Amazin' Again (a brief preview)

[G-Fafif]

As JCL was kind enough to point out in the book thread, I have one coming out this March, titled Amazin' Again: How the 2015 New York Mets Brought the Magic Back to Queens. Bonus points for recognizing the title was used for the Mets' 2000 giveaway VHS tape commemorating the 1999 season. (My editor confesses he'd forgotten about that, but I think it works here, too.)

You can pre-order it here. And you can read a chapter right here:

LOOK WHO’S NO. 1 How does that old chestnut go again? Oh right, like this: Washington. First in war. First in peace. And second in the National League East. On August 3, one night after the Mets swept the Nationals out of Citi Field, they elbowed them out of any claim of first place in their division. New York traveled to Miami and pounded the Marlins, 12-1. Yoenis Cespedes collected three hits and Michael Conforto belted his first major league homer. Simultaneously in our nation’s capital, the Arizona Diamondbacks held off the successors to the Senators, 6-4. The Mets were alone in first place. They liked it so much, they began to decorate. It was predictable behavior, given the Mets’ historical tendency to get to first and get downright cozy. “LOOK WHO’S NO. 1,” the Shea scoreboard suggested on September 10, 1969, the night the Mets nosed ahead of the Cubs. Those Mets kept their nose heading only one way from there: up. They weren’t snobs, they just weren’t giving up first place. Same thing happened in the five-team rumble for the N.L. East flag in 1973. They had four competitors right down to the wire, but once the Mets moved in on September 21, they never moved out. The ’86 Mets took first place on April 22 and didn’t think of giving it up. The ’88 Mets waited until May 3 to become similarly proprietary. In ’06 Mets didn’t mess around much. They were in first as of April 6 and remained in first clear to the end of the season. These Mets hadn’t been as sure of themselves in their penthouse surroundings, exchanging keys with the Nationals on a couple of occasions and experimenting with life in second place. They must not have cared for it, because they were back in first. Besides, “these Mets” were practically a new proposition. There’d been no Conforto or Cespedes around when the Mets were vacating first in May and June. There weren’t a load of 12-1 wins, either. The good offensive times kept rolling for the Mets in Florida. They swept three from the Marlins — outscoring them 25-8 — and then took a series-opener in St. Pete in which Conforto delivered a clutch ninth-inning double and Wilmer Flores the eventual game-winning double. The 4-3 victory over the Rays on August 7 extended the Mets’ winning streak to seven. They hadn’t lost since that day in the rain against the Padres. Which seemed like a very long time ago. Two one-run losses at Tampa Bay dimmed the Sunshine State road trip a bit, but the standings remained in good stead, with the Mets a game-and-a-half up on the Nationals as they flew home. A new winning streak commenced against the Rockies, who came into Citi Field for what turned into four more Met wins. Four more raucous Mets wins, it should be noted. It’s not so much that they buried last-place Colorado — only the last of the four was a blowout — but Citi Field stayed loud, supportive and engaged. Maybe that shouldn’t have seemed worth mentioning, but from 2009 through 2014, even at intervals in 2015, the home of the Mets didn’t engender much enthusiasm. It could be a nice place to visit, but sometimes it was hard to tell that your favorite ballclub lived there. The Nationals series changed that and the Rockies series certified it. The third game of the set, in particular, transmitted a different tone. It was Colorado on a Wednesday night, which in previous years meant you could sit pretty much anywhere you liked and if you were in the mood to purchase a snack (something Citi Field specialized in selling you), you wouldn’t have to wait long. Why was this Wednesday night different from all other Wednesday nights? Maybe it was first place, maybe it was the momentum, maybe it was the critical mass of the Mets finally being the Mets we wanted them to be, but boy was it different. There were 37,175 of us in the building for baseball and nothing but baseball. No free shirts on a Wednesday. No quick visits to the concessions, either. And, for the first time I could recall, no sense of attention wandering. We were all there to watch and cheer the Mets. We watched Jacob deGrom strike out ten and give up only two hits across seven — and we cheered. We watched new Met Juan Uribe and nearly forgotten newish Met Michael Cuddyer (who handled his transition to part-time status with team-first grace) drive in runs in back-to-back at-bats in the fourth — and we cheered. We watched Cespedes in a neon yellow compression sleeve connect for his first Met home run — and goodness, did we cheer. You could make out the sleeve from Promenade, though you probably had to be watching on television to notice a parakeet that perfectly accessorized Yoenis’s accessory clinging to the screen behind home plate. The synergy was too perfect, and thus was born the Rally Parakeet. The bird matched our mood: bright. If we’d seen our new avian mascot from where we were sitting, would have cheered it, too. The Mets won, 3-0. A fine win, certainly, but essentially just another win in an August when they were beginning to become regularly scheduled events. Of course we were happy. I just didn’t realize how happy until I started to leave Citi Field. I entered the staircase that takes you down to Field Level and heard something besides the shuffling of feet. I heard chanting. I heard “LET’S GO METS!” over and over again. That was a sound that I thought was left for the demolition crews when the last of the Shea Stadium ramps was torn down. Nope, it was as alive at Citi Field as it was constant, unyielding and celebratory. We were celebrating more than a win over Colorado, I was certain. We were celebrating more than the Mets’ status as a first-place entity and the extension of their first-place lead (it would be up to 3½ by night’s end, 4½ the next day). We were, I deduced, celebrating ourselves. We were getting to be Mets fans again. We were getting to come to a ballgame and root for our ballclub and make ourselves heard and not feel that if we shouted, we were shouting into a vacuum. We were part of what the Mets were doing and it felt great to be doing it again. First-place, first-person plural wasn’t delusional for those of us in the stands and on the stairs. This meant something to us, something a fan only understands when he or she has been without it for too long. The traffic on the staircase was downward, but the direction at Citi Field was up, up and away.

