a perfect day at Shea

Game 16: Braves 2, Mets 7
11-5 for the season

a glorious day was had by all at Shea on Saturday-- unless you play or root for the Atlanta Braves. but even those folks should have been able to appreciate the first beautiful day of the year at the ballpark; it was sunny, warm, and in all ways a perfect day for a ballgame.

I bought tickets in the cheap seats for the game, but LHJ went to the firehouse before I got up in the morning and returned with a friend's season ticket seats for the game. The seats are 11 rows back of the Mets dugout on Field Level, and watching the game from that perspective is always a thrill-- even upstairs in the ballpark, it's easy to forget that those are real live people playing the game, and they all look so very human from just a few feet away.





Jose Reyes leads off first at the top of the 2nd inning. He stole second base shortly after I snapped this shot.

Moises Alou has a weird stance-- his knees both lean in, bowl-leg-like. I won't criticize, though-- he's hit quite well from that stance so far this season.

Mr. Met came to do a between-inning spot for 1-800-Flowers just two rows back of us.

I'm not sure why Mr. Met was playing peek-a-boo with that guy, though.

Oliver Perez winds up.

this girl, sitting just two rows in front of us, held up her glove at every pitch. hope springs eternal, especially with those still young enough to wear a pink glove.

Willie Randolph keeps a close watch on the game.

I think I'm the only white girl in New York who thinks Jose Reyes is more attractive than David Wright. But how can you resist that kind of tallent combined with that smile?? Wright never smiles on the field.

the Big Apple out of the hat after Ramon Castro's homer in the 5th. Castro won our immediate love and respect by having the Imperial March (Darth Veder's theme) from Star Wars as his batting music.

Perez jumps over the baseline when he's leaving the field after every inning. This is his jump, taken to thundering applause when he left the game in the 7th. I was happy for the way Ollie recovered from his (terrible) last start, and that the fans were willing to forgive him that game as long as he came back and pitched like we know he's capable of pitching. He did, and got a fantastic reaction from the crowd to his performance.

It's such a treat to see Howard Johnson back in a Mets uniform, coaching 1st base. He tries to pretend that people aren't cheering for him as he walks back to the dugout, but with the number and volume of the "HoJo! HoJo!" chants, I can't imagine that he misses the love he's getting.

I love discovering new things in the ballpark, like this lame-duck sign.