Fman99

Reviving this thread after my first trip to the new park. 1. The parking situation is abhorrent. I envy those of you who are in easy reach of mass transit options to the park. We had to park across the street from the Citi Field parking lot, even though THOSE lots were not filled out, in a very disorganized lot by the train platform. Took 25 minutes to exit said lot and 15 minutes to find a spot to park in the first place, with virtually no employee guidance on where to go. Also a pointless wait for my change despite paying cash. Whiff. Add a two hour escape across the Grand Central, Triboro and Deegan to that and now you're living my day. 2. The rotunda is really sharp. Didn't linger as it was about 12:55 by the time Fboy and I got in the building. Liked the 'greeters' out front though, nice touch. 3. We didn't try and get food from any of the higher end, funkier choices because of time. Just shot up to the Promenade and had dogs and fries from Nathan's which were fine. Sad that I couldn't get a knish on the top deck, ah well. 4. The view from the Promendae is nice. It's an upper deck, and calling it the "promenade" is a bit farcical to me, but we were 10 or so rows from the top and I thought the view was solid. The two huge screens in center and right/center are a nice touch also for replays, stats, etc. 5. So many plugs, commercials and "contests" between innings and during pitching changes. Just a bombardment of it, really, and not as much time to appreciate the sounds of the crowd. It seemed like way more than what we used to get at Shea. 6. Fboy rocked the kids batting tee/field in the kids' zone. I liked having the gift shop out there too -- we did his batting thing (2 innings lost), and then got him a souvenier baseball and moved on. Skipped the pitching cages and the other crudola out there. Some of those kids sucked at tee ball. Older than Fboy and couldn't hit and ran to third instead of first. What are they pod people? Fboy hit three frozen ropes and loved it. 7. It was super cool to meet MetFairy, MiniKnight and G-Fafif. I couldn't stay with them for long because their seats were in the sun and Fboy handles that like milk on a hotplate. Still, voices to faces is always good. They got the PG version of Fman, due to Fboy being in tow, but it counts. I'll be going back, maybe this year.

metirish wrote: Fman will have enjoyed this game, nice one for your first at Citi Field. Indeed. Knowing Johan is toeing the rubber does lend confidence to the fan who only can get to 1-2 games per year. Having said that, the most exciting play of the game aside from Evans' hit was the sliding catch by Fartinez in the 7th. He laid out with a one run lead and a runner on to end that inning. Surprised the IGT'ers didn't mention it, but then I figure many of you were listening to the radio broadcast and wouldn't have seen it live.

It was great to meet metfairy, G-Fafif and MK today. We had a blast at the park, got to see a Mets win and enjoyed the new stadium. Almost worth the 12 hours spent in the car today. And as for my profanity, I am welling up now in anticipation of tomorrow's Yanqui KTE.

="Swan Swan H":1m7y1mbc]June 24, 2009 - Beat the snot out of Tony LaRussa, Boy Genius and his band of smug Caucasian outfielders. 11-0, and, as the football announcers say, it wasn't that close.[/quote:1m7y1mbc] Great in the margin of victory, but not really a dramatic or exciting win. Hopefully it is just one of many lopsided Mets poundings (favoring the good guys that is). Swan Swan H Jun 24 2009 08:28 PM I factored in the need to bust out after last night's handcuffing, the emergence of Nieve, and the fact that my least favorite manager EVER got his head handed to him in a Ziploc bag, while watching his squad perform rather poorly in the fundies department. If only LaRussa could get the job managing the Yankees. My focused hatred could burn a hole in the dugout roof. Edgy DC Jun 24 2009 08:53 PM ="Fman99":2az8uoz7]="Swan Swan H":2az8uoz7]June 24, 2009 - Beat the snot out of Tony LaRussa, Boy Genius and his band of smug Caucasian outfielders. 11-0, and, as the football announcers say, it wasn't that close.[/quote:2az8uoz7] Great in the margin of victory, but not really a dramatic or exciting win. Hopefully it is just one of many lopsided Mets poundings (favoring the good guys that is).[/quote:2az8uoz7] Jeez, we had two wins in this thread. TWO! Benjamin Grimm Jul 02 2009 06:36 PM July 2 in Pittsburgh. Frayed Knot Jul 02 2009 06:58 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":1d2w3xrz]July 2 in Pittsburgh.[/quote:1d2w3xrz] Definitely! LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 02 2009 07:11 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":1fmti51e]July 2 in Pittsburgh.[/quote:1fmti51e] Thirded. The fact that this so easily could've been the other way only underscores the tenuousness of the whole baseball bidness. We've got to get a bunch more of these-- this has been one slow-motion-kick-to-the-balls way to get to .500 after 78 games. Ashie62 Jul 03 2009 08:05 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":3ezg9a97]July 2 in Pittsburgh.[/quote:3ezg9a97] me too..my turning it off made it all the sweeter like Christmas morn smg58 Jul 03 2009 10:54 AM I'm going to nominate Pelfrey's gem on July 1. The Mets desperately needed a pitcher to step up, and hopefully we will look back on that game as the turning point of the season. John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 25 2009 09:02 PM Saturday July 25 at Houston: Niese pitches well D makes the plays 3 HRs including Wright's first of July Starts astonishing win streak* *-perhaps

