Yet, Shea had to move on in the name of progress. Although, not much to look at, the big blue bowl had to move into memory for the sake of wider concourses, club seats and the Shake Shack.

And the Mets seemed to have suffered for it. As Citi Field arose over the outfield fence, its primary tenant couldn’t get out of its own way, tossing away the 2007 and 2008 seasons on the last day of each season. Could it have been a sign?

More and more you have to wonder, as 2009 is quickly becoming the worst year in the history of the franchise. How can that be, you might say? The Mets have a history of bad clubs. From the 1962 Amazin’ Mets, to the Dr Roulet clubs of the late 1970s, and the “Worst Teams Money Could Buy” in the early 1990s, there have been some stinkers out there.

Yet, this year takes the cake. As the Mets – and the city – proceeded to wipe Shea off the map, the Wilpons were almost bankrupted by Bernie Madoff and Citi Field’s name sponsor had to be bailed out by the government.

Then Citi Field opened it’s doors, filled with obstructed views and devoid of Met history. It took the club four months to realize fans wanted to see memorabilia and the game on the field, and changes were made last week.

It’s probably too little too late, because the season isn’t just a lost cause, but an Edgar Allen Poe horror story. It took only a few weeks into 209 for the Red Death to visit the Met clubhouse and one by one they fell. Seven of the eight in the opening day lineup missed time due to injury. It got so bad that even the replacements started to go down, right down to Jeff Francoeur, who hurt his thumb on Sunday.

As for the starters, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and now Johan Santana have been hurt this season. Livan Hernandez was so bad he was released, and Mike Pelfrey took a huge step back. And much like the lineup, the fill-ins spent time on the DL as well with Fernando Nieve and Tim Redding on the shelf during various parts of the season.

The only thing missing is a ticking ebony clock in the Mets clubhouse which will stop when there are no more players left. With the way things are going, that will probably be next week.

And let’s not forget Omar Minaya, who went from baseball’s darling to almost not having a job after he put his foot in his mouth last month by slandering Daily News reporter Adam Rubin. This year has not been bad, but an embarrassment from top to bottom.

Is all of this bad luck? Maybe. Bad judgment? Perhaps. Yet, maybe the Mets angered some sort of baseball god by wiping Shea Stadium off the map. At least the Yankees had the good sense to keep their old ballpark standing as the Bombers adjusted to their new edifice.

Speaking of the Yankees, they were last team to celebrate a championship on Shea’s field. That type of sacrilege caused them to have a really bad decade. They lost the next World Series on the final pitch, allowed the Red Sox to break their curse and had a boat load of first round defeats. And now, with no more Shea, they are cruising to No. 27.

Maybe there’s nothing to this. But there’s no denying bad karma has hit the Mets hard this year. And all of this started to happen after the team demolished the field of two miracles.

Is it just a coincidence? Maybe or maybe not.

Of course you are going to go all out on celebration, but imagine your embarrassment when you realized halfway through it, you realized you forgot to buy the beer.

That’s what the Yankees realized today.

After spending $1.5 billion dollars on a new home and $200 million to fill the roster with stars, imagine their shock when they realized they forgot to stock the bullpen with relievers who can actually hold serve during the sixth and seventh inning. Today, we saw Jose Veras and Damaso Marte get shelled for nine runs, giving 48,271 paid something they didn’t want to see – an Opening Day loss.

“We have to get everyone going in our bullpen,” manager Joe Girardi said afterwards. “We have to get [all] the guys going because you just can’t rely upon some guys in the bullpen. We have to get Domaso going and Jose going. It’s been up and down and you have to get consistency.”

Sure it’s early in the season and some guys like Brian Bruney and Edwar Ramirez have been good, but as we saw last season in Queens, when you use guys too much too early, they burn themselves out towards the end of the season when you need them the most.

That means the less confidence Girardi has in Marte or Veras gives more and more chances to the other pitchers. Also the manager only seems to use Bruney with the lead, which make the ‘pen thinner in tight games or when coming back.

Today was supposed to be the Yankees coming out party. The last time they opened a new location, Babe Ruth hit a home run and the place became known as “The House That Ruth Built” during its 86 year lifetime. Now this Yankee Stadium needs an identity. Unfortunately for the Bombers, this will take time, because it sure didn’t get it name today.

As constituted right now, the Yankees have a very nice starting staff – which goes about six innings a piece – a great closer, mediocre setup and middle relief, and a good but not spectacular lineup, especially without Alex Rodriguez.

