In their infinite wisdom, the Mets ticket office scheduled two games for the 7-Pack within 4 days of each other.  Our two pitchers were the struggling Mike Pelfrey and the resurgent Claudio Vargas.  I’m convinced that the Mets ticket office has a formula that figures out when the crappy pitchers are pitching considering some of the matchups we’ve seen. 

 

The first game was on Memorial Day.  This means that J-Nic and I, after standing at attention and marching in parades in 80+ degree weather wearing dark blue uniforms from 8 AM to 3 PM, had to then endure a Mike Pelfrey start.  Wonderful.  I’m not gonna even comment any further.  Let’s just get right to the game.  By the way, this is gonna be a double dip entry including both games.

 

1)      I actually packed two pencils being that I no longer buy programs before the game.  I brought a sharpened #2 pencil and one of the hundreds of Mets ones that they give you with the program.  One problem, the #2 broke en route and I couldn’t find the Mets one.  Luckily, Laura saved the day with a purple Sharpie.  Hence the purple text.  (You’re gonna hate me for this.)

2)      Here’s today’s homerun game: Big Bruce and C-Ron had Reyes, Laura and Rich in the Father-Daughter connection took Castillo, Tara took D-Wright, X-factor and I had Beltran, Kerri, sorely missing Shawn Green, had Delgado along with J-Nic, Mike and Danny Wo took the rookie Nick Evans and J Vowels had Endy.

3)      The pencil was in my hat.  (When Laura saw this, I really thought she was going to fall out of her chair.)

4)      Reyes boots a two out grounder, followed by a double and a single and it’s 2-0 Marlins.  (I ERUPTED on those booing Jose.)

5)      Reyes gets one back with a leadoff homerun.  (That’s why we don’t boo Jose Reyes, people.  Get it now?)

6)      They forgot to add “and he sucked” to the end of Jacques Jones’ fact about playing for the Tigers this year.  (What a mess this guy has become.)

7)      Jose just hit his second HR in two innings.  Big Bruce and C-Ron are enjoying themselves.  (I booed.  Just because I thought that’s what we were supposed to do with Jose Reyes.  Bandwagoners!)

8)      Jorge Cantu comes up to the guys behind us yelling “CANNOT!”  “CANTU!!  (Okay, just stop.  First, he’s not on our team.  Funny, but stop.)

9)      I wrote down that they can’t even get the dedication to Memorial Day right.  I believe this had to do with the fact that they played “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood, then cut it off early and moved onto something else.  At this point, they could have put some of the many servicemen and women up on the big screen, who would have received a rousing ovation.  Nope.  Not here.  Don’t want to get too patriotic or too political.  Can’t offend anybody…(Okay, I’m stopping right here before I become an Angry American)

10)  Oh yeah, now it’s coming back to me, as my next note says “God forbid we say ‘God’”  They probably cut it off just before Lee says, “God bless the USA!”  (If this is the case, someone needs to be fired.)

11)  Suggestion from Big Bruce:  We should hold an over/under for Pelfrey’s pitch count through 5.  I’m gonna set it for next game at 92.5.  (Any takers?)

12)  Okay, they made up some points with a nice recorded message from a soldier in Iraq to his parents who were in attendance.  (Here comes the emotional ovation.  I’m getting chills just thinking about it.  This should be happening at EVERY  game.)

13)  At this point I went to pee and X-factor took over the notes.  (This should be good.)

14)  Danny Woe’s new favorite player is Nick Evans just for his at bat music:  The Chicago Bulls entrance music, circa 1994.  I can’t even remember the name of the song.  I stink.  (“He’s the only one taking his AB’s seriously!”~Danny Woe)

15)  According to X’s notes, C-Ron forgot to bring the chips, big time f-ck up!!   (By the way, they’ll be married in July.  Feel the love?)

16)  Mike is boycotting #48’s appearance as he did the last game last year.  That didn’t work out so well last time.

17)  Another point from X:  “What the f@%k is Spongetech??”  (This has really bothered him since Day 1)

18)  Apparently Big Bruce and Rich were on the Kiss Cam.  (I have nothing to add there)

19)  X asks why David Wright is a spokesperson for Cocoa Butter??  (I got this one.  Because he has soft hands!)

20)  Danny Woe would like to go on record saying that trading #48 would be a mistake.

21)  Mike was going to walk away, but they played “America” by Neil Diamond.  He’s sticking around for this one.  (You can always count on Neil to get Mike fired up.)

