If you were born during the baseball season, then you probably celebrated your birthday at a baseball game at least once in your life. I have celebrated quite a few birthdays, mostly when I was young, with my dad or my entire family at Shea Stadium (and once I think at Yankee Stadium before I grew to resent the team in the Bronx).
There was my 9th birthday in 1987. It was the first Mets game I went to after becoming a Mets fan. I don't remember much except that Lenny Dykstra made a great catch in CF that ended up on Warner Wolf's Plays of the Year for 1987. Looking up the box score, I saw homers from 4 Mets sluggers including Kevin McReynolds' 5th on the young season. Rick Aguliera went the distance for the Mets win.
In 1990 in Atlanta (I wasn't there), but David Cone was, and he got into that famous argument with the first base umpire without calling timeout and it cost the Mets the game when 2 runs scored.
In 1991, I went on a rainy afternoon on the weekend before my birthday to see the Mets and Pirates. They played through it, but my mom spent most of the game sitting in a phone booth inside Shea writing the candle lighting speeches for my upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Since that game, I've been a little brat about having my mom and sister join us at any Mets games.
In 1995, I went on my 17th birthday to see the Mets and Cardinals. At that point, it was the closest I had come to Opening Day, with MLB nice enough to move it back a few weeks for me so I could be there Opening Weekend. Somewhere, I have a roll of black and white photographs from this game. I don't remember much about it.
In 1996, I went the night before my 18th birthday to see John Franco record his 300th save. Except that it was one of the few games I left early because I had to catch an early train in the morning back to school. I can be, and have been, a brat about not being at the ballpark for first pitch and last out. The Mets were rained out the next day.
I went with a bunch of friends from the Computer Lab at college where I worked for a few years in the late '90s to the game on my 21st birthday. It wasn't the occasion why we went, just a coincidence. We were all Mets fans (maybe the largest group of Mets fans concentrated in one place to that point in my life) and we found a common date before finals when we all had off and could go. It was a great night. I found maybe the best place to watch a game from at Shea - Loge Section 7, Row A. We had a foul ball (as you would almost expect sitting that close to home plate), we got to serenade ex-Met Jeff Kent, back in town with San Francisco. And it was the 1999 Mets, and they were a lot of fun.
I saw another game with my dad on the occasion of my birthday a few nights later, where the Mets blew a late lead to Houston. As you might expect, Benitez blew it in the 8th (Franco was still the closer then), and Wagner came in for the Astros to get the save against his future ballclub. Those 2 games in 1999 were also a lot of fun because it was early on in the popularity of going to Shea for batting practice, shagging foul balls, and getting autographs.
As I got older, the tradition was put to rest (it was more of a thing for a child), but 2 years ago when my 30th birthday came around, I knew what I wanted. There were only 2 places at Shea I had never sat in, and 1 that I had never been to. I wanted dugout seats. I knew the dugout area from 10 years worth of batting practices (a few each year). But I wanted to watch an entire game from there. Let me say that it was different. You could get good pictures without a zoom lens (which my camera at the time didn't really have). We had Diamond Club access (which I never thought was really much). I think I saw Rusty Staub on the elevator up there. I'm trying to avoid talking about the game because it was worth avoiding. 2 words - Ollie Perez. After a water main break delay of about an hour (in which Nelson Figueroa was a great guy coming out to sign autographs for everyone by the dugout), Perez came on to give up 7 runs over 1 2/3 innings. Thanks a lot Ollie. Jorge Sosa was the other goat. Final score was 13-1 Pittsburgh. To be fair though, Mets pitching only gave up 4 earned runs. Wright made his 5th error of the young season (that kids, is a lot), among others. The box score can tell you a lot about the game. I also debuted my white pinstriped Mets jersey with that game. Of all the then-and-now-current jerseys, that one is my favorite. No name or number on the back.
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New York Mets win Doubleheader
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Mr. Baseball
I just saw this item on MLB.com. Bob Uecker to have heart surgery. So think of him next time you watch a baseball comedy (movie) or a family sitcom. Or when the Mets play the Brewers in a month. Or before then. If you've ever heard him speak, you know that he is one of the funniest men in all of baseball. Another reason why one should randomly have the MLB.tv product.
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Monday, April 26, 2010
Unboxing the Box Score
Mets won last night in a rain shortened game. Mike Pelfrey threw 106 pitches through 5 innings to get his 4th win. Counting the save he has, he has factored in 5 of the Mets 10 wins as they break the .500 mark.
