Ah Yes

I can't say I'm terribly surprised that the Mets have crashed back to Earth these past two games, because I figured it was going to be a challenge, on most days, for the Mets to generate offense. Unless they were facing teams that were just as bad, if not worse, than they may be. In spite of the fact that the Mets seem to not have much trouble getting men on base, their age-old problem of not being able to do anything with said men on base reared its ugly head, and the end result, of course, is a pair of losses that have brought the team to 2-2.

It's a pair of real luminaries that did it to the Mets too, in Eric Stults and Alex Sanabia, off whom the Mets couldn't muster a run even though the opportunities were certainly there. The only real offense appears to have been some cosmetic runs off the opposing bullpen, primarily via the Home Run ball. This isn't where the Mets are going to butter their bread. If they sort of sit back and wait for Daniel Murphy to hit a 3-run Homer, they're going to find themselves even worse off than they figured to be. There needs to be that key hit; the sort of hit that will not only bring home runs, but also set up more runs in the process. They did that multiple times on Opening Day, so it's not as though they're incapable of accomplishing this, but so far David Wright has started kind of sluggish, and so have Ike Davis and Ruben Tejada, placed just far enough apart in the lineup that any little bit of a rally ends up getting squashed because they're not going well.

Of course, it's only 4 games into the season, and things change multiple times in the course of a season. But it's always better to try to stop these bad habits before they get really out of control. Their starting pitching has done admirably well as we run towards the back end of the rotation. Dillon Gee had a fine game yesterday but for a few hits that were bunched together by the Padres, and tonight, Jeremy Hefner pitched well enough to deserve a better fate, giving up only 1 run over his 6 innings. Plus Hef's one run came on a Home Run by Greg Dobbs, who may be one of the worst ballplayers I've ever seen, except that against the Mets he somehow consistently turns into Mel Ott, so we'll excuse Hef for that one. He's just another hapless victim on that end.

The bullpen, however, hasn't helped the cause. If the sputtering offense was bad, the bullpen made things worse by allowing some crucial, lead-stretching runs. Friday, the general ineptitude of Greg Burke and LaTroy Hawkins basically put the game out of reach. True, Burke wasn't helped by a Ruben Tejada error, and Scott Rice let in some of his baserunners, but a better pitcher can work around these things. (Plus I'm just leery about submarine pitchers that aren't Terry Leach. I suppose you could call it Jeff Innis Syndrome or some shit). Hawkins basically looks like he doesn't have anything left. I noticed it on Wednesday night when it took him 29 pitches to get through 2 batters. Tonight, the Marlins were just teeing off on him. The one run he gave up was windowdressing, but he's fortunate it wasn't 4 runs the way he was getting knocked around. I usually have one or two real good flogs each season, and so far it looks like Burke and Hawkins are the early favorites. Hopefully they'll prove ineffective enough that they won't stick around too long.

So, yeah. Games like the last two are going to be the story of the season, and we knew this. I suppose the key for the fans is to not get too sucked in by the periodic offensive outbursts, because they will happen from time to time, and then immediately be followed by a string of games where they get 10 hits, go 1-for-14 with runners on base, and lose 2-1. It's a slight step up from the days when they would get 10 hits, hit into 5 double plays and lose 2-1. But those could happen too!

Accidental Attendance

I was home on Tuesday night puttering around when I received a text from a colleague. He'd randomly come into free Field Level seats for last night's game (courtesy of some random do-gooder who apparently left a large number of tickets at a Brooklyn supermarket) and asked if I wanted to go. My initial inclination was to go, primarily because of the lure of Matt Harvey making his 2013 debut, but after checking the weather forecast, I had to give it some pause. A game time forecast of 39 degrees and windy might not have stopped me a few years ago, but in my old age, I've become less and less fond of sitting in the wind tunnel that is Citi Field during these April night games. I'd have to wear my winter coat. When I have to wear my winter coat to a Baseball game, that's probably a sign that I might be better off sitting in the comfort of my well-heated apartment. But in the end, I let Matt Harvey get the better of me and said I would go. Besides, it's usually slightly warmer in the 100 level than it is in the 500s. So, I eschewed the new Game Hat in favor of a Mets ski cap, layered up and trekked off to Flushing after work.

