2013 All-Star Game

[batmagadanleadoff]

The Franchise riffs on the ASG ... hasn't spoken to Harvelous yet, but unlike the Jimmy Fallon interviewees, knows who Matt is ... The Doctor keeps a running Korman Kount of Harv's K's ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/sports/baseball/seaver-mets-hall-of-fame-pitcher-draws-standing-ovation.html?_r=0

[Centerfield]

Thoughts on the Game:

It was crowded.

Everything was really expensive.

Nice hand for Wright. Bigger reception for Harvey. I guess this is expected since he is the new phenom, but would have liked to see David get more love.

Love how Collins and Davey Johnson got big hands. Laughed at the reception given to Wainright and YFM.

Seaver looked a bit frail from where I sat. Everyone cheered when he toed the rubber, then groaned a little when he didn't go into the windup. I think not everyone knew he was sick. A bit awkward. Surprised Piazza was not asked to catch. That's like, you know, what we do.

American Idol winner for the anthem? I guess it's on Fox. She sucked.

Mets and Yankees fans were trying to get along in the crowd. Got tense when Cano got hit, even worse when he had to leave. The scoreboard said X-Rays negative and that eased things a bit.

Mascot races are stupid. I'm so glad we don't have one.

Not sure how I feel about Mrs. Met yet.

Wish Beltran had gotten a better reception. Some idiot was booing. "I'll never forget 2006." Fucking idiot. Obviously he has forgetten about all of 2006 except one at-bat. Made me more upset than I can logically explain. Some Mets fans don't deserve a winning team.

The seventh-inning stretch was stupidly long. Then they cut off Lazy Mary. Stupid stupid stupid. This made me mad and cranky. Stupid Mets.

The game sucked. I guess whatever team I root for can't score runs.

Cool moment. Trivia question about who had the most shutouts in one season. Everyone around was yelling Gooden but the guy on screen guessed Seaver. He got a prize, and then Gooden showed up to hand it to him. Great moment.

Neil Diamond offered the most interesting moment of the night. When they announced he was going to sing, I couldn't imagine a worse fit than Sweet Caroline at a New York All-Star Game. Big groan from everyone around us. But then he started singing. I never thought I would ever see Yankee fans putting up their hands to touch hands. By the chorus, lots of people were into it. And Neil was having a blast. Turns out it's a catchy-ass song and Neil is charming and oblivious. I don't know. I still couldn't get into it. Maybe if it were presented another way. If I were king, I'd have intro-d it by saying let's be classy NY and show our support for Boston. Boston Strong bla bla blah.

Nice hand for Mariano. Enter Sandman really is a fantastic song for a closer. Yankee fans irate that they would waste Mo in the 8th.

Nice performance overall by the Mets. Harvey 2 scoreless, 3K. David 1 for 3 and an A as master of ceremonies.

Had to drive so I limited myself to one beer. Thinking this is a bad idea and don't anticipate repeating that mistake again.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Megdal not so mean to the Mets, but only because most of his ASG column is devoted to Mariano Rivera