Put that in your fuckin books!

Sorry, Kase. I been out drinking all day. Nice infield hit by OurAnus Reyes. Livan in to pinch hit which I love of course.

Eleven runs? Did the rules change or something?

="soupcan":2yrm7wxc]="Benjamin Grimm":2yrm7wxc]As I mentioned above, you can get a Slingbox and install it at a friend's or relative's house in the New York area.[/quote:2yrm7wxc] Slingbox is how I watch the gay dames during the week when I'm at work. My bro-in-law has one and I just log into it from the office as I have no TV here. I've also used his slingbox via my laptop from Caifornia to watch the Metskis.[/quote:2yrm7wxc] I am considering getting a slingbox for this kind of thing. Woot is selling them today in fact for $100 (refurbs). soupcan Jun 24 2009 11:37 AM ="Benjamin Grimm":15awrxrn]Does it use the same tuner that the TV is tuned into? In other words, if you're in California and you tell your laptop that you want to watch the Mets, does your brother-in-law's TV change channels? If so, I can see that getting annoying if he or his family is watching something else and the channel suddenly changes.[/quote:15awrxrn] He has one TV dedicated to the slingbox that nobody watches, so its not a problem. Benjamin Grimm Jun 24 2009 12:32 PM That's kinda how I thought it would work. Interesting. soupcan Jun 24 2009 12:44 PM But yeah, it would use the same tuner so if I would change the channel from my PC it would change on the physical TV in his house and if someone in the house used the cable remote to change the channel back, it would change back on my end too. Benjamin Grimm Jun 24 2009 12:53 PM So that's the answer. Find somebody in New York who's willing to dedicate a spare TV to a SlingBox. If that person also has SNY, you'd be able to watch every Mets game as if you were in New York, without even needing Extra Innings. Gwreck Jun 24 2009 12:59 PM Yep. The Slingbox was a great idea. I believe the way the Slingbox changes channels is that it has a small infared-emitting device which you just stick in front of the cable box and can be used to change channels/etc. I guess it would also work to control a DVR if you taped the game and then wanted to watch it later. Swan Swan H Jun 24 2009 01:15 PM Yup. You get full control of the remote that works with the box, so if the box has a DVR you can use it as well. It's a GUI image of the remote, which is a bit weird, but works great. We got one last year when our son headed up to Boston for an internship, and this has allowed him to watch the Rangers, Giants and Mets, and record games when he had to work at night. Last time we went up to visit he had one of the Music Choice channels playing through the Slingbox on his laptop. He said it was better than the radio, since there were no commercials. bmfc1 Jun 28 2009 12:05 PM Gwreck, The rules are stupid. Las Vegas baseball fans are blackout out of six different teams! I have both EI and mlb.tv. If I could only pick one, I'd pick mlb.tv because you get the Mets games on WPIX. EI only shows the cable games. This includes the Saturday 1:10 starts which are n/a on EI. (This is one of the two dumbest aspects of the blackout rules--the other is that FOX games that are not shown in your market are still not shown on EI or mlb.tv).

