And that’s part of why living in New York becomes annoying:

Long after the game had ended and the fans had left, the giant scoreboard in center field of the new Yankee Stadium glowed with an image of the golden World Series trophy. A message below it read, “Boss, this is for you.”

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

If nothing else, Cliff Lee’s no-earned-run complete-game mastery and brilliant fielding last night during Game One of the World Series between the Phillies and Yankees will be useful in that it may actually shut up the New York Post, which has been stupidly and relentlessly on Philadelphia’s case for some reason or other since the Yankees finally clinched the pennant.

You know the type of stories the paper is running — the ones where it takes like six reporters to go out and interview yahoos who will say stuff about how Philadelphia is “a nothing city” (I often wonder whether people outside of New York actually care about New York as much as people in New York want to believe people outside of New York care about New York) or that the Phanatic mascot isn’t even as cool as the “retarded” Mr. Met mascot (classy, printing that quote). I almost want the Yankees to lose just to chasten the Post.

As Lee continued to shut down the Yankees’ offense over the course of the game — while the Phillies’ Chase “WFC” Utley hit not one but two home runs against Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia — it was tough to resist that time-worn cliche of “that’s why they play the game.” And sometime last night — probably after Lee struck out A-Rod for the third time — it occurred to me that a Yankees World Series loss would lessen the sting of a Bloomberg victory: The Yankees could be the sacrificial lambs for the sins of Michael Bloomberg.

If Bill Thompson can’t fulfill the role of underdog, then maybe the Phillies can. It will prove that maybe you can’t just spend hundreds of millions to win. It will put the elite in their place. It will shut up the Post! And should this all transpire, I want to believe that Bloomberg sycophantically hanging around the Yankees clubhouse on Sunday night and pandering to fans in Times Square on Wednesday will be the curse that catalyzed the team’s World Series failure.

. . . .

Speaking of the Post, let’s keep picking on the Post. The paper’s noxious endorsement of the mayor hinged on three areas — education, crime and the city’s finances.

On education, the Post’s editorial board argues that “Mike Bloomberg will be remembered as the mayor who brought accountability to the system. Supervisors, principals, teachers, students — all are now expected to show results. And they have, often spectacularly.” Let’s put it into perspective. Bloomberg put the board of education under the control of the mayor, which allows voters to punish a mayor for an under-performing system. That’s nice if you’re a lazy voter, and can’t be bothered to pay attention to the machinations of the school system, much less figure out which board members to vote for when school board elections come up. But I question whether this mayor — or any mayor — can really take credit for success in the school system. Bloomberg knows this, which is why they’ve been puffing up the test scores, this despite questionable results (and I’m assuming there’s a perfectly good reason why the NAEP scores for New York City are going to be delayed two weeks). Bloomberg shouldn’t oversell mayoral control, and he shouldn’t go after Thompson for an under-performing school system during Thompson’s tenure as board president when the truth is much more complicated than that. Look at it this way — is it Bloomberg’s fault that the Department of Buildings was apparently infiltrated by the mafia? Hey, now that I think about it, maybe Bloomberg should be held accountable — goose, gander, etc. At least Board of Education incompetence didn’t cause actual deaths . . .

On crime, the Post writes “Bloomberg and Commissioner Ray Kelly took a crime rate that already was declining dramatically and drove it to levels not seen since the ’60s. And they did so even while deploying significant resources into counterterrorism — helping to keep New York safe from another 9/11.” You don’t even have to read that closely — “a crime rate that was already declining.” Do you really think a mayor has much control over the crime rate? If so, then you’re much more idealistic than I am, though I’m guessing you probably also haven’t watched all that much of The Wire either. As for counterterrorism — well, for argument’s sake, let’s say the mayor actually does get out there, Jack Bauer-like, to keep us all safe. Actually, no, let’s not, because that is another absurd argument (though are you really impressed by the NYPD’s spurious sting operations and bungled investigations?). What’s more, it’s offensive to the many municipal and federal law enforcement officials who actually do their best to keep us safe to act like the mayor is somehow responsible for our safety. Giuliani’s recent Giuliani-like boasting about Bloomberg’s terror-fighting prowess was the quintessence of this asinine argument.

On finances, the Post writes “Eight years ago, Bloomberg took a city driven deep into recession by 9/11 and helped bring it back. Last June, he delivered a budget that cut spending by $1.5 billion — even as Albany’s budget grew by 10 percent” before acknowledging that the mayor’s deals with the unions may bankrupt the city (in so many words). I don’t buy that the city was “driven deep into recession” after September 11, 2001 because — especially compared with the current recession — the one following 9/11 wasn’t all that deep. And — let’s be crystal clear — mayors don’t fix the economy. Mayors may fix potholes and sanitation schedules, but they sure don’t do much for a worldwide economy. Even really smart businessmen like Michael Bloomberg. As for the second claim — that Bloomberg delivered a budget that cut spending — well, OK, maybe he cut spending a little. But A) I’m not convinced the budget savings weren’t merely the result of illusory accounting, since it’s easy to squirrel away or otherwise conceal $1.5 billion of a nearly $60 billion budget — and we’ll see how he manages a budget in 2010, should he make it that far; and B) you’re really comparing the city to what they do in Albany? Sounds like a backhanded compliment to me . . .

But you have to like an endorsement that starts out saying “It can be hard to warm to Bloomberg’s governing style, and we have little patience for his often arrogant nanny-state meddling in New Yorkers’ private lives.” Nice.

