MetsBhoys #12 - 17th June 2012

This week Jason, Harper, Frankie and Nicky recapped the last fortnight in the world of the New York Mets. We discussed the ups and downs in the sides form and talked in depth about the fantastic season RA Dickey is having.

We were also joined briefly by Jim a Red Sox fan who gave us an 'outsiders' point of view on the Dickey phenomenon.

Lets Go Mets

Spreaker: click here

Hail Hail Media: click here

iTunes: click here

Shame on St Louis

By: Nickybhoy

I wanted to post this a bit separate because I wanted to offer my opinion on why the Mets fans should be happy but also move on, however, I also wanted to add a little blurb about the coverage from the ST Louis press on the no hitter. There was this headline as well as overblown shots of the Beltran ball down the line on the cover of the dispatch.

I think everyone is well aware of the bad call, and we all know it happens in baseball, but anyone else find this ironic from the city that made an icon out of Mark McGuire?

AMAZING MOMENT..BUT JUST A MOMENT

By: Nickybhoy

(I tell you my story and i take it into perspective. I am not taking away from the moment at all, but just being honest on what I feel as a die hard fan. I waited a few days to I can write on the subject without the blue and orange shades on)

I was sitting in work and I got the call that someone close to Kat was in the hospital and she was waiting to see them. She said that she might not get home to late and that we would probably not make the game. Of course, given the circumstances, I had no thought about it being an issue and I really still don’t but would be lying if I said it didn’t hurt.

In 1991 I was sitting on the 3^rd base side of Shea stadium with my old man and we were watching a game in cold conditions. David Cone was pitching and in the 7^th inning, he had yet to give up a hit. I looked over at my dad, who is not very good with cold weather and he was shivering.

“Dad, we can leave if you want”

 His response “I am not fucking leaving while he is throwing a no hitter”.

 As we all know, it didn’t happen and as we sat there freezing, Howard Johnson did not charge a ball up the third base line and Cone lost the no-no.

21 years and many pubic hairs later, I sat there in my living room watching as it was happening again. Johan’s high pitch count kept me from getting too excited and I was convinced it was not going to happen.  

Then came that catch by Mike Baxter. What a fakin catch by the kid from Queens. After the catch Kat and I looked at each other and said “it would happen tonight, wouldn’t it”.

It kept going and going and up came the 9^th inning. I was nervous. I was standing in front of my TV pacing back and forth and my stomach felt like it was a playoff game. Then it happened. Johan Santana got the final out of the first no hitter in New York Mets history. I jumped, I yelled and as I watched the team celebrate I cried. I never thought I would see the day.

It hurts that I was not there, but it was still as magical for me. In fact, if you were there or not, you probably had a tingling in your body. This was a fantastic moment, not only in Mets history but for this season as well.  

The Mets were projected by some to go 2-160 (well it seems that way) and Friday night seems to have put the Mets in the category as a team with something special happening and one that should be taken seriously.  Friday night was a moment that many Mets fans should be excited about.

HOWEVER, it must also be put into perspective. While great, There is still a lot of baseball to be played in 2012 and as a fan of the team, my goal in life is not to see them get their first no hitter. 

See, 3 days later and I still hear a lot of people trash talking about this game and i am still seeing the corny little Facebook meme's about the game. 

AGAIN, it was great, it was like a climax, however, the moment is over. And if I must be honest, it is a moment I would trade in to see the Mets celebrate on the mound come late October.

MetsBhoys #11 - 3rd June 2012

NO HITTER enough said...

Spreaker: here

iTunes: here

Who's booing Frank Francisco now?

I'm not the type of person to blow my own trumpet and there's little worse than a guy bumming and blowing that he said this and he said that.

My intro here leads me onto the question of "Who's booing Frank Francisco now?"

This just goes to show you the fickleness of FANS and how my campaign for SUPPORTERS was started.  I'm not daft enough to think that there are thousands of Mets fans out there reading this but if 1 or 2 are then its all good.

Frank Francisco has just saved his 6^th game in a row after getting booed by a large proportion in our Ballpark in Flushing.  The beauty of this situation here is Frank actually backed those boo boys and said he was OK with the boo's as he knew he would change them to cheers soon.  I didn't and I'm sure Frank didn’t think his words would ring true as soon as he has accomplished his task.

Here's the dilemma!!  Would you guys not rather hear Frank gushing that he owed this to his supporters who stood by him when he had a rocky spot in a long season of trying to deliver for the Mets, or are you happy to wait for Franks next mistake to enable you to boo again??

Dilemma time for some I hope or, for the Bitter and Twisted in our ranks it's just a small holiday in your life of misery.

The New York Mets under Terry Collins are a very special team.  We are home grown for the most part, we are playing with a pride in this great uniform and we are most of all winning more ballgames than we are losing.  I for one am loving this!!

As we enter July and the melting hot summer months in New York City the Amazin Mets are sitting at 28-23 and 1.5 game behind the lead of a division of all teams above .500.  With arguably 3 of our main outfield players due to return from the disabled list soon, although when I say main players, we only really have the one who is our very own David Wright and he's proving to all and sundry just how special a talent he is.  Tejada, Thole and Bay will add some experience. What????? Thole and Tejada are experienced?????  In our team of kids I suppose they are which makes our journey even better.

