At Least They Didn't Put Him On The Cover

[Guest themetfairy]

The Trials of Mr. Met

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

So THAT's why the bullpen catcher didn't want to talk to Rubin about his trip.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Damn good story. I'm glad Lee Jenkins wrote it.

I'm an optimist, but I'm excited about this season.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

The catcher story was kinda sewn on in front there, though, no? I like Jenkins-- and most of the story-- a lot, but the intro seems of a slightly different piece than the rest of it, and the connection to the story's meat pretty tenuous. (I'm judging Jenkins by his own high standards here, of course.)

(Also:

When his team lost 12 of its last 17 games to blow the National League East title in '07, Wright was exempt from blame because he hit .352 in September. When the Mets lost 10 of their last 17 to blow the wild-card berth in '08, Wright was absolved again because he hit .340 over the final month. "He had never really failed," says hitting coach Howard Johnson.

Lee obviously doesn't read the tabloids, cruise Metsblog or listen to 'FAN. Which is probably good, because his headaches would be worse. That should read, "should have been exempt... should have been absolved.")

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

You're right about the intro. He never gets back to it, and goes on for a long time before even getting to the point of the story.

But had this been a Verducci piece, the first 10 inches would have been following Derek Jeter grocery shopping -- with a transition being something along the lines of "all this while the man who is the face of the city's lesser-loved franchise....," followed by a recap of how the Mets "failed" to sign any free agents except one rumored to rather play in Beirut and Beltran's surgery and even an aside about the shoulder patch and a cheap joke about the home run apple -- instead of a Mets back-up catcher.

[dgwphotography]

That's the first thing I've read that actually has me excited for this season. It's about time.

[Guest themetfairy]

Here's how it looks in print -

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

A little upper-lip glisten, to convey the proper amount of effort... just before the photograph was taken... in the dead of winter?

That's some clutch perspiration.

[G-Fafif]

The scary part is the organizational edict that everybody had to hit to right. Geez.

I attended close to half of all home games last year and I do not recall Wright being booed on any kind of regular basis, which is something Jenkins suggests was the norm. There was less booing in general than at Shea, perhaps from numbness to the terrible season, perhaps because Citi Field keeps fans otherwise distracted, perhaps because David is still the people's choice. He may have had his halo tarnished, but there was no vocal WrightLash at the ballpark. I heard more boos for him on the final day at Shea in the ninth (when he popped up to lead off the ninth) than I did at point in 2009.

The whole team has rallied behind the bullpen catcher? I hope to hear that in seven months when there are myriad articles dissecting what it was that galvanized these N.L. East champion Mets. "It all began with Dave Racianello's bike trip...and continues here in October."

Jenkins presumably didn't write the subhed, but I could've done without that "New York's Other Franchise" bit.

[Frayed Knot]

So THAT's why the bullpen catcher didn't want to talk to Rubin about his trip.

[Valadius]

I attended close to half of all home games last year and I do not recall Wright being booed on any kind of regular basis, which is something Jenkins suggests was the norm.[/quote:2tmpe4g8]

See Blair, Jayson.

[Chad ochoseis]

I'd still like to know more about which route(s) he took - especially when it comes to getting over those major bodies of water (Del Riv, Chesapeake Bay, etc.) where highway bridges don't normally accommodate bikes.

[nymr83]

The Potomac's easy

Not if you're George McClellan.

Impressive story and the guy was lucky to miss the snow. Temperature wise I'd rather try it now than in the summer, the 40's don't feel cold when you're sweating.

[Guest Edgy DC]

But not so much when you're tenting.

[Frayed Knot]

Biking while it's in the 40s is cold; cold on the hands, on the face, on the feet - especially for the long term plus you've always got a 15mph (or so) wind in your face.
And, yeah, 40 degree days means 20 degree nights in the tent. Plus there's so much less daylight hours to ride.
Now he did get lucky as it was probably in 50s or better during 2/3 of the trek and, yeah, that beats Georgia in July, but it's still freakin January.


The problem with finding ways over water where typically only highways cross directly is that the alternatives often make a long trip even longer.
Sometimes the way around that is jumping on a ferry; it solves the bridge without bike lanes problem, often let's you avoid the crowded city, and it gives a nice break to the day (it's the best way to go on bike from L.I. to Conn for instance). But that's where the only starting out with $20 problem jumps up and bites you.