As I settle into a Jersey City Hudson Mall Applebee's while waiting for my Lyft car's splash flaps to get service, I figured now was as good a time as any with the Mets game about to cue up in front of me to get back to work.
This game not so long ago would have set itself up for a 2 o'clock start, but only by mountain time standards. I should be driving, picking up some afternoon North Jersey customers after driving the gig in Denver the last 10 months, but alas, fates have a way of bringing at least the start of the afternoon Mets game from Washington to my eyes.
It has been quite the ride for me the last year, with the events beginning back in August 2017 when my dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer on his birthday, of all days. That set in motion time well spent (and time well filmed) with my dad, my oldest sister, my niece and my nephew before his death in May, the eve of Memorial Day. There is a lot to be digested over the next while for me, but I look forward to getting back into the groove as I settle into whatever new normalcy this all will be. One way or another, and I know I did some things right before this forever line of demarcation in my life, I look forward to doing things substantially more right than wrong going forward.
For now, though, I'll settle into some Applebees appetizers.
No matter how good and energetic the Mets looked in Miami, their 10-1 win yesterday was the LAST thing I saw coming, especially at home AND against the best team in baseball, the Oakland Athletics.
The story lines were ripe for dissection.
You had the Mets coming off of a solid road trip, about to take on the best team in baseball, whom they once lost a World Series to in 7 games.
And sidenote: forget about that 1973 fact and the novelty of the two teams facing each other. The Mets and the Athletics' logos are just aesthetically pleasing next to each other.
Anyway...
You had Bartolo Colon on the mound, facing his former team who opted to not bring him back. They decided to give a 2 year, 22 million dollar deal to the man on the mound for them last night, Scott Kazmir, who was facing the Mets for the 1st time in Queens since the infamous deal that sent him to Tampa Bay in exchange for the greatest pitcher of all time, Victor Zambrano. AND Scott's been the best pitcher in the American League this year.
On top of that, you had Chris Young facing his former team, with reports surfacing on the off day Monday that he may be released Thursday.
And let's run with that one for a second.
I thought it was a ridiculous leak, and one that made no sense if you were really contemplating releasing him when Juan Lagares returns Thursday, then that's basically squashed when you then have to go to the press and say, "Those reports are false."
It brings up what Josh Thole talked about when saying how everything is a story here, and no matter how much I think it's clear the last thing any players anywhere need to pay attention to is anything but the baseball they need to play, it is true that the New York atmosphere is something fierce and rather unique, other than maybe Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.
There might be something to the leak, though, where a conspiracy theory can be formed that it was calculated and a last-minute ditch effort to light a fire under the 7.25 million dollar man. At least for one game, Chris Young responded and resoundingly so. We'll see what happens...
You also had Travis d'Arnaud fresh off his AAA stint, where he tore the cover off the ball. Though he still struck out twice, a 3-run bomb certainly takes a load off. Though he wasn't in the 5-hole as myself and Keith Hernandez had hoped, Terry didn't bat him just ahead of the pitcher's spot, which was a step in the right direction.
Speaking of the 4 home runs the Mets hit (the 1st time all year they have done so in Citi Field, with the only other time in 2014 coming at Yankee Stadium), the only bomb that wasn't an original (stupid) dimension home run was Curtis Granderson's, a dunker over the Mo's zone wall which gave us a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 2nd. What's awesome about THAT shot was that the dugout was still abuzz from it when Chris Young launched his 1st of the night.
The team certainly looks to have new life, which can be traced back to when Bartolo Colon collected his 1st hit in 9 years last week against the Cardinals (and collected ANOTHER one last night!) They've got the towels twirlin' and the bats properly swingin'.
Tonight, Zack Wheeler goes for the 1st time since the best start of his career last week, so I am very much looking forward to how he follows that up, especially against what has been by far the best offense in baseball.
I didn't know it was possible, but apparently that's what last night's 6-2 win was. 2:45 in length in fact.
My flight from San Francisco landed into the low-clouded tri-state area, specifically Newark Airport, at 1:45 in the morning local time. Wanting to check the score,I turned off the airplane mode on my phone, but of course texting people first that I had arrived safely. Once that had been done, MLB At Bat made its way open.