Neither the weather nor Matt Harvey disappointed. It was cold enough in the Field Level that I shudder to think what it must have been like in the Promenade. But I suppose it could have been Greenland in January and that wouldn't have bothered Matt Harvey, who picked up in 2013 right where he left off in 2012, allowing 1 hit and striking out 10 over a 7 inning effort in which the Padres looked completely overmatched. Not to belabor the point, but in a year for the Mets where the development of Harvey and his contemporaries is a major factor for the Mets going forward, it's easy to pay particular attention to when he's on the mound. What it boils down to is you get the feeling that this season is really more about players like Harvey than it is about how the team does as a whole. So, Harvey's performances will be magnified. Once Zack Wheeler ascends, he'll be under the same scrutiny. But Harvey, in particular, seems to be impervious to pressure. He just goes out and pitches his game, whether the conditions are Arctic or not (And as proof, you need look no further than Harvey's 2nd inning single. Once Harvey reached base, my colleague wondered when they would bring him his jacket. I noticed someone hop out of the dugout holding a jacket, but he then immediately turned around and went back. Apparently, cold weather doesn't bother Harvey at all, since he spent the entire night running around in short sleeves). And with all eyes on him, Harvey went out and pitched like an ace.

The rest of the team looked pretty good, too. John Buck, who appears to be the perfect placeholder for the Catching position, continued his hot start with a Home Run and 3 RBI, Lucas Duda and Ike Davis both launched monster Home Runs, and by time Harvey departed, the Mets had an 8-0 lead and the Padres looked as if they were ready to hop on the first flight back to San Diego. By this point, the game had moved at a brisk pace, to nobody's dismay, since the quicker things finished up, the quicker we could get out of the cold. But a succession of Mets relievers were alternately horrible (Burke, Hawkins) or able to quickly mop up a mess (Edgin, Parnell), and a game that could have been over in about 2 hours, 10 minutes was suddenly dragging past 2 hours, 30 minutes, or, more appropriately, 20 minutes longer than the total effectiveness of my layers of clothes and winter coat. Usually, there's one or two guys in the bullpen who has a fit of shittiness early in the season and is generally cut not long thereafter. It appears Greg Burke and La Troy Hawkins have emerged as the early favorites. Burke may have been victimized by some ground balls with eyes, but Hawkins seems to be suffering from severe Leiteritis (the inability to put a hitter away with 2 strikes), because he seemed to have used up his gas tank throwing pitches that were fouled off before the Padres started getting to him and Collins was forced to make a pitching change just to get the game over with.

That annoyance aside, I suppose I'm glad these tickets somehow fell into my colleague's lap and I was able to go. I'm also glad I never lost feeling in any of my extremities. And I'm glad that today, Matt Harvey will be the new Toast of the Town. For someone with his "I can do better" attitude, this is a pretty tantalizing start to his season.

Service?

Lost in the shuffle of Monday's good vibes and Collin Cowgill becoming the new Toast of the Town were some problems at Citi Field that might be long forgotten were they not so glaring.

I mentioned, in passing, about the scorecard golf pencil fiasco that I encountered when I arrived at the game, which is one thing in and of itself. It's an annoyance, but who's going to go nuts over a golf pencil (although since I'm on the topic, yesterday's experience was not as bad as getting an unevenly sharpened pencil that will only write when held at a specific angle—something I've experienced more times than I care to remember)?

The larger problem came later, when I was upstairs trying to get something to eat. I initially thought I'd splurge on the Pat LaFrieda steak sandwich as an Opening Day treat, but apparently I wasn't the only one who felt that way, because the line at the new stand in the Promenade was about 5 people away from dissolving into Shake Shack madness. I thought this was OK, because it was new and it was Opening Day, and I figured once we got back to the normal games, the line wouldn't be so jammed up. So, my next attempt was at the new "Nathan's Hot Dogs and Chicken" counter, which replaced Blue Smoke and appears to be no different than any other of the Hot Dog and Burger counters that are dotted all over the Stadium (except they have some wings or other such nonsense). The line wasn't so bad, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I stood there for about 2-3 minutes and noted that there were plenty of people standing at the counter who hadn't moved, while the cashiers were empty. Finally, some indignant gentleman with his son started piping up and yelling for a manager, saying things like, "This shouldn't be happening!" and "You people should be more prepared!"

