Saturday, August 25, 2007

PENNY ANTE. [08-24-07]

I’ve been searching my brain, and realize that I don’t have anything that spectacular or even interesting to say about tonight’s game. I am having train issues, which will not interest anyone. The 7 was crowded, too many guys wearing Mets shirts that don’t shower, and too many idiots who don’t know how to ride the subway. I love the subway. I am pro-subway. But I think I am going to start taking the freaking LIRR so I don’t have to deal with the 1 taking 35 minutes for a 15 minute ride, and the 7 issues as noted above.

I even forgot about Fiesta Latina or whatever it was tonight until I got through bag check and saw the 90 million security guards. Let me get the rant out of the way: Am I the only one bothered by this blatant racism every time there is a Latin-themed event?  Do the Mets pull this crap on Jewish Heritage Day?  Wait, don’t answer that. The only thing that happens at these games that doesn’t happen on any other random Friday night is that people mill around A LOT more. You know how you solve that? BY THE USHERS ACTUALLY DOING THEIR JOBS INSTEAD OF FISHING FOR TIPS. More ushers in the tunnel entrances checking tickets of people who are obviously just walking around. And before you say, “Well, all the people there for the concert try to move down to better seats,” please see above, and if you’re really concerned, how about you treat people with actual intelligence and respect. How about you hand out fliers as people walk in - in English AND Spanish - saying, “Please do not move down to other seats until the game has ended. You can move anywhere you want once the game is over, but you will not be allowed to stand in the aisles.”

But noooo. Let’s have a completely ineffective search - okay, wait. I don’t know if the search is ineffective because I’m a white girl from Connecticut. Just like the NYPD ignores me every single time I walk into the subway and they have a table set up for random bag searches, no security guard at Shea is going to give me a hard time. Both situations are bullshit. Either you enforce security or you don’t. But the disrespect for the Latino community is so blatant I wonder how the Mets continue to get away with it.

[More about the actual game after the jump.]

I can’t complain about a win, or even Wagner once again making it interesting. I like how we played, and I [heart] Marlon Anderson and am very glad to see him back. I will admit, however, that my stomach did flip-flops when I knew the pinch hitter was coming and saw #23 and thought, “Dear god in heaven, NO” - before I remembered that Moses was no longer on the team. Oliver was consistent, Penny was completely unimpressive. Lastings Milledge is still winning hearts all over the ballpark - I saw more shirts with #44 on them, nicely crisp, than I remember seeing before. Here’s a good example of why this recent love-fest is taking place:

And this photo I think is a good illustration of the August 2007 Mets, and why they’re playing well. Although it’s not fair to use Reyes and Wright as an example, I still think it’s illustrative of the grit and the effort. I wish I could explain it better, so I’m hoping you all see what I see here.

I don’t even know what to say about the Delgado situation. I’m not even angry any more, nor do I think trying to think up a name along the lines of “Mr. Contribution” will make me feel better. Is he hurt? Is he done? Carlos Delgado is a quality guy. I can’t boo him, no matter how badly he is doing. But as The Mets Are Better Than Sex so astutely put it, Right now, Delgado is rally-killing, anti-clutch, and useless.

It was an enjoyable game but not a memorable one; to be fair, I fought a migraine at work all day and considered myself lucky to be at Shea at all, instead of home lying in a dark room with the cat. I am not wanting to skip baseball games these days, because they are already talking about football on WFAN more than I like and the calendar turns the page next week. I am in denial, and not even paying post-season invoices can bring me out of it. Another season almost over. I feel like over the next month I want to do less at the games; the socializing and the armchair GM’ing and the taking photos and taking notes and everything else seems like TOO MUCH sometimes. TBF and I had a hands-on lesson on how to score at a Cyclones game a week ago and he is going to make me my own scoresheets (there are things he uses I do not have any interest in keeping track of). Frankly, I feel like I want to go to a game or two by myself and keep score and just watch and sink it all in, before the season passes me by.

Finally, is it just us, or does it look like the Home Run Apple’s gotten spruced up quite a bit? I know, it’s a crappy photo.

Flickr feed for the game is here; the slideshows are slowing the site down and taking up too much bandwidth, regrettably. You can, of course, see the same slideshow by clicking through to the flickr set.