The Times’ Bloomberg endorsement — hidden in the Saturday paper, by the way — works similar debate-club style gymnastics to come to a conclusion. Their lede is absurdly fawning: “The real test of any mayor is how well the city works. In his eight years in office, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has managed to make the unpredictable city of New York work astonishingly well.” Wow — “astonishingly”? Were you at any point “astonished” by how well the city ran during Bloomberg’s tenure?

Second paragraph: “Mr. Bloomberg has been a first-rate steady hand during unsteady times. He guided the city out of the post-9/11 recession, then tucked away money during the boom years that followed.” “Guided the city out of the post-9/11 recession” sounds familiar to what the Post wrote. Is this taken from bullet points or something? We’ll see just how much money has been “tucked away” — I question whether it will be anywhere near what is supposed to be needed to plug a 2011 budget gap — but it is interesting to note that candidate Thompson spoke out last year for an actual rainy day fund, and not just raiding random accounts.

And check out this important point: “He has run the $60 billion government with a keen attention to accountability and efficiency. He has chosen some of the best people in the country to work for him, and he has mostly let them do their jobs. As a result, many city services operate better than they have for years. The garbage mostly disappears on time.”

The garbage “mostly disappears on time.” Again — wow. If that’s the case, why not go for a fourth term? What else here . . . oh, “Public education is better over all” (no real data or argument to back that up) and “Crime is down under Raymond Kelly, the police commissioner” — at least they didn’t try to say that Bloomberg actually “drove crime levels down,” like the Post wrote.

Both editorials feel the need to admonish Bloomberg’s churlishness. That’s not insignificant. The Times writes, “Finally, like others who have not always agreed with the mayor, we worry about his difficulty brooking dissent.” I think they are talking about mayor’s leadership qualities, especially vis a vis building consensus, which Bloomberg is not good at and which is one of the few traits that actually matters in an executive. Take his West Side Stadium defeat and failed congestion pricing proposal — two initiatives that would have been cornerstones of his development/job creation and environmental record. Those failures can’t all be due to a recalcitrant state legislature (or even Sheldon Silver). There’s a pattern there, and that pattern shouldn’t be relegated to near the end of a lukewarm endorsement.

. . . .

You want to read something funny? Compare the Observer’s endorsement with the Times’ endorsement. First the Observer (emphasis added):

The mayor’s record speaks for itself. Critics complain that voters are being brainwashed by the mayor’s free-spending campaign, but Mr. Bloomberg’s popularity has more to do with his accomplishments than with the quality of his television commercials. His place in history was ensured the moment he took office, because on January 1, 2002, the city still was recovering from the attacks of 9/11. The city was on edge, emotionally and fiscally, on that January morning. Mr. Bloomberg helped lead the city from its despair with a combination of reassurance, compassion and financial acumen.

In the years since, Mr. Bloomberg has defied conventional wisdom, as he and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly continued to drive down crime even after the historic decreases under Rudolph Giuliani. He told us to hold him accountable for the performance of the city’s public schools, and he is now reaping the benefits of a school system that no longer is dysfunctional, unaccountable and unsafe. He returned the city to its rightful place as a leader in public health through his campaigns against smoking and trans-fats. He recruited capable deputies and let them do their jobs.

Then the Times (again, emphasis added):

What makes the mayor stand out is not his political skill, although he has come a long way since his first clumsy days in office. He has run the $60 billion government with a keen attention to accountability and efficiency. He has chosen some of the best people in the country to work for him, and he has mostly let them do their jobs. As a result, many city services operate better than they have for years. The garbage mostly disappears on time. The police and fire departments respond quickly. Mr. Bloomberg’s 311 phone line allows New Yorkers to complain to a live human being. Often, they even see tangible results.

Public education is better over all — although parents still need more access to their children’s teachers and schools. The mayor’s new complaint line for parents should help, as will other changes imposed by the Legislature. But in a third term, the mayor and his team should still work harder to listen to those who hand over their children each morning to his educators.

Crime is down under Raymond Kelly, the police commissioner, although there is concern again about stop-and-frisk actions, which seem to focus too heavily on Hispanics and African-Americans. Mr. Bloomberg also has been a national leader in gun control.

The mayor’s environmental efforts — stalled in Albany — show admirable concern about the city’s future. And he has worked hard to improve the city’s health — most effectively with the smoking ban.

The Post endorsement actually sounds even more similar to the Observer’s language on crime: “Bloomberg and Commissioner Ray Kelly took a crime rate that already was declining dramatically and drove it to levels not seen since the ’60s.” The “accountability” portions in the Post and Observer endorsements sound similar as well. All three endorsements sort of lob up there the same hackneyed reasons to vote for the mayor. All three sound like stupid bullet points. None seem serious.

The largest issue for most voters is the third term nonsense — another “not insignificant” concern, but the Post brushes it off: “No doubt, some New Yorkers are angry about how Mayor Mike used his considerable resources to having them set aside to allow him to run again. It was a characteristic display of Bloombergian hubris, and we suspect that it will cost him on Election Day.” The Times doesn’t mind that the term limit issue went down the way it did because the editorial board happens to agree with the outcome (I recall similar arguments during the Iraq War and subsequent failure to uncover WMD). Instead, the Times somehow believes that allowing every city councilmember, borough president, the public advocate, comptroller and mayor to run again somehow offers voters “more choices” — and they’re right; after all is said and done, voters will get precisely one more choice. It’s Orwellian logic. The Daily News makes the same argument in its endorsement.

. . . .

