Yesterday, I wrote about what I had seen and felt at Shea last Thursday when the Mets came from behind against the Cubs and won it in the bottom of the ninth. This post is going to cover my second-to-last time at Shea, which also was the second-to-last game ever at the Stadium. September 27th against the Marlins. The Johan Santana game.

I was in my usual seat – Mezzanine level, Section 19, Row L, Seat 2. Thanks to my brother, I’ve had this seat every Saturday home game for the past two seasons, and he usually occupied Seat 1 right beside me. But like I mentioned in my previous post, he was unfortunately unable to come so I brought a friend to join me. I really enjoyed sitting there, as I was surrounded by the same faces week-in week-out. There was the father-son duo just a few seats down. The three seats to my right were always occupied by guys who appeared to have grown up together, and their snide comments always made the game that much more fun. Right in front was a young dad who had just had his first child prior to last season, so over these two years, I’ve seen the kid get bigger and bigger. And there are others who I used to see on Saturdays but with whom I never interacted. Yet, I think I’m going to miss them too just because I knew that they loved this team just as much as, if not more than, I did. And baseball is just better when you feel you’re part of a group.

The night before, the Mets had put themselves down one game in the Wild Card standings. Having lost 6-1 to the Marlins, the Brewers were now ahead. However, the crowd was surprisingly upbeat. Perhaps it was because we all knew that playing the blame game at this stage was a useless exercise. Maybe Mets fans actually enjoy being underdogs. Or it could have just been because we knew that Johan Santana was taking the mound.

It wasn’t his turn in the rotation as he was scheduled to pitch in the final game. But according to manager Jerry Manuel, Santana asked for the ball one day early since tomorrow may not even matter. I hadn’t realized how rare this was for Johan. This would only be the second time in his career that he’s starting on three days’ rest (the first was back in 2004). However, he was Johan Santana, the best bet to guarantee that the Mets would be alive for at least one more day.

While I don’t think that he’s the most deserving candidate for Cy Young this year, I still wholeheartedly believe that the Mets have the #1 pitcher in all of baseball. And best of all, he pitched like one.

Lefty, righty, patient, hack, power, scrap, lowball, fastball. It didn’t matter what type of hitter you were on September 27th, 2008. Johan was going to beat you, and that’s exactly what he did. 117 pitches. Nine innings pitched. Zero runs. Six base runners. Nine strikeouts. And all of us there were loving every second of it. Was it the most dominant pitching performance in Mets history? Not remotely. That probably belongs to David Cone for his outing against the Phillies on October 6, 1991. But it felt like we were witnessing something special.

To his credit, Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco was nearly as good, racking up 10Ks over seven. But the Mets were able to score two runs – in the first via sac fly from Delgado and in the fourth off a Ramon Martinez double – which was one more than we needed.

And as the game progressed, we all took glances at the scoreboard in right field to check on the score of the Brewers-Cubs game. And every time those numbers changed, a loud roar would arise from the crowd. 2-0 Cubs. Then 4-0. It was going to happen. The Mets would get one more chance tomorrow to at least force a tie in the Wild Card standings for that one game playoff at Shea. And although we knew that Santana would be unavailable after this gem, our confidence was riding high.

The Mets had won 2-0, and as I gathered my belongings to leave, I said goodbye to those with whom I sat in the same section the last two years. One of the three guys to my right handed me his business card asking me to contact him when I’m buying Citi Field tickets next year. I think I’m going to take him up on it and hope he did the same for others too.

Walking down the ramp towards the subway after the game, I got a phone call from my brother who asked the simple question: “Could we have asked for any more out of Johan today?” Well no, we couldn’t.

I can’t speak for Mets fans everywhere and I’m not going to even try. There are far too many opinions and emotions, each to numerous degrees, for me to oversimplify it all. I can only speak for myself and that’s what I’m going to do. Because I need to get over it. The playoffs are starting and I’m a fan of the game first and foremost. My love for the New York Mets is secondary in comparison although I do forget that sometimes. So if I am going to be able to enjoy October – with or without Dane Cook (but hopefully without) – I need to get over most of the negatives that are going through my mind.

I went to three of the last four games at Shea. I was there on Thursday, Saturday, and yes, I was there yesterday. So let me explain everything in chronological order. I’ll write posts for each of the last three games for entertainment, therapy, and reminiscence.

I’ll begin with Thursday night’s game against the Cubs, which turned into my favorite Met game that I ever attended. And I warn you – this is a long one.

My seats were down at the field level. Section 103, box J, seats 3 and 4. It was the first time all year that I sat so close to the field. Before the first pitch, I was sitting alone in my seat (my brother would be coming later), trying to take it all in. The Mets were making their way to the outfield grass on the first base side, just beyond where the green met the infield dirt. First, it was rookie Daniel Murphy. Then journeyman Ramon Martinez, followed by Ryan Church, Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Delgado. I forgot how old I was and giddily watched them conduct their pre-game warm-ups right in front of me.