As it was loading, which is rather quickly when the service is good, my eyes realized without seeing the score that I could click the MLB.TV button in the upper-right-hand corner and take off from where I left off, when it was 2-1 in the earlier innings. When I have time (or really even when I don't) I like watching the wins on the MLB.TV replay access, most of the time just going through the most important innings. The thing is, you want to watch the whole thing anyway because it's unbelievable how on their games Gary, Keith and Ron (and Kevin) are at all times, win or lose. One could argue the losses can be even more entertaining because of everywhere they go in conversations. So, I was happy to be able to avoid the score and listen to those guys.
I quickly found out the Airtrain I had planned to take to Newark Penn Station was being "critically repaired" since May 2, and there was a shuttle bus operating...only the last shuttle bus had taken off at 2 and wasn't taking back off till 4. I hadn't made it off the plane in time for that. There is an express bus, but that finished at 1 and wasn't starting back up till 4. So, whatever I decided to take, I'd have to wait in the airport till 4 (and I quickly decided the bus directly to town was worth the extra $3.50). At least I had a Mets game to watch. I had an hour and a half to kill, and an hour and a half left on the game.
That timeline got eschewed a bit, as my service kept freezing the video with the audio still playing, and yes, as I said above, I like LISTENING to those guys, but I wanted the video as well. Yeah, they inform us of things like this info from Gary in the 4th inning...
So, the Mets have now had the lead in 15 of their last 16 games, including tonight. They've had at least a 2-run lead in 13 of those 16 games, including tonight....And yet, here the Mets are sitting with a 6-game losing streak and feeling as though the world is falling apart. Why? Because they already lost 21 games this year where they had a lead, and they've lost 11 games this year in which they had at least a 2-run lead. Last year, all season, they lost 14 games in which they had at least a 2-run lead; and we're not even close to halfway through this season.
Though Gary, Keith and Ron tell the story as well as comment, let us not fail to give credit to the entire SNY team, especially the director who is editing the moving picture to those words.
So, I kept fidgeting with the app, scrolling 30 seconds back, skipping some seconds ahead, restarting the app, yada, yada, yada. The restarting worked, but the scrolling didn't really. The gist is, I was only at the 6th inning by 3:11am because I couldn't deal with just the audio working. (During all that, I was surprised to see that there was still a game going on in the Majors but wasn't curious enough to take a look. I wonder how that ended...)
I had checked the wifi situation earlier in my travels, but none open for Newark travelers. I decided to check it again, and it turned out Dunkin' Donuts, which I had inadvertently made my way next to, radiated free wifi. So, I ditched the phone and headed onto my laptop to wrap up whatever I could of this game.
I arrived to the bottom of the 6th. Along with information Kevin delivered on Jeremy Hefner and his Tommy John Surgery rehab (he threw 15 pitches from a mound in St. Lucie yesterday, and has been keeping a diary every day during recovery) the Milwaukee pitcher Marco Estrada walked 3 batters in the inning, with a Daniel Murphy fly out and Chris Young strikeout sandwiched in. After Lucas Duda walked to load the bases with 2 out, the new guy, catcher Taylor Teagarden, headed to the plate in his first game as a Met, without the Mets atrocious bases loaded batting average on the season attached.
And in his first game as a Met, Taylor Teagarden is going to have a moment.
--Gary as Taylor approached the plate
With a 1-0 count, the righty Teagarden laced it the other way into foul territory, walking up the line when Gary knew pretty quickly it would be hooking way foul. Then, Estrada dropped a strike onto the outside low corner of the plate. A perfect pitch.
Keith: It's a good strike right there. NOW, it's 1-2, he can do whatever he wants.
Gary: Bases loaded, two out...and Teagarden hits it out to right. Braun retreating, to the warning track, at the wallllll, IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!
It was basically the same pitch, but raised. Estrada did not hit the corner this time, and Teagarden muscled it the other way, dipping the ball onto the other side of the right field wall, something we all want to see right-handed Mets hitters do more.
