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Phillies Suck..Have a Keychain

As I write this the Islanders are losing to the Flyers, the Giants are trailing the Eagles in the division, the Phillies are two-time National League champs and the Mets have yet to make a major upgrade this offseason.  I’m not interested in the NBA so I get no great pleasure from the 76ers being almost as bad as the Nets.

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Still, I’m not ashamed to wear my Mets pride dangling from my keys in the form of a keychain slash bottle opener from www.wholesalekeychain.com.  They’re solid keychains that I haven’t managed to mangle, lose, or break yet.  Given the sad state of the New York Mets, the bottle opener is getting more use than is probably good for me.

new-york-mets-bottle-opener-t

I can’t get excited about the baseball Winter Meetings.  Sure there is a chance something will get done, but it’s 95% rumor and speculation.  It’s all fluff with no content, and even though some things do get done, things could get done anyway.  A lot of the bigger pieces, like Holliday, probably won’t be happening soon, and no matter how many backup catchers the Mets sign, I’m not going to be satisfied until it’s spring and I know where they stand and how the team looks.  I’m also not going to call out Omar and criticize every little move or non-move he makes.  I’ll reserve judgment until April 5th, and see who takes the field on Opening Day.  Much like Rome, the 2010 World Champion Mets weren’t built in a day.

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Does Citi Field Need Some Neon?

Does anyone miss the neon figures on the outside of Shea?  They weren’t the prettiest, or the classiest, but they gave the place a unique character that many Mets fans enjoyed.  It’s cool that they incorporated the images into the carpets in the clubhouse, but I think a lot of what people miss about Shea is that uniqueness that right now is missing from Citi Field in many instances.

From Denver

Coors Field in Colorado features this on the side of the building.  Ignore the awesome fact that it’s actually over a park entrance that’s also a brewery where Coors tests experimental brews, and it’s still something that I would love to see at Citi Field.  Maybe instead of this simple play at the plate, they could do something similar where the ball gets under a fielder’s glove (Buckner’s?) and it flashes “Mets Win!”

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2009 World Series: Bad News

As everyone has made light of, this World Series sucks for a Mets fan.

Mets fans are pretty split on which side they’re rooting for, if you can even call it rooting.  Funny thing is, you see plenty of Yankees fans saying that we should be rooting for them, but I don’t hear any Phillies fans making that same argument.

From Mets

Personally, I’m rooting for the Yankees to lose.  I don’t get any joy or any more grief no matter what the Phillies do, but the Yankees winning would really irk me.  It’d blow my theory of them being cursed for knocking down the house that Ruth built, it’d give even more fuel to the “Jeter’s the best player ever” arguments you hear, as well as the constant reminder about how much they’ve won.  Their eight rings to the Mets two would start to get a little insurmountable, whereas three for the Phillies wouldn’t be as rough.

From Mets

Some say that the cracks in Yankee Stadium will open up and swallow both teams into Hell.

Some compare it to 1999 although despite how much it sucked losing the Braves, the Braves fans were never in the equation as hated rivals.  Others suggest we ask who the Yankees were rooting for in 1986 and root accordingly.

Personally, I’m just not watching.  I get no joy out of watching either team, and if you factor in all the game-delay tactics, the 50 million pitching changes, and the pop-fly home runs, I’m just not sure it’s going to be fun to watch anyway.

I’ll be watching the Islanders at the Rangers Wednesday night.

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Have You Been to My Website Lately?

jetersite

Dear Derek Jeter,

Fine. You persisted. You asked me, day after day, for months and years, “Have you been to my website lately?”. So I went. I was driven to check it out. Let me tell you something, It wasn’t all you’ve hyped it to be.

The first thing I noticed was that it made the processor in my computer go wild. That site ate up resources faster than C.C. At the buffet.

I tried some of the cheesy flash games. They sucked. I have a feeling they were developed in a single day, and thrown together for the sake of having something on the site. One was a lame game where you had to ‘be a major league shortstop’ and catch balls, but the balls were thrown to all parts of the field, from in front of the plate all the way to the wall. I know you’ve got a huge ego, but do you really think you can play defense so well you don’t need the other eight guys?

Then I played the racing game, which came with no instructions, and featured racing against two other cars, none of which seemed to resemble the Ford Edge you’re always hyping. I had no idea what I was supposed to do so I just tried to ram the other cars. Unfortunately, collisions weren’t programmed in and I just passed through it like it wasn’t there.

After finding another link to the racing game, I played some trivia. Silly questions about Ford products mixed in with questions about your accomplishments as a player. Yawn.

