Oi, it's Baseball!!!

You would think on the day Pitchers and Catchers reported I would want to talk about that. But I actually want to talk about how awesome it was that MLB Network put actual baseball on the telly Saturday in the form of Game 2 of the Australian Baseball Championship.

The Perth Heat v. the Canberra Cavalry

The Cavalry were up by 1 in a best of 3 series at home. I wasn't able to watch the whole game, but the Cavalry were up by 4 or so when I left. (Looks like they eeked out a 7-6 victory for the Championship.)

The 7,000 or so who made up the full stands sure did like their Cavalry. Baseball must be quite the subculture down under. The announcers were Australian, and they certainly knew what they were talking about, though at some point they explained "for our Australian viewers" why the catcher changes signals with a runner on. This said to me that the game isn't there yet but growing strong.

Some other things I came away with after watching the ABL is that the pitching isn't very good and most of the teams are made up of scrappy blue-collar types you wouldn't mind stealing a job away from somebody in the Spring.

And Graeme Lloyd is the Cavalry pitching coach.

And the Cavalry Stadium plays the standard "Ba-da Ba-Da Ba-DAAAAAAAA......CHARGE!" but the fans don't say that at the end. They say, "Oi!" Which is ironic.....since they're the Cavalry...

And they have a knack for the facial hair (though the mullet is apparently in...)

Here's the Random Song of the Night.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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Random Song of the Night

3. MORE. DAYS. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

 

That Was an Interestingly Weird Super Bowl.

I'm not going to go on much about that football game, other than to say that football game might have been the strangest thing we've ever seen.

During the power outage, @belyeadm tweeted, "Next years super bowl in a foot of snow 'at least the power didn't go out'.

...Unless it does...

Who is @belyeadm, you ask?

...I don't know, but he's on twitter, and it says he's a Redskins fan...

My Dad's side of the family are all Redskins fans...

Oh, and Beyoncé...well...BEYONCÉ...

(Who is going to be performing in the cold?!)

Anyway, congrats to the Ravens and their fans.

My condolences to the Niners and their fans.

Now, we can focus our attention on the things that are more...you know...basebally.

(Random tidbit of the evening: This is LaTroy Hawkins' twitter profile pic.)

Here's the Random Song of the Night.

IT. IS. SO. SOON.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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I Got a Random Dirty Mind on this Snowy Friday Night

I'm watching the Top 10 Right Fielders and Left Fielders RIGHT NOW on MLB Network. And guess who are NOT on it...?

That might be a joke that entered the blogosphere or the Tweetosphere all at the same time, so I understand the unoriginality of it.

Seriously, though, you guys...We should stop joking about the outfield...

This post actually has nothing to do with baseball. This post has to do with Prince.

The Random Song of the Evening is certainly for primetime play.

Make sure your kids are tucked in tight before this one.

If they could even understand what Prince was saying, they...might have some questions....?

So, close their doors and let your ears take in the mind of one of the greatest.

And certainly one of the dirtiest.

Have a Funky Friday Night, folks.

Some form of baseball is almost here.

SIX. TEEN. MORE. DAYS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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Well. Here Goes Nothing.

On it's way after that called 3rd strike is a lull. No matter what happens from October 29, 2012 to February 13, 2013, we find out nothing as to what it will truly mean on the field. Spring Training helps get some kind of idea as to what you're dealing with, but even then, until that 1st day, there is nothing. Everything that happens in baseball and involving my favorite team will mean the world to me in the moment...but baseball. Baseball being played at the type of level it was played last night, does not come till Monday, April 1, 2013, which my newly downloaded iCalendar has told me is a 1:10 start time between the 2013 San Diego Padres and the 2013 New York Mets.

Yes, those New York Mets. The Highiest of Highs, The Lowiest of Lows. The Floppiest of Players, The Piccasso's of Pitching. The Marvelest of Marv's, The Miraculous Moon Walkers. The Yoiest of La Tengos, The Scummiest of Bunches. The Worst Team Ever.

The Champions of the World.

(of baseball.)

Around the 5th inning, even before I thought about the idea of Angel Pagan winning the World Series, or seeing the shot of him in center field when that last out was recorded, I was imagining R.A. Dickey on a World Series Mound at Citi Field in the 4th game in THAT uniform, pitching his heart out well enough to be on the mound in the 9th inning with 2 out, and the ruckus as he strikes the last batter of the year out with a wicked knuckler, the entire Mets family erupting into pure unadulterated elation. (In this scenario, the National League, after having won the last three All-Star games, gets its dose of what is disguised as the Citi Field Curse and loses next July in Flushing. And R.A. Dickey would have to have pitched a 7th game for the pennant and the earliest he could pitch is game 4.) It's a pretty specific scenario that played out in my head, but I'm sure other fans have similar moving pictures in their heads as they watch year in and year out other teams celebrate come Late-October.

The truth is, in all honesty, and with all my sincerest regards, we will know nothing till Friday, July 19, 2013, when the New York Mets open up the 2nd half hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets will have to play good baseball in the 1st half as well, but nothing will be secure in most Mets fans' minds till they see these guys lock it down in the 2nd half, whether that's in July, August or in meaningful games in Effin' September. This isn't just a recent issue. This is a historical issue.

There's a core forming within the depths of this Metropolitan franchise, and they have one more year under their belt. We saw glimpses of the kind of camaraderie this young group can have, and maybe with another year, and with The Older Professor and the Big Brother helpin' them along, it can translate into more success past July 19, and then into the kind of camaraderie those New York Giants of San Francisco have (that phrase was delivered to me at one of the NY Giant Fan Get-Togethers from this past week.)

There is a lot of work to be done, but I'm as excited as ever. I know the New York Mets will be the Orangest of Blues come 2013. And I look forward to extending moments like the one below into the 2nd half.

And beyond.

BASEBALL. FEVER.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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