MLB

Hitting Close To Home

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I have friends who are Mets and Reds fans.  I know someone who is a Flyers AND Isles fan.  I have a good friend from the West Coast who is an Oakland A’s fan and a Mets fan (Hi Jess!).

I don’t get it.  I have enough trouble following my one baseball team around the country, and some people are following two, maybe three for each sport!  And it’s not like these people I know who root for these teams have had marginal success over the years.

Something in common for those teams though: They’re geographically insignificant to each fanbase.  Rooting for geographically close teams in the same sport, though, is beyond my method of comprehension.  Mets AND Yankees.  Jets AND Giants.  I feel like there is too much of a conflict of interest, even if, as the saying goes, these teams don’t impact one another directly.

I’ve been fortunate.  Two of my teams won championships in a very short amount of time in my fandom.  Whether they will again in my lifetime remains to be seen.  The Jets constantly tease me and it pisses me off.  Part of my 11-year old mind in 1987 told me to become a Giants fan.  I guess being naive and not understanding the futility of being both a Mets and Jets fan (and Rangers, who at the time, hadn’t won a championship since 1940), I thought they’d just win some other time.

By 2008, I had some choice words for my dad.  “It’s bad enough you’ve made me a Mets and a Rangers fan…but a JETS fan?  What were you thinking?”  Like most of 1969, I’m sure my dad rooted for them in a drug-induced haze and just stayed because he knew nothing else.  But the Giants on my watch have won three Super Bowls, and the Jets none.  But I don’t root for the Giants.  They’re not my team.

Throughout my football fandom, though, I never hated the Giants.  They had more success than us.  Hell, my friend Sully over at Sully Baseball says that New York gets this aura of “championship town,” but it’s hard when you’re a Mets, Jets or Rangers fan (though the Mets and Rangers did have ONE parade in my lifetime) because it’s mostly Yankees and Giants.  So naturally, like many Yankee “fans” I know (because I know fans without the quotes), it’s easy, in my opinion, to root for the Giants because they’ve won many championships.  Especially in my lifetime.  I get angry with my dad and I get upset with myself.  Because goddammit, I couldn’t even make a sport I’m the least invested in easy for myself.

People who root for the Mets and Yankees…okay.  TOTALLY don’t get it.  The rivalry doesn’t make as much sense as it did when it was clearly the NL town versus the AL town, but it’s deeply rooted in history.

Now, most Mets fans had the nine layers of hell series in 2009, when the hated Phillies faced the hated Yankees.  I didn’t watch.  Scenarios occurred that I was happy with, like Cole Hamels being exposed to be the bitch he was, Jimmy Rollins shutting the hell up and Chase Utley owning the Yankees (I’m one of the few Mets fans who actually likes Utley).  But there were some fans who felt the need to root for the one or the other.  Why?  WE HATE BOTH OF THOSE TEAMS.  WHY WOULD WE ROOT FOR ANY SIDE OF IT?  I was rooting for an epicenter to form at Yankee Stadium and suck both teams in and they never got to play.

But there were still some fans who momentarily forgot that they should never ever say the “Lets Go Yankees” chant, because they feel the need to root for someone.  What’s worse, some of these folks became the dreaded “homers” that these fanbases consider their own.  I call those people “frontrunners.”  Just to have something to cheer for.  But it’s more than just cheering.  It’s being happy AND reveling in the victory like it’s your own.  Is it a water cooler topic?  Is it a bragging rights thing?  If these teams are hated so much, why bother cheering at all?  Either way, as fans of a rival, whether manufactured or not, it doesn’t make sense to me.

Now this gets me to the Super Bowl.  Once again, we are faced with a dilemma, if you will, as Jets fans.  The hated Patriots face the Giants.  Notice I didn’t say “hated” Giants.  Because I don’t hate them.  For whatever reason, Giants fans have taken a HUGE dislike to the Jets fan population, at least those who are vocal on Twitter.

