough in the Rotunda and it doesn't have the same emotional resonance with fans that the Apple does (sad to say on some level, but that's the way it is).

The Apple, however, was an instant hit outside Citi Field yesterday, and everything they said the 42 would be. Fans gathered around it in droves, and it was a personal highlight for me as well. Just a really cool addition.

Inside the stadium, let the record show that the fans' skepticism was out in full force. Players were booed as the rosters were read before the game (Oliver Perez and the entire training staff in particular). The first in-game groans were registered on the fourth pitch of the season as Johan fell behind in the count 3-1.

But then Johan settled down, producing a solid, if unspectacular, 6 innings of 1-run ball. The key moment came in the bottom of the first, however, when Wright hit a 2-run bomb to the right field corner. Maybe it was just a fleeting moment, but somehow it felt like that home run exorcised many of the demons left over from the dreadful 2009 season.

(Said a smiling Jeff Francouer after the game: "Everybody gave David crap saying he couldn't hit home runs last year now he goes oppo. We started laughing when he came in [the dugout], he's like 'Everybody wants me to pull it, now I hit one in the oppo.' I said, 'Hey, I don't really give a crap, it counts the same." Chips!)

After that home run the Mets were pretty much in command the rest of the game, allowing us, as fans, to enjoy the unseasonable early April warmth. It was a truly beautiful day at Citi Field, the kind of day that's made for baseball.

No matter what your expectations of this team (and judging from the conversations I had with fans around the stadium yesterday, the expectations are low), it's great to have baseball back. It's great being able to go to the ballpark on a beautiful day, sit in the sun, drink a cold beer, and take in a ballgame. Especially when the Mets play as well as they did yesterday.

Now if only we can make it through this off day and get on to Game 2. Early in the season, the next game can never come fast enough.

- A.F.O.M.G.