Other sports are games. Baseball is love.

There was a major league baseball game in Philadelphia today, played between the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. I found myself up against a strange set of feelings; there was baseball being played for real, but I didn't want either team to win. Never the less, by the time I got home, Alexis and I wanted nothing more than to watch the remaining innings of the game.

We're both exhausted, not sleeping well, and probably should have been in bed by the time the 8th inning rolled around. But there was nothing in the world either of us wanted to do more than watch that game. I have strongly negative feelings about both the teams on the field tonight, but watching them there, playing their game, their love-- that was magical. And in the end, it's easy to look at the result of tonight's game this way: we're a half a game up on the Phillies going into tomorrow's game. It's more a loss for Philadelphia than it is a win for Atlanta in mine eyes.

There was some super-fine pitching going on there, too, even if I do hate Derek Lowe.

the quote below

See that thing that Gary Cohen said at the beginning of last season, about the Phillies being NL East champs?

Well, if that made us gag, the title the Phillies start this year with must make us throw up a little in our mouths.

swept away in Philadelphia

I think it’s lucky for me that I was teaching through all four of the games the Mets lost in Philly, because it was so hard to hear about even after the fact. I might have been crushed by actually seeing it. The Phillies completed their sweep just as I was finishing class on Thursday night, and while walking to the car and after talking to LHJ (who was enjoying the Staten Island Yankees game far, far away), I called M.

When he answered, I asked, “Are you worried yet?”

“I was just thinking about you and the same question,” he replied.

“I’m in Farmingdale [20 minutes away from M’s house]. How about I come up there, have some pork* and we discuss?”

“Good idea. I’ll put the pork in the oven. See you soon.”

So while V and JRG slept and I ate my dinner, M and I discussed the creeping fear we were both feeling about the team not playing up to their potential, and the anxiety associated with going to play in Atlanta. Though the Braves are in third place (there to stay, I reckon), the Mets have lost all four of the series the teams had played at the start of this one, and seemed unable to win at the Ted for years and years, particularly in September. We comforted each other with the certainty that we’d make it into the playoffs regardless of whether we lost first place for a few games, and with the idea that Pedro’s return would do everyone good.

We also talked about how the team has to some extent been coasting this year, it having been so easy for them last year, they seemed to be playing like a playoff berth was their right. They needed a kick in the ass. One would have hoped that two sub-.500 months in a row would have done it, but it hadn’t. Only two games ahead of the Phillies now and heading to Atlanta, M and I discussed the possible outcomes if we went 1 for 3 in Atlanta (as we had in every other series with the Braves this year). We didn’t dare to consider what the standings might look like if the Mets actually won the upcoming series.

My dad called me while I was on my way into the city on Wednesday, a couple of hours before the Mets lost their third game in Philly. “Don’t worry,” he said. “This is why you build up a six-game lead. And the pitching match-ups favor us in tonight’s and tomorrow’s games.” While his optimism about what would happen at Citizens Bank Park didn’t pan out, he was right about what leads are for. The Mets were two games ahead of Philadelphia when they got on the plane to Atlanta, even after dropping four games in a row to their division rivals for first place.

I don’t think my dad, M, or I thought the first two games in Atlanta would turn out as they did.

*LHJ and I keep a kosher home, but not kosher bodies. One of my favorite foods is pulled pork, and I bought some that I then couldn’t bring home to my own kitchen. Happily, M and V didn’t mind storing it for me in their freezer.

Glavine vs. Moyer, Redux

Game 56: Phillies 4, Mets 2
34-21 for the season


this was the first game of the first sweep of the Mets this season. of course we didn't know at the time that the Phillies (against whom we were 3-1 this season before this series started, and who are now leading the series 4-3) and Mets bullpens would seem to trade ability levels for the duration of the series.




our bullpen has been fantastic all year, but fell apart in every game of the series, in a fashion much like the one you see above.





and we just couldn't hit. as my dad said, bad pitchers pain their fans with wrenching innings, but a struggling offense is wrenching to watch through the whole game.




though the game turned out to be disappointing, the evening was perfect-- warm but not hot, light breeze, no humidity, and a ballgame with my sister after dinner in Flushing.

I love being there before the game starts, seeing the end of the teams warm ups. It's also really fun to watch the progress of Citi Field behind the outfield, and the many many cranes that make up the view over the bleachers now.




David Wright stretches in left field, while Jose Reyes walks back to the baseline after a sprint to center.