I finished watching the inning, and skipped to the 9th to see if anything had gotten out of control, as it tends to do. I wanted to be done with the Mets before I got on that bus. The score was 6-2, and at that point, you have an idea things will go well for Jenrry Mejia and the Mets as the broadcast timeframe of 2:57 is in front of you, and it would have had to be quite the quick meltdown and lockdown by the Brewers for us not to exit with a Mets W.
So, with 10 minutes to spare before I had to catch the bus back into the city, I read up on Derek Fisher and the Knicks.
Last year, late in the season when we had lost 5 in a row, Jon Niese started against the Phillies and shut them down for 9 innings, completing the game for a 5-0 win.
Though Niese did not have the same dominant game he had on that August day, he was once more called upon to shut the losing streak down, and he did more than his part last night with 7 innings of 3-run ball, off 4 hits and 5 walks, striking out 5. He would have been even better had it not been for his former teammate Justin Turner tattooing him in the 7th for an original dimension game-tying 2-run homer, erasing the lead Niese helped grab with a double in the 5th inning, the only pitcher other than Jacob deGrom with a hit on this team. Turner had also helped the Mets by bobbling Daniel Murphy's grounder to let the 3rd run score in that same 5th.
Back to Niese in the 7th, however, as he battled through and picked up the win when Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares combined in the bottom half to get the lead right back; Wilmer singling to lead off the inning and Lagares driving him in with 2 out on a single as well.
The offense was really the star of the show last night. No, we did not have an explosion, but the productive outs that were missing in our features for so long were had by the likes of Eric "Soup" Campbell, who has done nothing but play like a serious pro since he arrived from AAA.
The AB of the night, though, and the AB of his year so far was Curtis Granderson in the 2nd inning. This is where I came in, turning on WOR probably 7 pitches into the 12-pitch AB that ended with a double over Matt Kemp's head, taking 3rd base on the outfielder's bobble. Watching some of the early parts of the game later, it was clear in the 1st inning that Zack Greinke, who had been on fire this year (and really for his last 100 starts), did not have his command when David Wright had an 8-pitch AB that unfortunately finished the inning with a strikeout looking. Curtis fouled them off and fouled them off until driving it to center, scoring on Mr. Campbell's sac fly to tie the game at 1.
As I walked Queens Boulevard towards the bridge getting ready to call Gary Mack for Mets Musings, Howie Rose had a call to match the amazing moment he was witnessing, as Yasiel Puig made one of the greatest catches you will see, almost doubling up The Duda at 1st (Howie's call is around the 2:10 mark.)
Yasiel Puig is quite the amazing talent, but the infamy of the Cuban player not having his head in the game or being unaware of the rules was evident throughout the series. He looked silly gunning the ball towards the plate with 3 out the other day. Lucky for him and the Dodgers, that didn't affect those actual outcomes, whereas last night, he burned his team on an infield fly that tailed to the outfield in the top of the 6th, where the rule clearly states, "run at your own risk."
Oh, and of course, the man got doubled off on this, in Eric "Soup" Campbell's 1st Major League outfield start.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Mr. Jenrry "Back-to-Back" Mejia, who took a page out of Jose "Papa Grande" Valverde's antics book to lock down his 2nd Major League save.
And some other items of note:
Though he did get caught stealing in the bottom of the 3rd, David Wright should attempt to steal more bases if he's going to be a singles hitter. I think, however, we haven't seen more steal attempts because he's still rather timid following his hamstring issue last year.
SNY needs to change the defensive alignment graphic that is still the original Citi dimensions. It's been like 3 years, you guys...
Speaking of SNY, whether or not the Mets are struggling, Gary, Keith and Ron are ALWAYS on their game.
The Dodgers were in an alternate road uniform that was a grey version of their home unis, with the classic "Dodgers" across the chest as opposed to "Los Angeles." I'm a stickler for having your nickname on your uni at home and your city on your uni on the road. Unless it's the Phillies, where there's really no difference from saying "Phillies" as opposed to "Philadelphia."
