Our team has already managed to get themselves into last place and then into first place and then back to last place within the first month and a half of the season.

And now, mid-May brings two of the Mets starting pitchers missing from the roster.

Guess we should be used to that.

Oliver Perez picked up where he left off last season, walking the ballpark. And he’s in the second year of an unimaginable $36 million contract. (Scott Boras is GOOOOD) Now Ollie has been shipped off to the bullpen rather than going down to Triple A where he SHOULD go. And Jonathan Niese who thus far has been pretty good has reinjured the hamstring that cut his season short last year

But don’t worry Mets fans. We will now be treated to the 35 year old knuckleballer named R.A. Dickey as a starting pitcher.

And Japanese pitcher Hisanori Takahashi who has never started a game here in the States but has been an effective arm in the Mets bullpen this year is now also a starting pitcher.

Jose Reyes, who many consider the key to this team, is back on the field as our starting shortstop but has yet to get his bat in gear.

New acquisition and alleged “big bat” Jason Bay can’t get a hit with guys on base.

Right fielder and dreamy guy Jeff Francoeur got off to a blazing start but has since gone cold and was actually benched the other night.

(note: my first Citifield purchase of the 2010 season if you don’t count a beer and a pulled pork sandwich from Blue Smoke was a Francoeur tee shirt).

David Wright is swinging at some pretty awful pitches although at this writing he has 8 homeruns equaling the total number of homeruns he hit for the entire 2009 season.

Some guy named Carlos Beltran is supposed to show up at some point before October to play centerfield. Can’t wait to meet him.

On the upside, the Mets have two pretty good hitting catchers in Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco.

And 22 year -old rookie first baseman Ike Davis has been a ray of sunshine…he can hit AND he can play first base!

At the end of April the Mets won, I think, 10 out of 11 games on a long home stand that propelled them from worst to first in the NL East. For a week or two sports reporters applauded the Mets and their remarkable turn around.

But then they went back on the road and started losing again.

Perhaps the Wilpons can arrange to put large photos of Citifield around whatever ballpark the Mets are playing in. Or paint a view of the field of Ciifield on the inside of the Mets players’ sunglasses. If they think they’re home maybe they will play like they are.

And now the talk of when manager Jerry (umm, ahhh, umm) Manuel will be fired and/or when general manager Omar Minaya might meet the same fate has heated up again.

I, for one, never wanted to see Bobby Valentine leave but I think the chances of the Wilpons bringing him back are about as slim as there ever being an honest politician. For one thing, he’s too expensive.

For my May 9 birthday this year, we spent the day at Citifield (when I bought the aforementioned Francoeur shirt) hoping the Mets would sweep their series against the Giants. They didn’t. It was sunny but brutally windy at Citifield and we were bundled in multiple layers of clothing.

Our next Citifield adventure happens this Saturday night when we will watch the Mets play the Yankees. There are two real pitchers pitching: Mike Pelfrey and Phil Hughes. Maybe we’ll see a good game.

It’s gonna be a long season but I love it.

- Pam Landry

http://www.pamlandry.com

Sailing around the world alone is akin to climbing Mount Everest, sledding across the Arctic, or canoeing the Nile River.. The difficulty and the danger cannot be underestimated. Out of all the billions and billions of people that live or have lived, more people have gone into space than have sailed alone around the world. Less than a handful of people have done it under the age of 20.

No one has accomplished this under the age of 18. Even in this day of modern gadgetry, there is still one simple truth: Zac had to sail his boat around the world. He had to spend weeks and weeks at sea. He had to battle storms, pirates, illness, loneliness, hunger, and fear, to survive in the most hostile environment on the planet.

Zac is 17 years old, and he is growing up in Southern California. A year and a half ago, he had a dream to sail around the world. It would have been easy to dismiss such a far fetched fantasy, but Zac took his own money, earned like most kids from summer jobs, and bought a 36 foot sailboat. He named his boat Intrepid. His parents had hoped he would find something that would create a fire in him, a passion that would direct him away from all the negative and harmful influences that are so prevalent in our society, but even they were stunned by the scope of his dreams and desires.