But I'm looking at the box score and I'm a bit confused. All of my confusion takes place after Pelfrey is removed from the game. He did not start the top half of the 6th inning. Raul Valdes did. Valdes threw 1 pitch. And then the game was stopped. That part is straight forward.
The game is listed as being a final in 6 innings. 1 pitch was thrown in the 6th (the top half even). Last I remember, when you can't complete a half inning, it doesn't count (erased from existence). But the line score has Atlanta scoring 0 in the top of the 6th, and X's after that, indicating half innings never played (ala a home team winning without needing the bottom of the 9th). The pitching lines say Pelfrey 5.0 innings, Valdes 0.0 innings. Valdes, 1 pitch, 1 strike, 0 batters faced. Look for yourself.
Shouldn't that 1 pitch of the incomplete top of the 6th not have counted? Especially since the at-bat was never completed. That would have made the game a final in 5 complete innings, Pelfrey pitching all 5 innings gets a Complete game win. That one pitch cost Pelfrey the "complete" game.
But at least the Mets are giving fans with tickets a rain check anyway. That's gotta be good for those who couldn't sell their ticket (Sunday 8pm games are not ideal, and impending rain makes it even less ideal, unless it's October) but never went and never shed their ticket. I wonder if ESPN has a concession for those that had to sit through the ESPN broadcast with the sound up (or for that matter, without adjusting their TV set to crop that stupid "bottom line" that ESPN insists on showing). I at least go with the WFAN broadcast and deal with the delays.
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But I'm looking at the box score and I'm a bit confused. All of my confusion takes place after Pelfrey is removed from the game. He did not start the top half of the 6th inning. Raul Valdes did. Valdes threw 1 pitch. And then the game was stopped. That part is straight forward.
The game is listed as being a final in 6 innings. 1 pitch was thrown in the 6th (the top half even). Last I remember, when you can't complete a half inning, it doesn't count (erased from existence). But the line score has Atlanta scoring 0 in the top of the 6th, and X's after that, indicating half innings never played (ala a home team winning without needing the bottom of the 9th). The pitching lines say Pelfrey 5.0 innings, Valdes 0.0 innings. Valdes, 1 pitch, 1 strike, 0 batters faced. Look for yourself.
Shouldn't that 1 pitch of the incomplete top of the 6th not have counted? Especially since the at-bat was never completed. That would have made the game a final in 5 complete innings, Pelfrey pitching all 5 innings gets a Complete game win. That one pitch cost Pelfrey the "complete" game.
But at least the Mets are giving fans with tickets a rain check anyway. That's gotta be good for those who couldn't sell their ticket (Sunday 8pm games are not ideal, and impending rain makes it even less ideal, unless it's October) but never went and never shed their ticket. I wonder if ESPN has a concession for those that had to sit through the ESPN broadcast with the sound up (or for that matter, without adjusting their TV set to crop that stupid "bottom line" that ESPN insists on showing). I at least go with the WFAN broadcast and deal with the delays.
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Saturday, April 24, 2010
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Observations
A few things while watching today's game.
After seeing the infield fly play last night, the near-4th out play on the sac fly today, and Blanco stealing second, I get the feeling that today's game will be won by something unconventional.
It's great listening to Ralph Kiner. Why, when he does work, does he not appear from the top of the broadcast? Today he came on for the bottom of the 2nd. I hope he stays for all 9 (or more?) innings.
I'm trying to redesign the site. It's harder that it looks. The coding aspect of it is not the problem (hey, I'm a pro. seriously). It's creating, choosing, and picking things that I want that I'm no good at. Sorry in advance if I steal design elements from other blogs (take it as a complement).
I'm also trying out something new on the facebook side for my site since I don't trust Networked Blogs to appear in every fan's news feed (subject to hiding 'Remembering Shea') and Facebook's Notes application just doesn't like automatically pulling my posts. It's called Social RSS. If you see this post on your facebook news feed (that it, without clicking over to the Remembering Shea wall), then that's a good thing, and you should please let me know (that may not have been the best grammar). For those afflicted with the same facebook problems, if you like it and it seems to work for you, go ahead and try it yourself.
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After seeing the infield fly play last night, the near-4th out play on the sac fly today, and Blanco stealing second, I get the feeling that today's game will be won by something unconventional.
It's great listening to Ralph Kiner. Why, when he does work, does he not appear from the top of the broadcast? Today he came on for the bottom of the 2nd. I hope he stays for all 9 (or more?) innings.
I'm trying to redesign the site. It's harder that it looks. The coding aspect of it is not the problem (hey, I'm a pro. seriously). It's creating, choosing, and picking things that I want that I'm no good at. Sorry in advance if I steal design elements from other blogs (take it as a complement).