22)  Here comes a story that I will remember for the rest of my life.  After J-Nic had picked up his french fries from the Grand Central Grille, I decided I wanted peanuts and a beer from the stand right next to it.  This minute or two spent helped change my baseball fan life forever because after purchasing the beer and peanuts, we started walking back and that’s when it happened.  I felt a sudden rush come up from the crowd to our left.  I heard “HEADS UP!” and saw J-Nic make a move comparable to Spiderman to avoid a flying object bearing down on his head.  That flying object was a foul ball off the bat of David Wright.  The ball bounced in between us, off the beam to my right, up over my head and hitting the ground to my left.  I, in smooth motion, tucked the peanuts under my left arm, holding the beer in my left hand, spun to my left, swung my right arm around and scooped up the bouncing ball as fans are rushing towards that spot.  I made a complete about face and began walking away with my freshly hit foul ball in my hand.  I’ve accomplished the feat that had eluded me twice as a child.  Now, not only had I vindicated myself, but my brother as well for missing a foul ball because he had a helmet cup of ice cream in his hands.  (My baseball fan life is ALMOST complete.)

23)  In a nice way to commemorate one of the most memorable moments of my sports life, I had everyone on the plan present sign the ball. 

24)  X-factor’s final note:  Rick purchased a souvenir ball and lied to us that he caught it.  (Thanks buddy.)

25)  X pointed out to me a dude wearing a Diamondbacks B.K. Kim jersey.  (He HAD to have lost a bet.  That’s the only explanation.)

26)  No, Mike, I will NOT write what you said about #48 and a hitchhiker.

27)  They finally gave us a “God Bless America” during the 7th inning stretch.  (This should happen during EVERY game.  J-Nic agrees and adds that in New York especially, they should have someone sing both the National Anthem and “God Bless America” live during every game.  I agree.  I’ll even let them dip into the time used for the “Second stanza” of “Lazy Mary” if it means we get a little more patriotic.  This rendition was nasty by the way.   It was a woman in the Marines who just belted it out.)

28)  I just found out that Jeremi Gonzalez died today.  He was struck by lightning.  Yes, that Jeremi Gonzalez.  The one who started for the Mets against the Yankees two years ago.  (Rest in Peace, Jeremi.  I hope I wasn’t too harsh on him in my review of that game: http://viewfromthegreenseats.metsblog.com/blog/_archives/2006/6/19/2041447.html )

29)  I’m really tired of opposing fans coming to Shea and causing a ruckus.  I’ve had enough.  The dude wearing the Hanley Ramirez jersey never saw me coming.  I will go to baseball trivia war with anyone about any team.  This is a great tool for this situation:

      Me:  Hey Ramirez, you’re a real Marlins fan?

      Idiot: Yeah.

      Me:  Then tell me, who managed the Marlins to their first World Series.

      Idiot:  That guy.  What’s his name.  Umm, he manages the Tigers.

      Me:  What’s his name?

      Idiot:  I don’t know.

      Me:  It’s Jim Leyland, you’re a real Marlins fan.  One more.  Who got fired during their second World Series run?

      Idiot:  I dunno (looking dejected.)

      Me:  It was Jeff Torborg.  Yeah, you’re a real Marlins fan.  Sit there and shut up.

      Mike:  Wow, that guy just got owned.

     

      (I have no patience for these people.  The best part was later when one of his buddies asked who manages the Marlins now and without a hitch, I answered, “Freddy Gonzalez, but your buddy should know that.”  His response was, “Yeah, he thought it was Ricky Gonzalez.”  Learn the game, pal.)

30)  By the way, the Mets are down 7-3.

31)  It’s gotta bad enough that Laura, Rich, Mike, Tara and Bruce have all left.  (Shameful)

32)  Danny Woe, X, J Vowelz and myself refused to give up, going so far as making up our own versions of the Japanese chants in “The Zen of Bobby V.”  This included singing Endy Chavez’s name to the melody of “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

33)  The girls behind us were fired up too.  They’re on the 7-Pack and will be there Thursday.

34)  People are looking at me funny, “At least I got behind my team!” They all agreed. 

 

 

Thank God the misery ended.  Not a good game for the Mets or their fans.  But have no fear, we’ll be back in 3 days, and we’ll be even louder!

 

 

Okay, no more purple font.  Thursday did not start off well.  On my way home from work, I decided to take Route 46 instead of I-80.  I got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Meanwhile, J-Nic said that there was a call in town that could potentially have been a fire, meaning we may have a fire to fight.  Fortunately, there was no fire.  Unfortunately, I was rear-ended on the highway.  The first call was to Little D to let her know I was okay.  The second call was to J-Nic to tell him I was going to be late.  The third was to 911.  Luckily, neither me, nor the woman who hit me was hurt.  My truck is ok, some scratches on the bumper, but her car is messed up.  I’m never buying a car again.  Kudos to the Totowa Police Department for their quick response and handling of the situation.  Not 20 minutes after impact were we on our way. 

