The Typical Citi Field

Yesterday, a day after Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal published this article, Citi Field continued to mock the home team, silencing them in a 4-0 loss to the Nationals on our opening day. There may have been many factors contributing to the loss: the crazy turnaround from playing a night game in Florida before a day game in New York, the fact MLB allowed for a 3rd party drug test administrator that kept them delayed an hour because Dominic Smith didn't need to pee right away, or maybe just a dominant pitcher in Stephen Strasburg...still, if you're going to be facing the best, you would rather do it at YOUR best and the Mets were not set up to present the best fight against one of the best in the game.  Even with Noah Syndergaard sent ahead to not have to worry about all those other factors, he still could not hold down a Nationals team without Trea Turner, who is out for 4-6 weeks with a broken finger.

Photo via COED

Citi Field, however, may also be a major factor. The Mets have the worst home record there since 2012 and even their exit velocity goes down. The ballpark shouldn't be a factor in the latter, unless you factor in the psychological aspect of it, where it is constantly in the heads of the home team that they have to change their approach, which may lead to greater insecurity. We fans have criticized the place since it opened up for a variety of reasons, but 10 years later, we're still feeling the affects of the Wilpons overall lack of oversight, or just poor oversight all around, or "Hubris" as Greg Prince said in my Mets fan documentary...whatever you want to call it, no additions or fixing or what have you can change the fact that Citi Field was poorly thought out, poorly designed and poorly executed.

Whether the Wilpons own the team for all of our entire lives, or the life of the franchise overall, their circus-like organizational influence will never be lifted off of the Metsian experience, and it is just an absolute shame. I hope the team can consistently perform better as time marches on within the confines of how the owners like to do business, but it just saddens me, like much in this world, that they've left such a negative legacy on our favorite baseball team.

As my dad would say, "Well, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

Although, now I'm wondering how the Lincoln family feels about that...


Anyway, here's last night's A Metsian Podcast with Stephen Keane joining us.

LAUGH. IT. OFF. GUYS.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Round it Out With Reyes

It literally came out of nowhere. Completely from the blue.

There, in front of me, as I walked towards the Brooklyn Bridge after the MTA sucked again, and right before I got on the air with the Rising Apple Report (which you can scroll down to listen to once you're done with this post...)

BUT there I was with plenty of tweets that appeared to confirm that Troy Tulowitzki, the shortstop from the Rockies Region, had been traded to the Canadian Region, and the Blue Jays were going to have to pay a hefty sum of prospects and...

JOSE REYES?!?!?!
That guy? Who has been traded TWICE now since signing a non-no-trade-clause contract with the team you should NEVER do that with? Is going to man shortstop in the high-mile air of the Purple Mountains Majesty??

Something's not right here...there must be more than meets the eye...

Now, since it's only source-driven until teams announce it, we will see plenty of more details in the coming hours...

But that hasn't stopped #MetsTwitter from erupting in a frenzy. Compared to a normal early-Tuesday morning on Twitter. Plenty of people just can't sleep because they are dreaming of the #BringBackReyes possibilities...


Most people think Reyes is going to get flipped by Colorado, and I firmly believe that to be true. They want more pitching, because they've never really had it.

It was never supposed to be this way. He was supposed to be here forever. So now it's time to bring him home.

Get Michael Fulmer and/or Rafael Montero together...and Jon Niese if you must. Or whatever they seem to value in your system that seems to have a dearth of pitching they've drafted and cultivated, that have now accounted for two trades that created a MUCH better vibe than what was left on this blog last week and plenty of others who were just absolutely fed up with the Wilpons and Inaction.

But that has erupted as this push to the deadline continues.

First, news of Michael Conforto, and their Social Media accounts of his whereabouts that had me complaining about the contradictory and circus-like nature of the Wilpons and the way they could potentially be #WorseThanOMalley, on my Facebook page about Bedford & Sullivan (ShamelessPlug,AnHBOStyleTVSeriesAboutBrooklyn AndIt'sDodgers...)

THEN, secondly, almost right after I lambasted the owners, news broke out that the Mets had traded for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. The Mets lost 7-2, Conforto looked comfortable with his first RBI, but all eyes were immediately on the next day.

And the moves immediately took form.