On a side note I listen on occasion to those 2 Muppets, Eric Karabell and Keith Law talking absolute drivel on their ESPN Baseball Today podcast.  Hell knows why but en route to work I do.  I friggin want to ram that mike down their throats the sanctimonious galloots.  They don't even have the courtesy to spend 1 minute talking about the Mets and the Philly pelter just cannot handle that his ballclub is on the way down.  I'm going to love it when they realise they have no farm system producing the quality they have been used to for the past few years.

Phuck Philly!!!!

Lets SUPPORT the team and lets let Terry Collins and Captain Marvel David Wright really know how much both of them mean to us!!

Lets Go Mets!!!

Jason  (twitter @AupaCeltic)

MetsBhoys Podcast #10 - 20th May 2012

Tonight the entire team was in attendance with Jason, Joc, Harper, Nicky and Frankie chewing the fat over all the latest Mets news and results.

There will be no show next weekend so we'll be back on air live in a fortnight.

Spreaker here

iTunes here

Boo Hoo

Just what is it with Mets fans?  Perhaps every other fanbase of every other ballclub is the same but I don't care, I'm a Mets supporter hence it's only about the Mets for me.

I come from a different culture in Scotland when you support a team that entails you need to actually support them.  My football team Celtic, will never hear me booing a player as that is only detrimental to my team winning the game.  Don't get me wrong, I feel like strangling certain players at times but they'll get nothing but encouragement from me as I always want Celtic to win, and I am a SUPPORTER.

This brings me back to the Mets.  Am I a fan or am I a supporter?  Without a doubt I'm a supporter because I'll support the Mets through thick and thin with lately emphasis on the thin.  I'm a believer in the fact we are a ballclub with our feet firmly on the ground, and have a downtrodden attitude that makes the good times all the better when they infrequently arrive.

This season 2012 has been different from recent years in the fact we have lost arguably 2 of the best players to have worn the Orange and Blue and replaced them with kids.  On top of this we signed a middle of the road closer in Frank Francisco and got Torres in for Pagan which some would see as us getting a bad deal to start with but now I'm delighted.  Taking all this into consideration you would think the fans would cut the team a bit of slack and get behind Terry and his kindergarten squad.  If we were supporters we would, but I'm coming round to the fact that a large percentage are fans and I don't like it one bit.

Digesting the above your now asking where I'm going with this and understandably if your not a baseball fan you'd think the Mets were having a howler of a start to the season, and the FANS are rightly pissed off and letting these impostors know exactly how hacked off they are.  No, actually were sitting at 21-17 and the victim of the latest booing was Frank Francisco who got boo’ed walking on, yes walking on to SAVE a game against the Brewers, yes friggin SAVE a game against the Brewers.  Granted, Frank blew 2 save opportunities in Miami in our opener and rubber game last weekend but Frank is 9-3 for the season which ain’t too bad in anyone's book. 

Here is the crux of this rant.  Frank Francisco was actually booed as he took the mound the other night preparing to protect a 3-0 lead where we had only 3 hits against the Brewers 6.  Yes, this club is winning games that we have no right to win and we're shoving all the crap from those doom and gloom know alls all around us right down their throats.  Yes, the New York Mets so far this season are on fire.  We're over achieving according to some but let them bleat.  We have a manager who believes in his team and is not afraid to make the big call, we have David Wright who is the best player in the majors, we have Danny Murphy, we have Captain Kirk……………the list goes on.  On the mound we have the Ace Johan, the dream Dickey and a supporting cast who are doing the damage.

What the hell are we booing for??

Are you bitter that the club is re-building?

Are you twisted because you weren't good enough to play pro ball and these guys are?

Are you jealous of the wages these guys earn?

Or are you bitter, twisted and jealous?

This week we have a Mr Jason Bay resuming baseball activities in Port St Lucie and I for one am looking forward to seeing him back.  I know he's hated, yes actually hated by some Mets fans mainly because they are bitter, twisted and jealous but I'm a great believer we can change as a fanbase and become supporters and not just fans.

What do we want?  Me, for one want the Mets to win every ballgame we play.  The best way of achieving this is to SUPPORT THE TEAM. 

Jason Bay never hides.  Lets support this guy when he walks up to take his 1st at bat and lets support this team into October.

Keep your boo's for any Rat like Reyes who celebrates beating us or anyone who is disrespectful to our ballclub.

Frank Francisco has told us he likes the boo's as he promises we'll be cheering as the season progresses.  Frank, I never stopped cheering you buddy!!

Lets Go Mets

Jason

MetsBhoys #9 - 13th May 2012

Tonight the boys went live 5mins after the gut-wrenching loss to the fish :(

However, we raised our spirits as we looked back at the emphatic sweep of the Phillies and discussed all the positives and the good vibe around the ball club at the minute.

Of course we had more Dumb as a Yankee questions and failed miserably in last weeks homework assignment.

19-15 baby

Lets Go Mets

Spreaker: HERE

iTunes: HERE

Mets and Celtic

I was born in 1970, grew up in a working class neighborhood called Jackson Heights Queens. Jackson Heights at the time was going through a dramatic change as far the people living in the area. 

It was once a heavily Jewish, Irish and German area. Mostly made up of second & third generation Americans. But in the 1970’s it started to change, the people now arriving were immigrants. Mostly from South America, with Colombians, Ecuadorians and Bolivians. You also had Europeans arriving, with the Irish, Yugoslavians and Greeks leading that pack. Jackson Heights also had a large British ex pat population. Made up of people from places like Liverpool, London, Manchester & Glasgow. Just like my folks who were from Glasgow {Dad} & Leeds {Mom} Now most of these people came from an Irish background, so naturally they tended to hang around with the Irish born. 

