Wednesday, July 09, 2008

THINGS I LIKE.

• Watching Johan Santana in the stretch, taut like an statue of a Roman archer
• Having multiple reasons to break out my CHAVEZ 10 shirt
• Watching Carlos Beltran glide underneath a ball everyone is screaming at like it’s a home run… and he catches it without breaking a sweat or doing Web-Gem-worthy acrobatics
• Watching Carlos Delgado HIT THE BALL. Remember that first playoff game in 06, back when Citifield was nothing more than big concrete towers? And there was a car burning out in the parking lot? Carlos hit one to the car, I’d swear it to this day. It went past the batter’s eye and probably landed in the fire truck there to put out the car fire. He’s hitting like that again. (how do cars catch on fire with such alarming frequency at Shea, anyway?)
• Smiling faces in the dugout. Friday-level smiles. Three-day-weekend smiles. Not rainy-Monday-morning-and-that-damn-presentation-is-due smiles. Jose Reyes high-beam smiles. Carlos Delgado Cheshire Cat smiles.
• The parade of changing facial hair (Pelfrey Church Schneider Beltran etc.) I guess it’s the only real sense of visible fashion they can have when they’re in uniform.
• Watching Duaner come onto the mound, pick up the resin ball, and plunk it on the brim of his hat. (I know why he does it, I just like that he does.)
• Watching David Wright run out to third base and pick up a handful of dirt, which he always does the first time he comes on the field every game
• Watching the parade of dirt-stained uniforms
• High socks
• Blue hats
• Third strikes
• The home run apple lit up and the Dunkin Donuts cup spinning (although that f’ing Joba Chamberlain promotion is making me boycott them for the summer I think)
• The first view of Shea through the 7 train window just after the 103rd street stop

See you Friday.

P.S. A special welcome to MG reader Kelsey, who’s in town from Denver for the Rockies series.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

COULD IT BE?

[idea totally stolen from Sister Daedalus]

Monday, July 07, 2008

WATCH THAT MAN.

Yes! The Mets won the Phillies series, by a hair and a breath and every other lame analogy you can think of. I really, really want to put some kind of shiny brand new faith in these 2008 Mark II Mets, believe that the proverbial corner has been turned, that whatever wasn’t working last year and this year is starting to work. Yes, I freely admit that all the signs are there, that Reyes has that number 3 in front of his average, that Damion Easley’s own average is somewhere around .290 (I believe), that Carlos Delgado is no longer Carlos Del Whiffo, that David Wright doesn’t have to try to carry the entire team on his shoulders. But who knows? As TBF noted last week, he was reasonably positive that the Mets would go into Philly and take the series—but that he was equally sure that we would get stomped by the Giants and the Rockies next week.

Time, of course, will tell.

We are at Shea only one day this week, on Friday, due to family and other obligations. We had briefly discussed ponying up for tickets to Wednesday’s Santana-Linceceum matchup - until that option was removed from us. (TBF had also said, “Let’s see how we do on Monday,” which I felt was fair enough.)

Speaking of David Wright, I am pleased that he understood (which hopefully means the entire clubhouse understood) why the Mets representation to the All-Star roster was nonexistent. TBF, he of the “take an enormous stack of ballots and spend tv time punching them” school finally tossed out the stack this weekend. We never got around to it because we didn’t care, because it sure looked like they didn’t care. However, I am about to start remedying that online, and so should you. Go vote.

I cannot believe All-Star Week is next week, and that the All-Star Game is going to be in NYC. The subways are already full of Yankee-propaganda All-Star ads, Mariano Rivera’s face looming over 34th and 7th, and other monstrosities that I am sure will need to be borne as the days approach. The Yankee-centricness of the city will increase in volume, and the fact that A-rod managed to get his marital difficulties into the tabloids will only amplify that a million times. Is this as big of a deal in the rest of America as it is here? My god, I hope not.

Saturday, July 05, 2008

ENNUI.