Though they first questioned his dream, Zac was not to be deterred, and he worked endless 18 hour days preparing his boat. His hard work and the seriousness which he approached the preparations caught people’s attention and suddenly it seemed the whole nation was caught up in Zac’s dream.

In this time of war and historic economic upheaval, here is one young man who has set his mind to a fantastical goal, and stands as a reminder that life is about going forward against great odds and winning. Zac’s dream, a dream of adventure, discovery, and challenge, is one of the simple truths of being human. There is no agenda, no political motivation, just the simple desires of a young man to go exploring, to see new places and meet new people.

You must read his story and view the photos to truly understand the magnitude of this adventure and put in perspective the things we need to get done on a daily basis!

http://www.zacsunderland.com/

]]> http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/10/california-dreaming-and-zac/feed/ 3 http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/09/on-being-a-mets-fan-in-a-yankeered-sox-nation/ http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/09/on-being-a-mets-fan-in-a-yankeered-sox-nation/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:55:19 +0000 Pam Landry http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/?p=1094 Hello my name is Pam and I am a Mets fan. Yup. Yeah I know. Most people in the Nutmeg State say “WTF?” when they find out I’m a Mets fan. Sometimes I think I’d get less of a reaction of bewilderment if I said I was, say, a Padres fan. Or a Nationals fan. [...]]]>

Hello my name is Pam and I am a Mets fan.

Yup. Yeah I know. Most people in the Nutmeg State say “WTF?” when they find out I’m a Mets fan. Sometimes I think I’d get less of a reaction of bewilderment if I said I was, say, a Padres fan. Or a Nationals fan. But a METS fan? Sometimes people take a step back from me and give me “that look” that says: when you can be a fan of THAT OTHER NEW YORK TEAM WITH ALL THE RINGS AND ALL THE HISTORY or that BOSTON TEAM THAT HANDED IT TO THAT OTHER NEW YORK TEAM IN THE 2004 ALCS you actually are a METS fan?

Yeah, well, I am a Mets fan. Builds character, I say.

I grew up in lower Westchester County, NY where both my Mom and Dad were Yankee fans. My big sister took me to a Mets game sometime in the early 70’s – a doubleheader – and I became a Mets fan. That simple. Tug McGraw was my hero. Ya Gotta Believe. And I did. I still do. Tug told me to.

Listen to any broadcast interview conducted in Connecticut, or read any interview in a local Connecticut publication and the question is posed to the interviewee ala the “boxers or briefs” question:

“Favorite baseball team? Yankees or Red Sox?”

Uh…Mets.

But the Mets are never one of the choices offered when the question is posed.

And then, as a Mets fan, when you encounter another Mets fan it’s this feeling of contentment; this feeling of “yeah, WE know the team to root for” acknowledged with a smile and a nod; perhaps a thumbs up. For a Mets fan knows the specialness of being a Mets fan and of spotting another Mets fan. We are the blue whale, the giant panda, the snow leopard of baseball fans…we are, indeed, like an endangered species as each year of spending our days and nights rooting on our baseball team seems to become increasingly futile.

A true fan wears his or her team gear regardless of how grand or how putrid that fan’s team is. Mets fans know and embrace this. It is a badge of courage; loyalty. Mets fans are loyal through victory or defeat…or defeat…or defeat. You’ll never catch a Mets fan with cobwebs on his or her Mets cap because it is worn each and every day. If the Mets closer blows a save – or 10 – it’s another blown save, not the end of an All-Star closer’s career because, well, his career must be over because it’s his second blown save of the season and it’s September.

When the Mets win a game it’s pure joy. When the Mets win a series it’s euphoric. When the Mets make the playoffs it’s, well, RARE, but it’s over-the-moon terrific. When the Mets win the pennant it’s grab-your-toes-and-scream-out-the-window fantastic. When the Mets win the NLCS to go to the World Series (I was at Shea to see it happen in October of 2000) it’s around-the-world crazy happiness. And when the Mets win the World Series it’s … well there are no words.

I was at Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. Yes, the Bill Buckner game.

And I was at Game 3 of the 2000 “Subway Series”…the game was at Shea and it was the only game of the 2000 World Series that the Mets won.

Sure it would be swell to have the Mets win more, get into the playoffs every year and of course to the World Series. But Met fans know it is not our birth right. We are more accustomed to our team NOT getting there than getting there.