But as kids, we didn’t give 2 shits about any of that. All we wanted to do was “play ball”, didn’t matter if it was “soccer” or the 15 different variations on baseball that we played.

Now at this time, we’re talking mid 70’s, we had 2 teams in NYC. The Yankees from the Bronx and the Mets from Queens. The Mets had won the World Series the year before I was born and then made it to the World Series again in 1973 & lost to the Oakland A’s. 

Now by 1976 I didn’t really watch much baseball on TV, I played punchball and stickball, and would only watch if my Dad had the game on. Around late June of 1976 my Dad asked me if I would want to go Shea Stadium with him and great family friend Henry Ferguson. Henry was from Coatbridge and a huge Celtic fan like my Dad. But Henry was also a die hard Mets fan, he became one when he moved to Woodside Queens in the early 1960’s. Henry wanted to make sure I grew up a Mets fan, he loved this team with the same passion he did Celtic. Now my Dad was a Mets fan, but not to the same extent of Henry. My father would say "I cannae be a Yankee supporter, they’re tae much of the establishment team, just like the huns" {Glasgow Rangers}. So off I go to see the Mets play the Chicago Cubs, taking the 7 train just 5 stops to Shea Stadium. Man I was in for a treat, the Mets ended up beating the Cubs in the 10th inning. Cubs tied it in the 9th. But it was that day that I got to see the greatest pitcher of that era of the Franchise, Mr Tom Seaver. The crowd was electric. Every strikeout was a chance to jump up and cheer. So that was it, I was cemented as a Mets fan for life.    

Later in life I would read NY writers like Jimmy Breslin and Roger Angell, these guys would write about the Mets and us fans, how it made no sense to be a Yankee fan if you were working class. I have great friends who are Yankee fans, people who I consider to be like family. But I still can’t see the attachment to a team like them.  

Jimmy Breslin “You see, the Mets are losers, just like nearly everybody else in life. This is the team for the cab driver who gets held up and the guy who loses out on a promotion because he didn't maneuver himself to lunch with the boss enough. It is the team for every guy who has to get out of bed in the morning and go to work for short money on a job he does not like. The Yankees? Who does well enough to root for them, Laurence Rockefeller?" - Jimmy Breslin

Roger Angell “This was a new recognition that perfection is admirable but a trifle inhuman, and that a stumbling kind of semi-success can be much more warming. Most of all, perhaps, these exultant yells for the Mets were also yells for ourselves, and came from a wry, half-understood recognition that there is more Met than Yankee in every one of us. I knew for whom that foghorn blew; it blew for me.” - Roger Angell, The Summer Game.

Coming from that working class background, being the son of immigrants it was a no brainer for me.  So for this man, there really is only one baseball team to root for for in New York.

Frankie  (twitter @Frankiebhoymets and for podcast updates @MetsBhoys)

MetsBhoys #8 - 6th May 2012

On MetsBhoys #8 Jason has the controls as Harper is busy putting some money back into the Irish economy by way of the pub. Jason is joined by Joc in Scotland and as usual, Nicky and Frankie in New York City.

Harper calls in after about 30 mins and later the Bhoys are joined by Michael from Hawaii.

Todays victory over Arizona and RA's great day at the mound are discussed along with how Torres coming off the DL has benefited the team and many other facts and figures.

We look at the bullpen and have our usual "Dumb as a Yankee" slot where the novices find out the differences in the NL and AL apart from the DH, and we learn why jumping out the way of a stray pitch is not in Harpers gameplan.

At the end of another marathon episode Nicky and Frankie give us a great insight into their aspirations to re-introduce the world famous New York Comsmos to the top of US football (soccer to some).

Enjoy, and Lets Go Mets!!!

Spreaker here

iTunes here

MetsBhoys #7 - 28th April 2012

In another bumper episode the team looked back at the last 7 days games including the 'Reyes' games in detail.

We discussed the top prospects coming through the ranks from AAA, AA, A+ and A...

We also had our weekly Dumb as a Yankee spot and even had a wee discussion at the end about the weekends Celtic v Rangers game.

Spreaker here

iTunes here

Metspedition – My First Mets Experience

Like my fellow Europeans on MetsBhoys my love for the Mets was not born out of a family birthright, nor was my father a rabid Mets fan that took me to Shea as a child. In fact as I turned 30 I probably couldn't even tell you who the Mets were.  

I have always had an interest in baseball, maybe not the obsessive interest I have now but an interest nonetheless. I was always seduced by baseball, at least the Hollywood version of baseball I saw in films like Field of Dreams, the Natural and Bull Durham. I remember watching some late night games on channel 5 with a mixture of interest and confusion and with no connection to any team. 

My first live baseball game was in 2003, a deserted dolphin stadium in Miami to watch a Marlins team that would win the World Series that year. My obsession was growing, although thankfully not as a Marlins fan. I found myself watching more and more baseball but still really hadn’t followed a team. Not long after that my brother in law moved to Queens, the home of then New York Metropolitans. He became a regular at Shea and shared his experiences with me, which was all the excuse I needed. . I now had a purpose in my baseball life. I began to read about the history of the Mets…from its humble beginnings of the worst team in baseball to the amazing 1969 World Series team. I read of the 86 Mets and all it’s characters. I read of people like Casey Stengel, Tug McGraw and even Mr. Met. I had found my summer family. 

