New York Mets

#BlameBuckner /sarcasm

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Today is the 25th anniversary of a gigantic moment in Mets history, and that’s the celebration of Game Six.

Whether you were alive, a child, a baby, an adult, not even born yet, chances are an elder has sat you down and either played the last inning of the game or has told them the story verbatim.  I like to say that Mets fans are into the history of the team like no other fan base…we celebrate it and love to analyze it more than any other I am aware of (Yankees don’t count since mostly it’s about them winning…we appreciate the losing years a little TOO much at times I feel).  I call Mets history “Mets porn.”  This game is just probably the biggest money shot of them all, with all the ghosts of miracles past coming into play and as one of my dad’s friend put it that night, “God put his hand over Shea Stadium tonight.”

I was at home, watching the game with my mom.  She fell asleep around the time Dave Henderson hit the go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning.  I was 10 years old.  My dad, as I alluded above, was at the game.  I know it sounds cliche to say this 25 years after the fact, but at 10 years old, sitting on my mom’s bed watching the game, I wasn’t aware that the Mets *could* lose, that they were allowed to.  I often say that in Dwight Gooden’s rookie year, he lost nine games, and I swear I witnessed four of them live.  I knew the Mets could lose or had the capacity to, but I also didn’t think they would lose THIS game.

This isn’t going to be a retrospective of “What did I do during Game 6,” though Mark Simon from ESPN Mets Blog does that for me today.  It’s how history has rewritten Game Six as a Red Sox loss rather than a Mets win.  Sure, today we have a bunch of warm fuzzies discussing the event in most Mets forums today (after all, it’s much better to look at the past today than the present or at least the very near future), but for the most part if you look at how Game Six is in the lexicon of baseball fans, it’s how the Red Sox, Cursed Team of the North, were one strike away on several different occasions from tying up the win AND the series, but did not.  It’s never been about how the Mets were going on sheet guts and guile to win the game in a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

I’ve also felt bad for Bill Buckner for several years.  Just like how history rewrote the game as a Red Sox loss and not a Mets win, Buckner has gotten his share of the blame for the last play of the game.  Even the documentary Catching Hell discussed how the Red Sox media and fans treated Buckner afterwards.  Certainly, I can understand the power of the scapegoat…I am a Mets fan who has had to deal with the nuclear fallout of Carlos Beltran taking strike three in 2006.

Yet, being an amateur Mets historian as I like to think of myself, it amazes me just how many people think that the Mets actually WON the World Series in that game.  If it was…why was the loss and subsequent comeback so dramatic?  They still have Game 7 to play.  The Red Sox STILL blew a 3-run lead that game.

Buckner misplayed the “little roller along first,” but in order for the Mets to win, they had to have tied it at that point, right?  Furthermore, the dynamic changer of that inning was not the bunch of singles that got the Mets’ juices flowing, but it was Bob Stanley’s wild pitch. I’ve often said that no one was happier about Buckner letting the ball go through his legs than Stanley, who had allowed a run to score from third on the play.

Yes, even the good times in Mets lore have been marred by backhanded compliments, and ways to discredit their victory.  The biggest discredit of them all is blaming Buckner.  I’d like to hope that people don’t blame him or look at the bigger picture.  I know that five years after the fact, people still blame Beltran for all the Mets woes to this day (I, personally, blame Duaner Sanchez for getting hungry on July 30, 2006, in Miami).  Did you know, as a “for instance,” that then-Red Sox manager John McNamara usually replaced Buckner defensively in later innings but opted to keep him in the game so he could “celebrate?”  Where’s the ire towards him for putting the proverbial cart before the horse?

Today is a significant day in Mets culture.  There is no question about it.  However, I hope it doesn’t take another 25 years before people see the bigger picture of what really happened here…and that the Mets earned this victory by sheer determination, hard work and grit: something really lacking in today’s game.

Which Way Do We Go, George?

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People who know me as a Mets fan know that I live, breathe and eat (sleep too, since they can show up in my dreams) all things Mets.  So when they ask me “what would YOU do this off-season in regards to…fill-in-the-blank?” (Mostly concerning Jose Reyes, but also how to improve the team)…I really have no clue how to respond.

The past season wasn’t just one thing that stood out to me.  The Mets ranked number six in the National League in runs scored, so scoring runs wasn’t a problem…yet, they didn’t have a 100+ RBI guy at all (and the guy who led the entire team in 2011 was no longer on the team as of the end of July).  Plus, even with the scoring run potential, that didn’t mean much since it wasn’t enough to win.  This suggests to me that what needs the most revamping is the pitching, from top to bottom.  There just needs to be a douching of the entire staff.

First things first, I want to address the “Jose Reyes Factor.”  I love Jose Reyes, I’d like nothing more than for him to be a Met for life.  If you had asked me at the beginning of last season what I thought should be job one, I would not have blinked when I said, “We need to keep Jose Reyes.”  Being a big market team is one thing: being a shithead with your payroll and tying it to one player is another.  Not to mention, other ownership outliers, which Mike Silva from NY Baseball Digest addresses.

