Its Monday and Tom left early today to get back to work in San Diego. While the guys were still asleep, I went to the Sun Office on Park Avenue and checked some work email and talked to Karen, the software PM for the LDoms project. I spent an hour at work and then went back to the hotel to meet the guys and go back to Yankee Stadium for the ballpark tour.

I strongly recommend the ballpark tour to any baseball fan, especially since Yankee stadium will be replaced by a new facility being built across the street. The new ballpark was the catalyst for this trip since its going to be ready for Opening Day 2009.
The tour started in the press box, where we had a great view of the field and scoreboard and learned some history of the stadium. Then we walked over to the tower in left field that gave us a good view of the progress of the construction site that will become the new home for the Yankees. Then we went to Monument Park, which commemorates the great players and figures that have been part of the Yankees organization. Then the tour concluded with a walk onto the field via the warning track and a stop in the home dugout. Very cool. Our tour could have included a look at the locker room, but the team is still in town. But then we were lucky to see Johnny Damon go on the field with his family and play catch with his kids. We also saw Andy Pettite come out and pass by our tour group. I said hi to him and we tapped knuckles. Also cool.

We headed back to Manhattan for lunch, rested in the hotel for awhile and before we knew it, it was time to head over to Shea Stadium for the Mets game.

Game info: New York Mets vs. Minnesota Twins

Final Score: Mets 8, Twins 1
Starting Pitcher Mets - John Maine (W)
Starting Picther Twins - Carlos Silva (L)

Our seats were in loge on the first base side. This game wasn't sold out like the first two games we attended, perhaps because of the matchup or that it was a Monday. And the atmosphere was not as intense as at Yankee or Fenway, but the Cow Bell Man was definitely a great presence, getting the crowd to cheer and clap with his beats.

Best moments of the game:

• Seeing the "home run apple" when a Mets player hits a home run. There were 2 Mets home runs tonight.
• Seeing two great defensive plays (Kubel's sliding catch and Castillo's behind-the-back toss) in person that made it as ESPN Web Gems that night.
• Hearing the crowd sing their "Jose" song for Jose Reyes. Its a catchy tune and I thought it was fun.

Its hard to follow Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, but there isn't anything really special about Shea Stadium anyways. Its what I expected it to be but we still wanted to see a game here because the Mets are also getting a new home in 2009, Citi Field, which can be seen behind the outfield bleachers.
Our record on this trip is now 3-0 and we've seen at least 1 home run every game.

Next stop: We leave New York and head for Washington DC but we plan to make a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.