I realized that this wasn't going to end well, so I abandoned that plan and went to the Sausage Sandwich guy. The line wasn't too long and there certainly appeared to be action going on, so it seemed safe. But even here, things were off. There were about 5 people behind the grill, but only 1 person working a register, and she had to keep calling people down for them to pay, and then stand there waiting for their food. Meanwhile, another woman came around yelling "Cash Only! Cash Only!" which caused a slight culling. But only slight. Because I still ended up standing there for over 5 minutes while everyone fumphered around before I finally got my sausage sandwich, complete with undercooked onions and peppers.

Normally, I chalk up the foibles of the concession staff on Opening Day to "Hey, it's Spring Training for the Concession Stand guys too!" I recall one opener at Shea Stadium where I waited about 4 innings for a Hot Dog vendor to come around. But this was kind of ridiculous. Usually, there's plenty of vendors flying around. But yesterday, there were hardly any. Aside from the above gentleman who stood around blocking my view of home plate in the 5th inning, I don't think I saw many other vendors. A Cracker Jack guy, this Hot Dog guy, that was it. No beer, no souvenirs, no Cotton Candy, no Dippin' Dots, nothing. George went down for a beer at the beginning of the top of the 3rd inning and didn't return until the top of the 4th. Incredulous, he told me his tale of waiting on an endless line because there was only 1 person working the register at the Beers of the World stand. Apparently some of the other people he was on the line with began poking fun at the one guy working the counter, because he was particularly slow. Until they arrived at the counter and noticed that his name tag read "MANAGER."

That about summed it up. It was Opening Day at Citi Field, and, sure, the Mets were aware of that and certainly came prepared to do their job, but the support staff didn't seem to realize that. I know that the Mets are going to be bad, and most nights there won't be much of a crowd. But one day that's guaranteed to be well-attended is Opening Day. Yet the staff seemed barely cognizant of the fact that there were going to be a lot of people at the game. I'm just glad I didn't get hungry later on in the game, because I can't imagine what sort of an experience I would have had trying to find something to eat around the 7th inning. I suspect I might have been limited to peanuts or popcorn. Or, worse...Subway.

My theory, and it may be true, is that the concession workers, which I'm pretty sure are unionized, work at both Citi Field and Yankee Stadium. This is fine, because it's pretty rare that they both play at home, and usually when they do, it's in instances where neither game will sell out or attract an especially large crowd. But this year, both teams had their Opening Day games at the same time, which meant that both stadiums would need a full complement of concession workers, and maybe there just weren't enough to go around (and, of course, the Mets always get the short end of the stick, because everyone likes to put down the Mets).

This theory is sound on paper, but one particular thing blows it up, and it may be the one thing that bothers me the most: Pocket schedules are, perhaps, the most important promotional tool the Mets have. They're small, convenient and can be placed anywhere. Over the course of the season, I usually keep one in just about any place I spend any significant amount of time, including my office, coat pockets, wallets and the like. So, then, why are there NO POCKET SCHEDULES available ANYWHERE IN THE STADIUM on Opening Day? This one is beyond baffling. I used to get multiple pocket schedules every time I would get my tickets in the mail. Not anymore. On the final homestand of the season, they'll be loaded with more pocket schedules than they know what to do with. Who the hell needs a pocket schedule on the last day of the season? But on the one day when it makes the most sense to have tons of them, there's not a one to be found. Why more people don't complain, I don't know. Why heads haven't been rolled over this, I have no clue. Mets Police, consider yourselves alerted about this mockery. The schedule magnet is nice, but it ain't portable (and given everything else that went on, it's a minor miracle that the promotional staff didn't manage to screw that up). Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I want a damn pocket schedule. I can't possibly be the only one who's indignant about this.

Maybe this is just another one of my idiotic ramblings, but I suppose, in some strange way, it's my duty to report on things good and bad. The Mets didn't do much bad on the field on Monday (if just for one day). But everything else at Citi Field needed some work. If only Collin Cowgill could serve food and print schedules, then he'd really be the toast of the town.

I Feel Much Better Now

After Jonathon Niese butcher-boyed an RBI single over the head of Cody Ransom in the 2nd inning of Monday's Opener, I suddenly found an odd sense of calm come over me. It had little to do with the Mets sterling record on Opening Day, and even less to do with the fact that 161 games remained in this long Baseball season. With the Mets up 2-0, it somehow seemed like, on this day, everything was going to be OK. I turned to George and said, "I feel better now. We've broken the ice."