="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":ys44xiw2] Also, I was in CBP for the walking party on 5/2 (Ollie walks 6/doesn't last 3; Takahashi makes great debut, but Feliciano tagged by Ibanez; Mets come back behind Castro and Murphy HRs; Beltran first-and-third DP in top of 11 kills a threat, followed by Bad Sean Green walking Victorino for winning run). It sucked.[/quote:ys44xiw2] I'd add this one. I watched this on TV and it was a turd. Anytime the Cryin Hawaiian is scoring the winning run against the Mets auto-qualifies for this list doesn't it? Frayed Knot Jun 24 2009 10:43 AM I view this thread a way to track those games which either are, or will be, eligible for a 'Top 10' (read: bottom) at the end of the year. We've had those best/worst 10 threads in the past although it's much tougher trying to reconstruct those by looking back than it is tallying them as they go by. Bottom line: I'm OK nominating last night's even though I agree with the view that I don't think it'll make my final cut. Gwreck Jun 24 2009 11:46 AM I guess the Johan meltdown in the Bronx also goes in the bottom 10. SteveJRogers Jul 05 2009 02:20 PM I'm nominating all three games from this weekend, 7/3-7/5. As much of a must sweep/take two out of three as a series can be in the first week of July, and the Mets end up getting swept, falling 5 back in the loss column. A lost weekend to be sure. Fman99 Jul 05 2009 07:16 PM This was an awful series to be sure, but none of these games have that crotchpunchitude that some of the other ones do. Even the bad defense on Saturday was after they were trailing and didn't really affect the score. So, to me, none of these games as individual events make this list. metirish Jul 05 2009 07:30 PM I think I have become immune to such losses and this weekend sweep was not the least surprising. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jul 05 2009 10:25 PM This weekend-- right up to and including today's Johan Game TM-- had a sick inexorability to it. Depressing, yes. But, sadly, all too expected. John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 17 2009 08:56 PM I'm going to nominate Thursday's game, a 5-3 loss to the Braves in the first game back from the Break. Very typical of the 09 Mets but for the fact nobody got hurt and nobody made an egregious error. But a loss like so many others: Not enough offense, all the scoring confined to a single inning, outs and at-bats given away. We were tied and played not to lose, wasting our best relievers who needed (and received) bailouts from the back-end anyway, so everyone is good and used up in the first game of a 10-game road trip. Not to mention it snapped another modest win streak at 2-games, cost us third place in the standings, illustrated the folly of the Francoeur trade in his first chance for revenge, and brought everyone's spirits down in time for a 11-run waffling Friday and another series we won't win. Despite all the worthy candidates already on this fine list, this was the first loss of the year after which I said, yes, I think they're done. Pull the plug. Farmer Ted Jul 17 2009 09:47 PM They're sellers at this point. Mos def. Fman99 Aug 04 2009 08:30 PM Ha! Found it first. Pujols extra innings grand slam. Assuming the Cards hold on, 12-7. Edgy DC Aug 04 2009 08:35 PM Ugh. Premature bookage. Kong76 Aug 04 2009 08:42 PM Have to admit I went fishing for this thread too before it was over. Fman99 Aug 04 2009 08:44 PM ="Edgy DC":10jo8uvo]Ugh. Premature bookage.[/quote:10jo8uvo] Yeah, as soon as the ball left PooHoles' bat. I know, ya gotta believe, yada yada yada, but hell. Edgy DC Aug 08 2009 09:02 AM August 7: The Mets score two in the first and then go into offensive cryongeinic sleep, which is a pity because Oliver Perez turns in his best outing of the year, absoultely dominating the Padres with six innings of non-walky shutout ball. When he falters in the seventh abnd gives up half his two-run lead, Brian Stokes comes in and bails him out huge time. No matter, as Francisco Rodriguez enters in the ninth, has nothing on his fastball, and walks the leadoff batter. Ultimately, he faces five batters, retires none, and tops his appearance by giving up a game-winning grand slam to a mostly punchless shortstop scarcely out of A-ball. Chunky and grumpy ex-Met Heath Bell walks off with the win. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 08 2009 04:52 PM ="Edgy DC":2zh033cf]August 7: The Mets score two in the first and then go into offensive cryongeinic sleep, which is a pity because Oliver Perez turns in his best outing of the year, absoultely dominating the Padres with six innings of non-walky shutout ball. When he falters in the seventh abnd gives up half his two-run lead, Brian Stokes comes in and bails him out huge time. No matter, as Francisco Rodriguez enters in the ninth, has nothing on his fastball, and walks the leadoff batter. Ultimately, he faces five batters, retires none, and tops his appearance by giving up a game-winning grand slam to a mostly punchless shortstop scarcely out of A-ball. Chunky and grumpy ex-Met Heath Bell walks off with the win.[/quote:2zh033cf] Add the aspect of a blown call to let the tying run score that nobody-- save G-Fafif-- is really complaining about, since the BS felt so sickeningly inevitable anyway, and the ump didn't put the leadoff guy on or let Venable whack it, yadda yadda yadda. The 10:05 start always gives a bad west-coast loss five points extra-credit, as well. