The left and center field bleachers finally re-opened at Wrigley Monday night, more than a month after the start of the regular season. I arrived when the gates opened to watch BP.

As he’s known to do, Mets reliever Buddy Carlyle played catch with a fan in the stands. This was a different kind of “catch” however. A guy near the top of the bleachers (wearing a construction helmet) caught a long Carlyle toss with a near-full cup of beer and then downed the remaining suds before pulling the baseball to his lips. There was thundering applause from the fans. Carlyle loved the stunt. Several Met players watched with amusement.

Because of the frequency of batted balls flying into the stands, Cub ushers stationed throughout the bleachers yelled “BALL” every time a moon shot approached.

The Cubs won the ballgame 4-3. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo went deep – back-to-back – in the opening inning. Bryant’s shot was a big blast that landed near me. The fan who caught it was escorted away by two Cubs security personnel. I’m assuming they went to a place where they could discuss some kind of deal to get the baseball to Bryant.

Rizzo’s screamer went into the vacant, yet-to-be-completed right field stands. It’ll be another month or so before Wrigley opens up right field. The fully exposed unfinished product in right is a little jarring to look at – and I’m still shocked the Cubs failed to finish this project in the time available since the 2014 season ended six months earlier.

As is tradition, the fans in left field chanted “RIGHT FIELD SUCKS!” They would get no retort.

Reigning NL rook of the year Jake DeGrom was off central with his fast ball. The velocity was there but he threw a lot of pitches in search of the zone. I know some Met fans who think this isn’t the same DeGrom. They think the worst. Arm trouble. But he looked good to me. Mid-90’s and no apparent tics or outward indication anything is bothering him. I just think he faced a really tough Cub lineup with the wind blowing out and got a little rattled at the start. He’ll be ok.

I actually thought it was cool that Collins let Jake get the full five innings out of respect for his ability to fight through trouble.

The Cub lineup is incredible. It’s gonna win a lot of games if it stays intact. Addison Russell (pictured above) bats in the 9 spot and has a great looking swing. The heart of the Cub order is deadly. Lester pitched well last night and the Cub closer was nearing a hundred on the gun.

Fans sang Go Cubs Go and unfurled W flags in the bleachers after it was over. Hey Chicago Whattaya Say?

By that time, the temps had plummeted. All the guys who wore shorts and a t-shirt to the game were long gone. “Mai-Tai Guy” stayed until the end though. His nickname is well deserved based on his devotion to that cocktail.

Cub owner Tom Ricketts spent a good portion of the night wandering the bleachers to speak with fans. He was there to help celebrate the tardy re-opening of a portion of the renovated stands but he also listened to darts, laurels, etc. He took hundreds of cell phone photos with fans and appeared totally unescorted and at ease with the surroundings.

It’s much easier to get a beer now with new, open space behind the bleacher seats and several new sales points. 16-ounce cans of Old Style poured into a plastic cup were $8.50. The redesign is meant to monetize – of course – and so you see signs of that as you look it over. The only thing that troubled me was a portion of the bleachers are set aside for private parties with a few adjacent rows earmarked for people associated with that group.

The bleachers should remain G-A in their entirety. It’s one thing to cordon off a portion for people not drinking beer but it’s gonna ruin the concept if regularly-accessible areas are set aside for the elite.

Tonight, I go back to the bleachers. My Dad is going too. We get Noah’s MLB debut on what will be a chilly night. I continue to feel very upbeat about this Met team. Murph is a concern with the glove. He’s playing third now which is not gonna work out. He had an errant throw last night. Middle relief is a concern but it is on most teams I guess. We really miss Jerry Blevins.

I took the Irving bus to the Blue Line to Jeff Park to the Metra to the Park Ridge station last night. From there to my brother’s house, it’s about a fifteen minute walk in suburban solitude.

The first ever match between New York’s two area MLS franchises had all the intensity, heat, noise and excitement this city’s soccer fans were long hoping for.

NYCFC joined the MLS this year as an expansion franchise. On the field, the new squad is off to a bad start (just one win in 10 tries). But the boys in powder blue have won a significant share of fan support from a metropolitan area with deep, yet-to-be-fully-tapped ties to the beautiful game. NYCFC appears on solid footing going forward no matter where they end up in the standings the first couple years.

Sunday night’s clash at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ was the first of three regular season meetings between the two sides. Despite playing a man short for more than half the match, the Red Bulls won 2-1 and were clearly the better, more cohesive team.

NYCFC’s big star David Villa (pictured above) was not a factor from the striker position. He did a lot of pouting and complaining but did not dazzle with possession. He seemed to show disapproval with teammates who failed to place the ball in spots he was expecting it in. He was yanked from the game as NYCFC tried to mount a rally in the final ten minutes.

Mix Diskerud was also replaced down the stretch by NYCFC coach Jason Kreis. Ineffectiveness also likely played a role in that substitution which I would think would be a concern to USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsman who according to the Post’s Brian Lewis took in this match in person.

The Bulls got both its goals from elusive, speedy forward Bradley Wright-Phillips (pictured above) who has a remarkable scoring touch. Wright-Phillips gets a lot of goals the easy way. Tap-ins and short shots are more common than big blasts. He’s constantly beating his man without going offsides. Wright-Phillips netted 27 scores last season, tying the MLS single-season scoring record.

The building was full. Attendance was announced at 25,217. I was expecting more NYCFC fans but they only fully occupied a couple sections reserved for visiting squads plus sat scattered elsewhere in the building. This was a loud, Red Bull-dominant crowd that scooped up tickets in much larger numbers than their new archrivals. As it should be on home turf.

What was off-putting to me however was the hostility directed at NYCFC fans by some of the Red Bull supporters. Banners unfurled at the start mocked NYCFC. “20 years late and a stadium short” is fair game but there were hostile chants and gestures that pushed boundaries of good taste.

At the great downtown Newark soccer bar Bello’s before the match, Red Bull fans in the upstairs bar sang a song with a chorus that threatened fans of the team across the river. It was unnecessarily mean. Fans of both squads should be comfortable attending games at both venues without concern. Unfortunately, it seems like there’s an element of the Red Bull fandom that veers into hooligan wanna-be territory – or perhaps is insecure about the level of attention and support NYCFC is garnering.

What this really is for Red Bull fans is the makings of a real fun and spirited rivalry. It’s not like playing DC United or the Revs or the Union – nearby teams with histories. This is something special. Two professional soccer teams with fans that draw on the same territory.

We can ride the train together. Sing our songs. And yes – we should be able to share the same tavern and talk about the game like Mets and Yankees fans have learned to do over the course of their head-to-heads.

I write this from suburban Chicago on Monday afternoon. After a short night, I took an early flight Monday morning. I’m here for all four games of the Mets/Cubs series at Wrigley.

Tonight, they reopen the left field bleachers. DeGrom vs. Lester. See you there.