Friday, August 24, 2007

Viva Los Mets

Well that's a fine way to celebrate Butch Benton's 50th birthday.

One could look at "Los Mets" and think of tonight's Fiesta Latina. I look at those jerseys and think that they look like a mistake..."Oh snap, those Los Mets jerseys never arrived!!! Quick, let's sew the word 'Los' right here next to the word 'Mets', nobody will notice." Certainly, a jersey that says "Los Mets" could have been done a little better.

Another could look at "Los Mets" and think that it's merely the Wilpons floating a red herring out there so that if you squint, that "Los" would kind of remind you of the "Los Angeles" that the other team was wearing...and thus the Mets would look closer to the Dodgers and Fred would get all warm and fuzzy inside. Don't laugh, when the shrine to Ebbets Field opens in 2009, the Mets could have new uniforms that look like this:

But when I think of "Los Mets", I must forever think of David Wright, his home run, and his two unreal plays in the field in the same inning on Friday (one of the ESPY variety, switching direction off of a Perez deflection to barehand a tricky hopper and fire Andre Ethier out).

I will also think of Oliver Perez. No, he's not quite all the way back yet, but he's really close...and it's hard to argue with seven shutout innings. There were runners all over the place, but Perez's guile-o-meter is rising with every game.

I will also think of Billy Wagner. You know, he's scuffling, but I don't think he's that far off. He's been getting dinked and dunked, and the hardest ball hit off of him was probably Jeff Kent's sac fly for the second out (which, with Kent as the tying run, put my heart in my throat for a good five seconds). But he's close. You know, (facetiousness alert) today was probably the product of Wagner not having his full concentration in non-save situations as he has been known to have. I hope he doesn't get designated for assignment like somebody else in our division did, because Bob Wickman flat out didn't want to come in if it wasn't a save.

(Somehow I doubt Billy Wagner cares about such matters. After all to quote him: "F**k I'm 36 years old. I could care less, I'm out there battling and, it's just the best you can do. If I was real bad they would have scored four. So f**k, I've got that going for me." Actual quote, my friends. You go, Country Time.)

I'll think about Mike DiFelice going three for three and wonder just how long it will be before the pixie dust wears off on him (and whether pixie dust is a performance enhancing substance).

I'll think of the Geico Caveman, and how he enhances the Met game experience (and how he may look a little bit like Ricky Ledee).

But most of all, I'll think about gaining another game in the standings. Not only is Adrian Gonzalez is proving to be an equal opportunity heart breaker, but the Braves' lose a closer over some clubhouse issues. It was enough to bring this thought to my mind:

"I wonder if I should get a ticket to a late September game in case it's a clincher."
Too soon to think about that yet? Yeah, probably. But on the magic day that is not only Fiesta Latina, but Butch Benton's 50th birthday, I think I can let my mind wander a little bit.

Happy Birthday Butch, wherever you are. And Viva Los Mets.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

good touch with the Mets home/road unis. this ebbetts field wilpon-masturbation trip called 'citifield' is farcial. we are not the dodgers--they scooted out 50 years ago. the mets are more than a borough called brooklyn. and building a shopping mall with a ballfield for a few rich 'fans' is a travesty to the spirit of new york baseball. above anyone else in the los mets organization, i despise wilpon--why doesn't he move his 40,000-seat stadium to kansas city or pittsburgh? outside the mets organization, i despise the apathy of the fans--all 55,000 last night--who will not stand up for the 15,000 'commoners' who will never get tix for a mets game in 2009 unless they sell their daughters into white slavery, pimped by the geico caveman.

Anonymous said...

MD, I have 4 tix to tomorrow night's game. Can't bring the little one to a Sunday night game though. Do you want them? They're first row Upper Deck, behind home plate.

Metstradamus said...

Unser, thanks for the offer. I'd love to but I'm not sure I can. And I know it will be tough for me to get three others. Though I would love to yell at David Wells and throw doughnuts at him (dislcaimer: I do not actually condone throwing things on the field.) What are you asking?

(You can e-mail me if you don't want to conduct business here.)

Anonymous said...

Ha. That Ledee-Caveman resemblance is spot on. Didn't Ledee just retire? Clearly he's now selling car insurance.

Metstradamus said...

Zoe, Unfortunately I can't say that I came up with that on my own.

Anonymous said...

MD, they're yours gratis if you want them. Consider it my small contribution to your enjoyable web site. How do I find your e-mail address? I'll e-mail you the tix.

The Metmaster said...

My poor dead father must be spinning in his grave over this Wilpon Dodger-fest going on with the Mets. My old man bled Giants orange and black. He despised the Dodgers (and the Yankees!). He named me Carl after his hero, Carl Hubbell. When the Gints bolted NY he went into baseball suspended animation unil National League baseball came back in 1962. The Mets are an amalgam of BOTH the Giants and Dodgers. Wilpon seems to have completely forgotten that the Polo Grounders are part of our past too. The Giants won a hell of a lot more championships in New York than the Dodgers ever did. Willie was better than the Duke! (that one's for you Dad!)

Metstradamus said...

Unser, I don't even know what to say except thank you! The e-mail link is in my profile.

But dude, if you can sell them, or if somebody else really wants them, please put them in front of me on the list. If not, I'll find a way to use them. Thanks again!

Unknown said...

Good point, Metmaster. When I was a kid and the Mets got Willie Mays, the town was joyous. Now the history of the NY Giants takes a backseat to the Brooklyn Dodgers fetish. Whatever, I can't wait to scalp a lousy $180 ticket so I can go shopping in Jackie Robinson Rotunda while a ballgame just happens to be playing like ambient music in the background. I DESPISE the Wilpons. Let Keyspan be their masturbation hole for a team that jumped ship 50 years ago. At Shea on Saturday, REAL METS FANS despised that team and took pleasure in the 4-3 win. There were no hugs.