Earlier today I talked about how I’m looking forward to the Mets-Braves series this weekend. The Mets PR team is also gearing up for a special weekend as a way to say Thank You to the fans. Take a look below.

Starting Friday and throughout the weekend, we are going to be randomly awarding seat upgrades and giving out Mets Gift Cards that can be used to purchase food and drink at the ballpark. During Friday’s game, 10 lucky fans will receive an autographed David Wright jersey to celebrate his All-Star first half.

For Saturday’s game, 10 lucky fans will win an autographed Jose Reyes Drawstring Bag, the giveaway for the day’s game.

And on Sunday, 10 lucky fans will get a Jason Bay Bobblehead signed by Jason, and 25 even luckier fans will win jerseys worn by the players in our “jerseys-off-our-backs” promotion.

The Mets are having a few community service events this week. It’s always good to see the Mets (or any organization) give back to the community.

Tuesday, June 22 – Community Garden Beautification
The Mets will help plant flowers and trees, and install grills at a community garden in Harlem, which is being revitalized with the help of local volunteers through NYC Service, Mayor Bloomberg’s comprehensive initiative to promote a new era of volunteerism in New York City. Community gardens provide green space and easily accessible recreational opportunities in the areas that need them most. Unattractive and unsafe spaces are turned into green havens for the neighborhood to enjoy.

Wednesday, June 23 – Environmental Preservation
The Mets will paint a YMCA roof in Brooklyn as part of NYC Service’s program to paint hot black roofs with a cool reflective white coating to help reflect the sun’s rays back into the atmosphere. The green initiative reduces greenhouse gas emissions, local temperatures and energy costs.

Thursday, June 24 – Animal Rescue and Adoption
The Mets will help take care of cats and dogs up for adoption at a midtown Manhattan animal shelter in support of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, a coalition of more than 160 animal rescue groups and shelters to end the killing of healthy and treatable cats and dogs.

Friday, June 25 – Improving Neighborhood Park & Feeding the Hungry
The Mets will visit a park in Corona, Queens to paint a playground and hold a baseball clinic for local Little Leaguers who have devoted their time to improving their park. The project is organized by the City Parks Foundation, which operates in more than 750 parks around the city to present a broad range of free arts, sports and educational programs, and empowers citizens to support their parks on a local level.

In the afternoon, the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi will participate in Teammates Week by joining Mets front-office staff and Citi volunteers on an apple repack organized by City Harvest. More than 25,000 pounds of apples will be placed into bags to be delivered to food pantries across the city. City Harvest helps feed the hungry by collecting excess food and delivering it to more than 600 community food programs across New York City. Mets alumni will present a volunteer from City Harvest with the “Teammates in the Community” award during an on-field, pre-game ceremony.

Sunday, June 27 – Service Day at Citi Field
The Mets and Citi will welcome the hundreds of state and city officials and volunteers that have traveled to New York to attend the National Conference on Volunteering and Service. The Mets and Citi will also honor the volunteers the Mets worked with throughout the week and celebrate the causes they support.

To see the official press release go to Mets.com

On Monday June 21, 2010 the Johan Santana All-Star Bowling Classic will take place at Lucky Strike in Manhattan.

The Johan Santana All-Star Bowling Classic was established to raise funds and build awareness of skin cancer risk factors and symptoms as well as supporting other worthy causes.

As someone who has had family members win & lose their battles with cancer I know good and well how painful and dangerous this disease is. I won’t be attending this event but I try to support the fight against cancer anyway I can. If you would like to attend and want more info, on this event, check out http://johansantana.org/bowling.

I recently received the following communication from Scott Weiss over at Dan Klores Communications:

With another Subway Series fast approaching I wanted to let you know about this awesome three day event that Delta Airlines is putting together to celebrate this iconic series. Delta, the Official Airline of the New York Mets and New York Yankees, is inviting area baseball fans to play ball at an interactive experience celebrating the city’s two beloved teams. Delta is commemorating the iconic interleague series between the teams by hosting “The Delta Dugout” at Madison Square Park, June 18-20, 2010. The three-day fan event will feature player appearances, baseball-themed activities, live games and giveaways.

Here are some specifics on the events:

Friday, June 18, 10AM – 10PM: Opening Day

Saturday, June 19, 10AM – 6PM: Yankees Day

Sunday, June 20, 10AM – 4PM: Mets Day

I originally found this over at The Ropolitans. Kudos to The Mets for continuing to improve upon fan relations. You can now get a tour of Citi Field. Info from Mets.com:

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TOUR INCLUDE:

Clubhouse

Field and Dugout

Productions Area (scoreboard control room)

Press Box

Suite Levels (Sterling and Empire)

Mets Hall of Fame & Museum

Head over to Citi Field Tours for ticket and scheduling info.

In case you guys haven’t seen this, below is a video of McFadden’s Citi Field commercial. I’ve got tickets to opening day so I can’t wait to visit McFadden’s!

In the video below I give my thoughts on Cot’s Baseball Contracts (via MLB Trade Rumors) potential free agent class of 2012, the Mets/Marlins series in Puerto Rico via Metsblog and a follow-up to my tweet about Elijah Dukes.

I just wanted to give you guys a few links of some Mets stories I’m reading today:

-Metsblog contributor Michael Baron has posted some photos of his visit to Mets Spring Training.

-Eric Simon of Amazin Avenue gives a preview to the cover of The Amazin’ Avenue Annual which drops March 1, 2010.

-Below is a video I found over at Mets Report of ESPN’s Jayson Stark and Jim Caple discussing their picks for the biggest losers of the offseason. Yes the Mets are mentioned..

Links For Reference:
My Twitter Account: Keep Up To Date On Mets News
Metsblog: News: Carlos Beltran had Knee Surgery
Mets.com: Press Release – Carlos Beltran medical update

Links Mentioned In The Video Above:
The Mets Police: Biz of Baseball: Mets led minor leagues in drug suspensions in 2009