Sunday, May 08, 2011

TO ALL YOU MOTHERS OUT THERE, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. [5-8-11]

Mets v Dodgers,
5-8-11

This is not meant as a continuation of Friday’s post, where all I did was put up photos of Jose Reyes and talk about how tired I am of hearing fans of opposing teams coming to Citi Field and pretending they have a shot at getting him. It’s like that annoying girl in your Chemistry class who’s in love with the football captain and spends all day writing her first name and his last name together all over her notebook. I wouldn’t mind if they were doing all of this on their blogs or their local papers, but they’re waltzing into our house as though the Mets roster is some kind of smorgasbord available for any and all comers. I know, no one is untouchable, I know, we are going to lose Beltran, but jeez louise, if you’re going to sit two rows behind me making shit up, at least present some kind of trade with logical parity. Or ask Timmeh to share the drugs.

It’s even worse when I turn around and see that that idiot singing “Trade him, trade him, trade him, trade him” to the tune of “Jose, Jose, Jose” is wearing blue and orange.

Friday, May 06, 2011

YOU CAN LOOK BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH. [5-6-11]

Mets v Dodgers
5-6-11

I would like to begin tonight’s game post with a public service announcment (WITH GUITAR):

Dear Mets Fans: the problem is not that there are too many Giants or Dodgers or whatever fans at Citi Field, the problem is that there are not enough Mets fans. Please show up to games. Tickets are so cheap right now. Even if you just walk up to the box office the day of the game, you can get the second row of 515 for $15 (which is what TBF paid on Wednesday night, yes, the Tim Lincecum start). There are bargains galore. You have to come. I am tired of idiotic fans of the opposing team clogging the 7 and sitting behind us and uttering sentences like “James Loney is the best defensive first baseman in the National League” and insisting that he was better than Albert Pujols (I wish I was kidding) while letting their kid kick the back of my head (let alone the chair) without interference. Others have also made this plea, so I am adding my voice.

And now, to the game.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

SUPPORT THE CITI FIELD HOOLIGANS.

The highlight of tonight’s loss against the Giants was a large group of fans up in Section 516, towards the top of the park. They caught my attention early in the game when they attempted to get a “R!” “A!” call-and-response going at the second out, and more when they brought out a drum and started singing Daniel Murphy’s name to the tune of “Seven Nation Army” by the White Stripes: “Dannnnieelll Murrrphyyyy…..Dannnnieelll Murrrphyyyy…..”

“Is that ‘Hava Nagila’ they’re using for Ike Davis?” TBF said, when #29 came up to bat. It was indeed, a chant for Ike Davis, set to that popular folk tune. There was a song for David Wright, a song for Jose Reyes. It was reminiscent of what European football fans are known for doing.

“I want to go sit with them,” said TBF. The young teenagers in front of us noticed them, laughed, and started their own cheers. They made people cheer, and applaud louder. They had flags. They had blue and orange balloons. They were awesome.

I picked up my camera and took a walk at the next inning break to find out what the deal was, and met the Citi Field Hooligans.

Monday, May 02, 2011

NO WORDS.

11:30pm ET, 5/1/11.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

WE DON’T EVEN HAVE A DH.

Let me present the latest branded offering from Major League Baseball and Victoria’s Secret:

There are other offerings, like “Meet Me In The Dugout,” “Caught Looking,” and “I’m A Great Catch,” the latter slogan cleverly and strategically located!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

THIS IS MY LIFE.

THIS IS MY LIFE DURING BASEBALL SEASON.

This is such a typical scene I had to capture it for posterity: the iPhone resting on the stage at the Bowery Ballroom last night, between acts, so we can keep track of the game on Gameday. If I don’t just set it out like this then TBF bugs me every three seconds or takes out his old fashioned phone (I don’t know how old it is but I think it has a rotary dial) and hacks Google text alerts to get an update, which is just pointless and the waste of a text message, so I just keep the fucking thing out until the next act is on, and then I hide it under the stage and sneak looks between songs (if I like or care about the band) and whenever I need to (if I don’t). And even if I love the fucking band I have been known to take a quick peek at Gameday here and there during the show, and if I don’t it is the first thing I do when the band leaves the stage for encore break, take out the phone to find out what is going on with the game.

It’s baseball season. I have a lot to do. I can’t wait until I get home to watch the highlights. (And if you think this is bad, I have friends who have listened to playoff games in one ear while standing three feet from the stage at a concert. Yes it was 2006 and it was the Mets, but it was also the last night at CBGB’s when this happened.)

What lengths do you all go to to get your fix?

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.