A night at Citi Field starts with Harvey, ends with Rivera

By Howard Megdal
9:54 am Jul. 17, 2013

Three pitches into Matt Harvey's night, what was supposed to be the crown jewel of the New York Mets' baseball season threatened to turn into a debacle in line with, well, much of the team's history over the past half-dozen years. Mike Trout lined Harvey's first pitch down the right field line for a double. Robinson Cano took a ball, then Harvey drilled him in what looked to be his knee. Cano, after some time to recover, head down, hobbled to first base. Harvey faced Miguel Cabrera, who has an O.P.S.+ this season of 201 (Babe Ruth's career O.P.S.+ is 206) with two on and none out. "That was when I knew I was going to have to buckle down," Harvey told reporters during his post-start press conference, after he did just that and a good bit more in the 84th Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Citi Field Tuesday night, ultimately won by the American League, 3-0. "The last thing I wanted to do was go 3-0 with no outs in the All Star Game. I knew I had to make good pitches, and luckily, throwing to the best catcher in the game, that makes it a lot easier." These are the strange, temporary loyalties formed by the All-Star Game. Harvey's cushion was Yadier Molina, also known as the man who ruined the Mets' 2006 season when he homered off Aaron Heilman in Game 7 of the N.L.C.S. It's been nearly seven years, and Harvey was in high school at the time, but Molina was lustily booed during introductions. Still, the crowd was silent, pondering how things had deteriorated so fast. Just a few minutes before, the baseball world looked to belong to Harvey, who received the loudest cheers, louder than even the longtime Met David Wright, as he fired warmup pitches from the right field foul line, bathed in early-evening sunlight. Mets fans know how unsure a sure thing can be, thanks to things like the 2007 and 2008 seasons. But if a Harvey meltdown would have fit into the recent history of his ballclub, what happened next is entirely how events have unfolded for Harvey. Harvey switched from his fastball to his slider, getting ahead of Cabrera with one, and ultimately striking him out with another. Harvey went on to pitch flawlessly, striking out three over two scoreless innings. He touched 99 with his fastball, and allowed the largest audience, by far, to ever watch him pitch see a bit of what has Mets fans so besotted. Better still, Harvey himself gave an all-clear on the blister which had led to some recent outings that made Harvey look practically mortal. "No, it's healed up pretty great," Harvey said about his blister. "It feels fine. I was able to finally throw my slider again, so that was definitely a big help, and you know, I'm glad everything's healthy going into the second half." Harvey's diagnosis was backed up by empirical evidence. In his last start, he threw just four of 12 sliders for strikes, uncharacteristic for Harvey. Tuesday night, seven of his ten sliders were strikes. So as the American League scored single runs in fourth, fifth and eighth, it was up to Robinson Cano to assure the world that he was fine. Cano was all smiles when he met the media in-game, explaining that the injury was to his quadriceps muscle, the X-rays were negative, and it didn't even hurt that much. "In the beginning, it just felt a little tight," Cano said, speaking at an in-game press conference. "I didn't want to aggravate it in that situation." But as Cano's presser went on, he said the injury didn't hurt much, by the end it didn't hurt at all, and when finally asked again how it felt right now, he answered brightly, "Good!" As always, see him back on the field to judge properly. While the National League could only muster a pair of hits from current Mets great David Wright and former Mets great Carlos Beltran through eight innings, what began at Citi Field as a celebration of two Mets became a tribute to one Yankee: Mariano Rivera. He didn't actually get to save the game: American League manager Jim Leyland didn't want to take a chance that his team would enter a ninth inning trailing, thus eliminating a bottom of the ninth and keeping Rivera from pitching in his final All-Star Game. Had the American League held an eight or ten-run lead, Leyland said later, he'd have saved Rivera for the ninth, but then, that wouldn't have been a save anyway. According to Leyland, his players were in the dark, too. "Well, I actually kind of lied to the players," Leyland, still in his uniform, told a gathering of reporters from a podium at his postgame press conference. "I said, 'I'm not a motivational speaker, but my motivation is to work our fannies off to get to the ninth inning and bring in the greatest closer of all time. I did lie a little bit, one inning, but for obvious reasons, I hope you all understand that. If something freaky would've happened in the eighth, where they'd scored some runs or taken the lead, there wouldn't have been a ninth." And in Leyland's mind, as the American League headed to the bottom of the eighth with a 3-0 lead, things were still sufficiently tight that he had to go with his best guy. It was time for Rivera. Never mind that he also had Joe Nathan and his 1.36 E.R.A. at his disposal. He'd been burned too many times, as my colleague Emma Span said, by watching Jose Valverde pitch this season for the Tigers. Leyland did this with Rivera's approval. In fact, Leyland's respect for Rivera was so great that something he said to Leyland during the Yankees' last series in Detroit made Leyland choke up, and then again as he recounted the moment, while vowing he'd never tell anyone what it was. It's as if Rivera's words possess the same magical properties as his pitches, which somehow got better as he aged. So in came Rivera an inning early, alone from the bullpen to the mound, while a Citi Field crowd which had lustily booed Phillies and Braves representatives cheered him. He was a Yankee, but he was also the greatest relief pitcher of all time, in his final season. "It's been an amazing night, a great event," a clearly moved Rivera said, his wife close next to him, three children standing behind them. "Has been amazing. I have no words for it." As Rivera warmed up, it was just him and the catcher, while the other players remained in the dugout, allowing him a singular moment. Rivera said afterward that the moment, like so much else, was unexpected. "Everything has been a surprise this night. When I was crossing the field, when I got to the mound, first, hearing the song, that I pitch [to]," referring to Enter Sandman, by Metallica, (which technically was Billy Wagner's first, but never mind that now). "I don't usually hear that song in other stadiums. ... That was great, and then when I got to the mound, I saw both teams out of the dugout, cheering and applauding there. It almost made me cry. ... I will never forget that." Rivera came in and did what he does, throwing 11 of 16 pitches for strikes in a scoreless eighth. An inning later, Joe Nathan, of Middletown, N.Y. Babe Ruth League, Pine Bush High School and SUNY-Stonybrook, logged the final three outs. But there was little doubt that Rivera would get the M.V.P. award, an unusual honor for somebody who, ultimately, logged a hold. Rivera, said to be endlessly devoted to his family and many other off-field causes that should allow him a seamless transition to post-baseball life, isn't retiring because of any decline in performance. He's been better in his 40s than his 30s, just as he was better in his 30s than his 20s. And in his 20s, incidentally, he pitched to an E.R.A.+ of 182, earned two top-three Cy Young Award vote finishes, and closed for three World Series-winning teams. A reporter asked him after the game just how long he thought he could pitch if family and life were not an issue. Rivera laughed. "I don't want to think about it," he said, with a familiar smile. "Because I might change my mind." More seriously, he added, "No, no, like I said before spring training, I think that the bullets are getting short. I mean, that's all I have. I don't have nothing left. I'm giving everything that I have." He spoke for another ten minutes after that, and when he was finished, the jaded New York press crew gave him a round of applause, and crowded around Rivera and his family to take pictures and offer him congratulations on a career coming to an end on Rivera's own terms.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/sports/2013/07/8531941/night-citi-field-starts-harvey-ends-rivera?top-featured-1