That means, the building will have to be a draw, and at the price the Yankees paid, it also means a winning product needs to be on the field for the team to justify their costs. A half empty stadium may cause trouble for the Yankees when the bonds come due, eventually fans will stay away if the team doesn’t start winning.

It all starts in the bullpen holding leads. Wins today mean less pressure in September and it also means a better chance of making the playoffs.  Even though this new stadium is only one day old, Girardi is already on notice, because the Steinbrenners will give him the hook after a poor start.

If that happens, the Bronx Zoo would officially reopen. Only this time with a new address, one block north of the old joint.

This Opening Day is all about the man who made the day possible.  It’s really all about George Steinbrenner.

The guy known as either affectionately or derisively as “the Boss,” has been the throttle behind the Yankees’ machine for more than three decades.  In 1973, with 17 investors at his side, Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees lock, stock and barrel for $10 million from the Columbia Broadcasting System.

At the time of the purchase the Yankees were going into their ninth year without a championship.

After buying the team Steinbrenner, as principal owner, said at the time, “I won’t be active in the day-to-day operations of the club at all.”

Apparently, George was a better businessman than a prophet, because that’s all he would do in the coming years; be active.

Under Steinbrenner’s leadership the Yankees wasted no time in getting back into the World Series picture.  After posting an 80-82 record in 1973 the Yankees improved to 89-73, coming in second behind the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East the following year; missing the playoffs by 2 games.

It was during this period the Yankees temporarily closed the doors to Yankee Stadium to renovate and restructure the aging site.  For the next two seasons the Yankees played their games at Shea Stadium in Queens.

When the doors opened for the 1976 season there were obvious and notable differences in the structure.  Gone was the marbled wall with the double eagle seals rising up over Gate 4.  The outer walls, with its cathedral windows, surrounding the playing field had changed as well.  Inside the looks had been altered too.

The frieze or façade that ringed the upper decks of the old stadium had been reduced to a string of façade running along the wall in the outfield.  The steel pillars holding up the various seating levels around the stadium had been removed giving fans better sight lines to the field of play.

It was a beautiful park that served the Yankees, its fans, and the City of New York well up until it closed its doors for the final time on September 21, 2008

Also in ‘76, and just three years after Steinbrenner took over the reins, the Yankees won the AL East Division, posting a 97-62 record.  They went on to defeat the Kansas City Royals in 5 games to propel themselves into the World Series for the first time in 12 seasons.  Unfortunately for the Bronx Bombers they ran into the defending World Series champion Cincinnati Reds who weren’t called the “big red machine” for nothing.  The Yankees were swept out of the Series 4-0.

That didn’t dampen Steinbrenner’s spirit; it only fueled his fire.  From that point forward the only successful season the Yankees could have using his standard of excellence was bringing home the World Series trophy.  Anything less was deemed “failure.”

The next two seasons, with a cast of characters with names like Billy, Thurman, Reggie, Sparky, Gator, Bucky and Goose, the Yankees became world champions for the 21^st and 22^nd times.   They beat their longtime World Series archrivals, the Los Angeles (old Brooklyn) Dodgers in doing so.  The same two teams went at it again in 1981 with the Dodgers finally conquering their antagonists in 6 games.

In the process of establishing their identity the turmoil surrounding the Yankees led the New York sportswriters to dub Steinbrenner and the Yankees “the Bronx Zoo.”  Steinbrenner was viewed as a tyrant who had an obvious bromance with manager Billy Martin.  During their love-hate relationship Martin was hired and fired by Steinbrenner five times between 1976 and 1988.

Along with the chaos came failure.  In his unquenchable desire to get his team to the World Series each and every year Steinbrenner spent oodles of money for players hoping to find the right combination of personnel to get it done.  Although the team went 692-531 (.566) between 1982 and 1989 they never placed better than second (1985-86).

In the 1990’s the Yankees changed tactics and began to develop their farm system.  Instead of buying players the Yankees brought players up through the system.  Under the watchful eye of General Manager Gene “Stick” Michael the Yankees developed players like Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada.  They surrounded these young players with veterans like Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez and Scott Brosius who blended in well and proved to be a championship combination.

Between outgoing manager Buck Showalter (1995) and the incoming new manager Joe Torre (1996-2007) the Yankees embarked on an odyssey of dynastic proportions.  From 1995 through 2007 the Yankees had an incredible 13-year run to the playoffs.  During that period the Yankees won four World Series titles, six AL championships, 10 AL East Division crowns and made 3 wild card appearances.