I guess a couple of early runs plated by the 8th and 9th place hitters with 2 outs can generate all sorts of good feelings. It appeared to work for the Mets, because they went from a 2-run lead to a 6-run lead by the 4th inning, and by time Collin Cowgill had his "WELCOME TO NEW YORK!!" moment in the 7th inning, the lead had opened up to 9 as the Mets cruised to a 11-2 Opening Day victory over the hapless Padres. A perfect opening to a so far spotless 2013 campaign.

The day started out more or less like any other of the Opening Days I've attended prior to this one. I was far too cranked up to get a good night's sleep. Fortunately, I was far too cranked up to feel tired and groggy in the morning. I woke up, got my Opening Day attire picked out (David Wright jersey over a Colin Kaepernick T-shirt) and left for the game about 30 minutes earlier than I probably needed to because, hey, who can sit around on Opening Day? So rather than getting to Citi Field at 11:30, which was when I told George I'd meet him, I was there around 11, so I had some time to soak in the Opening Day vibes and watch Bobby Valentine smile and wave and get fitted for a headset in front of the SNY stage. George arrived shortly thereafter, and in we went, picking up our traditional Opening Day magnet, and the traditional Opening Day scorecard and yearbook purchase. As I usually do, I grabbed two golf pencils from the Program stand (they are sometimes not so lenient about this, because golf pencils are a real hot commodity) and started upstairs, only to find that one of the pencils I took was split in half and had no lead. Apparently, it was still Spring Training for the concessionaires (the full brunt of this requires its own post, which shall come tomorrow, but if need be I will alert the Mets Police of just how ill-prepared the concession stands were for business).

Meanwhile, there was still a game to be played, and here's some bonus Opening Day video of the introduction of the Mets, just after the presentation of the ceremonial wreath from the Shea family, and slightly before the blowing of the Shofar.

 

Rusty Staub threw out the first pitch, from approximately 35 feet from home plate (I don't think he was ever known for having a great arm, and on Orange's 69th birthday, it's probably less than what it was), and then, very randomly, the Mets took the field. Usually, there's some sort of video or introduction before they run out, but no sooner had Rusty thrown his pitch but there they were, running onto the field, and there was the Season Ticket holder of the game with his nose-picking child signaling the beginning of the game, and there was Chris Denorfia slapping the first pitch of the season into Left Field (and yes, that's me on the video yelling "That's it, I'm going home!"). Usually, when the first pitch of the game goes for any kind of a hit, it tends not to end well. But Jonathon Niese proved himself more than capable of rising to the Opening Day occasion, getting out of the 1st inning and pretty much every other inning that he pitched the rest of the day, only getting touched for 2 runs and 4 hits in his 6.2 innings. His performance was just what every Mets fan wanted to see: a sign that he was ready to step forward as one of the Mets' leading starting pitchers. His performance late last year was nice, but now it's time to build on that, and if he pitches like he did today, he's headed in the right direction.

Other nice signs today included a pair of hits each from Marlon Byrd and John Buck, both of whom were in and around multiple rallies (and earned a pair of "WELCOME TO NEW YORKs!!!"), David Wright, who was greeted like a hero and performed like a captain, stealing two bases and getting on base 3 times, Ruben Tejada, who continues to play like the second coming of Edgardo Alfonzo, doubled home the first run of the season and extended the 7th inning rally with an opposite field hit, and, of course Collin Cowgill, who hustled out a double in the 4th inning and stole the show with his Grand Slam that he clearly wasn't aware was a Grand Slam until he madly dashed all the way to 3rd and stopped, assuming he'd hit a bases clearing triple. Then, the umpire waved him home. Replays in the stadium were sparse, probably because they didn't want Bud Black to challenge the call, but seeing a replay later, it was clearly a Grand Slam. And, of course, given the assumption that the Mets were going to be a severely challenged club on the offensive side, being able to run up 11 runs on 13 hits is always a nice thing, even if it's against the Padres, whose pitching just looked terrible from start to finish, except for that Charles Bass fellow who relieved Volquez after he'd thrown 80 pitches in 3+ innings.

So, all in all, a wonderful Opening Day, which will of course spur Collin Cowgill onto a 648 RBI season and the Mets to a perfect 162-0. Or, at least, we'd like to hope that it would. In reality, it's probably only just a matter of time before I get tired of hearing "MORE COWGILL!" For now, though, it's all good.