It’s not always easy following a team 3250 miles away; the time difference is a huge problem. Watching your team blow a lead in the bottom of the 9th is bad enough, but when you’re up at 6am to go to work it's spirit crushing to say the least. 

My first trip to see the Mets was an amazing experience. I managed to convince my wife it would be a good idea to fly three children under 6 years of age for 12 hours to see her brother in San Francisco. I then really tested my luck and suggested driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles…dangling the carrot of Disneyland in front of the kids’ noses. Amazingly my wife went for it. I waited for the schedule to come out and planned the trip with military precision. The 12-hour flight was quite frankly the worse 12 hours of my life. After 6 hours my youngest son, who had just turned one was practically doing shuttle runs up and down the plane. On arrival to San Francisco I was detained in immigration for 2 hours as some guy by the name of John O'Connor was banned from the country, not me…but it took a lot of phone calls to convince the guy in immigration. Eventually I was released to my frantic family, the trip had not started well. 

It was totally worth it though, a couple of days later I went to my first ever Mets game which was a real moment for me. As I walked along 24 Willie Mays Plaza towards the statue of Willie Mays decked in my Mets gear I had butterfly’s….real butterfly’s. At the time I was doing a bit of reading on the old New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, so this was a real pilgrimage for me. AT&T was a beautiful ballpark overlooking San Francisco bay slap bang in the middle of the city. There seemed to be plenty of Mets fans there which I was surprised at because people don't travel to watch baseball the way we travel to watch football (soccer) at home. 

The Mets won 8-6 with Livan Hernandez giving up 5 runs, Brian Stokes picked up the win with Rodriguez getting the save. After the game we went to a bar right next to the stadium, the bar was full of hot Mets chick’s (see picture). We stayed for hours, drunk beer with Giants and Mets fans talking baseball, I was in Met heaven. On returning home seriously worse for wear I managed to slash my hand opening a ciabatta, I was driving to Los Angeles in the morning. So first thing I had to go to the hospital…6 stitches and $2,000 lighter (You can also add in the parking ticket I received for parking beside the hospital) I was on my way to dodger stadium.. The less said about the game the better, except that Ryan church failed to touch third base on the way home and the Mets lost in extra innings. The trip cemented my love for the mets I am now in my 5th season following the Mets and my obsession grows every day. 

I have seen the Mets 4 times at Citi Field and I have my flights booked to come over in June….hopefully our season won’t be over by then


Joc

Captain Kirk, set Phasers to Sweep!

Ok so maybe giving a player the nickname Captain isn’t very appropriate when you're talking about an individual in a team setting, however we at MetsBhoys bestowed this moniker on the bold Kirk when he stepped up and we’re sticking with it ;)

The nickname was more born out of our ignorance as to how to pronounce Nieuwenhuis and a laziness in adding it to our vocabulary when hearing it properly delivered. Being the simple yet stubborn creatures we are it’s too late now for us to change it and there is no doubt I’ll need to look up the spelling of New-in-house every time I need to type it.

Yeah, Captain Kirk works...

The big centre fielder has had a very impressive start to his big league career with the Mets more than ably filling in for Torres since he went on to the DL and it’s a position on the roster I fancy him to keep for a while yet. Torres has started his rehabilitation but it would be a brave manager that switched them out straight away. That being said I’m certain Kirk is fully prepared to make way for Andres when he’s ready to return I’m just not sure it would be the best move for the side. I’m a great believer in if something ain’t broken then don’t try to fix it.

The one thing I would say is we could do with Torres’s speed around the bases and he would give us an extra dimension on that front. From my limited knowledge I’m reliably informed from my big pal Squire in San Francisco that Torres was something like the 3rd fastest sprinter over 100 meters in the whole of MLB in the Giants championship winning year. Speed like that is not to be sniffed at from both an offence and defence point of view (yes I’m in Ireland and refuse to spell offence or defence with an S..suck it up spelling police).

Back to Kirk though and I have to say I have been very impressed with big Californian who at only 24 years old looks mature and level headed way beyond his years. The missed fly ball in last Saturdays game against the Giants could have been a real ‘moment’ for him, but he went on to get the hit that brought home the winning run and that would have been an immediate anti-biotic to any infectious thoughts that had attempted to take root in his psyche.

I want to just move right past Monday’s double header and get to the return of the ra...Reyes. Jose Jose Jose...much has been said about the departure of ‘our’ short stop and there is no point of me going over old ground. I disagreed entirely with the tribute video being broadcast before game one. The Marlins ARE our division rivals, I don’t believe this was the correct time and place for such niceties especially when the fans are so divided on where they stand on the subject. The mixture of cheers and boo’s played testament to that I think.

The series of course ended up with the Marlins being swept out of New York and this fact alone has probably went some way to helping us move on and deal better with our Reyes feelings. I only managed to catch game 3 live in it’s entirety and the strange feeling I had when seeing Jose come to bat for the first time was one of oddity more than anything else. He didn’t even look like the same human being dressed up in that circus outfit and the missing dreads and lack of smile diluted his existence at the plate. Jose Reyes of the New York Mets has gone, who that is representing the fish is a mystery.

The game itself wasn’t the best I’ve managed to catch here in Ireland 2000 miles away from the action but Niese again had another solid start backed up well by the bullpen. There was little to write home about offensively until late in the game but I can tell you now from the minute David was walked in the 9th I knew we were winning that game and the series.

The fact I knew we were going to win with only one man on is testament to how this home grown team have me feeling about the Mets this year. When before I would have expected going out with a whimper there is a cheek about this side that really does have me believing. I don’t know if it’s the fact that we didn’t expect too much from the campaign that has me and them relaxed but whatever it is I’m enjoying every (almost) moment of it. 

