Tag: Mets
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Let us SHOOT the players!
The team in the Bronx seems to have a new PR fiasco every time I open the papers. While I’m usually mildly amused by this, the latest dispute struck home for this fan from Queens.The issue in question was that of Batting Practice policy at (the NEW) Yankee Stadium: namely, who may observe from what location. Apparently, Yankee brass listened to recent complaints and the policy has already been altered.
Though not nearly so blatantly elitist, Citi Field’s slight change from its previous BP policy at Shea Stadium has not gone unnoticed either. Limiting fans’ access to more remote areas than before has incited the wrath of early-arriving Mets fans. A fellow blogger has started a personal letter-writing campaign in an effort to have this policy amended, and others have followed.
From reading this blogger’s previous posts, I happen to know that one of the personal pleasures she took from attending BP at Shea was the opportunity to get some great photos of the players. It was her chance, she recently wrote, not only to see the players “up close and personal” but also to shoot photos the quality of which her Upper Deck seat could not have afforded her.
Although I have not yet arrived at Citi Field early enough to watch BP, I often did so at Shea. I, too, cherished those opportunities to train my Nikon on my favorite players. While I had a great camera and a pretty good zoom lens, nothing I could shoot from my seat in my Mezzanine Box could come close–literally–to the images I shot from vantage points near and behind the dugout on the Field Level during BP.
I would classify myself as an advanced amateur photographer, and it should be noted that the images I have taken are only for my own personal use. I’ve not nor would I sell any of my photos or use them in any money-making endeavors.
Even given my non-professional status, my husband has always been my biggest supporter in this (expensive) hobby. Not even knowing about the change in BP policy at Citi Field, he surprised me this week with a Mother’s Day present far better than any box of chocolates or bouquet of flowers: an even longer zoom lens.
Although we are mostly pleased with our seats behind Home Plate in the Promenade Club at Citi Field, we have noticed that our seats are higher than the ones we occupied at Shea. The photos I’ve taken from our Citi Field seats have proven that to be true as well. For this reason, and because he’s just a swell guy, my husband purchased a lens for me that essentially puts me an additional 100 millimeters closer to the action.
(The above photo of David Wright was taken with the gift: a 70-300mm/4.5-5.6 AF-S VR Nikkor zoom.)
For me personally, part of the shooting problem is resolved. But would it really be so difficult for–dare I say it–the Mets to follow the Yankees’ lead(!) and amend their current policy to make it more fan- and photog-friendly?
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Encore for Pedro?
Has the proverbial fat lady sung for pitcher Pedro Martinez?It’s fascinating to me how an athlete’s career trajectory and that of a professional singer can have such similarities.
At the MET–as at many other opera houses–productions and performances are scheduled and cast years in advance. This is necessary because it is the only way to engage jet-setting conductors and singers who have managers securing them bookings years in advance all over the world.
One of the consequences of such early planning, however, can be that–with so much intervening time between the booking and the performances, it’s possible that the artist in question could be be experiencing vocal trouble or some other malady unforseen at the time of the booking.
Or perhaps the role for which the artist was engaged was well-suited to his or her voice at the time of the booking but in the span of time before the performances, the oice has changed. Perhaps the artist has lost a bit of the “bloom” on the top of the voice or the voice has darkened. Or perhaps he/she does not possess the same tessitura–range–he/she once did.
In such cases, it is not unheard of for a singer to be “bought out”: paid their fee not to sing. Another singer is then quickly found as a replacement. This is usually done by way of a public announcement stating that the initial artist has bowed out due to illness, but those in-the-know are aware of the real story.
Sometimes, though, the original artist remains in the show. Management–and the artist himself/herself (if there is any self-awareness there)–cross their fingers and hope for the best.
Often a much-beloved artist can go onstage and give it his/her best effort and, even if the singing is not as great as in the artist’s prime, the adoring public will overlook any present-day flaws and give the singer the accolades to which he/she has become accustomed–even if the performance does not particularly merit that response..