So most recently, it’s Giants fans who have made a Jets/Giants rivalry a “real” one, when it never was one.  Or maybe it was bubbling underneath and needed to come up.  Why would I actively root for a team that dislikes my fan base so much?  There are exceptions to every rule, but you get my drift.  It’s a Super Bowl where I could care less really about the teams.

It goes to the whole rooting for two teams.  I don’t get it.  Especially teams so geographically close.  My husband is a Seattle Seahawks fan.  If they went to a Super Bowl, and they weren’t playing my team, I’d be thrilled and excited.  The Seahawks don’t matter to me.  The Giants do and it’s geography, not to mention the success they’ve had in playoffs that the Jets do not have.  It’s easy to root for them and don’t deny it.

I do not buy the “Jets/Giants rivalry isn’t anything like Mets/Yankees.”  If one is a Jets AND Giants fan, one is taking the easy way out because chances are, you will have a local team to support when the going gets going.

This is not a Miss Manners post on who to root for.  Just don’t be a homer.  I don’t like the Patriots, but I respect them.  I don’t dislike the Giants, but I respect them.  It’s an easy situation for me.  I’ll watch the game.  I’ll eat carbs.  And that’s it.

A fan is someone who sticks with their team through the good, bad and ugly, and doesn’t cherry pick a team to root for during the playoffs.   I would say that besides being a Mets/Yankees “fan,” a Jets/Giants “fan” is more of the same, since the Giants have had more success than the Jets ever had or look to have.  It’s an insurance policy, plain and simple.  If it was easy, we’d all be Yankees fans, and we’d all be Giants fans (in New York of course…and Boston fans need to stop complaining!).

And I still don’t get it.  I don’t know.  Must not be in my DNA.

The Unsung Hero

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In baseball, some positions often are called “premium” or positions that can easily be “platooned.”  As an example, the 1986 Mets had a “platoon” at second base between Tim Teufel and Wally Backman (now, ironically, coaches within the Mets system).  It’s easy to get away with platoons at positions up the middle of the infield, and yet at catcher, a so-called “premium position,” there’s less guesswork.  Gary Carter was possibly one of the best defensive (not to mention offensive) catchers of his generation, and the Mets were lucky enough to have him.  At a premium position, it’s tougher to platoon since you technically need that strong play at every moment you can.  When Carter was hurt for a spell in ’86, Ed Hearn jumped in.  Hearn, though, was purely a “backup” catcher.  And there was technically enough offense to cover where he lacked in it.  Same goes for Barry Lyons the next season.  Or Todd Pratt and Jason Phillips when they, at one point or another, backed-up starter and All-Star Mike Piazza.

Hockey is different.  The elite goaltenders are few and far between, and more of the game hinges on their spectacular play.  They need to be smart, they need to be agile, and furthermore they need to combine all that to stand on their heads at times to make saves.  We’ve been fortunate that in the past, Mike Richter was one of those guys for the New York Rangers.  His back-up in the 1993-94 Stanley Cup run was Glenn Healy — a guy who could have by most standards been a starter someplace else.  As lucky as we Ranger fans are to have Henrik Lundqvist as our starter, it was a foregone conclusion that he needed a break every now and then, since a majority of the success of the team in 2010-11 was based on his performance.

Yes, hockey folks, a backup is just as a important for the goaltender spot on teams as their starter.  And luckily, the unsung hero of this 2011-12 team is none other than Marty Biron.  It’s comforting when your #1 goalie isn’t in the game that the backup can do a hell of a job not only filling in, but winning.

In baseball, the pitcher gets the stress of the whole win-loss thing, but some will argue that the W/L stat is one of the most overrated, while WHIP or ERA can provide a better picture.  In hockey though, much rides on the success and bulletproofness of a goalie.  Our King Henrik may be the guy we want starting every night, but John Tortorella has the right idea to give Biron the starts since theoretically, we’d rather save those crucial starts for the star goalie when it’s truly critical (like later in the season and in the playoffs).

