Perfect Pitch

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  • Miami Road Trip

    The Spectors follow the Mets to Miami for a three-game Marlins series.

  • Hit the Road, Jack!

    You’re looking at it.  Right here.  This is IT!

    As far as I’m concerned, this is the best thing to come out of the first two games of the Phillies series.

    What you see here is a ball that Carlos Delgado fouled off into the Mezzanine box where I sat–still full of hope and optimism–last night during the bottom of the second inning. 

    Yes, I was thrilled to have caught the foul…nice little souvenir!  06060701_7 And my family was sure proud of me.  But, boy, did that hope and optimism that I’d had in the second inning drain away after the bottom of the 7th. 

    Yes, I did stay, but it was for naught. 

    Not only did the Mets fail to make up those three runs the Phillies scored (Thank you, Aaron Heilman!), but now another one of our precious few, dwindling outfielders has been hurt.  I can’t quite believe this.

    As usual, Willie is unflappable, stating that we’ll get through this.  It must be this quiet, calm resolve of his that keeps his players so quietly confident.

    As much as I love seeing these guys and going out to Shea every night to watch them play during home stands, considering how lousy they’ve been playing at home, I think it might be a good thing to bid them adieu after tonight’s game.   

    I think parenting books call it "tough love".  You tell ’em, Ray!   

    Suitcase_3 Love ya, guys…really.  Bon voyage!Waving_hand 

  • Love of the Game

    51356221_snake_10 Well, I have to say I felt a bit snake-bitten after  those nasty ol’ Diamondbacks left town on Sunday.

    At least we had the distinct pleasure of having curtailed their winning streak.  And we did have that wonderful win on Saturday…that felt good!  Additionally, the fact that Sosa seems to be in fine form and has built up his confidence following his less-than-triumphant return to Turner Field is another fine thing about the weekend too!  HOR- HAY!!

    Allstar_20071 Following Saturday’s game, our family came home and turned on FOX to check out the action at Fenway.  Although our interest in the proceedings there was only casual, all three of us perked up every time the FOX commercial for their coverage of the All-Star Game came on.  Did anyone else see this clever commercial?

    The ad features many Major League players on one of two trolley cars travelling rapidly up and down the hilly streets of San Francisco.Allstar_20072_1   Featured right at the very beginning of the commercial, and each grinning ear to ear, are the youthful Jose Reyes and David Wright.  (Credit goes to Daily News photographer Howard Simmons for these photos taken from the commercial shoot earlier this year in Fort Pierce, Florida.)

    The commercial itself is so cute and brought such smiles and laughs (but especially from the antics of the two Mets.),  It was such a contrast to go back to the game itself and the camera shots of the Yankee dugout…so morose, so serious. 

    Yes, I know the Yankees are not doing well at the moment and that "big hooks" have been threatened.  But even when the Yankees ARE doing well, they never seem to approach the game with the sheer JOY and EXUBERANCE that our boys do. 

    The Mets just seem to LOVE playing the game.   The standings appear to be a mere by-product of that passion. 

    My oboe teacher and still my greatest musical mentor, Richard Woodhams, once spoke of his wish to always try to perform like a professional with the spirit and enthusiasm of an amateur. 

    Here’s to that "rookie spirit"…no matter each of our ages or endeavors!

  • “Not much. What’s new with YOU?”

    During the Giants series, I was intrigued to observe the banter between Mets players and Barry Bonds when he got on base.

    05290710crop_2 This was not a noteworthy phenomenon; in the lull between pitches and at-bats, I’ve previously witnessed plenty of friendly asides exchanged between opposing players. 

    As I’ve observed this over the years, I have often speculated what the conversations might entail.

    The weather? 

    "Man is it HOT out here.  Can we get this one over or WHAT?!" 05290711crop_4 

    Could the visiting player be asking the home player where he could get good barbeque in the vicinity of the stadium?

    Or maybe the home player even razzes the base-runner: 

    "Man, the only reason you are on base is because of a lucky break you got on that slider, man."

    Who knows.

    But as I looked through my telephoto lens at Bonds and Delgado and, later, Bonds and Wright and saw the smiles and laughs they were having together following what were lots of boos from the Shea crowd, I suspected the conversations went something along the lines of

    "Man, are you sure this record is worth all this attention??"

    "God, do I get sh*t or WHAT?!  It’s so predictable…every **** night!  I’ve gotten so I MISS it and feel neglected if it doesn’t happen!"

    I guess I’ll never know what those guys are truly yakking about, but I kinda like speculating anyway!

