The Bottom of the Rock

I'm exhausted.

I know all of you are, too.

It is 5:35am as I type this time. Oh, it turned 5:36 before I finished the sentence.

AP
Photo via nypost.com

With my focus on an improv show that was the culmination of a 10-week class, I had a built-in excuse to not first-hand experience (from a fan perspective) the weekend that will live in Metsfamy. The weekend that, I can only speculate at the time I write this, sealed the deal for the firing of Mickey Callaway in his sophomoric year as a Major League manager. As of now, two years in a row, the team, after a hot start, has lost steam rather quickly. This has happened to other Mets teams, of course, but there seems to be an extra-special way the team seems to lose total preparedness for the grind of a hundred 62 game season.

As many people are pointing out, however, Mickey, and any manager, can be scapegoated as much as the Wilpons want, but they themselves are the King-Kong-sized gorilla in the room. They are the only constant since 2002. We all know how the majority of those seasons have gone. The seasons that haven't gone that way where the Mets contend have only experienced two (ok, three) playoff appearances. None of which have the Mets winning the last game of the year. Two of which they contended till the last day of the season only to get completely exposed for their lack of preparedness. 

There is, however, no firing of those men. Those men will stay until they decide to cash in their Park and Boardwalk deeds.

As I said on Friday, however, I ain't going anywhere either. If you're reading this, you most likely aren't as well. You will state, "I've had it with this team," but still decide after you're fed up with the Game of Thrones finale (once you catch up on-demand) to check in on the Mets game that night. They might be losing 2-0 to the Marlins once more, and you'll raise both your hands and say, "Figures!" But you ain't going anywhere. Unfortunately, the Wilpons know that. Maybe one day, however, they will see enough of it in their bottom line to recognize that even they have a deeper river bed than they thought.

The rocks are slimy down there. They're covered in mud. Somewhere under there, however, is at least 2 billion dollars. We the fans, though, should always be careful what we wish for. It could always be worse.

Nowhere to go but up from here? The truth that is not.

All we can do is

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

The Teasing Rainy Fates

Many people want to say, "Oh, it's just the Marlins. The Mets are SUPPOSED to fatten up against a team like that." Any Mets fan knows it's not that simple when it comes to this team, but there we were, trying to climb out of our slog that left us 17-20, one game away from making that winning percentage have at least a 5 in the right place again.

Photo via https://metsinsider.mlblogs.com

On cue, Mother Nature wanted the Mets, on Mother's Day, no less, to take two days off. Who knows whether we were just being set up for disappointment, after they were just able to give their ace some run support in the 6th inning with some power from our young core in a 4-1 win Saturday night? There on Sunday, however, was an opportunity to somewhat eradicate the road trip that left us shaking our heads and rolling our eyes. With an offday today, we'll just have to wait one more day.

My fear is that we were indeed setting ourselves up for disappointment, with the overrated Nationals, currently even worse than the Mets, rolling on in. It is always like the Mets, and a pessimistic way of looking at it on my part, to play the part of slump buster. As terrible as I think the Nationals are when they are always the darlings of the early season predictions, they always have a knack of being a thorn in our sides. The Mets need to crush them when they are this low, making sure they have an even harder time at any point this season getting up again. Otherwise, I envision them looking back on this coming series as the catalyst that turned their season around, and us recognizing it was here when things finally got buried.

The only thing I hope gets buried is the consistent inconsistencies, starting with Noah Syndergaard. He must revert back to his superhero ways, and if he needs to do it with his bat, so be it. Regardless of his opponent the day he won 1-0 with a solo shot, he looked so damn fresh and determined in that game. Replicate what you did on a pitch-by-pitch basis that day and you will get back on track. Have at this Nationals team struggling to get by.

There we sit 19-20, the rain laughing as it drips on by. Take these days to take some breaths. And let's all regroup when the sun comes out tomorrow.

What's that? It's grey till Wednesday?

