I headed into this morning, as I have done all the late nights I finish with work recently, tired and just wanting to go home as I gear up for vacation this weekend. I didn't want to write, and if I were to write about the Mets soon, it would be when I woke up near or an hour before midday, and write then, since they next play at 7 tonight. I'd even watch all I missed with my eyes that my ears picked up, to see what exactly happened in the almost calamitous 9th inning, digest it, go to sleep and write tomorrow.
And I feel I don't need to write too much, and just let him speak for all of us.
Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
It is strange that the last 2 posts I have written were inspired by the folks of Faith and Fear in Flushing, but Greg, in these wee pre-dawn hours, alerted me and us to the fact the 9th inning allowed for the "echoes" of history with a 5-3 win, the same score as the Mets 1st clinching World Series Victory. It didn't register with me the first time around, even if a lot of the talk on both the radio and TV was about the 1969 matchup between the two teams facing each other, the New York Metropolitans and the Baltimore Orioles. So, I appreciate Greg bringing it to my attention.
And I appreciate being on the dawn of the rest of this season. I have not written nearly as often as past years, especially my inaugural season of 2012, when I'm pretty sure I wrote every day. Greg's piece is short and sweet, and just what that game needed from Faith and Fear in Flushing's perspective. I'm sure Greg was tired when he published the article at 2:55am, but he still got it done. So, I thank you, Greg, for reminding me that it doesn't matter how much you write, just as long as you're writing everyday.
"I no longer remember the exact circumstances, but years ago there was a newspaper story featuring a Yankee fan who didn’t understand why any franchise would adopt “Ya Gotta Believe” (or one of its non-spontaneous, corporate-approved descendants) as a rallying cry. Terrible slogan, she snorted dismissively: “Believe? That’s lame. We know.”
That always struck me as a perfect way to describe the two New York fanbases, because strip away the condescension and that long-ago fan got it right.
Yankee fans expect dollars to flow and moves to be made to ensure a full calendar in October and a ticker-tape parade a month later; anything less than that is a failure, for which there will be consequences.
Mets fans? We love ticker tape as much as the next guy and gal, and we’ll take a wire-to-wire regular-season cruise that doesn’t require too much heavy breathing. But dismissing anything less than a World Series trophy as a failure? We don’t get that — it’s entitled hubris that sounds deeply and dreadfully boring.
Knowing? Where’s the fun in that? Give us wild hope and a stubborn belief that refuses to be extinguished, no matter what obstacles the baseball gods throw in our way. (Tug’s call to arms was as much battered defiance as it was optimism.) Those are the things that power our baseball dreams."
It's remarkable to think, that come September, these two New York franchise's will most likely be playing each other during each's respective pennant races, capable of putting a thorn into the other's playoff plans. That's remarkable, it's unprecedented, and could be a preview for more interleague Subway Series games a few weeks later... If you think I just jinxed it, I've decided to throw all caring of superstitions away. I DID say "COULD be" because that's all I know. WILL be won't be discussed here. That's where you're tempting the fates... But who KNOWS what those FATES have in store, because after the last week, week and a half, after the last few years and the last 10 years since I joined the Metsian River midstream, I couldn't have seen ANY of that rollercoaster we just experienced coming, and none of you saw it either. The full payoff hasn't been reached yet, but it felt GREAT to finally get to THIS point after so long. Believing is beautiful, and it's what I lost in the Yankees. I stopped believing in them once I became an adult. I saw that childlike joy lost in me as I settled into Yankee Fandom semi-adulthood, then full-fledged adulthood, or at least as what's determined by puberty and the American Law. I accepted my baseball identity at the age of 20, realizing it had been there the entire time. I am of the New York National League faith. I wasn't able to go to any games this weekend, because I work at night, and the "stooges of ESPN" as Howie referred to them moved the game to national last night. BUT I appreciate that the Mets were able to sweep the nationals on the national stage. We're patriotic here in New York, but we aren't Nationals. We're METROPOLITANS. Speaking of ESPN, though, they do a TERRIBLE job with their production and direction. It's always interesting to hear what the national broadcasters think of the Mets, like Curt Shilling, Aaron Boone, and what not, but the main guy isn't that good at calling, and the camera work and cut-to's are horrendous. Where was the foul pole look at Duda's home run? Why are you cutting to Bryce looking up? Don't you get access to all of SNY's good looks? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! It's nights like that you really appreciate how great of a job SNY does with these games. At least Howie and Josh got to call the craziness of the 3rd inning, but definitely missed what Gary, Keith and Ron would have done with 3 home runs in 5 pitches. So, first, it was the Wilmer Flores Appreciation Night on Friday.
