Hi Everyone:
So this was a fun week. Wednesday afternoon I went over to Roosevelt Middle School to watch Tim run.
Last season Tim mostly ran sprints but this year the coach has him doing more distance running. His two races were the 800 meters and the 1500.
Two races. Two wins!
In both races he had a real nice finishing kick. Enough in the tank to finish strong. And for me, a proud papa moment.
That was the most exciting sports moment for me this week.
Here now was the second.....
APRIL 29, 2022
OCEANSIDE TRAIN STATION 5:24PM- WE've got this down to a science now, Timmy and I. We get the 5:24 out of Oceanside, change at Jamaica, one stop to what will always be my home subway station, 61 Street Woodside, up the stairs to the 7 at 5:58, arrive at Citi Field approximately 6:15 or so.. But on the train tonight there are two sets of jerseys. A bunch of people like us wearing Mets jerseys, and a bunch of other people in Rangers blue. The Rangers are wrapping up the regular season tonight against the Washington Capitals. It will be nice and warm in Madison Square Garden, could be a bit chilly in Flushing tonight.
TOM SEAVER STATUE 6:17 PM- Gotta stop and pay homage to the Franchise. The statue is pretty much right there as you come down the steps of the 7 train. We stopped and took a few pictures. I was impressed by it on TV, so needless to say it's amazing in person. The classic drop and drive delivery.
JACKIE ROBINSON ROTUNDA 6:22 PM- Fresh off his two impressive wins in the 800m and 1500m the other day (see above) Tim decides to take the steps up the rotunda. Lazy a$$ that I am, I opt for the escalator. As I'm approaching the escalator, I see a guy selling programs and yearbooks. Maybe I'll get a program and keep score, I haven't done that in years. Then I'm thinking that money could be better put to use on food. Besides why the hell would I want to keep score for a meaningless game in April?
SECTION 421 CITI FIELD 6:35 PM- Found our seats, now it's time for our first food run. Tim gets a burger and fries and I go for the Italian Sausage and Pepper. I also get two pretzels for the third inning. There are no lines now and we get our stuff right away. By the third inning there probably will be lines. Want to avoid those as much a possible. With the way my guy puts food away these days, another food run will be unavoidable.
CITIFIELD- 6:45 PM- Not sure they do this every night, but tonight to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, the Mets have an 11 year old from P.S. 89 come out and sing the Ukrainian National Anthem. This is impressive on multiple levels, not the least of which are 1) he is singing to a crowd of about 12,000 in a 42,000 seat stadium, 2) his voice is much more mature then any 11 year old I ever met and 3) the Ukrainian National Anthem is only slightly shorter than In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
The second grade from another school sings The Star Spangled Banner. Adorable.
TOP OF THE FIRST INNING- Tylor Megill is starting for us tonight. With Jacob deGrom out with yet another arm injury, and new Met Max Scherzer having injury concerns of his own. Megill was our opening night starter and pitched brilliantly. He enters this game 3-0 with a 2.34 ERA. Last time he faced the Phillies was 10 days ago and he pitched 5 scoreless innings. Might hey have him figured out? Not so far, a 1-2-3 inning.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST INNING- Aaron Nola is the starting pitcher tonight for the Phillies...
FLASHBACK-June 25, 2021-Simsbury CT...
I'm visiting some of Tara's family in Northern Connecticut, just outside of Hartford. While at dinner, I pull my phone out and I see someone posted on FB "Thank you Pete Alonso for salvaging Tom Seaver's record.." Tom Seaver for 51 years was the one and only pitcher to strike out 10 batters in a row, Until this night, when Aaron Nola struck out 10 consecutive Mets, meaning our boys are both the beneficiaries and victims of the same record. Only a Pete Alonso flyout keeps Nola from having the record himself.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Nola may once again strike out that many in a row, but no so far. Brandon Nimmo leads off with a single only to have the next hitter Sterling Marte hit into a double play. Francisco Lindor hits a pop up that looks like it might be caught, but with the swirling winds tonight in Flushing, it's hard to pick up and the ball falls in for another hit. Alonso strikes out to end the inning.