I mean who would have thought there would be no doubt in my mind Thole would get on base, absolutely no doubt in a player who has also been a massive positive so far. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little worried when Turner went 2 behind in the count but he battled back in what was for me the best at bat of the season so far by any individual. He refused to let Bell overcome him in a 13 pitch duel that would emerge with my fellow red head the victor.

With the bases loaded and the tying run already home the Marlins looked stunned like a fish that’s been reeled in then clubbed on deck. They were then faced with the Captain of the ship as Kirk moved them from stunned to defeated to swept in one mighty swing of the bat.

It sailed into right field, the Mets had won and Captain Kirk’s deckhands swamped him in celebration as somewhere close by a lonely looking sole trudged off, still without a flash of a smile...

11 - 8, bring on the Rockies.

Harper

P.S. the next live MetsBhoys phone-in show will be tomorrow (Saturday) at 3pm ET/8pm GMT. The live link will appear on our Twitter timeline and on our Facebook page, as well as the various message-boards where you know you will find us.

LGM

It Became About Baseball

(The crappy smart phone shot from last night)

By: Nickybhoy

The date was circled in the calendar.

I sat at my desk yesterday thinking about getting to Citi Field. Actually most of the time I sit at my desk, I am thinking of baseball or footie (soccer) but yesterday there was a little added anticipation on the Mets and getting out to the stadium.

For those who have listened to the Metsbhoys call in show, know that while I acknowledge and respect Reyes' ability, I am no fan of his attitude and was relishing the moment where i would get to boo him for not signing back with the Mets.

However, a funny thing happened to me after the double header loss on Monday. I started to care less and less about who was playing shortstop for the Marlins but rather seeing the Mets get back into the W column. Monday's results put the Mets back at the .500 mark and amazingly, some fans on social media were ready to concede the season on April 24th.

As the day went on, it was less of an event for me and just another ballgame I wanted to see the Mets win. The mental hit on the team if they were to lose and go below the.500 mark could have been rough, especially when you couple it with the news that Jason Bay and Mike Pelfrey are headed to the DL. It is easy for any fan or maybe any player to say "here we go again".

On top of all that, Johan Santana was on the hill and he was coming off the worst start of his career. It was imperative not only for Johan but for the Mets that he pitch well to show us all that the last start was just a bad day.

I stuck to my normal routine of getting home from work, changing, eating something and heading out to the stadium. En route, I listened to WFAN and heard the latest updates on Bay and Pelfrey as well as Ed Coleman give his thoughts on the guys we just brought up from the Minors. Again, i was shocked at how little I was thinking about Reyes and about wanting the Mets to just win this ballgame against the division rival.

So the game began, the video tribute, as expected, was met with mixed reaction as did his first at bat. A loud roar as Captain Kirk made a great catch to stop Reyes from getting a hit on the first at bat and on his second at bat, he ironically grounded out to Tejada. It was at that moment, I half jokingly said "That's our Shortstop" and it hit me. Ruben Tejada is our shortstop, Reyes is in Miami and the Mets, needed to win that game.

The rest of the game, I did not care less about the Marlins shortstop and watched in enjoyment as Johan Santana and Josh Johnson put on a fantastic pitching display. I love a good pitchers duel but to see Johan get 11Ks was huge for me because it proved that the last start was just a bad day and that this team was not all that mentally effected from the beating they took just 24 hours prior.

The Mets won the game 2-1 and they were back in the W column to the relief of myself and Frankie Bhoy who was with me. The Mets bounced back from a bad day and won a big divisional game. You cant blame the bats because Josh Johnson was as dominant as Johan was, it was a tough gritty win and the Mets were able to pull it out.

So after an off-season of talking about booing Reyes, when I was asked how the "Reyes Game" went this morning. I had but one quick and simple answer. "Mets won".


(I am well aware I am not a writer and my grammar is poor at best. I believe a story should be told by the person telling it, and not by an editor. I suck at writing, but not afraid to share my thoughts. Hail Hail and Lets go Mets)

The Experience of the Mets

Friday @ METS V SAN FRAN GIANTS

So I set off from work on a lazy Friday afternoon and headed to 42nd Street to meet with Mad Frankie Fraser for my first experience of the New York Mets, I knew he would turn up wearing some sort of Celtic top, he didn't disappoint me…full blown bright green Celtic hoodie and a shout of "Champions, Champions" from across the street.

Before I start, this wasn't my first ever baseball match, that was back in September 2004 in San Francisco, I left after 20 mins as I was bored and didn't understand what the hell was going on, I was 21 and naïve. It just so happened that 8 years on, my re-introduction to baseball so happens to be Mets v San Fran, the team I walked out on 8 years prior.

We headed to Woodside for a few pre-match beers at Saints & Sinners, my first visit to the Woodside CSC club. Was pretty quiet but had the buzz of going to see Celtic away for some reason..maybe it was the company I was keeping. After a few Bud lights and some chicken wings, we headed to the game, a brief history lesson from Frankie on the train telling us all about Jackson Heights and the characters and then we arrived at Citi Field. Getting off the train really did feel like going to Celtic away in Europe, there was a buzz.

What's the first thing I noticed? The hats, the crowd…no…it was the amount of HOT chicks about the place…wow…an untapped resource the old baseball.

