Mazal tov to the Santanas!!

Johan isn't in Queens tonight for the opening of Citi Field, but for good reason; he's in Miami with his wife, who delivered a son today. Felicidades a su hijo nuevo, los Santanas!

Is LIRR ridership really that dumb?

On the schedules page for the Long Island Railroad, the following box appears:




Really?! A Mets fan who has trouble figuring that out probably shouldn't be allowed out of the house, much less on the train.

Joss Wheedon, Mets Fan

This week's Dollhouse (the new show from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) included a couple of overt shout-outs to the '86 Mets and to the team in general. Joss has been a hero of mine for 10 years now, but this? It's too much.

Sheffield.

As a baseball sage said today, who would you rather have off the bench, Gary Sheffield or Marlon Anderson? He can platoon with Delgado at first and in both of the corners of the outfield. He's a righty. You don't want 30 more homers this year?

In those terms, and in terms of the money, this is the wisest choice that Omar has made this year.

Of course, he makes me nervous. But I think that if Sheff doesn't produce, he'll be cut. I'm feeling good about this move.

go read this now

Maybe when I've been blogging about the Mets for years, I'll be able to be as eloquent as Greg at Faith and Fear. Maybe. In the meantime, he's captured how I feel so well in this post that I'm just going to read it again instead of try to explain how I feel today.

Well, beat the drum, and hold the phone...

I'm so ready for baseball season it's become a little embarrassing; the preoccupation is so great that I found myself wearing one of my favorite Mets long-sleeve t's today, with chinos. I'm not the only one living in my apartment who feels this way; Alexis found herself watching Mets Classic games on SNY today, in lieu of the last spring training game (it was untelevised), just to tide herself over until the season begins on Monday.

Though we didn't land tickets to either of this weekend's exhibition games at Citi Field against the Red Sox, Alexis and I will still be at Willets Point this weekend. We're going on Sunday for Workout Day, when the guys will be on the field and the rest of us will be wandering the new stadium.

It's hard to believe, but my team is sleeping in their regular-season beds tonight, having flown up from Florida tonight in advance of the games at Citi this weekend. Though these are exhibition games, there is an air of excitement surrounding the first games that major-leaguers will play in the new ballpark, and I can't help but feel its breeze.

...the sun came out today
we're born again
there's new grass on the field...

merch

Growing up, I didn't wear much Mets merchandise. This is likely because my dad, the most committed Mets fan I knew growing up, only ever wore the Mets shoe laces I got him for Christmas one year.

When I lived in Los Angeles and went to Mets games in Chavez Ravine, I felt the need to wear something that designated me as a Mets fan in exile. This was almost a decade ago (wow), before the t-shirts specifically designed for women were anything but pink and icky, so I ended up with an ill-fitting men's t-shirt that just said METS across the chest. I still wear that shirt to sleep sometimes. I also bought a Mets cap before going to Israel for the first time, and am still sad that I seem to have lost it in one of my moves since.

As I've spent more time as a fan not living with my dad and with folks who do wear Mets merchandise, I've developed my own feelings about how I dress when I go to games. And I like the t-shirts and sweatshirt and hat that I have. The options for women have expanded, and there are a couple of brands that design t-shirts and outerwear that I really like. Plus, I have some orange t-shirts, which when combined with jeans are Mets colors, too.

But whoever designed the bikini took a big step over the line of taste.

the Sports Illustrated curse

It's bad enough that SI has tagged the New York Mets as the team to win the World Series this year. But then to put CC Sabathia, in all his pin-stripped glory, on the cover?! That's just sadistic.

baseball in Brooklyn

Here's a fun thought experiment that occurred to me while walking to the train today:

How would your loyalties be divided if National League baseball came back to Brooklyn?

I am too young to have my own memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers, but I was raised by Dodger fans, and so I feel a certain inherited longing for Ebbets Field. There is certainly a part of me that would feel a strong pull to root for an MLB team in Brooklyn, particularly now that I live here in the borough of our familial and baseball ancestors.

Never the less, I've been a Mets fan all my life. I think my friend Joe put it perfectly when he said, "I mean, they'd totally be my second favorite team..." Mine, too. Right after the Mets.