I'm also trying out something new on the facebook side for my site since I don't trust Networked Blogs to appear in every fan's news feed (subject to hiding 'Remembering Shea') and Facebook's Notes application just doesn't like automatically pulling my posts. It's called Social RSS. If you see this post on your facebook news feed (that it, without clicking over to the Remembering Shea wall), then that's a good thing, and you should please let me know (that may not have been the best grammar). For those afflicted with the same facebook problems, if you like it and it seems to work for you, go ahead and try it yourself.
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Friday, April 23, 2010
Citi Field 2010
I haven't gotten around to writing anything about the Mets attendance or how much I (sarcastically) like watching a game at Citi Field. Caryn Rose of MetsGrrl.com wrote about it. Go read her opinions. She goes a lot. She's more of an expert than I.
(and sorry for any typos, but every time I try to type "she", I end up typing "shea")
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(and sorry for any typos, but every time I try to type "she", I end up typing "shea")
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Ike Davis has been a breath of fresh air
Ike Davis is here! Ike Davis is here! It's only been 2 games. He's played well, not seeming like he's out of place, like some minor league callups can be and have been (which can change, so it's not really an indication of anything). He wears shaving cream well.
He's not the savior of the franchise. At least not now. I'm not expecting him to be one either. But he is a breath of fresh air for this club. He's a guy who basically was not part of the 2006 Playoff failure, the 2007 and 2008 bullpen collapses, and the 2009 injury-plagued season. None of that is in his head. Almost like turning the page.
Last night, Jose Reyes had a breakout game, something that maybe he can build on. That seems like another breath of fresh air. I saw the triple he hit to left, and SNY showed the 2 runners coming home. I didn't even realize that he was on his way to third. That's the dynamic Jose Reyes that we all know and love. I knew it was still there in him. It just had to take time to come out after the time missed in March, and all the time missed last season.
Mike Pelfrey has 3 wins and 1 save - leading the Mets in both. After his mental troubles last season, this is like another breath of fresh air.
With all this fresh air blowing into Queens, let's get a good breeze going here!
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He's not the savior of the franchise. At least not now. I'm not expecting him to be one either. But he is a breath of fresh air for this club. He's a guy who basically was not part of the 2006 Playoff failure, the 2007 and 2008 bullpen collapses, and the 2009 injury-plagued season. None of that is in his head. Almost like turning the page.
Last night, Jose Reyes had a breakout game, something that maybe he can build on. That seems like another breath of fresh air. I saw the triple he hit to left, and SNY showed the 2 runners coming home. I didn't even realize that he was on his way to third. That's the dynamic Jose Reyes that we all know and love. I knew it was still there in him. It just had to take time to come out after the time missed in March, and all the time missed last season.
Mike Pelfrey has 3 wins and 1 save - leading the Mets in both. After his mental troubles last season, this is like another breath of fresh air.
With all this fresh air blowing into Queens, let's get a good breeze going here!
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Monday, April 19, 2010
This Date in New York NL Baseball History
It was 60 years ago yesterday that the world was introduced to a new Brooklyn Dodgers announcer. Vin Scully.
ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back. So does Neil Best.
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ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back. So does Neil Best.
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Keith Hernandez and SNY Win NY Emmys
Announced last night on nyemmys.org...
Congratulations to all the winners. You can see all of the Mets-related nominees here.
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- HISTORICAL/CULTURAL: Program/Special
Miracle in New York: The Story of the '69 Mets (Opening Act). June 25, 2009. (SNY). Curt Gowdy, Jr., Executive Producer; Julie Frahm, Supervising Producer; Dan Klein, Producer; Bill McCullough, Director. - ON-CAMERA TALENT: Sports Analyst
Keith Hernandez. May 7, 2009. (SNY). - LIVE SPORTS EVENT: Series
2009 Mets: The Inaugural Year of Citi Field. April 6, 2009. (SNY). Curt Gowdy, Jr., Executive Producer; Gregg Picker, Producer; Bill Webb, Director; Dan Reagan, Tony Lanni, Contributing Directors; Dan Barr, Contributing Producer; Greg Schult, Sam Pepper, Associate Producers; Bill Clarke, VP of Operations; Jean Palmer, Manager of Remote Operations; Gary Cohen, Play-by-Play; Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling, Ralph Kiner, Analysts; Kevin Burkhardt, Reporter. - COMMERCIAL – Campaign
NY NY Sports Sports. May 4, 2009. (SNY). Marjorie Gantman, Senior Director of Marketing; Marie DeParis, VP of Marketing; Debbie Kasher, Arturo Gigante, Creative Consultants; Wayne McClammy, Director; Cindy Becker, Executive
Producer; Josh Towvim, Editor. - CRAFT SPECIALTY: Makeup
Angela Buono. January 1, 2009. (SNY).
