Sunday, May 11, 2008

MAPS AND LEGENDS.

I sat down the other day to give an update to my first review of this season’s Mets Weekly and Kids Clubhouse. I still feel like Kids Clubhouse remains the superior of the two programs, especially after the most recent MW debacle with its 20 minute feature of a fan called “The King of Brunch” whose claim to fame is that one of the SNY camerapeople caught a shot of him in the field boxes and Keith and Gary made a comment about his hair.

That segment made me sad because it seemed like such a waste. Because there are thousands of stories at Shea. Every game I see someone that I’d like to know more about. Instead we get footage of more drunk Mets fans going “LET’S GO METS” in the parking lot or at a bar. I realize that this will be taken as me “slamming” them again, but I’m not the only who feels this way - I’m just the only one who actually cares enough to think about the program and review it.

I got this email the other week from the producers of the Mets fan documentary “Mathematically Alive”. Now, this is the kind of thing I’m talking about:

We want to hear about your most memorable days at Shea.  Maybe it was Buckner’s goof. Tom Terrific’s near perfection or Ventura’s grand slam single. Or more memorable still was your 1st opening day.

We want to hear all the stories. Join us in creating Heckuva Day: Stories from Shea Stadium

“The Directors of Mathematically Alive: A Story of Fandom have just announced that they will be working on a tribute video to Shea Stadium called Heckuva Day: Stories from Shea Stadium. The best part of this video is that everyone makes the cut! According to the filmmakers, there will be no time constraints for this project so everyone who is interviewed will be included in the video. The directors said that they shot over 150 hours of video for Mathematically Alive and the worst part about it was making the cuts. They said they plan to use some of that extra video, but want Mets fans to meet up with them to talk about their best memories of Shea. Again, any fan who would like to be a part of this video should email the filmmakers to find out where and when they will be conducting the interviews. 

They plan to unveil the video at a “Mets Everything” event that they will host in September 2008. This event will be filled with Mets fans, bloggers, authors, etc.  The event is set to happen before the last game at Shea and will be a celebration of the wonderful memories that Shea has given to so many people.

Hope you’re all in and please feel free to pass this on to every Mets fan in the world. Check out the trailer on YouTube.

Email me at if you’d like to be included in the video

This also compliments Steve’s rants over at The Kranepool Society about how he can’t fathom that the Mets aren’t sponsoring anything to commemorate the end of Shea - no old timer’s day, no chance for fans to get on the field, no recreation of Banner Day, nothing, at least nothing that we know about, which leads him (and me) to believe that they don’t plan on anything.

Think about this: you have a day when the Mets are on the road. You open up the stadium to allow fans to have photos taken on the field, in the dugout, with Mr. Met, with their name on the scoreboard, and all the money charged for this (depending on what you want) goes to charity. That would go a lot further than, say, charging fans to get onto the back fields at PSL for open workouts, or donating $100 to have your name on the sidewalk in front of Citi Field. (We want to get a brick that says, ‘THIS IS ALL WE COULD AFFORD AT CITI FIELD’ but we are pretty sure the Mets will say ‘no’.) And before you say it can’t be done - The Mariners do this for Christmas, and as a result, my friends have a photo of their family with the Mariner Moose in a Santa suit with their names on the scoreboard behind them - all for a donation to charity. I realize more people would want to do this than they probably want to do in Seattle (although I’m not so sure) - so what? The Mets could make it happen. They just don’t care or want to.

Get the stories. Get the history. Get the memories. Get it now. 

Saturday, May 10, 2008

MENTAL GIANTS.

I normally enjoy the blog East Village Idiot. He also has LOLYankees, to which I have contributed. And he hates the Yankees, which is always commendable.

However, this post makes me question the intelligence of the average Red Sox fan:

5:10 PM Ben: wanna go see santana on saturday afternoon?  i have a ticket seat’s not great but it’s free
[I frantically search Pollstar and Santana’s web site, wondering why I don’t know about a Santana concert happening on a Saturday afternoon in or around New York City. I am baffled.]

Friday, May 09, 2008

RAIN DELAY.

We knew they were going to call the game.
They knew they were going to call the game.
There were no ‘windows’ in the radar, there were no meteorological experts prognosticating, Mr. G didn’t appear on Diamondvision and tell us to hang tight, the weather was going to clear up soon.
The Rain Hotline advertised that the game was going to be played at 6pm...and when the 7 train came out of the tunnel at 6:30pm...and when TBF found me on the 7 at Woodside at 6:45pm… and when we got to Shea at 7pm.
There was no anthem. There were no marching bands or Cub Scout troops presenting the colors on the field. There were no players doing sprints and agility drills.
There was a big white tarp on which sat the biggest rain puddle in the world.
And then, there was an announcement...that the game was going to be delayed.
At 7:05pm.

