Good Old Days at Shea

In a random act of procrastination I came across a few old Mets Weekly videos from back when the Mets called Shea Stadium home. I love Citi Field, I really do, but for a fan like me, pushing 30 now, I wonder if it will ever feel like home the way Shea did.

People say all that's needed to make it feel like home is a great season with some playoff series' thrown in. That's possible. But I wonder if my mind's eye image won't always find it more natural to see those groups of seats in orange, blue, green, and red, or for, ahem, ALL the walls to be blue, or for anything else that made you instantly recognize Shea. 

In the videos I saw David Wright dig into the batter's box with all the familiar trappings around him; even the fish net behind home plate looked familiar. I saw Jose Reyes dive into home then clap his hands jubilantly as he raced toward the old home dugout. It just felt right.


It's nothing against Citi Field; I honestly mean that. As I get older and fewer and fewer friends live and breathe the Mets the way I do (at least in the good years; I concede that down years are less interesting to me than they once were), having a stadium that casual spectators can enjoy is more important to me than ever.

For as much as it felt like home to me, Shea was decidedly uninviting for the casual fan. With it's open promenades and great dining options, Citi Field is a fun place to go and an easy sell when I try to get groups of people out to the ballgame.

Still though, sigh. For all its charms and everything it has going for it, one thing Citi Field will never be is Shea Stadium. There's a lot of good in that, but we lost a lot in that transition, too.

As if you needed to be reminded of that. 

- A.F.O.M.G.

Someday

Wow... long time, right?

It's weird to be back on the blog but figured the loss of Jose Reyes deserved a mention. As longtime (i.e., former) readers are aware, my blog handle, A Friend of Mr. Glass', was inspired by our injury-prone former sparkplug.

Like so many others, Jose Reyes was my favorite Met. The excitement surrounding him on his way up and through those first few seasons, and then again this past season, was breathtaking at times.

You never had as much fun at Shea/Citi Field or at home watching on the tube as when Reyes lashed one into the gap. That's the way we'll all remember him. Dreadlocks bouncing in his wake, careening full throttle for third and diving in amid a plume of dirt.

Beyond the sheer enjoyment of watching him play, Reyes was, and will remain, a symbol of a very exciting time in my life -- the end of college and my life back in New York. Those first few years out of college are pretty great; you have no real responsibilities, you have a little scratch in your pocket, and if you're a sports fan, you can watch basically any game you want.

Back in 2005 and 2006, I wanted to watch basically every game, so sure enough I did. Reyes is a big part of those memories, right there with D-Wright, Pedro, Uncle Cliff, and so many others. He was very much the poster boy for an era of Mets baseball.

* * * * *

Guys, it didn't take Reyes signing with Miami to make it clear that era is over. The Mets were bad last year, bad the year before that, and bad the year before that.

I love Reyes, but look at this team -- what are we holding onto? Was there any combination of moves that would have made us a contender in 2012? No; no question about it, full stop.

I hate to lose Reyes because I think he's awesome and fun to root for, but he wasn't going to make this team great again; if he was, he'd have done it by now.

It's time for a new generation of players to lead the way. The Mets won't be good again until guys like Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and on and on are contributing at the big league level, and that's not happening until 2013 at the earliest, 2014 more likely.

And that's OK. We don't have to win every year; we don't have to win every 25 years, evidently, because they haven't and here we all are just the same. People say they at least need to "try" -- "trying" is what we did the last few years, it didn't work.

It's time for a new model. It's time for new players. We won't win in 2012, won't win in 2013. But if we follow through on this process, someday, maybe, it will be worth it.

So goodbye, Jose; goodbye, old friend. You were awesome. We had a lot of good memories, and those aren't going anywhere. Others may boo when you return, but I'll be cheering for you.

- A.F.O.M.G.