Shea Stadium is 'Rip City'; Will Curse Follow?

It's not enough that David Wright is the new sex symbol for New York's baseball teams, now four other Mets get in on the action. Well, sort of. The July 17th issue of Sports Illustrated (on newsstands now) has the five members of the New York Metropolitans on the cover with the title, "Welcome To Rip City, The Adventures of Captain Red Ass And the Intrepid Mets." Of course, with that whole Sports Illustrated curse thing, this can't be good for Mets fans. Left to right, the cover is Carlos Beltran, David Wright, Paul Lo Duca, Carlos Delgado, and Jose Reyes - four of the six Mets All Stars.

The accompanying article by Tom Verducci and titled "Joy Ride," reveals that the Mets clubhouse is one where, as Billy Wagner puts it, "anyone can say anything they want to anyone at any time." Things Gothamist gleaned from the article: Cliff Floyd is the worst dresser on the team, Ramon Castro is the "class clown" according to Paul Lo Duca, and Billy Wagner is the tightwad. And some nicknames for a few players: Wright is Visine, Julio Franco is Moses and Lo Duca is Captain Red Ass.

The last group of Mets to appear on the cover of SI were Rey Ordonez, John Olerud, Edgardo Alfonzo, and Robin Ventura on the September 6, 1999 cover. On that cover, the players were in an embrace as well.