But if and WHEN they DO get there, it is so much sweeter. It’s a feeling that only a Mets fan can know and appreciate.

Maybe next year.

]]> http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/09/on-being-a-mets-fan-in-a-yankeered-sox-nation/feed/ 10 http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/09/its-that-time-of-yearso-bostongot-anything-left-for-us/ http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/blog/2009/09/its-that-time-of-yearso-bostongot-anything-left-for-us/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:13:38 +0000 Mark Grabowski http://www.shorelineoutandabout.com/demo/?p=935 Buying your newborn son his first T-Shirt that reads, “I can’t even walk yet and I already hate the Red Sox!” – $12.50 Sitting in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium under the thunderous ripples of the “Roll Call” – $14.00 Getting an opportunity to deny the courtesy of holding the door for a guy wearing [...]]]>

Buying your newborn son his first T-Shirt that reads, “I can’t even walk yet and I already hate the Red Sox!” – $12.50

Sitting in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium under the thunderous ripples of the “Roll Call” – $14.00

Getting an opportunity to deny the courtesy of holding the door for a guy wearing a Red Sox hat when he’s loaded up with a tray of hot coffees – PRICELESS!

Following the 2004 playoffs I was strolling into a Dunkin Donuts in Killingworth still wearing my Yankees hat proudly, despite losing the ALCS in embarrassing fashion to a (come to find out) steroid riddled lineup of Red Sox players. On his way out was a gimpy fella holding a tray full of red hot coffees in both hands, when on his head I discover the famously contemptible coat of arms that for 86 years prior was an insignia that meant “loser”. On that day I would not yield to courtesy, I would not bow to sportsmanlike conduct, and I refused to let my beloved Yankees go down without a fight! The Gimp would open his own door on that cold November morning lest George Herman Ruth rolled over in his grave, I tell ya! I walked through that door chest up, and let that sucker SLAM closed right behind me!

This event baptized me into a rivalry dating back to 1904 when Boston beat the hot upstart New York Highlanders on a wild pitch in the top of the ninth in the second to last game of the season, and the first game of a doubleheader the Highlanders needed to sweep to win the pennant. Suffice it to say, I was never really caught up in the rivalry until the 2004 season. Sure I basked in their embarrassment when Bill Buckner straddled a routine groundball only to watch it glide through his bowlegged gape! And, other than the 1978 Boston Massacre season climaxing in the unlikely homerun from the light hitting Bucky Dent, there really haven’t been many ‘recent’ years of the two teams crossing paths with any greater meaning on the season. None that should summon in me a demonic evil twin against mere strangers in coffee shops!

In 1999, the Yankees took the series against the Red Sox 4-1 – boring! We came out the victors in the 2003 series that culminated in an Aaron Boone ding-dong off dinosaur Tim Wakefield – it’s hard to feel bitter over a victory. All of the prior eight decades of bitter rivalry rests on the shoulders of Red Sox fans. In the prior 86 seasons, the Yankees have amassed a seemingly insurmountable pile of World Series titles and AL Pennants – 26 and 39 respectively! How do I garner hostility against a fan base with such a long bloodline of champion pedigree? Well, you can’t, until 2004 of course.

In 2004 the Yankees became the first team in professional baseball history to lose a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-0 series lead. The Yankees haven’t won a World Series title since they defeated the Mets in 2000. Even in the emotional series against the Diamondbacks in 2001 following the September 11th attacks, it seemed even Red Sox fans stood up in favor of “anyone beating the Yankees” – though they’ll never admit it! Since the Word Series defeat in the shadow of the September 11th attacks that bore witness to Boston fans routing for the Diamondbacks, the Red Sox have won two World Series titles in the face of a Yankee team struggling to even make a playoff berth. Shameful!

For me, this rivalry began on Wednesday, October 20, 2004 when Alan Embree got Ruben Sierra to groundout in the bottom of the 9th in Game 7 of the ALCS. And, even though we hold a commanding lead in the East here in 2009, Jim Rice’s recent comments about our stars have fueled a fire in a Yankee’s fan base ready for battle once more. Rice was quoted in a speech to Little Leaguers last week, “You see a Manny Ramirez, you see an A-Rod, you see Jeter … Guys that I played against and with, these guys you’re talking about cannot compare.” Rice went on to add, “We didn’t have the baggy uniforms. We didn’t have the dreadlocks. It was a clean game, and now they’re setting a bad example for the young guys.”