But, even when things have gone well there has disorder along the way.  The common denominator has always been Steinbrenner.  For better or worse since his first day as principal owner Steinbrenner has always done things his way.  It has gotten him in trouble with Major League Baseball, the law and the fans.  However, as with any landscape for every valley there is a hill.

Since their last World Series appearance the Yankees have been in a prolonged valley.  Steinbrenner, the organization, the fans and the city at large long for another championship banner.

After two years in the making the “new” Yankee Stadium opens its gates to a new generation of baseball fans.  Along with it comes the hope that in this new chapter the Yankees will find the same success they had at the old stadium.  It will be a tough act to follow though.  Twenty-six World Series championships is a standard that no team in professional sports has equaled.  Only time will tell if the new stadium will witness the same accomplishments.

However, the new stadium with all its new amenities of the present and future, plus its design to incorporate the past, is a great way to start.  The bridge of tradition is formally completed today.  It is time to make new memories, while remembering the old ones.  The Babe, Lou, Yogi, Joe D., Whitey and the Mick all played in the old stadium.  Today, Derek, Andy, Jorge, Robinson, Mariano and their teammates play in the new one.

Behind it all is George Steinbrenner.  It was his drive and his vision that enabled all of what the fans see and experience today to happen.  Steinbrenner has always been and always will be about winning.

“Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing. Breathing first, winning next,” he once said.

The old stadium may have been “the House that Ruth built,” but most assuredly the new Yankee Stadium is “the House that George built.”  In his 36 association with the New York Yankees Steinbrenner has turned the organization into the most recognizable franchise in sports.  It has gone from a $10 million investment to a multi-billion dollar empire.  The new stadium is the crown jewel of Steinbrenner’s tireless labors.

So for those of you lucky enough to have a ticket for today’s game enjoy it, savor it and remember it as something very, very special.  You’ll be able to tell your grandchildren “you were there” for Opening Day.

In reality, however, the day belongs to no one, but George.

Although the Mets lost the game, 6-5, the fans did enjoy the new ballpark, which the Mets will now call home.

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Sabathia, who signed with the Yankees in the off-season for the richest contract by a pitcher in baseball history, didn’t make it out of the 5^th inning; a familiar sight to Yankees fans during the 2008 season.  The Yankees are counting on Sabathia to eat up major innings during the year.  However, Sabathia struggled with his command from the get-go and left the game after surrendering 6 earned runs on 8 hits.  The six were the most runs he had given up in a game going back to July 25, 2008 against the Cleveland Indians (32 starts).

Opening Day saw Vice-President Joe Biden throw out the first pitch to kick of the Orioles and Yankees 2009 campaigns; a high fastball catcher Chad Moeller had to climb the ladder to get.  He is the first sitting vice-president in history to do so at Camden Yard.  Afterward, the O’s took the field and Derek Jeter strode to the plate to face Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie.  Jeter got the Yankees first hit, singling up the middle, but was left stranded to end the inning.

Sabathia took the mound and immediately had trouble locating his pitches, especially his fastball.  He gave up a leadoff single to Brian Roberts and later uncorked two wild pitches, although the second one should have been handled by catcher Jorge Posada.  The two wild pitches equaled the amount he threw in 253 innings last year.  However, Sabathia was able to keep Baltimore off the boards for the first two frames.

In the third the Yankees took a 1-0 lead on a manufactured run, when Brett Gardner singled to left, and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Johnny Damon.

That’s when the Orioles went to work on Sabathia.

Baltimore scored three runs in the bottom of the inning when César Izturis singled, Roberts walked, Adam Jones tripled and Nick Markakis hit a sacrifice fly to score Jones.

The Orioles scored 3 more runs off Sabathia in the 5^th when Roberts doubled, and scored after Jones and Markakis hit infield singles. Third baseman Melvin Mora hit another infield single getting Jones to third and moving Markakis up 90 feet.  Sabathia intentionally walked Ty Wigginton to load the bases.   Jones scored on a groundout by Aubrey Huff with Markakis advancing to third.  Sabathia’s afternoon ended after he walked Luke Scott force in a run and reload the bases.

The Yankees bullpen took a beating as well.  After Jonathan Albaladejo threw a scoreless 1-1/3 innings in relief of Sabathia the Orioles tagged relievers Phil Coke and Brian Bruney for two runs each, capped by Izturis’ home run off Coke in the 8^th.