At least the rainy rhythm can sooth a troubled mind.

I hope all the Metsian Mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day, whatever you ended up doing.

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Under Our Skin

"I would sacrifice anything

Come what might

For the sake of having you near

In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night

and repeats

how it yells in my ear...

'Don't you know you fool

You never can win

Use your mentality

Wake up to reality...'

But each that time I do

Just the thought of you

Makes me stop just before I begin.

'Cause I've got you...under my skin."

Anthony J. Causi
Photo via https://nypost.com

Fandom can truly be a funny thing. We add this stress of how the team is doing to our daily lives, at least for the serious fanatics who live and die by what their team is doing. I can't tell you how many times I've seen on social media, from various people, say something like, "I swear, if they lose tomorrow, I'm done with this team." Yeah, right. I don't believe them, I won't believe them now and I'll never believe them ever. All of a sudden, the team, and the Mets in our instance, perform the way they did last night and even though it is one game, they have us believing once more.

17-20 made 37 games of a 162 game schedule. There is and was no reason to believe the Mets were done other than certain years' track records. The Mets of the Wilpon era have more often than not let hot starts slip away at various times of the season. No matter all those different factors, our team is under our skin, and they pull us back in just when we thought we were out.

It is only one game of course, but I like to look at the context of where this game entered the scene. They were coming off a miserable road trip with a desperate need to show their home fans they weren't about to roll over and let what happened last year, or many years, for that matter, happen this year. It doesn't matter who the Mets are facing. It never matters. This idea of what the competition's record is going into these games never matters when the Mets are battling against themselves first and foremost at every moment they live. Consistency, or at least the consistency of smooth and inspired play, is what they need to practice.

Yesterday was a great new start. Tonight, however, to use a cliché, is the first game of the rest of their lives.

And us fans are not going anywhere.

KEEP. ON. PUSHIN'.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Jake the Great

On Wednesday night, as Jacob deGrom and the Mets took on the Marlins in Miami, I was driving around enjoying my #LyftLife having decided to keep the oldies going on Pandora Radio instead of putting the game on the radio. For some reason, and maybe it feels different during the day with the sun out, I just wanted the passengers to enjoy the grooves instead of subjecting them to a game they most likely weren't interested in. After all, no matter how much I like baseball and the Mets, not everybody does nor needs to hear the sweet sounds of baseball on the radio. Plus, as I said, it feels much more in tune during the day than when you are picking people up who may be going out for the night.

Jason Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
Photo via sny.tv

Throughout the game, MLB At Bat sends me certain alerts, most of which had to do with one particular man: Jacob deGrom. Even when referring to a fast offensive start, the alert read, "With deGrom on the mound and the Mets looking for a sweep in Miami, they take an early lead thanks to this smoked Amed Rosario RBI Triple" (more on that in a bit.) The most jaw dropping alert, however, was that deGrom had hit a homer in the massive Marlins Park, a visual I was most certainly anticipating viewing later on in the night. 'Twas impressive indeed.

Getty Images/Mark Brown
Photo via Newsday

More impressive, however, is how absolutely LOCKED IN our Cy Young Award winner is at this point in his career. Throw out your cynicism about it being the Marlins and such, 'cause we all know those pesky, flippin' fish will never allow us to easily pad our win total against them, no matter how much the league and its followers want you to believe they could be the worst team of all time in any given season. The highlight reel of deGrom's night is a thing of beauty, making sure you soak up an artist who has every brush, every color, every palate working, and it not only shows in the pitches batters cannot catch up to, but shows in the way he carries himself on the mound and as he strides towards the dugout after a strikeout. He's just that good right now, and we're watching a once in a lifetime talent quietly go about his business. His business, however, is so good, it is screaming at you to pay attention.

