NEW YORK -- Outside, the fans poured out of the subway and picked up placards that read "4" on one side and "6" on the other. Symbols of cricket long balls, their purpose was to be held in the air whenever a batter hit a ball to the boundary, worth four runs, or over the boundary in the air, worth six.
Inside, the grass still read "World Series" and the first-base dugout still declared the Mets to be National League champions -- lettering that's likely to remain through next season. But in short center field, just beyond second base, was a 66-foot-long rectangle of hard-pressed, very short grass that had been trucked in from Indianapolis and planted in one piece at Citi Field after the Royals won baseball's championship earlier in the week.