After I figured out how to navigate the TV part of your site, I watched the outtakes. Most of them were you just stumbling over words or forgetting what you were saying while standing in front of a green screen. They weren’t really very good.

But the best part just had to be the ‘hidden’ icons that popped up thrilling information about Ford products when I scrolled over them. “Ford is second to none in terms of quality.”

I did it. I finally visited your website, and it was a horrible waste of my time. Can you please shut up now?

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Did WFAN curse the Mets?

More on the WFAN curse I tweeted last weekend. (The Mets haven’t won the World Series since WFAN has been in Queens. Now That they’re in Manhattan…good sign for 2010? ).

WFAN’s first broadcast in Queens was July 1st, 1987. The Mets were the defending World Champions. The Mets went 17-30 from that point for the rest of the season, finishing in second place. The Mets have been back to the World Series just once in that time.

Now that WFAN’s studios haved moved to Manhattan, a location the Mets haven’t played in in 45 years, maybe 2010 is the year for the Mets to claim their third championship.

And unlike the Yankees, who are playing in five hours, if the Mets make the playoffs they will sell _every_ ticket.

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MLB Playoff Predictions

Let’s talk MLB playoff predictions. My picks are probably slightly biased, but there is nothing wrong with that. Anything can happen.

NLDS:

Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies.

My pick is the Rockies. Probably in four games. The Phillies have shown at times this year that they are not that good a team. They haven’t been playing well lately. Lee hasn’t had a good September and Hamels hasn’t had a good year, period. Their bullpen is shaky. They won last year because their pitching got hot at the right time. I don’t see that happening this year. The Rockies have the Wild Card momentum thing going for them, and they can actually pitch pretty well, which is the best thing to have to face the Phillies.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

This is another case of a hot team facing a team that coasted in. The Dodgers are a good team, but I don’t think they have things clicking. I think the Cardinals, behind their pitching and their Pujols, take this series in four games. You can never rule out the Mannywood factor, but I think even if he has a good series, which he probably will, it won’t be enough.

ALDS:

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees

This series is being billed as a mismatch, but I think there is too much Yankees love out there. We can talk all we want about being tired and worn out, but I bet the Twins wouldn’t describe themselves that way. I think game 163 even helps them, because they won’t have time to unwind and feel tired. They barely have enough time to get to the next game. I think the Twins take the series in four. I think age catches up to the Yankees offensively, I think the pitching won’t be up to task, especially Joba after how he’s been mishandled. The one thing to say is that if the Yankees can hold off the steamroller in game one and win it, I think the Twins could cave to exhaustion and collapse in three.

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

This is a compelling series too, and I think the hardest one to pick. I think this series will go five, and be the best series. I’m giving the edge to the Red Sox, because I think they have an edge talent wise and that will shine through, but it’ll be close.

NLCS: Colorado Rockies vs. St. Louis Cardinals

I think this is where the Rockies magic wears off. I think they get destroyed, and swept, by the Cardinals.

ALCS: Boston Red Sox vs. Minnesota Twins

Similarly I think the Red Sox take care of the Twins in five.

World Series: Boston Red Sox vs. St. Louis Cardinals

I think this is going to be the best World Series in a long time. I think it’ll go to November 5th, all the way to game seven. The Red Sox will take it in the end, winning their third championship of the decade and establishing themselves as the dynasty of the early century.

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What I Expect From The Mets This Offseason

I listened to most of the interview with Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon yesterday on WFAN. I wish it had been with someone other than Mike Francesa who is very biased, and very amateurish, when it comes to the Mets. However Francesa is the guy that gets the ‘big’ guests due to reputation and seniority, so we have to deal with it. Here is a list of things I expect from the Mets going forward. Also a list of things Francesa should’ve asked. (He may have asked them at one point and I missed it, but not in the first hour.)

From 100409_Astros

I expect the Mets to be big players in the quest for a big power bat. Probably in left field, unless a doable trade comes along for a guy like Adrian Gonzalez, which seems unlikely. Matt Holliday seems to be the best choice, hopefully he doesn’t stay with the Cardinals.

They’re committed to spending on what they feel will improve the team to make it competitive next year. This is the most important piece of news. They made no mention of a budget, a cap on spending, or any number. This doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but it also suggests they are flexible to get the job done.

They’ve already been discussing and planning, but obviously until teams and players exercise options after the World Series, you can’t know what’s going to be available for sure.

“You’re lowering ticket prices for season ticket holders. Will those ticket prices come down for game day sales? Will there be less gold level games as was reported?” The Mets have not offered season ticket holders a percent discount for buying all 81 games in the past. To me, this suggests that Ceaser Club Bronze, and Metropolitan/Baseline Box seats will be cheaper. These are the two areas they mentioned, and are probably the most overprice in terms of the cost to quality ratio.

