Nelson Figueroa!  Not only did he pitch a sick game, he made a catch that has to be one of the best I have seen.  A laser hit up the middle and he made a back hand catch behind his back.  He is like a cat out there.  My friend Rick joined me tonight and he was sporting a vintage Casey Stengel jersey, quality.  It was a beautiful day in Manhattan, mid 70's and nothing but blue sky.  How quickly Shea gets windy and cold, by the 4th inning it felt like mid November.  The return of dirty Sanchez tonight!  Boy it is good to see him back on the mound, great work.  After 14 innings the Mets pulled out a anticlimactic victory with two wild pitches. 

It was a fairly small crowd tonight.  I am looking forward to seeing some big games again at Shea with some larger crowds.  I mean, all the games are important, two more victories in April last year and we don't have the collapse. 

Rick is a doctor and may be taking a job in DC.  We had a good time talking about the city I once lived in, and a part of me is jealous that he will be returning to that beautiful city (see post below about the new National stadium).  We also talked about all the stadiums we have been to in MLB.  I realized that I have seen some great stadiums and more than I realized, here they are: 

Shea, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, RFK, Camden Yards, PNC Park, Coors Field, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium.

Speaking of jerseys, I keep seeing the same clown at Shea this year that had a customized jersey that has on the back "Shea 1964-2008".  Come on, are you really going to spend $250 on an authentic jersey that has this written on the back.  I may have to add this to the rules of jersey wearing, no customized sayings or names allowed.  After seeing how my friend James abused a 30+ year old Nationals fan last year for brining his glove to the game, I can only imagine what he would say to this guy.