Discussing the New Alternates Before Discussing Saturday's Win

I would love to talk about the 1st come-from-behind win of the year the Mets had yesterday against those annoying Marlins (I told you they'd still get on our nerves.) Yesterday, however, I completely failed to even get into the fact Friday Night was the first time they wore the new Blue jerseys. So, with the Orange and Blue hats dropping on Thursday with the Snow-whites, as well as in yesterday's 7-3 win, it makes sense to start this by talking about the alternates.

Firstly, and this is kinda outta character for me to utter an "only the Mets" line like this, but only the Mets would drop two alternate uniform items together (David Wright Presser) only to wear them separately the first time they wear either of them in the season.

Secondly, The Orange and Blue hats work well with the snow-whites. At first, it took me a second, and it wasn't like I was disgusted at first glance. Once you warm up to them, however, the combination is outstanding.

Thirdly, though I happened to like the combination of the full-blue hats and the blue jerseys better than I did with the Los Mets and more than I thought I would when I wrote about the direction I thought the blue uniform should go in, I would still like to see the guys in the combo David Wright wore. Maybe they decided that the Orange and Blue cap would only be worn on day games. Maybe they decided with the orange lettering and piping that the home jerseys have, the Orange and Blue cap would be better suited with the road grey lettering. I guess we shall possibly find out this week when the Mets head to Philadelphia and...Minnesota....

Anyway, having almost been a full day since an awesome victory (REGARDLESS of the opponent. I told you the Marlins are going to be annoying. And I don't even think it's because we're the supposed-to-be-in-4th-place-near-the-Marlins Mets. I think other National League East teams will find this team annoying, even if they still up with 90 losses...oh wait...I had a point outside of this parentheses...)

...The first thing off the top of my mind is that Ike still struggled a bit but got a couple solid and lucky hits. Combined with David's 3-4 day ('cause seriously. Nolasco.) Buck's continuing AWESOMENESS, an RBI triple by Daniel Murphy, another Cowgill shot, and a settled-in Jon Niese, and you have some good signs regarding this team over the first 5 games. Clearly some of the same concerns we had going into the season are there, but even through their struggles, the Mets look to be battling. 

Oh, and WHAT WAS THAT?!


Hopefully we don't get a Laffer out of Aaron Laffey today...

What is it? Pix 11 at 1?

Hope you're all having a great weekend. 

Enjoy some Sunday Orange and Blue.

Oh. And Random Gut Instinct: I think Terry either doesn't make the year if they struggle mightily or doesn't get brought back next year regardless...except in a Miracle situation...

RECKER. DEBUT.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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Podcast, Enjoy the Ballgame & Julian's Cowgill of the Week

Hope you all are watching New York Mets Baseball right now. 
 
Here's the pregame podcast, for anyone who missed it. It was awesome, and included some fantastic insight into the sports agency world, which Jay Goldberg of the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, who joined us, is no longer involved in. Bookmark it for after the last out of this ball game:

Listen to internet radio with Rising Apple Report 

on Blog Talk Radio

This week's Met from Julian is not a Met in the card, but surely is a Met right now.

COLLIN. COWGILL.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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11-2 Orange and Blue

I have told people who either don't pay attention or who aren't coming from the same angle as me that there was EASILY more talent on this Opening Day roster than on Opening Day of 2012. You have the likes of an unproven Collin Cowgill getting the spot of Andres Torres, whose ceiling (problem was mainly consistency, 'cause his great times were AWESOME) was never all that high to begin with. Then there is who ever you could argue is taking Jason Bay's roster spot, who could have been great, but unfortunately was the victim of many different circumstances, some of which we will get to later in this article. The roster is littered with those kinds of examples that made it clear even early on in spring that this 2013 New York Mets squad was attention-worthy. My optimism is always strong, but even before I witnessed an out-of-nowhere rout, you could tell there was potential for something special. Small-sample size aside, the things we discussed could be strengths for this team and characteristics the Mets stressed they wanted to get to as soon as possible in this season were felt. Moves made came together for a day, if not yet validated, and a fun time was had by all who encountered the New York Metropolitans on an early spring day in Flushing.

Every year is familiar but fresh. You are more experienced and the game is more experienced, and so the whole experience is always slightly surreal. Last year was less so, but with the Mets scoring 11 runs, it happened so fast that it was almost like I got off the 7, blacked out, then came to and the Mets had 11 runs.

The day began with my usual trek from Times Square on the 7 line. As always, one of the best parts of taking the train out to the game is passing by 5 Pointz. This year, though, I was not as inclined to snap away as I usually am, for the moment I was out of the tunnel, I got the technology ready I would need to broadcast live from the Elevated Circle 7. For the hell of it, I'm gonna embed it again.