So, we salvage the final game, getting the timely hits we had not been getting. Curtis has been impressing me with his approach lately, Flores is hitting when getting the chance, and Eric Campbell should probably be playing wherever we can get him in the lineup. Clearly, one game is not going to turn my opinion around on Sandy and Terry, but a win is a win, and I'll take it. No matter how much a massive losing streak could possibly help purge this team, seeing and hearing a solid, well put-together win always trumps any vitriol that had been building up. That's all you want to see: The New York Mets win, not keep botching winnable games, and look like there is some actual growth with this franchise. As I stated before, Mr. Gary Mack was my eyes and ears during last night's contest as I walked over the Queensboro Bridge discussing the Mets with him on Mets Musings. Make sure to take a listen on this Friday in May. Have a great holiday weekend, folks...and as always...
Last night might be the first time I really cared about 2014 Mets baseball.
Clearly, I've been lacking when it comes to writing, watching, or even discussing the Mets. Even on the podcasts (one of which I'll embed down below) though I may ramble, I feel as if I cannot give a full opinion because of my lack of Metsian observation the past couple of months. Then again, I've picked up the general things that are being thrown down in the Metsosphere.
I went out of my way, however, to watch the highlights of yesterday's game, where Anthony Recker and the Mets, down 6-4 to the Braves in the 9th, won 7-6 on Recker's 3-run shot.
And then there's this gem, which is another reason Juan Lagares HAS to be starting in center:
Yeah, it's spring training. Yeah, nothing is counting towards the standings. But memories are still created. I mean, listen to that crowd when Recker hit the home run. Listen to the crowd AND Mr. Burkhardt and Keith. It's an early division match-up, and though it completely changes when the pages turn to April (well....this year, March 31...) there's still a lot of people with plenty to prove, making the juice flow a little more in the above match-up. Certainly some fun highlights to watch.
And prior to watching them, I made my way from the neighborhood of Flatbush to Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn while discussing some Mets baseball with Mr. Gary Mack of Mets Musings. Take a listen below.
Fun times as I am about to head down to the Bergino Baseball Clubhouse to meet Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing. I will be interviewing him for a documentary I am making about the Mets an their fans. No better place to start than the Mets Fan Incarnate. It is busy times for me these days, but I've had this Doc idea for a while now and I wanted to finally get started on it. More details to come as the project evolves...
But for now, with yesterday being the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, the video below, which at the time was a parody of this scene in Oliver Stone's "JFK", should have been posted...not as the RANDOM Nothing of the Day, but yesterday's Nothing of the Day since it's not random having to do with both the Mets and JFK. So, without further adieu, I present to you Seinfeld's, "The Magic Loogie."
While watching the playoffs the last few years, it has been nice to hear Ron on the national stage with TBS. I had no idea, however, until listening to the first Reds Giants game on ESPN Radio that our Gary Cohen does playoff-play-by-play. It is nice to have that familiar home run call, albeit without the Orange and Blue attached. While I watch and listen to the playoffs, thinking hard about how the Mets could get closer to what those teams are doing with their rosters, it's nice to have old friends help me weather the storm that is an early off-season.
Would we ever hear Keith in October?
Yeah, I'm sure he's enjoyin' sittin' back and watchin' this stuff at home along with us.
As the excitement grows for a game you are going to, it never plays out in your head as a come-from-behind victory. At least for me, but for most you too, right? In my head, the Mets score a couple runs early and R.A. Dickey throws a perfect game. That's not exactly what happened, but how that game played out was certainly one of the biggest baseball thrills in my lifetime. For most of the game, I sat next to the father of my friend on the inside who got me the tickets, up the 3rd base line in the outfield. I kept saying to him, "They're gonna do it. They're gonna get him the runs he needs."
I met up with Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing behind my section in the middle of the 5th. He was only a couple of sections over, but when I tried with my 110 ticket to go say hi to him in 114 earlier in the game, the green guys didn't allow it, (a fact I will not get into right now because on the last day of the season it perturbed me to no avail.) Anyway, as we were catching up and talking Mets, it.All happened. Much needed good luck after the first 2 games we took in together did not exactly pan out well for the Metsies.