This post isn’t about Jose Reyes though.  It goes into where the crux of the Mets problems has been for the past five years essentially.  Pitching hasn’t been horrible, but hasn’t been fantastic or show-stopping either.  I love R.A. Dickey, but when he’s your ace, this is a problem.  Please, spare me the whole “Well, when Johan Santana comes back…”  That is Omar Minaya-esque rationalization, and we have no idea what he’ll be like when he returns from several injury-ridden seasons, and one season where he was out for its entirety.

It’s time to see where Sandy Alderson views as pros, cons, strengths and weaknesses of this team.  I had a conversation with Metstradamus a few days ago about how he could have bettered the team going into 2011, like trading Angel Pagan and/or Mike Pelfrey when they were at their highest value.  Now they have about as much value as dog poop under a shoe.  The point is, in 2011, Alderson was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t…do anything, that is.  If he traded Pelfrey, we would have screamed as he had a better in St. Louis or someplace like that.  People would have “never rooted for the team again” if Angel Pagan their darling who clearly peaked in 2010, was gone.  Of course, I am exaggerating but this was something that clearly could have been something positive for the Mets if Alderson had gone the proactive root.

Don’t misunderstand me: I am happy Alderson is on our side.  Yet, with Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo and Carlos Beltran officially off the books, this is now HIS team to run with and improve.  If Silva is correct and the money thing is more of a deterrent than we know (I happen to believe Wilpons are holding onto the team for selfish reasons, but don’t believe it will preclude from them spending money this offseason if need be…Selig, warts and all, would never let a large market team go under on his watch), we may not have Reyes, but there are other places I think that need improvement that probably don’t need millions of dollars to revamp or just for the sake of spending.

My philosophy now is with the official release of the dimensions changing, this is the time to address a big gaping hole in the Mets organization in the last few years and that’s pitching.  Getting good starters is one thing, but if you look at the playoff teams this year, they ALL have deep and very strong bullpens.  Where have the Mets lost a lot of games these past few years?  In back innings.  There were two games against the Milwaukee Brewers in the summer where they have late inning leads, just to see them blown by an inconsistent jumpy bullpen.  Since we’re on the topic too, why the Hell wasn’t Dan Warthen let go in the coaching shake up this year??  That’s mind blowing.  You see the Cardinals, you see Rangers, they have Dave Duncan and Mike Maddux, respectively, as their pitching coaches.  We have Warthen.  We suck in the pitching department.  Bring back Peterson or get better pitchers, goddammit.

So which way do we go?  Barring any catastrophe with Reyes, I will not jump ship, but if pitching is not seriously addressed to go with the new dimensions of the stadium and for a stronger ‘pen, I will go ape.

This One Is For Uncle Johnny

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I discovered the wide world of Mets bloggers and blogging in 2004.  After that season ended, I needed an outlet, a community to share grievances and to laugh and to be with fans like me.  I started my own personal blog in 2007, when I was done with school and I wanted to expand my network of Mets friends and family, even calling my blog My Summer Family.

Shortly after starting the site, I was approached by a new forum with original content and rotating writers in the Mets blogosphere called Flushing University.  I met a bunch of lovely folks in there, most of them came from the Mets.com forums (I was always blocked during business hours from those sites though), and started their own site.  It was fun, quirky.  With a name like F.U., there was a double-entendre, but also gave us a chance to “lecture.”  But the lectures were fun.  I called out the Mets on their lack of love for Bill Shea in their CitiField schematics, talked about how moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles was the right move, among others.

The year 2007 was really the year of the blogger, as our networks expanded and there were a bunch of cool niche sites out there, especially regarding the Mets.  It truly was a special time to be a blogger then.

And that was where I met Johnny Lowe.

There was Mike, and Deb, and Gary G, and Dingo (whom I called Dingbat, all in affectionate terms), and there was Johnny.  At the time, there was a song by The Killers called “Uncle Jonny,” and in our email exchanges I called him, “Uncle Johnny” or “Uncle J.”  We were bonded by our love for the Mets.  We also had some other things in common, like our political and social beliefs, and even music.  I usually don’t preclude anyone who doesn’t share my political or social beliefs from being a good person, but that of course just gave him favorable points in my eyes.

He disliked living in Florida, which kept him away from seeing the Mets, but he loved his family, wife Stacey and their son Asher.

I could poke fun at him.  There was one instance when A-Rod opted out of his contract during the 2007 World Series, and he thought the Mets should go after him.  I disagreed.  He told me that A-Rod won a Gold Glove, which made him a good defensive player…I told him that I called him “E-Rod,” that only the Yankees would put someone at 3B who was the best SS in the league, and that Gold Gloves meant nothing since Bobby Abreu once won one.  He said Bobby Abreu was a fine caliber outfielder who deserved it.

My response was to use an emoticon that showed a smiley face being pulled up to the spaceship.  I told him to “Say ‘HI’ to Elvis for me!”

It was all in good fun.  Johnny was one of those guys who always had a great attitude, even if you disagreed with him.

Today, Johnny Lowe passed away from a bout of pancreatic cancer.