But let’s move to real talk. The real problem with the third term isn’t that Bloomberg either bought off or wielded power to influence the elite — the editorial boards, the power players — to accept the proposal to ignore term limits. The most egregious thing is that Bloomberg poisoned the democratic well for those of us who aren’t in roles of power, and that will have a much longer effect on the city. When voter apathy is low everywhere, but especially in sclerotic New York (cf. eight percent turnout for last month’s runoff, a vote that actually had a significant outcome), it sends a bad message. And it doesn’t just send a bad message to educated, older voters who will participate anyway (and continue to vote in years to come) but rather to those who don’t see a reason to participate in the first place. How many youths — even people into their 30s — have come of age politically during Bloomberg’s tenure, and developed their ideas about democratic participation while he steamrolled through $200 million-plus to get himself elected? How will this third-term charade affect their ideas about democracy? Bloomberg and his supporters (Bono! Shilpa! Cherry!) haven’t answered for this or even acknowledged it. We deserve better.

. . . .

But what if the unthinkable happens? Is a Bloomberg victory really a foregone conclusion? Remember the Phillies. For one bright, shining moment last night, the Phillies reminded Yankees fans “that’s why they play the game.”

And if somehow both the Yankees and Bloomberg lose, then that would be epic. New York Magazine will craft a trend piece on the end of New York. Spike Lee could make a film about it, just like he did with 1977. Howard Wolfson will walk away looking like a huge dick. And maybe, just maybe, the rest of the country will breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that New Yorkers are not nearly as vapid as they appear! It will be a victory for all. So go vote Tuesday. You know what to do.

See also: Bloomberg For Mayor 2009.

Then there’s the Mets, who instead languish in fourth place. Maybe you can explain why you’d execute a hit and run down by two runs with two runners on and no outs in the ninth inning:

The sight of the Phillies’ Pedro Martinez pitching against his former team was supposed to be the most unusual aspect of the game. But that notion was quickly proved wrong before the top of the first inning was over, only to be reinforced exactly three hours later when the game ended on an unassisted triple play with the potential tying runs in motion. It was the first unassisted triple play to end a game since 1927, and only the 15th in major league history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Since Anthony Weiner sports stories have lost their relevance, I guess we now have to ponder the mayor’s golf game:

As the mayor’s game improves, ever so incrementally, golf is finding its way into his conversations, public and private, as he invokes the sport as a metaphor for government and life.

. . .

Still, his unbridled fervor for a game associated with the country club set has occasionally landed him in hot water. During his weekly radio address in 2006, Mr. Bloomberg was asked to name a typical job performed by illegal immigrants. He immediately thought of golf.

“You and I are beneficiaries of these jobs,” the mayor told his co-host, John Gambling, adding, “Who takes care of the greens and the fairways in your golf course?” The remarks drew howls of protests.

And at a civic meeting in Canarsie, a working-class section of Brooklyn, earlier this year, homeowners interrogated the mayor about rising taxes and living costs. At one point, Mr. Bloomberg asked how many golfers were in the audience — and the answer appeared to be zero.

Give Council Member Bill de Blasio props for continuing to root for the Red Sox. I think most people would have pulled a Hillary Clinton and expediently changed his or her allegiances:

Beneath the civility and protocol that dictate life at City Hall lies a patchwork of baseball passions, resentments and rivalries that the public seldom sees. Forget fault lines of party or borough: The true divide is whether your team wears pinstripes, orange and blue, or even (horrors!) the dreaded crimson stockings.

And as is common with the Council, idiosyncrasies and oddities abound: Among all New Yorkers, for example, Yankees fans outnumber Met loyalists by nearly two to one, according to polls. But among the council members it is a different story: The number of Mets partisans exceeds Yankee supporters, 18 to 13, according to a survey of members by The New York Times.

. . .

Mr. de Blasio and Erik Martin Dilan of Bushwick, Brooklyn, have had a running bet for six years. If the Red Sox win the American League East division, Mr. Dilan buys Mr. de Blasio a steak at Peter Luger Steak-house. If the Yankees win, Mr. de Blasio buys the steak.

In 2004, when the Red Sox overcame a three-game deficit to the Yankees to earn a spot in the World Series, Mr. de Blasio took matters a step further: He required Mr. Dilan to wear a Red Sox cap at a Council meeting, rise and make a speech praising the Boston club.

Then there are those for whom support is contingent:

Councilwoman Helen D. Foster of the Bronx said that she used to root for the Yankees “before they destroyed my community,” referring to the construction of the team’s new $1.5 billion stadium, which replaced public tennis and basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields, and a running track with smaller parks.

And don’t trust anyone who doesn’t root for someone because people who don’t like baseball are scary:

Councilman Mathieu Eugene said that although he is not a fan, he respects anyone who plays sports “because it’s a healthy habit.”

And Councilman Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, the impish former tax auditor who heads the Council’s Committee for Government Operations, explained his lack of affinity for either team this way: “Do I look like a person who watches people play?”

[Introduce link here, perhaps by rewriting lede in stylish, snarky fashion]:

For the adult kickball teams battling it out in front of Public School 142 on the lower East Side this week, the game is about bonding with friends new and old, getting some open air exercise and reliving long-forgotten schoolyard exploits.

. . .

“It makes you feel like you are 10 years old,” said Ryan Stuczynski, 27, a banker and kickball player who also moonlights as a paid umpire for the league. He says the players take the game pretty seriously, even though they are on a playground.

“People are pretty adamant,” he said. “I try to run down the line and show everyone that I am into it, too.”

[Crowd In Right Field Bleachers Hurls Double AA Batteries and Chants "Ass-hole, Ass-hole"]:

At the new Yankee Stadium, deaf fans can experience “everything” — even the boos.

. . .

When ex-Yankee and current Cleveland Indian pitcher Carl Pavano was announced, the Bronx boobirds were out in force.

