Builditunion.com is giving away free Citi Field pins to all who may be interested. It’s a decent-looking pin, too, not just the corporate-style logo (which does not inspire devotion), but a view of the field with the Jumbotron (or whatever it will be called) in the background. They require a name and email address in return.

Meanwhile, Crazymetgirl loves her purse, Coop loves her hoodie, and I’ve got a couple items on the way that I’ll report back on

More later on last night’s freezing extra-innings game. I stayed ’til the end!

Hey, Angel Hernandez:

This will be my 3rd post in under 14 hours. Rare, but I couldn’t let this one go.

If you were watching last night’s broadcast on SNY, you heard Gary Cohen barely restraining himself from going off on 1st base ump Angel Hernandez. With perfect reason.

After Hernandez insufficiently called an out at 1st, Carlos Delgado seemed to offer a justified complaint. The camera then showed Hernandez cursing out Delgado, calling him a “piece of s**t,” when Hernandez was obviously the one in the wrong. Again.

Of course the Mets problems with Douchey Hernandez started back in 1998, when a blatantly wrong call ended an 11-inning battle vs. the Braves in their favor.

The ridiculousness continued in 2006, as reported by Matty, with completely inappropriate and unprofessional comments by Hernandez that led Lo Duca and Cliff Floyd to react visibly and vocally to not only his incompetence but also his lack of professionalism.

I don’t like to blog about a game before it’s over–and at this point in the bottom of the 7th, with Feliciano warming up, hey, we can still pull off the win against the Nationals. But oy. These are not the faces I want to see. Grippy-lips means runs given up.

Hang on. Did Delgado just miss that ball to score them another run?

And…really? Did Sosa just give that hit up? The score was 7-4 when I started writing. 10-4 by the end. But…it was such a short little entry!

Yikes. Even Kevin Burkhardt’s attempt at humor, interviewing giant, silent, presidential muppets can not save this inning.

I always know I shouldn’t live blog!!!

So let’s just end with a “Who Knew?” moment. Go figure Carlos Beltran (age 31) and Chipper Larry Jones (age 36) share the same birthday, today, April 24th. And both got home runs on this birthday.

Now I’m going to watch the 8th curled up in bed. I might start sucking my thumb.

Night.

Don’t miss these couple posts from Hot Foot:

First, a video of Joe Smith running his yap at the Cubs fans in Chicago. Originally Matty posted this over at Metsblog, but it has since vanished there. I’ve been disappointed in Joe Smith since spring training. Not in his pitching–so far he’s done right by the team on the mound. But when it comes to fan relations, the dude could use some work. In that respect, he’s the anti-John Maine. I know they’re buds, so Johnny, teach your boy Joe some better manners. (Yes, I know he’s going off on Cubbies and not Mets fans, but still. Just not classy.)

Second, there’s a link to an adorable Q&A with David Wright. Worth the read if you want a smile.

We could use a smile with Brian Schneider likely headed on the DL. An overnight stay in the hospital doesn’t sound promising. Zoë to Thumb: Heal fast. I quite like me some Brian Schneider.

While in Philly, I was stopped about 5 times and asked where I’d gotten my women’s John Maine tee. The answer? At the new outdoor (but closed in) store at Shea, the one by the tickets near gate E. My other latest attention-getting acquisition has been my crystal logo clutch, which countless dudes and women have been asking about since spring training. (Yes, I’d prefer if it was embroidered and not crystaled, but oh well.)

I was reminded of how many emails from both dudes and ladies I got back in 2006 when I set up mock-designs of how I wish they’d make the Mets women’s clothes. Maybe they could actually fit well–not too short and too big in the bosom. Maybe they could lay off the crystals and rhinestones. For goodness sake, why do they ruin all the decent shirts with the crystals and the rhinestones!?

It’s not just the Mets clothes. Matty’s wife, a devout Yankees fan, also has trouble finding gear she likes. But, well, I’m not here to clothe the Yanks fans. I will, however, offer my own personal favorites available currently on Mlb.com.

Zoe’s Personal Preferences in Available Online Mets Merch And Yes She Wishes She Got Commission

The starters:
1) I would love this jersey purse to add to my Metscessories.
2) One of the few decent vintage women’s options: a women’s Cooperstown t-shirt
3) This crystal wristlet is an adorable smaller version of my logo clutch.
4) A basic retro sweatshirt hoodie for even the less girly fans.
5) I find it hard to resist a youth ringer tee (kids medium for women’s small), like this one with the last-season-at-Shea-logo.

