May 24th, 2009
ON THE ROAD: FENWAY PARK
Fenway is billed as “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” and I guess it’s easy as a NL fan to give it credit where it’s due. I don’t have to fight for tickets to Fenway on a regular basis, I don’t have to sit in its tiny, cramped seats every week, and I don’t have to deal with the drunken gauntlet to get to and from the ballpark. I’m a big fan of the old ballparks. Fenway has managed to capture the best of both worlds: the old, original ballpark, upgraded within an inch of its life. The seats may be uncomfortable and you may be jockeying around poles to see the game on the field, but there are ample bathrooms, concessions and space to walk around.… [more]
May 23rd, 2009
IT’S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY. [5-23-09]
It’s so hard to be a saint when you’re just a boy out on the street When Omir Santos came up to face Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th inning, I was thinking about his name. Santos in Spanish means saint. I was thinking to myself, Wouldn’t it be something if he could turn into a saint right now, if he could live up to his name. These were idle musings of a Mets fan who at that point was just happy that her team had played well, in a million years I wasn’t expecting him to even hit the ball at that moment.… [more]
May 23rd, 2009
“THIS ONE GOES TO 11.” [5-29-09]
There was a moment during tonight’s game where I despaired over what on earth I was going to write when it was all done. There were no witty anecdotes, no in-game color from the crowd, and aside from an ode to Michael Pelfrey regarding yet another kickass outing, what was I going to say about a 1-1 game against the Marlins where, thus far, Omir Santos had hit the solo HR that got us on the board? Did I imagine that I would at some point later in the evening be wondering how the new world-class scoreboard was going to work with extra innings?… [more]
May 23rd, 2009
BLUE SUNDAY. [5-24-09]
We got to Fenway early on Sunday, forgetting that it was a 1:30 start and not a 1:10 start – this was fine because this was our day to walk around the ballpark. But once we emerged in the outfield, I was slightly distressed to discover that the Mets were taking BP. A day game after a night game, no one expects them to take BP; however, while I was irked I wasn’t behind the dugout shooting, as a fan I was thrilled to see the extra effort – and got some good shots anyway. Our seats were in the bleachers on Sunday; miraculously, a colleague who has season tickets offered them to us at face value – a miracle compared to the $260 we dropped on the secondary market for Saturday’s infield Grandstand tickets (although those were worth every penny, and their equivalent would have been more expensive at Citi Field at face value).… [more]
May 23rd, 2009
WEARING BELTRAN TO FENWAY.
We’re off to Fenway for tonight and tomorrow. I’m wearing my Reyes jersey tonight, and a newly purchased (as in, emailing TBF on Friday afternoon with ‘Can you make it to the Team Store on the way home’) BELTRAN shirt. (If you haven’t been reading Joe Posnanski v. Steve Phillips, I invite you to read Part 1 and Part 2.) There are people on the team who I do not like, and would not be bothered if they were removed from the team. (TBF can tell tales of my epic hatred of Victor Diaz, for example, and I am not a big fan of, say, Ramon Castro.) I can’t say that about the core lineup on this team.… [more]
May 23rd, 2009
OFF TO FENWAY.
We had an insufferable blowhard sitting behind us in the Upper Deck last year. He was the kind of guy who would show up around about the third inning and would be booed by the section as he walked up the stairs. One of his favorite sayings to berate us with was ‘SUPPORT YOUR METS’. No matter how hard we cheered, we weren’t cheering hard enough in his estimation. Well, dammit, it’s time to Support Your Mets. I’m heading to Fenway wearing my grey REYES jersey tonight, my BELTRAN shirt (purchased today, because I am tired of him getting beaten into the ground) tomorrow.… [more]
May 22nd, 2009
BOSTON PHOTO PREVIEW.
I’m just not going to get through even half of these tonight, but a preview for those of you around over Memorial Day: The complete set is on Flickr. The rest to come tomorrow. MORE: My writeup of Saturday’s game Photos from the 9th inning (For everyone who will ask: I use a Nikon D-40, but the reason I have kickass pictures is because I am insanely dedicated and work my ass off at it. When I had a low-end DSLR in 2006 I still took good photos. If you want to take good pictures, then take some classes, read some books, take some workshops, and just *take pictures*.… [more]
May 22nd, 2009
LETTER TO THE METS, #2: GET RID OF “SWEET CAROLINE”.
This is #2 in a series of letters I am sending to the Mets regarding things I would like to see changed at Citi Field. This next issue is by no means #2 on my list, but given the fact that we are heading to Fenway Park this weekend, it seemed timely to address it now. To whom it may concern: Please stop playing “Sweet Caroline” during the 8th inning “singalong”. You may not realize this, or think we will come around, but you need to understand that most fans do not like the song – especially fans who are at the ballpark on a regular basis.… [more]
May 21st, 2009
APROPOS BOBBY V.
Since everyone is talking about this recent article in the New York Times about Bobby Valentine (and since I don’t want to talk about last night, at all), I just wanted to take a minute and point out my friend Deanna’s blog – which is one of the best English-language blogs about Japanese baseball – talked about this back in April. Her pictures (and yes, those are all her work, not the wire service’s) are better than the Times’, too. If nothing else, scroll down to the end of the article and watch the movie of the ouendan (Japanese cheering section) singing and cheering and unfurling their “Bobby 2010″ banners.… [more]
May 20th, 2009
THEATER OF THE ABSURD.
Go figure. We can get Shea’s home plate into outer space, but we can’t get the World Series trophies and the Mets Hall of Fame into Citi Field. (Have you all been sending your letters? You haven’t, have you. I have another one going on Friday.) I fell asleep after Daniel Murphy dropped what was probably the first ball in the outfield. It is probably better that way. Can I just say that, right now, I am not looking forward to going to Boston? I am not looking forward to watching the Mets play like Little Leaguers at Fenway. We are there for two games, and it was *not* cheap.… [more]
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