Sunday, April 13, 2008

OUTSHINED. [04-12-08, pt. 2]

Mets v. Brewers
Santana v. Sheets

So I was not here for the other great acquisitions, the other legendary starts. I wasn’t here at Piazza’s first game or Pedro’s first game or Seaver coming back in 1983 (although I have to admit that it kills me to think about all the baseball I could have seen, if I had only known better at the time. I will hold my father responsible.). There is nothing I can do about any of that.

However, I am here right now, and this is the first time that the Mets have acquired a player that I really, truly knew something about. I probably knew more about Johan Santana on a day-to-day basis than even TBF. If I could have snuck into the press conference or watched it live I would have. This has been a big deal to me, and while I realize that it’s also a big deal to most of the rest of you, I really took the acquisition of Santana to heart. Maybe because I understood what was going on and understood the value beyond just two-time Cy Young and the best pitcher in baseball. It was like, hey! this is my guy..

I realize this sounds silly, or an attitude better befitting a 12 year old in their 5th year of Little League, sitting in the upper deck with their team, hopped up on cotton candy and soda. Perhaps in some ways I’m closer to that kid than I am people my own age, in terms of fandom. But I was excited about today, anxious that it might get rained out, inconsolable at the thought that I wouldn’t see Johan Santana’s first start at Shea. When we got home last night and checked the weather, I formulated an entire game plan. Our Saturday plan seats are in the upper deck, which are not great for photographic purposes. I knew there wouldn’t be BP, but the pitchers would have to warm up. We would get there early, I would stake out the bullpen, and I could get some decent shots of Santana the day of his first start at Shea.

Well, we already know how well that went.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

LOOKING CALIFORNIA. [04-12-08, pt. 1]

Mets v. Brewers
Batting Practice

The plan, as my devious mind conceived of it, was to get to Shea early enough to stake myself out in the loge near the bullpen. Being an old habitue, I knew there would be no BP today (day game after a night game), but I also knew the pitchers had to warm up. Everyone would head to the field, while I would head to that corner of the loge near the bullpen. Genius, right? We got to Shea at 11 (no, seriously, 11am), and giddy as a schoolgirl, made a beeline for the loge.

We got a smile out of Nelson as he was finishing his long tossing and walking towards the bullpen: “Nelson! Brooklyn, REPRESENT!” He signed autographs for every single person who wanted them today (No, seriously, every. single. person.)  and who could blame him?

THEY DO EXIST.

FOUND: in the new team store tent-thing out near the subway stairs - THEY DO EXIST!!!

(A nice touch is the Shea 1964-2008 logo printed on the sleeve.)

Funnily enough, yesterday I had written a whole rant about how there need to be John Maine shirts, and was going to start this whole campaign to get the Mets to manufacture them. Oh well.

They have OP shirts, too, but I am still vacillating. It will break my heart when we lose him.

CONEY ISLAND BABY. [4-11-08]

I’ll confess that I didn’t want to go to the game tonight. We had actually talked about getting rid of the tickets, and had tried to get rid of the tickets, but who on earth wants to spend $50+ to go to Shea in April on a Friday night to see Nelson Figueroa, especially with Santana starting the very next day? It had been a long week, lots of early starts for me, and we were heading right back to Shea on Saturday, weather gods permitting. It would be okay, right, to skip this one, sit it out? Maybe send TBF out to Flushing with my ticket and if he got rid of it, great, if not, well, we’d already paid for it. It would be okay, it would be understandable. It is April baseball. I am tired.

That was the thought pattern in my head when I crawled out of bed at 6:20 this morning, and yet, at 4:30pm, I am on the phone with TBF discussing food options and meeting places and times and by 6pm we were on the 7 train out to Willetts Point. When we got on the train at Bryant Park, I was completely in afternoon commuter mode, barreling down the stairs and into the train and letting him hopelessly follow me. And then by Grand Central I was apologizing, and by Vernon-Jackson it didn’t matter too much, and by the time the express was speeding by Sunnyside, I was laughing and making jokes. The closer the train got to Shea, the better I felt.

Friday, April 11, 2008

TWO DAY FORECAST.

This is not looking good. I don’t much care about tonight (we could use the rainout credits), but I do care VERY VERY MUCH about tomorrow.

And moving Santana to start the next day will not help me. I have a family event on Sunday.

If I miss Johan Santana’s first start at Shea because I was trying to be a good sister, I will not be happy.

I am a horrible person.

FRIDAY MUSINGS.

Why are none of these rants about girls sitting in their underwear in their parents’ basements, writing about baseball? Nevermind, don’t answer that. [FJM]

Why don’t we get a parade for Opening Day?? [Church Of Baseball]

Where is the Mets counterpart to this??? [Center Field]

Thursday, April 10, 2008

IDLE HYMNS OF PRAISE. [04-10-08]

These are the games we remember. 2006, sitting through frigid April baseball, extra innings on a Tuesday night, wishing that they didn’t stop selling beer at the 7th inning. I left work around 6pm tonight and as people clad in orange and blue got on the train at 5th Avenue and then again at Grand Central, it made me think about calling TBF, telling him to ditch the errands, get on the train, and meet me out in Flushing. But, duty called, and I came home, via a lovely stroll across the Pulaski Bridge.