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 16 2009 11:06 AM 8/15, Giants, 5-4 (10). Let's go through the nightmare scenario checklist: Last man standing/face of franchise/best all-around player during the last four years hit in head by 94-mph fastball? Check. Ace/only Met to believe in roughed up by a free-swinging lineup Bobby Parnell shut down a day earlier? Check. Dongs for insurance and go-ahead runs hit by two players against whom said ace "sent a message?" Check. Gift of blown save (again) from Giant sorta-closer promptly returned? Check. No dropped popups, and not to the Phils/Yanks/Braves, but it's a contender. Kong76 Aug 16 2009 11:18 AM Funny, I was thinking on the subway that the only thing that didn't go wrong was Murphy and Castillo didn't hurt each other in right field on one play. Castillo was limpy for a minute but he's kinda limpy anyway. I hope they shut Wright down for the rest of the season at this point with the team's luck and track record with injuries especially ones to the coconut. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 23 2009 11:04 PM This one[/url:3q7nwdhz]'s got to go in the scrapbook, no? Demoralization early, then increasing interest with the scrapping and the Misching (even as chances get squandered), then the adrenaline rush of the 9th-inning comeback... and the car crash cardiac arrest of the close. And all against our favorite delinquents from down the 'Pike. For a game in which a literal once-in-a-lifetime play delivered the sword stroke to the shoulder blades, what's startling is how routine this feels by now. We're about one game-lost-by-catcher's-interference-followed-by-South-American-football-stadium-style-Pepsi Porch collapse from filling out the "Worst Season Ever" bingo card. metirish Aug 24 2009 07:50 AM Just me but no loss this past month and more warrants being in this thread , nothing surprises , nothing even hurts anymore......it's nothingness . G-Fafif Aug 24 2009 07:52 AM It might be more efficient to start a thread cataloguing which losses aren't the worst of 2009. Tidier anyway. metsguyinmichigan Aug 24 2009 08:04 AM ="LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr":7lkl3daw]This one[/url:7lkl3daw]'s got to go in the scrapbook, no? Demoralization early, then increasing interest with the scrapping and the Misching (even as chances get squandered), then the adrenaline rush of the 9th-inning comeback... and the car crash cardiac arrest of the close. And all against our favorite delinquents from down the 'Pike. For a game in which a literal once-in-a-lifetime play delivered the sword stroke to the shoulder blades, what's startling is how routine this feels by now. We're about one game-lost-by-catcher's-interference-followed-by-South-American-football-stadium-style-Pepsi Porch collapse from filling out the "Worst Season Ever" bingo card.[/quote:7lkl3daw] Brilliant! Actually, you're missing the "best player tagged in steroid scandal" box on the card, but the Yankees already filled that one in this year. Benjamin Grimm Aug 24 2009 08:09 AM ="metirish":2gf3l66x]Just me but no loss this past month and more warrants being in this thread , nothing surprises , nothing even hurts anymore......it's nothingness .[/quote:2gf3l66x] I agree. The losses are worse (and the wins are better) when the games aren't meaningless. metsmarathon Aug 24 2009 08:10 AM i'm really not sure if the circumstances surrounding last night's game warrant its inclusion in this thread. i feel its much more of a tip-your-cap kind of loss. this was a different kind of loss than the luis castillo popup. a very different animal. this was no blown save, no missed third base. if the roles had been reversed - the phils down two, two men on, no outs, top nine - they send the runners, castillo moves over to cover the bag, and gets a screaming liner hit right at him... that pops out of his glove as he prematurely looks down to step on the bag for the second out, and subsequently allows both runners to score - well, then it would belong in this thread. history jumped up and bit us on the ass. c'est la vie, i guess... LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 24 2009 09:13 AM ="metsmarathon"]i'm really not sure if the circumstances surrounding last night's game warrant its inclusion in this thread. i feel its much more of a tip-your-cap kind of loss. this was a different kind of loss than the luis castillo popup. a very different animal. this was no blown save, no missed third base. if the roles had been reversed - the phils down two, two men on, no outs, top nine - they send the runners, castillo moves over to cover the bag, and gets a screaming liner hit right at him... that pops out of his glove as he prematurely looks down to step on the bag for the second out, and subsequently allows both runners to score - well, then it would belong in this thread. history jumped up and bit us on the ass. c'est la vie, i guess... Fair point. And I'd be lying if I said this killed me as much as even the Pittsburgh game from June. These games don't sting anymore. But on a lazy Sunday, driving back from southern NJ, Howie and Whatshisface dragged me back somewhat in for a day. Plus, losing to Philly when you've got a legitimate shot at the end that didn't seem at all possible an hour earlier... doesn't it ache something fierce? (Spoiling the Phils is about the only thing I'm really hoping for, Mets-wise, for the season's remainder. Hate is all I have left.) metsmarathon Aug 24 2009 10:08 AM it does. but this is an ache i can live with - an 'oh well, you got me' kind of ache. like when your pitcher puts his pitch right were he wanted to, and the batter still manages to push a soft fly ball into short right field. you do your best, and if they beat you they beat you. its like that pitch vlad hit a week or so ago that actually bounced in front of home plate - i mean, what are you going to do there but say, "damn, he got me there"? dgwphotography Aug 24 2009 01:58 PM ="metsmarathon":1snick2b]history jumped up and bit us on the ass. [/quote:1snick2b] Your 2009 marketing slogan. Edgy DC Aug 24 2009 02:00 PM Well, something has to be 10th. metsmarathon Aug 25 2009 08:22 AM i'm gonna wander out on a limb and suggest that johan santana might well be the worst loss of 2009...