As the jeers fell on the chronically injured righty, the centerfield scoreboard read: “Number 44, Carl Pavano [Crowd Boos].”

The captioning is done by a person, not a computer program, said team spokeswoman Alice McGillion.

“Everything that happens goes up there,” she said.

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

In the realm of entertainment — whether it be sports or music or whatever — there is difference between a “game” and a “performance.” With the former, time was, you’d go to the ballpark, pay some nominal admission fee to get into a “game” and watch two teams slug it out. With the latter, you go to Broadway to pay for your Cynthia Nixons or Judd Hirsches and have some reasonable expectation that you’re seeing a performer at the top of his or her game giving you a “performance.” It’s the same in Vegas; you get the Celine Dion “performance” or the Dean Martin “performance” and Celine makes you cry during “My Heart Will Go On” or Deano brings you to years with his routines and bits. That’s entertainment!

But the thing is that when you inflate ticket prices of sporting events to absurd heights, people then start expecting something more than “a day at the ballpark.” In short, they want a performance. And then it becomes a case of Dance, Monkey, Dance:

The new Yankee Stadium was spotless and the weather stunning, but the Bombers stunk it up in The Bronx yesterday, subjecting their fuming fans to a putrid performance against the Indians, who scored an eye-popping 22 runs.

The loss — one of the worst in team history — was the Yankees’ second in three games in their new $1.5 billion ballpark.

But this one stung the Pinstripe faithful, who forked over as much as $2,625 to see the pitiful play, like few ever before.

“It’s a tragedy. This is the worst game I’ve ever seen,” said a seething Erich Wald, 28, of Toms River, NJ.

“You can’t afford to buy anything at this Stadium,” he added, “and the players are going to go out and have $50 steaks when it’s over.”

Jon Brawn, 26, of White Plains, couldn’t agree more.

“I woke up this morning expecting to see something great in this brand-new Stadium,” Brawn said, “and what I got was a calamity.”

. . .

“I paid $10 a beer to see this chop-shop team? They suck!” cried Shawn McCarthy, 28, of Hoboken, as he fled during the seventh-inning stretch.

“George Steinbrenner,” he added, “should take down ticket prices if we’re just gonna see a home-run derby by the Indians.”

A couple that had trekked all the way from West Palm Beach, Fla., to check out their favorite team’s spanking-new digs said they, too, were leaving with a sour taste in their mouths.

“I’ve been a fan since 1958,” said Fred Bingiano, 57. “We used to come back in the ’90s, and it was $36 a ticket. Today, we paid $350 each.”

His wife Deborah, 45, was just as disgusted.

“Families can’t come together anymore,” she noted before speaking for a lot of disaffected fans by tossing out the quintessential New York judgment: “Fuhgeddaboutit.”

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

New Yankee Stadium is the best of the old and the new:

With a concrete wall turning much of right field into a mystery, Picone and McNevin were far from thrilled with their seats [in Section 239, one of two blocks of seats, along with Section 201, that flank the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar in center field, leaving a heavily obstructed view of the outfield with regular season ticket prices of $5]. “But for that price,” Picone said, “it was definitely worth it to be here.”

They were helped out by three televisions bolted to the wall of the sports bar that showed a live feed of the game, though many fans said a few extra screens would have been appreciated, particularly in the glare of the sun. Still, they could make out enough of Jorge Posada’s long drive to know it was a home run once it disappeared from their own view of the game.

For the fans in the bleachers who did not have ticket plans, the afternoon was more expensive. Earlier this week, tickets for Sections 239 and 201 were selling for over $200 on StubHub, without the sellers’ necessarily mentioning that the view was obstructed. Though the Yankees had previously recognized that these seats were not ideal and lowered the price for them, independent marketplaces like StubHub and eBay leave it up to the sellers to disclose whether or not a view is obstructed.

That is how a visibly upset Adrian Rea, a Yankee fan from Binghamton, N.Y., wound up spending $1,200 for four tickets in Section 201. Rea had no idea that he would not be able to see right field.

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bought them,” he said. “I would have even paid more if I could have had seats that weren’t obstructed.”

Sitting in the row in front of Rea, Scott Placona, 26, jumped in. He had bought his ticket for $250 from a scalper 10 minutes before the game and insisted that it was worth every penny — just to be able to tell his grandchildren he was at the first regular-season game at the new Yankee Stadium. What did it matter that he couldn’t see left field?

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

Mets Disappoint!:

For a night, Queens was the hot spot in town and New York glowed orange and blue. The Mets, not the Yankees, opened their gleaming new ballpark first, and Citi Field was primped and primed for the occasion, as if it were preparing for a date. Monday was Citi Field’s night to shine, and the Mets, after two rehearsals and a week on the road, were eager to show it off.

Reality soon intruded, however, and the Mets bumbled their way to a 6-5 loss to San Diego, the game turning for the second straight day on an outfield mishap. Long after Mike Pelfrey got his cleat stuck in the dirt, falling off the mound, and Jose Reyes slid past second base, Ryan Church misplayed Luis Rodriguez’s sixth-inning fly ball into a three-base error.

Almost fittingly, Pedro Feliciano balked in the eventual winning run, and the Mets’ final 10 hitters went down in order. In a somewhat comical twist, two of their bullpen castoffs — Duaner Sanchez and Heath Bell — closed out San Diego’s win.

. . .

After throwing out the final pitch at Shea on Sept. 28, Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza left through the center-field gate. They entered Citi Field with their arms locked, chatting and waving on the long, slow walk toward the mound.