Regarding Amed Rosario's triple, his approach is maturing and indicative of the overall approach of the offense that has been so impressive in the first six games. They are attacking the ball and going the other way. Whether it is Amed or newcomer Pete Alonso, there is a consistent approach us fans can pick up on, and whether it is just hitting coach Chili Davis or the overall offensive mantra they are going with post-Alderson era, I'm loving every minute of it and I hope and pray they don't get away from it.

Jake the great is the boss right now. And we may finally have an offense that can support his impressive stuff. Have at it, fellas. Knock that ball all over the park. Just like Jake.

BOSS.  MAN. JACOB.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Trying to Get to 12 After All These Years

Last night was the first time all season I turned off a game.

I was on my break when I heard Howie Rose utter the words, "It's gone..." referring to Ichiro's HR that made it a much less manageable 7-3, which was the final score. At that moment, I shut the application down that was feeding me the radio frequency. Clearly, no matter how good and how well-positioned the Mets have put themselves after this 15-7 start, none of us were gonna last the whole year without at some point having that feeling that we didn't want to deal with this thing called Mets baseball anymore for the night.


The 2010 New York Mets raked off 8 games in a row to bring them to a record of 39-28, 11 games over .500, the last win being a 4-0 win over the Yankees. On their first chance to get to 12 games over .500, they lost 5-3 at an afternoon game in the Bronx.

The next chance they had to go 12 games over, they lost 6-5 to the Tigers at Citi Field. Jose Valverde got the save.

Then, next chance they had, they lost 6-0 to the Twins at home.

They lost 10-3 to the Marlins to drop to 43-33.

The 2009 team had really been nowhere near that far over .500. Other than a half-assed flirtation in 2012, they haven't been this close since.


I don't bring this up to stir the doom-and-gloom pot, because in 2010, that was the last gasp before the death blow of the Minaya era. I think it's clear here we're much better set up to begin some semblance of sustained success.

That number, however, has been evasive.

We couldn't break the franchise record, instead staying tied with the others who went to 11.

Lately, after raking off 11 in a row, we haven't been able to push passed 10 over.

Now, though 4.5 up on ATL, 5 up on MIA, 6 up on WASH, and 7.5 up on PHI, we stand 15-7 as we enter another crucial series against the Washington Nationals, who, along with the Marlins, may be finding a groove.

We're a losing team on the road at 5-6. We're 10-0 at home.

The defense up the middle, as we feared, has been suspect. And along with better play from opponents, the injury holes might finally be catching up a bit.

Still, I've never been more confident in the ability of this team. They need to continue to feed off our rally cries, which should once more be loud again for the 2nd homestand.

It's time to push forward passed 12.

Time to put our feet on the necks of these opponents before they're able to stumble up.

After all these years, it's about damn time.

CRUSH. DOOS. NATS. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

A Bolt From the Blue For Murph

Monday generally starts my weekend, with two days off as most everyone else runs off to their day jobs. I don't have a day job...other than this stuff, that and the other kind of writing; the one that's set to screen.

Then I work at night. 5 nights a week.

So, after catching up on sleep after a busy end to my week that is your weekend at Two Boots Hell's Kitchen, I woke up in Flatbush Brooklyn, got some work done, and ventured out to pay a bill at Best Buy at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush, where Walter O'Malley had wanted a ballpark and where one currently resides in the form of the ball of basket.

(Technically, it's at the intersection of Atlantic and Fort Greene Place, but you get the drift. It seems insult to injury that there's a shopping center with a round facade that, though not at all identical or modeled after Ebbets Field in any way, invokes the feeling of a former Ballpark in Brooklyn.)

As the Mets game got started, I had no headphones with me, nor did I want to buy any. So, like it was 1952 and I was walking around with my transistor radio, I hugged Prospect Park on the outside, starting at Parkside Ave, and heading up the Southwest street.

With fantastic sunset skies complementing the great houses of row, town and single family-style, that face the park, the game moved unbelievably on its way.

