Closing ceremonies at Shea and my memories of it
I thought fans would riot and throw things onto the field if the Mets lost today. However, the fans stuck around for the closing ceremonies and watched several former players say goodbye to their former home stadium. I didn’t tune in until the end, but from what I did see, the former players came from each base line and touched home plate before waving to the crowd in their sendoff. The best part of it came when Tom Seaver threw the stadium’s final pitch to the greatest catcher of all time, Mike Piazza, who caught the ball on a bounce. The two players then walked out to the center field wall, bowed and waved good-bye to the fans and the stadium they played in for years, and walked out as the center field wall door shut from behind them. The final event was when fireworks were launched from the top of the stadium.
My Memories at Shea
My memories of Shea range from my first game in 1999 to my final game in 2008. I attended several games per year in that time span, and have too many memories to explain. However, I do have two top memories of my experiences at Shea:
Watching Mike Piazza tear up pitchers through the late 1990s and early 2000s was very fun to watch and by far my favorite memory in general. Piazza was my idol as a young child, from pretending to be him while catching in Little League, to freezing whenever I was busy around the house just to watch his at-bat. My first Mets game was in 1999, which was the beginning of my love for the New York Mets. After attending that game, I officially loved the Mets. I saved ticket stubs of each game I attended, which for the most part, was against the Atlanta Braves. My father wanted to be fair to both my brother and I, since my brother Mike is a Braves fan, that we would attend a game at Shea that featured both the Mets and Braves. We would always stay in a hotel across the street, which featured a restaurant ran by Bobby Valentine. We would always go down there and find him for a picture, one of which is up in my living room from 2002.
My next favorite memory is more of a specific rather than general memory. It was when the Pedro Martinez had a pitchers duel with Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks in late May of 2006. From what I remember, each pitcher was 8-0 at this point, and I was extremely excited to see Pedro Martinez pitch in person for the first time ever. The game was a quick one because of how great the pitchers were, and it flew into extra innings. My sister, Jess, whose patience is not exactly the highest when at a baseball game, wondered if it would ever end. However, Endy Chavez came up in the bottom of the thirteenth inning and hit a walk-off single that was in the gap, scoring Jose Valentin from third base.
In just two weeks, the stadium will begin to be torn down piece by piece. Before you know it, all that will be left of Shea Stadium will be a parking lot. Shea Stadium will no longer exist as a structure, but the memories will remain in photographs and the minds of Mets fans and players for generations and generations. Thank you, Shea, for the great memories.
Mets miss playoffs for second straight season
The Mets have lost to the Florida Marlins, 4-2, and have been knocked out of the playoffs by the same team in back-to-back seasons. Oliver Perez didn’t even last six innings, and the weak bullpen took over and failed. Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala gave up solo home runs that gave the Marlins a two-run lead. Carlos Delgado just missed on an attempt to put the Mets ahead in the eighth inning by crushing a ball to the warning track. In the ninth inning, Ryan Church also nearly went deep to tie the game, but the ball was short at the warning track.
The Brewers came from behind to win their game and snatched the wild card spot from the Mets. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.
Maybe it is just the right time to knock down Shea Stadium. Maybe a change of scenery will help turn things around.
Somewhere, Willie Randolph is having a great day.
Mets tied for NL Wild Card playoff spot with one game to go!
On only three days rest following his longest start of his career, Johan Santana showed no signs of fatigue. He struck out nine Marlins in a complete game shutout that put the Mets atop the NL Wild Card standings, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Heading into this game, the Mets didn’t even control their own playoff destiny, meaning that if they won their final two games, they could have missed out on the playoffs. However, they still had a chance to make the playoffs by hoping for a Brewers loss, which came true tonight. The Chicago Cubs, without even a need to win another game following their clinching of their own division and home field advantage in the National League, kept playing hard without their starters and knocked off the Brewers today in Milwaukee.
On the other hand, the Phillies clinched the NL East divisiion title for the second season in a row. Whoop dee do. I don’t care. That to me is just as important as Dallas was when they won their division. The Giants still beat them that season in the playoffs when it mattered most.