Congratulations to all the winners. You can see all of the Mets-related nominees here.
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Sunday, April 18, 2010
3 straight Sundays and watching TBS
Who made this schedule? The Mets play 3 straight Sunday night games, starting with tonight's game. I don't care who the team is, good or bad (on paper or in person), that's bad scheduling by MLB and ESPN. At least the Mets players don't have to travel too far between games (nothing that would make you think a Sunday day game or Monday off day were in order). It means 3 straight weeks of missing The Simpsons and Family Guy and having to DVR them. And it means 3 straight weeks of at least one built-in WFAN must-listen game (this weekend happened to see two of them).
Looking over the schedule, the Mets don't actually play 3 straight Sunday afternoon games until the end of May and the beginning of June. So I have MLB on TBS (no longer the home of the Braves) to keep me going baseball-wise during the afternoon. And I see SNY's own Ron Darling working the game (a little birdie told me he's on tap for each of the next 3 Sundays on TBS), paired with Brewers announcer Brian Anderson (a TBS MLB Playoffs veteran and now a TBS MLB Sunday regular).
This brings me to a question. TBS had an opening for their play-by-play role for Sunday games and the playoffs after Chip Caray was let go after last season. The job is being split between TBS/TNT's Ernie Johnson, an MLB novice, Dick Stockton, an aging MLB novice, and the afore mentioned Brian Anderson. Would Mets fans have minded sharing Gary Cohen with TBS and a national audience for a couple Sundays?. Keep in mind that he, in theory, could work the Sundays that the Mets were on ESPN (hence he wouldn't have a commitment to the Mets game of the day), like the next 3 Sundays. Maybe have Kevin Burkhardt fill in on 2 or 3 other Sundays (remember Kevin did play-by-play for a lot of Spring Training). We could live with that, right? And then he'd be in TBS's rotation for the playoffs (where they need 4 announcers, and have probably 1 opening this year). Maybe he'll make it into the rotation anyway. Maybe Gary's happy having these true off days.
What do you think?
I should note that this is my opinion, and not speculation from any other fan or any media insider.
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Looking over the schedule, the Mets don't actually play 3 straight Sunday afternoon games until the end of May and the beginning of June. So I have MLB on TBS (no longer the home of the Braves) to keep me going baseball-wise during the afternoon. And I see SNY's own Ron Darling working the game (a little birdie told me he's on tap for each of the next 3 Sundays on TBS), paired with Brewers announcer Brian Anderson (a TBS MLB Playoffs veteran and now a TBS MLB Sunday regular).
This brings me to a question. TBS had an opening for their play-by-play role for Sunday games and the playoffs after Chip Caray was let go after last season. The job is being split between TBS/TNT's Ernie Johnson, an MLB novice, Dick Stockton, an aging MLB novice, and the afore mentioned Brian Anderson. Would Mets fans have minded sharing Gary Cohen with TBS and a national audience for a couple Sundays?. Keep in mind that he, in theory, could work the Sundays that the Mets were on ESPN (hence he wouldn't have a commitment to the Mets game of the day), like the next 3 Sundays. Maybe have Kevin Burkhardt fill in on 2 or 3 other Sundays (remember Kevin did play-by-play for a lot of Spring Training). We could live with that, right? And then he'd be in TBS's rotation for the playoffs (where they need 4 announcers, and have probably 1 opening this year). Maybe he'll make it into the rotation anyway. Maybe Gary's happy having these true off days.
What do you think?
I should note that this is my opinion, and not speculation from any other fan or any media insider.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
Happy Birthday Shea Stadium
I almost missed it. It was on this date in 1964 that Shea Stadium opened its doors. Shea would be 46 today.
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Who's On First?
In January or February, we saw video from the back field in Port St. Lucie of a legendary Mets first baseman tutoring 3 potential/future/current Mets first basemen. Why is it that the legend is the only one of the 4 involved in tonight's game?
In other thoughts, I'm wondering if the Mets made a big mistake by firing Rick "the jacket" Peterson 2 years ago.
This season is being so closely looked at under the microscope that it's the only way to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Listening to Gary Cohen tonight, I think he's getting just as frustrated as some of us fans are.
