Very little could have made last night's game vs. the Dodgers more fun. Let's start with this: Gary Cohen's wife rocks so hard (although from now on we'll just call her Lynn!). All Mets fans should know how great she is, and they will, because Lynn and Gary filmed a segment for Mets Weekly yesterday--air date TBD--to help promote Lynn's awesome t-shirts for charity. Hopefully  the camera captured her warm, funny, and utterly exuberant personality! She's a joy to watch the game with, and boy did we have a blast.

Lynn invited me and the always insightful Dana Brand to dinner at the Diamond Club--my first time at the delicious buffet and not just the big ole bar :-)--overlooking batting practice. It's possible I indulged in both cheesecake and key lime pie for dessert, although I didn't mean to eat them both. Entirely. Friggin' awesome desserts.

Then I saw our seats: Oh, what lovely seats. Third row loge box directly behind home plate. I don't usually get to watch the games directly behind home, and yes, now I see the attraction. PLUS it was definitely a game worth watching! What a joy to see our team playing like we expect them to. A stellar game for double-dingerer David Wright, not to mention some stress-free relief pitching. How 'bout that Schoeneweis this season? I confess I was surprised to see him batting with 2 outs and a man on first, but as long as the game stayed pretty, it was hard to complain. Maintaining a lead all game even when the opposing team makes a move to battle back, and then tacking on some insurance runs in late innings? What's not to enjoy. And kudos to Vargas for continuing to pitch like we need him to.

The late innings for our little group were spent in the SNY suite at Shea--a spiffy place to indulge in...erm...more desserts and listen to the Gary, Keith, Ron broadcast while watching the game in person. I thought the bright blue and orange napkins everywhere were a charming touch.

Finally, already giddy with victory and way too much sugar, I couldn't have been more excited when Lynn arranged for us to pay a brief but thrilling visit to the SNY broadcasting booth. On hand were Gary, Keith, and Ron, all smiles even after their tough night of work. Keith had to hurry along, but he was gracious enough to pose for a pic with me and Gary. I heart that pic, and I will treasure it forever (like I do my pic from spring training with Ron Darling, Matt Yallof, and Coop!). Gary couldn't have been more friendly and endearing--what a great guy we have in him. On his way out of Shea, he talks with the fans every night. And he continues to prepare for every game the same way he did when he started out 20 years ago. He truly cares about giving us the best broadcast possible, and I hope he knows how much we appreciate him for it. Ronnie couldn't stay long, but I was flattered that he remembered meeting me at spring training and didn't even need to be introduced!

Just to avoid any possible conflict with SNY permissions or the like, I'll keep my pics from the booth private. But here's one from just outside the booth, along one of the hidden tunnels behind the scenes at Shea.

Meanwhile, if you haven't yet bought your Lynn Cohen-designed t-shirt, Garykeithandron.com is featuring a Father's Day 15% off discount through June 15. Just use the coupon code "yodaddy" for all merchandise. Cow-Bell Man loves his tee and can't wait to get more!

Here are a few more pics from the SNY suite on our all-around special day  :-)

No one can deny that last night's game vs. the Braves held some painful moments for all Mets fans watching. But for a large group of us, we were seated in cushy chairs, eating nachos, drinking beer (or, in my case, wine--I know, I know), and pocketing our surplus giveaway items.

Those of us who'd been there last year admit we enjoyed the Ziegfeld more than the Chelsea Clearview--the scale was larger, the fans rowdier, and the atmosphere more Shea-like, with vendors in the aisles rather than outside the theater. Plus, the proximity to the SNY studios meant that we had guests like Matt Yallof, Lee Mazzilli, and even Bud Harrelson to entertain us. But still, this year some fun moments eased the gloom of another gutting loss.

The good:

• The company. I was joined in my row by Regis of Metsblog and Mets Heads and his fiancee Mary, Dykstraw and his girlfriend Nicole, and the Coop!
  
