Friday, April 20- Well, the Braves aren't going away so easily this year.  It was a frustrating weekend at Shea, starting with a very, very boring and cold game on Friday night.   Pelfrey can't catch a break, two Friday night starts and two cold and windy nights.  Really, he pitched well, only 3 or 4 bat sequences.  This was my first time watching him live, and he is electric.  At the end of the day, Hudson was on and the Mets couldn't hit shit.  Here are some of the things that I took note of:
- Mama's of Corona is still the best concession at Shea, it has been six months since I could enjoy a warm turkey sandwich. 
- "Larry", that bastard.
- There seemed to be a lot of Braves fans at the game Friday night.  Four guys were hammered that sat behind us.  The most annoying bunch of fools I have ever met.
- Later in the game three more Braves fans sat to our right.  These guys were the worst sort of baseball fans, uneducated.  One guy was chirping way too much, we got into a bit of an exchange, but it was worthless.  He was just plain stupid and I had too many beers in me at this point.
- We met the two people who have the season tickets next to us, very nice guy with his wife.  It seems the Mets sold an ass load of tickets based on the fact that you get priority to the new stadium.  That is why my brothers and I bought them, I just hope the organization doesn't go back on that.  It would be typically Mets tact.
- No Cowbell man tonight.  Too cold for him?
- On the ride home we took the 7 train to Jackson Hts/Roosevelt Ave to catch the E back to Manhattan.  As we hustled down the to the platform we just missed the train.  Eight minutes later an F train arrived, so we jumped on that.  We got off at West 4th, as it turns out we beat the E train by about 5 minutes.  My point is, the F train is faster back to Manhattan by about ten minutes.  I only mention this because it is my goal this year to find the fastest way to and from Shea (more on this later).
Overall, it was a pretty slow, cold, windy, annoying and boring game.  Hopefully we can come back and get a win tomorrow.

              

Saturday, Apr 21- It couldn't have been more of an opposite experience from yesterday's game.  It was a warm, sunny and exciting day at Shea.  Oliver Perez pitched a sick game.  What is the deal with this guy?  Walks seven in two innings in his last start and throws a gem the next time out.  If this guy can find a groove and stay in it, he will be one of the most feared pitches in the NL East.  All day long he was ahead 0-1, 0-2.  Keep doing that kid and you will be very successful.  Here are my notes:
- It was a beautiful day, our seats are in the sun for the entire game and I tell right now that mid-August games are going to be HOT.  I guess I will have to rip more $8 beers down.
- Ollie was sick, but on the other hand D. Wright looked horrible.  This guy is starting to press a bit, he is really having a tough time at the plate.  I liked the old school high socks look.  Maybe he thinks that if he wears his socks like A-Rod, he will start hitting like him.  Let's hope he does.
- Another Mama's of Corona sandwich, I am going to be a fat bastard by All-Star break.
- How long with Ollie's post-inning deer jump over the foul line last?
- No Cowbell man today.  Too hot?
- Today we took the LIRR to the game, once on the train it was 16 minutes to Shea.  Door-to-door it was under 50 minutes.  It is a bit more expensive, but it is 100000% worth it.  Here is a suggestion, if the platform at Shea for the LIRR is insane, take the 7 train to Woodside where you can catch the LIRR back to Penn Station.  It was a pleasure taking the LIRR, the only other way I will get to Shea this year is by the Water Taxi.

Well, this upcoming weekend James, Strohm and myself will be making a roadtrip to DC to catch the Mets series.  It is going to be a weekend filled with golf, Mets baseball, drinks at the Georgetown waterfront and late night's in Adam's Morgan.  I lived there for 5 years so it will be nice to get back to visit.  We will be blogging about the weekend early next week, hopefully we have some good (PG rated) stories. 

There hasn't been much of Mets memorabilia lately.  However, I did come across an item selling at Signature House.  Lot 1012 is Two Hats Signed by David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes with an auction estimate of $80-$160.


A fantastic piece of baseball memorabilia will be hitting the auction block at Skinner's in Boston on April 19th.  Lot 10001 is a 1955 Ted Williams/Boston Red Sox Wool #9 Game Worn Jersey and will be sold with an auction estimate of $30,000-$40,000.

Look for other unique pieces of baseball and Mets memorabilia here.....

It is finally here, Opening Day 2007.  I was lucky that my company is owned by a couple of Brits, because we had the day off today.  For the past 7 years I have either had the day off or taken the day off of work to watch the home opener.  Over the past 5 years I have been lucky enough to get tickets to the game.

Opening Day is always such an exciting time.  It has been too long since I have taken the 7 train, too long since I have see the Neon players on the side of the big ugly blue stadium, too long since I have jumped and screamed like an idiot, too long since I have stuffed overpriced hotdogs and beers down my throat, too long for everything Mets. 

I arrived early so I could joint Randy, Timmy and Roachy from Fantasy Camp to tailgate.  Arriving at the stadium, I was amazed to see how much of CitiField had been completed.  You really have an amazing perspective of the new stadium as you walk off of the subway platform.  Thankfully I do not have a need to drive to games, a large section of the parking lot is closed.  This is a massive project and I got a scope of it as I walked around the construction site.  It is starting to take shape a bit, you can see that they are starting to form the right field bleachers. 

I met James after a bit of tailgating.  The lines to get into the stadium were insane.  It seems that the Mets organization never really "gets it" when it comes to handling crowds (more on this later). 

