Impatiently Waiting...

Apparently, in modern terms, I am what you would consider... ADHD. I was put on Ritalin when I was 4 years old, but in my adult life, I have wanted to avoid being on any prescription drug, unless it's for allergies. Maybe that stubbornness is a fault of mine, but I have not taken a Ritalin pill or any of those types of ADHD medicine in 6 years. I feel there are much more natural remedies I can use to focus myself on what I need to do. My dad once said that when I first took the pill, it was the first time he ever saw me, a kid going back and forth 100 miles an hour, stop and take a big, deep breath. Maybe that's really all I needed: a big, deep breath. So, when I find myself going too fast and/or losing focus, I try to take a big, deep breath, and seems to work every time. (Also, driving and cycling through New York City helps hone your focusing skills as well, because of how you are forced to focus on your entire panorama.)

Earlier in my screenwriting experiences, I would finish a first draft and show it to everyone saying, "HERE!!! IT'S DONE!!! LET'S MAKE IT!!!" I have since curbed my enthusiasm, much more understanding of the writing (and rewriting) process. Things take time, and now that I am gaining an education it the art form, I have a much better understanding of what it takes to get these projects to come to fruition. It's daunting to say the least, but I feel I have the talent, will and determination to see it through.

So, it's remarkable that when it comes to the Mets, I have been rather patient, always preaching the optimist's perspective, loving every minute of every ballgame, even in these losing years. I arrived to baseball for many reasons, one which was that it was a very detail-oriented viewing experience that I could focus on for 2 or more hours. So, maybe my patience stems from that since it can be so easy for me to lose focus. I've also been accused of complaining too much, and being loud while doing it, so as I grow older, I have attempted to shed this trait from my characteristics. Complaining is such an easy thing to do in this world, and really, the majority of human beings do complain a great amount, some complaints valid, others not so much.

I understand the fanbase's complaints, though. Really, it won't go away until the team has a winning season, makes the playoffs, wins the World Series, and all that jazz. Even then, though, after the parade, there will be a management move that flashes across their screen, and someone will say, "Yep, of course they're satisfied with one and done. Same old Mets..." Something along those lines, right?

Ted Berg of USA Today's For the Win said something on the Rising Apple Report last week, basically summing up the current Mets Hot Stove environment:

"I hate being the impatient Mets fan. And I always say I wish I could just bury my head in the sand for the entire offseason and wake up on April 5 or whenever Opening Day is and say, 'Ok. Who's on the team?' because, you know, we have no control over these things and ultimately the 2014 Mets will be the 2014 Mets and it doesn't matter how and when they get there. But right now...man, I am...so eager for fresh blood on the team, and I hate that it's come to that, but that's just because of the way the team has played the last few years."

Word.

Impatiently waiting for a track to explode on...

Anyway, I can't focus on this crap anymore. Here's a Random Nothing.

HOT. STOVE. COOLDOWN.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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.

How's That Foot Taste, Jeff?

By now, you've all probably heard what Jeff Wilpon had to say yesterday at the GM Meetings.

If not, here is the full quote, that arrived after he said the free agent contracts are "a little scary" right now:

"We've got a couple more meetings. And there might be hopefully something cooking later. Right now, it's quiet. Sandy's been in meetings all morning. He's got a couple more meetings this afternoon. So we'll see where we are."

He also said something about 5 or 6 balls being up in the air, and that we'll see which ball lands first, according to some beat reporter's twitter feeds.

Later, Sandy Alderson was all like, "What? No, no, no. Nothing is imminent." (not a direct quote.)

Then, later on, the Mets tweeted that Huey Lewis and the News would be performing next year.

Ted Berg has the scoop right here.

Scott Boras said some things too about Space Travel, but I won't give that time here....

You know what Jeff should have said?

"We're working on some things."

And then, something like, "Sandy's got it under control," or "That's all I can comment on right now, folks."

The beat reporters and #MetsTwitter would have eaten that up!

It would behoove Mr. Young Wilpon to play coy right now, even though I know he probably thought he was doing some good by saying "Somethin's cookin'" to a fan base who is clinging to every last word, which is certainly our fault as well, but come on. He's been in this business long enough to understand the current media structure, and how things blow out of proportion extremely quickly. It's not like he was all that controversial or whatever, but the chain of events is not good PR for a team desperately looking to change the conversation and the perception. Sandy Alderson just wants to do his job, and Jeff isn't necessarily making it difficult ('cause it is difficult in general), but he is certainly wasting Sandy's time with questions that beat reporters won't let up on. "Yeah, we're working on some things just like every damn team in this building is working on some things. We'll let you know when something's imminent," is probably what the non-measured side of Sandy is saying in his head.