Unless the artist is extremely popular, if the “suspension of belief” required to recall the artist’s glory days is just too great or there are a host of glaring problems, e.g., wobbles that have developed in the voice, faulty intonation, or a lack of breath support, the artist may not escape embarassment. He or she will likely hear a few boos sprinkled in with tepid applause at curtain calls.
The latter is my fear for a Pedro Martinez return to the New York Mets.
I don’t remember hearing much interest in Pedro until now: only after not one of the potential fifth-starters has distinguished himself in Spring Training.
While it’s certainly possible that Pedro has retooled himself and could contribute to the pitching roster in some way, my fear is that the minute he has a faulty start, the Shea, oops, Citi Field crowd will show little patience for lack of velocity on his fastball or faulty location.
Just as I feel very sad when I hear a once-great singer onstage whose present-day performance bears little resemblance to the “glory days”, I would feel similar pangs to see this three-time Cy Young award winner embarass himself or have criticisms and boos heaped upon him.
He’s had too distinguished a career to go out in any other way than holding his head up high.
No, in lieu of Pedro, I don’t have any suggestions for the fifth spot.
The words of the late soprano Beverly Sills come to mind:
“I retired when I was 51 so people would say ‘Why so soon’?’ instead of ‘When will that woman shut up?”
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Dream Team
With the exception of brief appearances (neither very impressive, I might add) by David Wright and Billy Wagner in the All-Star Game, the Mets have been non-entities here in New York since they last played on Sunday night: a game that marked their ninth consecutive win. That was actually only three days ago, but it seems like at least a WEEK to me.Perhaps because it seems so distant, I keep asking myself, “Did it REALLY happen?!” “Did we REALLY sweep the Giants AND the Rockies?!”
Yes, it must be true: after Matt Holliday’s home run to put the National League on the board last night, FOX’s Joe Buck mentioned how Holliday had recently had no such success at Shea Stadium.
I’m sure one reason I keep questioning whether or not I imagined the Mets’ recent success is because there was SUCH an inordinate amount of spectacle surrounding the Yankees and Derek Jeter and A-Rod and Madonna and THE LAST ALL-STAR GAME AT YANKEE STADIUM and all-things-Yankee for the past few days.
But soon all of the banners will come down and DHL Fan-Fest wll be dismantled and trucked away. Already the red carpet has been ripped up and the NYPD barricades removed following the parade down Sixth Avenue. Presumably, the old-timers have returned to their homes.
And tomorrow the players will resume playing the regular baseball season. No exhibition games. No farcical home run olypmics. No glorified trade shows. No morass of Chevy vehicles on parade and the resulting street closures.
The Yankees aren’t even playing tomorrow. Will the Mets then be worthy of some local press once more?
After all, they really DID win NINE in a row. And will go for TEN tomorrow in Cincinnati. And we’re merely [Pinch me again, please!] a HALF GAME behind first-place Philadelphia!
And the Yankees? Well, they go to Oakland on Friday. Six games out. With a dearth of pitching. With Johnny Damon on the DL and Matsui pondering season-ending surgery.
I think this really IS a Met fan’s dream.
Please, PLEASE…don’t wake me up just yet!
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How SWEEP it IS!
With the Mets’ 7-2 win over the Giants, they swept the series. Not only that, they have now won 6 in a row: something the club has not done since 2006!Here’s hoping the “good Ollie” keeps the momentum going when the Rockies come into town tonight!
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Joba with my Java?!
PUH– LEASE!!!You know I’m a pretty dispirited Mets fan if I’m reduced to Yankee-bashing. Sigh.
Even though the Mets took 4 of 6 in games versus the Yanks this season, the Mets will always be second-class citizens in this town, I suppose.
But did I have to be greeted by THIS when I stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for an iced latte this morning?!
I knew I should’ve held out for Starbucks.
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Mets Get Out of a Jam
…actually, avoid two potential ones all together!Honestly, I am not a fan of interleague play in general and of Yankee-Mets matchups in particular.
But I did enjoy a sidebar story that came out of this weekend’s Subway Series:
the transport of the Mets and Yankees players from Yankee Stadium to Shea Stadium during rush hour on a Friday afternoon and how it affected fellow New Yorkers.
