Fly to new york

PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- The Mets were supposed to be in the air by now. So was I. But we're all stuck here on the tarmac because of a ground stop that is delaying all flights to New York. Something to do with the weather, the captain says.

Of course, I'm on a commercial flight, not the team charter. But from my window, I can see the Mets' plane in the middle of the tarmac. Players got off the buses and boarded, and the buses are gone. But the plane is still there.

It'll be interesting to see if the Mets get special treatment from air traffic control. A source vaguely familiar with the situation (the flight attendant on my plane) tells me the Mets are stuck in the same delay that we are.

So we wait, stuck in Florida for who knows how much longer.

UPDATE, 7:23 p.m.: Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the team has been told its flight can take off at 8:13 p.m. No such luck for the commoners over here on this flight. I will continue this important live blog until the Mets take off or until my laptop battery conks out.

UPDATE, 7:59 p.m.: The stairway is still set up alongside the Mets' plane. A couple guys are standing outside at the top of the stairs, but I can't make out who they are. I'd love to be a fly on the wall on that plane right now. You have to understand, as much as these guys are used to traveling and the hassles that sometimes come with it, this is no normal flight. Pitchers and catchers reported to camp a month and a half ago, and some players arrived even earlier -- the first week of February -- to start working out. Some left for the World Baseball Classic, some stayed, but all are eager to get out of Florida, get back to New York and move into Citi Field Friday. Jerry Manuel wasn't joking when he said Wednesday that he wanted Thursday's Grapefruit League finale against the Baltimore Orioles to be a quick game so the team could get out of here as soon as possible. And now they're stuck, for at least a little while longer.

UPDATE, 8:05 p.m.: The Mets are now taxiing to the runway.

UPDATE, 8:11 p.m.: We have lift off -- I think. All I know is the Mets' plane is gone and mine is still here. But you've probably heard all you care to hear about that.

NJ.com