Thinking Out Loud Online
Sports
Don’t Mess With the Johan
Aug 18th
The Mets bullpen is a mess. While that isn’t exactly news to anyone who has been following the Mets (or subjected themselves to ESPN for more than 5 minutes, God help them), I doubt anyone has felt the effects any more keenly than their ace, Johan Santana. Sure, Mets fans are rather angry at the bullpen but then that goes along with being a Mets fan.
Standing Room Only
Aug 17th
I’ve been griping for a while about the new baseball palace in which the Mets will take residence beginning next season. It’s not that I doubt the need for a new ballpark. Shea Stadium is beyond old and antiquated and in dire need of replacement. While it is the site of many of my fondest childhood memories and I will likely be sentimental at its passing, I know it’s time to go.
It’s not even any real concern I have as to whether I’ll still feel Citi Field is indeed a baseball palace once I make my first visit there. I’m sure that it will be everything I could have wanted in a home for my Mets. No, my gripe with Citi Field likes purely in its capacity to hold paying customers. Shea Stadium is something of a behemoth relative to most baseball parks these days with the ability to hold 57,000 plus. So it was something of a shock to learn that Citi Field would only hold 45,000 at max capacity and that 2,500 of that capacity was standing room only……standing room only????
My perspective changed a bit tonight. More >
I’m In Love With A Ballpark
Aug 16th
PNC Park is beautiful. PNC Park is amazing. PNC Park is picturesque. PNC Park is (insert superlative adjective here, don’t worry, any one will do). As my brother likes to say, “The only problem with PNC Park is that the Pirates play there”. Ah, but last night, and for the rest of this weekend, it was not much of a problem. After all, the Mets were playing there as well.
During my August sojourn to the area approximately a year ago, I had the opportunity to marvel, gawk, and gaze at the beauty that is PNC Park. I reveled in the open concourses, the reasonably priced refreshments, the perfect sight lines, and the monuments to Pirates heroes past. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was in a bit of a snit that day and the scheduled game between the Pirates and Reds was rained out.
Last night was a different story. More >
Gone to Meet My Nephew
Aug 15th
I had been anticipating this trip for quite a while. The feeling started growing the moment my brother and his wife told me they were expecting and continued right through the three months following the baby’s arrival. So, it’s not entirely surprising that when I finally hit the road I arrived here in Washington, PA in record time.
From just about every conceivable angle, this trip could not have come at a much better time. More >
Aces Up
Jul 27th
The night before was heartbreaking for Mets fans. Comeback after comeback were wasted as the home team could not push across the winning run in extra innings. Finally, Albert Pujols decided matters in favor of the Cardinals with a 2 run blast off of a weary Aaron Heilman in the fourteenth. The Mets were out of pitchers, out of comebacks, and out of time.
Maybe little more than a month and a half ago, last night’s loss would have sent this Mets team into a skid. A new manager, new pitching coach, and apparent new attitude later, it would just be another loss from which to bounce back. The reason for such an optimistic outlook was that fact that today brought Johan Santana to the mound. The unspoken instructions for the team’s ace, “Get us a win and spare the bullpen while you’re at it”.
I’ve been rather lucky with my Sunday seats at Shea in terms of pitching performances. It’s hard from so high up to judge what type of stuff the pitcher has that day. So I’m forced to go purely by results. More >