All Wet Again

A few weeks ago, I'd batted around going to a Mets/Cubs game amid an iffy weather forecast. I decided not to go and the game ended up being played, and the Mets won. Yes, there were also three Rain Delays, but I still felt like I'd missed out.

Monday night, I had tickets to the opener of the Mets/Cardinals series, amid an iffy weather forecast. In spite of the fact that there was a torrential downpour in Manhattan when I left my office, I decided to forge ahead to Citi Field anyway, since, according to the Mets Rain Hotline*, the game had not yet been called.

On the 7 train out to Citi Field, I saw plenty of lightning flying around but no rain, as though Noah Syndergaard had waved his Mjölnir and willed the weather away so that he could make his start. By time I arrived at Citi Field, it wasn't raining at all. In spite of the weather, it seemed like there was a fair enough crowd on hand, including a healthy presence of Underwear sniffing, Selflie-stick using Cardinals fans ready to thumb their noses at us brutish Mets fans while Mike Matheny wrote another book about how wonderful he is.

There was a tarp on the field, however, so a delay was in the offing, but I'd figured it wouldn't last long, and maybe by 7:45 we'd be underway. So I walked around the Field Level a little bit. The crowd was sparse, at least for the current times, sparse enough that by time I reached Fuku, the new David Chang outpost, there was, in fact, no line whatsoever. Usually, the line runs halfway down the Shea Bridge. Now, I've made mention of my misgivings toward David Chang, but I'll admit when food lives up to hype. I hadn't been to the Fuku at Citi Field, but I did have the opportunity to visit another location and, well, it's a really good sandwich. And the fries have this wonderful spicy seasoning. So, if there was no line, and I wasn't in a rush, well, here we are.

So I get my Fuku and head upstairs and I grab some napkins since I know I'm going to have to towel off my seat, and then Alex Anthony starts talking and I turn around towards the field and I see on the scoreboard in giant block letters:

POSTPONED

Oh dammit. 

So this, then, would be my first Citi Field Rainout. I seem to have had a good run of avoiding going to games that get rained out. I'd suffered through some delayed games, but none that were rained out outright, not since a Saturday night in 2008 at Shea Stadium when the Field Level literally turned into a lake and they waited a good 10-15 minutes after the game had been called to announce it to the some 50,000 fans in attendance that night, so they would keep buying things. The age old trick, of course. I thought there was a window to get the game in, but the Mets have more advanced meteorologists than I do and so if they didn't think it was possible, couldn't they have called things at 5:30 and saved me the trip? I feel a bit like I fell into one of Ratso Wilpon's rabbit holes because I showed up and spent money, so not only was I annoyed that the game got rained out (and I've once again been rooked out of seeing a Syndergaard start by some weird happening), but also because I'd been made a rube of by a weasel-faced turd that nobody likes.

Well, me, and about 15,000 other people who showed up and were still eating and drinking and buying things after the game had been called. To say nothing of the mass of humanity that formed at the ticket booth outside the stadium afterward. 

So, no game tonight, just another random escapade where I went to see a Baseball game and instead just went out to dinner at Citi Field. We'll try this again on Wednesday.

*Yes, there is in fact a Mets Rain Hotline. Only us true lunatic Mets fans know about it. When I tell people about it, they think I'm joking but it's a real thing. (718) 507-RAIN.

The Niese Knows

I was all geared up for the Mets to come into Pittsburgh to face our old friend Jon Niese on Monday night, but the rain intervened, so instead there's a Doubleheader tomorrow. And I don't mean the fake "Doubleheader" that involves a separate admission, a real, actual single-admission Doubleheader.

So we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see Niese, and I suppose on some level I wanted to wax poetic on his time with the Mets, but who cares. We know what happened. There was a lot of potential, and perhaps some of it was unfairly placed on him simply because he was a young pitcher with a modicum of talent on a really crummy team. But he never really took The Leap we expected him to take and in retrospect I wonder if he ever really had it in him.

Really, the takeaway we all had from Niese was that he was an enormous headcase who had the tendency to go to pieces whenever something bad happened, and given some of the Mets teams he played on, that was fairly often. Yes, he also had moments where he looked really, really good too. But those were all too infrequent. And, of course, he ultimately became the odd man out in a crowded rotation and was subsequently dealt to Pittsburgh for Neil Walker, who returns to his hometown and I'm sure some Pittsburgh Blogger is writing a similarly-worded post about Walker and his time with Ye Pirates.