  • The CIRCUS comes to Town!

    Shrine_ringleader_welcome_to_the_circus__4

    STEP RIGHT UP, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS!!

    IT’S THE GR-R-R-R-R-EATEST SHOW ON EARTH!!   

    Yes, the CIRCUS that is the Barry Bonds Express came to town the night before last.

    But, hey, you know what?  Bonds_clown_copy_3 He’s been merely a SIDE SHOW so far, especially in all of the hoo-hah of Tuesday evening’s festivities when he was merely called upon in extra innings to pinch hit. 

    Although many fans were anxious to show up to make a scene, so far, booing and cat-calls, seem to be about all that have taken place to welcome Bonds to Shea.  He has, as expected, been booed at every plate appearance and when any ball comes his way in the field.  So far nothing has been thrown at him or onto the field.

    But other than that, Number 25 has not been much of a spectacle, I must say.

    There was the initial eye-catching WARM-UP ACT on Friday night in the appearance by one of the notorious high-flying, er, Molinatrapeze high fly BALL-hitting MOLINA BROTHERS starting things off promptly in the First Inning with a home run right over Endy’s head.

    But no.  Those were really side attractions.

    The REAL SHOW awaited only those who stayed around until the GRANDE FINALE in the bottom of the 12th inning, when entering the CENTER RING was–no stranger to Shea audiences–the GREAT ARMANDO!!

    As usual, however, he proved no match for a pressure situation.  This time–in an opposing team uniform–thank GOD!–Jose Reyes and the Shea crowd taunted him mercilessly! Armandoreyes_2 

  • Dead Fish and Peripheral Cheerleaders

    Dawn_of_the_dead_fishI’ll give those Marlins fans this much:  they’re a tenacious bunch! 

    I just returned from the Florida portion of the Mets’ road trip, having attended all three games at Dolphin Stadium, and I can vouch for the fact that those fish-lovers are die-hards.  Many of them were there until the bitter end of each and every game and any infinitessimal bit of hopeful offense begat the sing-song chanting "IT’S not O- ver!"

    But, as we all know, it was indeed over for the Marlins.

    Thanks to a few SNY clips that I’ve seen thanks to fellow MLB Mets blogger Zoe, I can tell that the fish fry was just as much fun on the big screen as it was in person.

    Besides the obvious great news of three more in the wins column and the good feeling only a sweep can bring, maybe the next best thing about the weekend was the return of El Duque.  How great was he on Friday night?052507002_5

    Although the wins were great and there were some very special feel-good plays–Delgado’s two-home run Saturday comes to mind–I have to admit that the Mets made me nervous on many occasions this weekend with some sloppy playing that is uncharacteristic of them. 

    Fortunately, it did not come back to haunt them.   Maybe it was those hungry, relentless Marlins fans, but it just kinda spooked me.  "C’mon guys," I wanted to say, "this is not your best effort here."  [Sounds like a parent, doesn’t it?!]

    Maybe they were just distracted.

    My husband pointed out that the Mermaids–the Marlins cheerleaders–do their "cheering", i.e., dancing, strutting, bumping-and-grinding–right in front of the visiting team dugout052607003_3 .  He speculated that this might be intentional, keeping the opposing team in such a constant state of arousal as to be unable to concentrate on the game.

    Not being able to observe our guys in the dugout–our seats on Friday and Sunday were behind home plate and behind third base on Saturday–I couldn’t gauge the players’ reactions to the scantily clad Mermaids, but whatever their take on the proceedings, the box scores came out in their favor.

    My family and I spent Memorial Day weekend with the Mets and Marlins at Dolphin Stadium two years ago and I first encountered the Mermaids at that time, so I was already acquainted with them.  I thought at the time, "There is no CHEERLEADING in BASEBALL!"  And time has not changed my opinion.

    I am not saying this because I am a woman nor because I think it is a sexist display nor because I don’t like men including my husband ogling these chicks while I am trying to enjoy a sporting event. 

    052607004_6 Number one, using sex to sell sports works.  Period.  Not I nor anyone else is going to be able to stop that.  Why even put up a fight?

    Secondly, my husband is, thankfully, not the type to ogle women…in front of me or otherwise. So that’s really a non-issue for me.  It’s nice, I must tell you.

    But, for heaven’s sake, if the Marlins want to have cheerleaders for the team, why don’t they utilize them AS cheerleaders for the TEAM?!  In conjunction with the game?! 