The number of games Biron has started may skew the sample set a bit, but right now he’s sporting a 2.06 Goals-Against-Average (GAA), very respectable in its own right.  Our own Henke is according to the leaderboards fourth with 1.92 (the gold standard seems to be right around 1.90).  True Biron’s only played in 11 games, but it’s better to not give up many goals in those small amount of games, am I right?  As for others in this same position, the Boston Bruins have Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask in almost a straight platoon, and very similar numbers.

I’m the only one who has thought that Marty Biron’s performance has gone above and beyond the call of duty.  Blueshirt Banter believes the Rangers are doing right with Henke and Biron. Tortorella gave his vote of confidence by starting Biron three out of seven games as late as last month, not only spelling the rumors of giving Henke regular rest, but to give Biron some credit that he’s doing a good job.  Lastly, the Rangers have a lot of depth — at many positions.  NHL.com has eight reasons why the Rangers are in first — depth is one of them, Marian Gaborik’s performance is another, but Biron’s performance has given them a comfort level that they can still lean on Lundqvist, but it’s not as evident as it has been.

It seems the recipe for a good hockey team is to have a strong net minder.  This much is true.  I make no bones that I watch this team with a lot of excitement and enthusiasm, and they portray that on the ice each night, even on crappy nights.   To me, though, Marty Biron is one of the reasons why they are performing the way they are.  Perhaps the stepping up of Ryan Callahan as the “true” captain of the team, the pressure of free agent signing Bradley Richards is nonexistent, and likewise the pressure off Henrik Lundqvist having to be on this A-game every single night is out the window.  Marty Biron deserves a lot of credit for why the Rangers are where they are right now, and hopefully it’s the base for the future of this team for the year as well.

Giving Thanks

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This might have been a phone conversation I had with my dad the other night.

Me: “So I’ll be seeing my friends Fred and Jenn this weekend.”

Dad: “Fred Solomon??? Man, I feel like I know that guy.”

Funny, because “Solly,” as we like to call him, has never met my dad (neither has his wife, Jenn).  Yet, because of this wonderful thing called social media and Facebook, it’s introduced me to a universe of friends that I probably would not have known otherwise.

And at the root of it?  It’s our shared fandom of certain teams.

Fans at a Jets game (From L to R): Kevin, Coop, Mr. E and Kace

When I was a kid, my dad would take me Mets games at Shea Stadium.  Mr. E, as we call him, has a natural approachable and friendly personality.  Anyone who meets him loves him.  He’s just the right mixture of lovably wacky and heart-of-gold.  This weekend, he turns 60. He’s showed me what it’s like to be a die-hard fan of sports and what it takes to be a friend.

I’ve probably loved him and hated him equally for making me a Mets, Jets and Rangers fan though.

Yet, when we used to go to these games, he’d go with his best friend, affectionately known as “Uncle Gene,” and I’d tag along.  They’d keep me occupied with Cracker Jacks, fountain sodas and ice cream (did I mention how hyper I’d be at these games too?).  They used to sit in a section with these guys Dominic, Rob and Mike.  You’d never know it, but they just met and socialized at the games.  They always seemed like they knew each forever.  But it was sports.  Sports is what drew them together, and what was an initial common bond.

Sadly, they lost touch over the years, but I can’t tell you how many times Dominic, Rob and Mike popped into a conversation with Mr. E or Uncle Gene while we talked about going to Mets games.  I always remembered though that I loved the in-the-trenches humor that Mets fans have, and it kept me around, even in down times because it was always a common thread we have.

My dad also got me going to Rangers hockey games and into the Jets a long time ago.  After the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2008, I said, “It’s bad enough that you made me a Mets and a Rangers fan…but a JETS FAN???”  Pops took me to my first Mets baseball game and Rangers hockey game…but I took him to his first Jets game last year.  So I guess one good turn deserves another.