[Centerfield]

Great work Greg. Bravo!

[TransMonk]

Pre-ordered. Can't hardly wait.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Congratulations!

[Guest d'Kong76]

Looking forward to it; hope it goes platinum and is the first of
a five-year series on Mets amazin'ness.

[G-Fafif]

A cover revealed itself overnight on Amazon...where the book continues to be available for pre-order.

[fimg=300]http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/amazin-again-cover.jpg[/fimg]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Nice cover. It's almost like they want it to sell!

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

C'mon, I'm not buying more than 3 copies, man. Okay. 5. Max.

[HahnSolo]

This might be Little Solo's first venture into big boy Mets reading. When I'm done with it, that is.

[G-Fafif]

The shameless publicity blitz kicks up here. Tune in to 1490 AM 7:35 Thursday AM if you're in the Greater Poughkeepsie-Kingston Area, or tune in online at 1490wkny.com.

Future in-person events:

Thursday March 17: Bergino Baseball Clubhouse, 11th Street just off Broadway.

Saturday March 26: Foley's NYC, W. 33rd St. between 5th and 6th Avenues.

Thursday March 31: Queens Library Central Branch, Jamaica.

[Guest d'Kong76]

G-Fafif wrote: Saturday March 26: Foley's NYC, W. 33rd St. between 5th and 6th Avenues.

Good sounding meet-up date for everyone!! What time?
OE: I can't get the forum to meet-up, but a good book might!!

[G-Fafif]

d'Kong76 wrote: Saturday March 26: Foley's NYC, W. 33rd St. between 5th and 6th Avenues. Good sounding meet-up date for everyone!! What time? OE: I can't get the forum to meet-up, but a good book might!!

12:30 to 3 for Foley's.

The other events are evening. Bergino's at 7 PM, Queens Library at 6 PM.

[seawolf17]

G-Fafif wrote: G-Fafif wrote: Saturday March 26: Foley's NYC, W. 33rd St. between 5th and 6th Avenues. Good sounding meet-up date for everyone!! What time? OE: I can't get the forum to meet-up, but a good book might!! 12:30 to 3 for Foley's.