The Yankees other big time signee Mark Teixeira had a rough afternoon also.  Teixeira, who went 0-for-4 with walk, stranded four, including two runners on in the 8^th after the Yankees had cut the Orioles lead to 6-5 in the seventh.

After the game, Teixeira remarked to reporters about his poor showing.

“I didn’t get it done there,” he said, referring to his groundout with runners at the corners and two outs.

Teixeira, who was born and raised in Maryland approximately 30 minutes south of Baltimore, was lustily booed by the hometown crowd every time his name was announced at the plate or when he made a play on the field.

After the game, Sabathia summed up his afternoon this way.

“I was terrible. I battled from the first inning on,” he told reporters.  “At some point I’m usually able to find it. Today was just one of those days where I didn’t. When I have one of those days, this is the result you get.”

Yankee manager Joe Girardi took the game in stride.

“I guess we can’t go undefeated,” Girardi said. “Yeah, it’s one game. We didn’t execute today.”

Even with the loss the Yankees can point to some positives.  Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui homered and Jeter and Damon went 3-for-5 and 2-for-3 respectively at the top of the order.  So far Girardi’s flip-flopping of the Yankees shortstop and left fielder in the leadoff and No. 2 spot in the order is paying off.

The Yankees and Orioles have Tuesday off before battling again on Wednesday and Thursday to complete their 3-game series.

Notes: Sabathia didn’t record a strikeout for only the 5^th time in 253 career starts and Nick Swisher recorded his first official hit a Yankee by getting a pinch-hit double in the 8^th inning.

This week, 30 Major League baseball teams will be finalizing their rosters for opening day.  Many of these teams will add to their roster the surprise 25th man; the man none of us ever heard of six weeks ago.  Maybe the man is coming off an incredible six weeks of spring training that can’t be ignored.  Or maybe the man chose the right time to be there when somebody else tweaked an oblique or pulled a hamstring.   This week, men like that will experience the greatest day of their lives.

This is the time of year to be positive.  The weather is turning.  Baseball season is about to begin.  Fans can hold their heads up on opening day knowing, at least before the first pitch, their team is in a tie for first place.  (You hear that Pittsburgh & Kansas City?)  In a way, this is the most wonderful time of the year because of that thing we call hope.

For those 25th guys who will be getting their first MLB call ups, they will never forget this time of year.  Nor will they forget this time in their lives.  “Chad” or “BJ” or “Dustin” or “Jose, you’re coming with us” are words these guys will never forget.  They’ll never forget adding their cars to the list of vehicles to be sent up north.  They’ll never forget walking through that locker room of veterans and All Stars and idols, knowing they’ll be teammates for real, not just in the fantasy world of spring training.  They’ll never forget that phone call to Vancouver or Little Falls or El Tigre, telling their families that they made it, they actually made it.  Their families will never forget it too.

Some of you may not understand.  How can this be as wonderful as the exchanging of vows or the entry into the world of a new child?  Are we really taking into perspective where baseball falls?  Is this really the “greatest day” but really not?  You know, Jimmy, it’s great but it’s great in terms of occupation and career aspirations.  That’s what you mean, right?

No.  I’m saying for these guys, this greatest day they are about to experience will truly be the greatest day of their lives for the rest of their lives.  Imagine being 25 years old.  For the last 19 years, all you’ve done is eat, sleep and think about baseball.  It’s not just a passion.  It’s an obsession.  (Don’t just think U.S. either.  Keep in mind the baseball-crazy nations like the Dominican and Venezuela and Japan.)  All you ever wanted was to make it to the Majors.  All your family ever wanted for you was to make it.  And for 19 years you’ve struggled and sweat and starved and now you’ve made it.  You’ve accomplished your dream.  That’s been your sole life-goal, to make it in the Major Leagues.  Even harder is the fact that there are limited openings each year.  It’s not just a goal.  It’s been an insane gamble.  Anybody can get married.  Anyone can have a kid.  Not every young man can make a living playing baseball.