At least tonight's game is over before my bedtime.
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In other thoughts, I'm wondering if the Mets made a big mistake by firing Rick "the jacket" Peterson 2 years ago.
This season is being so closely looked at under the microscope that it's the only way to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Listening to Gary Cohen tonight, I think he's getting just as frustrated as some of us fans are.
At least tonight's game is over before my bedtime.
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Sunday, April 11, 2010
A Very Interesting Feat
I wrote this on this site's wall on facebook last night.
Incidently, this is the 3rd time that Howie has attempted this feat in this hockey season. On the afternoon of the Islanders' opener, which was the Saturday of the final weekend of last baseball season, Howie worked the Mets 1:10pm game but had to leave during the rain delay to get to the Colliseum in time to make whatever pregame work he had for the hockey game, then calling the Islanders opener that night. He was back at Citi Field the next day for the Mets season finale. I attempted the same feat those same days with the same 2 Mets games, used the same excuse for leaving early on Saturday, but with the Devils game in place of the Islanders game.
I don't know how common this is for broadcasters with potential schedule conflicts, but any time they can pull it off, it's worth noting, especially on back-to-back days. Nice job Howie.
I'm trying to make more of an effort to listen to Howie and Wayne on WFAN this year. They're too good of a team to be passing up. It's certainly nothing against Gary, Keith, and/or Ron. It's more like a parent who needs to show love to all of their children.
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Kudos to Mets radio announcer Howie Rose for working 2 complete game broadcasts today - 2 games on 2 different medium for 2 different sports in 2 states in 1 day (Mets game in Queens on WFAN Radio and Islanders game in Newark on MSG+ TV). I'm sure it's a rare feat for a broadcaster if it's even been done before.Today, it seems that Howie is at it again. With 2 fewer hours between start times of the games (last night's game was a 7pm faceoff and tonight's was a 5pm faceoff), but with fewer miles to drive (and no big bridges to cross), Howie once again was able to call the first 6 innings of today's Mets game on WFAN radio and then tonight's Islanders game (their season finale) on MSG PLUS television. Calling complete games at 3 different venues in 2 days, plus 2/3 of a 4th game in that time is quite a feat.
Incidently, this is the 3rd time that Howie has attempted this feat in this hockey season. On the afternoon of the Islanders' opener, which was the Saturday of the final weekend of last baseball season, Howie worked the Mets 1:10pm game but had to leave during the rain delay to get to the Colliseum in time to make whatever pregame work he had for the hockey game, then calling the Islanders opener that night. He was back at Citi Field the next day for the Mets season finale. I attempted the same feat those same days with the same 2 Mets games, used the same excuse for leaving early on Saturday, but with the Devils game in place of the Islanders game.
I don't know how common this is for broadcasters with potential schedule conflicts, but any time they can pull it off, it's worth noting, especially on back-to-back days. Nice job Howie.
I'm trying to make more of an effort to listen to Howie and Wayne on WFAN this year. They're too good of a team to be passing up. It's certainly nothing against Gary, Keith, and/or Ron. It's more like a parent who needs to show love to all of their children.
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Saturday, April 10, 2010
A Big Home Run Apple
It looks good there, outside the stadium. A lot better than sticking it in what's essentially Citi Field's public back room or basement where it really couldn't be seen.
That said, coming off the train for the first time this season, I almost walked right past it without noticing it. I was making a b-line to the ticket window so I could get an inexpensive ticket for today's game and then to head into the museum for the first time. And then my focus was drawn to the guy selling programs in the walkway between the steps from the train/subway and the entrance to the ballpark. I almost walked right past it. I think my exact words to myself were "whoa, the apple is here".
Now, one other observation, and not meant to pick on its current location, or anything, but if you move the apple just a few feet (maybe less than 100 feet) towards the third base entrance, it would actually be in the spot which it occupied when it was actually alive at Shea Stadium. Think about the symbolism if logistics had allowed for that.
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Mets HOF and Museum
Here's 2 other photos from an album that I'll post on facebook. I should note that I got to the park just a few minutes after 10:40 when the gates opened for a day game, and had no line going in. Leaving after visiting the team store about 30 minutes later, there was a line to get in. The physical space is a bit croweded, but they do have crowd control. I'm sure that I missed stuff. I'll go back another day. So much to see.