I'd like to think that we'll see The Niese Inning at some point tomorrow. I have this sinking feeling that that might not happen, though. Not because Niese has revenge on his mind, but because the Mets right now can't do a damn thing offensively and there's no sign of reinforcements.

Lost Game

So, you know, I was all set to go charging out to Citi Field on Friday night to see the Mets' triumphant return home, where they would surely be greeted with the heroes' welcome they deserved as they began their season-ending series against Washington.

However, a day's worth of torrential rain fell here in New York and for sanity's sake, the game was called in the afternoon. This was just fine with me; in my younger days I would have thought nothing of sitting around through a 4-hour rain delay waiting for the game to start, but I'm now older and not quite as foolhardy. Based on how much it was raining, I was not looking forward to dragging my ass out to Queens to sit out in the rain and Citi Field's notorious jet stream.

So, instead of finishing my season with 22 games, I'll have to settle for 21. I can't go to tomorrow's Day-Night Doubleheader (my stance on those has not changed), but I'll be there on Sunday, assuming the rain stops by then.

See It Through

I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like the Mets have managed to avoid rainouts this season. I know the Mets haven't played very many doubleheaders to this point this year, and I believe they only had one make-up game this year, which was in Philadelphia, after a series when they were already scheduled to be there, so they didn't have any random 1-game stopovers like last year when they had to go to Colorado on their way home from Los Angeles and Minnesota on the way home from San Diego. So Wednesday night's rainout in Washington seems like a bit of an anomaly. Of course, Playoff-bound Washington gets to act all salty and nick their fans for a Day-Night Doubleheader tomorrow, even though I think we all know that there's going to be approximately 20 people at the opening game.

But, even without a game to watch, the Mets still managed to keep themselves in the general consciousness by announcing that both Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins would be returning for 2015. Alderson, in fact, earned himself a nice 3-year contract extension. 

I'm guessing that the skeptics among us aren't too thrilled by this news, but I can see why the deals were done. True, in the 4 years of the Alderson/Collins regime, the Mets have been pretty bad. After basically laying down and dying in the second half of 2011 and 2012, the Mets were perfectly middling throughout the season last year, and though they stand to tick upwards slightly this year as far as wins and losses are concerned, there wasn't exactly much in the way of suspense when it came to the Mets' chances of making the postseason. So, after 4 years of basically nothing and a streak of lost years that has now reached 6 seasons, why keep these guys around?

For years, we've been hearing about how Alderson and Collins haven't had much to work with at the Major League level. Even this year, the roster has been limited (lest we forget starting the season with Jose Valverde, John Lannan and Ike Davis on the roster and Andrew Brown hitting 5th on Opening Day) amid some good stories of younger players finally starting to show their potential. But that's probably the key reason these guys are staying around. The Mets were already dead when Jerry Manuel was at the helm in 2010, and there was no particular hope in sight. Whether it was Collins, Manuel, Wally Backman or whoever, very few managers would have been able to save the team over the past several seasons (even Bobby Valentine would have been hard-pressed). Alderson has come in and basically rebuilt the farm system from the ground up. He wasn't nearly as dramatic in doing so as the Houston Astros have been, but that's basically what he did. And slowly but surely, these prospects have begun to ascend to the Majors, and we're starting to see a little bit of payoff. Matt Harvey was obviously the first to hit the scene, and while it remains to be seen just how he comes back from a lost year, we know what he's capable of being. Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom took major steps forward this year. Travis d'Arnaud and Lucas Duda found themselves after slow starts. Juan Lagares, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia thrived in their roles. These are all guys that are key pieces in the future of the team. Others, like Dilson Herrera and Noah Syndergaard are ready to ascend.

The majority of these names, of course, were brought in by Sandy Alderson. Not all of them, but most of them. But now that the foundation is laid, it's time to get serious about bringing in the necessary parts to make the Mets a winning team again. It's no longer going to be acceptable, with a healthy, young pitching staff, to throw a lineup bereft of talent in several spots, out there day after day. And that's going to be the big story of the coming offseason. What is Alderson going to do to improve a lineup that's been without much teeth on most days? We've been going over the problems with Shortstop and Left Field and Right Field for a few years. It's high time something substantial was done about it. What that's going to be, I don't know. But instead of Alderson leaning back and working on minor deals to patch holes, now he's going to have to make some impact moves that will make a difference.