And yes, there are a few Touch by Alyssa Milano options that I would wear:

6) A fitted black zip hoodie. A bottom ruffle, yes, but looks like a good fit.
7) This button-down black top, which I really like! But which they don’t seem to have available anymore in small, which sucks.
8) I admit, I would wear this empire-waist tunic out to watch the game at my local Blind Pig, and I’d probably even wear it to Shea, too. In fact, it’s toward the top of my list. A little sexy, a little girly, but not slutty (very important that!)

The bench:
9) This long-sleeved thermal looks like it’s cut long enough–a rarity in Mets merch–even if I’m not entirely sold on the swirly thingies under the logo.
10) I would have liked this black velour jacket at the 2 April games I’ve been to so far, but I worry it may be a bit short-waisted.
11) A basic gray (for away games?) youth tee that I’d wear for a break from blue and orange.

What better time to write about Saturday’s road trip to Philly than while watching the final game of the series on ESPN? I was disappointed to see Schneider isn’t catching tonight (doesn’t seem like his bruise is serious, though) because Pelfrey has even admitted that Schneider helps him out on the mound. I don’t think we’ll see Pelf’s best without the veteran catcher. (Ok, and yeah, while I write this entry Pelfrey gives up a 3-run homer to Utley. Ack.) But in the meantime, I’ll tell you how fun it was to see our boys kick tushy at Citizens Bank Park yesterday!!! The full flickr album can be seen here.

I had nothing to worry about at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies fans were harmless. And one even congratulated me on my good-natured comebacks to his taunting. But more on that later!

Friday night, after Coop and I reveled in Santana’s win (and the Rangers too) at the Blind Pig, we had a slumber party at her place before driving off to Philly in the morning with Anthony (aka Dykstraw) and his buddy Kevin.

Soon, the gang was all gathered in Lot N of CBP’s parking lot to tailgate. Matty and Ted brought cameras, a mike, and SNY buddy Jason to film the experience for SNY.tv. Tracy brought delicious food, Ryan brought whiffle ball. We had beers, games, good company, sun, fun, and an all around great time.

Metsblog Matty had requested the whiffle ball, and we all took some shots. Anthony even taught me (briefly!) how to hold the bat, and I took my first 6 pitches ever. I made contact with 3: 1 popped foul, 2 straight at the pitcher.

Matt, Anthony, Ryan, and others made it look much prettier, I assure you.

Know what else makes a tailgate fun? Free stuff! Parting gifts!! A group of clever dudes had made a “Philly Sucks” t-shirt with an awesome quote from

Pedro Martinez. They gave Matty one, and when I ran over to see if they had more, they kindly gave me one too! I heart it!
It’s quite big, kids XL, but I hope I can be creative and figure out how to sport it for a Mets/Phils game at Shea. The shirt? Just plain ROCKS. (Ooh! Our boys just tied it up in the 6th! I “WOO-ed” in my own apartment!)

Coop and I heard our first real “boos” on our way into the stadium. There’s a lot of parking lot to travel from Lot N, and the walk was just one big boo.

But once inside, things weren’t so bad! I’d been told Citizens Bank Park is beautiful, and indeed, I can’t argue. On our way in, I heard a Phils
fan say, “Should we boo them now?” and he started booing. I turned around with a smile and said “No, you should boo us when we’re winning,” and he and his girlfriend just laughed good-naturedly.

Our seats were about as high as you can get, literally, at that ballpark. But they were still pretty good. It makes me think they’re telling the absolute
truth that every seat at Citi Field will

be worthwhile. And yes, it makes me more excited for our spanking new ball park.

We wouldn’t stay in our seats long, though. We went to meet the other Girls of Spring, Stefi and Rebecca, at their standing-room-only spots right behind home plate. What fun we would have there! Matty, Ted, and Jason stopped by to hang, Brooklyn Met Fan Adam made an appearance, and Dykstraw finally found us there too. Plus, there were Mets fans everywhere. We made friends with some–it felt like we were around our people. Yes, there was one verrrrrry obnoxious (and verrrrrry drunk) Phils fan running at the mouth, but his taunts were so truly lame that it actually felt like stand up comedy! The dude almost got beat up by his own team’s fans, so you can imagine what a dumb douchie he was.

You can’t tell from the pics, but I was wearing a shirt with John Maine’s # on the back. I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard “Is that a John Maine jersey?” I made a sympathetic face at the Phils fan and spoke slowly “It’s a tee-shirt.”

“John Maine sucks!” he said.
“Your mommy,” I responded.
His friends laughed, he laughed, and he shook my hand. “That’s nice,” he said. “Hey, I’ll wear a John Maine jersey”
“If they make them in your size,” I said. He wasn’t unusually big, it just seemed like a reasonable taunt. And he agreed. I felt at that moment like a poster-child for good-natured rivalry. 

