The Mets are off to one of the hottest starts in their 50-year existence and I, for one, am reveling in it. Summer has come early, both metaphorically and meteorologically. An 80-plus degree April 16th -- coupled with Metsian success on the field -- is conjuring up images of those lazy, hazy, crazy days. It [...]
The first drops of rain have fallen on the Mets’ 2012 season, in the form of a cracked pinky. The pinky has started to make parts of the fan base panicky already, including your intrepid columnist. Exposure has come quickly and the rainbows and daffodils we saw in the opening sweep of the Braves and [...]
“It’s great to be young and a Giant.” – “Laughing” Larry Doyle, New York second-baseman, 1911 In the history of baseball, certain archetypes have arisen to define positions on the field. Much like you can divine the attributes of the students who live in a particular house in a Harry Potter novel – Ravenclaw for [...]
Opening Day is two days away. That means a lot of things: it means we’ve crowned an NCAA basketball champion, it means we’re getting ready to hunker in and watch the Masters, it means warmer weather is on the way. It means summer is around the corner. Those days of soda and pretzels and beer, [...]
Opening Day is a week away. Some of the cobwebs have been cleared from the Mets’ financial picture, there have been a couple of revelations on the field, the pitching rotation is lined up. It’s time to unfurl the bunting and have the Shea family prepare the floral horseshoe. As has been widely reported, the [...]
We’re well past the Ides of March. The clouds are parting, the wind is dying down, the air is warmer. Spring is officially here, and the Spring-feel is knocking at the door. In fact, if the weather in New York last week is any indication, it’s pounding with both fists and steel-toed boots. To say [...]
“I’ve had enough; I’m getting out to the city, the big, big city.” – Peter Gabriel Even for a town like New York, where everything is magnified, yesterday (3/21/12) was a rare convergence of circumstances. Johan Santana’s impressive start against the Cardinals was not the least of it, but it was semi-buried amid all the [...]
The dust is just starting to lift on the Mets’ financial situation and I’m not entirely sure if I should be happy about it. The Wilpons and Irving Picard – the trustee representing the victims of Bernie Madoff’s elaborate Ponzi scheme – settled on a payment of $162 million. Think about that for a second. [...]
For the Mets, 1978 was already shaping up to be a rough year by June 30. The team was dispirited, the fan base was dwindling and those that remained continued to pine for the banished Tom Seaver. The team’s hierarchy tried to salve the fans' wounds by going out and signing free agents, something they [...]
OK, so yesterday, Monday, March 12, was not the best for the Mets. David Wright – on the shelf for a week and a half – was in New York, getting cortisone for his sore ribs. Tim Byrdak found out he has a torn meniscus and is having surgery as we speak. Lucas Duda started [...]
The Mets lost last night. 3-1 to the Nationals. I couldn’t be happier. The New York Mets played a real, live baseball game last night, against a real live opponent. This wasn’t BP. This wasn’t a side session. This wasn’t an intra-squad or simulated game. There was a different team throwing and catching balls the [...]
On the old Late Night With David Letterman show, they used to do a bit called “Brush With Greatness,” where audience members would recount chance meetings with celebrities. That was kind of fun, as I recall. For a reason you’ll see soon, I was reminded of this and thought I’d do a column, recounting various [...]