This is AWESOME, right?

For all of you watching this World Baseball Classic...it IS, right?

For those not watching or waiting for the USA to take off today...


C'MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHN!!!!!



That was an amazing game to watch live. You could tell early on how far Italy's pitching still has to go, but they held their own against a solid Mexican lineup.

Instead of watching how much the Dominican team dominated the Venezuelan team in a rain-delayed game, let's check out what made this game REALLY AWESOME.



Then came the Dutch Cuban game.
I'm kinda flipping out about this Netherlands team, you guys.



Dutch. Authentic Dutch.

The next game I did not stay up or wake up for the 5 AM start time, but it went 4 hours and 47 minutes. When I woke up around 8 it was in the 8th.



And we have a break till 5:30 this afternoon*, when Puerto Rico takes on Spain. It's the first time in the tournament for the Spanish, so I'm looking forward to gauging what kind of baseball they play over there.

It appears by the competitive balance of the tournament that baseball is developing more around the world. So, it'll be interesting to see where Spain currently stands.

USA and Mexico face each other tonight at 9 PM EST. Get geared up for that.

And the Mets are playing today, but that is not televised or on the radio.

(And did you say too much, George?)

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day, everybody. 

Watch a lot of our sport later.

THIS. WORLD. BASEBALL.
LET'S. GO. METS.

*correction: Canada and Italy at 2:00 PM today. We'll talk about them more tomorrow.


Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

Welcome to 2013.

Happy New Year everyone.

A lot coming up in this here year, and we kick it off tonight at 6:30. Matt Musico, myself and Will DeBoer are heading out on the internet airwaves for the inaugural Rising Apple Report Podcast. We'll be talking plenty of Mets at half after 6 sharp, including some Major League outfield options and Mike Piazza's Hall of Fame chances. So, be sure to tune in here then.

Much more coming up here at Converted Mets Fan as the freshness of the New Year wears off and we settle in to what this new time is like, but for now, enjoy a Random Song to pass the afternoon along.

And make sure to tune in at 6:30.

Thank you for your continued patronage.

And to those of you new to this site, welcome. 
Glad you could join us.

20. 13.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.

I Gloat More Now, With Internet

I'm so happy I prophesied the Mets New Hat.

Hey, look, I know I'm not the first person to come across this hat and say it would work.

But I'm going to use it as a jumping point.

People should start listening to me when I say this team is going places.

They should listen to me when I say that this team has found stability in a front office building from the ground up while their owners get their shit together again.

I came across someone recently who was longing for the days of Omar Minaya.

In fact, the exact quote was, "Where have you gone, Omar Minaya? Mets nation turns it's lonely eyes to you."

Wait...Really?

I can't fathom anyone in their right mind longing for the days of Omar Minaya. It was too scattered.

Yeah, he got us '"back on the map" for the latest highpoint on the Mets Rollercoaster, but his flaws got extremely exposed extremely quickly in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and then the bottom fell out, and his decisions made the Madoff Mess that much more impactful because the team sucked and a bunch of fans didn't go to their new stadium. Like a good amount of us said when Sandy and Co. got here, "The adults have arrived." Their goal is to bring long-term stability to a franchise that has been too much like their Brooklyn Farm Club's Namesake. And they are doing it. Why should I complain? Though they haven't won in the 2nd half yet, there is still a sense of direction, at every level of the organization.

Plus, something this team has never had.

I'm sorry if some of you cannot see that direction yet.

I still look forward to celebrating with all of you when that trophy makes its way up Broadway.

And hey, even I can't prophesize everything.

But I sure like watching The Show unfold.

I'm not going to complain about much.

...Except the fact the Mets haven't made the new hat available for purchase yet.

That I'll complain about all day.

FLUSHING. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.