• Mr. Met! He gamely posed with fans, helped the Pepsi Party Patrol toss out t-shirts, and acted as overall morale-booster.
  
• Giveaways: Pink Mother's Day cap, rally towel, and--to my joy--the kids t-shirt I'd wanted so badly commemorating Shea Stadium.

• Cooperative event planners: When I asked if they could put the pre-game show on the big screen like they did last year, the folks in charge of the event did so within minutes. However, Dykstraw then blamed me for making him watch Willie Randolph being interviewed larger than life. Oops. (Unfortunately, Metsblog Matty got bumped--so there was no giant Cerrone mug shot to capture.)
  
• Shea announcer Alex Anthony. Hearing the voice of Shea really makes this event. Alex Anthony asked trivia questions between innings and gave away prizes including game tickets, Jose Reyes figurines, and a 1986 World Series DVD.
• The Pepsi Party Patrol: I think there were more of them last year, but the PPP did its best to toss out t-shirts to as many viewers as possible.

The not-so-good

Oy, our team. I still think each individual player is letting the pressure get to him, and I still recommend that that the front office hire the clubhouse its own Dr. Melfi.

I stand by Big Pelf, and I think he's still making progress, but yes, last night's outing was a step back. I found myself wondering who our long man would be with Sosa gone--not that I'm aching for his return. Are they testing Feliciano in the role? Is Joe Smith too valuable later in the game to see if he could be an earlier multi-inning guy? Will Matt Wise stop pulling a Heilman and giving up the long ball?

Or will anyone even talk at all about the pitching and bullpen with all this "Fire Willie" or "Quiet Willie" or "It's Willie's fault" hullabaloo going on at every moment? I haven't been a Willie-hater, but I can't pretend to have enjoyed his recent descent into even more defensiveness than usual. I don't relish the distraction from the actual baseball. I'm sure the team can't either. As Regis said of the whole situation, regarding us fans, "Morale is low."

But in true Pick Me Up Some Mets fashion, I'm working on pulling some fun out of an otherwise dreary series. Stay tuned for a game to help the Metsies find their bats...

And in the meantime, here are some more snaps of the Movies event at the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas

Hope so!


I'll be going to the Mets at the Movies event at the Chelsea Clearview tonight with Coop, and there will be lots of bloggerati there too--so expect fun pics!
 
If you're there, say hi. I'll be wearing my garykeithandron.com t-shirt. Although the one I have now is a size too large, the lovely Lynn Cohen is sending me a smaller one to wear in the future! Love.

If this year's event is anything like last years, it'll be a lot of fun. ALSO they'll likely show the pre-show on the big screen. Now, Wednesday is Matty's Metsblog minute (or whatever they call it), so there he'll be, larger than life.




You know what that means, right? Matt Cerrone and his cinematic hero Indiana Jones will both be on movie screens this May.

He's one step closer to Indiana Matt.

Now let's just get our Metsies one step closer to the NL East title, okay boys!?

It's very easy after losing a 4-game series against the Nationals to overlook the good stuff. Very easy. Who isn't frustrated, especially with the offense? Dudes, score some runs.

But keep in mind how huge it is that Mike Pelfrey may have turned a corner--and that was one big, hulking corner. Has he figured certain things out?

1) He ditched the Evil Mouth Guard. Pelfrey is once more pitching with tongue. Should we call it French pitching? Whatever the guard was doing--whether it was tipping pitches, distracting Pelf, reaching out from his teeth to alter the course of the ball--evidence shows that Mike Pelfrey pitches better without the mouth guard. Please let it be retired forevermore.

2) He wasn't trying to "do too much." Pelfrey admitted that for his past two starts--the improved ones--he was feeling under the weather. This meant he wasn't over-pitching, he wasn't over-thinking, he wasn't trying too hard. He was just trying to get through. Moral of the story: Either we need to figure out the magic key to getting Pelfrey out of his own head so he can just throw the ball, or we need to figure out how to keep small strains of viruses around him at all times.

