America's Pastime May be Passed

WARNING - Today's blog is going to be the Jersey Girl ranting again about tickets and prices. So, if you don't want to hear it, please come back tomorrow when I may be in a better mood.
Mets' single game tickets for April & May are going on sale Sunday; however, as a past ticket package holder, I can buy them this week before they open the sale to the public, one of the "benefits" of being a loyal Mets fan.
So I went to the site to check it out. I selected a Saturday arbitrarily just to see what was available and requested the best available. What I got back was 2 seats for $240 EACH! Now I'll admit they were great seats. But, come on. God, add in the cost of the train and some food and you're looking at at least $600. For a game in April. Of course, there are less expensive seats. There are actually 28 different seat categories, starting at $27. (You can guess where they are.)
In the past, a few times during the season, we would splurge and buy tickets on Stubhub to have the chance to sit in some good seats. Now, those seats, buying directly from the Mets' ticket office , top off at $210. God knows what they'll charge on Stubhub.
I know I'm going to sound like my dad did when I was a kid (you younger people, don't be smug; your day will come). But there once was a time when you could take the family to see a game and not have to take out a mortgage. I'm disgusted. It's just a matter of time before team owners will impose seat license fees, following football's lead. And attending another sport will be out of reach of the average fan.

Baseball Takes Another Hit

I had planned on writing about something else today, but, as an avid baseball fan and fellow human being, I have to address the A-Rod (or A-Roid, as some of the media is calling him) debacle.
I can't say I'm shocked at his admission. His excuses for taking them - pressure to perform, a lot of people were doing it - are just that- excuses. Now, after denying these allegations for years, he's decided to come clean and say how sorry he is. Like others who have "come clean" only after some reporter has the goods on them, whether it's a pro athlete, a politician, or a respected member of your community, I cannot stomach to hear all the apologies and excuses. He's sorry? No, he's not sorry for what he did; he's sorry he got caught. He had many chances to come forward and he didn't. He cared more about his image than the truth.
But, what is disturbing me more, are some of the comments I've been hearing from sportscasters and fans. Scott Clark, the sportscaster on NY's Eyewitness News, an avowed Yankee fan, said in his report earlier that A-Rod has taken the " high road" by admitting his indiscretion. The high road? Is he kidding? The high road would have been to never have taken the substances at all or, at the very least, admit to it when the allegations first came out.
Also, ESPN just did a poll and the majority of respondents said they weren't really bothered that Rodriguez took steroids. What has happened to our society where people are so accepting of a pro athlete who lies and cheats? What are we teaching our children? It's ok to cheat; just don't get caught?
IMHO, any ballplayer proven to have taken steroids should not be allowed in the HOF and any records they break should be noted that they had taken performance enhancing drugs.
As far as steroid use in baseball, baseball itself has to shoulder some of the blame. Baseball owners, managers and trainers turned a blind eye to this and there were no consequences if you used drugs.
I am not a fan of Jose Canseco; I have never met the man, but he comes across as an arrogant a-hole. I also haven't read his book. When his book came out, he was called a liar, a traitor and was accused of just trying to make a quick buck. But, it seems, as time goes on, more and more of his allegations are being proven to be true.
I love baseball. I assume the majority of today's active players have never taken steroids. I hope that my faith is justified.

If New Year's Eve...