Is the best part of all this how juiced the crowd was all day for R.A.? Was the best part that our All-Time Hits Leader got that much closer to the Home Run Record with a 20-win-clinching bomb? Was the best part that Jon Rauch didn't blow it so I could actually appreciate this catch? Yeah. That might be it. If you haven't seen it, your eyes will yell at you for taking so long. In context, this hypothetical Mike Baxter home run would have tied the game at 2 in the 2nd inning. Being up the 3rd base line in right field, we had a pretty solid view of the Mo's Zone. Off the top of my head, before I link it ('cause I'll do that in the editing process,) I cannot remember the player's name. I certainly cannot remember witnessing a better catch in my baseball history as well. I've seen some catches. This guy reached around 5 FEET OVER THE NEW MO'S ZONE WALL. HIS ENTIRE ARM IS OVER THE WALL. Unbelievable. There was definitely a buzz throughout the crowd after that. So good, I might actually frame it one day...you know, now that the Mets won that game. They don't win that game, they lose 7-6 or something along those lines, THAT'S the catch that would have denied them the victory. Spectacular. It's unfortunate that my camera was out of commission for the day, but the image is certainly burned into my brain. (When you watch the video, I gotta give Howie the best call of the play. "HIGHWAY ROBBERY!") Oh, yeah, and that's an easy fly ball last year. Much more excitement with those walls WHERE THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALL ALONG. (And something random...as I looked at Keith without his 'stache....I couldn't see him without it. The 'stache was still in how my mind's eye perceived him. His upper lip was also extremely white from zero sun for 20 or so years.) I have praised Robert Allen a bunch here. If you've been reading this blog throughout 2012 (and I must say thank you once more) then you know I am not surprised by this kind of season from our knuckleballer. He is an inspiration, and I look forward to several more years of the Knuckleball Wobble. They did it.
They actually did it.
They got RA his 20th and they got to double-digits in 2nd half home wins. Only 10 after the All-Star Break (6 of which happened in their last 7), but I don't care. They obviously need to clean up their 2nd half act from now on, but it doesn't take away from how much fun I had at Citi Field this season. I saw a ridiculous 9th inning comeback against the Phillies, I saw RA get his 20th, I saw the 1st Mets no-hitter, and many, many more. Yes, we want October baseball in Citi Field. But I can't thank the Mets enough for some spectacular memories. The 50th Anniversary season has been nothing short of Amazin'. The 2012 New York Mets.
I just got home and turned on the TV. I was about to put on a movie I needed to finish but instead remembered that WFAN had informed me of the Yankee score, a hint they gave me that my Former Pinstriped Amigo had a day game goin' on. (How was I supposed to know? If there were Orange and Blue painting the TV during the day I certainly would have known, having basically memorized the schedule from the first day it was released.) Wanting to watch some form of baseball, I changed to channel 686 on RCN, and sat listening, watching and taking in every aspect of the presentation. Yeah, I could have put on MLB Network, but maybe my subconscious, having gotten implanted with some form of telepathic radio waves from WFAN, wanted to stay New York Centric. While listening to such classic New York voices as Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O'Neill, I watched the Texas Rangers score 2 more runs to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the 6th, which was cool.
And I started thinking, from the New York Perspective, this is not that entertaining. What makes a 0-4 deficit so much more entertaining in the hue of the Orange and Blue?