 

It would get worse from a traffic perspective.  The reason we were in traffic was because of an accident up the highway heading towards the George Washington Bridge, which itself had an hour delay due to an accident on the Cross Bronx Expressway.  This was not going to be fun.  Mike, on the other hand, was having loads of fun in the parking lot.  He was kind enough to offer to have 2 cold beers waiting no matter what time we arrived. 

 

After picking up J-Nic, we headed to the Turnpike North.  As we were heading towards Hell, he suggested we get on 46 from the Turnpike, as the delay to the bridge was only 20 minutes.  This saved us considerable time.  Once over the bridge we made pretty good timing.  We knew we were gonna be late, but at least we made it with about 8 innings left.  Of course, Mike texted us to say we had Endy in the homerun game.  Considering that he hit a game tying pinch homerun in the bottom of the 9th the night before, we were fine with that.  While driving on the Grand Central, we turned the game on and heard that the Dodgers had Juan Pierre on third with one out.  On a fly ball to right field, Pierre tagged as Endy came flying over to make the catch, kicked and fired as Pierre darted for home.  On a one-hop throw to the plate, Pierre was nailed with a great block by Schneider to prevent him from ever even touching the plate.  J-Nic and I contended that we should win HR game money just for that play.  We were overruled.  After parking next to Citi Field behind the Mets’ bullpen, we headed in as Delgado aka Buzzkill ended the bottom of the first stranding two runners.

 

We now join our regularly scheduled blog already in progress.

 

1)      For the record, I did not score this game being that we got there late.  (And I was lazy)

2)      After Monday’s pencil debacle, I brought a clicky pencil this time.  (I can learn from my mistakes when I really put my mind to it.)

3)      Mike, the good friend that he is, was waiting in the seats with 2 cold beers and a ziplock full of KFC.  (Bless his little heart)

4)      Walking to the seats, J-Nic and I passed the spot where the foul ball landed.  It came down the hallway between Sections 3 and 5 of the Mezz.  (I need to at least take a picture or something in this spot before the season ends.)

5)      The KFC was MUCH needed.  I feel better now.  (What car accident?)

6)      This was really scary, but the cotton candy guy in our section looked like #48.  “Oh my God, he got demoted!” ~J Vowelz (No, this was scary.  The only thing he was missing was the playoff beard.)

7)      I don’t have the homerun game tonight as I showed up late, so Laura wrote it on the pastry box. 

8)      D-Wright comes up with a runner on hitting 7-19 against Brad Penny.  (Foreshadowing)

9)      This just in D-Wright OWNS Penny.  (And Tara has her first homerun game win snapping a 2 and a half year drought.)

10)  Yeah, those girls from Monday night?  They’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!  They weren’t lying. 

11)  Just for the record, Mike and I started the “TAT-IS!” CLAP! CLAP!  chant.

12)  It just so happened that it was Popcorn Night at Shea.  Unfortunately J-Nic and I were too late to get any.  (“GETCHA POPCO’N READY!!!”~Mike)

13)  Okay, new song….it started low and it began to grow… “Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….Ennnnndy Endy Endy Ennnnndyyyy….Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….En-dy! En-dy! Cha-veeeeeezzzzz!!! 2! 3! 4!  Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….Ennnnndy Endy Endy Ennnnndyyyy….Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….En-dy! En-dy! Cha-veeeeeezzzzzz!!! 2! 3! 4! Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….Ennnnndy Endy Endy Ennnnndyyyy….Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….En-dy! En-dy! Cha-veeeeeezzzzzz!!! 2! 3! 4! Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….Ennnnndy Endy Endy Ennnnndyyyy….Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….En-dy! En-dy! Cha-veeeeeezzzzz!!! 2! 3! 4! Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….Ennnnndy Endy Endy Ennnnndyyyy….Ennndy Endy Endy Ennnnnnnnnnndyyyyyy….En-dy! En-dy! Cha-veeeeeezzzzz!!! 2! 3! 4!”  Single for Chavez!!!  THE SONG WORKS!!  (Okay, maybe it’s not as good as the Shawn Green Song, but it works.  Laura disagrees with me and Danny Woe saying that it’s a ripoff of Jose’s Song.  Touche.)

14)  Homerun #2 for D-Wright.  (He OWNS Brad Penny.)

