'When In Doubt, Boo the Pols'

New York Governor David Paterson was feeling the love at the opening of Citi Field last night.

7:00: Wow, there is someone Mets fans hate more than Oliver Perez: New York governor David Paterson. Paterson was booed mercilessly when introduced before the game. So was just about every other state politician they announced (you get the feeling fans didn't necessarily know all of them, and didn't really care. when in doubt, boo the pols). MLB commissioner Bud Selig also was booed. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg got a nice ovation, though.

Bloomberg had some nice seats right behind the plate and later picked up a foul ball. I can't locate video of it, but a ball was fouled back and apparently the fence gave way and the ball fell down between the wall and fence. Replays later showed Bloomberg holding up the ball. Hopefully he gave it away to a fan. The grounds crews may want to shore up that area so nobody gets hurt.

Stop the Presses: Dennis Kucinich Is Making Sense

It's not often I find myself in agreement with kooky Congressman Dennis Kucinich, but he's dead right in this case.

Two members of the House of Representatives are demanding that the Mets scrap their $400-million naming-rights deal with financially troubled Citigroup because of the bank's receipt of federal bailout money.

Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requesting he "dissolve" the contract with the Mets to name their stadium Citi Field. The Mets' home opener there is set for April 13.

In an interview yesterday, Kucinich said the financial behemoth is in no position to lay out cash to have its name on the Queens stadium. "It's just totally unacceptable that Citigroup should be able to spend $400 million in naming rights when they're the recipients of a massive federal bailout," he said.

Kucinich and Poe wrote that Citigroup's financial footing "has changed drastically" since the naming rights deal was struck in 2006. The agreement calls for Citigroup to pay $400 million over 20 years for the naming rights.

The Mets "are fully committed to our contract with Citigroup," said Jay Horowitz, the team's spokesman.

This will be a never-ending PR disaster for the Mets.

NYC Councilmen: Hey, Let's Call It Citi/Taxpayer Field

Another non-starter, of course, from the world's most useless political body, but since it comes from that rare species, GOP New York City Councilmen, we figure it's worth noting. I understand where they're coming from, but I doubt this is going anywhere.

Two New York City Council members say that Citigroup should show its thanks for a federal bailout by sharing the naming rights to the new Mets ballpark in Queens.

The struggling bank is slated to pay $400 million over the next 20 years to name the stadium Citi Field.

The bank made the commitment years ago, when it was flush with cash. Now that Citigroup is getting billions of dollars in federal aid, Staten Island Republicans Vincent Ignizio and James Oddo say the ballpark's name should be changed to Citi/Taxpayer Field.

Of course, any story mentioning the infamous James Oddo is always worth a look. A blast from the past:

Uh, Citigroup? About Those Stadium Naming Rights...

So now that the feds are bailing out Citigroup, isn't it time the troubled outfit voluntarily withdrew from having its name on top of a new baseball stadium?

The good news for the Mets is they still have a name and a sponsor for their new stadium.

The bad news for a franchise that has had two straight late-season collapses is that it is now linked with a bank trying to stave off its own collapse.

Citigroup, which agreed in 2006 to a 20-year, $400 million contract to name the Mets’ new stadium Citi Field, has absorbed billions of dollars in losses because of the subprime mortgage crisis and the floundering economy.

Granted, that $400 million deal is almost chump change compared to the billions they're getting from taxpayers.

But how is it going to sit with investors and employees out of a job to see this outfit with their name on top of a ballfield?

I've never been crazy for corporate sponsorship of athletic facilities, but that genie was out of the bottle years ago.

Here's an idea: Since New York is the bluest of blue states and renaming schools and streets after Barack Obama seems to be all the rage, why not just be done with it and name it after him?