Lundy

After the anthem The 9-9-9 Challenge Me enjoying one Carson and the bird Bye bye birdie

What a beautiful day for a baseball game. Our group got into the Citi Field lot shortly after 10:30. We had prepaid for parking and that made it more smoother. We took our usual spot near the exits and ate, drank, and played games until 12:30 and made our way in. It seems they're a lot more lax these days in checking bags and such, because I walked right through security without much of a hassle despite carrying a bag of stuff into the stadium. We were in Section 106 in right field. I can't say I've been witness to such an action-packed first inning. Our heads were spinning from everything that happened. Couldn't believe Skenes only lasted 2/3rds of an inning. We did see the bird fall from the heavens and right next to Carson Benge. I yelled "Fowl, fowl, fowl!" and others noticed the dead bird in the field. We started a chant, "GET THE BIRD! GET THE BIRD!" and eventually a crew came to scoop up the bird off the field. It was not long after that when Benge hit his first dinger, and we chanted his name until he acknowledged us. It was great. Agreed on other comments on the Alvarez homer--he absolutely creamed the baseball. Agree with the comments on the seventh inning stretch, it just didn't work. At least they got Lazy Mary right. We did the 9-9-9 challenge, although it was more of a gimmick than anything else. We had fun with it. We stayed until the end, and hit the usual traffic on the Grand Central, but what you gonna do when the game ends during rush hour traffic? Just grin and bear it, and savor a great win. (by the way, I love the new place here!)

Take mass transit. Those words were reverberating through my head as I contemplated my plans for the day. I had secured two tickets for me and my girlfriend for this Sunday's game--a door prize from a golf outing for a church I'm involved with. Because of the US Open--and a sellout crowd at Citi--all of the advisories had suggested to take the train to the game. But after finding out it would cost $12 more for two LIRR tickets, plus the fact I was not interested in the bullshit of having to change at Jamaica AND Woodside, I decided to roll the dice and hop in the car and drive. That turned out to be the correct answer, as there was NO traffic on a Sunday morning, and if there was any additional Open traffic, it was not visible on the route I took to Flushing. We got into the lot about an hour before game time, which I thought would give us plenty of time to find our seats and maybe even get a bite to eat before first pitch. Sounded like a good plan. But God laughed at our plan. As we got close to the gate, I pulled up the Ballpark app and attempted to load our tickets. They wouldn't load. Fortunately the Mets got wind of a system-wide problem with the MLB app and sent a bunch of minion employees to help everyone navigate to our tickets. But I still couldn't load them, so I was directed to the ticket windows, where they would help. Problem was, those lines were already 12 deep at least. So the early arrival to the park didn't matter, I was caught in ticketing hell. After about 30 minutes to get to the head of the line, my tickets magically appeared on the app. I scurried back to where my girlfriend was by security. Finally our tickets scanned. We missed all of the pre-game stuff and most of the top of the first by the time we got to our seats. At that point it was 1-0, and I thought no big deal, since runs were coming in bunches this series. Wrong again. This game was by far the flattest I had seen the Mets. Many balls were hit to the warning track but none went out. The pesky Marlins kept making solid contact. The Mets didn't reciprocate. Senga just wasn't the Senga from the first half of the season. I missed the skirmish on the field in the 7th as we were getting ice cream. I was hoping that would fire them up, but not this day. We did stay till the end, but ended up going home in disappointment. At least the ride out of the stadium, and the ride back to Deer Park on the LIE was uneventful. It certainly was a beautiful day for baseball. It just wasn't an enjoyable day by any means.

Dark clouds had hung above the skies over Long Island this afternoon, but that did not deter us from heading out to Citi Field. Myself and four friends of mine had secured tickets a few months ago when they were on sale for $11 a seat. Coupled with the $5 hot dog/beer/soda promotion going on Tuesday nights--and the way the Mets have been playing recently--it seemed like a recipe for a great time at the park. And it was! Our seats were in Sec. 129, just under the overhang so we didn't get wet. The food line wasn't too bad, and we secured some brews for all of us. Senga certainly didn't disappoint, although part of me wishes Mendoza kept him in longer. Nimmo was a crowd-pleaser, not only with his RBI double, but also with the glove again, as he made another great play off the bat of Joey Bart. Brandon Nimmo chants broke out, and he recognized our approvals. I did get to see the Mascot Race, which I know is lame, but I didn't seem to mind. The Staten Island Ferry was the victor tonight. I did notice when they displayed the stats that the Bronx giraffe has yet to win a race, and I suspect this will be the running gag on this distraction. Just before Brett Baty's at bat in the seventh, one of my friends declared, "I'm feeling optimistic about this at-bat." I told him I didn't share his optimism. No sooner did those words leave my mouth did Baty slam the ball into the gate atop the left field wall. I screamed to my friend, "I'm never doubting your optimism again!" There were some worrisome events in the ninth again, but it was good to see Diaz come back and close the door on a close one. We had to wait for one of my friends to use the restroom, so we left the yard a bit later than normal. But something happened that never happened to me before--I was the last car out of the parking lot from my exit. I saw the attendants close the gates behind me. I guess our timing was good! There was not a lot of offense, but plenty of action to appreciate this evening in Queens.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Welcome back Lundy. Read where some idiots were booing the Canadian anthem. That's reprehensible I must have been in a section with some hockey fans, because a lot of us were actually singing along to O Canada.

