I made it to the front end of today’s doubleheader and saw enough baseball to last a week. About four hours for eight pitchers to throw close to 400 pitches. I hardly cared who won after the Mets’ 15-6 drubbing of the Yanks was all over.

The big story was the Mets and Carlos Delgado’s nine RBI (a record for a visitor to Yankee Stadium…A-Rod holds the overall record at ten) so I made my way to the visitors’ clubhouse area. It was a crunch between games as the Mets had 20 minutes to get their things and get on their police-escorted bus to Shea. The media was directed into two circles in which three players and manager Jerry Manuel were rotated in and out. Delgado was a happy camper, but part of you could tell that he wanted to tell the media to shove it since every outlet in the city’s been calling for his head. Perhaps that inspired the .233 hitter to have a big day.

Now I see that Sidney Ponson went six shutout innings in a 9-0 revenge match at Shea. I’m not placing the ranch on this one panning out yet. Seriously, Ponson’s still listed at 6′1″, 258. He sweats when he’s standing still. Until my man sheds some pounds, I’m predicting his second term with the Yanks will be short.

Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see the Yanks beat Pedro.

Before closing, I have one comment on the media’s clear bias in favor of the Yankees over the Mets (which then helps, to some degree, sway public opinion). A colleague up at the stadium, Rich, griped about how he’s given up on being a Met fan after the Willie Randolph firing. Then he seemed to get to the heart of the matter just a little bit more. “They treat you with respect at Yankee Stadium. It’s a class act around here.” And it certainly is. Although media access to players leaves a bit to be desired, the Yankees certainly provide cushy work spaces for the press, keep everything clean and everyone who works there is happy and happy to see you. More importantly, the food is GOOD…famously better than the food at Shea (think high school cafeteria). Today I ate a full plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, fried chicken and a mini-muffin before putting together a turkey sandwich from the cold cut platter to bring upstairs and eat during the game. As for Shea, let’s just say the last time I ate a full press meal I was on the throne for an inning and a half.

Simply put, the press gets the royal treatment at Yankee Stadium. At Shea, the security often looks at me like I’m trying to steal something. The inside workings of Shea are a dump. There is no space for the media to work besides back upstairs at their game seats (a real pain if you have a deadline or want to keep electronics dry when it rains and water leaks through the ceiling) and paint is peeling off the walls. Hopefully, it’s a lot better next year at the new place.

Now, you could have a worse life than working baseball games at Shea for a living. But when a press member sees his favorite manager go out in the middle of the night AND he’s not fed well…it may be just enough to start influencing some columns.