Pedro Feliciano has every right to have a song written about him.
I take back every terrible thing I have ever said about Scott Schoeneweis.
And TBF called Angel Pagan saving this game… okay, several innings earlier, but he called it.

What a beautiful game. What a soaring feeling. Jose smiling, Delgado smiling, Damion f’ing Easley coming through like a champ, Santana running out of the dugout at game’s end as gleeful as any kid just up from AAA.

See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

SO NOW CAN WE STOP SINGING IT?

Attention Mets AV Team:

How much more evidence do you need?

xoxo,

MG

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP. [4-8-08]

We are late, the bus is late, and of course the train is running local, which gets us out to Flushing later than we had wanted. There are more Mets fans than I remember on the street, on the bus, on the train, more fans wearing colors than I remember. When we get off at Willets Point and head down the stairs, I can’t understand what the bottleneck at the bottom is and am about to get cranky when I see a large round white head: Mr. Met, and all is forgiven. I might benignly suggest that congregating at the bottom of the exit stairs might not be the best idea in the world, but it’s Mr. Met! He can get away with anything. Everyone loves him. Grown men clamor for a hug, a high-five, a handshake. TBF is angling for a photograph, and I remind him that we have about another 40 games this season at which this can happen.

The rotunda is gone. I knew it was going to go, but seeing it gone, replaced by those utilitarian stairs with a sturdy corrugated metal roof, bothered me. Also, we’ve lost that incredible vista, coming out of the subway station and seeing the expanse of Shea right there before you, the best backdrop ever. Instead, you now come down stairs and BOOM, Citi Field in front of you, and you stop and take out your camera and promptly careen into hordes of people who have just come down the stairs and are now taking photos of Citi Field.

THE METSGRRL GUIDE TO SHEA STADIUM.

Hi there. You probably want to take a look at my GUIDE TO CITI FIELD, given that Shea Stadium no longer exists.

In honor of the last season, for those of you out-of-towners headed for Flushing to see the old gal before they knock her down (can’t implode buildings in the NYC limits any more), I present to you The MetsGrrl Guide To Shea Stadium. Obviously, this is not for the people who are out in Flushing every week. I looked and looked for a good guide to Shea, and couldn’t find one. Since I’m relatively new to the joint, I judged myself most qualified to write one.

I’ve closed the comments because it wasn’t being helpful any more, and too many potential visitors were leaving comments looking for advice instead of writing in.

Last updated: July 22, 2008: I keep updating based on search queries I see come into the site. Here’s a summary list of the most popular requests:

1. There is no bag check at Shea Stadium, but you can bring bags, water, and food into the stadium. You can bring soda or any other non-alcoholic drink in a plastic bottle. You can also bring sunscreen.
2. There are no bars, restaurants or things to do near Shea.
3. There is no detailed seating map beyond the one that’s on the Mets’ web site. We’re losing the stadium this year, no one is going to do one now.
4. Obstructed view seats are noted below.
5. Where to sit is discussed ad nauseum below.

BUYING TICKETS

Unless you’re trying to come to see the Subway Series, a Saturday game, or flying thousands of miles, you probably don’t need to buy tickets months in advance if it’s just important for you to be in the stadium.  Keep in mind, however, you’re not the only one thinking this - there are hundreds of thousands of people in the Tri-State area who want to take Grandpa or the kids or their nephew to Shea one last time. So ticket sales are up this year and it will be harder than it’s been before to get tickets.

Mets.com is your friend for ticket purchasing, or you can call 718-507-TIXX. They are still not in bed with Ticketbastard, so enjoy the quaintness of our ticketing system for one last year. If you don’t like what you’re pulling, pick up the phone and call until you get someone who knows the system well and can help you out. Not all ticket operators are equal. You want to find the one who can say, “Well, I can put you in row K of Section 1 but if you’ll sit in Section 4 I can put you in row C.”

Important: Just because the ticket system online says that you’re getting “best available” does not necessarily mean that you are. Let me stress this again: if you do not like what you pull up online, pick up the phone and call. You are not dealing with a Ticketmaster operator, you are dealing with someone who will likely know the vagaries of the Mets ticketing system and can help you get something better. If you live overseas, you are better off waiting until you can call than buying anything just to get in the door. And if you read this guide only to discover you’ve bought a crappy seat, call the Mets: in the comments below, people note how they went through the same thing only to have the Mets exchange their tickets for them.

Secondary market: You can also try StubHub (now that MLB is in bed with them), but be prepared to pay. A lot. A heckuva lot, if you’re coming from out of town, and are used to lower ticket prices. There is now a StubHub pickup window at Shea, and fairly decent buyer protection. I have seen some incredible bargains there, but I have also seen a lot of overpriced crap there. Caveat emptor.

Day of Game: There are ticket windows at gate E (the first gate you come to after getting off the subway) and gate A, all the way on the other side of the stadium. If you are in town ahead of time, you can go to the Mets Clubhouse Shop on 42nd St., right near 5th Avenue, and buy a ticket there. Do not expect great knowledge of the ticketing system or the Shea seating chart, however.  Keep in mind that service charges apply to all purchases except those at the stadium. However, these are not Ticketmaster-type charges, they’re still somewhat reasonable.

[yet more, after the jump]