Nervous he would bounce the pitch, Seaver threw a strike. A few minutes later, at 7:11 p.m., Pelfrey threw a first-pitch strike to Jody Gerut. The next strike he threw landed in the right-field stands, Gerut hooking a 1-1 pitch inside the foul pole for the first regular-season homer at Citi Field.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Gerut is the first player to lead off a game with a homer in the first game at a new stadium.

Location Scout: Citi Field.

. . . facilitating extra web exclusive in advance of tonight’s Citi Field opener:

Mets fans waited all winter to rid themselves of last season’s bitter collapse and catch a glimpse of their team’s new home at Citi Field, so one would expect crowds to get to the ballpark early for Monday night’s home opener.

But, 10 hours before the first pitch?

. . .

The father and son made the trip from Yorktown Heights, NY, early Monday morning, April 13 and arrived at the stadium at 9:30 a.m.

“We’re excited,” said Chet, shortly before noon while sitting on a bench outside Citi Field.

Buried Lede: In 2009, traffic congestion is much less severe than Bloomberg officials have led us to believe . . .

Location Scout: Citi Field.

Feel free to make fun of the Yankees whenever you want now:

When the new Yankee Stadium opens April 3, the choice of food will be a bit more varied than before. There will be chains like Johnny Rockets and Brother Jimmy’s BBQ, and sandwiches from the premium butcher Lobel’s.

But those who settle into the 4,000 or so well-upholstered seats of the various club and suite areas, which can cost as much as $2,500, will have access to much more.

A number of restaurants and dining areas will be for their exclusive enjoyment. And the food will be prepared at open cooking stations run, from time to time, by Masaharu Morimoto of “Iron Chef” fame, April Bloomfield of the Spotted Pig, chefs from Le Cirque and cooks from Elaine’s (because Elaine Kaufman is a big Yankees fan).

Some of the chefs will be at the stadium for one evening and others may make multiple appearances. . . .

Those seated in the Delta 360 Club, which has 1,200 seats, will have access to a dining room where chefs from the Food Network will occasionally cook at two open kitchens.

The only thing better would be if the Bleacher Creatures started chanting “Mor-ee-Mo-to” until chef tipped his toque. Which I’m sure they will do. Remember, these are people that still do the Cabbage Patch along with Cotton Eye Joey.

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

Mets fans* no longer can poke fun at San Francisco for its sushi, Arizona for its crudite platter or Seattle for its grilled salmon (on an organic roll) now that Citi Field is serving pulled-pork sandwiches on brioche buns:

As 6,000 construction workers have been feverishly toiling in advance of the April 13 opening, the restaurateur Danny Meyer has been refining the batting order for the ballpark’s signature food offerings.

Mr. Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group runs six fine-dining restaurants, a jazz club and two hamburger stands, but has never gone outside Manhattan. Now, in Flushing, Queens, his nonunion company will partner with the corporate behemoth Aramark, whose concession workers are represented by Local 153 in Manhattan.

“I’ve been thinking about this my whole life, and I know what I want at a ballpark,” Mr. Meyer said.

Some of the things he wants are pulled-pork sandwiches on brioche buns ($9), steamed corn on the cob with mayonnaise, cotija and a dusting of cayenne ($3.50), “dog bites” (Kosher hot dogs coated in matzo meal with brown mustard for $11), spare ribs seasoned with Kansas City rub ($10) and shrimp rolls — using a Martin’s potato roll — with shoestring potatoes ($14).

. . .

And for the ticket holders with lower budgets, Mr. Meyer will operate a terrace-cum-food court in left-center field called Taste of the City. There will be menu items from his existing franchises like Shake Shack and Blue Smoke, in addition to offerings from two new concepts: El Verano Taqueria (fresh tacos) and Box Frites (fresh-cut Belgian fries with dipping sauces).

(And don’t forget “Asian noodles” at New Yankee Stadium.)

*Excepting Peter Meehan, who waxed rhapsodic about the Laurent-Perrier Champagne at AT&T Park last summer.

Location Scout: Citi Field.

One more tantalizing Alex Rodriguez detail to take with you into Spring Training:

The Manhattan madam linked to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer claims she had a “connection” and “flirtation” with scandal-scarred Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez.

Kristin Davis, who says she met the third-baseman at a Philadelphia gym in 2005, told the Post that: “our paths have crossed both personally and professionally,” and that “there was a flirtation there.”

. . .

When asked if the Yankee patronized her escort agency, Davis, who said she likes Latin men, would only say that they had a “professional” relationship.

Amid the fan-friendly touches, new and improved sightlines and new excellent concessions, sad truths remain:

Sitting in their seats, few fans will see the chop shops in Willets Point, the cars roaring past on the Van Wyck Expressway, the subway yards to the south or the U-Haul sign. They will still get a crystal-clear view of the planes on their final approach to La Guardia Airport. Some things never change.

Location Scout: Citi Field.

With the Yankees set to dominate baseball this year, we needed something to level the playing field:

The legend of “A-Fraud” grows.

Joe Torre took a lot of heat last week over excerpts from his new book. Among the myriad of skeletons he exorcised from the Yankees closet, he said the idea that Alex Rodriguez may not be the most genuine soul in the world had always been a running joke inside the Yankees locker room.

Well, it looks now like A-Rod’s words and actions are going to have to be good for more than just his teammates. With Saturday’s bombshell CNN/SI report that Rodriguez tested positive for steroids back in 2003, he now finds himself in the unenviable position of having to choose his words carefully because if indeed failed that test what he says next will go a long way toward determining if the rest of baseball — and the sports world for that matter — will be as forgiving with him as they were with players like Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte.