Prospect Park is not a perfect rectangle like its contemporary, Central Park, but perfectly fits what a city that's shaped like Brooklyn should have as its main nature-fabricating hub. In fact, the designers of both Central and Prospect, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, cared more for their Brooklyn masterpiece when it was all said and done. So, the street of Prospect Park Southwest is basically split up into two different long straight stretches that curves off somewhere in the middle. After having taken off around the beginning of the game, it must have already been the 4th inning when I turned onto Prospect Park West, which is at the top of the slope that heads to the park, otherwise known as the neighborhood of Park Slope. The game moving feverishly along, I had no idea the peak of aesthetics I was headed towards, though about a half hour or so before the peak of last night's game.

Though there had of course been some great skies already on this journey, the level that it got to by the time I got to the Flatbush/Atlantic intersection, where the Ebbets Field flagpole stands in front of Barclays, was absolutely breathtaking. I could tell there was a BBall game, since people were still scalping, but the place outside the arena was rather subdued, and I soon found out it was around the end of the first half, with Atlanta leading the new Brooklyn ballsquad. Around this same time, Dillon Gee must have had like 2 pitches through 7.

Eventually, I met up with a friend and found myself at Pork Slope, where Playoff Sports, of Hockey and Basketball type, were on, and not April Baseball in Miami. I understood. And I turned the radio off as to not be rude to my friend nor the patrons around us. Gameday it would have to be.

And the Gee ride was done. The Marlins struck first, and all I saw was, "In Play, Run(s)," words that only look good together when it's a report about your Mets team.

Luckily, Carlos Torres was able to slay the Giancarlo Beast on one pitch, and we were onto the 9th a lot sooner than any of us thought we'd arrive.

I had been actively conversing and balancing attention towards the game, and I believe I maintained it when the Live-Look-In was presented to me. Steve Cishek was the Marlin closing, someone I remember us handling in Miami once upon a time when Kelly Shoppach was on the team (he singled up the middle to give us an eventual 3-2 win back in 2012.) That one comes to mind occasionally, but it wasn't that fact that made me believe we could comeback. It's the 2015 New York Mets.

What an AB by Juan. I couldn't help it and uttered, "Yes!" out loud. Duda walked, and the Live-Look-In was done. Are you freakin' kiddin' me?! Right NOW?!

I was left to watch the gameday feed for Murphy's AB. Those words, however, that we saw earlier, entered the screen once more, this time on the proper side of things.

"In Play, Run(s)."

FANTASTIC!! I thought the game was tied.

I waited...and waited...

"Daniel Murphy homers (2) on a flyball to right field."

Alllllllriiiiiight.

I enjoyed some tater tots. What a night that ended a lot quicker than I expected.

And Brooklyn won, too.

No matter what, Brooklyn always wins.

Let's Go Knicks though...😁

And LET'S. GO. METS.

The Reason Why I Left

Once upon a time, I rooted for a team up north. This team helped drive me into being obsessed with the game of baseball to a historian's level beginning at the age of 13. I moved to New York at the age of 10, and with a 6th grade teacher from the Bronk's land in 1996, and arriving to see the top of the 9th of game 6 by happenstance, I was thrusted into understanding what baseball means in this town when, poking my head out of my 2nd floor window at the corner of 12th and 7th Avenue, I heard spontaneous celebrations commencing from people in the streets and the horns of taxis and cars.

And then they won another one.

And then they won another one.

And then they won an all-NY other one.

Throw in a World Series for the ages with the team that I was 2 years removed from living in their Sunshine State, and I was beginning to really understand what this baseball thing is all about.

Oh, and meanwhile, there was another NY team around that was pretty darn good at the time, too.

Eventually, I went through a metamorphosis as adulthood, or the age of it at least, knocked on my door.

So, why did I leave?

Because despite all those championships, all those great players over the ages...

All the momuments, facades, retired numbers...

The hall of famers, the navy-blue pinstripes...

Despite all of that, I left because they don't remind me of baseball.

As a Mets fan, I can look at the 28 other teams and relate to them.