Then a group came and sat down in the box to my right. Cubs fans. A couple in the box to my left. More Cubs fans. And as I would soon find out, I was seated amidst what was possibly the most apathetic group of “Mets fans” the city had to offer. And those few that did express any emotion whatsoever simply berated the players for underachieving. Then I looked around the stadium as sprinkles of rain became visible in the lights above the upper deck. It wasn’t near full. The Mets were in a tight race for the playoffs. Four games left in the season. Four games left at Shea. And we couldn’t fill the stadium. I was, in all honesty, embarrassed, but for what I couldn’t explain. Were there so few Mets fans in New York? Were they unwilling to sit through some rain to cheer on their guys? Had the team pushed ticket prices so high that devotees couldn’t afford them? For whatever reason, we were at around 70% capacity.

But as these thoughts were passing through, Pedro Martinez took the mound. And while I cheered on as he threw his warm-ups, I knew we were in for a rough night. A lot of Met fans consider the Pedro Martinez signing to be an overall success. They say that Pedro brought a sense of “respectability” to the organization, and that thanks to him, other free agents were more willing to come play for the Mets. I’m not one of those people. Carlos Beltran did not become a Met because of Pedro Martinez. He came to Queens because that’s where the money was. And none of the other key players on the team signed as free agents. They were either drafted or acquired in a trade. What we got instead was one good year of Pedro out of the four-year contract. And it has been painful to watch his total decline. Read the rest of this entry »

As usual, I’m late to the party on this one. But hey, at least I was actually invited this time. Which is nice.

On Saturday night at Shea Stadium, I was sitting in my usual seat in the Mezzanine along the first base line when I and others around me noticed a commotion coming from the Field Level below me. And what was unfolding was an accomplishment of epic proportions – both in degree of difficulty and inanity.

A fan who had passed out drunk in his seat had four cups stacked on his head, and those around him were attempting to build the Tower of Babel upon his dome. As each cup was successfully added, the entire stadium – from the Field Level to the Upper Deck – cheered as if Carlos Delgado had yet again cracked one 450 feet.  Luckily, one attendee was able to film the achievement unfolding before his eyes (he also happened to be a classmate of mine from high school). So enjoy. And Martin, we thank you:

About a year ago, I wrote a post here on UmpBump to express my utter dismay at how my Mets had begun playing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” during the 8th inning at Shea. For one, I never, ever want to copy the Boston Red Sox (aside from that whole “winning championships” thing. That would be kind of cool). Secondly, it’s an incredibly annoying song that’s exacerbated by the choreographed movements (it ain’t dancing, people) of the audience.

On the other hand, I love the practice of Rickrolling. For those who are still unfamiliar with this wonderful phenomenon, it’s essentially a prank involving cultural icon Rick Astley’s song “Never Gonna Give You Up”, a tune that just gets sexier by the day. In fact, I currently have it as the #3 sexiest song of all time, preceded only by Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses at Night” and Billy Ocean’s “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car”.

So you can imagine how elated I was when I learned a few days ago that the people over at Fark.com were going to Rickroll the New York Mets, who was conducting an online poll as to what song the fans wanted to hear this year during the 8th inning.

Replace Neil Diamond with Rick Astley? It’s too good to be true!!!It’s like Black Sabbath replacing Tony Martin with Ronny James Dio!

Well, the votes were tabulated and the results were announced yesterday. And it was too good to be true, like Tony Martin coming back to replace Ronny James Dio (I’ll stop this horrible analogy now).  Despite “Never Gonna Give You Up” winning the online voting with over 5 million votes, the Mets have changed the rules of the game. Instead of giving me a song that will make me giggle uncontrollably every time I’m at Shea this year, they’ve decided to have a run-off. Why? Because the majority of the votes didn’t come from Mets fans, but rather, from people with an actual sense of humor. As MetsBlog.com explains:

Instead of declaring Astley the winner, the team will hold a live, run-off vote.

Tomorrow, during the eighth inning, they’ll play Never Gonna Give You Up, followed by Living on a Prayer on Wednesday, I’m a Believer on Thursday, Movin’ Out on Friday, Sweet Caroline on Saturday and Build Me Up Buttercup on Sunday.

What? Those are my choices? If I don’t get Rick, I’m left with 1) a Bon Jovi song that’s overplayed and abused at karaoke bars across the world, 2) a song that was written by Neil Diamond and performed by a fake television band that initially didn’t even sing or play their own music, 3) a Billy Joel song that’s actually about how pathetically pretentious it is for people to try and pass their lifestyles off as being better than it actually is, 4) the song that I wanted to be replaced from the get-go, and 5) a song that was forever ruined by Ben Stiller.

And you want to know what the kicker is? I’m going to be at Shea this Saturday where I will have to listen to, you guessed it, “Sweet Caroline”.

