Time of the Season

Dear Mets Seven Pack Purchaser:

Thank you for your support among the record 3.85 million Mets fans who came out to Shea Stadium in 2007. Our entire organization looks forward to a return to championship excitement as we approach our final year at Shea in 2008, and we hope you will be part of it.

Omar and our baseball staff are aggressively exploring every opportunity to improve the team - through trades, free agent signings, or player development. Our Ownership is committed to provide the resources to build upon the nucleus of our ballclub - All-Stars Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, and David Wright; and a pitching staff anchored by Pedro Martinez, "El Duque," 15-game winners John Maine and Oliver Perez, and All-Star closer Billy Wagner.

We all hope to conclude our year-long salute to Shea in 2008 with a Championship celebration. Throughout the season, we will commemorate the history of the ballpark with unique promotions, special events and return visits by many of your favorite Mets.

This was in today's e-mail. Is it really that time of year already? I'm still stewing over the way last year's model turned out, and now I have to start worrying about 2008? Oy veh.

The former El Guapo and I both bought seven packs last year, which was basically our primary ticket purchase for the season. It's always annoying the way they put these packs together, for example, on one such pack I was able to attend 6 of the 7 games. On the other, 5 of the 7. And a number of the games ended up bunched together, leaving us going to games on back-to-back nights, or 2 out of 3 nights. The way I assume my schedule for the Summer will break out, there are a few packs that are automatically useless to me, such as the packs that only feature weekend games. But this year, a rarity: I could actually attend all seven games on the Power Pack.

Two years ago, it was perfect. There was one pack, the "Pedro Pack," that featured Opening day, and one of the Yankees games. But the Mets have gotten cute and stopped putting both of those games on one pack. I was hoping there would be a pack with Opening day and the last game at Shea on it; no such luck there either. And the "Shea Goodbye" pack is all weekend games, which I never attend, except for the last game of the season.

Maybe when Citi Field opens, they'll get their act together. Something tells me that's not going to happen, though. Not for $400 a pack.