If Rodriguez doesn’t play this thing perfectly, he’ll be the East Coast version of Barry Bonds and the Yankees’ 2009 traveling zoo will be inhabited by far more than its usual cast of 800-pound gorillas.

Whether or not you buy the apologies from Giambi and Pettitte, those guys are generally very likeable, players you rally behind because they appear to be good people and good teammates. New Yorkers are a forgiving bunch. They want to see their heroes fight back from adversity, even if the hole they have put themselves in is because of their own doing.

New Yorkers are the polar opposite of fans in a city like San Francisco, where despite every single piece of evidence suggesting Bonds is as guilty as O.J. Simpson, the people who buy the tickets continue to turn the other cheek and actually support the guy, almost to the point where they have convinced themselves that Bonds is the victim and that this is all one big witch hunt.

Believe it or not, there are at least two Arizona Cardinals fans in the New York area:

It’s an island of red in a Big Blue ocean, an Arizona oasis amid fans Gang Green with envy.

Sidebar, in Union Square, is the Super Bowl Sunday hot spot for long-suffering local Arizona Cardinals fans — a place where Larry Fitzgerald jerseys are welcomed and Terrible Towels are used to clean dishes.

Manager Zach Israel — a Phoenix native who wears Kurt Warner’s No. 13 — hangs his Cardinals flag inside the bar at 118 E. 15th St. More than 100 Arizona backers create an unlikely red sea of support in the city’s biggest (and perhaps only?) Cardinals outpost.

“It’s insane,” says the manager’s 23-year-old sister, Sasha, a Sidebar bartender. “Everybody’s just so happy.”

And why not? The Cardinals are making their first Super Bowl trip. The team’s last championship came before either Israel was born — back in 1947, when the Cardinals were still in Chicago.

Finding an Arizona outpost in the city was a chore — “Scarsdale is just more popular than Scottsdale,” says James Fletcher, editor of AOL’s Digital City site.

. . . and the good cheer . . . and no one really gives a shit about the jersey because, well, the Giants totally blew it against a team that tied the Bengals this year — a Cincinnati team that lost eleven games — and that Super Bowl win last year was obviously a fluke:

An hour after Philadelphia eliminated the Giants from the N.F.L. playoffs, beating them in a divisional-round game, 23-11, Brandon Jacobs walked toward the Giants Stadium exit.

Over his shoulder was his blue jersey. But as he passed through a narrow doorway, a gust of wind blew the shirt to the floor. Jacobs did not notice, so a man handed it to him. With his head bowed, Jacobs left with the shirt in his hand.

It was that kind of day Sunday for the Giants, who were looking to successfully defend their Super Bowl championship. They shouldered big hopes but let things slip away against the Eagles, who intercepted Eli Manning twice and came from behind three times.

Don’t worry, Kevin, the additions to the Mets’ pitching staff might mean they have a chance against Philadelphia this year:

The city will relinquish use of the 12-seat box in exchange for whatever revenue the Yankees generate by selling the seats, minus the cost of marketing them. Although neither the city nor the Yankees have publicly disclosed the market value of the suite, similar suites at the new stadium are being sold for as much as $600,000 a year.

The city’s acquisition of the Yankees suite had drawn scrutiny, especially after e-mail messages surfaced in November showing that aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had zealously pursued the luxury box, as well as free food and access to post-season games.

. . .

The e-mail messages revealed that after the Yankees made concessions over the size of the suite and the food, the team received an additional 250 parking spaces, as well as the rights to three new billboards along the Major Deegan Expressway and whatever revenue they generate.

The messages contrasted with earlier public statements from Seth W. Pinsky, president of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, that the suite was not a big issue and that the city had received it simply as a matter of course. One message said that the acquisition of a suite in the Mets stadium was “a big issue to the mayor.”

Under the new arrangement with the city, the Yankees will be allowed to keep the parking spaces and use of the billboards, and the city will be guaranteed at least $100,000 for each baseball season, even if no one buys the suite. The deal was formalized last month in a letter from Mr. Pinsky to the Yankees president, Randy Levine, that was made public on Tuesday. A similar arrangement is being negotiated with the Mets, which also gave the city free use of a suite in its new ballpark, Citi Field.

Location Scout: New Yankee Stadium.

Makes you want to root for Cole Hamels:

Despite the recession, our New York teams keep doing what they’ve always done: spending the competition into oblivion. Especially the Yankees. Sabathia had made it clear he didn’t want to come to New York, even after the Bombers had offered him $140 million. So the Yankees gave him 20 million more reasons to change his mind.

How is this even possible? Where’s this money coming from? Never mind that $161 million is, at the very least, unseemly right now. If you want an answer, look back to the days before the Sabathia announcement, when details leaked about the Yankees and Mets asking the city for a combined $450 million more in public bonds, to pay for cost overruns on their immoderate new stadiums. (They’d initially been granted $1.5 billion.) Already, the two teams are not paying rent or property taxes on the new stadiums, and the MTA ($104 for a monthly MetroCard, anyone?) is giving the Yankees their own Metro-North station. The teams are also subtracting construction costs from their share of MLB’s revenue-sharing program, which pays out to less-flush franchises. The Yankees (and Mets) have prepared for a potential recession the old-fashioned way: by reducing their own expenses long before everyone else was doing it. That made paying Sabathia (and Rodriguez) easy. The recession is going to cause normal teams to scale back. The Yankees and Mets are not normal teams. They have big shiny new stadiums and fancy cable channels. So they don’t get normal players.

