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SHEA GOODBYE: Mets Turn Hopes To New Citi Field

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Sep 29, 2008 8:15 am US/Eastern

SHEA GOODBYE: Mets Turn Hopes To New Citi Field

Reporting
Magee Hickey
QUEENS (CBS) ― For the first time in 14 years there won't be any October baseball in New York. The Yankees had been out of it for a while, but the Mets were hanging in there, until another 'Amazin' collapse at a gloom filled farewell to Shea Stadium.

For the second straight year, the Mets had control of their own destiny, right up until the final game of the season. But once again the Florida Marlins played the role of the spoiler, in what will be another long off-season.

There was nothing Amazin' about the end of Shea Stadium, with a crushing defeat that was a downer all around, a sad rerun of 07'. It was no way to say goodbye to a ballpark loved for 45 years:

"It's horrible, it's two years right now. We had destiny in our hands, it's inexcusable and it's terrible," said Mets' fan Nick DeMeo.

But the sadness of this bitter defeat will soon be replaced by a spattering of hope that the new stadium will bring new luck to the Mets. In just 14 days, the demolition crew will move in and take down the stadium piece by piece, beginning with knocking out all the concrete and then taking down the steel skeleton.

Some have likened it to an erector set decomposing. There won't be any wrecking ball or implosion because that's not allowed under New York Law. Before the demolition begins, every seat, every sign, even the urinals, will be removed. Many items will be reused by the Parks Department around the City's five boroughs.

When the sod and the field are laid down this offseason, there are plans to install a new home plate. The Shea Stadium plates have been changed so often and the last one will be part of Shea's long list of memorabilia. Lots of fans are now hoping a new stadium is going to turn everything around:

"I'll always be a Mets fan, standing behind my team but this stadium is cursed. I'm looking forward to Citifield. Hopefully we'll get a championship next year in Citifield," said Sarah Eisenberg.

Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala served up back-to-back homers in the eighth inning that put the pesky Marlins ahead, and New York (89-73) lost out to Milwaukee (90-72) for the NL wild card on the last day of the season.

"We failed. We failed as a team," David Wright said. "There's no pointing fingers. There's no excuses. We as a unit didn't get the job done."

What followed was an awkward scene at Shea.

The Mets brought in former greats from Tom Seaver and Willie Mays to Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry for closing festivities that felt more like a funeral than a party.

Still, a vast majority of fans stayed in their seats and cheered their old favorites during a ceremony that lasted nearly an hour.

"It would have been better if we would have won today, but I don't think it spoils the celebration," general manager Omar Minaya said. "What's going on out there, it's about the history of this building, the history of the players, the history of this organization." 

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.