As a Yankee fan, I couldn't relate to the other 29.

Some Yankee fans may relish that house on a hill fact. By the time I was settling into the 2000's, something had to change.

Looking back, it was better for me to have watched my at-the-time Yankee team lose in 7 games to Arizona than win their 4th in a row. I'm better for having taken one on the chin then.

I'm better for having gone through a rough first decade as a Mets fan, having taken multiple blows on the chin.

I've made this analysis before, in my first ever post, and this is my ego at full throttle...

I feel the entire history of the New York Mets was just lived these past 10 years, and it was needed to get the full Metsian experience.

So, even though it's time for a new experience, we, and the 2015 New York Mets, will be better in the long haul for having taken one on the chin from our crosstown rivals.

Most guys do look good in a well-fit suit and tie.

But we don't have to wear one everyday.

I do my job quite fine in a t-shirt and jeans, thank you much.

Now, to beat those pesky Marlins...

LET'S. GO. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Well, If the Mets Fan Incarnate Has Been Born Again...

...then there must be something to all this.

MANDATORY CREDIT: Noah K. Murray, USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, for the 2nd #HarveyDay of the year, and one where our ace was feeling under the weather, the place was once again rocking, and it did especially when it was dire. Two vital players had gone down in the 7th inning, and the Marlins were bearing down, having cut the lead to 1, it now being the 9th and a runner on. I will admit, it was the most Metsian angst I had had all week, though it wasn't in 2010 form, or '11, '12, '13, or '14 form. As Greg Prince, whom I like to call the Mets Fan Incarnate, said on Faith and Fear in Flushing when the winning streak had only reached 6, this feels different:

"You can draw parallels and comparisons with previous seasons and their encouraging beginnings. You can project out from the best of the past anything you want. Yet I’m not tempted to. I’ve spent most of my existence keeping close tabs on this franchise and I’m telling you: this feels different.  

I feel equally untethered to the unrelenting sour times of the recent past and the occasionally glorious times of the distant past, and I don't mind. I take comfort in knowing it's all back there and that it all informs what we expect and how we react. Trust me, I know where to find it should I need it. This 2015 journey, though, is its own thing: kinda young, kinda now...kinda free, kinda wow."

So, even though everything COULD theoretically fall apart with a runner on and Giancarlo Stanton up with 2 outs, us fans were going to be every bit as confident and involved as every player on the Mets 25-man roster.

It hurt, but we've won 8 straight.

It sucks that I have to say this again, as I did after David Wright went down, but I think this team will once again absorb the blow.

This feels different.

This feels like the 2015 New York Mets.

FUNKY FRESH.

LET'S. GO. METS.

A Weird Sigh of Relief

Listen, the Mets are going to be the Mets.

We've come to realize this.

And unfortunately, they've showed promise throughout their history of a franchise ready to break out.

You look through most of Mets history, it's littered with teams that just couldn't get over the hump. After their first 6 years of losing 100 games, the Mets generally tended to avoid that. And teams that don't lose 100, like the teams we've gotten used to over the last 6 years, are ones that will show way too much promise in all the wins they put together, only to botch most of the losing ones. And its weird about losing teams, 'cause I'm sure other losing teams out there in different geographies blow most of their games, too. But some just get shellacked from the get-go. The Mets...well, as certain people have documented, they have always seemed to be way too close to be losing so much.

But this weekend, unlike other weekends spent in Miami, this team took 3 of 4, and needed one of the greatest throwing performances in baseball history to lose one, and even that came with some flaws from everyone involved (including Major League Baseball). Those plays just aren't NEARLY as fun anymore. Players are forgetting, because the rule is so vague, that ACCORDING to the rule, you can STILL run the catcher over if he has the ball. But you literally have a SPLIT-SECOND basically to notice he has the ball and decide that you are going to run them over. Just like it takes time and seasoning to really recognize a ball entering your plane on its way from someone's hand 60 feet 6 inches away, it's gonna take some time for players to adjust to completely altering how you go about that play.