I knew I had made a mistake as I walked out my front door. Having been a veteran of Opening Days in Flushing, I knew it was a good idea to wear layers of clothing. But today that Mets sweatshirt i put on was not going to be necessary. The Mets t-shirt I had on underneath was all I was going to need. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out, and then it was not, but that was OK because then we wouldn't be overheated or sunburned. It was in the mid 60s so it wasn't going to be cold either. We got to the park around noon, but the gates had not yet opened, so we waited in line...for about 20 minutes or so, when we finally entered the Citi Field lot. We secured our spots near the exits, and began our tailgate. We usually stop in at a local deli and grab sandwiches on the way in, but this year one of our buddies offered to cook. And cook he did, we had a five-course meal starting with shrimp skewers, marinated steak, hot dogs, hamburgers, sausage, and finally London broil. We ate (and drank) like kings. We were enjoying ourselves so much at the tailgate that we lost track of time and started to walk up later than we planned. We ended up missing all the introductions, arriving in time to hear O Canada followed by the Star-Spangled Banner. Our seats were in Section 131, and my seat was literally right in front of the left field foul pole. Great views there. More on that to come... Loved that the game started off with a bang, literally. Lindor hustling to second and narrowly avoiding the tag, followed by another Pete Alonso blast. Certainly kept our spirits high. The joke going around with us that we had Meh-gill going for us, but he was better than meh for the most part. I had to use the restroom, and ended up waiting on line for some soft-serve ice cream to top off the great meal I had. I ended up missing the Mascot race completely. I guess that was a good thing... During the top of the 7th, Ernie Clement hit a ball past our seats by the foul pole. We knew it was foul immediately. To our surprise the umpire called it fair. We knew that was bullshit. I got communiques from home that said they had seen me on TV as we were all looking to the left of the foul pole. Fortunately it was a quick reversal, and the batter was struck out on the next pitch. There were a few new between innings distractions introduced, but nothing earth shattering or memorable. The crowd showed a lot of love to Soto, and, obviously, Alonso. All in all a great day. Traffic was bad getting onto the Van Wyck, but what can you expect on a Friday evening in rush hour?

I worked at WCBS Newsradio 880 back in the mid 90s. It really was a great place to work. I haven't worked there since 1999, yet a lot of key people are still on the air there. I feel for them. The funny thing is, they were talking about the demise of WCBS since the mid 90s, when both 880 and 1010 came under the same ownership. They co-existed in that arrangement for over 25 years!

My company is based in Minneapolis, and I can vouch for the convenience of the light rail. I also like that there is a skyway in downtown that you don't have to walk in freezing winter temperatures if you don't want to.

It is a rare occasion that I attend two Mets games in less than a week's time, but there I was again on Monday evening, making the trek out to Citi once again. My kids wanted to go this time, so I grabbed the $100 deal where you get four tickets, four hot dogs, four pretzels, and four sodas. Tickets were in the promenade, but had a good view of the entire field. My oldest daughter was sick, so my younger daughter's boyfriend joined us, as well as my 18-year old twins. To see the Mets and Twins! We got there a little later than we did on Thursday, but no worries, everyone got a plain-clothed Francisco Lindor bobblehead doll. I never quite understand why they don't order enough for everyone in attendance to get a doll. Before we went to our seats, we stopped in the memorabilia shop. I wanted to show my kids the bats they could hold "You mean Pete Alonso was holding THIS bat?" They liked it as much as I did. We made it up two escalators to our seats in Section 520. The crowd on Monday night was more relaxed than the one on Thursday; understandable as this was not a division rival, and a team that many were not familiar with. It was a little frustrating watching the Mets give up the first run of the game, and then go silent for three innings. But things would soon take a big turn. I've been going to at least one Mets game a year (except for pandemic years) and had never seen Pete Alonso hit a home run. That streak was snapped as he hit the snot out of one that bounced off the second deck starting the fourth inning. That was the beginning of the inning that would see the Mets score six runs, a welcome sight after the past two games where they were starving for runs. But the rout was on early. Fans were joyfully following the action, as opposed to Thursday when we were on the edge of our seats for most of the game. There surprisingly was a good number of Twin Cities shirts and caps in the stands but they were mostly silent for the game. Fans gave Jesse Winker a warm hand, as well as congratulations for his first hit as a Met. Speaking of Jesse's, a fan whiffed on the mid-inning trivia game centered around the Mets-Twins. Who was traded for Jerry Koosman? I thought everyone knew it was Jesse Orosco (last out 69 for last out 86). Fan chose Jeff Reardon. Boo. Another first for me--I had never seen a position player pitch in person. Scratch that one off the list. 44mph on the radar! Also, a PA announcement we haven't heard in some time in the top of the 8th "Now batting, the pitcher...." Because it was a blowout, not everyone stayed till the end. We did, and happily got up out of our seats and down the steps to the exits. A few LETS GO METS chants were going on. Walking to the car was a breeze, and getting out this time took less than three minutes. I don't keep track of these things, but it might have been a record for me for quickest time home. A no-stress evening at the park!

