Manny to Mets talk…..AGAINNN
Talk regarding Manny Ramirez coming to the Mets has been swirling around Shea yet again. Just a couple seasons after Manny was taken out of the lineup in Boston because he was so close to going to New York, only to find out the deal collapsed, is being rumored to sign with the Mets when he becomes a free-agent after this season.
This is a nice idea for the Mets, but before anyone gets too excited, they need to take care of the bullpen first and foremost. Aaron Heilman and Scott Schoeneweis need to walk the plank first. Those two have caused the fans to have nightmares, sleepless nights, and visions of horror. Next, they need to open up their wallets to fix the bullpen as soon as the World Series is over.
Disappointing fan support in Mets’ final game
It was one of the biggest Mets games in regular season history. It was either complete a meltdown for the second consecutive season, or advance to play another day. With the Mets tied with the Milwaukee Brewers for the final playoff spot with one game remaining, everything was on the line…
And the fans just sat there.
While you see fans from the Milwaukee Brewers or the Philadelphia Phillies waving towels and screaming their hearts out, you will see fans from the New York Mets either standing there or booing. The only time they actually decided to cheer was when Beltran hit the game-tying home run. I sure didn’t see any towels flying. I know the Mets have failed to meet expectations, but give me a break.
I hope CitiField hands out towels to all rivalry or important games because it could also give a boost to the players knowing that the fans believe in them. After the home runs given up by Scott Schoenweis and Luis Ayala, the fans decided to quit on the team and the players decided to call it a season by just hanging their body over the railings. It was only two runs they needed! TWO!
But no. Everyone in the stadium decided to call it quits too early. The sad part is that the players did too.
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!