Now the team heads uptown, and I head into Yanks fan territory. My closest friend from college gets married tomorrow--to a die-hard Yankees fan (though a nice one). With tons of Yankee fan friends. With whom I'm spending tonight and most of tomorrow. METS: Please do not subject me to hours of baseball-related taunting. If nothing else, just play hard. For goodness sake, just play hard.

I was at Shea last night, somewhat moaning in despair at the game and making up songs about Aaron Heilman that I'll refrain from repeating here.

But I always DVR the games just in case there's something juicy to learn from the SNY commentators.

Last night? Keith happily related that in cold weather, he used to wear ladies' Danskin tights under his uniform--for size 5'10" and larger--that went down even to his feet. (A tip he learned from Barry Bonds' father Bobby Bonds.) A charming uni tidbit from our favorite Metrosexual.

Of course, with those uniforms back in the 80s, ladies' tights were about all you could squeeze under them.

Keith went on to tell the story that Ted Simmons of the old Cardinals team used to forgo underwear altogether under his polyester uniform--which apparently was somewhat see-through--and fans in the box seats sent in tons of letters demanding he wear some shorts to "cover it up." Gary Cohen's response: "That may be a little too much information."

You know what's too much information? When Keith then asked Gary, "Did you ever wear a cup?" and Gary responded, "Yes. But not in the booth."

Here's my current Mets-related goal: Let's make Ryan Church an All-Star. Go vote at MLB.com!

Last night's win against the Nationals was another Church banquet: a 4 RBI night for our Ryan against his former team. Even if his production drops off as the season progresses, he's out-performed every expectation and even saved Omar Minaya from some (some!) of the boo-birds. Not too shabby.

Our buddy Dykstraw wants to round up a group of us bloggerati to represent in the bleachers section wearing old lady wigs and retro glasses as the "Church ladies." The goal of the gathering? To urge people to vote for Ryan Church, our All-Star. Will it actually happen? Who knows. Still, go vote!

On a completely different note, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have in the past enjoyed Gary Cohen's wife, Lynn's, foray into t-shirt production. Gary, 1883, hair. Nuff said.

But now Lynn, Gary, Keith, and Ron have directed their impressive t-shirt prowess toward even loftier goals than celebrating Gary Cohen's birthday with the creation of garykeithandron.com to "Pitch in for a good cause."

Available for purchase are four t-shirts, featuring designs that celebrate every awesome Gary Keith Ron moment, from "It's Outta here!" to Ronnie's pitching renown to Keith's mustache, tootsie pop, #17, and--yes--even the Crocs! It's too cool to bear, and a t-shirt can be yours for $20.99-$22.99, with the proceeds going to the sportscasters' favorite local charities.

Almost just as cool, Garykeithandron.com aims to be "interactive with fans being able to submit their favorite Gary, Keith, and Ron stories, as well as photos of people wearing thee tee shirts." I mean, that's just fun.

Kudos to Lynn Cohen for spearheading this worthwhile endeavor with such humor, creativity, and affection. Just goes to show you, behind every great woman is a man in an SNY booth :-)

Here are the tees!
Right now they're only listed on the site in sizes Large and XLarge, but women's Small and men's XXLarge are currently available by request (just make a note in your order) and will be listed on the site soon!

My t-shirt should be coming soon, and I am psyched :-) Can you guess which one of the 4 I ordered?

Just when I think I can't appreciate John Maine more...

We get SUPERMAINE!

Today, the offense came straight from the Mets League of Justice.
Not only did the bats came alive (including Luis Castillo, whom--I confess--I had started calling Luis Castillohno), but--joy!--our boys came through with actual runners in actual scoring position. Indeed, it was a day of all-around crisp, pretty baseball.

