Monday, July 22, 2013

The Right Thing to Do At Home


Think about it.

Even after the Mets took 2 of 3 from the Phillies at home this weekend, their Citi Field record still stands at 19-28.

9 games under .500 at home.

NINE GAMES.

It stands to reason that if the Mets were only remotely better at home in the 1st half, we'd be talking about a much better ballclub right now.

You've got to start somewhere, though. And taking 2 of 3 from a Phillies team at Citi Field coming out of the break is a pleasant place to begin.

ESPECIALLY after the 13 run debacle that was Friday night.

Even in that game, though, the Mets told us a lot has changed.

Scoring 8 runs after going down 11-0 is not something we are used to seeing from Mets teams in recent years.

Those kinds of games where the final score is something like 12-2, at best, are the types of games where Andy Martino of the Daily News first coined the opening line, "Blaa."

Had the Mets done more in 2 bases loaded situations that evening, they might have stood a chance, but 8 runs next to 0 still takes the cake, regardless of an L being an L.

Even my Philly friend Ted, who couldn't pay any attention on Friday, can be quoted as saying, "You scored 8 off of us?"


Speaking of that guy, he was up in New York over the weekend and took Citi Field in for the very first time, which was also my 1st game since April.

I was happy with the timing, because I think Citi Field is finally coming into its own. I gave him a rundown of what I thought the place's strengths and weaknesses are, but the outfield walls are certainly no longer in the weakness department. He got a pretty solid tour of the whole place over 9 innings of baseball, going from vantage point to vantage point over the course of the day. We started in our seats right behind home plate in the 1st row of the upper deck, and when I say I probably still have a burn mark on my ass from the seats, its an understatement. We probably then went from standing room spot to standing room spot before the last 4 innings, when we settled into one of my favorite places in the ballpark during the summer: the last row in the upper deck against the fence behind home plate, where you're in the shade and the breeze is fantastic.

All in all, he came away liking the place, outside of his Phillies losing 5-4 (which Parnell made into a real trip with that Chase Utley 2-run blast. We were standing as many do behind the field level section closest to the Rotunda, ready to bolt after the last out.)

The only other quote I can give you from Ted is this about Citi Field:

"It's MUCH BETTER than Yankee Stadium."


And wasn't it lovely to have a generally angst-less Matt Harvey start?

No No-Decision. No Terry overmanaging. No Bullpen blowing it. No Offensively inept offense. Just a solid 8th win for the NL All-Star Starter.

Now the Braves come into town for a 4-game set (is the last game a make-up? I can't keep track of all the rain-outs. I think most have been on the road.) 

A lot of ground to still make up....

One game at a time.


Enjoy your Monday, everyone.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, and follow on Twitter here.

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