Edgy MD wrote: =Lundy post_id=164073 time=1722002722 user_id=101] My girlfriend got me tickets for this game for my birthday. Great to see Ron Lundy again. Happy birthday!

My girlfriend got me tickets for this game for my birthday. She hadn't been to Citi Field since before the pandemic. I hadn't been since Opening Day back in March, where they got one hit. I was hoping this night would be better. And it was. We got there super early, pulling into the parking lot around 5:10. We walked around to the Bullpen Gate where our seats were, got the pickleball paddles they were giving away, and decided to go on a tour of the stadium. We stopped at the memorabilia shop, which had game used jerseys and equipment for sale. The best part was they had broken bats that they taped together that you could actually hold and grip. I held a Pete Alonso, a Harrison Bader, and a Jeff McNeil bat. Pretty neat experience. After that we perused the team shop for a bit. Next stop was the Mets museum, now located right next to Kiddie Field. It seemed to be a bit on the small side, but still had a bunch of memorabilia, mostly from the Shea days. A bunch of stuff from Darryl and Doc, as well as a lot of World's Fair‐era Shea memorabilia. Both '69 and '86 trophies are on display, as well as the ball Mookie sent through Buckner's legs. Seats from Shea's field and loge sections were there, but were forbidden from being sat upon. After that, we found our seats in Section 106, about halfway up from the field in the right field corner (this would come into play later.) The crowd was lively and plentiful. After Lindor's two-run bomb the crowd exploded, and started M-V-P chants. He clearly was the crowds favorite tonight. Travis d'Arnaud got the most boos, by my ears. Not really his fault for leaving the Mets, I guess. Crowd was frustrated at some of the at-bats vs the Braves pitchers. Sale was sailing through the lineup, save for that one pitch to Lindor. Crowd was pumped when Diaz came in, and even more pumped when Alvarez threw out the runner trying to steal third. The manager's challenge really took the steam out of us, but was restored when the outcome was happy! Thought we were going to the 11th, because we were sitting in right field we had no vantage point on McNeil's single. We only knew it was a walk-off after we heard the crowd reaction and the team rushing to celebrate with McNeil. It was my first ever walk off to witness in-person! Because it went into extras, most everyone stayed till the end. And that meant over 30,000 people walking out the exits at the same time. We decided to take our time getting back to the car. We took a picture in front of the Apple. Coca-Cola was handing out free cans of Coke, so we took them and sat down in front of the apple and enjoyed the comfortable breezy night, as gleeful fans walked by and celebrated. By the time we got back to my car we exited the lot without too much difficulty, then onto Grand Central and back to Long Island. It certainly was among one of the best games I have ever attended.

I am de-lurking to report on the lovely day we had at Citi Field. Got there right around 10am and started to tailgate. Didn't attend the Seaver statue ceremony but got an up-close view of it as we walked into the stadium. Got there early enough to get a Jackie Robinson t-shirt, but as it was size L, there was no way I was going to fit into it, so it's going to my son to wear. It really was a picture-perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. Our seats were right next to the foul pole in right field and we were in the sun all day. Nice to see the new LED screens in action. Definitely noticed the upgrade. Surprised to see Butch Huskey emerge from the wall in center field between innings mid-game. Fans in right field were in love with Starling Marte, and Marte showed the love back to the fans. Definitely a love-fest. It was for the most part a well-pitched game, with plenty of timely hits and impressive bombs to boot. You can't ask for much more. Edgy MD wrote: And unless I missed it, nobody ruined it by spinning "Piano Man." They played it in the 8th inning, although I am not sure how that would ruin anything?

In contrast to Opening Days of recent past, this was a damp and cold one. Arrived early to tailgate around 10:20 or so, had a few refreshments, saw old friends like KC and Ed and Sharon, then headed on in to our seats in Left Field Landing. There was no respite in those left field seats. Kept bundled up the whole game. Good thing the Mets kept us busy and warm by scoring a bunch of runs. Heard the Yadier Molina home run literally clank the foul pole, right in front of my eyes. But all else was good! Made a wise decision to hit the men's room before the crowds really started to amass. No lines, no waiting. Didn't miss anything by having to wait in any lines, because of the hearty meal during tailgating. I wasn't hungry! Wish it was a few degrees warmer and wished there was sun, but it was a glorious day!

It's that time of year when I come out of lurking mode and actually log on to the CPF. A beautiful day...if not a bit cold in the shade...at Citi Field. Got to the parking lot at 10:30 for tailgating, no traffic at all getting there. It was nice to see TMF, KC and DD again, and nice to toast a new season with GTS wine! Our seats were in Section 137 in LF. We moved down into the sun as soon as people vacated their seats. Not a lot of offense outside of the 7th, but it was nice to see a big hit with RISP. The concession stand in our section ran out of hot dogs, but that was the only negative on this day.

I recorded this video, so now you too can share in the lameness: [video:3s6m6i0p] [/video:3s6m6i0p]