It's always interesting to go to the ballpark and see what else Major League Baseball has come up with to divert attention from the actual game. My son goes to the games and comes away fully entertained, even if he has no clue what actually transpired on the field. Last Friday, as my New York Mets faced off against the Florida Marlins, even I wanted to avert my gaze from the baseball at hand. (It's not often that you see a pitcher give up a grand slam to the opposing pitcher.) Though the Mets have added some interesting marketing touches this year, such as between-innings Spanish lessons from Professor (José) Reyes, what really caught my eye was the Dream Seat, a recliner, available in leatherette, according to the site, with the garish coloring and logo of your favorite major league team, all for a lo, lo $1,295! The picture here shows Mets and Yankees recliners living happily side by side, something that would never happen in the real world. But anyway, at the game, as a digital display showed several Mets fans happily embedded in their blue and orange recliners, all I could think of was that for die-hard fans, these seats may indeed be a dream, but for their significant others, they are probably an interior decorating nightmare.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor