The Ramon Castro Era Is Over

I am very happy today, as the Mets won an 11 inning thriller with a game winning hit by Omir Santos, as well as because the Ramon Castro Era is over. I have never been a fan, and am glad that we will see more of Omir. It occurred to me, with news that the Mets have acquired minor league outfielder Emil Brown, that the Mets must surely lead the league in players whose first names have just four letters:

Omir
Ryan
Alex
Gary
Jose
Sean
Mike

Remember, as tempting as it is, NO GLOATING about injuries to competing team's players!

Transplanted ex-Mets Outfielder Clint Hurdle Fired as manager of The Rockies

Two-time Mets Utility Player Clint Hurdle was fired today as manager of the Colorado Rockies. 

Hurdle had three stints as a Met, but appeared in just 59 games over three seasons (1983, 1985 and 1987) in the mid eighties.  He hit .195 as a Met.

Before moving on to the Rockies organization, Hurdle managed the Mets A, AA, and AAA farm teams.

Ex-Mets Manager Joe Torre Is Full Of Balogna

Joe Torre says that Manny Ramirez should decline an invitation to the All Star Game if selected.

“To me, I think the significance of the All-Star Game is to reward players who have a good first half,” Torre said. “We don’t always do that, because it’s a popularity vote, for the most part. If you want to include the fans, that’s how it’s got to be.”

Really, Joe? It's to reward players who had a great first half? Is that why you selected seven Yankees to the 2001 squad when none were voted in by the fans?

METS BOOK REVIEW: Faith And Fear In Flushing: The Book

If you're a fan of Faith And Fear In Flushing: The Blog you've likely already picked up Faith And Fear In Flushing: The Book. Greg and Jason's blogsite has long been called "The Blog For Mets Fans Who Like To Read" so I guess it's only natural for the blog to become a book! The site's postings consistently articulate what Mets fans collectively are feeling at any given time. If you're a Mets fans you leave the site feeling validated and with a sense of camaraderie in your emotions. Greg Prince's book does exactly the same thing. Sometimes as Mets fans we feel like we're constantly having to explain our fandom. Some folks think we just choose to be contrarian. Yankees fans sometimes malign us for sticking with a faux-underdog. They don't get it. We're Mets Fans because we're Mets Fans, and I could spend a thousand pages trying to explain it but instead I'll just direct you to Greg's fine book for what must be the best articulation of what it's like to be a Mets fan between two hard covers.

The well-deserved positive reviews are pouring in, and if you haven't been convinced enough yet to purchase this tome, I'd like to list just a few of my favorite things about Faith and Fear in Flushing: An Intense Personal History of the New York Mets

I finally have a mnemonic device to remember the name of the blog! I have a brain freeze when it comes to remembering the name of the site, and I all too often type it or remember it as "Fear And Faith In Flushing." Thankfully, the cover of the book gives me an associative device to remember it. Ray Knight is on the top half of the cover (Faith) and Aaron Heilman is on the bottom half (Fear). It is officially ingrained!

It's written by a blogger! If you're a blogger you can't help but feel like we were all published along with Greg Prince. Don't you just feel totally validated? And hey, if your significant other can't fathom why you would want to spend countless hours on the computer barking blogging at the moon, it is especially helpful to be able to hold up a real live book published by a real live publisher and say "See here, this book was written by a blogger! That could be me someday!" Or at least, "Hey, look here in the acknowledgments! This guy Dave Murray is a Mets blogger too! I could be named in an acknowledgments section someday!"

There's an entire chapter devoted to the 1997 Mets. 1997 was one of the most fun seasons for me as a fan of the Mets. Carlos Baerga, John Olerud, Matt Franco, Edgardo Alfonzo, and my all-time favorite manager Bobby Valentine made for one of the most gratifying seasons as a season can be without winning a damn thing, and I'm not the only one who remembers it as such!

The Afterword with Gary Cohen. Greg transcribes a conversation with Gary Cohen, and they talk about the closing of Shea Stadium, and if you didn't already believe that Gary was one of us, these few pages assert that we're all in this together. And that for me is what this book is all about. That sense of community among Mets fans, simultaneously optimistic and bitter, and always believing.

Out Of Sight, Out Of My Mind

Can the Mets make it any harder to stay enthused about the team?  The only good thing about teh last four days is that they are playing in California, at gametimes too late for those of us with day jobs to stay up and endure the beatings.

 

Condolences to transplanted ex-Mets reliever Scott Schoeneweis,  who is mourning the sudden death of his wife.

 

Congratulations to ex-Mets superstar Darryl Strawberry on the release of his latest autobiography.  I think this is like the eighth or ninth.

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Lastings Milledge has surgery on busted hand

Another game that proves nothing can be predicted in baseball:  Johan Santana finally got run support, and he needed all of it, as the Mets beat Randy Johnson and the San Franciscans in a game slightly less than a pitchers duel.  A Philly won the Preakness, and the Phillies beat the Expos, but the Expos' AAAllstar candidate Lastings Milledge had surgery on his broken ring finger. 

Mets go for the sweep today!

What A Win! Mets on National TV today.

It was hard to find a Mets fan who was optimistic about their chances last night, sending Livan Hernandez up to the hill to face Tim Lincecum. And for sure, Livan did not have the stuff while the reigning Cy Young champ did. However, late inning heroics by the Mets sent them on to their second consecutive win against the San Francisco Treats.

Santana vs. Randy Johnson should give the FOX Network a nice ratings boost. A lot of sports fans will have their TV sets on today to watch the horse race, but apart from the three minutes around race time, I'm thinking baseball will dominate those sets. What do I know though. Eiter way, it's a good day to be a transplanted Mets fan, with our ace on National TV.