[Ceetar]

It's almost like people/writers don't understand that part of the reason I, and others, hate Mariano (Besides the no way MY guy did steroids during the steroid era stuff) is the overly flowery worship crap and the telling me I MUST worship him or I'm an idiot and stupid fan stuff. Nope, not true. And that's sports, and part of what makes competition fun. He's not royalty, he's just another player. The Emperor, may he life for ever, honorifics get tiresome.

Honor him if you want, that's fine. I personally think it was overdone. If we're actually playing a game here you don't need to take the 3 minutes to worship him before he starts warming up. That's what announcements and warmup pitches are for. I continued to boo him. That's what you do to the enemy.

[seawolf17]

Jayson Stark wrote: NEW YORK -- So this was how it ended for the great Mariano Rivera, after all these years and all these magical All-Star moments. With a hold? Seriously? On a night that was all about him, a night when his team's only mission was to grab a lead and get the ball to Mariano the Great, it's hard to believe that this was how it ended

"On a night that was all about him?!?!?!?" Gimme a fucking break. I'm with Ceetar.

[Edgy MD]

Leyland was pretty clear why he chose the eighth. Made all the sense in the world. Especially if you don't care for him, his team, or his league and were rooting for him to fail either way.

By the way, what's with all this "Mariano the Great"? Is that a thing?

