All I Ever Wanted

Yesterday for my birthday I got to destroy the Philly Phanatic.
Well, the Phanatic in pinata form anyway. Courtesy of my uberrad little sister, my fantasy of taking a bat to that evil monster was fulfilled.
OK, so maybe I'm not over the past two years yet... don't judge me!

Real Baseball!!!

This weekend, finally, I got to take in some real live baseball. On Friday I visited the brand new House of Evil, decked out in my Mets shoes, cap and jersey complete with my 'Jesus Hates the Yankees' t-shirt.

I got to check out the new stadium, trash talk with Yankee fans, and most importantly got to see our old friend Joe Smith!

My little Smitty! I miss him so...

On Saturday we saw our very first Mets game at New Shea. We started the day meeting the incredibly sweet Alyssa Milano at the new Touch store.

She signed Brooklyn's copy of her new book Safe at Home and seemed genuinely happy to hear how much she loves it. And it is refreshing to have a Mets shop for women without a single pink item in sight.

It was a very strange feeling to be in the new park and not feel completely at home at a home game. It was exciting to be in our section and sit in out new seats for the very first time.

David Wright bear and David Wright human both looked completely at home.

They asked fans to text in their favorite things about the new ballpark. My favorite answer was "the mets play here." Because really, what else do we need?

Professor Reyes made a triumphant return.

Santana, aka God, looked incredible as usual, going seven shutout innings.

JJ Putz came on to pitch a scoreless eighth, and had the whole dugout laughing afterwards.

I was most excited to see my new love Francisco Rodriguez, and he did not dissapoint.

Such a great win our first time in the new stadium has to be a sign, right? Only good things to come here.

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here

This Sunday we got to experience Shea 2.0 for the first time and it was beautiful. It was bittersweet knowing the place that was home for my entire life no longer exists but I started to fall in love with the new stadium from my first step inside.

A little piece of the Polo Grounds.


The Jackie Robinson rotunda.

It helped that it was rainy.

Cupholders! I might make it through a season without someone's beer all over my feet.

I want to dance with Mr. Met!

The bullpens are right on top of each other which should make for some great trash talk this year and also gives the Mets a leg up when a fight breaks out.

The new home run apple didn't feel like popping up yet.

A little Shea could still be found...

It was a definitely a weird feeling to be a tourist in our own stadium. And part of me will always miss Shea. But I know once I have some new memories here it will start to feel just like home. Seeing the new stadium made me even more excited for real Mets baseball to begin.

I. MISS. BASEBALL.

Thank God

David Wright and Jose Reyes... you're my heroes. After last night it was great to see the Mets jump all over the Mariners right from the start. Even after they scored eight runs in the first three innings, I was still stressed out for the entire game thinking they'd find a way to lose it. That's what this season's done to me.
The funniest moment of my night came when Ichiro came to bat and someone behind us started to cheer. The little boy sitting next to me stands up, points and shouts "A Seattle fan! They do exist!"
It definitely felt good to be there for a win like this tonight. I just hope they keep hitting like this against satan's team over the weekend. On the way home from the game someone stopped me to ask if the Mets won, and for once I got to say yes. He looked up in relief and said "Oh, thank God." Pretty much my thoughts exactly.

Classless

Relief

Lately the Mets have just been bringing me down. In a brutal-pains me to watch-but can't look away-there are no words sort of way. So last night when poor Pelfrey's incredible effort went to waste and we went into extra innings, I just wanted it to end. I kept thinking please don't put me through another inning for another loss. Then in the 13th inning, this happened:And to further win my heart, after his walkoff homer Carlos Beltran told reporters that when the Mets lose he loses sleep because "How can you sleep when things are not going good? You go home, you think about the game, you think about how we can get better. That's part of it. There's a lot of people in here who care about it." How can anyone not love this man? I'm hoping against reason that this was the start of the Mets finally turning the season around. Maybe it was Marlon Anderson's master plan going into effect. I need to believe in this team again. I hate the fan this year's been turning me into. Just give me something. Because I know that even when I try, I can't give up and stop watching.

