soupcan

With my other 2 kids in camp for the summer my 14 year-old son and I seized the opportunity to go to California the same week the Mets were playing the Dodgers and Giants - why they didn't play the Padres that week is beyond me but whatever... Anyway - we flew into San Diego because that's where my father lives and we figured we'd start there, spend a few days with my dad, then drive to L.A., see a game there, drive up the coast making our way to S.F. and see a game there before flying home. So all-in-all a good trip, we had fun, saw some really cool things (including a model sunbathing topless at the pool at our hotel in L.A.) and did a little father-son bonding. I had been to Dodger Stadium a lot as a kid - I used to go out to L.A. during the summer - but I hadn't been there in about 20 years. If you had asked me about Dodger Stadium previous to this trip I would have told you not to believe the hype. I thought of it as Shea Stadium West. Narrow concourses, bad sightlines, etc., etc. The only differences were the palm trees beyond the outfield fences and the great vistas provided by the San Gabriel mountains. My view has changed. The place literally sparkles. They've done a really great job with it. Very clean and neat - nice family-friendly atmosphere (and lots of Po-Po). It was like walking into a '60s time machine. Weather was great, crowd was lame � not a great time to be a Doyer fan. Driving up the coast along the PCH in our rented convertible was fun. We stopped and saw Elephant Seals in their natural habitat � just lying on the beach. They are immense. Got to �Frisco and went to the Dickey/Hairston game on Friday night. That game was a LOT of fun. Great park although smaller than I'd thought. The concourses were narrow and crowded. Reminded me of Fenway a little actually. The place was PACKED. I think there was an announcement that said it was the Giants 48th consecutive sell-out. Good times to be a Giants fan. The crowd was awesome - really into the game and very friendly. It made it hard not to root for the Giants. They loves them their team. Great pregame music - mostly Grateful Dead. Now I'm no Deadhead but still hearing The Dead being piped in at the ballpark on the 'Frisco Bay was cool. Bottom of the 8th I think - Bochy comes on the scoreboard with a taped recording 'Hey fans, it's now time to pass your garbage and recyclables down the aisle to the Giants employee who will take them from you...' With that, nobdy thinks twice, polices their own little area and sends everything down the aisle - I was amazed, it was great. When Wilson came in, the place went bonkers � understandably. He is a huge personality and again � hard not to like a guy who makes fun of himself. With the Mets beating up on 'The Beard' and winning, the whole night was just a great experience for me and soupy Jr. A great capper to our West Coast roadtrip. Here's some photos for you good folks... Sunset over Mission Bay in San Diego View from our hotel in L.A. Gene Simmons His form could be better but he got it to the plate Estadio Doyer - Nice place to watch a game Another view of the place after the 7th inning exodus Notice the Padres shirt? That's a shot over the Wilpon's bow - Sign Reyes....or else. Freakin' Elephant Seals (I was calling them Sea Elephants all week...Doh.) AT&T Park The Beard enters...! The Beard exits!

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Soupy, Soup Sr. and Soup Jr. are at this game, according to The Facebook. Yup. And the Dodgers suck in person too. Hadn't been to Estadio Doyer in about 20 years but that park is still pristine. For a place as old as Shea was, they keep it real nice. It sparkles. Gene Simmons threw out the first pitch and Shannon Tweed and her legendary breasts were there as well. Jr. And I will be at the game in 'Frisco Friday night too.

And when they don't sign Jose get ready for 'Why are we Mets fans Daddy...?'

I thought Martinez was having knee issues...?

Is it possible we are seeing our version of Moneyball at work here?