The one thing that I'll criticize about it is that they don't include every longtime voice of the Mets. They have Bob Murphy, Lindsey Nelson, and Ralph Kiner, but no Gary Cohen (who's been here longer than Nelson was), no Howie Rose (other than his expression that's seen below), and he's been here even longer if you count Mets Extra, and for that matter, Fran Healy worked more years than either of them (for now). Maybe the next improvement is to have a full broadcaster's wing in the Mets Hall of Fame. But maybe I missed it since I didn't spend as much time inside as I could have.
Update: - the entire set of photos from the Mets Museum is on Facebook.
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Mets Marketing
This is a new marketing technique from the Mets.
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We at the New York Mets like to cater to the needs of fans of the opposing team as well as our own fans. For that reason, and just for you, opposing team's fans, the Mets are sending Oliver Perez to the hill every 5th game.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
SNY sets network ratings record for Mets opener
This comes from the Sports Media blog from the Albany Times Union (timesunion.com) and writer Pete Dougherty:
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SportsNet New York (SNY) drew a 3.61 household rating for Monday afternoon's New York Mets opener against the Florida Marlins, the highest-rated daytime opener in the network's history.
It's the second highest-rated daytime Mets opener for a regional sports network, surpassed only by a 2002 Mets-Pirates game on Fox Sports New York.
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Monday, April 5, 2010
It's Opening Day at Shea
It's Opening Day, and for the first time since 2006 and for only the second time in the past 7 seasons, the Mets are opening the season at home. While Dave Singer over at NY Sports Dog takes a look back at 48 Mets Opening Days, I look back at a few seemingly random things that I remember about Opening Day. Sound Byte Alert: After reading through that, I deliver an obscure Opening Day sound byte from Opening Day 1998 at Shea.
Some of these Opening Days for me have seemed to coincide with a Passover Seder. Funny how the mind works. In my adult years, I would try to work at home and arrange my schedule to be without meetings (tought to do on a Monday) so I could watch not just the Mets but all the games. I went out to Shea in 2003 for my only in-person Opening Day. It was a cold March 31 at Shea. The result on the field made the day worse. I do remember a different case when I was in College in 1998, when I cut class so I could stay in my dorm room at Hofstra in order to watch the game against the Phillies. And the game kept going. 9 innings. 10 innings. and so on. It reached the point where I had to grab my walkman, head across campus to go to work, and miss the end of the game. Below is really the only offensive highlight of the day.
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- 1987 was my first Opening Day. It was also the most memorable in my memory, and it started what I'll be calling "the second 25 (years)" in Mets history. It was "banner day" at Shea, when the new World Championship banner was raised and the players were introduced to their World Series rings. I think after ESPN Classic finishes playing Game 7 of the '86 Series, I'll pull that DVD off the shelf and watch the Opening Day ceremony.
- On Opening Day 1988, Darryl Strawberry hit the roof at Olympic Stadium
- Opening Day 1992 - Mets win in 12 in St. Louis on a weird Opening Day night game
- 1993 was the inagural game for the Colorado Rockies
- 1996 brought us the magical defense of Rey Ordonez. He had a great defensive play throwing out a runner at the plate on a relay throw from LF from his knees (that was also the day that NL Umpire John McSherry had a fatal heart attack during the traditional opener in Cincinnati)
- 1998 saw the Mets win in 14 innings 1-0 on a hit by a backup catcher in their first March Opening Day
- In 2000, the Mets opened the season against the Cubs in Tokyo with a "home-and-home" 2 game series that took place while other clubs were still in Spring Training
- 2003 brought on the Art Howe era and new star pitcher Tom Glavine. I was at Shea in person for my only Opening Day to witness a horrible game, even by the low standards of the 2003 Mets.
- 2004 had the Mets starting on the road with Kaz Matsui leading off the game with a home run.
- In 2005, Matsui followed up his season-leading-off homer with a first-at-bat homer on Opening Day in Cincinnati.
- 2006 marked a new era in watching the Mets with SNY taking over at the Mets TV partner, and the last Opening Day at Shea
- 2007 was a Sunday Night opener in St. Louis, matching up the World Champs against the team they beat to win the NL Pennant
Some of these Opening Days for me have seemed to coincide with a Passover Seder. Funny how the mind works. In my adult years, I would try to work at home and arrange my schedule to be without meetings (tought to do on a Monday) so I could watch not just the Mets but all the games. I went out to Shea in 2003 for my only in-person Opening Day. It was a cold March 31 at Shea. The result on the field made the day worse. I do remember a different case when I was in College in 1998, when I cut class so I could stay in my dorm room at Hofstra in order to watch the game against the Phillies. And the game kept going. 9 innings. 10 innings. and so on. It reached the point where I had to grab my walkman, head across campus to go to work, and miss the end of the game. Below is really the only offensive highlight of the day.