Is There A Game?

I have, for many years, kept a Mets pocket schedule pinned above my desk at work. I did it at my old job and now I have done it at my new job, just so I always know if and when there's a game on any given day.

I was dubious all morning, given the absurd amount of rain falling in New York (likely the same rain that had come up from Philadelphia), that the Mets and Phillies would even play today...or was it tonight...I wasn't quite sure. I sort of took for granted that it was a night game, but with this being a 2-game series and the whole getaway day and cross-country trip to Colorado, one can never be too sure. I suppose I could have solved all that by just looking at the schedule pinned above my desk, but I didn't bother to do so. Then, at some point early in the afternoon, I got a buzz on my phone from ESPN's ScoreCenter announcing in block letters "THIS GAME HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER ETC ETC ETC..." I figured, since the alert came at around 1pm, that it must have been a day game. I figured I was wrong about the time of the game. Only at this point did I bother to look at my schedule to see that it was, in fact, a night game, and the good people of Philadelphia actually wised up and decided to head things off at the pass and spare people from having to show up to Mike Schmidt's Moustache Stadium Citizens Bank Park for no reason. If it were the Mets, who seem to have a very odd way of showing how much they care for their fan base, they probably would have stood around shrugging their shoulders and opened the gates at 4:30 just so they could sell a few Shackburgers before calling the game around 8pm, because everybody loves making the trek out to Flushing for no apparent reason.

Bottom line is, the game was at night, but it was apparent all day that there was no way in hell they were playing baseball tonight in Philadelphia, or New York, or basically anywhere on the East Coast, so the will-they-or-won't-they drama was basically spared very early in the day. Of course, these rained out games must be rescheduled, and generally they're done so as the ever popular Day-Night Doubleheader that you all know I love so much. I was expecting that this is what the Phillies would do, on some random Saturday in July, but they surprised me by scheduling the game on a random Monday afternoon in June when both teams were off. Last season, these mutual off-days were sucked up by a spate of early season rain/snow/horrible-outs, meaning the Mets had to do things like fly from San Diego to New York by way of Minneapolis. At least Philadelphia is closer to home. And at least the Mets aren't making a trip out to Colorado until May 1st, although the weather in Denver has been known for being unpredictable. So, hopefully this 4-game trip will be the only time they have to go there this season. These random 1-game trips are the sort of thing you really want to avoid piling up.

Pit Stop

This game had to be made up at some point, since MLB isn't really fond of letting teams punt games entirely, even if it holds no bearing on any sort of playoff berth. And I guess Minneapolis is sort of halfway between San Diego and New York, if you're going by way of Pickle Lake, so why not drop in and play a Baseball game? It ain't no thang.

Man, I'm this snarky after the Mets won? Imagine if they'd lost.

Fortunately, they didn't lose, and so the road trip from April that saw 2 games snowed out, a 3rd game frozen out and 5 of 7 games played in conditions bordering on the inhumane is now finally complete, with the Mets having made two of these little "side trips" and coming away with two wins.

Monday, the Mets essentially had a brief layover in Minneapolis, arriving in town late Sunday night to play a Monday afternoon game that was, for them, quick. So quick, in fact, that if you blinked, you probably forgot they even had a game today. I didn't, although I was engrossed enough at work that I actually missed the beginning of the game. I've made mention at times that I will often keep WFAN streaming on my computer at work, but if there's a game on, I have to switch to a portable radio because for whatever reason, MLB blacks out the internet stream of live games. But they're not consistent with it. And sometimes, if I'm not paying attention, I'll all of a sudden start listening again and wonder why I've got a replay of Boomer and Carton on. This is what happened today, so by time I tuned in, the Mets were already up 2-0 and Dillon Gee was cruising right along.

Gee, who's been a large part of the Mets resurgence, came through with another fine start on the heels of several other fine starts he's had, and it's gotten to the point that people are actually starting to recognize Dillon Gee as a good pitcher in his own right, and as pivotal a part of the Mets rotation going forward as anybody they've got in the system. Sure, he doesn't have the general panache of Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler, or really any other pitcher in the rotation right now (Not including Carlos Torres, since he really doesn't count in deference to Jenrry Mejia), but what he has done is get people out consistently over a stretch of time where it's been pretty important for him to do so. Particularly when things like, say, his job were on the line. But he's proven up to the challenge and today was another good example of that. Given an early lead, Gee set out and smashed the flea—in this case an overmatched and anemic Twins lineup—with a sledgehammer, only allowing 1 run in 7.2 innings of work, and even that was unearned courtesy of an error by the irritatingly spastic Daniel Murphy. The end result was about 12 well-spent hours in Minneapolis, before finally and in some cases mercifully heading home.