WELCOME TO NEW YORK!!!

Well, here we go once again, just a few hours from Howie Rose welcoming us to Citi Field and the blowing of the shofar to raise the curtain on the 2013 National League Baseball Season in New York. The calendar may just show the benign date of April 1st, but it's really a holiday for me and approximately 40,000 other people who will be making our first pilgrimage of the year to Citi Field. It's tradition. This will be my 9th consecutive Opening Day and 12th overall. How can I possibly miss Opening Day? It never gets old, because it's always the start of something new. I put in for the Day Off from work 2 months ago and even my boss knew exactly why I was requesting off for April 1st. "IT'S METS DAY, ISN'T IT?!" is what she told me.

A few bits of housekeeping to discuss here before game time, though.

1) THE TEAM
We've already been through this in short form and longer form, but this is a transitional year for the Mets. It's going to be a lot of throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks (I read this somewhere about some team, but I don't recall where. It applies well to the Mets, though, so I'm stealing it), and seeing what the givens do. I expect that the Mets will win somewhere in the neighborhood of 75-76 games. I said that last year and they finished with 74, but I think the Mets this year can be better, or at least more interesting down the stretch. If, by some chance, they have a hot start at the beginning of the season like they did last year, I don't think anyone is going to buy into it, though. They have to prove they can finish strong. Individually, I look for impactful things from the following players (take "impactful" to mean whatever you want)
1) David Wright
2) Ike Davis
3) Ruben Tejada
4) Jonathon Niese
5) Matt Harvey
6) Lucas Duda
7) Bobby Parnell

I look for meaningful contributions from the following players (meaningful contributions is not "impactful"):
1) Marlon Byrd
2) Colin Cowgill
3) Shaun Marcum
4) Zach Wheeler*
5) Travis d'Arnaud*

*I assume they'll be called up around May 1st, or whenever that mythical service time clock resets itself. That might not be enough time to impact the season in the larger picture, but enough to do something worthwhile.

Everyone else, just do the best you can and don't screw up too badly. You know what I mean.

2) CITI FIELD
They didn't make any more major improvements to the field, so I've heard, but one thing I did notice is that some of the concession stands have been moved around. I've talked plenty about eschewing the Shake Shack Zone for the concession stands near my seats in the Promenade, because the lines are always short and the food is just as good. I was a fan of the Blue Smoke outpost up there, but apparently it's been moved out in favor of "Nathan's Hot Dogs and Chicken," which appears to be the same thing as regular old Nathan's, except that they offer a larger array of Chicken-involved food. I suppose I'll find out what they mean by this chicanery tomorrow, but if it's not as good as the Blue Smoke chicken sandwich, I will be very upset. Of note is that Blue Smoke downstairs is now Blue Smoke "On The Go," and doesn't offer the chicken sandwich either, so Citi Field may well be lacking in a good chicken sandwich. What it will not be lacking in, however, is the absurdly good Pat LaFrieda Filet Mignon sandwich. This sandwich debuted midway through last season and took Citi Field by storm, proving itself so popular that the single location on the Field Level is no longer enough, so popular that it's successfully managed to boot Keith's Grill out of the Promenade level and take over the stand for itself. So, maybe I'll be eating a lot of steak sandwiches this year. Until I run out of money.

3) NEW GAME HAT
For the first time since 2009, I'll be debuting a new Game Hat. And not a moment too soon, since that hat has brought me no luck as far as team success is concerned. The new model for 2013 is not so dissimilar from the old one, Blue on Blue, with the classic orange NY and orange button on top, and the 50th Anniversary logo on the back. Yes, it's from last year, but I bought it at the end of the season (when the Mets kindly discounted all 50th Anniversary merchandise) and it's been sitting in the plastic bag I bought it in in my drawer for the entire offseason, so it's properly marinated for today's maiden voyage. Hopefully a new hat will bring some new success to the team.

4) CAR FIRE?
It's just not Opening Day without a good Car Fire. But I haven't seen one out there in a few years. Anyone else out there know what I mean? It seems like every time there's a good Opening Day Car Fire, the Mets have a good year...

I think that about covers it. Now on to the more official matters. Opening Ceremonies at 12:40, First pitch at 1:10!