Boomball

This article in the current New York Magazine is all about how the Yankees look a lot like the image of New York that crashed last fall along with the American banking system. The article builds on a feeling about the Yanks that I've long held; they're the team that represents the richest, most outlandishly displayed wealth that is New York for many people who live here and even more who don't. There is a sense of entitlement that surrounds the Yankees and their fans, one that says that any loss is unjustified, and that a whole nine years without a pennant is beneath them. All in all, I don't like the way the Yankees personify New York.

My New York has as many Latinos on the field as Anglos (often more), a black man managing the team, and another Latino as GM. My New York is proud of its talent but not impressed by it. My New York is the one David Wright, Johan Santana, Ryan Church, and Brian Schneider are happy to call home. My New York is one in which Jose Reyes is as important to the future of the team as David Wright is. Yes, the Mets have a heavy payroll too. Never the less, the people who root for the Mets, and the people the Mets choose to employ, say a lot about the New York that is my home.

a week late

Usually, the MLB season starts this week. This season, it's starting a week later than usual, because of the WBC. I'm a WBC supporter (though I think there's a better time of the year to pay the classic than during spring training), but today I'm sweating that extra week. If holding my breath would make April 6th come sooner, I'd do it. Alexis was wearing her Mets hat when I got home last night, and I wore orange today; baseball season is clearly in the air in Brooklyn.

Like any good Mets fan, I'm a bit concerned about pitching, but like any good baseball fan, I'm dismissing spring training results as any sort of predictor for how even the beginning of the season will unfold. It's simply not predictive.

It's nice to have a manager who thinks the way I do; today in Port St. Lucie, Jerry said this: "The Major Leagues will tell you," Manuel said. "Spring Training just won't."

The Baseball Calendar

Last week, Alexis and I did the baseball calendar... which meant she read me the dates we have tickets to games, and I put them in our calendar. Three days ago, she told me that the Brooklyn Cyclones (a Mets farm club) were having a "Baracklyn Cyclones" game, and that she'd gotten us tickets.

And then she told me about the bobble-head. I have the best roommate ever, and my president isn't half-bad, either.

the last thing I ever thought I'd hear on ESPN

David Wright drove in Jimmy Rollins and Derek Jeter was the first one out there patting David Wright on the helmet... and Jeter's locker was put between the two so they wouldn't fight!

--Orel Hershiser on D.Wright's walk-off heroics to get the USA to the semi's of the WBC.

intel

from my friend who's initials are, incidentally, MLB:

just saw on NY1 Citigroup wasn't willing to fork money over for to the MTA, so that station isn't going to be named after Citi Field. It's instead going to be "Mets - Willets Point"

I guess it's good that Citigroup is saving money somewhere, and I'm actually kind of happy that it's just going to be named after the Mets. Maybe my favorite sign ever will still be there come opening day this year. 

Our new idea for re-naming Citi Field

Alexis had an idea that I like; given that Citigroup only exists because of the unreal amount of taxpayer money the bank has received in the last months, it should be named after the people who are paying for it: those of us who both pay taxes and buy tickets at the new field. The name could change daily, for as long as it takes to get through the whole roll. One day it would be Adam Field, the next Alexis Field, Andrew Field the next, etc. 

Why not?

Dave Racaniello, or I love Marginalia

There are days when I think Dave Racaniello has the best job in baseball. This guy catches pitches in the bullpen during the year, and is reportedly responsible for the start of the Great Shave of '07. During spring training, he literally plays. He's good friends with David Wright and has a reputation as a good guy. He's a part of every game, in the bullpen the whole game. And when the Mets lose a game, he is in *no way* responsible.

At spring training last year, every time we saw Racaniello, SJ and I would scream at the top of our lungs, "Love you, Dave!! Go Rac!!" Perhaps it hadn't occurred to hm that the average fan not only knew who he is but wanted to cheer for him. The big smile on his face when he heard us tells me that he appreciated being noticed by the average fan, and that's something that likely doesn't happen to him much. But I love the guy, for all kinds of reasons, and I'm glad to have been able to let him know for a second or two that he's appreciated by Mets fans.