Lets Go Mets!

Transplanted Ex-Mets on the All Star Ballot

Voting for the All Star Game has started - so lets make sure we have enough transplanted ex-Mets on the field as possible in St. Louis this summer.

 

AL
1B Mike Jacobs
SS Marco Scutaro

3B Melvin Mora
OF Carlos Gomez, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay

Did I miss anyone in the AL?

For the NL, you may be inclined to vote all Mets, or all ex-Mets, but whatever you do you just HAVE to vote in Lastings Milledge, for the Natinals/Expos!
  
If you want to vote for some ex-Mets instead of some current Mets, here are your options:

2B Anderson Hernandez or Kaz Matsui
C Jesus Flores
OF Mike Cameron, Lastings Milledge

Did I miss anyone in the NL?

Don't Bury Me, I Ain't Dead Yet

I am back from a much needed North Carolina vacation - I transplanted myself back to where I had once been transplanted to, and the Mets didn't lose a game the whole time I was gone!  Apparently I am a jinx.  The Mets have lost both times I've seen them in person, at the home opener and again on April 19th.  My next scheduled visit with teh Mets is in Washington D.C. where I'll see them take on the Expos.  Remember, Natinals fans, until you finish over .500, you're still the Expos.  Or at least the Natinals.

 

For the record, I still have not heard back from mr. Dave Howard about my obstructed view from the Promenade, but my pal Tubby reports that TV sets have been installed at the food court above the Jackie Robinson rotunda. Hopefully the outfield walls color is the next modification.

Happy Birthday Carlos Beltran

We have truly entered the Twilight Zone, Mets fans. Castillo is getting cheered and David Wright is getting booed. On the bright side, Johan Santana has two runs to support his pitching effort, thanks to the birthday boy and some shoddy Expos defense.

Comparing the Mets and Angels respective homes

If the Mets have an American League soulmate, surely it's the California Angels of Anaheim.  They're an expansion team that shares a media market with one of the most storied franchises in baseball... And maybe that's about it.  But as I sat in the club level of Angel Stadium on a gorgeous night' I couldn't help but compare and contrast the stadium with Citi Field.  This was my first visit to this stadium, but I've only been to Citi twice so it's as fair as I can be...

The first thing I noticed was all the green.  The seats were green, the walls were green, and the railings were green... Yet it didn't occur to me that I was sitting in a ballpark that could be the home field for any team other than the Angels.  A big part of this, of course, must be the fact that the place is called Angel Stadium! And when you approach the entrance to the stadium you know exactly what you're there to see - the giant A's caps leave no doubt.    Does anyone think there'd be nearly as much griping about black outfield walls or Dodgers Rotunda if Citi Field were named Mets Park?  Maybe.  But actually the biggest signal of all that I was at an Angels game was: the fans.  The green seats were awash in red.  Something about that color red that unifies fans - go to a Cardinals game or even a Rutgers game and the place will be filled with fans donning the same color.  (He other thing that's red are the ads.  Almost without exception, all the ads in the park are red.  Maybe if the schlubs who "designed" that Arpielle sign had incorporated some orange and blue - it would still be ugly, but at least it'd be Mets ugly.

We have the Pepsi Porch, the Angels have the Budweiser Patio.  In centerfield we have a giant apple, they have, a waterfall! They have open air bullpens as well, but there is no tarp blocking the view from or of above.  Parking cost eight bucks but the food inside wasn't cheap.  I did get a free banner as a giveaway, commemorating the fact that Vlad Guerrero and Lou Gherig are the only 2 players to have achieved some sort of esoteric offensive feat I neglected to take note of.

The crowd was into the game pretty well, and I felt some tremors that were either caused by fan frenzy, trucks on the nearby freeway, or maybe it was an earthquake?

It was a real nice experience, even though I saw the Mets blow the 4-0 lead I heard them achieve on the xm radio in the car, on the centerfield out of town scoreboard.  You can't have everything, you know.  

Live Video from the California Angels Of Anaheim game

This video was sent without the express written consent of the commissioner

Reporting Live From Angel Stadium

I find myself in Anaheim today and managed to get into Angel Stadium for free thanks to a generous fan in the parking lot. Parking was $8.00 by the way, on a beautiful night for baseball

Can You Spot The Differences Between These Two Photos?

The first photo shows the view from section 522 Promenade at Citi Field, according to Mets.com. The second is the photo I snapped from my seat in section 522 on April 19th. Not even counting the giant heads in my way, the silver bar, black bar, and yes the plexiglass all blocked my view (never mind that what went on on the field that day weren't worth watching anyway). These were not sold to me as "obstructed view" but should qualify as such under Dave Howards declaration of the definition of an obstructed view on WFAN. I will let you know what the Mets response to me is.

Speaking of Dave Howard's appearance on WFAN, he was untruthful when he said there are TV's at every concession stand. That is absolutely false. In the food court above the Jackie Robinson Rotunda there is not one TV in the whole section. You can hear the audio, but there are no sets. It would be a perfect place to put a giant screen behind the seats, like they have in the centerfield food area, but alas there is nothing. Dave Howard needs to walk around his stadium a little more before he goes on the radio.

And while he may be playing a weird game of semantics when he says there is blue in the forest green colored seats, will he also try to say there is blue in the black outfield walls? These black walls need to be turned blue, pronto. Just erase the black like you want to do with Doc Gooden's signature!

Look, all in all it is a beautiful ballpark, but the Mets should get a partial refund from HOK, and I should get one as well for my obstructed view seat.

This doesn't qualify as an obstructed seat at Citi Field?