The stadium looked impressive from the outside, with 10 mins until the game started, it was busy outside, like Parkhead before a midweek european game. We got tickets, $20 each which was great value in my opinion. Headed in and got our first beers…$24 + tip for 3 beers – what the f**k…but something great about drinking and watching sport.

The stadium looked amazing, was really impressed with the set up, Peter Lawwell, his Commercial & Merchandising Directors should get a visit to MLB pronto…this is how we should be doing things at Parkhead…probably the best set up of upselling and fun for the family I've ever seen at a sports stadium. I know people back in Glasgow moan about the game of 'soccer' being too commercial these days, but we need to think of ways of milking the cow. I'd seen enough after 10 mins at Citi Field to know that there's a lot we can learn at Celtic to improve the match day experience and also make more cash.

Anyway back to the baseball, we watched the game from various locations in the stadium, so I can appreciate it in its fullest, once we got settled into a position I really got into the game and actually found it exciting. There were a few moments when I had to ask Frankie what was going on, hopefully I didn't make too much of an idiot of myself with the questioning.

We headed up to meet Nicky, the man who knows a lot about the Mets and Celtic. Was disappointed to not see any Celtic gear on him, probably the first time that I've met Nicky without any Celtic references attached. When we got to Nicky's seats on the 3rd level (I think) the Mets were coming back into the game. At this point I was freezing my bollocks off, apparently a denim jacket is useless when on top level watching the Mets late on a Friday night in April!

I'm not going to try and speak baseball talk, but all I know is when the Mets leveled the game in the 9th innings, it felt like scoring a goal in the last minute of game to take it to injury time.

When it went to the 10th inning, I thought Mets would go on to win. Unfortunately it wasn't to be and SF snatched it.

One thing that crossed my mind was how slow some of the players were at running to the bases…!!

All in all it was a great night out, 4 hrs 30 mins on a Friday night, bevvy, baseball and good company. Nicky drove me home to Brooklyn which was great, taxi back to Manhattan..got caught in the worst traffic jam ever on Williamsburg Bridge..a 4 min cab journey took 1hr 15 mins ..but that couldn't dampen the spirits of  a good night.

I'll defo be back, I'm going to do my homework and watch some more games on the TV to really understand it all a but better, anyone who visits me in NYC will now be taken to see the Mets!

P.s. If I could change one thing it would be to sit the opposition support all together like at football, hated the fact opposition fans sit beside each other..need a bit of a bite.

P.p.s. Too many yankees fans spotted at the game – what is that all about…should be kicked down the stairs Lol..maybe that comes from my dislike of that team in blue that 'used' to be our greatest rivals !!!

Marti

MetsBhoys #6 - 22nd April 2012

On the latest live show Harper, Jason, Frankie and Nicky were joined on the line by Michael in Hawaii and Squire in San Francisco.


We looked back at the games against the Braves and Giants, looked to the week ahead against the Giants and the return or Reyes, discussed the waivers rule and looked at the draft set-up.


Jason handed in the boys homework with his selection of the 3 best and worst trades in Mets history plus there was much much more topics on the night...


Listen back or download from Spreaker here


Download and or subscribe on iTunes here

MetsBhoys #5 - 16th April 2012

In the 5th episode of the new campaign Jason, Harper and Joc discussed the Mets excellent start to the year against their division rivals. 30 minutes in they were joined by Nicky and then Frankie shortly after that.

Our extensive homework was handed in and we asked more questions in DAAY...

To listen back to the show or download the MP3 go HERE

And/or to subscribe and download on iTunes go HERE


Or listen on the player below

Orange and Blue, me?

For someone like me that’s written so many articles for LostBhoys.com over the last few years I feel like a bit of an imposter turning my hand to a baseball blog. However that’s where I find myself and despite my lack of knowledge which I’ll prove to you if you read on I’d like to get some words down to describe my love of the game and of course the Amazin New York Mets.


Actually a bit about myself would maybe help because if your reading this and have never heard the MetsBhoys phone-in show then you’ll probably be asking yourself what’s so strange about some clueless fool writing about the Mets.


Hi, my names David Harper, I’m 38 years old, Scottish but live in Ireland and I’m completely addicted to the New York Mets...intrigued yet? probably not...how about if I add that I co-host a Mets fans live phone-in show with another Scotsman (Jason) and 2 born and bred New Yorkers (Frankie & Nicky) once a week!


Come on now surely that has you a little curious. I mean why would someone like me fall in love with a game and team that is completely alien to the vast majority of people this side of the pond. How is it that with the 5 hour time difference I’m to be found most nights glued to MLB.tv for the ten past midnight start taking me way past 3am to a finish. Why on earth would I be attracted to an organisation that seems to be built on hard luck stories and to those that know me and the football (soccer) club I fanatically follow in Scotland (Celtic) how could I ever utter the words ‘we believe in orange and blue’.


To be honest I sometimes find myself asking the same question but the fact of the matter is the Mets have gotten a hold of me and now that they have me, they have me for life.


But where did it all start for me? 


I relocated from Scotland to Ireland just over six years ago now and the biggest wrench of moving was leaving my first love behind in Glasgow; Celtic F.C. Families and friends come and go but I’m sure you’ll agree the teams you support are what the likes of me and you live for. Don’t tell me it’s ‘only a game’ whether it’s baseball, soccer, hockey or cricket (ok not cricket). Our lives revolve around the clubs we donate or sweat & tears to. As Mets fans the first thing we do in the morning when we arise from a troubled sleep thinking about Pelf and if the bullpen can prop him up is to check the latest Mets and baseball news. Especially if you’re far away from your love, it’s not easy to conduct long range relationships but with technology these days it’s much easier to get involved with some cyber loving.