Other items of housekeeping: Perhaps the least surprising move of the season is the non-return of Travis d'Arnaud to AAA with John Buck returning to the team tomorrow. d'Arnaud doesn't have a hit in 3 games, but I don't see anyone going nuts about that, particularly considering the fact that he's drawn 5 walks in the process. He's also probably going to see a majority of the playing time down the stretch, which is, of course, what he's here for. Gone is Anthony Recker, whom I'm sure we will remember about as fondly as, say, Vance Wilson or any other light-hitting backup Catcher. Braves in this week and I'm making an unannounced appearance tonight, in order to continue my streak of having seen at least one Mets/Braves game every year since 1998. This may or may not be a good idea, but with Zack Wheeler on the mound it will at least be interesting.

Harvey's Creed

It didn't snow in Minnesota on Saturday, although I suppose if it had, it probably wouldn't have been anything more than a minor irritant for Matt Harvey, who seems to be able to perform at a very high level in any set of circumstances. His first start came in a frigid wind tunnel at Citi Field, and although the weather was nicer in Philadelphia, he was once again facing some harsh elements in his 3rd start. Doesn't matter. The result has been pretty much the same every time out.

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays this breakaway talent from the swift dispatching of his opponent. Thus may be the creed of Matt Harvey, every time he takes the mound.

Whatever barely noticeable loss of command Harvey suffered in his second start, when he gave up 1 run on 3 hits was clearly back on Saturday, since he made the Twins lineup look pretty much hopeless instead of the mere cluelessness he inflicted on the Phillies. For a while there, it looked like he had a pretty solid shot at throwing a No Hitter before Justin Morneau took a whac-a-mole swing at a slider and somehow just barely clanged it off the foul pole. Harvey did give up another hit in the 8th to Brian Dozier, but that was a single of little consequence. Pretty much everyone else the Twins sent up against Harvey met the same fate. No, Harvey didn't get his No Hitter, although if his first three starts this season are any indication, he certainly has as good a chance as any to throw one at some point (and it's a lot easier to make a comment like that after June 1st, 2012).

With the temperature in Minneapolis hovering around the freezing mark, I suppose Harvey took a page from the Crash Davis "Strikeouts are Facist" book and decided to try to pitch to contact a bit more. The line reads 8 innings, a career-best, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks and an economical 6 strikeouts over his 100 pitches. For the season, he's pitched what amounts to a pretty good game for any pitcher, 6 hits, 2 runs, except that he's spread it out over 3 games and 22 innings, and mixed in 25 strikeouts for good measure. And he's also emerged among the league leaders in gushing Tweets, earning the praise of Tampa Bay's David Price, and drawing several gushing raves from Dwight Gooden.

There was a rest of the game around Harvey, though not that you'd notice, but after their 16-run salute on Friday, the Mets were held in check by fellow Binghamton University alum Scott Diamond (currently the only Bearcat to ever pitch in the Major Leagues—Binghamton is not known for its Baseball team...) before he unraveled in the 5th and the Mets scored 4 runs on 7 consecutive hits. In his first save opportunity of the season, Bobby Parnell made things somewhat hairy, allowing a run and the tying run to the plate, but he eventually got out of the inning and the Mets were primed to go for a sweep on Sunday. Until the Minnesota Weather reared its ugly head once again and dumped what I'm told was the dreaded "wintry mix" on the region. The subsequent postponement means the Mets have earned themselves a second trip to Minneapolis in August, when the weather should most certainly be better. At least I hope that's the case.

The Lonely Ones

So, the Mets finally found a surefire way to not lose tonight: By getting rained out.

