Thursday, July 15, 2010

ROADTRIP!

The bags are packed, the apartment cleaned for the housesitter, and we’re off to the West Coast! We’ll be visiting LAA, SD, SF, AZ, and LAD over the next 11 days. I am SO EXCITED to see Carlos Beltran back in the lineup; the BELTRAN 15 shirt has been carefully packed for the journey (along with SANTANA 57, PELFREY 34, and the old reliable REYES 7 jersey).

There will be copious updates here, on All Down The Line and on Twitter, and the stuff that falls between the baseball lines on this site and this Twitter.

(Remember when you used to have to leave itineraries and phone numbers? Whew!)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

THANK YOU, BRIAN MC CANN.

...words I NEVER thought I would hear myself say.

There was a point last night where I said “that’s the game” and walked out of the room…only to be called back later when we had actual base runners and then Brian McCann made contact. And even then I still thought it was possible for the NL to blow it (although, as was pointed out to me, Heath Bell had already been in the game [sorry, still bitter at a certain former Dodgers closer] so he couldn’t blow it).

DINING AT THE ACELA CLUB AT CITI FIELD.

The separate-admission doubleheader on 6/10 presented a great opportunity to get into the Acela Club for dinner. (I say ‘great opportunity’ because it was emptier than usual because of the rainout the night before.) Since this is still an experience that most Mets fans haven’t experienced - but wonder about - I thought I’d capture the experience.

Due to the rainout, the restaurant was empty the night we were there, so we were able to obtain seating in one of the tables out on the outside porch. I will tell you plainly that I have been pretty bitchy about the restaurant; I would have rather had a bar or some kind of experience that was open to everyone than that glass-walled monstrosity in the left field corner. I dislike the access restrictions greatly; premium seat holders already have all kinds of club access. It is not cheap, or anywhere near reasonable, especially with the additional surcharge. You are paying for the novelty, and you are paying for the view.

But it is an excellent view, and it makes for a fabulous experience. The food, however, is not winning any prizes.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

CONDOLENCES.

My condolences go out to Yankees fans today. They’ve had a tough week.

Monday, July 12, 2010

EVERYBODY LOVES MR. MET.

As you may remember, I got to meet up with Samara from the fantastic Tigers blog Roar of the Tigers when Detroit came to Citi Field. I arrived just in time to provide her with key photographic assistance in order to capture her meeting with Mr. Met. The photographs of this adventure follow, along with Sam’s hysterical commentary.

Friday, July 09, 2010

METS V BRAVES, GAME 1.

It’s just been that kind of day, hasn’t it?

For what it’s worth, I understand there have been some commenting problems - I took a look at a few things and am hopeful the issues were resolved. Drop a line if they were not.

ABOUT THAT CLIFF LEE THING.

The alleged ultimatum given was that it had to be decided before tonight’s game in Seattle. So, we sit, and we wait, and we get nothing productive done, while we sit and fume.

Crabby.

Yankees allegedly out. “Another team pushing hard.”

The video above now states my current feelings.

5:09pm: At least it wasn’t You-Know-Who.

How are you holding up?

Thursday, July 08, 2010

NEW YORK STATE OF MIND.

This is a lengthy, but absolutely fascinating article, by Seattle Times Mariners beat writer Geoff Baker, about the state of baseball fandom in Seattle. I believe it sprung from the horrific fan interference the other night, where yet another idiot fan reaching out to grab a ball in play cost a team the game (at least the Mariners threw him out, which doesn’t happen enough in my opinion), but it’s worth a read because it’s just another world.

The fact that so many people here got defensive when Cliff Lee made his post-game comments to Brad Adam in New York about how fans in that city don’t need a teleprompter to tell them when to cheer tells me I’m not imagining it. Lee may or may not have been taking a subtle jab at fans here. I don’t know, haven’t asked him and don’t care. It was the defensive reaction of people here, borne out of the experience of fans here not clapping until a video scoreboard message tells them to, that was the real story on that subject.

That’s the number one complaint of one of my best friends in Seattle, who’s also a charter Mariners season ticket holder. It drives her absolutely batty. And the thing is, I know I complain about this at Citi Field (and I know I’m not the only one), but it’s not as true as it is out there, where people (to quote my friend Sarah) won’t cheer unless the scoreboard tells them to, and (from my experience) look askance at anyone who does cheer independently. The kind of colorful commentary you and I are accustomed to out here just doesn’t happen out there. But as much as I complain about the Citi Field security, no one would be coming over to tell me to sit down at the second-to-last out in the 9th inning, because no one behind me would be complaining to security, either.

Worth a read on your off day.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

MILEZ IS DED. [7-7-10]

Mets v Reds
7-7-10

“SOH-DAH! WAH-TAH!”

Tonight, the “SOH-DAH!” girl’s cry was augmented by “WAH-TAH!” If you sit upstairs, in the People’s Seats, you know the “SOH-DAH!” girl; some day I will find a way to record her, probably by walking up to her, turning on my phone’s recorder, and asking her to do her thing. I mention her here because when I mentioned her on Twitter, I was greeted with a dozen messages of “I LOVE HER!” and “I KNOW HER!” and “SEE, WE’RE NOT THE ONLY ONES!”

TBF hates her. He never ever noticed her until the one game I started mimicking her. Now he can’t not hear her. “Oh GOD!” he always exclaims, as though he is in some type of extreme pain. “Make it stop!”

VIVA JOHAN!

Two images to share:

1. I’ve been following Joe Petruccio’s blog since its inception and find myself going there first thing after a big loss (or a dismal failure) to see how he’s interpreted the events in his own unique style. It’s honestly my favorite Mets blog in a long time.

[more after the jump]