With all the roster moves lately it's been hard to keep up, but this guy I have a good feeling about. Chris Aguila has been fire knife dancing since the fifth grade. Badass. Sounds like someone who can handle himself in a pressure situation.

Watching David Wright's interviews recently it's like he's morphing into Peter Pan. He believes the Mets are a championship caliber team, really he does! If you believe in the Mets too they can get better. Clap your hands if you believe Mets fans, clap your hands!

Sanity Break

This season is wearing me down. It is only May. My first tears of the season shouldn't come until at least September. They are just finding new ways to rip my heart out every day. Just when it felt like things were coming together they go and lose five in a row. As soon as they started talking about Billy's perfect ERA tonight I just knew he was about to blow the lead. It's feels like every game I'm watching just waiting for things to fall apart.

I need a break. Tomorrow I'm heading down to a Nationals-Brewers game. This is what it's come to. Mets, please could you get it together before I get back? Kthxbai.

Piazza, New York Catcher

Today Mike Piazza officially announced his retirement from baseball:

"I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn’t have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful. So today, I walk away with no regrets. I knew this day was coming and over the last two years, I started to make my peace with it. For 19 years, I gave it my all and left everything on the field.
God bless and thanks for a wonderful ride."

Getting to see Piazza come home one last time was a highlight of the 2007 season for me. Hearing Voodoo Child pump through the speakers, watching him bring out the scorecard and wave to the roaring crowd. It was one of the most moving moments I've been a part of at Shea. So many of my best Mets memories came from that man. Who can look back on his home run that first game back after September 11th and not get chills? We were lucky to have Mike and we'lll always remember and keep him in our hearts. Best of luck to a great Met and a great guy. See you in Cooperstown in five years.

Look Who Remembered How To Get An Out

Can we strip him of his former Met title please? Just because we were paying his salary doesn't mean he wasn't a Brave all along. What a miserable, miserable game. After Luis Castillo's home run the highlight may have been the booth's conversation about pi. Hopefully the Mets can bounce back tonight. I guess we'll have to wait until Glavine comes back to Shea to see him get the payback he deserves. I hope his pitching arm falls off.

Subway Surfin

Best part of this picture: faces on the Yankee fans.

Last year going into the subway series I expected the Mets to dominate. This year I found myself thinking just don't embarass us completely, just win one. Between the Mets lackluster play lately and the drama in the clubhouse I haven't even been enjoying the Yankees being in last place. Watching the Mets knock the Yankees around these past two games has renewed my faith. Finally they're showing some sparks of life. Even when they got robbed of three runs yesterday, they fought back and ended up with eleven. And they actually looked like they were having fun out there.

Before I had the 99 Mets comeback win against the Yankees on and it reminded me of all the things I loved about that team. Even though in the end that season broke my heart I still look back and love them for the fire they played with, for how much fun they were to watch right til the end. I want to see these Mets play with that kind of passion all the time.

So much in this series really lifted my spirits. All the fist pumps around the bases, the handshakes, seeing Oliver Perez tip his cap to the Yankee stadium crowd of all Mets fans. This quote from John Damon (he forfeited the y when he signed with the Yankees) “They had a reason to be out there cheering. They ended up kicking our butts. It was pretty embarrassing.”

It was a good weekend. Now we just need to them to carry it into Atlanta. Please, please Mets, keep it up. Because losing to Tom Glavine might just be more that I can take.

Rain Delay Distractions

Curse of Nolan Ryan Strikes Again

I forgot there was a day game on today until I got the 'Are you watching the game? Turn the game on' call from my dad. I've been a Mets fan long enough I didn't even have to ask why, I knew exactly what that meant. Then as soon as I turn it on all I hear is 'no-hitter, no-hitter, no-hitter.' I was screaming at the TV, "Stop! You're going to jinx him, stop talking about it!!!" Since they were broadcasting from the upper deck today I was a little surprised that a fan didn't come and stop them. I still can't believe Pelfrey ended up with the loss after the way he pitched today. It's just not right. After the game he said "I'd rather give up 5 runs and we get the W."

My new hope is that the curse only applies to Shea Stadium, and after they knock it down the Mets will finally be able to get that no hitter. Maybe.

Mets vs. Reds Game 1