    All these girls do, it seems, is stand around forlornly,waiting for someone, anyone, who would like to have their photo taken with one or two of them for a souvenir to take home (It’s kind of pathetic, actually.) and do dance routines prior to the game and in between innings.  I think the Marlins’ website also mentions them showing up at some fund-raising events or something.

    But as far as the actual games themselves, the Mermaids do not participate in any appreciable way nor make any contribution toward stirring up the crowd in reaction to the game itself. 

    They do not stir up the crowd prior to the game or during exciting offensive moments.  They do not lead chants or cheers.  They do not lead cheers after homeruns.  They do not cheer when the line-up is announced or when the team runs on to the field. 

    They seem to have absolutely NOTHING to do with the Marlins ballteam itself other than having its logo emblazened in glitter across their chests, printed on their thigh-high boots, and embroidered on their skimpy halter tops. 

    I daresay you could take one of these gals aside and she wouldn’t be able to give you the evening’s line-up. 

            I say, sweep out those useless mermaids with all the dead fish!!

                                       Broom_2

  • Three Cheers for the…

                     …O- RANGE and the BLUE!!

           Yes, yes, I know:  we’ve gone on to more pressing matters.

    Empire_state_building_5 The boys are now in Atlanta with all of the challenges that that always presents,  but I hope, before they made their way down south they got a look at this beautiful sight at least once.

    Believe me, I’m not the kinda person to kick a man (or a team) when they’re down, but ya gotta admit:

       Isn’t it nice for once to be the New York team that has that little bit of SPRING in our step?!!

    The Subway Series was all the spectacle and hype that I expected it to be.  All that and more…way too much more.05180717cutout_1

    I was uncomfortable, frankly,  with so many rowdy and loud Yankee fans at Shea.  A good-natured rivalry is one thing; getting raucous and out-of-hand is another.

    I did, however, delight in the particular rhythm created–especially on Sunday when there were so MANY Yankee fans there–when the Yankee chant would get started and grow enough to be audible,

    "LET’S GO YAN- KEES!"

    which was followed, without missing a beat–in rhythm and with more volume and intensity by,

    "YAN- KEES S*%K!!"

    I have to wonder, in retrospect, if the Yankees have the Mets fans–with all their booing–to thank for waking up their bats…05180712cutout what with their winning the last game at Shea and then the first game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. 

    I certainly wouldn’t want to feel personally responsible.  :\

    I know there’s "no crying in baseball", but is there GUILT in baseball?

    Well, there’s this, though:  even if the Yankees’ offense "woke up", at least David Wright’s bat woke up too!!  How about those HOMERS??! 

  • Mother’s Day

    Ahhh!  A beautiful, warm, sunny Sunday in New York and my beloved Mets are in town.  After waking up to a wonderful breakfast presented to me by my loving husband and daughter, I look forward to getting dressed in my Mets jersey…er, nope.  Today is one of those long Sundays at Carnegie Hall for me:  a rehearsal with the MET Orchestra from 11 until 1:30 (if we’re lucky), followed by the concert conducted by Maestro James Levine at 3.Images

    Game time is 1:10.  Dammit.

    Well, at least Levine let us out of the rehearsal at 1:40.  There’s time for lunch before the concert.  And I’m already dressed in my concert black.  So where, my husband and daughter who have met me at the Carnegie Hall Stage Door want to know, would I like for them to take me for a nice Mother’s Day lunch??  (This, after first updating me on the score of the game, of course.)

    Without hesitation, I suggest that we walk one block west to the corner of 56th and Broadway and to lunch at a certain establishment so that I Hooters_logo_5 can watch my beloved Mets on TV!

    Said establishment had a huge canvas banner proclaiming that one could watch every Major League game there on 35 TVs, and it wasn’t false advertising.  Although our waitress initially had to get her manager to change the channel on our table’s own personal TV from the channel it Hooterssnygirl_3_1 was on (NASCAR coverage) to the SportsNY channel, in no time at all our orders were in to the kitchen and we were immersed in the game (and oblivious to the "scenery".

    I doubt there are many moms that would make that particular request for a Mother’s Day lunch, but it was PERFECT!!  We enjoyed our salads and burgers and witnessed amazing catches by both Endy Chavez in Left Field and newcomer Carlos Gomez in Right Field  before having to pay our tab and return for the downbeat at 3PM.

    The Internet browser on my phone kept me up-to-date during the intermission of the concert with the rest of the good news that followed after we left the television coverage and I went onstage with the rest of the orchestra to play some Carter, Mozart, and Mendelssohn for the afternoon.

    A good Mother’s Day for me and a good day for the Mets against the Brew Crew!  Bring on the Cubbies!