After Kelly Johnson's heroic homering in the 15-2 romp, and Juan Uribe's heroics in the 3-2 10th inning win, along with Michael Conforto really showin' us somethin' over the weekend, the Mets went out and solidified their bullpen with Tyler Clippard's arrival via trade.

They got one more bat to go. Some, and I obviously wouldn't whine, want to see the Mets get one more slugger, which in reality they do need. And I would LOVE to see what Cepedes could do in a Mets uniform.

But the Mets need a leadoff hitter. AND a shortstop. Though Grandy HAS been admirable, hitting very well of late and being one of my favorite Mets on the field...what a move to bring Reyes home. It would be an ASTOUNDING PR Move and, as Howard Medgal says:

Trade makes Mets immediately better at their position of greatest need. Reyes rejuvenated. And part of the next probable Mets playoff team.

— Howard Megdal (@howardmegdal) July 28, 2015

This makes so much sense for so many reasons since it makes a ton of sense that the Rockies, who are going into rebuild mode, would flip Reyes to someone who needs a shortstop.

Sure, he's in decline...and he's lost a step in decline...but he should have been in decline with US. Properly. In our WILDEST Metsian dreams.

Seems like a no-brainer, if you ask me.

Not that you were.

But I'm just sayin'.

Maybe I need to put it in the past...

Maybe it was another time....

Or maybe it's JUST what THIS TIME NEEDS.

#BRINGBACKREYES

LET'S. GO. METS.

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The Miracles

Once upon a time, there was a team called the Miracle Mets, and they shocked EVERYBODY with their meteoric rise to the top of the baseball world, especially their fans. Sure...they had seen progress happening slowly over time, but nobody expected THAT that quickly.

The Mets... 

The Moon...

1969. 

It all made sense.

"Oh, I just can't beLIEVE it. It's been a year of Miracles, and it's marvelous. Really, really marvelous."

--Joan Hodges 

This franchise is built on Miracles, and won their next World Series with the MIRACLE of baseball Miracles, one could argue (though a stupid RED team tried to 1-up our Metsies...) 

The time when Marty MetFly raced for the lightening unsure whether he'd make it in time...

It's a Miracle when certain things happen. 

And last night was a Miracle.

It was a Miracle this offense came back after being down 2-1 somewhere in the last 3 innings. On the Road.

It was a Miracle when Eric Campbell, in his 8th Pinch Hit At Bat of the year, got his 1st Pinch Hit to put the Mets ahead 3-2.

It's a Miracle when anybody BUT the Mets make errors, and it's a Miracle when the Mets capitalize on it.

It was a Miracle this happened in the 9th inning, and it was a Miracle Kevin Plawecki got all the way to 3rd on the play.

And it was an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE this offense could muster up the strength to tack on not 1, not 2, not 3 but FOUR insurance runs.

Yes you could say that Washington's ranks weren't necessarily at top order on the mound throughout the night, but we know this offense can easily let Miracles happen on the other side of things.

That's the stuff of Miracles, and that's the stuff of this team.

It's their brand. And the Wilpons own it.

It's a Miracle we're even this close this far into the season with those clowns involved.

So, even if these Miracles play into the Wilpons' team's brand...It's up to THEM to give the Miracles better chances of happening.

Come on, dudes. Get it done.

Make Miracles happen.

LET'S. GO. METS.

A Time to Put a Smile on Your Face

While I haven't been posting, the Mets have gone ahead and lost a series to the Good Brew Crew, won a series to the Bad Dad Crew, and now dropped another series to the Great Red Crew, continuing to keep that RISP number at a loser's level. With myself, my aunt, uncle, cousin and lil sis on hand for Father's Day at a rather full, actually, Citi Field, I was happy to see Curtis provide a spark at the top of that lineup with an awesome Pepsi Porch leadoff home run. I have been settling into the family of Mets fans that is Two Boots that the poor sight of the Mets in San Louis has not generally been in mine. Though I did not work Monday Night, I do not have cable, nor plan to anytime soon on my budget, so my sight generally does not take in the Mets live, rather listening to Howie and Josh describe the sight that's in their eyes.

