March 31, 2011
I share something in common with both Jose Reyes and David Wright, 2005 was our first full season with the Mets. Both players debuted earlier, 2003 for Reyes and 2005 for Wright, but 2005 was the first year they played all season long – and it was my first year watching all season long.
In many ways, Wright and Reyes are the Mets to me. Though they are very different players, one is the poster boy for an All-American ballplayer and the other one of the most electric players in the game, both always seem to have a smile on their faces and thoroughly enjoy what they do, and I can appreciate a grin that says, “Holy Shit, they’re paying us millions of dollars to play baseball!”
Click here to read the rest of: “Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose – Stay!”
Posts: Rants and Raves | No Comments
March 30, 2011
The fix is in. The bookies from Vegas have lowered the odds on the Mets’ 2011 season, setting the new over/under for total games won to 74.5 – down from 77. Most media outlets are releasing their season predictions and they have the Mets in similar shape, finishing last in the NL East – behind the Nationals. And personally, I couldn’t be happier.
These kinds of predictions are almost always wrong. Does anyone remember before the 2009 season when Sports Illustrated picked the Mets to WIN THE WORLD SERIES! They finished with 70 wins that year, and even that was somewhat amazing given the circumstances. Last year they finished with 79.
Click here to read the rest of: “Never Tell Me the Odds”
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March 28, 2011
I am now the proud owner of a baseball team. Last night I drafted players from amongst the best that Major League Baseball has to offer, a good mix of proven veterans and rookies full of potential. I’m quite happy with my team, and as their manager I intend to lead the New York Tempests to victory!
Of course, this team only exists in the vast databases of Yahoo Fantasy Baseball, one of millions of teams in thousands of leagues where every pitch, hit, strikeout, home run, etc. in our universe is recorded and then applied to all of these others, spawning millions and millions of games whose outcomes will determine champions the world over. This may sound a bit silly, but consider the billions of stars and the potential trillions of planets out there and you’ll realize that significance is all about context.
Click here to read the rest of: “Here There be Dragons (and Dungeons)”
Posts: Personal History, Tangents | No Comments
March 25, 2011
Happy Friday afternoon to you all, it’s time for another edition of Friday Baseball here on Raising the Apple. We’re heading into the final week of Spring Training, the time when rosters are set, lineups are tested, and everyone from the fans to the players are sick and tired of exhibition games and ready for the season to just start already. I’ll miss the palm trees and the laid back nature of Spring Training, but I’d be pleased as punch if the season started today. This Spring felt longer than usual for Mets fans, at least it did for me, and I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve all been holding our collective breaths and waiting for something, but what – I can’t quite put my finger on.
Click here to read the rest of: “Friday Baseball: The Spring of our Discontent”
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March 24, 2011
3/23/2011 – Mets 3, Cardinals 5
We turned the game off early last night in favor of watching the next episode of Battlestar Galactica on our Netflix queue. I didn’t particularly mind when Kate suggested it and said, “I just can’t get into Spring Training games.” And I knew what she meant. I don’t think I’ve watched all 9 innings of more than 2 games this entire Spring. I don’t turn it off the second the starters leave the field, but I will admit that once it gets to be a field full of guys with jersey numbers north of 90, it is hard to keep my interest.
Click here to read the rest of: “A Meaningless Game”
Posts: Game Journals, From the Couch | No Comments
As a frequent ticket buyer and former ticket-plan holder I get all sorts of emails from the Mets ticketing and PR offices, and for the most part I ignore them in the way we are all conditioned to ignore any email not from someone we actually know personally. Though I do really miss getting all those emails from Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign. I suspect as President he’s too busy to write, but that doesn’t stop me from wishing he would.
Today I found a new message in my inbox from the Mets alerting me to a new family section (two actually) that they have designated in the left field landing (the mezzanine over the left-field seats) at Citi Field. These sections are reserved for those with kids 12 and under and feature reduced ticket prices for both adults and kids (approximately $20 per adult and $10 per child) which is a pretty good discount considering tickets in this section range from $30-$50 per ticket. And the kicker – Mr. Met himself will personally visit your section during the game!
Click here to read the rest of: “Meet Mr. Met”
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March 22, 2011
3/19/2011 – Mets 7, Nationals 4
There’s nothing quite like lounging around in bed on a Sunday morning with a beautiful brunette and watching baseball. Even if she does spend more time looking at her Max and Ruby book than watching the game. Kate was away at her Aunt Linda’s surprise 50th birthday party out on Long Island (I remember her 40th which makes me feel old – that and she looks like she’s aged 2 years and I look like I’ve aged 20) so the girls and I had a slumber party where we played My Little Ponies, watched Curious George, and ate popcorn.
When my oldest daughter Caelyn knocked on the door at 6:30 the next morning I wasn’t quite ready to get up having stayed up late watching one of my favorite movies, The Matador, and then not getting to sleep due to a nagging cough. Luckily she thought that watching the Mets with me sounded good, as long as she could bring some toys and books. My younger daughter Lily takes after her mother and was quite content to keep sleeping.
Click here to read the rest of: “In the Booth”
Posts: Game Journals, From the Couch, Rants and Raves | No Comments
When Oliver Perez was traded to the Mets from the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006 I was still learning the game. I had never heard of Perez until I showed up at the ballpark one sunny Sunday afternoon and he was listed as the starting pitcher. I can’t remember the game, or even what month it was in, but I do remember Perez pitching well and his whimsical hop over the foul line as he headed for the dugout between innings.
As the schedule would have it, I’d get to see Perez pitch a number of good games for the Mets that year, and give an excellent start to my first (and only) nerve wracking Game 7 in the playoffs. I began the 2007 season hoping that he’d get a lot of Sunday starts, and I looked forward to watching him pitch.
I even went so far as to say (when I took my mother to the game on Mother’s Day that year), “This guy is pretty great, he’s one of my favorite pitchers.” And he did not disappoint that day with 8 scoreless innings against Chris Capuano of all people. Oh how things change.
Click here to read the rest of: “You Broke my Heart Fredo, You Broke My Heart”
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March 20, 2011
The Mets bid Luis Castillo farewell on Friday morning, releasing him from the team despite their contractual obligation to pay his $6 million salary for the 2011 season. While it was definitely time for he and the Mets to part ways, past time in mine and many others’ opinions (though I would have liked to see a trade rather than a release), you still can’t help but think – wow, they want him gone badly enough to pay him SIX MILLION DOLLARS to go away. If that’s not a strong message, I don’t know what is. Although the $12 million message they are likely to send Oliver Perez by Monday AM will apparently be twice as strong. But the best part of it is, for me at least, is that it doesn’t bother me at all.
Click here to read the rest of: “Luis Castillo and the Economics of Baseball”
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March 18, 2011
Welcome to Friday Baseball, the first in a regular feature I plan on doing here on Raising the Apple. Sunday will always be my favorite day to watch a ballgame, especially out at the ballpark, but Friday Night Baseball has always had a special place in my heart. Fridays have a kind of magic to them, especially to us work-week-rank-and-file Americans. Being a great lover of tradition and ritual myself, I have had several concerning Fridays over the years.
Click here to read the rest of: “Friday Baseball: Just what the Doctor Ordered”
Posts: Rants and Raves, Friday Baseball, Personal History | No Comments
