View From The Seats... Game #4: Mets 7, Phillies 1.

First game review from the stadium of the year... and it was a hell of a night for us Green Plan-ers! After some ridiculous traffic due to a Sixers game, I got in the gates just minutes before game time. Extra Large McDonalds T-Shirt? Sure, why not. I grabbed a scorecard and his the seats. Section 145, row 4... home away from home!

• It was cold. I said that last week at the Exhibition Game, but this was a new kind of cold. Biting 30mph winds that made my thighs feel like ice cubes and my ankle socks were probably one of the worst decisions I've ever made.

• But unlike most people, I don't think that had much impact on the game. Cole Hamels got pinched early, but he was missing spots far too often to have a legitimate complaint. He drilled Pagan in the first after brushing him back a few times, and only showed command in his 9 pitch 2nd inning. The third is all on his shoulders for rushing his delivery and trying to speed up the game too much. The Mets were just not willing to swing at pitches outside of the strike zone. Hamels has this strange problem with recovering after a few mistakes. When he struggles early, you can pretty much chalk it up to the 1 out of 5 games where he throws a clunker. Now that this one is out of the way, I expect 4 consecutive Ws out of him! The one positive: Hamels' velocity seemed up around 95mph with the fastball.

• Chris Young wasn't particularly sharp either, but you wouldn't know that from the way the Phillies played him. He was tossing fastballs in the mid 80s right down the middle of the plate and the Phils were just straight missing the ball. It was embarrassing watching Shane hack at balls feet outside the zone. Still, he threw 103 pitches in 5.1 innings. He was just as far outside the zone as Hamels, only the Phillies weren't as patient. I don't know what it's like to see a 7' ogre throwing the ball downhill in your direction, but for all his size, his pitches didn't seem to have a lot on them.

• The wind was bad. During a food break in Ashburn Alley, i nearly watched my hoagie and full bottle of water go for a ride when I put them down to grab napkins. I've never seen it whip through there that badly. That said,  I'm not sure that's the reason Ryan Howard's first inning bomb went foul or why Ben Francisco saw two balls get tracked down at the top of the wall. Still, I don't think it's good to be swinging for the fences in that kind of weather. The Mets got their job done with only one extra base hit.

• Raul Ibanez has a bit of a rag arm. Having a RF who is never going to throw someone out at the plate could lose the Phillies a game or two down the road this season.

• Shane Victorino takes the most ridiculous lines to balls hit his way. Watch him and you'll see that he always runs himself left or right for positioning and then forward or back for depth. I'll choke on a pretzel is I ever see him run to a spot. 

• We're concerned over guys like Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez in the field, but the Mets have 3 of them in their starting lineup. Brad Emaus, Scott Hairston, and Mike Nickeas 

• Speak of the devil...Wilson Valdez grounded into a double play. I'll throw up $5 if anyone wants to take the under on 17.5 DPs for Exxon this year?

• Hold your breath... I'm about to give Jimmy Rollins credit! Of all the guys on the team, he definitely had the best ABs tonight. He worked counts pretty well and every ball he hit was hit hard. Plus, on a grounder to 2nd he ran the bases well trying to break up the 2nd baseman's play. He must read my blog for tips!

Next View from the Seats: Saturday, Aprils 16th vs.the Marlins!