Back in 2006 I found myself starting out on a new separation from Celtic and my season ticket. Now instead of lending my essential (in my mind) vocal backing every week in the stadiums I’d now have to be content with screaming as loudly as I could at the TV in the hope that somehow my expertise (in my mind) would be carried through the static and be magically heard by my heroes in some kind of telepathic nonsense that is yet to be invented. I’m pretty sure there is an app in the offing though. 


This is when I’m first introduced to baseball, yes at 32 years old. I’ve never seen the Sandlot or the Bad News Bears at this point and Charlie Sheen in Major League the movie is about all I have to go on. That and I was taken to see the Blue Jays when I was 8 years old but I have very little recollection of that day apart from everyone laughing at me when my reply to being asked if I wanted chips was ‘yes please, can I have salt, vinegar and brown sauce on them’...I never liked being laughed at when I was a kid, probably why the moment has stuck with me, it was also unfortunate having ginger hair. As I got older I thought the Johnny Cash song ‘A Boy Named Sue’ was actually about me. Sorry I’m rambling...back to 2006.


So yeah I now find myself with a Setanta TV subscription for watching Scottish football and as part of the package you got Setanta USA I think it was called, it might just have been ESPN USA I can’t remember exactly. The long and the short of it is though they showed live baseball every night and reruns of the game the following afternoon. As a shift worker I started killing afternoons watching whatever game was on. I didn’t have a team but I decided I would need one soon. I like to invest my heart and soul and to do that I need to go all in with a side, I need the rush of the win and the crushing sense of loss that comes with defeat.


So how do you go about choosing a side from scratch? I’d love to say I sat down with the history of every club in MLB weighing up the pro’s and cons. I didn’t there were only to be 3 teams in the hat. The Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays or New York Mets.


I knew lots of Celtic fans followed the Red Sox because of the Irish link but to me it was just too obvious a choice and I’d have felt like I was just following for the sake of it plus I’d never been to Boston and I still haven’t. That ruled them out and I’m glad as in all honesty I’d hate to be part of that AL East ‘elite’ club. Nah that’s not for me, it’s also why I don’t follow the self proclaimed best league in the world aka the EPL. It’s not by the way, none of them are as good as their followers think they are. It’s just hype, nothing more nothing less. 


The Blue Jays were only in the running because I has seen them in the flesh in Toronto once before being mocked over the chips debacle then shitting myself up the CN Tower. Thanks for the ‘memories’ but I passed on the Blue Jays also. Another AL East team too...


So why the New York Mets? Well I’ve had a love affair with New York and Las Vegas for a number of years now so it was only right to back a team I’d be more likely to see in person. Why not the Yankees you ask? see part of the BoSox reason and multiply it by ten. Even then with as little knowledge I had I could see that the Yankees were the bandwagon club, like Manchester United and Barcelona in football (soccer). Yeah they have great histories but just to jump onboard with success just seems false and empty to me. I’m not slating anyone else for their choices but to me following a team is the roller coaster ride of ups and downs, celebration and much more commiseration. It’s about lending a hand to a club that needs it, to become part of a support that appreciates your allegiance and to crawl through the sneers as they kick dust in your face at every opportunity. When the days of joy come around every now and again, it’s these rare moments you treasure for life.


Fast forward to 13th July 2008 and after 2 years sporadically following the Mets I was in New York for my honeymoon, the Rockies were visiting Shea taking second billing to my arrival and it was on this night that I was induced into the Mets hall of fandom. Pelf pitched 8 scoreless innings giving up just 6 hits, we won 7 to 0, Beltran and Delgado went yard, Reyes and Wright dazzled and I argued with the same guy at the concessions stand who insisted on seeing my i.d. for beer every time I went.


That was my one and only visit to Shea and I’ve still to get over to Citi Field but it’s coming soon. MLB.tv can only whet the appetite so much and doing the MetsBhoys show has only made me feel more of a part of the Mets family. It’s 7.25 pm on Tuesday April 10th 2012. The Mets are 4-0, the rest are making snide remarks looking down their nose at us because we dare to get excited about our team. But why wouldn’t we? We’re Mets fans and we all know you just gotta believe, you gotta believe in orange and blue.


LET’S GO METS

MetsBhoys #4 - Tales of Opening Day

Last night's show was a Mets bonanza.

Frankie & Nicky told us their stories from attending Opening Day as did Harper and Jason although theirs was a lot less spectacular in the build up on the Irish/Scottish side of the pond.

We discussed the team performance and our hopes and fears going forward. Joc joined us for the 2nd hour as well as we went off on all sorts of tangents.

For all this and more tune in to the totally unique MetsBhoys podcast.

To listen back to the show or download the MP3 go HERE

And/or to download and subscribe on iTunes go HERE

Let's go Mets

New York Mets State of Mind

I thought as this was my 1^st shot at putting my Mets story in print I should start at the very beginning.  It’s not the normal story of a little kid from Queens or Brooklyn following in his fathers footsteps by signing up for a life of pain by following the New York Mets, or even a love affair after being brought up in the Bronx in the shadow of Yankee Stadium to then visit Flushing in Queens for a no mark midweek ballgame and becoming seduced by the downright sceptical nature of every Mets fan.

No, my story is a lot less interesting and started with pyjamas. 

