Big Victory in the Big Citi

I saw the 2009 Dodgers in person for the first time last night. Wow. This team is impressive. Never mind that we were facing Livan "my belly interferes with my throwing elbow" Hernandez. Never mind that the squad was going up against a disastrously depleted Mets squad (The Post has resorted to calling the team "the Replace-Mets" lately). Never mind that Randy Wolf had supersticiously changed his uniform number hours before the game. The Dodgers looked incredible.

This is the most stacked Dodgers offense I have ever witnessed in my life.

I walked through the Citi gates and up the Keith Hernandez Jackie Robinson Rotunda stairs at 7:25, fifteen minutes after the first pitch. Glancing at the massive scoreboard on the way to our cheap seats way up and behind home plate, I discovered we were already up 4-0. My buddy Scott said that's the thing about baseball. In no other sport can a game be over in such short order. I responded with something about him spending less time pouring Jim Beam in the Grand Central men's room.

The game almost became a game in the bottom of the first, but the Mets limp lineup couldn't muster more than a run. They got another in the bottom of the third, but by that time we had tagged Livan for 6 and it really did look like the game was over.

Citi was about half full by the top of the sixth, either because Mets fans had left the building or because they were wandering around - which the stadium's design seems to encourage you to do. And that's really the best part about this new stadium. Designed by HOK Sport (the builders behind 16 other MLB stadiums - think Citizen's Bank Park, Petco, Comerica), Citi features more standing room than any stadium I've been to. There are cup holders behind seats in the last row of certain sections. The ushers let you hover anywhere you're not obstructing a view. And there are picnic tables above the bullpens in center field (more impressive: there was room to sit down).

The food's not too bad either. Of course we didn't wait 30 minutes for Shake Shack, but the Skipper and Jonny ate some carnitas tacos that they called "decent." Pete had a bag of peanuts I couldn't stop putting my hands in, and I spent no time waiting in line for a mediocre dog and a couple beers - both of which were better and cheaper than their new Yankee stadium counterparts. I'm quite convinced now that Citi tramples Yankee Stadium in every other facet, too. Dodger Stadium? Not quite. The new Mets stadium, though offering a backdrop slightly more scenic than Shea, still overlooks what looks like a vast industrial wasteland. When I think of Dodger Stadium, I Think Blue.