TOP OF THE SECOND- Megill strikes Nick Castellanos out, then gets catcher JT Realmuto to fly out to LF. He walks Kyle Schwarber, (which I will temporarily forget about) then I'm afraid he gives up his first hit as Alec Bohm hits a line drive to left center, but Nimmo is able to race over and make the catch.
TOP OF THE THIRD- After the Mets go down 1-2-3 in the second, I tell Tim to have his pretzel now. The lines are still fairly short, so I can go on another food run soon. As for the Phillies, they go down again 1-2-3, the last out being another real nice catch by Nimmo.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD- I decide to make the food run now, because I'm having more fun watching the Mets pitch and play defense then I am watching them try to hit and run the bases. Standing in line getting Timmy his nachos and Gatorade, the Mets go down again in order, with two strikeouts. I also decide to make a run to the Men's room on the way to the concession stand. I don't think to much of it at the time
TOP OF THE FOURTH-I get back to my seat just in time to see the Phillies 2nd batter Rhys Hoskins leading off. Now I was pretty sure that Megill had faced the minimum of batters, so I take my phone out to see and sure enough, there was the walk to Schwarber I had forgotten about. See? Who needs a scorecard when you have instant access to a live boxscore? Phillies go down in order.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH-Marte, Lindor, Alonso go down in order. What we have here my friends, is what us old timers refer to as a pitchers duel. Theoretically, the game should be going much faster since offense seems to be at a premium. Plus the clock out in right field says Temp 60 and Winds 19 MPH. Feels a bit colder, but I'll hold off on putting my jacket on.
TOP OF THE FIFTH-With one out, Schwarber walks again, then steals second. With two outs ex Yankee Didi Gregorious comes up. I have a ton of respect for Didi, he came to NY in an almost impossible situation..as a replacement for retired Yankee Legend Derek Jeter. After a rough first month, in which us patient New Yorkers were totally understanding (har har har), he did himself and the team proud. He was a solid Yankee. he's not doing me any favors here as he walks, giving the Phillies two base runners. But thankfully Obduell Herrera strikes out on three pitches, nullifying the threat.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH-Finally some action! Eduardo Escobar leads off with a single. Robinson Cano strikes out, which leads to a cascade of boos from the crowd. It's like I always say.. "If you're going to make that kind of money AND do steroids, you gotta produce." Hard to feel sorry for him. Mark Canha hits a double giving us runners at 2nd and 3rd. Both Escobar and Canha were free agent signings around Thanksgiving as was Marte. I'm very happy with all three of them, though Marte pisses me off sometimes. (More on him shortly.) Next batter up is Jeff McNeil. And the Squirrel comes through with a two run single. Now the place is rocking. That's all we get, but we're on the board baby!
TOP OF THE SIXTH- Notice a couple things as the 6th inning starts. Number one, that doesn't look like Megill out on the mound. It's not, Buck Showalter decides to bring in Drew Smith to replace Megill. I have to do another check of the scoreboard to make sure I'm seeing right. I also realize I could do with a trip to the Men's room, but because of the first thing I noticed on the scoreboard, this second thing is for now, out of the question.
FLASHBACK: April 26, 2002- Shea Stadium
I went to this game with a buddy of mine. Shawn Estes was pitching for the Mets. In a few weeks he would end up in Mets lore for lollipopping a beanball at Roger Clemens, in retaliation for what happened between the Rocket and Mike Piazza in 2000. The pitch was about 70 MPH and nowhere near Clemens big fat head, but we all appreciated the effort.
On this night though, Estes is breezing. I mean really breezing. And in the top of the 7th my pal shouts in excitement.. "Hey Bill! Estes is pitching a no-
SHHHHHH!