Couldn't find the Joe Petruccio thread (isn't there one...?) In any case Joe is profiled in today's New York Times: Link (with slideshow) June 28, 2011 Cartoons, Commentary and a Mets Community By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI Joe Petruccio has covered the Mets the last two seasons � in watercolors, black markers and ballpoint pens. Petruccio, a 52-year-old creative art director at a Manhattan advertising agency, is a dyed-in-the-wool Mets fan who wears his heart on his blog My Mets Journal, a daily splash of cartoons and commentary on all players living in The House That Madoff Bilked. �This Year, We�re Goin� for Broke!� was Petruccio�s journal cover for this season, referring to the Bernard L. Madoff Ponzi scheme that has created financial distress for the Mets. �The blog has become a little community for Mets fans,� Petruccio said. �It�s like a page-by-page journey of the highs and lows, or the heaven and hell, of the Mets season.� Petruccio�s blog is visited by 4,000 people a day, most of them Mets fans eager to learn which hero, or goat, will be depicted the day after a game. Petruccio�s work has received responses from far beyond Flushing Bay. �I�ve gotten notes from Mets fans in Australia, Italy, Spain, Greece and many other countries � we�re everywhere,� he said. On June 23, Petruccio gave Justin Turner a fair share of his ink. The night before, Turner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in the winning run against the Oakland Athletics. �A Turner of Events!� Petruccio penned just above a portrait of Turner being plunked. In the frame, Petruccio wrote of the Mets� 3-2 victory: �This is usually how we lose games. Remember last Thursday in Atlanta? Well, not tonight. Though K-Rod blew the save in the 9th, Turner up in bottom of 13th, bases loaded ... takes one for the team! Dickey started and was Dickey � 8 innings, 3 hits, 1 run. K-Rod took this win away from him! Reyes hits 13th triple of the season.� Petruccio, who grew up in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn mesmerized by the artistry of LeRoy Neiman and Tom Seaver, now lives in Manalapan, N.J., with his wife and two sons. Much like the Mets themselves, he returns to the drawing board after every game, taking roughly a half-hour to sketch each summary before the start of his workday at Avrett Free Ginsberg. �I paint all victories in color, all losses in black and white,� Petruccio said. �I don�t like wasting my time on the losses.� Coincidentally, Petruccio has contributed to the Mets before. As a young art director in the 1980s, he was chosen by the team to create a new uniform design. �They looked old and fat in those pinstriped uniforms they were wearing,� he said. �I created a uniform that was more tapered and had a racing stripe down the side that gave it more of a sleek look.� Wearing that uniform, the Mets won the 1986 World Series. �I felt like I had a little piece of that championship,� Petruccio said with a wide smile. �Growing up as a huge Mets fan, contributing to the team in my own little way was a dream come true.� On Monday morning, Petruccio sat in his office and went about the business of drawing his own conclusions from the Mets� 8-5 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. With the smooth stroke of a black lead pencil followed by the whisks of bright colors that signified victory, he began painting yet another portrait from the Mets� season. Within 15 minutes, Petruccio had put together a cartoon panel that featured Jose Reyes making a difficult stab of a hot smash to thwart a rally. �Jose gets the save, as Gee gets us back to .500,� wrote Petruccio, referring to Mets starter Dillon Gee. �Even though Jose had 4 hits and scored 3 runs, it was his terrific play with his glove, with bases loaded & 2 out in the 1st, that kept this game from getting out of hand & put back in the hands of Gee! Gee pitched well the rest of the way for his 8th win! K-Rod almost gave it away in 9th. L.G.M.! (Let�s Go Mets!). Petruccio, who is also the official artist of the Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali estates � he also works for the Frank Sinatra estate � began keeping a Mets journal (in a sketchpad) 15 years ago, but he had never completed a full season of coverage before last year, when he first decided to put his work online. After his first full season of painting word pictures for the Mets, he decided to do the same for his other favorite sports teams, the Knicks and the Jets. �The football season is so short, it just doesn�t have the personality of a baseball or basketball season,� Petruccio said. �The length of the baseball and basketball seasons creates more story lines, much more drama.� Petruccio, who sometimes freezes frames on his television screen to perfectly capture a moment he is trying to convey, visits Citi Field roughly 10 times a year. He never misses a Mets game, watching most games on television and listening to others on the radio. �I guess I�m kind of like a baseball columnist and sports cartoonist all rolled into one,� Petruccio said. �It�s not a paying job, but the real reward comes with sharing my love of the Mets with fellow fans.�

metsguyinmichigan wrote: What an awesome game! We had a blast, and Manny Acosta threw me the game ball after the final out!!! Excellent!

And if Ty Cobb in his prime was a FA today - would he get 'Carl Crawford money'?

My dad, son and I will be at one of the Dodger games and one of the Giant games in Cali next week. Too bad my quest for that '78-'79 Doug Flynn jersey was a failure.

And I'm kind of surprised that McCourt hasn't pushed back much against Selig thus far. I would think that McCourt would be a lot more vocal about Selig vetoing the FOX deal but he simply seemed resigned to it. I'm assuming that Selig and MLB then have the absolute right to do that and that an owner has no recourse once done. Makes me wonder if McCourt does have the right to fight MLB taking the franchise away if he has filed bankruptcy. Perhaps that is an agreement an owner signs when purchasing a club.

Lose 2 of 3 to Detroit Win 2 of 3 from the Yankees Split with the Dodgers Lose 2 of 3 to the Giants 6-7

From The New York Times article this morning: In the sixth inning, the home plate umpire Andy Fletcher ejected Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus for arguing ball and strike calls from the bench, even though Andrus was not in the game. When Texas Manager Ron Washington went out to argue, he was tossed, too. Collins went to Fletcher to try and convince him that Young was really the offending party. �I knew the one guy that was yelling, and I wanted to make sure he was the guy they threw out, which he wasn�t,� Collins said. �They didn�t know who it was, and I did, and I wanted him out of the game.� Bit of a different version to say the least.

TransMonk wrote: John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I walk around thinking Pelfrey is an adjustment or two away from domination. I've been thinking this for 4 years now. What's the definition of insanity? Yup - I'm here too. At 14 I thought Pete Falcone was worth hanging on to too.

Menudo member no.5: Alex Gonzalez.

2:24 - no longer raining in Manhattan.

I like it! With a twist:

Tri-ple King! Tri-ple King! Tri-ple King! Tri-ple King!

A little late to this party but that's insane - 1925 was the last time someone had at least 26 in a season? And Jose's on pace for 28-29? Wowzers. Pssst, hey Jose - you know where the best park to hit triples is right? How about re-upping for a few years? You give us a discount, you get a chance to be known as the 'Triple King'? How about that? Pretty cool nickname riiiiight?

My fave: Michael "Liver" Wuertz

Excerpt from the Post story about the murderer (David Laffer) and his wife: After a four-year courtship, he proposed to Melinda Brady, a secretary, at an Islander game in 2006 -- by popping the question on the Nassau Coliseum's Jumbotron screen. It read, "Melinda, will you marry me. Love, David."

HahnSolo wrote: I had the Fried chicken from the World's Fare area last night (with spicy soy garlic sauce). Really, really, good. Awesome, glad you liked it! I think it's the hidden gem among Citi food.

You can woulda-coulda-shoulda yourselves to death if you want to, but if Wright and Davis are on the field maybe the Mets leads are bigger and they aren't coughed up.

Big picture folks. 6-4 road trip. 2 of 3 from both Milwaukee and Atlanta in their parks. Woefully undermanned Mets team that does not give up.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: metirish wrote: Interesting indeed, I think Einhorn is betting against the Wilpon's as apposed to rooting for the team to lose. That sounds right to me. I agree, but as I said in a post in the 'Don't trade Reyes' thread, Einhorn may not be in 'sign Reyes' camp simply because losing Jose may facilitate the Wilpons inability to pay the guy back his $200 mil.