This works out fairly well for me, since I have tickets to Wednesday night's game, the second of the Futile Three September games I lucked into this season. Last time, I got to see Matt Harvey pitch admirably well, but just well enough to lose 2-0 in his next-to-last start of the season. He was scheduled for tonight, but with the rainout, and the Mets opting not to play a Doubleheader Wednesday, I'll now get to see Harvey in his final start of the season take on My Man Cole Hamels, instead of the less-than-scintillating Jeremy Hefner. My expectation is that  Harvey will once again pitch well enough. The hope is that it's not just well enough to lose because the lousy Mets can't score any runs. With the Lefty Hamels on the mound, I suppose I'll be treated to a lineup that features Jason Bay, Scott Hairston and Andres Torres, and probably not Josh Thole, fortunately. I'll also probably see Lucas Duda at first base, since as we know, it makes the most sense to platoon the lefty power bat out with another lefty bat that's not quite as good.

When you've been as bad as the Mets have, I don't think I can be blamed for being a little cynical.

Since we're on the topic of Lucas Duda and Ike Davis, a little news item popped up on WFAN earlier today, hot off the ESPN.com press, worth bringing up. It seems that the Mets are considering trading Ike Davis, because of his unwillingness to take coaching advice and also because the team feels he spends too much time cavorting around town after games.

My first reaction was something to the effect of, "Really? Really? I thought this shit was done with once Omar Minaya was fired." It seems like there's always some mysterious anonymous source in the Mets organization who just loves to stir things up for whatever reason. I really thought the Mets were beyond this sort of behavior, but it seems I'm wrong. They always have to grab a headline for the wrong reason. I mean, sure. Ike Davis. A nice, clean cut Jewish boy coming to the Big City and doing well. Well liked by fans, generally well-spoken and well presented, and, most importantly, EXACTLY THE KIND OF PLAYER THE METS NEED THE MOST! A corner infielder who doesn't necessarily hit .300, but can blast Home Runs at any given time! Think about it. After the miserable start he had this season, after missing a majority of last season, Ike Davis is probably going to end up with 30 HRs and 90 RBIs, both figures good enough to lead a team that's starved for a power threat that drives in lots of runs. So, yeah, screw him. Let's trade him because he's staying out late and likes to do things his own way. It seems to me that however he's living his life, it's been working out for him just fine. Terry Collins and Ike Davis have every right to be incredulous about this. It's truly shameful that the Mets just can't help continuing to perpetuate the stink.

I get the playing Lucas Duda over Davis, at least for now, because the Mets, I think, know what they have in Ike Davis, but not in Duda. Duda has all the makings of a brainless masher, not quite the threat Davis has shown he is, but not worthless either. Nonetheless, I know from having watched both of them plenty over the past 2 years that Ike Davis can be a cornerstone on the Mets going forward, and I don't think Lucas Duda can be. Perhaps Duda's natural position is First Base, but he's nowhere near as good a defender as Davis is, and he hasn't proven himself to be a consistent offensive threat the way Davis has. Davis might not be able to carry the team the way someone like Carlos Delgado used to, but given some time to develop, he might be able to post Delgado-like numbers. That's not outlandish. I would think it would take beyond a career year for Duda to develop such pop. So, of course, the Mets clearly want to paint Ike Davis as some sort of malcontent, because this is the only way they can justify shoving him out the door to give the job to the less-talented, less-marketable Duda. I'm sure there is some AL team that would love to have Duda as their DH. In fact, just about any player that shows a modicum of Major League ability is marketable. Hell, multiple GMs took a chance on Lastings Milledge, even gave up serviceable players for him. If the Mets don't feel like they have room for both Davis and Duda, I'd think Duda would be the obvious one to go. Trading Ike Davis at this point, when he clearly has a good jumping off point for some solid seasons to come, would be at best quite stupid. This is why the classless rumor-mongers that exist in the Mets organization have to leak these rumors to stir up negative sentiment.

Listen. The negativity surrounding the Mets is already bad enough. We don't need to needlessly add to this at the expense of one of the brightest stars on their mostly miserable team.

Free Game!

Last night's rainout proved beneficial for me.

See, Wednesday's game was part of the Weekday Plan, which as many of you know I have. Unfortunately, due to my usual theatrics, I was unable to attend last night's game. I had even passed the tickets off to El Guapo. But sometime on Wednesday afternoon, someone came into my office and handed me an envelope with Mets tickets in them, one of which happened to be to that night's game. So after knowing I couldn't go, and already having given away my tickets, here I was, still stuck with a ticket to that night's game.

But then it started raining hard, and around 5pm word came down that the game was called. I notified El Guapo who said he'd give me back the tickets. I still had the 3rd ticket. Whether I decided to go to the makeup game tonight or not was academic. This is Free Baseball we're talking about, essentially. I know I already paid for the tickets (or, at least two of the tickets), but instead of missing a game I had intended to go to, I can now go whenever I please. Rock.