They intend to add more Mets stuff to Citi Field. More memorabilia, a Hall of Fame, and naming stuff after prominent Mets.

Medically they’ve adjusted how they’re going to get information, and how they’re going to release it. Their excuses were a little bit weak, but as long as they’re aware that that was the problem. It was true that they listened to the Dodgers (or was it the Giants?) doctor when Reyes hurt himself on the road trip. I remembered commenting on it, wondering why the Mets were letting the opposing team decide whether their shortstop was ready to play. The problem was in the decision making in that they were soft on the severity of the injury, figuring that Reyes would be okay to play soon, and that taking him out of the lineup for a cross country flight to New York wasn’t needed.

Another question Francesa didn’t ask, or didn’t ask for clarification on: “I just heard Reyes is having the surgery. Will he be ready for Opening Day, 100%? Will he be full strength, full speed?” Instead, Francesa praised the doctors and the hospital, and went on to ask about other things.

It gives me faith that at least Omar knows what needs to be done. I just hope he’s aware of the little things that need to be done and not overlooked. I like Cora, but am not necessarily sold on him being the answer. I think it might make more sense to have power off the bench. The Mets don’t need to build a 300 home run team, I think they just need the threat of power to help scare pitchers a little bit.

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First Last Game at Citi Field

I bought tickets, way back in May, for the final game of the season. I didn’t think it would matter; I figured the Mets would’ve clinched, but it had mattered for two years and I figured it wouldn’t be a bad game to be at.

From Citifield

It seems I was wrong. There is nothing to watch, and Pelfrey isn’t even making his final start of the season. This means Figueroa on the mound and who knows who playing around him. So why am I going?

A couple of reasons. It’s still baseball, it’s still the Mets, and I already have tickets. I haven’t been to Citi Field in a while due to a combination of life keeping me from being able to afford tickets (not the prices) and the Mets not being good enough to make it worth going.

I love Citi Field. It’s my favorite baseball stadium and I’m looking forward more to being in the stadium once more than the play on the field. I’ve always been a strong proponent of the new place, but the feeling I get now is similar the the ones I got at Shea Stadium late in the season. A “It feels right being here, and I’ll miss it for the next couple of months” feeling. I’ll enjoy being able to wander around, and not having to sit in my seat and stare at what’s become bad baseball lately for nine innings.

If I watched at home, I’d mentally tune out and not pay attention because it doesn’t mean much. I’d probably turn on football. At Citi I’ll mentally say goodbye to baseball, bury the 2009 season, and watch Manuel mismanage his final game with the Mets.

I’ll come home, root for the Islanders, the Giants, the Tigers and whoever is playing the Phillies. I’ll try to erase the 2009 Mets from my mind, and start waiting for April 5th, 2010. It’s only 184 days away.

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Best 2009 Mets Acquisition

Without a doubt, the best acquisition the Mets made in 2009 was Citi Field. Given all the problems and the Mets going nowhere, the one new thing this year that helped sooth the pain and will continue to be there year after year is Citi Field.

From Citifield

The stadium was there for all 81 games is was schedule to host, which is more than most Mets can say. It’s a great place to watch a game, and my biggest regret is the season died too fast to really get a feel for how it handles the big game, and what that energy would feel like. There’s great standing room only spots, including the bridge out in center field. We got to keep the Home Run Apple; If only the whole ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ had worked for the Mets this year. Maybe that’s the problem. They certainly didn’t get the Apple to pop up every game.

From Citifield

Mobility and visibility are one of the big pluses of Citi Field. No matter where you are in Citi Field, you’re rarely a few steps from being able to see the field. It’s easy to get around the park as well. It has 360 degree mobility so that if you’re in the right field promenade you don’t have to circle the entire stadium to visit someone or something in left field reserved. You can do it without having to fight through crowded aisles or concourses, or puddles of water or vendors and janitors pushing pallets of trash or frozen burgers through the area. While it’s crowded, I have yet to encounter the type of gridlock that was prevalent at Shea Stadium. With the exception of the middle level club seats you can get to any part of the stadium with any ticket. I wish there were a center field exit to the Pepsi Porch, but I’ll live with it.

From Citifield

The food, beer and distractions available at Citi Field are great. I do agree that the focus should be on the game, but if I wanted to zone out and stare at the game, I could stay home too. I want to immerse myself in the stadium, the crowd, the beer and the food. I want to do it without missing the game, and Citi Field allows me to do this without missing whole innings, something that was common at Shea.