Through it all, though, the Mets took a 3 of 4 out of Miami this weekend, beginning with a resounding 1-0 win by Zack Wheeler and ending resoundingly in the last game (that was partly begun with an awesome suicide squeeze.)

And no matter what the Marlins can be, they can also be the Marlins sometimes. And you know what I just said makes COMPLETE sense. So, even when the Marlins are losing 98 games, it's always nice to take 3 of 4 to the Marlins.

And I think I've come to realize...I actually like the Marlins uniforms. In that utter hatred type of way.

Look, as a baseball fan you want the full baseball experience, especially in your rivalries, and in that great baseball way, you want your rival to have a clear, defining contrast to your clear, defining uniform identity. And the Marlins in their Miami incarnation have made much more of a clear, defining decision with their aesthetic identity. Forget the fact that I was KINDA a Marlins fan when I was a mild to cold baseball fan, and do happen to love the clear-cut choice of the teal at the beginning (though they are REALLY ugly), but they got away from straight-up teal and that just wasn't nearly as cool in its ugliness. So, I actually give credit to the Marlins for going all-in on their Miami incarnation. You actually found something more annoying than the plainness of the Florida one. I applaud you for making that decision to add yourselves to the history of the baseball uniform.

The straight-up orange ones, though, are REALLY ugly and shouldn't exist.

And there's freakin' FISH to the left of their home plate, for cryin' out loud.

Who we taking on next? Let's see...

Oh. OAKland.

Well...

There's only two things left to say...

LET'S. GO. METS....

And

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

The Game

I arrived to my 2nd training shift at the Hell's Kitchen Two Boots just before 5 o' clock yesterday afternoon, and I must say, my timing for monitoring this game was impeccable.

Between the minutes of 7:10 and 7:20, I checked on the game during a calmer moment. No sooner after seeing on the main page that EricYoung, Jr. was on 1st base and Daniel Murphy was up to the plate did it say in the gameday play-by-play that Daniel Murphy had grounded into a double play. I rolled my eyes and put my phone back in my pocket. With many different slices to choose from (including The Newman, Cleopatra Jones, Grandma Bess, Bayou Beast, The Larry Tate, The Night Tripper, Mr. Pink, Tony Clifton, The Bird, The Earth Mother, and V for Vegan) a man decided, not knowing his Mr. Pink was on its way out of the oven, to change his order to The Newman. Instead of Creole Chicken, plum tomatoes, fresh garlic & mozzarella, he decided on sopressata & sweet italian sausage on a white pie. With no one else claiming a Mr. Pink in the moment, I decided to get the slice for dinner and stole away for a hot second to the back outside.

I arrived there with the slice in my hand and my phone in the other, ready to get my MLB gameday on with the sounds of the crowd in the backyard of Rudy's Bar & Grill hopping. Gameday catches you up quickly on the pitches in the AB you're arriving to, and with David Wright up, it showed me the 4 pitches I had missed. Then, after a pause, clearly having caught up to the gameday's pace, the 5th pitch said "In play, run(s)" which could only mean one thing with no one on. With the words, "David Wright homers on a fly ball to center field," I knew it must have been a bomb, and couldn't wait to see the highlight when it got loaded. I finished up my slice and headed inside to do my job.

I checked in periodically, including watching the home run on my way home to my apartment a block and an avenue over for my actual roughly half-hour break. It was usually the end of an inning I would catch, giving me a quick update that hardly wasted any time compared  to following it pitch-by-pitch. As it got later into the evening, it was a surprise but refreshing to see the Mets with a 1-0 lead still intact, the game moving briskly along with Wheeler apparently dealing and the Major League debuter Andrew Heaney dealing as well after the Marlins-home-run-structure-moon-shot by David. On a whim, with a slow moment in the store, I checked just in time for a live look-in with 2 out in the 9th, and Reed Johnson up. The phone sat right under the register so I could keep an eye on everything else my eyes needed to be on. The thorn that is Reed gave us more to worry about with a great AB that finished with a clean single past a diving Ruben Tejada, then Rafael Furcal scared the BeJesus out of all of us with a lacer to center that was right at Chris Young. With a 1969 New York Mets poster hanging on my left, the 2014 New York Mets had wrapped up one of the best games of the year.  I could turn off the live-look-in.