is only 2 days away, could baseball season be far behind?
Well, yes, I guess it is still a way off, but it's still on my mind.
For the last 2 years, the LSH & I have gone to Mets Spring Training. I already was pretty much decided that we would skip it this year, maybe make it an every other year thing. If I had any doubts about my decision, the powers that be of the WBC, World Baseball Classic, have helped me feel good about my decision.
Why in the world is it held during our Spring Training? As of right now, only one Met, my boy, David Wright, is officially playing. Now, I'm sure DW is thrilled to have the chance to wear the Team USA jersey and play for his country and I'm happy for him. However, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Pedro Feliciano have made it known that they want to play for Puerto Rico, Johann Santana and Francisco Rodriguez want to play for Venezuela and Jose Reyes for the Dominican Republic and if any of those countries doesn't invite them, they are plain crazy. That means the Mets will be without 2 starting pitchers (including their ace), one reliever, the first and third basemen and the shortstop for at least part, if not all, of spring training.
The Mets are probably going to tell Santana to sit this one out, as he's rehabbing from surgery. But I'm really surprised that nothing was said to David. Is it really worth taking the chance of injury to play in this competition? David is an all-out competitor and I don't expect him to really rein it in here. I'll be holding my breath every time he takes the field.
On another note...One of my co-workers and fellow Mets fan, learned that the NJ Sportswriter's Association is holding an awards ceremony at the end of next month to honor some professional athletes who are either from NJ or play for a NJ area (that includes NY :) team. It just so happens that my boy, David, is being presented with the Sports Humanitarian of the Year award due to his dedication and charitable efforts through the David Wright Foundation. Anyway, the banquet hall it's being held at isn't very far from us (in fact, my wedding reception for my first marriage was there!) and the price isn't too bad as these things go. So we've been trying to get a group together to go. Now, this is just the type of thing that falls into my "Que Sera Sera" beliefs (see post from Dec 28). If you have ever tried to get a group together to do ANYTHING, you know exactly how it goes. When the plan is first mentioned, EVERYBODY is enthusiastic and climbs right on board....until the time comes to "show me the money." And then, the group starts falling apart like the Jets 2008 season (alright, I know some of you are thinking I could have said the METS season, but, hey, get your own blog!) So, as we understand that tables will be assigned, we made the deadline for payment tomorrow. So, we shall see tomorrow who will be joining us for some witty repartee and lots of laughs. I know the LSH has promised to escort me, no matter what happens. Thanks, sweetie. You're the best!

The Church of Baseball

While officially it's still baseball season (although my season ended 9/28), I thought I would write about baseball in my life. A good part of the reason I refer to Mike as my LSH (long-suffering husband) is due to baseball.

I grew up with 2 older brothers and a dad who loved baseball. Oldest brother was huge Yankee fan (although, he switched loyalties when he met his 2nd wife and now is a Red Sox fan; said he hated Steinbrenner. Who doesn't)? My other brother was, and is forever, a Dodger fan. Even when Walter O'Malley broke a million hearts moving the team to LA, my bro never waivered. That's loyalty. I decided that the Mets would be MY team.

When the Mets won the '69 World Series, I won $10 from a guy I went to school with. He wasn't a very gracious loser; he paid me with a 1000 pennies in an old, dirty gym sock.

I continued to follow my team through the 80's. However, in the 90's, I admit, I lost my way and turned my back on The Church of Baseball, all baseball, not just the Mets. All I can say is that life got in the way, so to speak.

In the spring of 05, I was flipping channels and came upon a Mets game. For whatever reason, I started to watch and by the time the game was over, I was hooked once again. Now, I always like to have one player on the team that I particularly watch and root for and I don't make this decision lightly. I continued to watch several more games to get to know the team. The only things I learned about the players were whatever Gary, Keith and Ron would say. When I made my decision, I called my brother (the Dodger fan) to announce my selection.

ME: Well, I made my pick.

BRO: Oh, I can't wait.

ME: I have chosen (drumroll please) David Wright.

BRO: Oh, surprise, surprise. You and 1/2 the females in NY.

ME: What are you talking about?

BRO: Oh, c'mon. You only picked him because "ooh, he's soooooooo cute."

ME: I've never really looked closely at him. Honest. I chose him because he's just starting his career, so it will be fun to follow him from the beginning. At GK&R say he and Reyes are the Mets' future, so I assume he's gonna be around NY for awhile.
Well, needless to say, my brother never believed me. But, once we hung up, my curiosity was definitely aroused and I went to the computer. Needless to say, I was VERY pleased with my choice. I loved his background and he definitely wasn't hard on the eyes.

However, I must make one thing clear. As I'm old enough to be his mom, my interest in him is STRICTLY maternal. Honest.

How does this relate to the LSH? We met during my self-imposed exile from baseball, so he had no idea of my "baseball past." He was never a baseball fan, to begin with. You can imagine his surprise when he discovered that baseball had become my passion once again. He has been a real trouper, from going to spring training with me twice, attending I don't know how many games both at Shea and away, even making signs for me. I actually believe he likes baseball now, although he won't admit it. I've even caught him reading the sports page.

One cute story - not far from Tradition Field, there's an ice cream/convenience store called Mets Mart, I think. We passed there and the LSH said very innocently - "Do you want me to stop there? You could ask for a "David" cone." I burst out laughing. He had no idea what he had said. Of course, I've had to tell this story to friends and family and they never let him forget it.