Mets Fans at AT&T Park (From L to R): Ed, Coop, Senor Solly and Mrs. Senor Solly

So this brings me back to Fred and Jenn, or Senor Solly and Mrs. Senor Solly.  I don’t know if I’d know them outside of sports.  I’d like to think somehow our paths would have crossed but outside of our mutual fandom, sadly I don’t think that would be the case.  So even when my teams are horrible and they suck and they piss me off, I have the relationships and bonds I’ve formed as a result of them.  Yet, because my dad has been “introduced” to them as a result of tools like Facebook or even about me bringing them up in conversation, they are kind of like my versions of Dominic, Rob and Mike.  Though maybe if Facebook existed back in the ’80s, we wouldn’t be wondering “What happened to those guys??” and maybe seeing them at games more regularly.  Last we heard, Dominic got married and was living in Greenwich, Connecticut, and had two kids.  That was back in 1994.  His kids might have graduated college by now.

This is the time of the year we are supposed to give thanks to what we have and friend we have met and for our family, but most of all I am thankful that my dad got me into sports.  I may get mad at him for rooting in exercises in futility sometimes…yet, I also know the thrill of winning, which is why I stick around and it makes the bad times worth it.

But most of all, it got me to meet some lovely people over the years.  If you are not a sports fan, then perhaps this is a bit out of the realm of your comfort zone.  There may be common bonds you form with different groups of people.  For us, we get together, and bitch about our teams, and reminisce about the good ol’ days, and then we find we have more in common than we ever thought.

Who Gives A Shit?

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When I first started to understand sports, I would ask my dad if he was watching a game and I missed it, “Who’s winning?”  If my team was losing he’d normally say the “other” team’s name.  When the Mets or whoever was on, and they were winning, he’d say, “We’re up.”  Then whatever the score is.

Look, Jets fans! "WE" Won!

I remember another time a few years ago, I was down in Tampa, right across the street from Tropicana Field where the Yankees of all teams were visiting (I was down there for unrelated reasons).  I asked one of the bartenders, “Hey, who won tonight?”  He answered, “We did!”  I said, “Uh….yeah, could you be more specific?  That could be either team!”  He laughed, told me it was Tampa who won.  I guess you could understand my confusion since Tampa does house many Yankee fans (even Mets, Cardinals and Red Sox fans, but that’s neither here nor there).

Yet, whenever a fan of the same denomination and you talk, we pepper our conversations like, “You know what we need?  We need pitching.”  Or “I’d love for us to have THAT guy on our team.”  Or “We’re winning, 3-nothing.”  Or “We’re going to the World Series!!!” (We Mets fans haven’t said that for awhile)

Anyway, I came across an article on Grantland (Hat tip to Blondie’s Jake for linking out to it initially) on the usage of “We” in the context of talking about our favorite sports teams.  I guess it must be a slow-news week for sports or something, because quite frankly of all the self-righteous and soapboxy type things I’ve read (and trust me, I’ve read a lot, even wrote a few of them myself), this is by far one of the biggest penis-sizing contests I’ve ever read.

Seriously, does anyone give a shit about talking about our favorite teams in the context of “we” or “us?”  I know the author referred to Green Bay Packers fans as having somewhat of a right to say it since they are equity partners there, but it’s a phrase that kind of has no meaning.  Like a cliche, I guess.  Doesn’t mean this author is right or wrong has a point.  It’s just a dumb point to bring up.

One of the great things about sports is a sense of camaraderie you have with other fans who are like-minded and root for the same team you do and hope and believe just like you do.  Not to mention, many of the fans who use “we” in the context of talking about their team are die hards, they live and breathe with each move of the team, whether it’s baseball, football, basketball, hockey, hell even arena football. So why begrudge them saying “We” when they talk to other fans or friends about the state of the team?  It’s self-righteousness to the Nth degree here.