Arriving at Willets Point with Greg Prince of FAFIF on the line and the podcast rolling was an absolute thrill and I am happy all parties involved were able to make it happen. Thanks to Rising Apple site editor Matt Musico, Staff Writer Dan Haefeli (who was in the parking lot at 10 and I, for some reason, mistook him live on-air as Staff Writer Danny Abriano), Robert Moreno of Fansided's Chicken Friars, and Greg. There was a lot of wind at some points, but you can here us plenty. And what was a lot of fun was that I met Dan Haefeli in the middle of us interviewing Robert, basing his on-air location description as a guide to where a man might just be pacing back and forth on his phone.

After the show was over, Dan and I headed to the gas station at the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and the Grand Central Parkway to pick up a 6-pack of Flushing's Finest (Modelo.) We then found that very Abriano and Co., introducing ourselves for the very first time and enjoying some brews in the parking lot before making our ways to a jam-packed McFaddens.

After we all parted ways to go off to our respective sections, I noticed there was an exit to the side of the bar that went directly into a Citi Field entrance, one that arrives in the Center Field Food Plaza. Just in time as well, for I was able to catch the middle of Howie Rose's lineup introductions. Emmy Rossum then sang the National Anthem, an actress who now has more male Met fan fans (and I'm sure some ladies too) than she did before April 1, 2013 (myself, though, included in those fans she had prior to Opening Day.)



She was good, but my expectations were sky high having seen the following clip.



Anyway, I digress.


On his birthday, Rusty threw out the first pitch. I unfortunately missed what was apparently a tribute to the '73 squad at the beginning of the ceremonies, but I'm glad I caught Rusty (well...Anthony Recker caught Rusty.)



Baseball was settled into, and as I walked around at the beginning of the game, I was on the 3rd base side of the upper deck when I decided to call Greg Prince and see where he was at. Sure enough, I had literally stopped at his section, and hung up the phone to make my way up (if I remember correctly) section 526. I met a friend of his, and the three of us watched Jon Niese give up a first-pitch hit, but keep the inning together. Having received a text from an unexpected, though far from surprising, place, and with more people arriving in the section, I bid farewell to Greg and friend and made my way around to the 1st base side of the upper dekker, where an entire family of former Tranquillity Campers were indulging in baseball (when you have purchased a single seat, you are afforded more opportunity to work through the Citi in this manner.)

Post-game, Greg made a good point that our brief drop-by's have brewed luck of the good form for the Mets. Unfortunately, the times we've watched a whole game or the majority of one together have not stirred up similar outcomes.

Anyway, when I arrived to their section, the surrounding seats were (fortunately and unfortunately) completely filled (WHAT?! you say?). I sat in some empty seats at the top of the stadium while looking around my fellow Tranquillity-ites. The Mets made the wait very pleasant as John Buck, Ruben Tejada and Jon Niese helped turn zero on and 2 out into a 2-0 Mets lead. I then found my friends and sat at the end of their filled row. The inning ended and one of the sons made his way to the aisle (his two brothers could unfortunately not make the game). We settled for a brief catchup before I waved to his parents and traveled to my section, fully expecting to make my way back later in the game when the population over there was more modest.

I settled in around whatever my official seat was and caught the the majority of the early action. What was very noticeable was that the longer lineup we fans said the team now had potential to have was on full display.

Marlon Byrd, who should be doing it cleanly now and clearly seems to have determination in his eyes to prove last year was an aberration, was able to collect his first hits and RBI's as a Met.



Pitchers are usually going to get John Buck out. But it'll be because they had to battle him, not because he's an easy out. There's pop at the catching position again. I'm a fan of Thole, and I think last year he got thrown off, but when he's not going well, he doesn't have the pop to occasionally get into one, so he just ends up popping everything up. Pitchers have to come right at John because otherwise he will crush an apathetic pitch. It's a longer lineup.



Ruben Tejada had a terrible Spring, but found a pitch he liked in the 2nd and drove Buck in from 1st for the commencement of 2013 Metsian run-scoring. Below, he strikes out for the last of the 4th, and receives a little advice from 3rd base coach Tim Teufel.



Collin Cowgill just needed a shot. And he has been given one with the 2013 New York Mets. He collected his 1st hit AND not only his 1st career grand slam but his first home run in the Orange and Blue as well.

"The Grand Slam Triple" as I am now dubbing it, was yet another exploitation of how poorly designed the original concept for Citi Field is and was. Even though the walls have been corrected, the structural design that could not be corrected will most likely always be a constant reminder to how anti-climatic the walls were created. Let's forget the fact that Jason Bay's Mets career would have been completely saved had he, from the moment he got here in 2010, been able to just clock it off the wall out there for a home run. I'm glad the ball can dunk over the wall in front of part of the Great Wall of Flushing, but the fact the Grand Slam first appeared as a triple once again screams the walls should have never been designed that way in the first place. It is funny, however, how I film Collin standing into 3rd, pan to the fan celebration, then look back to the field unable to find where Cowgill went since I had missed the ump signaling the Grand Slam Triple.



