off night

Game 43: Yankees 6, Mets 2
28-15 for the season

If I'd known Tony Randazzo was behind the plate on Sunday night, I would have lowered my expectations for victory. to the extent that guy has an eye, it's one trained to see calls as they go against the Mets. never the less, I was so excited all day on Sunday-- like a kid on Christmas Eve, eager with anticipation of the excitement to come. I practically skipped to the train.

dang! that's a lot of people!

others were not as successful at fighting the urge to bring a broom as I was.

CBN's tickets were in the Mezzanine, just down from third base-- a good vantage point, with a direct view of the scoreboard and into the Mets dugout. I'm so annoyed with myself because I keep forgetting to bring the small binoculars I bought for our safari in Africa to the ballpark, so I've now put them in the bag I bring to games, but I would have loved to have had them on Sunday night for the view I had of the Mets bench.





the apple, up for the 7th inning stretch (though was also up earlier, in the 2nd, when David Wright hit a home run for what proved to be his only hit of the night).

CBN and I went to Mets games together in high school, and I was honored that he asked me to join him at his first game of the season on Sunday. it was great fun to be at a game with another real fan, someone who pays attention to the game and the team, and also just to be there with him-- it's been more than a decade since we'd been at Shea together, and it was fun to be there with my old friend again.




the good time we were having in the stands was not represented on the field on Sunday night. in truth, though I was hoping for a sweep, I didn't expect it, even against the struggling Yankees. and that's a good thing, because my expectations would have been severely disappointed. Maine struggled from the beginning, and the five Mets pitchers we saw by the time the game was over collectively had a horrible time with falling behind in the count-- they just could not pull ahead, and the Yanks were able to hit them as a result.





the Mets have a hard time against rookie pitchers, because they rely heavily on tape to prepare. this game was no exception-- the Yanks rookie pitcher Clippard held the Mets to 1 run on 3 hits in the six innings he pitched.



as much as I hate the Yankees, a real ball fan has to have respect for the great Mariano Rivera, the best closer ever to play the game. I am a real ball fan, and a lover of pitching in particular, and I have enormous respect for the talent in Mariano's arm.




this may be the last time I see Rivera pitch live, and it was a pleasure to watch (including the ultimately useless homer from Easley).


there was some predictable Mets/Yanks fans scuffling, but that'll get it's own post, hopefully tonight.