But it was too late. The Brewers led off with a single.
In my pal's defense, the very next day, I went to the game with Wild Bill Sr., and wouldn't you know, Met pitcher Pedro Astacio did almost exactly the same thing, the Brew Crew getting a single with one out in the 7th, one third of an inning longer than Estes. My Dad is the one who taught me all this crazy superstitious stuff, so you know we didn't say a word. Just goes to show you maybe this is all a bunch of crap.
But I'm not taking any chances.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Smith has been lights out this year, and that continues here, as he strikes out Jean Segua and Rhys Hoskins. Bryce Harper is next. They do a whole lot of stupid $h-t here to keep you occupied between innings (since most folks aren't updating their scorecards) and one of the things they did earlier was a Draft Kings come-on where they asked you to guess the over-under on how many times Bryce Harper was going to get booed tonight. The set the over-under at 2.5. Well, being that he's booed every time his name is mentioned. And the only way he wasn't going to get booed was if he was carted off the field on a stretcher, even a dunce like me would bet the whole enchilada on the over. Lo and behold, he gets up in the 6th and gets booed again (go figure). Someone actually won a 25 gift card for guessing that right. SMH! Harper walks (more boos) but Castellanos strikes out.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH- Tara calls. She tells me she's heading to bed and tells us to enjoy the rest of the game. She also tells me to make sure Timmy is staying warm. Part of me wants to tell her that "We go to battle in the armour that we have, not the armour that we need. You don't stay married 16.5 years saying things like that.
I will hun. Have a good night. (Follow me for more marriage tips)
My jacket is hanging on the back of my seat, where it has been since the Ukrainian National Anthem
Starling Marte was the third guy the Mets signed on their Thanksgiving spending spree. He's been pretty good too, but someone needs to go over baserunning 101 with him. A couple weeks ago, with the Mets down 5-0, Marte singled in a run, but proceeded to get caught stealing for the third out. Lindor, who was red hot at the time, was at the plate. That was a rally killer. Now here he gets nailed again trying to steal after a leadoff hit. It's not necessarily a bad play, and it was close enough that Showalter challenged the call. (a delay my rapidly filling bladder didn't need) But after the ruling was upheld and Pete Alonso smacked a no doubt about it dinger over what Howie Rose calls the Great Wall of Flushing, I thought we could probably have used that 4th run. Oh well.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH- Smith strikes out Realmuto, and then Buck brings in Joely Rodriguez. (Maybe I'll run to the can while he warms up..no No NO!). Rodriguez was picked up in a rare trade with the Yankees, and I could hear some of you Yankee fans snickering as Rodriguez walks Schwarber (Schwarber's third walk in 3 trips to the plate). But when he gets Bohm to ground into an inning ending double play, I'm thinking what a great pickup he was!
7TH INNING STRETCH- Standing up and singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Lou Monte's classic Lazy Mary helps me to forget that I have to pee like a racehorse.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH-Cano leads off with a hit, but gets caught trying to stretch it into a double. Even when he does something good, he screws it up. The Squirrel gets another hit, but is stranded at first.
Timmy has been a trooper tonight. He's asked if we can go to the Jim Beam Club* and if he can get some Ice Cream. "It's a bit cold for Ice Cream" was my answer to that question, though I offered him my debit card and told him he could go and I'd watch him (he declined). He also asked if we could see if our friend's the DeAngelos were at the game. Last year, we had gone to Catholic Health night at Citi Field. (Mercy is part of Catholic Health) After watching the first few innings with the Bishop and some nuns, I saw that my St. Mary's classmate Keri DeAngelo posted a picture from her seat, I texted her and asked where she was sitting, and she wrote back where and that there were seats available. So Tim and I headed over. I seem to recall that Tim and Keri's daughter Ella spent most of the time bickering, which stands to reason since 35 years earlier that's what his father and her mother used to do, but he was asking, "Can we see if Ella's here" Keri knows the same thing I know...In this situation, you stay right the f-ck where you are. (Her words, not mine)
If I had known we'd be in this situation, I would have discussed this with Timmy over his burger. For now, I keep saying to him, "Let's just see what the Phillies do here, buddy."