So, Zack Wheeler, after all his struggles this year, pitched the ballgame of his life so far with a 3-hit shutout. It almost felt like Gary was calling a no-hitter at the end when I watched the highlights, with so much meaning behind Zack completing it. It meant a lot to the Mets and to Zack Wheeler's career. It couldn't have been scripted any better with the recently slumping captain of our ballclub winning it with a solo shot in the 1st inning. Wright gave Wheeler the run he would need and he ran with it.

Here's what Keith Hernandez had to say with 1 out in the 9th:

“There’s no reason why these young kids...young MEN…and I’m speaking of Wheeler going 9 innings- I know they’re not conditioned to, but I am so hopeful that it gets back to a starter, in a close game- let HIM win or lose it. Don’t have someone come in and lose it FOR him.”

Amen.

Zack Wheeler was able to do what Bartolo Colon was not allowed to do yesterday, and it was immensely impressive. This is when the naysayers who were calling for Wheeler to get sent down as he continued to struggle get proven wrong. This team will win or lose with Wheeler, and it's all part of the evolution of this ballclub, which has been a hard thing to pick up on lately.

This is the kind of game when everything else doesn't matter anymore. The baseball is the only thing that does.

When I see Josh Thole say that "the hardest thing in the baseball world is to play in New York for the Mets....EVERYTHING is a story there,” and then I see this game, it kind of makes me think that’s the EXACT reason we traded him, other than being R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher (and THAT GUY seemed to do alright in this town, bro.) I've met Josh Thole and he's a really nice dude, but a quote like that just screams incorrect to me. No matter how much we criticize Sandy with where the Major League club currently stands under his tenure, one thing I think is more of a strength than a weakness of his is that he really doesn't care about ANY of that noise. And it would seem he really doesn't. That's something that is extremely valuable in this town. 

Enough worrying about everything we, the fans, are worried about, or about the fact that we keep asking questions about the things we are worried about. 

Just play baseball. You’ll probably do it pretty well.

Wayta pitch, Zack.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

The "Cavalry" Marches Home...

It's been a weird week, hence the lack of posts, but I couldn't let an off day go without getting a podcast in. Mike Lecolant joined me, along with author Matt Silverman (New York Mets: The Complete Illustrated History and 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die) and Rich Sparago in the latter half of the show. We talked about the recent road trip, Dillon Gee's workhorse nature, the 1969 New York Mets squad, Matt's books, Shea Stadium and its 50th Anniversary yesterday, Anthony Recker "cashing in for his backup catcher union card", Gene Mauch... and many many other Metsian items of interest.

Happy to have games back in Queens, and ones that celebrate at the Shea-tastic price of $3.50 (well...plus those online fees, but still, much much cheaper. That would be very SHEA of them to remove the fees, but I understand there's some annoying web code to be written to get what is usually there out of there. Yeah. 1964 it ain't.)

It's clearly redundant to say, but they HAVE to start winning at home if they are to take the next step. Why since 2011 they have sucked at home and done what winning teams do on the road, which is go .500 or one better, I have no idea. No idea why where they should feel more comfortable they have not and lost. But it has to change. Maybe celebrating some Mets history will bring some relaxation and get us some W's against the Braves, the Cardinals or the Marlins!

Enjoy the weekend, folks. MAKE IT OUT TO THE METS AT WILLETS POINT!!!

CITY. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Online Sports Radio at Blog Talk Radio with Rising Apple Report on BlogTalkRadio

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, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.