But we are troopers. We traipse all the way over to Gate B so we can go to Mama’s (because of course given the huge crowds at Shea tonight, security couldn’t make an exception and allow us to walk around on the field level). We traipse all the way back to third base. We find Miriam and Julia and settle in in Section 12, where the security guard is being utterly ridiculous and not letting people sit in seats other than the ones they are ticketed for.

We eat sandwiches while Miriam and Julia drink. We’re having such a good time we don’t really notice how bad it’s getting until the rain started blowing sideways.

I put on another shirt. I put on my playoffs sweatshirt. I now have two shirts, a fleece and a sweatshirt on. I rummage for gloves and crankily scold TBF for forgetting a blanket.

When they started rolling a cart onto the field around 8pm, carrying what looked like square insulated bags, my first silly thought was: “Pizza going to the clubhouse!”
But no.
The person rolling the cart went into the dugout.
They started loading up the coolers.
And then they started loading the equipment bags.
The Rain Hotline tells us that the game is going to be played tonight.
TBF is turning on WFAN when a curmudgeon in Section 10 yells, “Day-night doubleheader tomorrow at 8:10pm.”
We wait a minute or two for an announcement, but when we see the field level stalwarts heading up the aisles, we say “fuck it.”

We are clearing the new team store near the subway when we finally hear the announcement… and that was with a stop in the Diamond Club lobby to try to find Coop (who was sensibly ensconsed there with her cousin). I’m still trying to figure out why there was at least a FIFTEEN MINUTE DELAY between the announcement on WFAN and the announcement IN THE PLACE WHERE THE PEOPLE WHO NEED TO HEAR IT THE MOST ARE WAITING, cold and wet.

When something similar happened to That Team In The Bronx last year the media jumped all over them for not calling the game until everyone had trekked uptown and spent some money. I know, Cincinnati isn’t coming back this year and no one wanted a day-night doubleheader, but this was also bullPUCKY.

Here, have a cannoli:

The only consolation tonight was learning that Mama’s has pastries on the field level.

Since I was going to be missing tomorrow’s game for Mother’s Day (don’t ask, we do it on Saturday and not on Sunday), at least I get to see a game this week.

TBF CONVINCES THE MTA TO CHANGE THE 7 TRAIN.

Although we are big fans of the new Super-Express 7 after the game, there was one fatal flaw:

It didn’t stop at Court House Square. Which is our stop. Normally an express stop on the 7.

“We can get off at Queensboro Plaza and get the same bus,” I argued. “Or get the local, it’s one stop.”
“But Court House Square is the only connection to the G and to the rest of Brooklyn. I’m going to write the MTA.”

We are big on writing letters in our house. We write letters when bad things happen and we write letters when good things happen too. However, not since some customer service rep at ESPN acted like a total moron to TBF, necessitating a letter and the forthcoming free subscription, has anything this good ever happened:

Subject: Mets Express
Date: Fri, 9 May 2008 14:41:18 -0400
From: “Maldonado, Rachel” <email redacted>
To: <tbf_address_also_redacted>

Dear Mr. TBF,

You described an oversight in this year’s post-game Mets Super Express in comparison to last year’s service:  the missing key connection at 45 Road/Court House Square for transfer to the G Line.  You were one of three customers who wrote to us about this oversight.

We took your comments seriously and beginning today the Mets Super Express will stop at 45 Road/Court House Square.  Signs were made and are being posted today.  You and many other Mets fans will now be able to enjoy a fast ride and a transfer to the G Line.

We read every message from every customer and use your comments to improve the service we provide to you.  Thank you for taking the time to share your valuable thoughts with us.

Sincerely,

Louis Brusati
General Manager
7 Line

This will mean, however, that we will have to stop hurling invective in the direction of the MTA employees who routinely misdirect us to the wrong train after the game, or tell us there is no express running when one rumbles in as soon as we’re through the turnstiles and on the local platform. At least temporarily.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

GHOST NOTES.

This is a post about a lot of things.

It’s a post where I offer up any number of reasonable excuses about, say, not posting much about the Arizona roadtrip. The problem I think is that I read what everyone else had to say, and then realized I had nothing else to add. I can add that I would love to go to Chase Field. I can add that we were thinking about doing a roadtrip this year so we could have hit Phoenix and LA, but we rejected it because at the time we were still pissed at 2007. I can add that TBF has been there already.

And I can talk about how great it was that the Mets picked up their asses and won two games. But it feels like every minute part of the games was covered by someone and there was nothing more to add… except that if i had to listen to Eric Byrnes’ at-bat song one more time I was going to kill someone. Because these are the things that I focus on, instead of focusing on Mr. Futility or Mr. Contribution or the rock out in left field.

Click to continue reading GHOST NOTES.

Monday, May 05, 2008

WOMEN IN BASEBALL.