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
Second Chance at a First Impression
A number of my friends and fellow bloggers in the Mets blogging community were at Citi Field today. I was not. Based on the feedback that I got from those that were there, it almost looks like the Mets finally finished the ballpark and did it right this time.
So much to say, but I'll leave a lot of it for when I go there for the first time. In the meantime, I'll link to some of those that were there and provided good feedback.
I'm sure there were more that I'm not linking to (sorry). But well done guys. For the first time since my initial trips last April, I am excited about going to Citi Field.
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So much to say, but I'll leave a lot of it for when I go there for the first time. In the meantime, I'll link to some of those that were there and provided good feedback.
- Greg Prince of Faith and Fear In Flushing writes about the Mets HOF
- Caryn Rose of MetsGrrl.com thinks that Mets fans have something to be proud of and also wrote about the "fan experience".
- Zoe Rice of Pick Me Up Some Mets sounded happy and provided pictures from her tip to Citi Field today, and also talked about the workout itself.
- Shannon Shark of MetsPolice.com wrote several posts, covering the plaques, uniform display, McFadden's, photos from outside, about 30 more photos, the Shea Bridge, and the workout.
- "Kingman" over at Loge13.com also has a report and photos from his site's contributer "Ron Hunt".
- Tanya Mercado at Citi Field of Dreams has a teaser in the form of photos from a reader
- Ed Leyro from Studious Metsimus also gives his recap with photos.
- And Taryn Cooper of My Summer Family has her unique view on the new Citi Field.
I'm sure there were more that I'm not linking to (sorry). But well done guys. For the first time since my initial trips last April, I am excited about going to Citi Field.
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Greatest Opening Day Ceremony in Mets History
Happy Opening Day Eve!
After seeing Games 6 and 7 of the 1986 World Series on ESPN Classic (in their mind, an "Opening Day marathon), I decided to honor Opening Day properly following the theme that ESPN went with by finding my 1986 World Series DVD box set, getting out the bonus DVD, and selecting track 22, which is the 1987 Opening Day ceremonies, which I now label as the "Greatest Opening Day Ceremony in Mets History".
I remember this day. It was my first Opening Day. Channel 9 had the broadcast, and I remember in 3rd grade coming home after school so I could watch this on TV, after my Dad recorded it for me. I *think* it went onto the same VHS tape that the end of Game 7 of the 1986 World Series went onto (and I *think*, or want to think, that the movie Back to the Future was on that tape as well - both of which I have on DVD). I remember watching this tape over and over many times. I probably wore out the tape, but I've love to go see if it survived and record it to DVD.
A few thoughts...
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After seeing Games 6 and 7 of the 1986 World Series on ESPN Classic (in their mind, an "Opening Day marathon), I decided to honor Opening Day properly following the theme that ESPN went with by finding my 1986 World Series DVD box set, getting out the bonus DVD, and selecting track 22, which is the 1987 Opening Day ceremonies, which I now label as the "Greatest Opening Day Ceremony in Mets History".
I remember this day. It was my first Opening Day. Channel 9 had the broadcast, and I remember in 3rd grade coming home after school so I could watch this on TV, after my Dad recorded it for me. I *think* it went onto the same VHS tape that the end of Game 7 of the 1986 World Series went onto (and I *think*, or want to think, that the movie Back to the Future was on that tape as well - both of which I have on DVD). I remember watching this tape over and over many times. I probably wore out the tape, but I've love to go see if it survived and record it to DVD.
A few thoughts...
- It's great seeing Bob Murphy introducing the Mets players. The TV production kept showing his face as he red the names from on the field. I've referred to Howie Rose and Gary Cohen as "Mets fan #1" or "Mets fans #1A and #1B" before, but I think Bob Murphy should be in there ahead of them.
- Shea looked beautiful. I had forgotten that it took a very long time to convert Shea into the blue stadium that I remembered it. Only the padding and one inner facade were blue by Opening Day 1987. It was a little more blue than what I've seen in video from the 1986 season.
- While it was interesting to hear the commentary from Rusty Staub, Tim McCarver, and Steve Zabriskie in the broadcast booth, I wish they had shut up and let us watch the ceremony. But you can't have it both ways.
It was bad that Channel 9 left the ceremony for a commercial, but they showed a still shot of what we had missed. I don't think a TV production team would cut away for commercial today. But I like that the DVD included whatever was recorded in the TV truck during the commercial (namely most of the "Good Luck floral piece" from Bill Shea to Davey Johnson, and Tim McCarver's apology to the truck for erroniously saying that Ralph Kiner would be coming up after the break). Once again, I wish they had just shut up and let it all play throughout.
