Sunday, April 24, 2011

PLEASANT VALLEY SUNDAY. [4-24-11]

Mets v Dbacks
4-22-11

It would be easy, for a game that took place on Easter, to make some borderline disrespectful joke about the bats rising from the dead, but I will not do that. If you are reading this, I know you will forgive me for even thinking such a thing; it felt like the greatest luxury in the world to be watching a game at which the Mets had a comfortable lead and to feel as though the lead was such that there was no worry about maintaining it, that maybe Jose and David could have the rest of the game off, that the word that begins with S and ends with P could start to be bandied around.

Friday, April 22, 2011

LAKE OF FIRE. [4-22-11]

Mets v Dbacks
4-22-11

You will probably laugh hard and uproariously when I tell you that my goal in heading to Citi Field tonight was to do something less stressful and more calming than the kind of week I have had, especially with Michael Pelfrey on the mound. But it was definitely one of those nights where my goal was to not think about work once and to enjoy Mets baseball.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

NEW MEDIA AND METS FANS.

This headline - from the Daily News - is causing a lot of outrage today. It’s causing fans to be angry and either harass Martino - known as @surfingthemets on Twitter - or to post collective grar at him. Who does he think he is! How dare he! What a douchebag! I myself stopped following Mr. Martino after a tweet during spring training in which he referenced “Future Yankee Jose Reyes” (and in the interests of full disclosure, I probably hurled some grar at him before I did).

The problem is: Martino’s story isn’t a bad story. It’s accurate. It’s well-written. It reads more like a well-written fan blog than it does a story filed by a professional sportswriter, but as someone who writes a fan blog, and who can skip writing about a particular game if I feel like it, I get where he’s coming from. The problem is that no one is reading the story. They’re RT’ing the link and people are clicking through and I’m sure his editor loves the pageviews he’s getting, but no one is reading the actual story. People are talking about him, but they’re not talking about how the story is oddly empathetic with the plight of Mets fans. They’re just calling him a douchebag.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

TODAY IN UNUSUAL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS.

This, my friends, is what the Mariners gave out to fans. Free compost.

The promotion was distributed as fans left the ballpark - “Especially in light of an 8-3 loss to Detroit,” says the friend who sent me this image - but I would hate to think about what the Citi Field parking lot would look like if someone decided this would be a good idea out in Flushing.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

METS BATTING PRACTICE, 4-13-11.

More after the jump.

CREDENTIALED.

I no longer have to complain about not having photographs of Terry Collins or Sandy Alderson.

It was the first credentialed blogger day of 2011. We were invited to watch (not participate in - yet) the pre-game manager’s press conference, attend BP on the field, and then watch the game. Nothing about this sucks. Everything about this is, quite frankly, pretty amazing. I won’t lie.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

GET OFF MY CLOUD. [4-13-11]

I have sworn to myself that I am not going to be fatalistic, that I am not going to be negative, that I am not going to wear sackcloth and ashes and rend my garments and act like the 2011 season is over with each Mets loss in 2011, not when we are 12 games into 162 and there is a lot of baseball to be played. I promise myself this. I promise, and I sit down to watch or listen to each game with a positive attitude.

Which is then promptly dashed to pieces and I feel like an idiot.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

SEASON TICKETS, 2011.

They didn’t come in a little book, they didn’t come with a gift - even if we’d ordered them ourselves, they wouldn’t have come with a media guide or anything else (and the promised perks have not yet been sent to full STH). But they’re still a thing of beauty and they will serve us well this season, every Tuesday and Friday home game.

See you there.

Monday, April 11, 2011

MR. MET IN SITU.

Opening Day’s Mr. Met bobblehead, in his new home:

(Why, yes, that is “HTML5 : Up and Running”. Don’t judge.)

Friday, April 08, 2011

BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME. [4-8-11]

Mets Home Opener
Mets v Nationals, 4-8-11

There was so much I loved about today. I loved not going to work, I loved the 4:10pm start time that allowed me to make my leisurely way to the ballpark. I loved the ride on the 7, blue and orange everywhere. I loved pulling into Willets Point and seeing Citi Field from that angle for the first time in months, the parking lots full, tailgates going strong. I loved coming down the stairs and seeing the apple and the rotunda and people posing for photos everywhere you turned. It was hope. It was reprieve. It was full of optimism.