The final regular-season game at Shea is upon us and I’ve heard it’s a rather important one.
Of course, you’d know this if you were here. When I pulled into the lot before 10 a.m., there were thousands lined up waiting for gates open. There were thousands more tailgating. I saw one woman spray-painting a guy’s head blue and orange while friends cooked sausages on the grill and drank adult beverages.
Yes, Shea will have some atmosphere today as the Mets try to keep the old park open and sustain their season with a win. They’re already out of the field taking BP, which is abnormal for a Sunday day game. They’ve been on the field since 10.
Here are today’s lineups:
METS (89-72):
7 Reyes, SS
15 Beltran, CF
21 Delgado, 1B
5 Wright, 3B
6 Evans, LF
22 Martinez, 2B
19 Church, RF
11 Castro, C
46 Perez, LHP
MARLINS (83-77):
24 Maybin, CF
21 Baker, C
3 Cantu, 3B
17 Jacobs, 1B
14 Willingham, LF
6 Uggla, 2B
12 Ross, RF
4 Almezega, SS
34 Olsen, LHP
As I said above, the headline is “No Hanley Ramirez,” one of the Mets chief adversaries the last two Septembers. Ramirez has dealt with a sore shoulde but played through it Friday and had four hits.