So the 2008 MLB season is underway. It’s been a long off-season. The Mets opened strong with a standout performance from their new ace, Johan Santana. Click here for an array of New York Mets jerseys. Who says I don’t cover the Mets enough?! And my beloved Yanks beat Toronto in a close game.

I love how already there’s analysis about how each team will perform in 2008 when there’s 161 games left on the year. Imagine forecasting how the next six months of your life will go based on what happened yesterday. But it’s still fun to kick around different scenarios about how this season will play out. Opening day is the one time in the year when all teams are on the same footing.

The combination of having the first new manager since 1996 and playing the last season in the old Yankee Stadium will make for a memorable year (and even higher ticket prices) for Bombers fans. The Mets too will say goodbye to their much-maligned Shea stadium. While switching homes for the Mets is a real no-brainer, (See plans for the new Citi Field here), replacing Yankee Stadium is much more controversial.

First off, Red Sox fans love the idea of tearing down what has been until recently their personal house of horrors. Check out the last time the yanks really stuck it to the Sox in the 2003 ALCS. Yes, the new Yankee Stadium will be adorned with the various hagiographies of its retired players and will have all the winning mementos, but it obviously will not be the same. The new Stadium will be built very intentionally to be a Boston fan’s version of hell with constant reminders of the 26 world championships. But we all know there’s no substitute for the real thing.

All this said, let’s focus on reality for a second. Yes, the old ballpark will be gone, and what can replace it? But let’s focus on all the good things the new Stadium will have (higher ticket prices notwithstanding):

1. Better access to Metro North and additional subway services is huge. Getting to/from games now is just not fun.

2. A lot more open space. The old ballpark feels in a lot of places like it really is from the 1920s. Too much old concrete and steel makes most fans feel very confined. Plus those nice old facades return in the new stadium.

3. An overall better look. Face it, the old stadium was half-torn down in the early 70s to build the monstrous upper deck. The result is a stadium that looks a bit half-baked. The new Stadium will be a unified structure that invokes all the best of the pre-renovated stadium with all the modern amenities.

I know I’ll take a lot of heat for “dissing” the old Stadium, and it’s an amazing place where I’ve had some of the best moments of my life (first home game after 9/11), but nothing’s going to bring it back. Plans for a new stadium have been in the works for decades, and now it’s finally happening. So let’s not forget the old HTRB and welcome in what’s essentially the HTSB (the ‘S’ is for Steinbrenner).