Jim Rice never played on a team that won a World Series title, and he never will!

Publishers note: We encourge your thoughts, and responses. We also have both a Yankees and a Red Sox fan page in the  members section, so check those out. In fairness, we will also be more than happy to post a response from Red Sox Nation. So all of you put your heads to together, and form at least one cohesive sentance.How’s that for calling you all out?

Begining in June 2010, the Jamestown Jammers will call Norwich their new
home. The Jamestown Jammers are the short-season Single-A affiliate of the
Florida Marlins playing in the NY-Penn League. The good news is
professional baseball will stay in Norwich, a place where two Double-A
teams groomed a flury of young stars since April 1995. The New York Yankees
Double-A affiliate called the Norwich Navigators, and later the San
Francisco Giants Double-A affiliate, currently the Connecticut Defenders,
have hosted a number of notable players over the past fourteen seasons -
Chili Davis, Andy Pettitte, Daryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden, David Cone,
Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Tim Raines, Mike Lowell, Alfonso Soriano, and
Roger Clemens. Some passing through on a rehab stint while on the disabled
list or as future stars (i.e., Jeter and Bernie!). Today’s most prominent
Giants Matt Cain and Pablo Sandoval also played for Norwich.

April 1995, however, was not the birth of Norwich baseball. In 1899 Norwich
played games in the Connecticut State League under the name, Norwich
Witches. They finished 8th that year ahead of the Waterbury Rough Riders.
They played for three years as the Norwich Witches finishing in 1st place
in 1900. They changed the team name to the Norwich Reds in 1902 playing in
the Connecticut League until 1907. Baseball returned to Norwich in 1910 as
the Norwich Bon Bons in the Connecticut Association. Abraham Lincoln “Ham”
Wade, John Deering, and Tuck Turner were some stand outs those years
eventually playing for Major League teams such as the Giants, Highlanders
(Yankees), Phillies, Browns and Blues respectively. Professional baseball
left Norwich in 1910 to return 80 years later as the Norwich Navigators.

Two of the Top 3 prospects in the Giants system pitch in Norwich, Tim
Alderson and Madison Bumgarner. Time your ticket purchases for their
starts, these two are Grade A prospects according to John Sickels, and
Baseball America ranks Alderson and Bumgarner #4 and #1 in the Giants
system respsectively. The team isn’t a very powerful team at the plate with
only one player in double digits in HR’s, Brett Pill. Pill is hitting .296
with 15 HR’s and 93 RBI’s. Madison Bumgarner is 7-1 in 15 starts with
Norwich sporting a lights-out 2.07 ERA and 1.07 WHIP. Tim Alderson is
currently 8-1 in 16 starts at Norwich and is also throwing a respectable
line with a 3.50 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. Alderson is more of a control pitcher,
while Bumgarner scouts as a mid-90′s power pitcher with a lot of movement
on his fastball and great secondary pitches.

While there isn’t a deep set of prospects playing in Norwich, the ones they
do have right here in Connecticut are elite pitchers in the mold of a Matt
Cain and Barry Zito – maybe not as elite as Tim Lincecum, but these kids
can hurl. If they can make it to the finals against Akron, they’ll be over
matched – Akron leads most if not all key team pitching categories, and is
a much more powerful hitting team with 30 more HR’s than Connecticut and 53
more runs scored so far this season. But, when Bumgarner and Alderson are
on the mound against Akron’s opposing elite you can be guaranteed to be in
the presence of great baseball.

Despite the pending move, we should get out and support our Defenders! The
Voodoo Grill is good eats, the kids will enjoy autographs and pictures with
Cutter and Tater the Gator, and the baseball is pure! There’s a lot of
history behind Norwich baseball. Any fan will feel the nostaligia once
stepping into Dodd Stadium, and the family fun is an experience no one will
forget. Like in the movie “Field of Dreams” when Terence Mann (James Earl
Jones) said, “The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away
from their faces.”