[metirish]

Centerfield wrote: Thoughts on the Game: It was crowded. Everything was really expensive. Nice hand for Wright. Bigger reception for Harvey. I guess this is expected since he is the new phenom, but would have liked to see David get more love. Love how Collins and Davey Johnson got big hands. Laughed at the reception given to Wainright and YFM. Seaver looked a bit frail from where I sat. Everyone cheered when he toed the rubber, then groaned a little when he didn't go into the windup. I think not everyone knew he was sick. A bit awkward. Surprised Piazza was not asked to catch. That's like, you know, what we do. American Idol winner for the anthem? I guess it's on Fox. She sucked. Mets and Yankees fans were trying to get along in the crowd. Got tense when Cano got hit, even worse when he had to leave. The scoreboard said X-Rays negative and that eased things a bit. Mascot races are stupid. I'm so glad we don't have one. Not sure how I feel about Mrs. Met yet. Wish Beltran had gotten a better reception. Some idiot was booing. "I'll never forget 2006." Fucking idiot. Obviously he has forgetten about all of 2006 except one at-bat. Made me more upset than I can logically explain. Some Mets fans don't deserve a winning team. The seventh-inning stretch was stupidly long. Then they cut off Lazy Mary. Stupid stupid stupid. This made me mad and cranky. Stupid Mets. The game sucked. I guess whatever team I root for can't score runs. Cool moment. Trivia question about who had the most shutouts in one season. Everyone around was yelling Gooden but the guy on screen guessed Seaver. He got a prize, and then Gooden showed up to hand it to him. Great moment. Neil Diamond offered the most interesting moment of the night. When they announced he was going to sing, I couldn't imagine a worse fit than Sweet Caroline at a New York All-Star Game. Big groan from everyone around us. But then he started singing. I never thought I would ever see Yankee fans putting up their hands to touch hands. By the chorus, lots of people were into it. And Neil was having a blast. Turns out it's a catchy-ass song and Neil is charming and oblivious. I don't know. I still couldn't get into it. Maybe if it were presented another way. If I were king, I'd have intro-d it by saying let's be classy NY and show our support for Boston. Boston Strong bla bla blah. Nice hand for Mariano. Enter Sandman really is a fantastic song for a closer. Yankee fans irate that they would waste Mo in the 8th. Nice performance overall by the Mets. Harvey 2 scoreless, 3K. David 1 for 3 and an A as master of ceremonies. Had to drive so I limited myself to one beer. Thinking this is a bad idea and don't anticipate repeating that mistake again.

Nice writeup too...interesting because on the telly is sounded like Beltran got a great hand....at the Futures game they did the same thing with the trivia, the answer was Strawberry and he greeted the winner.....very cool....yes, Wainwirght took the boos for what they were, a bit of fun.....

[Ceetar]

metirish wrote: Nice writeup too...interesting because on the telly is sounded like Beltran got a great hand....at the Futures game they did the same thing with the trivia, the answer was Strawberry and he greeted the winner.....very cool....yes, Wainwirght took the boos for what they were, a bit of fun.....

Of course, isn't booing Wainwright and Molina about the greatest respect you can give them? It's a "You faced us and won, and we hate you for it." Booing them is a nod of respect for their part in it. I'm glad they get it, since not everyone does. It's where the grudging respect for Chipper Jones I have comes from, he got into the rivalry and that's what makes the rivalries fun.

Some pictures?

Kershaw


Matt Carpenter


Joey Votto and Allen Craig


Freddie Freeman


Bryce Harper


Tried to catch Scherzer's eyes, didn't.








Joe Nathan rides alone

[Frayed Knot]

Ceetar wrote: Tried to catch Scherzer's eyes, didn't.

No, but she did.

[MFS62]

The VYF in my office was getting on me about Harvey hitting Cano.
I told him that the only reason Harvey plunked Cano was because Jeter wasn't in the game.

Later