Pleasantly surprising.

Yesterday, I spent the whole 2-0 win listening to Howie and Josh. I think it was the first time this year the radio was my only form of tuning in. Though "conniption" is the 1st word that comes to mind when Scott Rice looked as if the whole series was gonna blow up in our faces, but surprisingly the breaks are breaking the Metsie way right now and Jayson Werth swung at a 3-0 pitch, erasing 2 men from the 2nd and 3rd, no out situation.

And then whattya know? Bobby Parnell had plays made behind him and finally collected a less-than-3-run save.

Glad to see Gee have such a fantastic outing. The Nats might not be playing up to what we know they're capable of, but they're still the Nats, and his outing was much needed with the back-end of the rotation so iffy right now.

OH! AND we finally saw the on-field incarnation of what David Wright wore to his presser. The Mets are finally getting consistent with their uni picks, and I like that they've decided the Orange and Blue hat will only be worn at home and during the day. I like it.


A nice time for an off-day, though we at Rising Apple will have the podcast going on at 6:30PM EST (more on that later.)


For now, enjoy your Monday Mornings (as best you can).

Here's a 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.

Discussing the New Alternates Before Discussing Saturday's Win

I would love to talk about the 1st come-from-behind win of the year the Mets had yesterday against those annoying Marlins (I told you they'd still get on our nerves.) Yesterday, however, I completely failed to even get into the fact Friday Night was the first time they wore the new Blue jerseys. So, with the Orange and Blue hats dropping on Thursday with the Snow-whites, as well as in yesterday's 7-3 win, it makes sense to start this by talking about the alternates.

Firstly, and this is kinda outta character for me to utter an "only the Mets" line like this, but only the Mets would drop two alternate uniform items together (David Wright Presser) only to wear them separately the first time they wear either of them in the season.

Secondly, The Orange and Blue hats work well with the snow-whites. At first, it took me a second, and it wasn't like I was disgusted at first glance. Once you warm up to them, however, the combination is outstanding.

Thirdly, though I happened to like the combination of the full-blue hats and the blue jerseys better than I did with the Los Mets and more than I thought I would when I wrote about the direction I thought the blue uniform should go in, I would still like to see the guys in the combo David Wright wore. Maybe they decided that the Orange and Blue cap would only be worn on day games. Maybe they decided with the orange lettering and piping that the home jerseys have, the Orange and Blue cap would be better suited with the road grey lettering. I guess we shall possibly find out this week when the Mets head to Philadelphia and...Minnesota....

Anyway, having almost been a full day since an awesome victory (REGARDLESS of the opponent. I told you the Marlins are going to be annoying. And I don't even think it's because we're the supposed-to-be-in-4th-place-near-the-Marlins Mets. I think other National League East teams will find this team annoying, even if they still up with 90 losses...oh wait...I had a point outside of this parentheses...)

...The first thing off the top of my mind is that Ike still struggled a bit but got a couple solid and lucky hits. Combined with David's 3-4 day ('cause seriously. Nolasco.) Buck's continuing AWESOMENESS, an RBI triple by Daniel Murphy, another Cowgill shot, and a settled-in Jon Niese, and you have some good signs regarding this team over the first 5 games. Clearly some of the same concerns we had going into the season are there, but even through their struggles, the Mets look to be battling. 

Oh, and WHAT WAS THAT?!


Hopefully we don't get a Laffer out of Aaron Laffey today...

What is it? Pix 11 at 1?

Hope you're all having a great weekend. 

Enjoy some Sunday Orange and Blue.

Oh. And Random Gut Instinct: I think Terry either doesn't make the year if they struggle mightily or doesn't get brought back next year regardless...except in a Miracle situation...

RECKER. DEBUT.
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.

I'd Gloat More If My Internet Worked

The second I saw the hat, I wanted to run to the computer and exclaim how thrilled I am that the Mets are at least on part of the same page as me. Well, I can still boast how right I was, but it's gonna be a little toned down on the blogger iPhone app. I can't even link to the "idea for the alternate blue uniform" I had a few months ago (that's your cue to search for the link.)

It's not like the Mets listened to me, because they put that hat idea in to MLB last March. They just got it. When they tried out the blue jerseys these last two seasons, you could tell there was two much blue going on. The alternate cap with the orange rim and the white-trimmed interlocking NY makes perfect sense when there is so much blue going on. So, the powers that be thought the same as me aesthetically about the blue uniform hat.

Now, I like the blue Mets home uniform. I do. I just think there is so much Mets script across the chest going on in the other uniforms that the blue home alternate should go in a different direction. That's why in the "Idea" post I propose the white-trimmed interlocking NY be put on the left chest instead of the Mets script, keeping the orange piping down the front as well. It would not only be a different than anything they currently have, but different than any uniform they've ever had. I hope they look into this for 2014, or in other words, for this March.

The road blue alternate is perfect. I have no suggestions regarding that one. (If you haven't seen it, please check it out in the Mets shop or in google image searches.)

Anyway, this is where I would normally insert a song. And that photo should be up top.

LET'S. GO. METS.

An Idea for the Alternate Blue Uniform

Next year, the Mets will unveil a new alternate blue jersey. We have gotten a preview of it this year and last, with the Los Mets gear dressing up in Blue. While I do think the current design is pretty solid, I have an idea that certainly should be implemented in 2014 (since 2013 schemes have already been delivered to MLB.)

Disclaimer: Ignore the Orange stripes on the sleeves.

Now, for this to be the perfect Mets Alternate Blue Uniform, a couple alterations must be made to the closest pictures I could find (Sorry. I don't currently have photoshop.) First, as I said, get rid of those stupid orange stripes on the sleeves. Toss the Mets Script off the left and throw on the Skyline Logo. On the right sleeve, throw on the Snow-White-uniformed Mr. Met Logo. The only thing I'd change about the hat is obviously the New Era logo, which wouldn't be there anyway. It's a great hybrid hat that should have been the only hybrid hat the Mets ever attempted. You need the orange bill because otherwise, with the blue jersey, there is too much blue. I like the orange button on top and I like the white lining around the interlocking "NY", on both the hat and the jersey. It helps the whole thing pop (which is probably why they made the lettering White on this year’s Los Mets as opposed to last year’s Los Mets. Last Year’s Los Mets with Orange Lettering clashed too much with the Orange piping it crossed.) 

As for the pants, I'd say snow-white make sense. Or let's go retro by having them in matching blue pants, with orange piping down the side. Then, the hat's bill HAS to be Orange.

Whatever color is chosen for the legs, it will be a great combination. It's classy, it's aesthetically pleasing, and it's Orange and Blue. The Mets might already be setting up to roll this out, but just in case, please help me get them aware of the awesomeness so they can get it in the 2014 uniform cycle. I know Mets Police was successful in getting the shadows removed from the scheme and I'm looking to follow in his footsteps. The uniform combos have to be in the offices of MLB by next March. Let's get them thinking about this now. You know and I know it will be a lot of fun watching the Mets play baseball in this uniform scheme.

Let's make this a reality.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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