David and Carlos Delgado have their routine catch on the grass between their dugout and the first base line just before the game starts. I still love this.




I love the bench above the right field fence from which the guys in the bullpen watch the first couple of innings of each game. I'll really miss that bench when Shea is gone.




a little league team and their parents and coaches enjoyed the game in the boxes next to ours. we actually had $9.00 Upper Reserve seats, but the park was half empty and we were able to sit in the first row of the Upper Boxes just to the third base side of home.




when the game went into extra innings, the Party Patrol broke out the banner. one imagines this was a ploy to keep fans in their seats and cheering loudly after 10pm.




check out the R2D2 mailbox right outside the stadium! it's commemorating the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars.

$*&%^ DVR!!

Game 12: Mets 8, Phillies 1
8-4 for the season

oh, I'm so annoyed-- the recording of the game cut out after 2.5 hours, in the bottom of the 6th. the Mets were up 4-1, and I can't even describe the 30 seconds of tension in my body as I called up mets.com to see if we kept the lead. my dad has been known to turn off a ballgame at a certain point, claiming that "if they blow it now, I don't want to see it." suffice it to say that I hadn't yet reached that point when my recording of the game ended.

as it turns out, the team doubled it with a run in the 7th and 3 in the 8th. so many days off at the beginning of the season is never good for the guys, but they performed really well tonight. Glavine got his 293rd win (and I was really glad that Willie and Ron let him hit in the 5th, even with 90 pitches already, so he could keep pitching and get the win), Wright continued his hitting streak, and Moises Alou hit his first homer of the year, drove in 3 runs over the course of the game.

the defense continues to impress-- 3 double plays tonight, one each in the first two innings. I'm continually impressed by the way Glavine wins. He's not a power pitcher, is never going to clock amazing heat over the plate, but he just never. gives. up. His second swing through the lineup showed clearly that he was pitching based on how it had gone his first way through-- the Phillies hitters didn't fall for the breaking ball the first time through, so Glavine just served up the fastballs they weren't expecting. the 5th inning was really impressive-- two strikeouts on the #3 and 4 guys in the Phil's lineup (both on the aforementioned fastballs they weren't expecting), getting himself in trouble and then getting out of it again not by overpowering the hitters but just by being smart and wearing them down. watching good pitching is truly one of the great pleasures in life.

I'm a little worried about Paul LoDuca-- he took a foul tip on his throwing hand in the bottom of the 4th and wasn't able to return to the game after he roughed out the rest of the inning. he looked in pain as he kept shaking the hand out in the dugout after the inning, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the cold made it worse than it actually was, and he'll be OK to catch tomorrow night in Florida (where it's-- thank goodness!-- warm and humid). in any case, the x-rays they took of his hand showed nothing scary, so let's hope Paulie's hand is good enough to start tomorrow's game.

is anyone sure of what happened before the game started, when Willie talked to the umpires and Garcia (the starting pitcher for the Phillies) was made to go into the dugout and replace his red glove with a black one? as Ron Darling explained the new pitcher's glove rule, it's allowed to be any color other than white as long as it's not "distracting" for the hitters.

I've now changed my DVR to record the show following the ballgames on SNY-- hopefully that'll cover enough time to get the whole game.

Who's the team to beat, again?

Game 9: Phillies 3, Mets 5
6-3 for the season

I was afraid that the crazy fans behind us (they get their own separate post) would make it impossible to enjoy the game, but despite the many distractions our neighbors for this game provided, the Mets wouldn't let their antics overshadow the performance on the field.

In some sense, it didn't matter how this game turned out-- it was my second game of the season, and of the week, and my first with my sister. I was going to have a good time no matter the outcome. I was concerned that we might get rained out-- it had rained intently all night and into the morning, though apparently it stopped in the Bronx a good three hours before it stopped on Long Island, leaving my sister more optimistic than I when we spoke at 1:30. I offered dinner in Flushing as an alternative to a cold and wet stadium, but SJ insisted that she wanted to go to the game, and I was glad because I felt the same way.