Hernandez 4 Dessens 1.75

I am lucky in that my local cable provider pipes in the CW11/WPIX games (not in HD but that's OK) on an empty channel so that I don't miss any Mets games at all. This is in addition to getting SNY and SNY HD. (Time Warner, Syracuse area)

Swan Swan H wrote: Blah. Oh well, they'll win 3 of 4. I just got home - is there a reason Sheff is planted on the bench? Because Jerry wants to torment Met fans by consistently playing the Marlon-Anderson-esque Tatis as the cleanup hitter.

Well that sucked a lot of hard Mets cock.

I anoint him the best Elmer in Mets history. Way better than Elmer McGurch or even Elmer Elmerson. And on to the 9th. Rally time motherfuckers!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Darling and/or Mex sitting in the seats for the different perspective. We are spoiled by this broadcasting crew I tells ya.

Dessens good, Tatis bad.

Nice quote from the intrepid Mr. Cora on recent roster issues, courtesy of Cerrone... The Mets current 25�man roster will earn roughly $60 million this season, or around the same level as the Rays, Orioles and Twins. �We can deal with this. We�re not as bad as people think we are,� Alex Cora said last night, according to MLB.com. �Don�t feel sorry for the Metropolitans.� Referring to his own team as the "Metropolitans" is balls ass cool.