Nats’ blog We’ve Got Heart has a great interview with the lobbyist for MLB, Lucy Calautti, who grew up a Mets fan:

In 1962, a young girl waited patiently outside the Polo Grounds for her childhood baseball hero, Mets Short Stop Elio Chacon, to autograph a foul ball caught by her father.  Young Lucy Calautti could never have predicted that one day she’d be working at the right hand of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.  Some people spend a lifetime trying to find a job they love, but Lucy Calautti, Major League Baseball’s lobbyist, has achieved that dream.

A Mets fan by birth, Lucy spent her summer nights as a child at the newly opened Shea Stadium, just one subway stop from her home in Flushing.  It was there that Lucy first fell in love with the American pastime.  “My generation of men and women in New York were huge baseball fans.  You rode the subway, you talked baseball.  I mean, that’s just the way it was.”

Definitely worth your time to go over there and read. Hats off to the gals at We’ve Got Heart for a great idea.

[And while we’re talking about women in baseball, a belated, but well-deserved mention to The Church of the Fonz for her article on The Girls Of Summer. A must-read.]

Sunday, May 04, 2008

ATTENTION: ERIC BYRNES.

OMFG COULD YOU PLEASE PICK ANOTHER AT-BAT SONG? I CANNOT HEAR IT ONE MORE TIME.

Dude. I know the band is called “The Outfield” but trust me there are 3,426,972 other songs that would work for you just as well and not sound like a cross between the lead singer of Loverboy and the lead singer of Supertramp and a buzzing mosquito.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

*SIGH*.

I’m just not going to talk about it. Brevity is the soul of, um, wit.

Instead:

• Kristen and the gals at We’ve Got Heart have a little Q&A with Paulie Baseball
• In a move completely opposite to the current temperature here at home, in Japan, bloggers get to be on discussion panels with Bobby V. and don’t get treated like crap on national televison.
• At least our beer doesn’t cost $10 fucking dollars [oh, wait, call Costas, I used the f-word on my blog. I am not in my parents’ basement, however, nor am I typing in my underwear - more on that below]
• Who am I kidding, no one is online reading anything because we’re all so goddamned depressed and it’s May 1 and I’m sitting here wearing my playoffs sweatshirt (aka something I wear at SHEA to keep me warm) and it’s raining and cold and the Mets are going to Arizona where it will not be the Arizona roadtrips of their past with that guy in the front row waving the broom around. Mark my words.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

LEX JOE METS. [04-29-08]

April 29, 2008
Santana v. Snell

At 6pm sharp, I logged off at work, changed into my #57 t-shirt, and prepared to walk out the door.
The New Girl at the office looks at me. “You should stay, have some pizza.”
“Sorry, but I have a date with a handsome Venezuelan gentleman who’s a two-time Cy Young award winner, I can’t stand him up.”
Considering that I was standing there in a Mets t-shirt with SANTANA across the back, I thought the joke would be obvious. It went right over her head.

Poor Ian Snell, I thought on the way out to Shea. Here he thinks he’s going to New York to face Oliver Perez, and then, boom, a little rain and now you’re facing Johan Santana. I found the entire situation serendipitous, because 2008 was looking to be a repeat of 2006, where, despite going to 35+ games, I never saw Pedro start once. It was looking to be the same pattern for Mr. Santana, so I was delighted to have his start bumped a day.

My guest at tonight’s game was my friend C. who publishes the delightful blog Scatter O’ Light. She is a sports fan with a respectable Mets lineage and a world-reknown expert in Mr. Paul Hewson. [end plug] We arrived at Shea just after the anthem. The minute I reached our seats, I pulled out a sweatshirt.

It was not a great night for pitching, and a lackluster night for offense, with a few exceptions. Shea was chilly and shivering and the players were clearly not ready for it.
“But he pitched in Minnesota!” Miriam said at one point.
“In a dome,” I feel compelled to point out.
“Oh.”

Fourth inning: my new gloves (photos at a later date) came out, but are then removed to applaud Ryan Church. Now, I think, we just need to wait this cold out. It is the kind of night that you can be excused for hoping that it goes quickly, that we win in an efficient fashion, that there is little drama if any. That you forget that it is a live sporting event and even though they can try to choke the life out of baseball, it is still played by human beings and will therefore never go exactly according to plan.

Click to continue reading LEX JOE METS. [04-29-08]

Sunday, April 27, 2008

FIGMENT. [04-27-08]

Sunday, April 27: Figueroa v. Smoltz

I will be honest and say that the whole reason I was excited about going to this game was because I was going with Coop and because it was Foam Finger day. I wasn’t going to chalk Saturday’s W up to anything except luck. Once again, the irregulars get on base, and once again, the regulars fail to get them home. I am angered at morons who boo John Maine and morons who slaughter Aaron Heilman, to the point that when I get off the 7 train this morning, I want to go into the Team Store to buy a Heilman shirt except I am not sure that they exist (why would they? nevermind, don’t answer that).

I thought we were in for an afternoon of catching up with the baseball game in the background. I love taking photos from the Coop box. Maybe the Mets could surprise us.

And surprise us they did.

Click to continue reading FIGMENT. [04-27-08]