I think Neil Diamond’s ghost is haunting me. What? He’s not dead? Huh. Fooled me.

I hate writing this on the heels of Coley’s recent post about the fan-friendly seating at Turner Field.

Thanks to my brother’s generosity, I’ve been going to Shea Stadium this year on the Saturday Ticket Plan, where the purchase entitles you to keep the same seat all season for every Saturday home game. It’s a pretty fair deal considering that if each game were to be purchased individually, the prices continually vary based upon who they’re playing.

Due to this relatively frequent sojourn to Flushing, Queens, I’ve been able to see the progress of the construction for Citi Field, which will be the new home of the Mets starting the 2009 season. As I come out of the Willets Point subway stop on the Number 7 line each time, the new stadium’s infrastructure is the first thing I see, since it stands literally right next to Shea beyond the centerfield wall. It’s a pretty exciting thing for us fans, seeing as even our home-team biases can’t quite disguise our feelings for the lackluster facilities of Shea (it’s our piece of crap, but a piece of crap nonetheless).

But along with this excitement also comes a dose of reality. We Mets fans know the deal. Citi Field will have 42,000 seats, which is basically 3/4 of the current capacity at Shea of 55,000. With the team’s success over the past couple of seasons come the bandwagon jumpers armed with more dispensable income than I or millions of other New Yorkers could ever have. Do the math.

Newsday’s Wallace Matthews tackles this very issue in his latest article. He talks to an elderly fan named Henry Goldman, who along with his wife have attended games at Shea for decades and they currently enjoy a similar ticket plan as I do. Problem is, the Mets are yet to assure the fans that affordable ticket plans such as these will even be available at Citi Field.

Matthews writes:

Henry Goldman’s fear stems from the stated policy of the Mets ticket agents stationed throughout Shea Stadium that the partial season ticket plan he and his wife have enjoyed for a quarter-century will no longer be available at Citi Field. “Being senior citizens, we can’t afford to go to every game,” he said. “Weekends are our time to go. If we can’t get that plan anymore, we’re finished. We won’t be able to go.”

What it basically comes down to is that as of this writing, the Mets have not announced their intention to create ticket plans aside from full season tickets. It’s either buy a seat for the full season or fight for individual tickets, which will no doubt affect the ability of many fans to see the Mets in person.

I know that it seems like I and people like Goldman are dramatizing the issue. But do consider the fact that so far in 2007, the Mets have averaged over 44,000 fans per game, which is already 2,000 more people than Citi Field will accommodate. When the new stadium opens, the interest generated by the novelty will create a tougher competition for the tickets themselves. The Mets can hike up the price of tickets quite a bit before they will find a lack of interested parties. As if that were not enough, NY State legislature has made scalping legal, which will no doubt exacerbate the issue.

I am not so naive as to make this out to be armageddon, or to paint devil horns on owner Fred Wilpon’s picture whenever I see it. I understand that this is a business and that in this multimedia age, there are many options out there where I can continue to follow my team even if I may not be able to attend the games as often as I would like. The Mets have a business plan to increase revenue, which I’d like to think will improve the quality of players on the field.

It’s just a far cry from the baseball I loved as a Little Leaguer, I suppose.

OK. I get it. Sometime between my junior high dances and 2006, Ottawan’s classically asinine “Hands Up” has been replaced by Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” as the song most likely to make people with no rhythm jump up and “dance”. Personally, I blame Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn and Jack Black. Equally to blame are the marketing geniuses over at Fenway Park, who made “Caroline” a staple in their in-between innings entertainment. Up until last year, I was fine with this. As long as this idiosyncratic ritual was a Fung-Wah bus trip away from me, it did me very little harm.

Then it happened. It was an invasion of epical proportions on my sensibilities. Shea Stadium hopped on the bandwagon. I cannot pinpoint exactly the date and time this started, except that I noticed it this past October. And it was there again this past Saturday when I made my first of many pilgrimages to wonderful Flushing, Queens (has a great ring to it, don’t you think?) in 2007. The worst part of it was that I’d say nearly half the stadium was into it. Doing the whole “Look, ma! I can open my palms every time Neil says Sweet Caroline!” thing, along with the ironically awful “SO GOOD!” chant.

Now I have never been a fan of stadium music to begin with, especially since Gary Glitter was charged of abusing children in Vietnam thus making me feel queasy every time I hear “Rock and Roll (Part Two)” for all of eternity. There is just far too much Good Charlotte in this world. And “Sweet Caroline” is probably better than Yankee Stadium’s penchant for “YMCA” as performed by their grounds crew. But this is almost at that level.

So to the good people at Shea Stadium, I implore you. Leave Neil Diamond to Boston. They can have him. I do not want any song that has been covered by Guster (this is true) playing at a Mets game. To top it off, Neil Diamond himself admitted that he wrote “Sweet Caroline” right after he ran over a child with a car and left her for dead.

Or was that Will Ferrell? I don’t know.