Before the Grand Slam, and ironically helping to set up for the bases loaded, Jordany Valdespin made his 2013 debut, pinch-hitting for Brandon Lyon in that 7th (I had of course arrived back in the section where my Tranquillity family was for the latter part of the game.)

Guess how many pitches it took for Jordany to swing?



All of a sudden, it got real windy and real cold. It had been overcast but sunny and 60 for most of the day, but the clouds moving in near the water brought what seems to be another last cold front, winter continuing to sputter at the end. Thanks for most of Opening Day at least, Mother Nature.



Finally, we had reached the 9th, and the perfect opportunity was there for Scott Rice to make his Major League Debut after 11 years in the minors.

Gil Hodges celebrated with a little jig afterwards.



And we said goodbye to the day and hello to the 2013 New York Mets season. Opening Day was crazy all over the MLB, with my favorite outside of our general area of expertise being Clayton Kershaw's baller Opening Day performance.



Man, he CRUSHED that.


Tonight (besides the regularly scheduled 6:30PM EST podcast which will be posted on Rising Apple later today) Matt Harvey takes on Clayton Richards for game 2 of the Padres series tonight a 7:10PM EST.

Settlin' back in, everybody.

Baseball's back in town.


Here is a little short film of the footage I got on Opening Day (including footage from above AND footage unseen in clips on my Youtube.)

LET'S. GO. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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A Surreal Romp

Well, that was very lovely.


It's been a little hectic for me since I left the Flushing Field near 4 o clock yesterday, so please enjoy a morning random song until all the Opening Day stuff is gathered together.

COLLIN. COWGILL.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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

A Couple Wins...But More Importantly - Baseball

I've been going on and on how awesome it is baseball is back so early, and of course I forgot it was a 12 'o Clock start time on Saturday. So, I missed Ruben Tejada's 1st inning home run off Stephen Strasburg. I DVRed the rest of it, and crazily (like I'm sure so many other Mets fans) didn't fast forward (once the DVR stopped glitching.)

I'm not gonna elaborately recap it for you or jot down my notes like I did last year (but that was just me settling into blogging.)

For a recap of the first spring game of the year, check it out at Rising Apple here.

And for a recap of Sunday's Split-Squad games, here is where you'll want to click.

........ok, I slightly lied. I'm gonna over-analyze the first games a bit.

Marlon Byrd is a real sleeper in my eyes. He looks determined and ready to win a job after a lackluster 2012, which included a 50-game suspension for PEDs. A Quote From Ted states that Byrd started training with Victor Conte, and was a firm advocate for Conte's changed way, or something along those lines. And then he got busted for PEDs. Though, according to this USA Today article from when Byrd got suspended, Conte might have had nothing to do with it and it was all one of those "careless" moments that we never factor into our thinking when it comes to these 50-game suspensions being handed down. The Human Element and how stupid and absent-minded we can sometimes be (sorry, MANY times) gets completely thrown out of the equation when these news items pop up.

Am I advocating PEDs? No.

All I'm saying is that not every case is the same.

Anyway, Byrd seems like s perfect candidate for, maybe not Comeback Player of the Year, but something along those lines. I pose a question to you all.

What kind of production would be worth Marlon Byrd as the starting right fielder?

If I were to see a line of .260 15HR 75RBI at the end of the year, that would be MORE than enough production out of that spot. And for those of you who are already calling the outfield "devastating," I'm sure you would take even less than that from of a starting Marlon Byrd.

He will certainly be a very interesting storyline to follow throughout the Spring.

Here's a Kevin Burkhardt interview with the man.




Then there is the case of Collin Cowgill.

Another sleeper for sure.

He's got speed, he's got aggression, he's got determination and he's got guts. Sandy might have pulled off quite the under the radar trade that the people who haven't been paying attention will find out soon how under the radar it actually was. With a lack of opportunity at his fingertips in Oakland, the timing might just be right for him to blossom as a New York Met.

Here's Metsblog's Michael Baron interviewing Cowgill.



Anyway, there were of course many other takeaways from the weekend that was the first taste of Mets baseball we have gotten in a while. But I'm going to stop with the potentials for the outfield. No need to go on about The Duda's 0-7 or Matt Harvey's Spring Debut, or Cory Mazzoni's solid outing, or Dillon back from the shoulder surgery.

Let's just soak up the early baseball...

And love the amount coming up next several months.

For those that weren't able to watch the televised game, watch the following videos for no other reason than to see Mets uniforms on grass once more.

There's Ruben's home run.

And Shaun Marcum's Mets Debut, with a snazzy Ike Davis defensive play to boot.

Not to mention Wheeler's ML Camp Debut.

And of course Cowgill's heads up play.

INHALE. EXHALE.
BASEBALL'S. BACK.

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A Foggy Random Song For Your Tuesday Afternoon

HEY! AN. OUTFIELDER!

LET'S. GO. METS.

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