Dollar Hot Dog Night: The Return.

       As I pointed out in this very popular post from last month, I got my brother the same thing this year for his birthday as I did last year.  Oh, I usually get him tickets to a baseball game but this year I got him tickets to the same stadium with the same teams and the exact same promotion.  And oh what a promotion it is: dollar hot dog night!  But mother nature did her best to keep us from enjoying this glorious evening...

It rained on and off all day.  When we drove to the stadium, it started to pour.  As you can see, when we got there, the tarp was on the field.  There was hope though because there was a "window" - a small break where there was about two and a half hours of lighter rain and since it was supposed to pour all day Wednesday, it seems they were going to get this game in come hell or, um, high water.

At 8pm, around an hour after the game was supposed to start, they stated to take the tarp off the field.  This was by far the loudest cheer of the evening from the home crowd. 

You will notice in the upper left hand corner that they were showing the Flyers/Rangers game on the big screen.  This was the other highlight of the evening for the Philly fans as the Flyers would win the game (but alas, not the series).  Since I hate both of these teams, I was rooting for the meteor all series - but not this night since the Flyers play right next to Citizens Bank Park. 

How alike are my brother and I?  It took this deluge of rain for us to notice that we independently own matching raincoats.  Kinda sad but not the least bit surprising.  We also once bought the exact same pair of prescription sunglasses.  You'd think we came from the same gene pool or something and grew up in the same house.

An hour and an half rain delay meant that there were plenty of good seats available at game time.  The announced crowd was 28,000.  My guess is that maybe 5,000 were there at first pitch.  And I hold no grudge against any of them.  Anyone willing to sit out in this kind of rain and the 45 degree weather (oh, did I mention it was 45 fucking degrees out too? At the end of April?!?) is a hardcore baseball fan.  This made our seatmates, even though they were all Phillies fans, quite enjoyable.  No smack talk or jackasses at this game.  We were all in this together.

As for the game itself, Jonathon Niese obviously likes it cold and rainy because he pitched a wonderful game.  Seven innings of three hit ball, his only mistake a fastball to Marlon Byrd that was bone straight that went about 10 rows back in left field.

Niese's mound opponent did not take to the cold and wet as well.  Cole Hamels is a California boy and he looked it all night.  He was very uncomfortable and couldn't get a grip on the ball.  He walked the 8th and 9th hitters at one point to force in a run and I realized "hey, maybe this game could work out well for us..."

And in the end, it did.   By the seventh inning, we were the very last people in the third deck of the stadium (they had closed the upper deck early in the game) and the ushers asked us ever so politely to go to the field level so they could go home.  My brother and I obliged them and from there we watched the end of the game.   It was a real slog through the last few innings as the Mets bullpen decided to go 3-2 on what seemed like every batter.  Somehow, though, they did not give up anymore runs and the Mets won the game 6-1.  This was the first game my brother and I could recall in a very long time that the Mets won while we were in attendance.  My best guess at the last time they won one?  This game in Camden Yards in 2010.  By the end of the game, there were about 500 fans left in the stadium, half of them Mets fans.  Heck, there was more security people than fans by the end.  It was a nice, quick, happy ride home in the driving rain.  This might also be the first baseball game I have ever attended when I drank more hot cocoa than beer.

Oh, and what about the most important score of the night...who had more hot dogs?  Well...

This one was kind of over before it started.  My brother decided to go on Weight Watchers right after we decided to go to this game back in February, thus he only had three.  I, on the other hand, had seven just to break my mark of six from last year.  So yeah, I beat my brother handily in this department.  But I am also quite proud of his will power and of the 30 pound he has lost in that time.  Of course, when he complained about how cold it was at one point, I told him he would be a lot warmer with 30 more pounds of blubber on him.  Sometimes you can't win, huh?

Almost There.

       Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year.  Opening day.  Hope springs eternal.  Everyone starts out 0-0. Your positive affirmation here, etc. etc.

Being a Mets fan, the last few years have been an adventure.  And by adventure, I mean like being kidnapped and tortured is an adventure.  But on opening day, everyone has the right to be optimistic.  Every player will hit .300; every pitcher will win 20 games.

My favorite player on the current team is David Wright.  He replaces The Shortstop That Must Not Be Named as the apple of my eye.  Wright has always been my second favorite Met for as long as he's been on the team.  He now has earned the right to be my favorite strictly by sticking around.  For how long, though, no one knows.  I hope with the settlement of all the legal unpleasantness, we can actually try and keep the players who are, you know, good.


Starting on opening day will be Johan Santana.  I became a big time Santana collector when we traded for (stole) him from the Twins.  He is one of the few players who's very presence on the roster is important.  He is affable and a leader.  Seeing #57 back on the mound is a big reason to be positive about the upcoming season.

I have a lot of hope for Ike Davis.  In typical Mets fashion, he was injured in the most freakish of ways last year.  After getting off to a scalding start, he missed the rest of the season with what was suppose to be a little ankle tweak that would keep him off the field for a week or two.  On any other team, this would be tragic...on the Mets, it is par for the course.  I am pretty sure Dr. Mengele is our team trainer.  I have Davis as a fantasy sleeper and penciled in for .320-35-120.  Yeah, I like my rose colored glasses, why do you ask?

On opening day, we can even have hope for Jason Bay.  Going by the Einstein definition of insanity, it would be completely crazy of us to expect anything from him.  But I refuse to give up on him.  That great hitter from Pittsburgh and Boston has to be in there somewhere.

The pitching equivalent of Jason Bay is Mike Pelfrey.  We were sold a bill of goods on Big Pelf and we have never collected.  He is the sad case of the Million Dollar Arm and the $3 head (think about it).  He has all the skills, but is too emotionally unstable to put any of it into motion.  What's that great line from Bull Durham - "don't think, it can only hurt the ballclub." - someone needs to show that scene to Mike.

Replacing Pelfrey as the great future #2 starter is Jonathon Niese.  His great claim to fame is that he was born on October 27, 1986 (if you aren't a Mets fan, look it up).  It would fit into the great cosmic plan if he pitches well this season and becomes a great pitcher.  It is also a pretty nasty knock on the great cosmic plan that someone his age is part of that plan.  Dammit, being a Mets fan is difficult.

Also on that page is Daniel Murphy.  Not only does he look great in those green St. Patrick's Day uniforms, he can hit.  I mean, really hit.  Unfortunately, he can't field.  And he seems to be made of paper maché.  My biggest fear is we never find a position for him, release him, and he goes to an AL team and rakes as a DH for a decade or so.

My current Mets collection is surprisingly skint.  This is a two fold issue, the Mets turnover lately has been unbelievable and my purchase of new product has been practically nil.  Most of the cards you see from 2011 and 2012 have come from kind donations/trades with fellow bloggers.  What will become of Lucas Duda, Ruben Tejada, and Josh Thole?  Well, on opening day, they are all fresh young faces with bright futures.  Duda can mash, Tejada can field, and Thole will bring this pitching staff together.  I say the Mets win 88 games and steal a Wild Card.  Yeah, I said it.

And if everything goes horribly horribly wrong (like it no doubt will) we always have Mr. Met and a lot of great memories (good and bad) to keep us entertained.  Also lucky for Mets fans, we hold the all time best winning percentage on opening day.  Let's Go Mets!