the old place, or whatever was left of it, was the first thing I saw coming out of the darkness on the 4 train yesterday. I knew it was coming, but oooph does it throw ya when you see it in person for the first time.

To no one in particular I just said "now, that is depressing" guy standing next to me goes "I've lived in this neighborhood all my life, never had to buy a ticket because I watched every game from the roof of my building. Believe me, it doesn't get any less weird the more times you see it."

I can't tell from the picture - are those two fans gazing upon the sad rubble of the Yankees past, or the crushed soul of a Mets fan?

I still would have liked to see the Old Place renovated. For a BILLION dollars they could have done anything. I guess the real issue is where they would play for 2 years. I guess they were burnt out on playing at Shea... although they could have had the place all to themselves.

I think it's nuts that MLB does not do more to encourage teams to have roofed stadiums. They could come up with the most cost effective design and get a good price building the same basic structure over and over.

They could even have a 'Half Roof' that simpy covered 30' past the infield grass. That would probably cost about 1/3 of a full roof, get 6 players out of the weather, and keep the infield (and mound) in perfect condition.

It ain't a perfect idea but a compromise to costs.

Can you imagine a Post Season in Minn now?

Baseball just doesn't play well or cold and wet weather.
With all the money MLB is making, you would think they could do something. It's gotta help attendance and would certainly make fans happier.

There were a lot of great moments from yesterday's game, but I was most impacted by my first in person view of the demolition. I must have taken 200 pictures. It was eerily mesmerizing...and solemn.

[3] I don't think a renovation would have achieved the Yankees goals. Tax breaks or not, it was still the mostly the Yankees billion dollars that was used, so why take on debt without the full reward?

As for domes/roofs, I hate them. Baseball has survived for 160 years without them, so I don't think it's a pressing concern.

[4] Totally agree about indoor baseball.

I haven't seen the demolition up close yet - but I don't mind that it's taking place during the season. Many have complained that it should have been completed over the winter so fans didn't have to see it. Jarring as it may be to see, I sort've look forward to pausing, and paying my respects before entering the new Stadium.

[5] I don't mind it either...it's kind of cathartic to me. I much prefer the slow process than the sudden implosion that took place at Shea. It was comforting to have the old place still standing last season, and now it is fittingly jarring to see it coming down brick by brick.

[4, 5] Seattle really got it right with Safeco. You leave the roof open as a deafult and you have an open-air stadium, rather than a dome. That way, you get a natural grass field and, with the ability to close the roof when needed, the best of both worlds. Ironically, it rains less in Seattle than it does in Atlanta and Miami, and the numbers during the baseball season aren't even close.

Of course, it is never going to get lower than 33 degrees F in Seattle, and the same cannot be said for the Twin Cities. Maybe a Sky Dome model would have been better there.

But this is a symptom of the larger problem of the greed so well ensconsed in MLB. The season is too long. The World Series should be ending at the beginning of October, once the nip gets in the air in the North, not at the beginning of November.

[7] Why is the season too long? The weather data suggests their is a negligble difference between late-Cotber and early-November. And why is baseball and more greedy than you, me and the rest of society? Is wanting to maximize revenue a bad thing? I certainly don't think it is a larger problem...in fact, I think it is a good thing because it has caused a proliferation in the game and increased the chances for consumption.

[8] October (and there, not their). Not sure about the weather in Cotber.

[3] They tried the renovation already. No sense in doing it again, when a stadium can be built with all the bells, whistles, and modern amenities.

[6] Shea wasn't imploded, it was dismantled, like Yankee Stadium. It did come down rather quickly.

[7] I'm sure they took the weather into consideration when they built Target Field. The Twins seemed to do okay @ The Met, and they have area teams that play outdoors in the spring and fall.

FWIW, I'm pretty sure you can't implode buildings within the 5 boroughs because of air-quality/environmental laws.