="John Cougar Lunchbucket":3cm82p80]You guys are overlooking mole reimplantation surgery, whereby a team of surgeons carefully remove Beltran's ear-mole, then implant pillowy portions of it between his kneecap and tibia on both legs for added shock absorption, strength and character. (Remaining mole remnants may be used to relieve John Maine's shoulder impingement).[/quote:3cm82p80] I am coo coo for Carlos' cocoa puff reconstruction surgery. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 23 2009 11:53 AM ="John Cougar Lunchbucket":ehy87zf8]You guys are overlooking mole reimplantation surgery, whereby a team of surgeons carefully remove Beltran's ear-mole, then implant pillowy portions of it between his kneecap and tibia on both legs for added shock absorption, strength and character. (Remaining mole remnants may be used to relieve John Maine's shoulder impingement).[/quote:ehy87zf8] Shit-- you're right. Double shit-- why didn't they make the Citi shoulder patches out of Voltron mole? There's got to be some clutch-boosting/collapse-repellent properties in there, no? Gwreck Jun 23 2009 12:01 PM I believe Magglio Ordonez had the microfracture procedure done successfully. Elster88 Jun 23 2009 01:21 PM For the record, has anyone seen a report saying that Beltran has the condition that LFWS is talking about? IIRC, bone bruise doesn't necessarily mean "no cartilage". Frayed Knot Jun 23 2009 04:29 PM ="Elster88"]For the record, has anyone seen a report saying that Beltran has the condition that LFWS is talking about? IIRC, bone bruise doesn't necessarily mean "no cartilage". Well, 'loss of' cartilage might be a better way of phrasing it than 'none'. From Will Carrol at 'Baseball Prospectus' Beltran's knees have lost a lot of cushion, so much so that he's occasionally had bruising where the femur hits the tibial plateau. That's very bad long term, and not a good sign in the short term either. There has been discussion of possible fixes like Synvisc, or the even more radical procedure of [meniscus replacement]. Beltran has two more years to go on his Mets contract, but it includes a lot of deferred money. He could be a good fit for a deal to an AL club this offseason. Now it probably should be pointed out that Carrol has, in the past, shown a tendency to treat assumptions as facts and that there are certainly degrees of cartilage loss that needn't mean major surgery. Edgy DC Jun 23 2009 07:21 PM Maybe he becomes a good fit, Will Carroll, but he also becomes a five-and-dime man. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jun 23 2009 07:49 PM ="Elster88"]For the record, has anyone seen a report saying that Beltran has the condition that LFWS is talking about? IIRC, bone bruise doesn't necessarily mean "no cartilage". A bone bruise in the knee is just that-- bone on bone due to loss of the meniscus or other cartilage. He's had three stretches in the last two years where he's either missed time or been hampered by a "sore knee" or "bruised knee" (mid '06, late '07 and earlier this year). As these things tend to be degenerative-- your meniscus sure as hell doesn't grow back on its own-- that doesn't bode well for time #4 (especially since uncommonly-tough Beltran is the one saying he can't play through this). Though Carroll is a bit of a leaper sometimes, gun-to-head, I'd probably bet it's closer to a worst-case scenario than the best-case one. Beltran as something other than the Beltran we've known is a somewhat depressing thought. That said, getting F-Bomb some apprentice work in center-- with one of the world's finest tutors at his elbow-- doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

Hernandez 4 Murphy .75 Wright .75 Beltran .75 Church .75

Schneider 2 Sheffield 1 Wright .5 Murphy .5 Pelfrey 1 Beltran .5 Stokes .5 Switzer .5 Takahashi .5

Santana 3.75 Santos 1 Feliciano .5 Church .5

Nieve 4 Feliciano .5 Green .75 Rodriguez .75 Schneider 2 Wright 1 Church 1

Redding 2.25 Stokes 1 Switzer .25 Rodriguez 1 Cora 1.25 Murphy 1 Santos 1.25 Castillo 1 Church 1

Forgot to post it but Tony Clark had a Castillo-esque error on a routine play the other day in Arizona, playing first. Bases loaded, bottom of 9th and someone grounds to the left size. Instead of catching it Clark boots the ball and the D-Backs lose. I feel for the guy.

Give the guy credit, his wife is 8.99 months pregnant and he still gets his reps in, unlike SJR who just bailed on HIS upcoming KTE because he'll be "busy." Zing! Nice work Duan and best wishes this week.