15)  I’ve just been informed that Laura, taking my place as holder of all bets, screwed up the Homerun Game big time by triple booking D-Wright.  Her excuse was, “Well if somebody knew how to drive responsibly, I wouldn’t have had to do this,” to which I responded, “I cannot think of a more responsible handling of the situation of being hit from behind than putting the car in park, checking on the other driver, moving the cars into the breakdown lane and calling the local authorities,” to what Mike added, “I’m the judge!  Verdict?  GUILTY!” while pointing at Laura.  (She didn’t seem to appreciate Mike’s decision.)

16)  Just noticed that there are 57 home games left at Shea.  That’s a good sign for the Mets.  (who are up 6-0, by the way.)

17)  Yeah, so apparently it’s the 60th anniversary of the inception of the state of Israel.  Thus, on the Diamond Vision, Judge Judy, Robin Williams and Gene Simmons wished Israel a Happy 60th Birthday.  This was pretty random, but a nice touch.  I just wonder what Mahmoud Ahmadinajad would have to say about that.  (Cringe)

18)  Jeff Kent sucks, 6-1 and magically, there’s some noise coming from the Dodgers fans, down 5 runs.

19)  Make it 6-3.

20)  I wrote down Dodgers/Yankee fan story.  I’m not gonna get into it.  Just know that a Dodger fan started getting loud and once again got owned.  He couldn’t tell me who Tommy Lasorda was.  Then his tough guy Yankee fan buddy wearing a t-shirt that said “Gimme the Loot” on the back chimed in.  Once I found out he was a Yankee fan, I fed him to the Wolves of Section 11.  He had nothing…except for a teal tongue ring in his mouth.  (I don’t wanna know what that’s for.)

21)  This whole encounter eventually turned into a resounding “MY NEW HAIR-CUT” chant, so now you know what kind of people we were dealing with. 

22)  Section 11 is on fire tonight.  Even after a tough 3 run inning from Vargas, there was no booing, only cheers. 

23)  It’s funny, because you can tell who’s on a 7-Pack and who’s not.  Those who aren’t standing and taking part in the madness have no idea what’s going on.  (They are not 7-Packers.)

24)  This is really awesome.  It’s almost like a high school football game.  We are the only section standing.  (This craps on Section 15 in 2007.  I think this even beats Section 13 in 2006, just because of the sheer volume.)

25)  The 7-Pack doesn’t do the wave.

26)  You’re right, Mike, we can’t put that in writing.

27)  Mike’s prediction for the top of the 7th….4-3, F7 and strikeout looking.  (There’s no backwards K on the keyboard.)

28)  “If that happens, I own the internet.” ~Mike

29)   4-3.  He’s 1 for 1.      

                  J-Nic:  How many beers have you had?

                  Mike:  About 15.

                  J-Nic:  That’s your minimum for the next game

30)  6-3.  Close

31)  X is on a roll right now.  He’s trying to get me fired up because he says the people behind us are bringing it hard than we are.  I won’t take the bait.  F-9.  (Not bad Mike)

32)  Holy crap, they actually played the “Curly Shuffle” between innings.  Thank you Craig Carton.  Hey Moe!  (Nyuck nyuck nyuck!)

33)  Torre came out to make a pitching change and in a classy move as only Mets fans know how, they gave him a standing O as his walked back, to which he tipped his cap and I scratched my head.  (Classy move and all, but really?  I mean he was our sworn enemy for 10 years and was AWFUL as a Mets manager.  But, whatever, it’s cool, nice gesture I guess.)

34)  I cannot get over how great our section is.  This is unbelievable.  These people are fired up.  They drop too many f-bombs for my taste, which actually almost got them kicked out if I didn’t get them to calm down.  (These people could be a huge asset, they just need to be contained.)

35)  What’s even better is they even know my stance on leaving early, as one guy in the 8th was walking down the aisle, turned to me and said, “I’m only going to the bathroom!”  (They understand.)

Awesome win for the Mets in this game.  8-4 is a nice way to greet Joe Torre.  The crowd was fired up, the team played with some passion.  I think things really might be turning around.  And I couldn’t ask for a better group to be enjoying this with.  Everyone who was left already started planning during our high fives, for our next game together, which will be July 9 against San Francisco.  Yes, we have the Friday night Yankee game first, but Section 11 will be broken up.  But that doesn’t mean we won’t be loud!

 

I’m off to St Thomas for vacation with Little D on Monday.  This means no cell phone and no Mets for a full week.  Hopefully, when I come back we’ll be within a game if not have taken over first place.  Let’s Go Mets!