Photo Credit: Bluenatic

It's clear, however, that we all need to just smile. Unless we take some serious political protest stance in some fashion or another, which would be interesting to see but I'll tell ya right now that I won't be the leader of the revolution, this team will most likely fail to be properly managed all the way from the top down. The Wilpons do not know how to run a ballclub, let alone know what it means to run the New York Metropolitan National League Baseball Club. I have very little faith, no matter what happens- no matter whether they have a winning season over the next couple of years- that the Mets can have sustained success with the Wilpons at the helm.

So, when I think about what I want to write on this blog at this particular moment, all I can think of is playing the song below, because every time I listen to it, it puts a huge smile on my face. Don't read into any of the lyrics, though I'm sure many of you may do so. That was not my intention, no matter how poignant it may seem at this particular Metsian intersection. I just want to smile, and tonight, when I got home from Two Boots and settled down, the song came on, and I just smiled. So, screw it, man. Let's just listen to Bob Marley.

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.

On December 14th, More Clarity Than Ever

What? You thought I was talking about the R.A. Dickey situation?

Yeah, right.

No, I'm talking about myself.

I'm don't really care much about all that trivial stuff going on.

I'm sorry, that was phrased incorrectly.

I care DEEPLY about all that stuff going on, and follow it throughout my days.

I just haven't wanted to write about it lately (on top of some technological difficulties on my end.)

You see, when I said I moved, I didn't say where I moved to.

Right now, if you want to get literal, I have most of my belongings in the basement of my mom's upstate house. Here, I have been living since the first of the month, on my own, going through my stuff and getting some writing done. I am inbetween jobs and inbetween places, with a family that cares deeply for my well being and is affording me the time (and space) to find myself. 

The isolation is a great opportunity to dive head first into certain creative endeavors, endeavors I know will help deeply in 2013 to turn screenwriting into my everyday profession, but I haven't gotten it nearly ramped up enough yet.

So, today, on December 14, 2012, when I would love to focus and write about everything Mets and baseball, I realize more than ever before I really have to just have to focus on myself.

So, enjoy your weekend everybody! I will be traveling back to the city this evening for some social gatherings, including Greg Prince's Book Release Party.

But after the fun... 
Some work must be done.

RANDOM. SONG. TIME.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

I Gloat More Now, With Internet

I'm so happy I prophesied the Mets New Hat.

Hey, look, I know I'm not the first person to come across this hat and say it would work.

But I'm going to use it as a jumping point.

People should start listening to me when I say this team is going places.

They should listen to me when I say that this team has found stability in a front office building from the ground up while their owners get their shit together again.

I came across someone recently who was longing for the days of Omar Minaya.

In fact, the exact quote was, "Where have you gone, Omar Minaya? Mets nation turns it's lonely eyes to you."

Wait...Really?

I can't fathom anyone in their right mind longing for the days of Omar Minaya. It was too scattered.

Yeah, he got us '"back on the map" for the latest highpoint on the Mets Rollercoaster, but his flaws got extremely exposed extremely quickly in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and then the bottom fell out, and his decisions made the Madoff Mess that much more impactful because the team sucked and a bunch of fans didn't go to their new stadium. Like a good amount of us said when Sandy and Co. got here, "The adults have arrived." Their goal is to bring long-term stability to a franchise that has been too much like their Brooklyn Farm Club's Namesake. And they are doing it. Why should I complain? Though they haven't won in the 2nd half yet, there is still a sense of direction, at every level of the organization.

Plus, something this team has never had.

I'm sorry if some of you cannot see that direction yet.

I still look forward to celebrating with all of you when that trophy makes its way up Broadway.

And hey, even I can't prophesize everything.

But I sure like watching The Show unfold.

I'm not going to complain about much.

...Except the fact the Mets haven't made the new hat available for purchase yet.

That I'll complain about all day.

FLUSHING. BASEBALL.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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

Quite the Time Off Indeed

This is the longest since starting the blog that I've ever gone between posts. Part of that was wrapping up a Thanksgiving Road Trip to Denver, but once I got back to New York last weekend, I started packing for a November 30th move. By the end of the week, I'll have some more time to do all types of writing I have to do. So, thank you for tuning in and I look forward to your continuing patronage.

For now, please enjoy a Random Song.

SIGN. 'EM. SANDY.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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