When the Mets won the World Series in 1986, I was 10 years old, and I happened to be in the stands for Game Seven.  It’s something that at 10 years old, I probably didn’t have a better appreciation of till I was much older…especially when the Mets were absolutely terrible in the 1990s, till the late ’90s, when it became fun again.  The reason I stuck around all those years when friends and family were defecting to the Yankees or leaving baseball entirely was because of that moment in the stands.  I wasn’t so young that I didn’t realize the moment was much bigger than me.  I still never forgot that.  Talking about that night with other fans who happened to be there, or even my dad who was there for both Games Six AND Seven, it’s something you just don’t forget.  Try stopping someone who talked about being there for Game Six in 1986 when they say, “When WE won that game…”  I triple dog dare you.  Being a part of something larger than yourself is a part of sports,

So Chris Jones at Grantland doesn’t think it’s “cool” that we use that term.  To that I ask, who the hell is that hipster douchecanoe to judge?  Is he a “true” sports fan? (And don’t get me started on other people judging other people’s sports fandom…I’m using it for emphasis here, I really could care less about it).

So I interject “We” or “Us” into my conversations about the Mets, the Rangers or the Jets.  Sue me for speaking “out of context.”  I’m far from the only one to do it, and we’re not going anywhere.

Deal with it.

Wins Count No Matter When They Happen

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I am about to hit the bricks for the evening, but I have one thing to say to Red Sox fans and to a lesser extent Braves fans.  Actually, I could give a shit about Braves fans.  I guess I feel for Red Sox fans more, you know, the enemy of my enemy, etc.

Remember at the beginning of the season, the Mets got off to a very slow start with 5-13 record. Remember all that hullabaloo?  Around the same time, Fred Wilpon conducted an interview with the New Yorker and made a comment about how shitty the team was?

Around the same time, a team with much higher expectations, the Red Sox (who orchestrated a trade for Adrian Gonzalez and signed the most coveted Carl Crawford in the offseason) started with a 2-10 record.

Many of the common refrains we hear at those times include: Oh, it’s only April.  Oh, there’s plenty of baseball to be played.  Oh, we’ll get our act together.  Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.  I’m beginning to think it’s a rationalization of worse times to come.

The reality is, I think the Red Sox clearly understand the importance of winning games early on in the season.

I speak from experience.  Actually, my friend Steve Keane at Kranepool Society made a comment on Twitter about how it “will get better” for Red Sox fans.  Well, I think Mets fans can attest…it has NOT gotten any better, in fact, things have gotten progressively WORSE since the Mets ended the 2007 season 5-12 in the last 17 games (when they had a fucking SEVEN GAME LEAD at the time over the hated Phillies, who went 13-4 in that same stretch.  Assholes).  Anyway, I remember telling people, who thought I was crazy, that when the Mets weren’t winning critical games midseason, that they weren’t leaving a margin of error for the playoff run.  I guess at the time, they figured the playoffs were within reach and I was nuts for even venturing to think the Mets would collapse.  Well, they did and now we are on the verge of finishing our third consecutive fourth place finish.  Behind the Nationals.  THE NATIONALS!

The Red Sox probably wish they won some of the games they SHOULD have won now.  I spent a weekend in Boston early on in the season where they lost a game to the Seattle Mariners, and it was very close.  This was an example of a game they should have dominated.  They did not.  See my point?

People are making such a big deal about their epic collapse, specifically now that the Rays are playing the Yankees, and it seems like the Yankees are deliberately blowing the games so the Red Sox have to play much harder.  My philosophy is, it shouldn’t have even come to this.

In 2007, people point to the last game of the season that Tom Glavine started for the Mets, but the reality is there were plenty of games they SHOULD HAVE won but DID NOT before that.  Including that week.  The same goes for the Sox now.

I will always have these seasons in mind provided the Red Sox completely implode, or even if they don’t, it’s something to argue.  Wins count no matter when they occur.  Just something to bear in mind when your team with high expectations comes to a slow start.

Oh and for the record.  I don’t want to hear anything about 2007 ever again.  EVER.  If the Braves and the Red Sox don’t make the playoffs, nobody ever say BOO about it.  Kthxbye.

Accentuate The Positive

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Thanks to Senor Solly for the photo!

Two days after the so-called “Hatgate” occurred (in case you’ve been ignoring Twitter, Facebook or any other media since Sunday, the Mets were explicitly “not allowed” to wear any FDNY or NYPD caps to honor the first responders to the 9-11 disaster during the nationally televised game on Sunday night), people are still talking about it.  I’m a little flummoxed, to be quite honest.  I get why the majority of folks are upset.  It was a somber night, we were recognizing the families and loved ones of victims and heroes alike who were intimately touched by the tragedy.  MLB puts its foot down over something that seemed like a simple request, that should have maybe had a shred of decency or common courtesy attached to it.