From here on out, if the Mets keep winning, more games will keep coming. A win tomorrow would mean at least a one-game playoff with the Brewers on Monday. What else does that mean? It will also be home, at Shea, giving the Mets a chance to make the playoffs in front of their home crowd. But even better, if the Mets win and the Brewers lose tomorrow, an automatic ticket to the postseason will be punched tomorrow for New York.
Who will the final postseason spot in 2008 belong to? Find out tomorrow at 1pm on SportsNet New York! Pre-game coverage begins at 11:30!
Mets lose to Marlins, no longer control playoff destiny
Fresh off a walk-off victory last night at Shea, the Mets were hoping to build off their win and take game one of the final regular season series at Shea Stadium. Instead, the Marlins, although eliminated from playoff contention, came to play and brought in their starters. Hanley Ramirez and Co. took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, which went on all the way to the sixth inning when the Marlins began to pile it on. The Shea seats emptied out in a hurry, and the Mets never recovered. The Mets lost game one of the series, slipping out of the wild card lead since the Brewers won, and also slipped a disappointing two games behind Philadelphia for the division.
The Phillies clinched at least a tie for the NL East crown, but with a Mets loss or Phillies win in the next two days, the NL East belongs to Philadelphia. In order for the Mets to make the playoffs, they not only need to win, but need the Brewers to lose at least one of their final two games.
Johan Santana will be pitching tomorrow on 3 days rest, even with a weather system approaching New York.
If the Brewers and Phillies win out, the Mets will be eliminated from playoff contention by default. All the Mets can do now is win and cry for help. Their game with the Marlins begins at 1:10 pm tomorrow at Shea Stadium, while the Brewers play an hour later and the Phillies play at 4.
Church’s Duck, Duck, Goose-like slide helps Mets beat Cubs
The Mets were down 6-4 when Robinson Cancel hit a line drive between the second and first basemen that easily scored a run. However, Ryan Church was right behind him and it was difficult to see if he would be able to make it home in time. He didn’t make it home in time for the throw, but Church ran to the outside and the catcher dived for Church. He missed, and Church curled around him and dived toward home plate after already running past it. The catcher saw that he missed and dived for him, but Church quickly leaped again and slammed his palm on the plate before being touched, tying the game.
In the ninth inning, Jose Reyes led off the inning with a single. However, later in the inning it appeared Daniel Murphy was making the nightmares of last night visible. After repeated unsuccessful bunts, it was obvious there was some miscommunication between either manager Jerry Manuel, Church, or the third base coach. Church went on and fouled off a 2-strike bunt attempt with Reyes taking off toward second base.
This made every Met fan cringe. David Wright then struck out to make matters worse, but the powerful Carlos Delgado was coming to the plate. Wanting no part of Delgado, Cubs skipper Lou Piniella opted to intentionally walk him, bringing up Carlos Beltran. Beltran hit a hard line drive off the glove of the diving first baseman to score Jose Reyes from second, giving the Mets a crucial win in the playoff race.
The Phillies had the night off, meaning the Mets are now only one game behind them in the NL East. The Brewers and Mets were tied heading into today, but the Brewers are in extra innings right now so the wild card standings will be determined later tonight. Obviously, if Milwaukee wins, nothing changes, but if they lose, the Mets will then hold a one game lead in the Wild Card race.
The Marlins, who already announced in the middle of their series with the Atlanta Braves that they would play hard and try to knock the Mets out of the playoffs, head to Shea for the final three games of Shea Stadium and the 2008 regular season. The Washington Nationals will be heading to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies in their final three games.
Thanks to the information provided by Metsblog.com , I can tell you the playoff scenarios should the Mets, Brewers, and Phillies be tied at the end of the season. The Mets and Phillies will play a one-game playoff Monday in Philadelphia. The winner will win the NL east, and the loser plays the Brewers in a one-game playoff for the wild card spot. That game would either be in Philadelphia or New York, not Milwaukee.