Then it was All the Du-da Night. Last night, the whole thing was an ENTIRE METSIAN effort. Curtis, Noah, Murph, Cespedes, Duda, Clippard, etc...
Greg Prince, of Faith and Fear in Flushing as well, might have thought he was Born Again back during the 11-game hitting streak, but it seems the entire Metropolitan fanbase was born again this weekend, and Citi Field would appear to be FINALLY christened.
That's as far as the regular season is concerned...
There's still a lot more work to do to keep the christenings coming.
Last night, the Faith and Fear in Flushing duo, Greg Prince and Jason Fry, joined myself, Danny Abriano and Mike Lecolant on the 75th episode of the Rising Apple Report for an off day Roundtable Rant on the current state of the New York Mets.
Along with voicing our frustrations at the "holding pattern" the Mets seem to be in, we also discussed number 75, Frankie Rodriguez, and the 1975 New York Mets season, which lent itself for plenty of correlating and contexting where the Mets currently stand.
Last night, my nerd self put in A New Hope Pandora station, and...(the nerdiness is making me sigh)...went off to a galaxy far, far away. Other movie themes and soundtracks were abound too, but so were the Prequel soundtracks, which I hadn't really partaken in. Written by John Williams as well, his brilliance couldn't quite make the entire prelogy work when sampling soundtrack and screentrack merged together. On its own, however, it brings out how awesome the prequels could have been.
Star Wars, frankly, has nothing to do with the Mets, but Star Wars, frankly has everything to do with the Mets. I'm not going to compare the Mets to the Rebel Alliance battling the Empire (.............?) or what not. All I know is that there are many a Metropolitan Star Wars fan out there in the universe, one of which happens to write for a pretty awesome blog. R.A. Dickey is a huge Star Wars nut and pictures like this exist. That's enough for this to actually not be that random of ramblings. I've rambled and posted some things on here that have infinite degrees of separation from the Mets, but this is, no degree or 1 degree or somethin'. Us Star Wars fans want to make Star Wars about everything. I'm not the type of Star Wars fan who dresses up and goes to conventions, but I don't mind walking through a Citi Field Star Wars Imaginationland. Star Wars Night should be an annual event. Some of you may know I've proclaimed my full support for the Disney Acquisition of Lucasfilm. I am extremely excited for Episode VII, and its a good sign that the first big news announced after the merge had to do with the story. That's a writer I can get behind.
The prequels could have been soooooo good. And maybe one day down the road, 30 or so years from now, they will remake those things (no offense, George Lucas who might be dead by then, if he is not being kept alive in a Vader suit.)
Maybe they could just use the same soundtracks again.
It is beyond ridiculous that it has taken me this long to publicly say that about the David Wright Signing. I am beyond static. I am beyond thrilled. The fact it has taken this long to not be so dysfunctional that you can't retain a Franchise Player is beyond something. But thank the fates it is somebody with as much class as David Allen Wright. Now, it is time to sign Robert Allen Dickey.
I can't separate emotion from anything having to do with our Cy Young Award Winner unlessWil Myers is hitting the World-Series-Winning Home Run for the Mets. So, please- just...sign Our Knuckler.
If you want more words on the subjects of Wrightey and Dickey, I suggest you read Faith and Fear in Flushing's Greg Prince and Jason Fry.
I, after moving, have just gotten a chance to catch my breath.
So, soon there will be words and posts more frequently. For now, I gotta write the outline to a screenplay.