I remember my VHS tape showing more of the ceremony after the flag was raised in centerfield than what the DVD showed us. It's a shame they had to cut away. - There were no Opening Day logos painted on the grass. It was just the field and the traditional bunting. Nice touch.
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Saturday, April 3, 2010
Potpouri before a 75 win Mets season starts
I'm going with 75 wins for the Mets. That's my prediction. I also think that both Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya will last the season, but not much more. Feel free to start the debate.
In other items, I am NOT going to tomorrow's Open Workout. I saw enough of that in Port St. Lucie. I owe you a lot more pictures from my trip. Following this site on facebook may be a good way to see them first.
I am NOT going to Opening Day. I will have a post on Opening Day on Monday. I've taken enough vacation days lately with my Spring Training trip that I'm not going to take another one.
I am thinking of heading out to see the revamped Citi Field on Saturday and take my chances at the box office at 10:30am. I want to see the Mets HOF and Museum, and I want my 2010 Mets pocket schedules. I didn't get any with my recent online ticket order. I will be debuting my recently arrived new-for-2010 Gary Keith And Ron (and Kevin too) t-shirt.
I've also ordered my tickets and t-shirt for this year's Gary Keith And Ron Main Event. That's 6 months away, so you'll hear more about that later.
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In other items, I am NOT going to tomorrow's Open Workout. I saw enough of that in Port St. Lucie. I owe you a lot more pictures from my trip. Following this site on facebook may be a good way to see them first.
I am NOT going to Opening Day. I will have a post on Opening Day on Monday. I've taken enough vacation days lately with my Spring Training trip that I'm not going to take another one.
I am thinking of heading out to see the revamped Citi Field on Saturday and take my chances at the box office at 10:30am. I want to see the Mets HOF and Museum, and I want my 2010 Mets pocket schedules. I didn't get any with my recent online ticket order. I will be debuting my recently arrived new-for-2010 Gary Keith And Ron (and Kevin too) t-shirt.
I've also ordered my tickets and t-shirt for this year's Gary Keith And Ron Main Event. That's 6 months away, so you'll hear more about that later.
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Thursday, April 1, 2010
Keith Olbermann's take on the 2010 Mets
This is an excerpt from hugh baseball fan Keith Olbermann's blog on MLB.com, Baseball Nerd in his series of forecasts around MLB for 2010.
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All that can be said about NEW YORK is: Sigh. I love the people who run this club, from the ticket takers to the owners. But this year the wheels could fall off even worse - and farther - than last. I think Jason Bay is a legitimate power source, and I thought Jeff Francoeur a steal, but that begs the question of what the Mets now expect from the guy who is still their top offensive prospect, Fernando Martinez. If Bay, Beltran, and Francoeur are to be the outfield for awhile, why is Martinez still there? Plus, the silence about Beltran is ominous. The ominousness of Daniel Murphy's bat is silent. And there is nothing - nothing - dependable in any of the three categories of pitchers, except for Johan Santana, Pedro Feliciano, and Frankie Rodriguez, and the latter is just another closer now. It is absolutely plausible that by June 1 the only questions will be whether or not to give Ike Davis a taste of the majors, whether or not to start screwing up Jenrry Mejia the way the Yankees messed with Joba Chamberlain, and if some Japanese team will take Luis Castillo off their hands.
DIVISION PREDICTIONS: I'll take the long odds that the Braves' breaks fall the right way and Cox goes out with a winner in a tight race over the Phillies. The Marlins will hit a ton but waste the brilliance of Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco by using 11 different fifth starters and half a dozen closers. The Mets will have their nightmare collapse and be wondering if they can unload not only Castillo, but maybe Beltran and Reyes, too. They will finish a few games ahead of the Nationals - but only a few.
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Mets sold?
Unnamed sources are saying that a controlling interest in the New York Mets have been sold back to Nelson Doubleday for an undisclosed sum.
More later if the story develops.
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More later if the story develops.
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Exclusive - Mets find a new starting pitcher
The Mets have signed Sidd Finch. The 54 year old pitcher hasn't been seen since he announced his retirement on April 8, 1985. Scouts in Port St. Lucie say he has lost a bit of zip on his fastball, only down to 95 mph. He still projects to be the Mets #2 starter in 2010.
Read more at Mets Police.
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Read more at Mets Police.
Leave a comment or drop me a line at DyHrdMET [at] gmail [dot] com.
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