And John friggin' Maine, you gave us what we needed so badly. Not only innings, but great, efficient innings, putting those Dodgers in their place. Getting out of trouble in the rare moments you found it (until the 9th, but that's a huge "so what"). The stuff of superstars.

I would pat your back, John Maine, but all I'd feel is that sweet, sweet superhero cape.

Almost exactly a year ago, on May 7, 2007, Oliver Perez was about to battle the Giants and Barry Zito (remember when he was a starting pitcher?). I asked: Which Ollie would we see, Strike Out Ollie or Walk Ollie? 

What does it say that a year later, that same question has come to define Oliver Perez's character as a pitcher? By now, shouldn't we know which Perez we're going to get? Or, perhaps more importantly, when Walk Ollie rears his ugly head, shouldn't Strike Out Ollie be able to put up some kind of fight?

We haven't seen much "perfect" starting pitching this year so far. Even Johan Santana has had some rocky early innings. But the difference between Johan and Ollie has been that Johan can refocus, rely on a consistent motion, and get himself out of trouble. John Maine has become our pitching poster boy for battling out of a tough jam. We love him for it--how can we not? When he doesn't have his best stuff, he gets by on sheer determination.

On his best days so far, Perez has given us 4 awesome innings. On his worst? He's given us indigestion. Do I agree with Billy Wagner giving him a public call-out? Not exactly. I appreciate Billy's fire and his willingness to show his frustration, and I like that he's spoken his mind about the team. It's the singling out of Perez that I'm not sure should have occurred in a public arena. But the thing is, Wagner's right. We need Perez for more than 4 innings. Period.

So tonight, we better get us some Strike Out Ollie. For at least 6 innings. Or if Perez starts off rocky, then settles down after an inning? I'll take that too.

But we shouldn't keep having to ask Ollie whom he's bringing to the mound tonight.

 

I knew Indiana Jones was one of the coolest characters EVER. But I didn't realize he's a Mets fan!

13-1 loss against the Pirates, eh? To use their language, Arrrrrgh!

It's hard to forget last year's Head Shaving Metscapade (I especially loved that video capturing Shawn Green in the dugout saying "My head is cold, man. I don't like it." Oh, poor Shawn Green. With the ears.) But let's remember why it happened in the first place.

The immediate reason seemed to be that David Wright was slumping. So his teammates gathered together in support. But the ultimate effect was that yes, the team gathered together. Acted as one. Had a laugh, some fun, and relaxed. At least for a moment.

We all know that something isn't clicking. You'll hear people ask "What's the character of the team?" "Who's the leader?" "Where's the comaraderie?" Beyond demands to Fire Willie! Or Get rid of Delgado! Or whatever siren call is blasting on any given day, could the biggest problem be that the team's just plain not enjoying itself anymore?

Have you ever worked a dreary job? Bet you find it hard to focus. Maybe you made some mental mistakes. Except you don't (likely) make millllions of dollars. Or have hundreds of thousands of people who care about your every move. Or have what should be the most awesome job ever.

What can be done? Not to improve the talent, the lineup, the rotation, the bullpen. What can be done to improve the basic energy of the clubhouse? The team needs to feel like a team, which they don't seem to at this moment. Coherence. Spark. Unity. Fun. These are as important right now as--and perhaps prerequisites for--drive and focus.

Just look at 2006. Every other article, interview, blog post talked about the spirit of the Mets, the clubhouse comaraderie, the unity. Call it touchy feely if you want to, but for that year's team, at least, it seemed to bloody well work,

So what do you have to do, boys? Let's try to keep the hair this time, just for appearance's sake. Backyard barbecue? Big *** party? Group finger painting? Some kind of retreat with those annoying "fall into our arms" trust exercises? Poker game? Mud wrestling?

Find it. Do it. Come back to us whole. 

 

P.S. I can't help it, this is hilarious and a must read for your sophomoric humor side: Things you can say at Shea, but not while having sex. Thanks to Matty for directing me to this site in the first place.