Jose on hitting third, and why the Phillies suck

Reyes reported to camp yesterday, and gave an interesting interview to the Post, which you should read here. Before giving that interview, he worked out at Tradition Field with the man who will most likely replace him at lead-off: Jose Castillo.

There is going to be some serious beef between the Mets and the Phillies this year, and I agree with Jose: the Phils won the World Series. Why are they so concerned with trash-talking the Mets?

Routine

Baseball players are creatures of habit, of routine. Most hitters do exactly the same things in the on-deck circle in exactly the same order every single time they're in the hole. Most pitchers come to a set position using exactly the same movements every time-- Joe Smith with his routine of pants, belt, hat, then onto the mound is an extreme example, but Johan has a routine too-- the adorable shaking of the hips while staring over his glove at the catcher, then coming to a set.

Baseball fans tend to mirror baseball players in the desire for routine. I've written before about how, during the season, baseball tends to order a fan's days; everything is measured in terms of how much of the game you'll see on TV, how much you'll get to on the radio, whether you'll be relegated to watching on your preferred internet gameday application, whether you'll miss the game entirely and will be furtively checking for updates during whatever is keeping you from seeing tonight's game.

There's not a lot in the world one can count on; I've had more examples of this in my life recently than I care to think about. But during the season, one can count on baseball, every single day. This has been perhaps the hardest winter of my life; I cannot possibly be more looking forward to the daily routine of baseball to bring the kind of order to my days that it does during the season, and to bring the daily feelings of joy and disappointment and anticipation and excitement and interest and love and competition and loyalty that one can only get from being a fan.

Only 46 days to go.

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Jerry Manuel is talking about moving Reyes down to the 3rd position, presumably ahead of Wright and Delgado (depending on Carlos' performance) and behind Beltran in the 2 slot. I can't decide if I think this is a good idea; I think it depends too much on the performance of Castillo, which isn't a performance I feel comfortable relying on. This strikes me a little too much like the behavior of Willie Randolph constantly changing the #2 hitter, with little success. That said, this is the only thing Jerry Manuel has ever done that has reminded me of Willie, and I was never a Willie-hater to begin with. I've been impressed with Manuel, and I think he can have real success with this team; I'd just hate to see a constant revolution of players hitting first this season, for reasons I can't yet fully express. It just feels a bit like throwing stuff on the wall to see if it sticks, a strategy I can appreciate in business but not much in baseball.

Things seem to be looking good down in Port St. Lucie; it's weird to think that in a short time, many of the most important guys to the team will leave to play in the WBC. I wonder, given Manuel's stated goal of making this year about the team rather than individual performances, how this can do anything but harm Manuel's project. I can see getting really pumped up to play for your country (or Puerto Rico), and then having a hard time getting pumped to play for a random assemblage of major league players with nothing in common other than being paid by the Wilpons, having just left the camaraderie of one's countrymen while doing your favorite thing (playing baseball). I hope I'm wrong about that, and that playing in the WBC will hurt the Mets neither physically (I'm praying, along with every Major League owner and GM in baseball, for no injuries) nor emotionally.

Noble on Shea

I've mentioned before that I generally agree with Marty Noble, enjoy his writing, and especially love his answers to fan's questions. And like most of the press and a lot of Mets fans, he didn't expect to feel any nostalgia for Shea. Because I'm a bit of a nostalgia freak, I expected to feel something at some point, but it didn't really hit me until the last game I went to there, the second-to-last of the season and among the most beautiful (if not THE most beautiful) games Johan Santana has ever thrown. In fact, it didn't even hit me until I was pulling up to the Shea station on the LIRR.


But it did hit me. Shea, for all it's faults (and there were many), is the only place the Mets have played in my lifetime, the field on which they've won both their World Series pennants. It's where I went to my first baseball game; it's where I've had so many happy times with my father and the rest of my family. And as much as I am looking forward to Citi, I know I'll miss Shea.

As it turns out, it took much longer to hit Marty Noble than it did me that he would fell nostalgia for the old stadium, and writes about it nicely today.