Maybe now that New York has caused the world’s entire economic system to collapse people think the city kind of sucks. And the Yankees’ inability to quickly sign superstar pitcher free agent C.C. Sabathia is the first sign of The End of New York:

On Friday, it will be three weeks since they barreled into the free-agent negotiating period with a six-year, $140 million offer to starter C.C. Sabathia. His response has been silence. Derek Jeter had already called Sabathia by then, and Alex Rodriguez has called him since. Yet the offer sits there, an anomaly in a depressed free-agent market, begging to be accepted but met with indifference.

. . .

Typically, the Yankees do not need to beg free agents to accept. The Yankees’ strategy is usually to identify their target, overwhelm him with an early offer, intimidate the competition and get their man. They have done the first three things, but Sabathia is still a free agent.

“If they went to Sabathia with $140 million, he could go back to them and say, ‘Give me $170 million and I’m there,’” said one major league general manager, who was granted anonymity so he could freely discuss another team’s plans. “He hasn’t done that. The Yankees aren’t his first choice. Why isn’t he jumping on their offer?”

The Yankees have continued to negotiate with Sabathia, and they would like to sign him next week. But they have not sensed the usual enthusiasm that accompanies a splashy Yankees offer.

Mike Mussina signed quickly after the 2000 season, and a year later, there was never much doubt about Jason Giambi’s intention. Both times, the Yankees had just been to the World Series. Both players wanted to be in New York — or in Mussina’s case, somewhere close to his Pennsylvania home — and both had a veteran agent, Arn Tellem.

Sabathia is a different case entirely, and the reason he is stalling, to those who know him, is just as the general manager suspected: his first choice is not New York. Sabathia is from Vallejo, Calif., near the Bay Area, and it is well known that his preference is to play for a team on the West Coast. But the money is elsewhere.

“It’s not that he doesn’t want to be a Yankee; that’s not it at all,” said a friend of Sabathia’s, who was granted anonymity because Sabathia had not authorized him to speak on his behalf. “It’s just the aspect of being out there, his family, that kind of stuff.”

Side note: Red Sox fans, probably still boiling about years of obnoxious “1918″ chants from the right field bleachers at Old Yankee Stadium, should consider chanting some aspect of Prince’s “1999″ to remind the Yankees of their last World Series win, as in, “Two-thousand zero zero party’s over it’s out of time . . . party like it’s 1999.” Red Sox fans are insufferable yahoos, but this would be funny.

Mets coach Jerry Manuel, striking notes of concern, obvious concern:

Almost incomprehensibly, the Mets are facing the same predicament at the same point in the schedule against the same team as last season. “Obviously, I would have to say I’m concerned,” Manuel said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

The underperforming Yankees are hurting the city in more ways than one:

City businesses stand to miss out on making $141 million this fall if the Yankees fail to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, according to a study commissioned by The Post.

The report conducted by NYU adjunct professor John Tepper Marlin shows that if the Yankees snag at least a wild-card berth, a first-round appearance could fill the coffers of bars, restaurants and other businesses across the city with $26 million.

Marlin, a former number-crunching chief economist for three former city comptrollers, said the Bronx Bombers would need to make the playoffs every year if the city hopes to reap any economic benefits, a feat many fans and businesses have taken as a given since 1995.

“If they’re not, you can argue that the city loses money,” he said. “You would think that with such a bloated payroll, the Yankees would make the playoffs.”

As in, only the Mets could make people angry for firing a manager who not only led the team to the worst collapse in Major League history but followed that up with trailing the Phillies in the standings by six-and-a-half games in only June. That’s basically the definition of “bumbler”:

Cowardly. Embarrassing. Disrespectful.

These are just some of the words used Tuesday by Mets fans and analysts to describe general manager Omar Minaya’s bizarre firing — at 3:14 a.m. New York time — of manager Willie Randolph and two coaches at a Los Angeles hotel.

“We could not go on as a team as it was this weekend, it was not fair to the players,” Minaya said at a hastily arranged news conference Tuesday in Los Angeles, where Minaya had fired the trio after the Mets beat the Angels.

“I had to tell him as soon as I felt the decision was made,” Minaya said of the timing.

While many agreed the Mets needed a new manager, the manner in which Minaya fired Randolph and replaced him on an interim basis with bench coach Jerry Manuel has been universally panned.

“The team handled it terribly,” said Joe Pietaro, editor in chief of New York Sports Scene Magazine. “The way they did it was to have the least amount of New York media on top of it as it happened. To bring him out to L.A., to do it after the game at the time was inappropriate.”

Besides Randolph, Minaya also fired pitching coach Rick Peterson and base coach Tom Niento. All were announced in a news release that went out in the middle of the night.

“I don’t know what they were thinking,” Joe Hamrahi, managing editor of baseballdigestdaily.com., said of the firing’s timing. “These guys are not amateurs; they have a full media-relations team that should have advised them that this would have made them look bad. I think it was a terrible mistake and Minaya is going to live to regret it.”

. . .

“I thought it was dirty,” said Jeff Mitchell, 40, of the Bronx. “They did it in the middle of the night and on the West Coast. Why let him fly out there? It makes it looks like there’s bad blood. They should’ve shown more class.”

“Terrible,” sad Robert Wilson, 46, of Murray Hill. “They could’ve handled it more professionally and more gracefully.”

Despite their historic collapse last season, the Mets were favored to win the NL pennant this year. However, the team’s $138 million payroll along with the addition of pitcher Johan Santana hasn’t helped the team rise above mediocrity. Going into last night, the Mets were 34-35, six-and-half games behind the rival Phillies.

See also: “Damn Mets!” (Observer, June 17, 2008) — the URL for which features the snappier “No Balls,” which might be a better headline.

No wonder they haven’t won since 2000:

MLB is introducing a limited-edition version of the popular Crocs plastic shoe emblazoned with the New York Yankees logo.

