Wednesday, August 03, 2011

ABOUT LAST NIGHT.

Mets v Marlins
8-2-2011-

I never keep score at games. I don’t do it mostly because I can’t take pictures and take notes during games and keep score (although I know people who do all of them). But I am tired of taking photos sitting upstairs. I have some sort of creative block that is making me bored in the extreme and I don’t take any pictures and then I go home and have nothing to work with. So I decided I would stop lugging the camera, and would instead bring the lovely scorebook I bought from Eephus League at the beginning of the season, which I have never used.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

GOODBYE TO CARLOS BELTRAN.

My first encounter with Mets’ fans uneasy relationship with Carlos Beltran was early in the 2006 season. The game went into extras, everyone around me in Section 12 left, and I headed to self-upgrade myself to the Mezzanine Boxes. A few minutes later I was joined by half a dozen Latino kids in their late teens, who had snuck down from the Upper Deck.

They sat there, laughing and punching each other, and yelling things at the field in Spanish. It was one of my classic “I hate that I live in NYC and don’t understand a word of Spanish” moments.

And then, Carlos Beltran came to bat, and then, they got into it, standing in unison and yelling things down at the field, cracking up as they leaned over the railing and hurled what I assumed were insults towards the field. They would crack up after every line and almost dive back behind the railing as though we were the only ones there and they didn’t want Carlos to know what they were yelling.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

EL ESTA (STILL) AQUI.

Tonight is likely the last time I have watched Carlos Beltran play baseball in a New York Mets uniform.  It wasn’t a bad last game.

I wanted to take a million photographs and then just gave up. I just wanted to watch him play, watch him at bat, watch him in the outfield. I wanted to remember what it was like to hear his walkup music, watch him come out of the dugout, watch him stride over to the plate and draw that J in the dirt. I wanted to stand up and applaud him when he came to bat in that first inning, and I don’t know why I just didn’t do it, why I worried about blocking the view of the people behind me, and I didn’t want to get into a discussion about What We Will Get For Carlos Beltran. (As it was, the conversations around me on the 7 train ride and the rest of the game was like being in the comments section of MLB Trade Rumors.) I did, however, applaud pointedly and loudly when he hit that double, and I felt better.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

ADIOS, FRANKIE.

I know I have better photos of Francisco Rodriguez, but it’s late and I was on my way to bed when the news came in. I picked up my phone to check something and there it was, the push alert from the MLB Trade Rumors app.
I read it like three times, before I went to the physical website, and then I yelled, “The Mets Trade Francisco Rodriguez To The Brewers.”
TBF: “Noooo!  You’re kidding, right?”
I read the headline again, and he came running into the room, where he then stood there reading over my shoulder as I read the story to him. For some reason, it didn’t seem real to either of us.

Vaya con dios, Francisco. I prefer to remember when I used to like you a lot, and would eagerly wear 75 RODRIGUEZ to games. I would like to forget the drama, and the two massive blown saves (DC and Baltimore) I had to witness personally.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN, VOTE REYES.

Why are you not voting 20 times a day for Jose Bernabe Reyes? Even non-Mets fans love Jose Reyes:

• In Pittsburgh, the Pirates fan sitting next to me got up and yelled, “JOSE I HATE YOU” every time Jose was at bat. After he’d had a few beers, he confessed to me that he actually owned a Jose Reyes player number shirt.
• Mike Petriello, of Dodgers blog Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness, stated, “Is there even a question? Hanley’s been awful, Tulo’s been good but not as good as usual, Starlin’s fine. Reyes is class of NL SS.” (Click through to see his awesome Twitter wallpaper that a Mets fan can definitely get behind.
• Ben Kabak, of Yankees blog River Avenue Blues, even said, “Jose Reyes >>>> Derek Jeter.”

The Mets even have a pretty decent contest going to encourage you further:

Vote for your METS All-Stars today and win an opportunity to meet Jose Reyes! Winners will receive two (2) tickets to an upcoming game in 2011 where they will meet Jose Reyes before the game. You must vote at least 20 times and select the METS as a “favorite” or “other favorite” Club to be entered to win.

Vote early, vote often…

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS.

My favorite minor league mascot, Ballapeno, welcomes Mets fans to Texas.

Ballapeno is the mascot for the San Antonio Missions, the AA affiliate of the San Diego Padres - and has nothing to do with the impending road trip to Arlington except that they happen to be located in Texas. I have just been waiting for an opportunity to openly proclaim my love for Ballapeno. (Look at him dancing to Mr. Roboto!)  I’ll stop now.

Here’s my report on my trip to The Ballpark At Arlington from 2008. I am a big, big, big fan of this ballpark. But, read more about it in the link.

p.s. There is now an In-N-Out burger about 30 minutes away.

Monday, June 20, 2011

6/20 BASEBALL BOOK & BLOG EVENT IN FT. GREENE.

Tonight at 7:30pm, I’ll be at fine independent bookseller Greenlight Books in Ft. Greene participating in their Bloggers & Author’s series:

Our ongoing Blogger/Author Pairings series features conversations between authors and bloggers who share territories, passions, and preoccupations. With baseball season upon us, a Brooklynite’s fancy turns to the diamond. The Cambridge Companion to Baseball provides a comprehensive look at the sport’s history and important figures, as well as the contrast between baseball’s massive, big-business present with its romanticized origins and its evolution against the backdrop of American and world history. The book’s editor Leonard Cassuto is an award-winning writer and a professor of English at Fordham University; his sportswriting has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere. He’ll talk about the book and the game with Caryn Rose, a Brooklyn-based writer and photographer who covers the ups and downs of the New York Mets at metsgrrl.com. The event will be hosted by series curator Ron Hogan, creator of the seminal literary blog Beatrice.com.

C’mon out if you’re in the area. The Mets are off, at least we can’t lose tonight.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

LOVE TO THE BIG MAN.

As many of you know, when I’m not writing about baseball, I write about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band for Backstreets Magazine. My obituary for Clarence is on that site right now.

You can read some of my many years of Springsteen writing at my other website, jukeboxgraduate.com. And if you’re a brother or sister member of E Street Nation, my heart is with you tonight.

Friday, June 17, 2011

THE ANGELS REJOICED LAST NIGHT. [6-17-11]

Mets v Angels
6-17-11

It wasn’t a terrible game but everyone was acting like it was the worst game ever. Sure, there were errors but there were also just plain old balls that poor Justin Turner could not get to. Repeatedly screaming things like “DAVID WRIGHT WOULD’VE HAD THAT” if you’re wearing red and have a A on your hat with a halo around it, fair enough. If you’re wearing blue and orange, you’re just an idiot.

I don’t know if it was the full moon or the rain delay but this crowd was cranky and impatient. The team was coming off a good roadtrip. I know last night’s loss was beyond brutal - I didn’t even want to talk about it with the guy at work who comes over to talk to the dude in the adjacent cube, and they at least talk Mets - but this is not where anyone thought this team would be at this point in the season. I’m not exactly clearing my calendar for the fall but things could be so much worse.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

MR. MET’S STATEMENT ON THE END OF THE METS-BRAVES GAME.