The Announcers - Now, let me first disclaim that I actually like Michael Kay, Paul O'Neill and David Cone. I like Michael Kay's show (even though I normally listen to whatever is on WFAN at that time, whether it's Even and Beningo filling in for Francesa, or actually the man himself.) David Cone is another pitcher in the long list of pitchers I wish had pitched his whole career as a New York Met. Paul O'Neill actually made the Yankees losses entertaining because he'd be barking at himself the entire time (he's also the kind of player you'd like to see with the Mets for quite a while.) None of them, however, can trump what is the greatest trio in broadcasting. There is just something about the mixure of Gary, Keith and Ron's personalities that keeps you locked in as the losses get worse. You very much want to hear what they are saying and what they are discussing, regardless of the lopsided score. You'll especially hear the disappointment in Gary's voice but he will never let it get in the way of doing a great job. The fandom only adds another layer to Gary that enhances the overall presentation. For some reason, the three Yankee broadcasters are as bland as the team they are discussing. Each of them have interesting thoughts on baseball and the game, but the personalities, or at least the way they project out to this Sam Maxwell corner of the world, are too even to blend together. One guy represents the play-by-play and the other two represent both elements of the game, but Gary, Keith and Ron's personalities couldn't be any different, yet they flow together like you're traveling through the upstate foothills and mountains on a New York County Road. It's smooth as you go up and down throughout the land. The only thing more entertaining in baseball broadcasting is Vin Scully having a conversation with the entire Dodger baseball bubble.
The uniforms - I love the Mets uniforms. Looking at it from the perspective of somebody who has been on either side, I come to appreciate the character that is the Mets far more than I ever appreciated the Yankees. If we first compare and contrast the colors, the orange and blue grabs your eyes and attention much more than the bland navy blue color. When you think about it, most sports franchises that have navy blue usually have another color with it that pops (The Denver Broncos and the Milwaukee Brewers come to mind [both of whom have relatively new uniform schemes. But the Brewers old uniform scheme is another example of uniform awesomeness].) The Yankees, nah. The pinstripes don't pop and the road greys don't pop. The funny thing is, I like the Tigers' home uniforms. With the Navy Blue Piping?! Now THAT'S baller. Maybe the navy pinstripes mute whatever pop they could have...An argument could clearly be made that both Yankees uniforms are baller, and a debate could begin as to the ballerness of the Yankees uniforms. The Mets, however, have two colors that pop, with one more muted than the other, making it a perfect marriage of Orange and Blueness. Secondly, when comparing and contrasting the logos, one is a little more bland than the other. Yes (no pun intended) the Yankees interlocking NY is smooth, but it's boring. The Mets' interlocking NY, originating with the New York Baseball Giants in a few different forms, has more character, more spunk, more personality (which is apparently what it is coming down to for me.) The same can be said for the chest logos (probably why the only thing I liked about these road uniforms was the 80's and the orange and blue.) It all leads to a more ascetically pleasing canvas when the deficit is large.
The Yankees don't feel as "New York" as the Mets - I don't feel the Yankees represent New York the way the Mets do. The Mets were born here, as opposed the Yankees, who used to be the Baltimore Orioles. Yes, they became who they are here in New York, but the idea that The Metropolitans were not only born here, but were born out of a deep void New York felt from the loss of National League baseball, the oldest major league represented in New York, makes it somewhat more special from a New York perspective. The Yankees are no better than Walter O'Malley, who saw a more lucrative opportunity somewhere else and took it. (You know what? My own personal history of being born in Richmond, moving to Florida and then finally New York, leading to the person I have become today, completely cancels out this specific point. Disregard what I just said, because I am pretty New York. I'm not just gonna edit it out, though, because it's an interesting little debate I just had with myself.)
The Yankees are Bland - That's it. I don't have to "prove" it. I just think the Yankees, every aspect of the Yankees are bland. Which is why it is so disappointing to see Ichiro as a Yankee. He's so much fun to watch play, but he's that much blander doing it in Yankee gear.
Everything I have just said could also be used to explain why a Mets win is more entertaining than a Yankees win, but the loss aspect is what I wanted to explore. The funny thing is, all the while I was writing this, the Yankees came from behind and lost the lead again. While an entertaining ballgame, it was all pretty boring. The Yankees may still win, or (they won't by the time I am done with this), but it will all be pretty bland, boring and yawn-inducing. Maybe it's just the idea that baseball is hard, and the losses remind you how hard the Mets have to work to win the damn thing. Maybe the Yankees don't give off that feeling 'cause they've been so lucky since 1920 that they make everything look too easy. And, yeah, the Yankees uniform scheme is one of the best in baseball, but that's not the point. Maybe, the whole point of this entire thing is that I just love the New York Mets.