Regroup

Sunday's rainout should have been somewhat therapeutic for everyone, both players and fans alike.

Well, at least the players. The fans are their usual apoplectic selves.

For the Mets, I suppose, it's a good chance to stew and forget about Saturday's debacle in Philadelphia, which I mostly missed, having spent most of my afternoon in a meeting that went way too long and accomplished far too little, arriving home just in time to see Sean Green foul the whole thing up and Shane Victorino act like, well, Shane Victorino.

What I missed appeared to be a string of the somewhat predictable. Unlike Friday night, where the Mets bucked several disturbing trends, the Mets regressed to the normal sort of baseball they play. Perez was terrible early (That's not especially surprising, and it appears that either he or the team or both of them have conspired to create a knee injury to get him out of here for a while, which I'm sure nobody will argue with)and the Mets were in a hole. Ken Takahashi emerged from irrelevance and pitched a few very solid innings, allowing the Mets to battle back and tie, and then take the lead against Moyer and Scott Eyre, only to spit it back up in the bottom of the 6th behind Feliciano disturbingly allowing his 2nd HR to a lefty in 2 games (which I'm not quite so worried about. Consider the hitters, and consider where he gave them up), the Mets get a bunch of hits and leave a bunch of men on base, the game goes into Extra Innings where the Phillies eventually scrape out the winning run and have their little Pizza Party in the middle of the Steroid Field II infield.

Whoopty doo.

After Friday night's game had gone so well for the Mets, you sort of had to figure they had a game like this in them.

So, rather than trying to will their way through a rubber game behind Maine and whoever trustworthy they could run out there after that, the Mets are given a day to lick their wounds and figure out a plan as they fly into my favority city in the world, Good ol' Atlanty and Good ol' Turner Field, where we have so many fond memories. Clearly, Perez is going to be out of the rotation for a while, which is good, considering that his next start would have fallen on Thursday night, a game I have tickets for. With the rainout, now everyone is pushed back a day, so I'm going to end up with Pelfrey Thursday. Right now, I'm not sure what Perez needs, whether it's some time in Extended Spring training to work on being able to get a consistent delivery and retain some muscle memory, or if he just needs a lobotomy, but right now, the Mets have some serious decisions to make to fill this hole in the rotation. I've heard names bandied about from Niese to Takahashi to Figueroa and beyond.

I don't care who they bring up, so long as he can throw 6 innings and get people out. That's all that matters at this point.

Doing it the Right Way

I know I did this last year, too, but since today is what today is, I have to do it again...

"Today is Father's Day, so to all you Dads out there, Happy Birthday!"

Now, to the more important issue at hand:

I, for some reason, felt compelled to go out to Shea last night, rather than Friday night. I guess I never really considered Friday an option, and Saturday's game offered a chance to see the same Texas Rangers team that I'd never seen before, a chance to see Pedro Martinez, and, in my opinion, a much better promotion.

This isn't to denigrate Beach Towel night one bit. In fact, Beach Towel day was one of the seminal promotions of my youth. Somewhere, in the bowels of my Father's apartment, lie years upon years worth of Mets Beach Towel Day towels, which used to be sponsored by Met Life, and usually featured some permutation of Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang. As promotions went back in those days, Beach Towel day was usually the best. The game would usually sell out, and the towels would be whirled around, much in the same fashion as the little hand towels they hand out today.

Then, sometime around 1991 or 1992, Beach Towel day disappeared. Or maybe they just held it on days when I couldn't go. At any rate, there were no more beach towels at Shea. Until, mysteriously, it popped up again in 1998, sponsored by Rheingold. It occurred on a sun-soaked Saturday afternoon, where Mike Piazza posted his first Multi-HR game with the Mets, and I was in attendance to pick one up. It's still with me, packed away somewhere in the bowels of my apartment. But I found it recently, when putting away the dopey little Rally Towel I received earlier this season.

Then, it disappeared again. I think I noticed it pop up in '06 or '07 as a kids only promotion, useless to me. And, in fact, I didn't even notice that it was happening this season until earlier this week. Sponsored by, of all places, Fox News. I thought I should go for old times sake, but I had planned to take Friday off, and go Saturday. Saturday being Shea Stadium Replica night, a much more attractive promotion, undoubtedly, particularly with this being the last season for Shea. Much like I just HAD to be there for Endy Chavez Bobblehead night last year, I HAD to be there for Shea Stadium replica night. Why do I have such an attraction to this kitsch?