Because guess what, folks? It's November. The awards are just being released, and Marlon Byrd is the only Major League free agent off the board.

It's like Mike Lecolant said last night on the Rising Apple Report:

"Who's coaching this guy?!"

A lot of great points were made on the podcast about what Jeff Wilpon should and shouldn't be saying right now. Listen to it when you get a chance, which included Jeff Jahelka, host of the Saturday Morning Spectacular, a weekly podcast dedicated to discussing different historical baseball topics, which I have been on a few times as well.

Discover Sports Internet Radio with Rising Apple Report on BlogTalkRadio

Anyway, even though one could refer to Jeff Wilpon's comments as the Random Nothing of the Day...

Here's the Random Nothing of the Day.

WILPON'S. FOLLIES.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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.

Quite the Podcast & the Random Song of the Day

Today on The Rising Apple Report, I will be joined by Staff Writers Rich Sparago, Michael Lecolant and Danny Abriano.

AS WELL AS Steve Keane from The Kranepool Society...

AND Ted Berg, formerly of SNY and currently writing about baseball for USA Today.

It's gonna be quite the podcast at 6:30PM EST tonight.


(Side note, the game is on, and Carlos Beltran is playing for the Cardinals today. This is kind of a time where I realize I am rooting for him (and his health) all year...for I want him to retire as a New York Met.)


More on that at Rising Apple towards the tailend of the week....

Enjoy the rest of the game to those who can watch it.

Here's the Random Song of the Day.
(and don't forget about Julian's Met of the Week at 7:00PM.)

RISING. APPLE.
LET'S. GO. METS.

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

This is it and the Song of the Day

Well, fellow Metsian folk, we have arrived at game 162. In an alternate universe, the 2012 Miami Marlins and the 2012 New York Mets are tied for the division lead heading into this afternoon's match-up, and one will avoid a one-game wild card playoff. Unfortunately, that's not the way it is, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun for another 9 innings before grudgingly giving way to non-Orange-and-Blue playoffs, which will be pretty awesome per usual once our sighs go away.

(Oh, just so I don't completely miss it, his abdomen was ripped THE ENTIRE TIME?!)

I've been preparing for the offseason by getting knee deep in New York: A Documentary Film, as I've mentioned here recently. It is absolutely fantastic, and I advise you all prepare for your offseason the same way. We're gonna need something to do when there's no Mets baseball on. Might as well ride these epic documentaries out. It is a fascinating, atmospheric look at how certain decisions for one region can send history soaring towards where we are today, including our Orange and Blue history. For there are no Metropolitans without the Metropolis.

I just wrapped up Episode 3, which takes us to the end of the 19th Century. They detail a song about the ole neighborhood that became "one of the most popular songs ever written about New York City." As the tune began, I noticed familiar notes that sing, "East Side/West Side," which our excellent Mets tune obviously paid homage to when it was time to record in the early 1960's.

First, since I'm feeling a little melancholy, here is the actual documentary version of the song.

Enjoy game 162 everyone.

Now, let's pick up the pace.

ONE. MORE. TIME. NOW.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

"This game got awesome quick."

Tuesday's Mets Phillies game had many different places in my consciousness throughout its time on the air. I started out on the At Bat at my cousin's birthday dinner, which would sound rude, but my family's all Mets Fans (it's probably still a little rude.) They did appreciate the little updates, however. As the game got underway, I was discussing the Mets with my uncle, who has the sentiment that he can't stand to watch the Mets lose games the way they've been losing games, how he's put away all his Met gear and is all about the Giants now and how it's disgusting to hear them say they're aiming for 3rd place. I explained to him my point of view, how things are getting better, we're discovering a lot about each player on the team and it's great time for evaluation. I said to him that he should stop reading Joel Sherman and the New York Post, and he said he forms his own thoughts. I'm sure this is a cliché conversation happening between Met fans of all shapes and sizes all around this great land of ours...

But I digress. (We certainly both agree about Josh Thole.)