After all, the Mets and Chicago Cubs, two teams with basically nothing to play for in the heat of several rivalries and pennant races that were infinitely more important, were chosen as the highlighted game because of New York City’s intimate touch with the reality of the 10th anniversary’s commemoration.

I thought MLB was being petty.  I thought, “Let the team wear the damn hats.”  There was even a hash tag that was kind of fun on Twitter going around, saying “#WearTheHats.”  I had maybe about two or three tweets relating to that.  I mean, it seemed like a simple enough request, right?  Josh Thole, the Mets player representative (why?), said that there would be heavy fines.  R.A. Dickey later said that the hats they wore during the pregame ceremonies were taken away.

Seems excessive, but two days later people are STILL harping about it, with MLB’s Undynamic Duo, Bud Selig and Joe Torre, pointing fingers and doing a cover-your-ass implementation for the fallout.

My question is…why are we still talking about it?  Why are we making such a big deal?  Yes, I get that MLB was a bunch of douchecanoes who wouldn’t allow the Mets to take a simple request.  My theory is at this point, there is a lot more to be pissed off about regarding MLB’s relationship with the Mets and MLB in general, than harping on a few people with anger issues towards MLB.

Let’s go down the list!

1) The fact that former car salesman, Bud Selig, is allowed to have any hold over MLB.  A former owner with conflict of interest issues?  Nah, say it aint so.

2) The fact that the same former car salesman allows the Wilpon/Katz consortium to have any holdings in Major League Baseball whatsoever.

3) The fact that St. Joseph of Torre thinks that the Mets were “too public” with their 9-11 charity work.  Oh wait, that was one of the guys he managed.  Never mind.

4) That not only this game was a 8:05 pm start (and didn’t start till 8:20) on the same night as a Jets/Cowboys Sunday Night Football game, a school night AND was supposed to be a 1:10 pm game initially, since it went into extra innings, people had to stay late or leave early, leaving barely 5,000 people in the stands.

4) Steve over at Kranepool Society raises a very good question about Josh Thole’s standing as Mets player representative.  As he suggests, someone as tenured as say, David Wright, who if he’s anything tries to play the diplomat but has never shown himself to be a leader, hasn’t stepped up is a source of concern (especially for someone marketed as “face of the franchise).  I can’t say I know a lot about how that whole representative things plays out or how it’s even chosen, but it is kinda sad that a guy who can be demoted to the minors at any time is the representative.  Just sayin.

In the meantime, let’s look at some of the more positive aspects of Sunday night’s telecast.

1) The Mets, if they’re anything, are charitable and have brought the term “Never forget” to the forefront.  They offered hundreds of free tickets to the families of first responders and victims of 9-11.

2) Hosting a Class A pregame ceremony for the audience, including members of Tuesday’s Children (a 9-11 charity that the Mets have been actively involved in) coming out with the players to hold the flags.

3) The continued honoring of first responders and veterans are always a touching tribute to the Mets.

4) As much as I knock them, the Mets put on a good ceremony.  Period.

5) Terry Collins saying that it’s time to move on.  It is indeed time to move and start winning some damn ballgames.

Look, if anything, MLB won’t fuck with the Mets anymore, or any New York team for that matter, and let them do what they damn well want to do as far as wearing the caps next year. Or perhaps the Mets will be more prepared, and wear a pin commemorating (like a Yellow Ribbon inspired, similar to the red AIDS pins or breast cancer pins worn at different events) next year.  Or a patch.  Or something else.  They weren’t expecting this kind of fall out so perhaps decency and common sense will prevail.

Seriously, though, let’s move on from this, and learn to accentuate the positives from the night and the reaction of the team.  There were many other things that happened that we can applaud, and just ignore MLB’s acts of buffoonery.