We made a decision to get up early yesterday and GO somewhere. Atlantic City won the coin flip, and as we were getting ready, TBF said, “Of course, we could always consider a spontaneous trip to Philly...” which we then thought better of. Going to CBP now is worse (IMO) than going to the House of Evil. 7-year-old children heckle us in Philly for doing nothing more than applauding our team. TBF hates it even more than I do, because the hassle is always balanced out by the fact that it’s just more comfortable physically to watch a game there.

We did sit and watch some of the game, and kept walking over to a television to see what was going on. Every single time, all I could think was, “We can’t do better than that?” To which the answer is, no, they can’t. And what should follow here is a rehash of what everyone else is saying, but it’s boring. I have no idea what I’m going to write about for the rest of the season.

When we got into town yesterday afternoon, we sat down for lunch while Yankees-Red Sox was on, and all I could think during that game was, “Man, if I was Jason Veritek, I would spend the entire series singing Madonna songs behind the plate.” Or as TBF put it, “Hey, A-rod, are you gonna go my way?”

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

ROBOT HORSE.*

“I like baseball, but the world knows I’m a football guy,” Jon Bon Jovi said at a City Hall announcement Monday. “I own an arena team. I live and love football.”

“Major League Baseball wants All-Star Summer to be the ultimate celebration for baseball fans in New York City,” said Tim Brosnan, the executive vice president for business for Major League Baseball.

Okay, who woke up and decided that Jon Bon Jovi was going to become the official rock band of Major League Baseball? Has Bud Selig ever *listened* to Bon Jovi? I know I have bitched in the past about the various country bands getting in on the act, but at least I feel like they were genuine choices that represented a majority of MLB fans, not to mention their players. I am trying very hard to figure out how this decision was made, except for the one that’s most obvious to me: it’s the one most likely to appeal to the white frat boy type, at least in the minds of someone at MLB. However, the only people I know that still care about Bon Jovi are women, not that coveted 21-35 male demographic that MLB slavishly worships in a manner not suitable to describe to a family audience.

Why doesn’t this “honor” get to go to an artist who is legitimately a huge baseball fan - or even just a fan? I realize it’s tough to find someone who the world actually knows and cares about, but - the Hold Steady? Pearl Jam? I realize that six people in the world care about The Baseball Project but half that band are in or perform with R.E.M., who are still capable of selling out Madison Square Garden.

Finally, this concert offends me not just because I fucking HATE Jon Bon Jovi more than I hate most bands on this planet, but because it’s such a obvious pander to the white male 21-35 demographic. It’s not representative of the baseball audience in New York City, which is where the All-Star Game is being held. Of course, Mayor Bloomberg would have never ever approved a concert in Central Park with Daddy Yankee or any reggaeton act on the bill (just like he wouldn’t allow the protestors against the RNC in 2005 to use the park, but was a-ok with Dave Matthews being there), which is of course an incredibly popular musical genre amongst the Latino players in the MLB.  (He wouldn’t have approved Metallica or any heavy metal band, either, for what it’s worth.)

Finally, for the highest of high comedy, I present to you the New York Times’ City Room blog (written by the awesome Sewell Chan) discussing the concert. Please be sure to read the comment thread. Do not consume liquids while doing so.

--
*Bonus points and some kind of prize if you can tell me where this reference is from.

RUMORS OF MY DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.

I’ve been trying to gear up any enthusiasm to post, when I read this post by Mike Steffanos over at Mike’s Mets. The post, entitled “Dreariness,” made me feel 100% times better, because if a long-time fan like Mike can’t muster up the enthusiasm to write anything about the Mets, then I’m in good company.

I’m even tired of writing about my issues. For example, I have become incredibly leery of Carlos Delgado. I think he’s acted like a complete and total dick, or at least that’s what the media has made him seen (a distinction I completely recognize). I really, really like Carlos Delgado. I even really, really liked his refusal to stand up for “God Bless America,” because truth be told, if I could get away with it I would too (given our household’s belief that God blesses Bangladesh just as much as s/he blesses America). But the feeling I get is that he doesn’t give a damn any more. I think fans have been racist, and quick to boo, but the booing is because of the situation that Omar and the Wilpons put him in: Omar for keeping him and others around too long, the Wilpons for jacking ticket prices and the eternal specter of Citi Field, a place most of us will not be able to afford, looming over every game they play at home.