It was nice to see the Mets score so quickly in the 1st, but it being At Bat I didn't realize the controversy surrounding the 1st run of the ball game (not exactly controversy since the catcher clearly didn't have control of the ball.) If I had a better phone I probably would have been able to watch the highlight later, but I don't have a better phone (If I'm not careful, I'm going to digress again...so, I'll calm myself down and not go on a phone technology rant.) As the actions unfolded in the bottom of the 1st, I had a feeling Ryan Howard would hit a grand slam. I don't know if I straight-up thought it would be a grand slam or a bases clearing double or what, but I had a feeling Howard's at bat would not go the Chris Young and the Mets' way.

By the time entrées were served, Mike Baxter was sending his 1st home run of the year into the right field stands, and by the time we were ready for the check, David Wright had tied it with a sac fly. Everyone was heading back to my mom's house, but I got a head start with my little sister. It was close to her bed time and I had not felt well the entire dinner having run into an allergy attack earlier (another moment for thought-process-digression, but I'll hold steady.) I walked into the place, she went to brush her teeth and I turned on the TV. It was a commercial break, and from the last moment I had looked at the At Bat App, this could only mean one thing. So I took one more look before shutting the app down, and Chase Utley's homer typed across my phone screen. Chris Young is done.

My girlfriend and I got back to Queens and I climbed into bed for the remainder of the game, still feeling too sniffly. Kelly Shoppach has certainly gotten on my good side the past few days, and I look forward to him continuing to tie up ball games and block home plates. I dozed off a bit in the top of the 9th, and was pleasantly surprised to see Bobby Parnell have a 1-2-3 9th inning (Shoppach?) I stayed lying down until it all went down against BJ Rosenberg in the top of the 10th. Wright knows how to fight it off and bloop it, Ike getting back to hitting breaking pitches the other way, barreling through 3rd base coach's stop signs when The Duda gets his 1st hit since arriving back from Buffalo (I love to see The Duda slap one the other way over short), and Shoppach just destroying a 1st pitch fastball. This all got me sitting up, and for some reason curious as to what the Twitter world was saying.

The game certainly did get awesome quick.

When it was all said and done, I called my uncle to see if him and my aunt were home and to see if he knew how it ended. He was happy to hear of the final, and from there, we continued our earlier Metsian Conversation.

Finally, around 11:30, my sinuses and I went to sleep.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

In the Name of Valentino and the Random Song of the Day

I just turned on SNY and last night's Buffalo/Rochester game is on Encore. Number 17 Valentino Pascucci laced a single down to 3rd that the Hot-Cornerman could not handle, into right field for a single. (The Bisons have also hit into inning-ending double plays 4 innings in a row...then left the bases loaded after having them with zero out in the 8th) Soon, the rosters will expand, and along with some others from this Buffalo roster, I hope to see Val back in the Majors, crushing them into the new dimensions. I know Ted Berg is looking forward to it even more. Much to look forward to in September.

These will certainly be meaningful games.

Here's the Random Song of the Day.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

The Mets Fan Incarnate

There is no way I could, in my current state of writing, wax as poetically about The New York Mets as Greg Prince of Faith and Fear. And if you haven't read his newest piece, Tick...Tick...Tick..., then you are quite possibly missing what it is to be a Mets fan.

A good amount of you read or have read Faith and Fear (in a little town called Flushing), since Greg was awesome enough to grace his pages with my link all the way back in February. I shouldn't just thank him- I should buy his season tickets (not quite yet though, Greg.)*

If I could be half the writer Greg is, I'd be a pretty damn good one. If any of us could be half the fan Greg is, we also would be pretty damn good. Having been born himself in '62, he grabbed a transistor radio from the doctor monitoring the game the second he got out of his mother's womb. I believe there is a bigger Mets fan than Greg less than I believe The 2012 New York Mets will win the World Championship.

This has been a testing week; An Amazin' Week, if you will, but in a season of so many sweets, why not have the sickening for 7 days? For those of us who weren't around to see 1962 in the flesh, we've just had a front row seat, as Greg points out. And doesn't that just make us more the Mets Fan? 

It is trying. 

But damn is the sweetness wonderful.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

*Of course, one must as well thank Matt Cerrone of Mets Blog and Ted Berg of Tedquarters for linking up as the blog built up. We will discuss season tickets, however, at a later monetary date.