Sometimes I wonder why he hasn't turned me over to the authorities.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH- Didi grounds out, but then Rodriguez walks the pinch hitter for Herrera. This leads to another pitching change and more reminding that I really need to hit the head. Maybe we should go to the Jim Beam Club, we could stop at the loo on the way, then warm up while he eats a hot fudge sundae.
Focus, focus.
Seth Lugo is in the game now. He was a bit shaky in the beginning of the season, but has been better of late. Tonight, he gets Segura to pop out to Lindor and Hoskins to pop out to Alonso right in front of the plate.
Breathe, breathe..
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH- One of the features of these new ballparks is that they blast the home team's broadcast from all the concession stands. Our seats are not too far away from one food counter, so we could hear Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, though not very clearly from our seats. But the little that I've heard in bits and pieces are Johann Santana, 10 years ago, combined... and I realize that blabbermouth Cohen is talking about what I've been trying not to talk about. Are you kidding me? I'm risking a UTI and this guy is running his mouth?
My Mom's cousin, the late great Tom Finn, once told my Dad and I that he blamed Bob Murphy for costing Tom Seaver his shot at immortality on July 9th, 1969. He said Murphy said something to the effect that Seaver was familiar with everyone in the Cubs line-up except the 24 year old part time outfielder named Jimmy Qualls. You can figure the rest out for yourself.
Earlier, Tim asked where the TV announcers sit, and I pointed out where the SNY booth was. "Maybe we can go down and say Hi" he said. If Cohen keeps yapping about this, we will go pay him a visit.
Marte almost got picked off 2nd, but the throw was off, so he ended up at third. Alonso and Escobar strike out, leaving him stranded.
As the aforementioned Murphy used to say "Fasten Your Seatbelts...."
TOP OF THE NINTH- Tim's favorite Met is Pete Alonso. That doesn't make him unique amongst young Met fans. But his second favorite is probably Edwin Diaz. It's not so much Diaz he likes, as it Diaz entrance music.
It's called Narco by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet. And it really does give you the sensation that you are in Mallorca, Spain about to witness a bullfight.
Diaz is an enigma. He came to the Mets in a trade with Seattle that gave us the other gift that keeps on giving, Robinson Cano. Diaz is either outstanding or awful. Sometimes he's outstanding and awful in the same appearance. If he's lights out tonight, he may not have to pay for dinner in NY for a long time. If he blows it, they may run him out of Flushing.
First Batter-Bryce Harper who gets a standing ovation (NOT!). Diaz strikes him out on 5 pitches.
Second Batter- Nick Castellanos- Diaz strikes him out on 5 pitches.
And then, calm.
I don't know what came over me, but I was confident it was going to be all right. I know one pitch could blow everything. I also knew that the batter, JT Realmuto had every reason in the world to want to belt one out of the park. He was a free agent when Steve Cohen bought the team, and he made it clear, even though Cohen could offer him unlimited $$$, that he wanted nothing to do with NY.
But the first pitch Diaz threw to JT Realmuto really made me calm down. Realmuto swung at that pitch like he too had to take a leak, same thing with the second pitch, like he just wanted to get back to the hotel and get some shut-eye.
The place was rocking. Since nobody besides Gary Cohen was talking about it, I wasn't sure if everybody knew, but now I was certain everyone did. I was also certain it was going to happen.
And then...........IT DID!!!!
I couldn't believe it. This is my 40th year watching baseball consistently. I've never even seen a no-hitter on TV, and now I was here seeing one live. I had Timmy stand so I could get some pictures of the celebration, in case no one believed me.
then I made my very first FB Live Video.
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