It’s a tribute to the closing this season of the House that Ruth Built, which has played host to more World Series games than any other stadium.

The “final season” footwear is being offered only at Modell’s stores and went on sale yesterday, at $34.99 for adults and $29.99 for kids.

Each navy-blue Croc has a silver Yankee signature logo and a strap featuring the official club lettering and a Yankee Stadium patch.

“If you can’t take a piece of the stadium, why not grab a pair of collectible Crocs shoes,” company spokeswoman Stephanie Koon said.

Who do I look like, Mario freakin’ Batali?

. . . to ward off amazingly idiotic patrons:

Cops called out a rowdy baseball buff who tried to take on Mr. Met.

At a recent game, the drunken fan manhandled the Amazin’s smiling, giant-baseball-headed mascot, police said. He also allegedly knocked down kids and took a swing at a security guard.

The action happened at last Saturday’s thriller, which ended with a 3-2 Met come-from-behind win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Christian Hansen of Gowanus, Brooklyn, was seen “harassing Mr. Met and pushing little children out of the way” at Shea Stadium, a law-enforcement source said.

When security officials told the soused sports nut to leave, he refused.

See also: Mr. Met.

Because yeah, this is how the Yankees roll:

Alexander Martinez, a 35-year-old Hartford, Conn., resident, made headlines last August for his remarkable feat of catching two long balls in one game. First, he grabbed Hideki Matsui’s 100th big league homer — and later, he snatched a dinger off the bat of Melky Cabrera.

Martinez said he turned over the milestone Matsui ball to Yankees security man Bill Shaw.

In return, Martinez said, Shaw promised him an autographed Matsui ball, the bat Godzilla used to hammer the historic homer and 15 tickets to this season’s All-Star Game — the last at Yankee Stadium.

Martinez got an autographed ball and bat but hasn’t seen any All-Star tickets or an authentication letter for the bat.

Despite using an attorney to reach out to the Yankees, Martinez insisted he would never file a suit against his favorite team.

“I don’t want to go there. As many times as I can tell you, I’m a diehard Yankees fan,” Martinez told The Post.

“I’m not into any money or anything like that. I just want what was promised to me.”

Martinez said he asked Shaw to put their deal in ink. But he quoted Shaw as responding: “We are the New York Yankees. When we give our word, we will do it.”

A reminder that it’s generally considered bad form to start stealing seats before the end of May:

A Mets fan struck out in his attempt to take a piece of Shea Stadium home with him, cops said Tuesday.

Patrick Oriani, 18, of Jersey City, was caught stealing the bottom half of a red upper-deck seat after the Mets’ 10-4 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday night, police said. He had the souvenir wrapped in a blanket.

Oriani was charged with possession of stolen property, criminal mischief and petty larceny, police said.

Location Scout: Shea Stadium.

. . . but Yankees fans aren’t like other fans. Add to the annals of Yankee-hating lore:

The boozed-up Yankee fan from hell who ran over and killed a Red Sox supporter last week had a crush on Derek Jeter and a living room dominated by Pinstripe regalia.

A neighbor of Ivonne Hernandez, 43, who was charged with murder for allegedly running down Matthew Beaudoin in her Dodge Intrepid in Nashua, said the Bronx-bred fan loved the handsome shortstop.

“She thought he was hot and had beautiful eyes,” said the 28-year-old mom, who declined to be identified.

She was less excited by Alex Rodriguez, who she felt was a “wuss,” the Nashua neighbor recounted.

. . .

Hernandez, taunted by Red Sox fans outside a bar, bounced the 29-year-old off her windshield at up to 60 mph, witnesses said.

. . .

Officials said Friday’s events turned deadly not long after Hernandez slapped a female bartender outside a bar. The bartender’s friends chased Hernandez to her car and, seeing the Yankee logo on her rear windshield, began chanting, “Yankees suck!”

Hernandez hurriedly drove away, then stopped.

“She turned her car around and gunned the engine toward Matthew,” a witness told The Post yesterday. “She hit him and he was on the windshield. He flew 40 feet in the air.”

The witness said he cradled Matthew’s body in his arms, as he gasped for air. Beaudoin was taken off life support the next day.

Officials said Hernandez claimed she only wanted to scare the hecklers and expected them to get out the way.

Hernandez is being held without bail on charges of murder and aggravated DWI.

But you know what they say about guys who drive Lamborghinis:

New York sports teams scored miserably with their fans when it came to performance and likability, with the awful Knicks dead last in a nationwide fan-satisfaction poll, according to ESPN The Magazine.

Even the Big Apple’s pride and joy — the Super Bowl-champion Giants — placed 48th out of the 122 pro teams that comprised the Web-site survey of NBA, NFL and NHL and MLB rooters.

. . .

The survey graded fan satisfaction based on the affordability of tickets and the stadium experience, their team’s win-loss performance, and the accessibility of players.

Unfortunately, you have to go all the way to No. 40 to find the first of our nine local teams — the New Jersey Devils.

. . .

The Yankees bombed out in 65th place, well below last year’s 48th.

Part of the reason is that new manager Joe Girardi “is no Joe Torre,” according to fellow analyst Eddie Matz.

“Throw in price hikes for beer [up a dollar to $7], soda [up $1.50 to $5] and parking [up $2 to $14], and the imminent destruction of Yankee Stadium . . . and the Yanks drop by 17 spots overall, giving them their lowest ranking in [ESPN] standings history,” he blogged.

But the Yanks did beat the Mets, who scraped the bottom at No. 93, behind even the hated Boston Red Sox, which claimed 89th place.