To top it all off, with all the tailgate fun, the beautiful ball park, the sun and breeze, our boys gave us the win! Oh, that was sweet. Sure, it got interesting there for a bit, but kudos to Heilman (ohhhh I was nervous!) for getting out of it, a pat on the back to Wagner for the save in his former city, and thanks to Ollie Perez for 5 truly solid innings. And how ’bout our Jose Reyes? Keep it up, buddy. The media will love their “Jose being Jose” and “Did Carlos Beltran show leadership” for at least another three weeks.

I haven’t quite figured out the best way to post pics on the newfangled mlblogs, but here are some of my faves! And remember for more, just check out the flickr album.

 

I will also let you laugh at me, in my first ever at bat. We will thank our lucky stars that our boys never look anything like this. Not even Ollie Perez

The team needs to score Santana some runs tonight.

Thank goodness we got the win last night, because seeing so many men stranded on base was frustrating. But I have a feeling the offense is about to kick into gear. Whether because of Jose’s return to “being Jose,” or because Ryan Church has been on fire, or because Delgado’s going to start being more clutch, something just tells me that we’re going to score runs in Philly.

But even more important than tonight’s game being the first in an important series, the team just needs to get Santana a win. I’m not worried about Johan–I think he’ll be just great this year. I’m worried about the psychological impact on the team. Everyone called Johan the bandage, the cure-all for last season. The boys took confidence from him. He boosted morale. Well, what’s going to happen to that morale if the Mets can’t get a win with one of the best pitchers in baseball on the mound?

Tonight will be a challenge. Way harder than any of the games against the Nats. Let’s go boys! Set the table for a kick-tush (I hate the obscenity filter) time for us Mets fans in Philly on Saturday!

Let’s Go Mets!  

Not about our team! I love what our team’s been doing against the Nats. Of course I hope they keep it up against better clubs, but for now I am satisfied.

No, I’m more worried about my personal safety.

See, this Saturday, the Girls of Spring, Coop and I, head off to Philadelphia. We’ve had this planned forever. And I’ve been all excited. My first Mets road trip (during the season, if you don’t count spring training)! With my girl! Plus, lots of Mets fans are meeting up beforehand to pool our Metsthusiasm and make our presence felt. So, yay!

Except now people are making me scared. Last night at Shea, I bought my first player-specific t-shirt since my 2006 Cliff Floyd #30 tee, an homage to my current favorite Met, #33 Johnny Maine. “I’ll wear it to Philly!” I said to Rob. He eyed me suspiciously. “Not if you like it. You don’t know what’ll happen to it.”

What’ll happen to it? To my shirt? On my body?

The day before, another dude had warned me, “Don’t wear any Mets gear!” Well, of course I’m going to wear Mets gear, I told him. “Phillies fans are the worst,” he warned, and he told me I could get beat up or worse. I’m not even sure how much he was exaggerating.

Beat up? But I’m a chick. Not even a threatening-looking chick. A small, rather weak chick. Well, except for my legs. I have strong legs, and I can kick to hurt. But still–you wouldn’t know that just to look at me. Here I am last night after the win, waving my Kids Club pom pom in my newest Mets cap. Would a Phils fan really beat that up?

Don’t get me wrong–I fully anticipate verbal abuse. Much, vibrant verbal abuse. Which Coop will probably yell back at, obscenely, and perhaps get us into some trouble. (I usually think of the perfect comeback line 2-5 minutes too late.) But the verbal abuse could be fun–that’s what baseball rivalry’s all about. Eh, toss whatever verbal vitriol you’ve got Phillies fans.

It’s the beating up I’d like to avoid please. And leave my new cap and shirt alone.

If you’ve been keeping tabs on this blog, you might know that my most popular post of 2008 so far has been the SNY Game Coverage Drinking Game. Well, last night’s SNY broadcast brought us a milestone, if you’ve been keeping score.

That’s right, it was the first time this season we’ve seen Keith Hernandez’s footwear. His warm boots, in fact. Because he knew you were wondering what was down there…

Thanks, Keith!

I could go into how much I love David Wright as a ball player–his work ethic, his care for the game, his heart, his production.

But if you’ve been listening to the SNY broadcasts so far this season, you’ll know one of their favorite discussion topics has been “Man love.” So here’s some man love from David Wright for his former teammate, Paul Lo Duca.

And of course speaking of love, who would have thought that Mike Pelfrey would be our first pitcher to register 2 wins? Even better than the shut-out, perhaps, was the duration: 7-innings, giving some of the bullpen a needed break. Pelf, I reach out my arms to you David Wright style and say keep it up, buddy.