As this was the first year of my new season tickets with my two brothers, we had different seats.  All winter we have been wondering if the seats were going to be good or not.  Well, I must say that the seats we have this year are fantastic.  Section 628A (I wonder if I should change the name of my blog?), right on the railing of the Mezz.  These seats give you great views of the field. 

From those who followed my blog last year, you will remember that I don't provide a sports writer view of the game.  I provide more of a game experience; things we talked about, things we noticed and general banter.  So, here are some of the things that James and I talked about, noticed and question on opening day this year:
- Lines, lines, lines.  Lines to get into the stadium.  Lines to wait for your individually made hot chocolate, lines to the bathroom.  At least this year they had security by the "out" door of the men's room, so sneaky bastards couldn't cut the line.  However, a message to the Mets organization, figure our crowd control for the love of God!
- It was nice to see Keith throw out the first pitch, it was also nice to see him wearing a throwback jersey.  What was best of all was that he didn't pussy out and throw from in front of the mound, he went straight to the rubber.
- The pace of the game was strange.  Maybe I am thinking and remembering game 7 from last year, but the crowd didn't seem to be into all that much. Again, it was a strange pace to the game.
- No wave, thankfully.
- Thoughts on between innings shenanigans: no more "car race to Shea color coded by your section" which is an absolute blessing as I can think of anything I abhor more, classic "Meet the Mets" has been brought back this year, "Sweet Caroline" has made an appearance again which is pretty embarrassing, t-shirt launch is still sweet but they need to find guys that don't throw like a chick.
- Since our seats are right on the railing, we talked about going to every John Maine start and having the "John's Maineiacs" section.  This is still in the works. 
- "Jimmy Rollins", "Jimmy Rollins".  I love to hate this guy.  Thank you Jimmy, thank you very, very much.
- Willie, what are you doing keeping Burgos in the game.  When you came to visit the mound, Willie, Feliciano was at the bullpen door.  Why didn't you take him out.  We all know what happened next.
- David Wright is a stud, we all know this.  We all want to be him.  But please, David, keep you head on straight.  I have seen more David Wright than I am comfortable with.  David Wright Vitamin water, David Wright on video games, David Wright interviews (I just read another in New York Magazine).  Listen, he is the man and I wish I was him, but keep focused and keep doing what you did in the bottom of the 8th, big hit buddy, big hit.
- After the game we saw two brothers beating the bag out of each other.  Idiots.
- Leaving Shea is about .5% better this year.  The turnstyle's have been moved to the entrance to the platform, so instead of getting crammed before walking up the stairs, you are jammed just prior to the subway platform.  Please, build a new Subway stop when the CitiField is done.

Great win.  It is going to be a special year.  If we stay healthy, our pitching holds up and the guys stay focused we are going to have a lot of celebrations at Shea this year. 

I posted a bundle of Mets tickets to six games in April.  They include two games against the Phillies, three game series against the Rockies and one game against the Marlins.  Seats are fantastic, 2 in box 628A right on the railing in the mezzanine.  Great views with nobody in front of you.  As I did last year, all tickets are sold without reserve and starting at $1.  I want to make sure that every fan has the chance to go to the games, I don't care about making money on them.  Also, as I did last year, all winning bidders are welcomed and encouraged to be a guest blogger for SectionSix for the games they attend.

Tickets are listed now on eBay and are ending this Sunday.  Happy Bidding and Let's Go Mets!

Well, Opening Day (night) finally arrived.  After living through the depression of the post-season, frustration during the hot stove season, boredom of January/February and meaningless March games the season is finally here.  It is time for Mets 2007!

I ended up going to The Village Tavern on Bedford and 7th for Opening Night.  Last weekend I was there watching the NCAA tournament and noticed that there was a big neon Mets sign in the front window.  What a fantastic place.  Good beers, lots of TV's and a pool table in the back.  It is a perfect Mets bar. 

As I walked in, I noticed that there were Mets hats all over the place.  It wasn't overly crowded, no need to fight for beers or a space at the bar.  It was a great atmosphere with well priced beers. I met fellow Mets fan and guest blogger to Section Six, James, there.   During the game we talked with other Mets fans and these were some of the things we talked about:
1) We were surprised and taken back a bit that Peter Gammons predicted that the Mets would win the 2007 World Series by beating the Red Sox.
2) We discussed David Wright and him hitting 2nd in the line-up.  Paul Lo Duca is the perfect 2 hitter for this line-up and hitting him 6th or 7th isn't taking advantage of his approach at the plate (he showed in his 5 at-bats tonight how good he is as the #2 hitter).
3) We talked about our road trip to DC at the end of the month for the weekend series against the Nationals.
4) We laughed at Rey Ordonez making the Mariners roster.
5) We were amazed by Carlos Beltran's absolutely sick throw nailing that little weasel Eckstein at home.  We also tried to figure out how Eckstein was even drafted, his arm is terrible.
6) We laughed at the Cardinals terrible pitching staff.  Any rotation that has Looper as their #3 starter is in some serious trouble.

Overall, it was a great win and a nice start to the season.  This team looks poised and ready to go for 162 games.  They came in tonight and took care of business.  Glavine wasn't as sharp as he could have been, but it was effective.  The offense produced and the defense was very solid. 

The Village Tavern will probably be our stomping grounds for the season this year.  I highly recommend this bar for Met's fans.  As I said before, the beers were reasonable, the atmosphere was good and there was a strong Mets presence.  I wonder where they got the neon Mets sign from, it is pretty sweet.