At any rate, because I HAD to be there, I ended up sitting through about 90 minutes of, perhaps, the hardest rainstorm I've ever seen at Shea Stadium. It's a good thing I was sitting underneath the overhang in the Upper Deck, because there was no way anybody should have been sitting out in the uncovered seats. The rain whipped around to the point where I swear it was falling up. The Field Level seats appeared to be a swimming pool, and the field itself was a quagmire, with the warning tracks reduced to mud. The field was totally unplayable, this was clear at around 8pm. Yet, they announced that the front would move through within the half hour. Well, I guess they would try to play, there were probably about 40,000 people at the stadium, and the concessions were doing a land office business. I kept dialing the Mets Rain hotline for updates, and they said the game "was still scheduled to be played at 7:10pm. But there was no way. I figured I'd stick it out until they called it, at least. Then, around 8:30, several players dashed out of the Rangers Dugout and slid across the tarp. The fans went wild. I couldn't see who they were (and later found out that the ringleaders were Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley, accompanied by Josh Hamilton, Gerald Laird, Michael Young and Josh Rupe), but they dove around and slipped and slid for a good 5 minutes before they bowed to the crowd, which was mysteriously chanting "LET'S GO RANGERS!" and headed back in. Everyone got a kick out of it, apparently, except for Willie, who would only say, "That's dangerous." Killjoy.

I took that opportunity, then, to call the rain line one more time. Now, they were announcing that the game was postponed. Which was odd, since they hadn't announced it to the crowd. Why should they, I suppose. People were hanging around, eating, drinking and whatever, and the concession stands were packed. It was a good 5 minutes before they finally announced "We regret to inform you that tonight's game has been postponed."

I was a bit nervous that they would pull their new trick of scheduling my favorite, the day-night Doubleheader, today, with tickets only good for the makeup game. They surprised me by bucking the trend and scheduling—God Forbid—A Traditional, Single-Admission Doubleheader! Be still my heart! A real Doubleheader! Of course, I'm not there, but it's the thought that counts. I can exchange my ticket whenever I please, just like the old times. Maybe with the Beach Towels and the Shea Replicas, everyone was feeling a bit of old-time spirit.

Now, if only the team could feel that old-time spirit. Old time meaning 2006, or 2000, or 1999.

Waking Up

After a weekend that saw him produce a 5-RBI game and a 3-RBI game, it may be that time of year where Carlos Beltran begins to go on one of his hot streaks.

About damn time.

After a rainout on Friday night, which drew the ire of some indignant fans who like to scream and yell on WFAN, the Mets and Reds staged one of my most favorite Baseball Traditions on Saturday: The Day-Night Doubleheader.

In the afternoon half of this mockery, the Mets put up 12 runs, backing Johan Santana, who clearly didn't have his best stuff. This meant that, after Wednesday's game in LA, the Mets had back-to-back games in which they scored 12 runs. Now that's news! News enough that Santana, who didn't look especially dominant in allowing 3 runs on 10 hits, really didn't have to break much of a sweat, as the Mets charged ahead and really didn't look back. Beltran came up in a pair of RISP situations and responded with a 2-run single and a 3-run triple, hits sorely missing from his, and the Mets repertoire across the board. Carlos Delgado added a cosmetic HR and Schneider hit his first of the season, and at that particular moment, you had to be thinking sweep. The Reds are awful, they have no pitching, and the Mets are finally starting to hit.

So of course, the Mets go out and shit the bed in the nightcap. Bronson Arroyo, he of an ERA over 7, comes out and shuts the Mets down. 12 runs one game, 1 run the next. Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2008 Mets.

Sunday could very well have been redemption day for the Mets. Oliver Perez wasn't outstanding, and he wasn't overpowering. But he was a hell of a lot better than he had been lately. Perez generally has been the victim of one really putrid inning that snowballs out of control, and yesterday, he ran into trouble in the 6th inning, allowing 3 runs. But by that time, Beltran and Ryan Church had already hit HRs off of screaming Reds Rookie Johnny Cueto (shades of Jose Lima?) and the Mets held a 6-0 lead, which they were able to salt away even before the Reds managed to bat out of order in a thoroughly comical scene.