...and now I’m running out of steam. Again.

I think it’s time to do some book reviews.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

BRUTAL. [6-27-08]

Mets v. Yankees

This was probably the most unpleasant evening I have yet to experience at Shea. I realize that’s not saying a lot, but it is what it is.

Tonight was absolutely brutal. Truly, truly brutal. We would have been able to deal with the pathetic on-field performance were it not for the arrival of Yankee fan friends of the folks in Row F, who proceeded to fulfill every stereotype of the preening, obnoxious, ignorant, classless Yankee fan....emphasis on ignorant. As TBF finally said to one of them, “Don’t let facts get in the way of your argument there, buddy,” and then dropped it.

(This was the same guy trying to snidely make fun of TBF keeping score… although part of me really thinks that he just didn’t understand what TBF was doing, so he figured he’d just make fun of it.)

“I’m being a fan, just like you are” is an argument that doesn’t cut it. Their behavior wasn’t “being a fan.” That was being an obxnoxious, overbearing asshole… in someone else’s house. Shea didn’t feel like home tonight. There was a tinge of violence hanging over the ballpark. There were fights EVERYWHERE, constantly. There was no good natured gamesmanship, it was harsh and jagged and there was no feeling of goodwill or fun or enjoyment. It was fierce, and unpleasant. 

I will admit that I am not quiet, and am not afraid to be outspoken. But I am not violent. However, the sisters next to me were seriously concerned the female in the crowd behind us that arrived in the 5th inning was going to hit me, and we exchanged maybe a dozen words. Even after we went back to ignoring her, she could not let it go, and did everything she could to re-engage us. I realized the threat, but was not worried: I was bigger than she was, and she would have hurt herself. I am not quite sure why she felt she could waltz into our section and have her bullshit not be challenged, but let’s go back to the definition in the first paragraph.

I know this sounds dramatic but it was like that at Shea tonight. A little bit unhinged, a little potential for things to get out of hand quickly. This was one night that I was glad to see the NYPD command post out in the parking lot and didn’t think, “Overkill.”

I know… not all Yankees fans are like this. The folks we sat next to up in the Bronx in May were not like that, but they were real baseball people, people who had stood by their team when they were terrible. There wasn’t the sense of vicious entitlement that these people had. Unfortunately, they’re a minority.

As TBF said when we were leaving, “Even at our worst, our very very worst, the most obnoxious Mets fan doesn’t even come close.” I might not know… but he would.

Thank god we already sold our tickets for tomorrow’s game.

I’m so disgusted I can’t even be bothered to edit my photos from tonight. Tomorrow is another day, but I’m taking the rest of the weekend off from baseball, or at least watching baseball. These games don’t matter and I need some breathing room already.  There’s a horrid, bad taste in my mouth from tonight. It’s behavior I cannot even begin to pretend to understand, nor do I want to even remotely ever be a part of it.

Friday, June 27, 2008

HOLY SCHNICKEYS.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

CALLING ALL METS GIRLS.

So the Mets sent out a survey about next year, and while I didn’t get it, TBF did. However, there’s nothing to prevent anyone from clicking on the link and taking the survey. Let’s make sure the male demographic is not over-represented.

Take the survey here.

WOMEN IN BASEBALL 2.

Compare these two stories:

• Another awesome and inspirational Women In Baseball feature from We’ve Got Heart, profiling Amber Theoharis, the Orioles’ sideline reporter, and
• REDACTED:A story about childish behavior by Our Brooklyn Cyclones. I don’t know what’s worse, the behavior (if true) or the “she deserved it” type comments that follow it. This type of behavior, if true, would make me consider a Cyclones boycott for the season. Mark Healey gets to the bottom of the story, which turns out to be not true.