If a little girl plays wedding with her friends and dreams of her wedding day, can’t a little boy dream of the same?  Only it’s not a wedding day, it’s opening day.  The white dress has been replaced by the home whites.  The cathedral is called Jacobs Field or Dodger Stadium or PNC Park.  The visitors still come to see you, only they’re paying.  You don’t have to buy them food or issue them invitations or worry about their lodging.  They can worry about that themselves.  There’s still music.  There’s a groom’s & bride’s side, only there are dugouts for home and away.  There isn’t just one man presiding over the affair, there are five of them, also dressed in dark clothing for the occasion.  There are photographers.  There’s video recording the event.  This is the dream of millions of little boys.  See how understandable it is?

The most wonderful time of the year is upon us.  For 30 men in baseball, they will never forget what is about to happen to them.  Pretend you’re one of them for a moment and allow yourself to smile.  There’s nothing wrong with a dream come true.  It happens every year.  And that, my friends, is why baseball is the greatest sport on the planet.

Jimmy Scott is probably the greatest pitcher you’ve never heard of.  Visit Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight to read more from Jimmy.  You’ll also hear a new interview every Monday morning with former MLB players, agents, wives and others; giving new outlooks on this great game we call Baseball.  Go there now to hear Jimmy’s latest interviews with Nelson & Alisa Figueroa, Craig Swan and Fred Claire.  You can follow Jimmy on Twitter or Facebook.

The warm sun of Port St. Lucie has made its way back to New York today, as the Mets go through their first workouts of the year. It will be a very different Spring Training with many notable names leaving in a few weeks for the World Baseball Classic, while manager Jerry Manuel goes through his first camp, trying to establish a work ethic for his club.

So as they open up, the Mets will look to keep their eye on a number of issues and have a few questions to be answered.

Will Johan Santana be healthy enough for Opening Day?

A healthy Santana is the most important issue for the Mets. Recovering from off-season knee surgery, the Mets’ ace already is skipping the WBC and will be working towards an opening day start.

Look for Manuel to treat Santana with kid gloves. He will get his work in, but the club doesn’t want to put him in a position where he misses time during Spring Training. That said, he says he will be ready for the start of the season, who why not believe him?

Who will be the No. 5 starter?

Tim Redding has gone on record saying he expects to be the No. 5 guy, while Jon Niese may have something to say about that.

The real question is the health of Freddy Garcia. If the former ace of the Mariners and White Sox, can prove himself healthy, he may nail down the one open slot in the rotation with Redding going to the bullpen. And that may be the best bet for the club, because if Redding goes to relief, he will get plenty of work in April as Santana and Garcia go five innings apiece.

But if Garcia is not ready, Redding will probably go to the rotation.

Niese will probably start the year at Buffalo and be called up when the Mets need a starter.

How will the WBC affect Manuel’s camp?

Manuel went on record saying he wants to stress fundamentals, which is nice for the players who will be in Port St. Lucie for the whole time. But with half the lineup in the WBC, it will be tough for Manuel to make his mark on those in the tournament.

Yet, they are all veterans anyway and the word probably won’t get through. So continue to expect to see Carlos Beltran bunt with a man on and two-outs, Carlos Delgado  pull the ball right into the shift, David Wright occasionally airmail a ball to first, and Jose Reyes run the team out of a few innings this season.

Just remember though, the last time the WBC was played, the Mets ran away with the division, so this may not be a bad thing.

Are they really going to start the year with Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis in left?

It looks that way. Barring Manny Ramirez coming to the club and taking the league minimum, the Mets will have Murphy in against righties and Tatis will play against the lefties.

This is not a bad thing, per se. The Mets have Fernando Martinez in the minors and if he is healthy, he can come up if one fails, but Murphy played well in 2008 as did Tatis, so giving them another shot is warranted.

Is the bullpen set?

As of right now, K-Rod, J.J. Putz, Pedro Feliciano, Duaner Sanchez and Sean Green have spots in the bullpen, so there is a spot or two open.

The Mets may sign Will Ohman and ideally they would want to have another lefty out there. But they will take the best guy available. That means if Brian Stokes has a good spring, he will probably get a shot. Bobby Parnell is also in the mix.

Nelson Figueroa could be the long man if Redding makes the rotation.

The Mets open Citi Field for two preseason games against the Boston Red Sox on April 3rd and 4th and then the official opening day will be nine days later on April 13th versus the San Diego Padres.

Click on the video to take a closer look.

According to some of the workers at the site, Shea should be entirely gone by Feb. 20. As you can see by the pictures and video below, only the infield sections remain – Gates B, C, and D on the outside -at the old stadium and now, workers are taking down the upper deck on the third base side.

With this type of progress, it looks like there will be plenty of parking at Citi Field on Opening Day.

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