Shea hey

Greetings from Shea Stadium.

Having grown up about 45 minutes away in New Jersey (albeit not as a Mets fan) and covered the Mets' minor league system for five seasons, I've come here many times over the years. And every time, I utter the same phrase:

The Mets need a new stadium.

Fortunately, they're getting one. Unfortunately, it won't be finished until 2009, which means a few more years of coming to Shea, where the clubhouses are small, the hallways are dirty and the pressbox is cramped. But I digress...

A few other notes from today ...

* Phillies C Mike Lieberthal may be ready to play this weekend. But don't talk Lieberthal's word for it. After the Phils called up C/1B Chris Coste last Sunday, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre was left with only one catcher (Dusty Wathan). Rather than promoting someone from Class AA Reading, they called up Orlando Guevara, who had played in only one game for Class A Clearwater and was mostly in extended spring training. He's hardly a long-term solution, which tells me Lieberthal isn't far from being ready.

* Mets 3B David Wright hit one of the longest homers I've ever seen at Shea on Sunday night against the Yankees. It cleared the left-field wall, and the picnic area behind it, and could be seen bouncing in the parking lot. I covered Wright in the minors, so I'm hardly surprised he's been THIS good. But he's on his way to becoming the Mets' version of Derek Jeter, a matinee idol who transcends baseball in New York City. Last year, he told me he's starting to get paparazzi trailing him around the city. The spotlight is only going to get hotter for Wright, who handles it amazingly well.

* Looking forward to seeing RHP Alay Soler make his major-league debut for the Mets on Wednesday. RHP Jeremi Gonzalez is scheduled to pitch Thursday. Clearly, the Mets need help to fortify the back end of their rotation. My suggestion? Dave Williams. The C-R grad was just designated for assignment by the Reds. Shea is a pitcher's park, unlike Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. I think he'd do well here.