I could be down for that.

[TransMonk]

My copy came in the mail today! I have a trip to Denver this weekend which is when I plan on devouring it.

I love the photo spread in the middle!

[Frayed Knot]

TransMonk wrote: My copy came in the mail today! I have a trip to Denver this weekend which is when I plan on devouring it. I love the photo spread in the middle!

I thought PLAYBOY wasn't doing those anymore?
Oh wait ... never mind!

[G-Fafif]

TransMonk wrote: My copy came in the mail today! I have a trip to Denver this weekend which is when I plan on devouring it. I love the photo spread in the middle!

Thanks for ordering, and enjoy.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I logged onto Amazon.com and Amazin' Again was the second of about 10 recommendations. I'm not sure if this cool or spooky.

[Ceetar]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I logged onto Amazon.com and Amazin' Again was the second of about 10 recommendations. I'm not sure if this cool or spooky.

I mean, yes it's reading your history/profile/etc. That's the world we live in. Better recs tailored to you rather than generic populace right?

mine's recommending

[batmagadanleadoff]

Ceetar wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: I logged onto Amazon.com and Amazin' Again was the second of about 10 recommendations. I'm not sure if this cool or spooky. I mean, yes it's reading your history/profile/etc. That's the world we live in. Better recs tailored to you rather than generic populace right? mine's recommending

This one's also on my recommended list and I'm trying to figure it out because I couldn't name you a single active NHL player.

[fimg=444]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bVfrER5sL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg[/fimg]

[G-Fafif]

Ceetar wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: I logged onto Amazon.com and Amazin' Again was the second of about 10 recommendations. I'm not sure if this cool or spooky. I mean, yes it's reading your history/profile/etc. That's the world we live in. Better recs tailored to you rather than generic populace right? mine's recommending

I don't know what STUD is, but staring at the title makes me think the sequel should be ENT.

[Benjamin Grimm]

This is what Amazon suggests for me:



What does the city's form actually mean to the people who live there? What can the city planner do to make the city's image more vivid and memorable to the city dweller? To answer these questions, Mr. Lynch, supported by studies of Los Angeles, Boston, and Jersey City, formulates a new criterion -- imageability -- and shows its potential value as a guide for the building and rebuilding of cities. The wide scope of this study leads to an original and vital method for the evaluation of city form. The architect, the planner, and certainly the city dweller will all want to read this book.

[Guest themetfairy]

My copy FINALLY arrived today! I can't wait to have the chance to sit down and read it

Perhaps if I'm lucky the author would agree to autograph it for me....

[G-Fafif]

themetfairy wrote: My copy FINALLY arrived today! I can't wait to have the chance to sit down and read it Perhaps if I'm lucky the author would agree to autograph it for me....

Hurrah! And we'll see what we can do.

[Guest themetfairy]

G-Fafif wrote: My copy FINALLY arrived today! I can't wait to have the chance to sit down and read it Perhaps if I'm lucky the author would agree to autograph it for me.... Hurrah! And we'll see what we can do.

I know - you're very famous now, and have to dole out autographs selectively

[Guest d'Kong76]

Hopefully the $10/autograph (suggested, but optional) is waived for
old-timers and long-timers. haha

[Fman99]

Can't wait to get mine. Gave you some plugola on the Facebook.

[Guest themetfairy]

The newest addition to our Mets bookshelf -

[Guest themetfairy]

Come to Foley's this Saturday, May 26th from noon to 3 pm in order to celebrate the release of Amazin' Again.

If you're in luck, the author might be convinced to sign a copy for you!

[Lefty Specialist]

A great read. It was fun to luxuriate in all that good stuff again.

Needed a happier ending, but waddya gonna do?

[G-Fafif]

Lefty Specialist wrote: A great read. It was fun to luxuriate in all that good stuff again. Needed a happier ending, but waddya gonna do?

Glad you liked it. I'll talk to casting about fixing the final scene in the sequel.