So, I don't know what's next for the Mets. Today does not look like a particularly good day for Baseball, although after Friday, it appears that the Mets will wait as long as possible to call a game. Which means that we'll get people who call WFAN that went to the game, actually thinking it would be played, and scream about how it's all Freddie's fault and indignantly shouting "I WILL NEVER GO TO ANOTHER METS GAME AGAIN!"

Yeah, that's right. Get mad! That's how you affect change. Hit that 6-run HR.

Spare me, folks. Just remember, if you don't go, someone else will.

Washington in town this week, which means that the Mets will probably split a 4-game series (assuming all 4 are played). The rotation is jumbled after the rainout. Another rainout might fix it. And the Yankees are coming up over the weekend (It's interleague play already???)

A Sign Of Devotion

I hadn't heard that last night's game in Atlanta had been rained out until well after the fact. I was at my place of employment, doing my due diligence and taking in a show, although I suppose I would have preferred to be out having a drink and watching the game. In the end, it worked out, with the game non-existent, scheduled instead as one of my favorites—the Weeknight Day-Night Doubleheader. Such a pure Baseball occurrence.


With no game to talk about, instead I can talk about how I was inspired by yesterday's Flashback Friday post from Greg at Faith and Fear, in which he discusses what is for me a major hot-button issue: The Pregame Playlist.

It might make sense that I, being heavily involved in Theater, might listen to a good deal of musical scores and soundtracks. Not so. In reality, I can't stand most musicals. The closest you would find to a Musical on my iPod would be The Who's Tommy, which is atypical of most musicals in and of itself.

Unlike Greg, I was an early member of the iPod revolution, acquiring my first in early 2003, and replacing it (and the early iPods are like a truck compared to the newer ones) with a sleeker model late last Summer. I live and die by it; my 90-minute work commute would not be the same without one.

I keep in the neighborhood of 4,700 songs on my iPod, far more than I would ever listen to, well, ever. I have a standard playlist of a much more manageable 400 songs, although even those don't get played on a regular basis, unless it happens to be stuck in my head for a particularly long period of time (Damn you, Feist!)

At any rate, Greg's post yesterday got me thinking about the songs I most associate with the Mets, either on my way to a game, coming back from a game, or watching a game on TV, or whenever. I don't always listen to music on my way to games. For several years, the Former El Guapo and I have usually met in Union Square before heading to Shea, although music has often been a frequent topic of conversation. If I am traveling alone, I do have the iPod on. And, generally, I do have a list of songs that I prefer to listen to for one reason or another. I'd consider that to be the Official Ballclub Pregame Playlist, although there are always variations, additions and honorable mentions.

I offer the following:

Elastica - Never Here
This has nothing to do with sports, and if you listen to the lyrics, it's not even a very upbeat song. But for some reason, it's always fired me up. It's become a tradition for me. I listened to this song before the first game of the NLDS in 1999, the first game of the NLDS in 2000, the first game of the NLDS and NLCS in 2006, and before each of the previous 5 Opening Day games (Home openers only).

Van Halen - Right Now
Before Game 1 of the NLCS in 2006, they played this song during the interminable TV delay at an ungodly high decibel level while a giant Mets logo rotated on the scoreboard.

Radiohead - Airbag
I've always said that if I were a Major Leaguer, this would be my At-Bat music.

Other songs that generally get me in the right mood for a ballgame:
Nirvana - Come As You Are
The Flaming Lips - Fight Test
The Who - Go To The Mirror!
Blur - Colin Zeal
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Yo La Tengo - Tom Courtenay
Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army (only for Oliver Perez starts)
Nine Inch Nails - Just Like You Imagined
Oasis - Supersonic
Rush - Limelight
N-Trance - Stayin' Alive
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (Cancelled due to usage by Tom Glavine)

Songs for Victories
Nirvana - On A Plain
Bruce Springsteen - Glory Days

Songs for Losses
Liz Phair - Shane
Counting Crows - A Long December
The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
Radiohead - How To Disappear Completely

The list tends not to change much; even following last season, I'm sure I'll be listening to many of the same songs as I make my inaugural ride into Queens on the 7 train Tuesday morning. Maybe I'll mix in some newer music. Maybe some of you have some suggestions for me (other than an emergency iPod transfusion). It remains to be seen.

A recycled comment: Maine today, in a most important and anticipated start.