A lot of it depends upon one’s experience. Its different for one paying more money for seats lower down than it is for those whose budget only allows them to sit in the upper promenade. Now, I have a friend who was raving about Citi Field and couldn’t understand what I was getting at until he also sat in the left field upper promenade and understood what I meant about the blocked views, not being able to enter the park at the most convenient entrance for him and there being no escalator in left going all the way to the upper most level.

So, as loyal and paying fans, it is understandable why one can feel so slighted by the now shabby treatment we get in return fom an ownership who not only wanted to squeeze every dime they could out of us but had so little concern for those who could only afford the less expensive seats that it came to even building a stadium with that blocked view so those in the expensive Acela club could see directly and more comfortably into home plate as the attached shows.

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/nym/ballpark/clubs.jsp

No way they can have that close a view without penalizing those sitting above. That would have meant the stands being further back, situated more pararrel with the foul line and starting to jut inward around the foul lines and not half way between third and the wall.

When we sat in the upper promenade slightly past third base we could not see anything left of the “shea” ball. Just like four of the seven main entrances being off limits to most fans, this type of design wasn’t by accident.

How could this not make one feel angry and slighted? This goes beyond what just Gary alluded to about the Wilpons trying to give us a watered-down product on top of that.

1-3 5.64 Righties are hitting 300 lefties 288, can’t strike out anybody, his ERA @ home is a whooping 7.88!!! The guy is a f’ing bum…
Another thing that the poster sean kenny said, “The pen has been horrible. Outside of Francisco or Parnell, the Mets do not have another pitcher they can rely on in a situation of any leverage to get a key out, less in fact a strikeout”
ARE YOU SERIOUS?? So a guy who’s 1-3 4.97 with 18 saves (3 Blown saves) with a WHIP of 1.60 is a guy you can rely on???? SERIOUSLY??? it showed how horrible the patch together bullpen sandy alderson put together have been.. Not sure whether the man is looking for help, but he sure as hell have not done a good job at anything he does, Nothing in the bullpen HE put together have worked, is amazing the sugar coating about the horrible job the GM’s done.

Well Yes, Fireworks night has always been a sellout no matter what the state of the team or economy. It is almost a tradition to some especially the fans who buy tickets ad hoc.

Fireworks night and the Yankee series are always the first to sell out. Thats because what didn’t sell out on season tickets gets snapped up for most promotions first. Even if you see a bad baseball game either the Kid got something or you saw a nice firework show.

But that 27K is what they are drawing per average and thats because no one had any hope for this season and as a result the season ticket simply didn’t sell.

Others could not afford them and chose to buy individual tickets as well.

I really don’t think Joey is right about the Stadium and views being a big problem. As for the Owners alienating the fans they have done far LESS to alientate thier fans as far as stadium and fees than the Yankees have.

We will see if the winning has any affect or not now. Kids are out of school and on summer vacation, This is when attendance either picks up or nosedives depending on how the team is doing.

The best they can hope for at this point is any goodness they see this season will generate more season ticket sales next year.

They are currently around the same totals ther were at last year Just a few hundred shy after averaging 27K for most of the year.

Hope you and yours had a nice and safe July Fourth holiday.

Though I know more than a few feel the way I do about the ownership and front office but I am also aware that my words are based on my own personal feelings and subject to my own biases. However, at that 50th Anniversary celebration at Hofstra two months ago I was surprised at the amount of fans who told me they too felt just as alienated as I did. Now, one has to be a die-hard Met fan to be willing to pay a registration fee to attend such a gathering (I was a speaker so I only had to pay for my better half LOL). Of course, your point is well taken that this might not be enough to stop them from going to a game like it does my wife and I and a few others I know personally.

One thing though, we all love the Mets.

You seem to have what at least to me appears as a flaw in your argument. You say fans don’t show up cause of resentment, anger, feeling alienated, sudden skyrocketing increase in ticket prices and a shrine built to honor a team long gone. Yet these same fans throw all that aside to go see fireworks?

It’s getting to the exciting part of the schedule now where in recent years past the Mets have disappointed. Right now as far as tickets sold they are averaging about 700 less per game if you include today’s game compared to the same number of home games (42) last year.

If the Mets are in a playoff hunt in mid August through September and fans still don’t go support the team then I will revisit your idea of fans not showing up cause of resentment, anger, feeling alienated, etc. etc. etc. Right now while I don’t dismiss the existence of people that feel the way you do assuming you include yourself as one (apologies if you don’t) I think I agree more with Beningo fans are just not yet sold on the team.

Joe Beningo the other day mentioned he feels the attendance isn’t there because the fans are as yet sold on this team. I beg to differ with him on that point. It hasn’t been since the Grant days that I’ve seen such a loyal fan base harbor so much resentment and anger toward the ownership and front office than I do now. Despite it’s aesthetic beauty, the fans started feeling alienated when the new ballpark opened blocked views of the field, a sudden skyrocketing increase in ticket prices, the gimmicks of walls of various heights, lengths and angles to create artificial excitement that turned gold glovers into Lucas Duda, making a mockery of the game and a shrine built to honor a team long gone, not the team we loved.

If ever there was a group of baseball executives out of touch with their fan base, this was it. Going to a Met game just suddenly didn’t feel the same. Perhaps had there been more of a connection between ownership and fans (the Yankees have it) many would sympathize the Wilpons as they find themselves behind the financial eight-ball. But of course, the Wilpons had no concern about making a Met game so un-affordable for so many so that is now why, with ticket prices being much lower (though with high “processing” fees) many are still not coming out.

Which is a shame but not the fault of the players or the fans.

Rauch, Francisco, Parnell, Byrdak are all good pieces. It’s the other 4 spots that have been a problem. How could anyone expect Acosta and Ramirez to be terrible given how good they were in 2010 and 2011?

Poor roster moves and poor bullpen usage has been more of a problem than the actual players them selves though…

You wind up with a lot of older cheap guys who don’t have a lot of MiL and roster options and have to pass through waivers and risk losing them and while that leaves you lots of Payroll flexability it totally kills your Roster Flexability!

Never mind the affect it has on kids like Hampson and valdespin who spend as much time going back and forth on the shuffle off to Buffalo Express as they do playing baseball!

You can’t send Quintanilla down or you lose him, Cedeno is probably not as much at risk to being lost but I bet he is out of options too. Bautista, Rauch and Ramirez can’t be sent down either so really they can’t send anyone down without losing someone we want to keep or someone we need but can’t keep because we needed something else!

Time to make a trade Sandy! LOOOOOONGGGGG OVERDUE!

You got your payroll flexability time to make some Roster flexability and get something for the guys you can’t seem to use and can’t send down for fear of losing them!

They could have sent down Hefner or Batista or Kirk himself, but no they chose to send down their 2nd lefty and it cost them any chance of tying the game late…

Bullpen management is so important and this front office (and the Manager) has done a dismal job at it. I know the options suck, but Terry needs to trust the matchup over the player and Sandy needs to provide a 2nd lefty to the roster at all times.

Having 3 guys who can’t get lefties out and Hefner (why do we need a long man again?) in the pen is costing them games. Will Ohman is a free agent right now, will cost next to nothing and is money against lefties.

This team could be doing so much better, if this bullpen was set up properly and they don’t need to make a trade to make it decent…

It’s something that will happen less when he gets stronger but it does explain what is going on with him in the 7th inning.

All his HRs given up are in the 7th. 20.25 ERA in the 7th.