Before both of the games I've gone to this season, Carlos Beltran and David Wright have had a catch in front of the dugout before the game started. I'm sincerely charmed by this habit.




the National Anthem was played by this guy on his saxophone. SJ and I agreed that it was more interesting than your garden variety crooner singing the song.

we were definitely distracted by the outbursts of those around us (not to mention the nicknames-- "Paulie Dukes" for LoDuca, "Sheen" for Shawn Green), but the game was compelling and competed well with the antics around us in the upper deck for our attention. it was of course distressing when Glavine gave up two homers (including one in the first at-bat of the game) to Jimmy Rollins, a villain in New York for his pre-season comment that the Phillies are "the team to beat" in the NL East this season. turns out he was right-- they've been beat, pretty consistently-- as they were tonight, when Glavine found his groove in the 3rd inning and pulled out his 292nd career win.




bottom of the 6th, bases loaded, 2 outs, Carlos Beltran at bat.




he struck out, but it was exciting there for a few minutes. the Mets were already up by a run at that point, but it would have been easier to relax if Beltran had hit and given Joe Smith a 3 or more run lead at the top of the 7th.

it turned out that Smith didn't need the extra help. he pitched well, and though the first guy he faced got a single, he struck out Rowand looking and then got Ruiz to hit into a 4-6-3 double play, the second of 3 double plays the Mets turned in the game. Scott Schoeneweis had an 8th inning reminiscent of Smith's 7th, and though Billy Wagner gave up a double to Ryan Howard and LoDuca let a ball pass that allowed Howard to take 3rd, Wagner ended the game after facing just four batters in the top of the 9th.




Cow Bell Guy, a Shea Stadium institution. Will he be able to afford season tickets to Citi Field?




I'm not the biggest fan of the song played when the Mets win at home-- "Taking Care of Business" feels trite, and isn't even that good a song. But I do love watching them line up and high five in the middle of the field like every Little League team in America when they win.

One to miss

Game 8: Phillies 5, Mets 2
5-3 for the season

I was teaching tonight, and managed to miss the whole game while doing so. I've got it on DVR, but knowing the outcome makes me less inclined to watch it.

Bah. If you need a game recap, you can always find one on mlb.com.

My sister and I have tickets to tomorrow night's game-- keep your fingers crossed that we don't get rained out.

p.s. The pictures of Opening Day are posted below!

beer stained scorecard

as I've recently learned, I do not need a scanner to show you my scorecard from opening day.

silly me.



the Phillie's side was rather straightforward.




the Mets, not so much. But we won, so who cares how messy the scorecard turns out?

if you click on the pictures, you can see even the smallest of my scribblings. you'll also notice that there's handwriting there that isn't my own-- many thanks to BJC for scoring the plays I missed while waiting for the bathroom or for beer.

Opening Day at Shea

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

I wish I were eloquent enough to describe the feeling of walking out the ramp to the seats and seeing the ballfield in front of my for the first time each year. Truthfully, I get a rush every time I go to a game and walk out into the stands-- going from the dark of the concession area to the brilliant light of the field, from the clamor of thousands of fans to the expanse of space ahead-- it's exhilarating every time, but never more so than the first time I do it each year.

We were sitting in the nosebleeds, an area that reeks of true (and sometimes insane) fandom. As much as sitting field level gives an awesome perspective of the players up close, I love sitting upstairs. Those of us up there are not rich, can't routinely buy better seats, but care just about being in the ballpark. The only drawback of our seats is that they were shaded throughout the game, but we were prepared; my layers did me well, and I never shivered.





Opening day was welcome indeed.

it being Opening Day, there was some pomp and circumstance to witness; this is how the field looked right before they announced the starting players.

during the break in the 6th inning, Mr. Met and some teenagers come out to launch t-shirts into the crowd. it's not like there's anything phallic about white stuff launching out of a dark tube. not like that at all.

This dude had Mr. Met glued to his cap.

BJC and I were cold, but having a great time. It's so nice to get to be friends with your friends loved ones. It's a good thing that BJC and I are baseball fans, because of course we'd have nothing at all to talk about if we didn't have that in common.

What is there to say about the game? The Mets clearly understood early on that they were going to have trouble with the Phil's starting pitching, so they tried but mostly waited until they had a crack at the bullpen, at which point they put the game away with a 6-run 8th inning. There's nothing like being a fan in the stadium to witness your team slaughter their opponents, particularly on opening day. My dad pointed out on the opening night of the season (when the Mets played in St. Louis), the best part is that by the 4th inning, you stop thinking about it being the first game of the year and just settle in to watching baseball again. I didn't feel the same way about the April 1 game that he did, but I definitely felt it at Shea yesterday-- after all the extra pomp and circumstance surrounding it being Opening Day, by the 4th inning, it was just great to be watching a ballgame.