Because of a rain-out during the previous Subway Series at Yankee Stadium earlier in the season, the Mets and Yankees faced each other Friday afternoon at Yankee Stadium for a make-up game. Then, that evening, both teams (and the media) had to get to Shea Stadium for the first of a three-game Subway Series there.
The personnel’s inter-borough journey would’ve been a challenge on any day and at any time of day, considering the busy corridor they needed to traverse and the bottlenecks that occur far too often upon it. Yesterday, however, presented a few additional challenges: the first game was a very long one–almost four hours, and (2)their expedition was to take place on a Friday night in the summer. While Friday afternoons are always “getaway” days and usually times of high volume on the roads, the problem is compounded in the summer when many are getting away to the beach or to the Hamptons.
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Anticipating the gridlock that would be created, an industrious Newsday writer covering both games, brought his running shoes and made the inter-borough trip by foot. He later shared his colorful story with readers.
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I also read of a couple of fans attending both games who had a rather unique strategy for the day: they intended to imbibe at Yankee Stadium and empty their bladders at Shea Stadium. Hmm.
My family’s challenge did not involve a time element: we were attending only the second game. However, one should never underestimate the challenge of travelling from New Jersey to Queens with there being a game at Yankee Stadium. Not having the physical conditioning to even consider a foot race and disliking crowds and traffic in general, our family was not sure we even wanted to FACE the challenge.
Therefore, my husband–with his family’s approval–attempted to sell our tickets for Friday night’s game on StubHub. This was one game we all figured would be best viewed in the comfort of our own home on high definition television.
When the tickets did not sell, however, we changed our minds and decided to brave the masses on the road in order to attend.
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We gave our time of departure much forethought. It was decided that the best way to avoid the traffic created by fans departing Yankee Stadium following the first game would be for us to be well on our way BEFORE the end of the first game.
As it turned out, our strategy not only afforded us a more or less routine trip to Shea, but it unexpectedly provided us the opportunity of sailing by Yankee Stadium–southbound on the Major Deegan Expressway–at the very MOMENT that Carlos Delgado hit the first of what would be two home runs for the Mets–this one a grand slam! As I quickly opened the sun roof, we all three screamed, and I vigorously waved my Mets cap.
When we arrived at Shea, there were many fans already there. It appeared that others were aware, as we were, that it had been arranged that both teams were to travel by bus with police escort from the Bronx to Queens with road closures being scheduled during their transition.Arriving at Shea without any of the logistical snafus we had envisioned and feared, it was actually delightful to, later, find out some details about the two teams’ post-matinee conveyance–both on the radio and in the newspapers.
Although traffic was halted enroute to the Triborough Bridge and on the other side–on the Grand Central Parkway–to ensure a quick trip for the players and the members of the media who accompanied them, apparently many drivers along this route were well aware of the purpose of the stoppage. Many of the presumably inconvenienced drivers were not scowling, waving fists or the like. Rather, they were leaning out of car windows, yelling cheers of encouragement and flashing player jerseys in signs of recognition as the buses passed.
As New York Times sportswriter George Vecsey so wittily observed in his column today: Normally, I hate it when traffic is blocked in New York because some presidential candidate is mooching campaign funds in our town. Over the years, I have had a few paranoid thoughts and words and gestures toward assorted Bushes and Clintons, Gores and Kerrys, when some bridge or parkway was inexplicably shut down. But it’s different when traffic stops for something socially redeeming, like a baseball team.
It had to be a redeeming feeling for Mets officials, too, knowing that their arrangements had enabled the Mets to play in the Bronx until about 6PM and walk into their Club House at Shea for their 8:10PM game having taking only twenty-eight minutes door-to-door! (Apparently, the Mets had made similar arrangements for the team travelling TO Yankee Stadium that morning: a trip that had taken only seventeen minutes!)
If only Mets officials could collaborate in such a way as to assure a Mets’ victory…sigh.
We’ll get ’em tomorrow.
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Perfect Pitch 