I’ve pretty strong links with NYC in the fact my mother and father moved there in 1969 from Scotland only to return home just over a year later.  Yes, I know it was the year of the Miracle Mets but my folks had no clue about Baseball then or when I started to become obsessive with the Mets.  The pyjamas originated from my aunt Frances and uncle Matt who resided in Kearny, New Jersey after emigrating circa 50 years ago from Scotland, and each home visit I’d get a mixture of New York Jets and New York Mets pyjamas, socks etc.

Later in life I took this to be my calling but in truth they meant little to me and if anything the Jets gear took pride of place as it was the same colours as my beloved Celtic Football Club.

This is the thing with Scottish people like my Father and Uncle Matt.  Although they can move far away from home the one constant that stays true is their love for Glasgow Celtic Football Club hence they still listen, watch and hope for the Bhoys to win and other sports take a back seat.  I’m not going to lie here and say the Mets mean more to me than Celtic but nonetheless the only things that mean more to me than Celtic are my family so the Mets are well up there.

Right, let's get this story back on track.  In 1998 my girlfriend (now my wife) and I took a holiday to LA and Vegas for 2 weeks.  Whilst in LA I looked up all sporting events and found the Angels were playing a homestand to the Seattle Mariners and the great Ken Griffety Jr was hitting for Seattle.  Whilst not being a baseball fanatic at this point I still took a keen interest in all sports hence I knew the big names.  We got tickets to this game and off we went to Anaheim to the Angels stadium.  Whilst being impressed with the stadium, the fan base was a very plastic type and the big shock I got was everyone all getting into their cars and driving home after the game.  A strange fact is that I and Linda headed across from the stadium after the game into a bar which was empty.  This is an unheard of experience back in Scotland when attending a Celtic match.  The score was 2-1 Angels and there was something that didn't feel right about being there.  Whilst being in LA I never dreamed of buying a Dodgers or Angels hat as my allegiances were strictly East Coast and to New York in particular.

Fast forward a few years and after visiting New York on a few occasions for the week of St Patrick's day I started noticing the sight of the Mets caps being wore throughout the city rather than the Yankees hats.  Not true that there were no Yankees hats, but back home in Glasgow there are thousands of people who wear Yankees hats and have no clue that they are a baseball team.  I think this is replicated in NYC.

Satellite TV had took off big time in Scotland and now Baseball was being shown regularly as when it was previously on Channel 5 I wasn't too interested but now I was, and I needed a team.  There was only 1 team to choose and my team was that of my childhood pyjamas and my team of New York City.  This was before MLB. TV and to be honest I half followed the Mets through the internet and chatting to likeminded weird Scotsmen, Englishmen and Irishmen (no, it's no joke).  The Mets were doing pretty good and having recently lost the WS to them, we were a team that had won the big one twice, won the NL pennant 4 times, the NL East 5 times and were competing with a decent all round package to attract some big name players.  I could start googling and naming players but to be honest I wasn't following them religiously and apart from Mike Piazza and John Franco id have struggled to name more players at the time (all that has changed now).

I started reading up seriously on the Mets in the mid 2000's and uncovered this glorious history of NL baseball in New York City from the Dodgers and the Giants and obviously we used the Polo Grounds for our 1^st 2 years as the Mets.  The romanticism of Out of the Ashes arose the Mets struck a chord and being the underdog worked for me!!

Having visited New York City several times previously, I booked up with my wife for the 1^st time and we ensured the Mets were at home to enable us to attend Shea Stadium for the 1^st time.  My good friend in New York City, Queens born and bred Frankie Fraser who was also a mad Celtic FC fan arranged tickets for us and it was all set.  The 7 train from Grand Central, get off at 61^st Woodside and Frankie will be waiting on us at the bar in Saints and Sinners.  This already sounded like my kinda day out and nothing like the previous LA experience.  True to his word the big man was ready with the tickets and after a few pints off we headed to the Mets v's the Dodgers at Shea stadium.  What a night even although we lost!!  I learned more about baseball sitting with Frankie for 3 hours than I had in the previous 3 years reading books and watching highlights of games.  I was well and truly hooked and nothing was getting me prepared for 6 months of no sleep, waking up at 4am and checking phone through fingers, starting to watch a game at midnight and decide just 1 more inning.  Yes, the New York Mets have a lot to answer for!!  

Fast forward several years and I can safely say I'm a hopeless Mets addict but I have a support group now and I realise I'm not alone.  I'm still great friends with Frankie and I've met my other friend from Brooklyn Nicky on a recent trip to New Shea Stadium.  I've grew into the Mets more with my mates Joc and Steph O'Connor. My son and Daughter think the Mets are the only baseball team in New York which is pleasing and I've got an unhealthy dislike for the Yankees.

I was speaking to Harper online a few months ago as recently I've been co-hosting his and Joe's Celtic podcast called HomeBhoys with Paul Larkin.  I got onto the subject of our common love of the Mets as Harper is also an addict and we spoke about the idea of creating a Mets podcast.  Fast forward a few weeks and Nicky and Frankie are on board and Joc and Steph have an open invitation whenever they want.  We're due our 4^th show tomorrow night and the Amazin Mets are due to kick off our run at the WS at home to the Braves in 30 mins.

MetsBhoys is up and running and we're loving every minute of it.

Jason

Let's Go Mets!!!

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the MetsBhoys blog.

Here we'll share our musings throughout the season, MetsBhoys show recaps and any other nonsense that we can come up with.

Lets Go Mets

Harper