As with his attitude, he kept a positive outlook, wanted to be remembered positively, and not remembered as being “sick.”  I found out on Facebook, today, and even thought that I hadn’t heard from “Uncle J” in awhile, and I hoped that he was okay.  Mets friends have lost a few good ones this year, with Dana Brand and our friend and brother Adam Baker.  Uncle Johnny Lowe is another one of those guys.  His wife even posted that all he wanted was a party to celebrate his life, and not a solemn memorial service.  There will be a celebration of his life, and I wish I could be there, alas it is in Florida.  I guess it’s fitting, as Johnny was one of those folks I never met in person, but had an impact on me in the cyberworld.

I’d like to think that if there is an afterlife, that he’s jamming with Jerry Garcia with a continuous loop of 1969 and 1986 Mets championships playing in the background. In this lifetime, though, our friend Mack Ade has set up a college fund contribution for Asher Lowe, please see details of it at Mack’s blog.

This one is for Uncle Johnny.  I will never forget you, my friend.

My Second Language

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I am a born storyteller.  I don’t just like talking about stuff that’s happened to me, but I have a photographic memory (sometimes anyway) and if you tell me something that is not prefaced by “You cannot tell a single SOUL about what I am going to tell you,” then consider me a proxy for repeating your information.

Baseball is a language that has shaped my narrative of a lot of these stories.  In fact, that’s me to the left, speaking at an event hosted by Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing and Jon Springer of Mets by the Numbers called “Amazin’ Tuesdays,” where the baseball literati congregated once a month and we did some readings from our respective blogs or books (sometimes both…in my case, just my blog, My Summer Family).  I have been a lifelong Mets fan, but my stories are baseball-wide.  I’m a little pitcher with large ears (no pun intended, with that “pitcher” thing), and I’ve borne witness to many funny stories over the years just by observing not only what’s going on with the field, but in the stands as well.

That very night at the gathering, I spoke of how I would yell, “Just Forfeit!” when an undesirable pitcher would come in for middle relief with a six run lead (shows you how much faith I’d have in whoever that was).  This was borrowed from a gentleman I sat next to in Baltimore in 1998.  The Orioles were playing the Seattle Mariners, and the game went into extra innings.  Former Met Jesse Orosco came into a tied game, and I believe there were men on base.  But when the dude in back of me started yelling, “Just forfeit! Just forfeit!” while throwing his hands in the air in futility, I knew I had to take that line as my own.  (PS The Orioles actually won that game)

I also told the story of how my friends whom I called the “Woodside Crew” (Frank, Tommy and Kim) would be done with the Mets in 2002, in their own exercise in futility, and in the 6th inning, Frank would stand up, and say, “Fuck these guys, I’m goin’ to Donovan’s.  Who’s comin’?”  Donovan’s is a famous pub in Woodside, right off the 7 line and the LIRR of the same stop, with a great burger.  My team can drive me to drink sometimes.  Donovan’s was a great watering hole.

The guy behind me in Mezzanine 22, Richie, would say things like “Hey, it’s the bottom of the 5th, we’re down 6-0.  WE GOT ‘EM RIGHT WHERE WE WANT ‘EM.”  Not even a hint of irony in his voice.  Meanwhile, my dad and I will STILL call or text each other at times during games where similar situations have occurred.  Ten years or so later, it’s still as funny as it once was.

This site is new.  I had my own blog for four years, and I write for several other Mets blogs still, trying to craft my voice and how I wanted to tell my stories.  However, it’s tough to share my experiences with different focal points who want to flog a certain player or just want to disagree with how the team is being operated.  I started doing podcasts because I wanted to get my sense of humor back.  I had lost the reason WHY I followed these teams, why I root for them and why I am a fan.  Sometimes, you need to laugh, and get back to our roots as to why we enjoy it.  It hasn’t been easy for us in the last few years.

Then I thought, wait a minute.  I also like to talk about hockey and football.  Baseball is my first language, so I may have a few broken sayings here and there as I write about hockey and football.  Especially football.  I have a feeling though, there’s going to be a lot of passion driving that narrative this year.

This is why I have started a new site, after staunch refusals and saying “NEVER. AGAIN.”  I have many stories to share, and I hope you enjoy reading/listening to them as much as I like telling them.

Introduction

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I’ve spent the better part of a year figuring out what next steps to take since I shut down my signature site, My Summer Family, my passionate narrative from a Mets season ticket holder point of view.

Things got to be too much…plus I wanted to do some side projects such as writing for Metsmerized Online, Daily Stache and Kiners Korner (and the podcast Kult of Mets Personalities)…but I never gave up the idea of having my own site again.  This time, more content, more fun stuff, and stopping taking myself so seriously.

Those of you know who know me as a Mets fan…welcome back!  But just to be clear, this offshoot of My Summer Family is now going to include my fan viewpoint of the New York Jets and the New York Rangers. I have a feeling I won’t be at a loss for content this year, for sure.

I attend several games per year for those sports…why not write about them?

I’m getting back to my roots here.  So please be patient as I figure things out on WordPress, and as I take my next direction in the creative side of being a fan.