The pregame video presentation recognizing Chipper is greeted by mostly polite applause from small crowd. Chipper removes cap, waves. Ho hum

—
Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) September 07, 2012

Back in April, Craig Carton and some other people thought it would be a terrible idea for the Mets to honor Chipper Jones at Citi Field during the legendary third baseman’s last major league season.

Well, today, the supposed apocalyptic event passed without much fanfare. There was a nice little press conference before the game and Chipper graciously accepted a strange 3-D piece of art that the Mets gave him.

#Braves Chipper w/ the artist and #Mets COO Jeff Wilpon yfrog.com/ob3kdkpwj

—
David O'Brien (@ajcbraves) September 07, 2012

Seriously, it’s a pretty weird piece of art.

The Mets gave Larry Jones this weird Shea Stadium artwork thing. Presumably he'll hock it for a tin of Kodiak. http://t.co/ABdP7xYs

—
Eric Simon (@AmazinAvenue) September 07, 2012

I’m guessing it will go into his son’s bedroom. According to the SNY broadcast, Chipper’s son Shea has an orange and blue bedroom that is decorated with actual Shea Stadium seats. He really went all the way with the “Shea” thing, which is pretty sweet considering there are plenty of devoted Mets fans who don’t have their kids grow up in bedrooms adjourned with old stadium chairs.

Chipper Jones is a class act and an important part of Mets history, so I’m glad the team bestowed this small measure of gratitude upon him. Good job by the Mets.

Anyway, as I type this, the Mets and Braves are tied at 0-0 in the third inning, so here’s a couple of news bits I heard before the game:

First, Matt Harvey will only make two more starts this season. He’s got 157.1 innings under his belt already (majors plus minors), and they’re aiming to get him to 170.

Second, Rueben Tejada is not making a start tonight because he’s apparently too tired/fatigued. He’s 22 years old, so I’m taking that to mean he had a REALLY good time last night. I’d more upset if the Mets were in a pennant race.

Oh, one more thing. Andres Torres left the game with an injury and now Jordanny Valdespin (and not Scott Hairston, who also started) is playing center field. Yikes. Enjoy the game, everybody.