Don’t forget to read my latest blog post for WFMU! It’s all about travel and field recordings. Whee! Read it here!
Last night Nicci and I walked over to the stadium to support the floundering Mets as they attempted to salvage a three-game series with the Dodgers. The fucking Dodgers. Without Manny Ramirez in their lineup, a bunch of scrubs who would ride the bench on most others cities’ ballclubs beat the Mets in back-to-back games while making them look like the Bad News Bears. Seriously, watching that first game — when the Mets committed five errors — was like watching a puppy getting run over by a car repeatedly. People were actually apologizing to me. It was pathetic. For some reason, I actually believed my presence last night could help will the Mets to a win.
I was wrong.
Although a well-pitched game by Livan Hernandez kept the Mets close, their offense’s inability to succeed with runners in scoring position inevitably led to one-too-many squandered opportunities. The Dodgers got to J.J. Putz in the bottom of the 8th inning, and their closer Jonathan Broxton nailed down the save to complete the three-game sweep.
We arrived early, got a couple Dodger Dogs, watched the Mets take batting practice (didn’t see anyone hit a ball out of the park), watched Livan Hernandez warm up with Ramon Castro, watched Jose Reyes test out his calf (whoops!), and then watched Livan’s bullpen session. He didn’t look all that impressive, but he took the storm of insults from Dodgers fans really well, taking time between pitches to turn around and chat with them. Ramon Castro in the bullpen lazily practicing blocking balls in the dirt was a sad sight.
I’m placing the blame for this squarely on the shoulders of Met manager Jerry Manuel. I’ve had it with Manuel, and chants of “Fire Manuel” are repeated Ad infinitum inside my head as I watch and listen to Mets games of late. The fact that Wright and Beltran were reaching base really well throughout the series with the Dodgers leads one to believe that their supporting cast must be really, really atrocious. Two players who hit back-to-back in the lineup are on base literally 50% of the time they step up to bat, and no one else can knock them in? Well, that’s either an error on the part of the guy who makes up the roster (Omar Minaya, who is horrible in his own right, but will receive a very, very temporary “pass” as he could not have predicted injuries to Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado), or the guy who makes up the batting order (Jerry Manuel). I’m sorry, but hitting Daniel Murphy 5th in the lineup and playing Angel Pagan over Gary Sheffield is, plain and simple, retarded. Even with the two previously mentioned injuries, I’d accept a batting order of Castillo, Murphy, Beltran, Wright, Sheffield, Church, Tatis and Castro every night. Even playing Tatis at shortstop — way out of position for him — is an upgrade over the deplorable Ramon Martinez. And that fucking lineup the other night (Ramon Martinez, Jeremy Reed, Omir Santos as the 6-7-8 hitters) is phenomenally dumb. You can’t just settle for an 0-9 or 0-12 every night in the hopes that the top of your lineup will contribute double. That’s not how you win baseball games.
Last night’s biggest annoyance came in the 9th inning when Manuel let Ramon Martinez bat with a runner on 2nd base and two outs. Why not pinch-hit Gary Sheffield? Sure Sheffield is old, but asking Martinez to drive that run in is like betting the President of the high school Dungeons & Dragons club will fuck the head cheerleader on prom night. It’s just going to end in shame. Unfortunately, Manuel was a fucking moron, pinch-hitting with Fernando Tatis for Ryan Church in the 8th, but then inserting both Pagan and Reed in the outfield when he brought in J.J. Putz. Way to waste your bench, Manuel, you asshole.
The ambiance of the stadium sucked, as always. Watching baseball in Los Angeles is an exercise in futility. In the left-field loge seats, the crowd was more interested in smacking around a beach ball than watching the game. We met a guy from the Bronx named Danny, but he left during the first inning for some reason. Eventually, we moved down behind home plate and watched the game in relative calm. Those seats were pretty good. Most of the crowd arrived late and left early. Ah, LA. I hate you so much sometimes.
Between the 1st and 2nd innings, there was a message on the stadium scoreboard that said, “WELCOME: Kike and Friends!” It was hilarious.
Fire Manuel. Fire Manuel. It keeps repeating in my head, growing in intensity like a fucking war cry. It’s become my mantra.
Hey, does my new camera suck? I don’t have a zoom lens yet so I couldn’t get any good close-ups, but hopefully that will change soon.
