The Mets Set A Timely Record This Weekend

On Friday night (and Saturday morning), the Mets and Phillies took part in a 5-hour, 23 minute marathon that wasn't decided until the bottom of the 14th inning, when the Phillies walked off with a 6-5 victory.  As tiring as that game was for its participants and the fans, that was just the opening act for yesterday's affair.  Once again, the Mets and Phillies played a 14-inning affair, but this time they needed five hours and 32 minutes to decide a victor.  The Mets pulled out a 5-4 win by scoring a run in the top of the 14th and keeping the Phillies from crossing the plate in the bottom of the inning.

Two games, 28 innings, 10 hours and 55 minutes of game time.  It's almost enough to make even the biggest baseball lover put up the white flag.

So of course, with me being a numbers geek (so I've been told), I decided to see if the Mets had ever played back-to-back games of 14 innings or more.  I also fiddled around to find out if they had ever played consecutive five-hour games and if they had ever needed nearly 11 hours to complete two straight games, regardless of how many innings they needed to play those games.

Kids, we're looking at history here with these last two games.

Wake up, Mets fans!  You're missing out on history!  (Photo by Chuck Solomon/SI)

Prior to Friday and Saturday, the Mets had played consecutive games of 14 innings or more just once in their history.  That occurred on September 7 and September 8, 1979, when the Mets hosted the eventual World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates at Shea Stadium.  On September 7, the Mets and Bucs played a 14-inning affair that ended in an 6-4 victory for Pittsburgh.  The Mets could have won the game in the 11th, but failed to score after loading the bases with no outs.  Pittsburgh won it when Mets third baseman Richie Hebner committed an error on what should have been the third out of the inning.  The Pirates took advantage of Hebner's gaffe, scoring on a single by Dave Parker and a passed ball by Alex Treviño, who caught all 14 innings.  No wonder long-time Mets fans hate Richie Hebner to this day.

Pittsburgh tied the September 7 game by scoring a run in the top of the eighth.  The next day, they scored twice in the eighth to knot the score again.  This time, the squads needed 15 innings until one team tasted victory.  Fortunately, the Mets did not have to endure a dual dose of defeat, as John Stearns singled home Lee Mazzilli with two outs in the bottom of the 15th inning to give the Mets a 3-2 victory.

Both games were played rather quickly, with the 14-inning game lasting three hours and 45 minutes and the 15-inning affair taking four hours and 18 minutes to complete.  Clearly, neither game approached the length of the two affairs played by the Mets and Phillies over the last two days.  But several consecutive games in the team's early days did.

The Mets didn't play the first five-hour game in team history until May 31, 1964, when they needed a record seven hours and 23 minutes to play a 23-inning game against the San Francisco Giants, a game they lost, 8-6.  That marathon was the second game of a doubleheader.  Fortunately, the first game lasted just two hours and 29 minutes, meaning the teams played the two games in under ten hours.  On June 2, 1964, the Mets played their first game after the 23-inning affair, taking a tidy two hours and 38 minutes to defeat the Houston Colt .45s by the final score of 7-4.  That means the Mets needed ten hours and one minute to play back-to-back games, the first time they had ever surpassed ten hours of playing time in consecutive games.

In 1968, the played another endless game, needing 24 innings before falling to Houston by a 1-0 count.  That game lasted six hours and six minutes.  However, neither the game preceding it nor the game immediately after the tense snoozefest made it to the three-hour mark, meaning the ten-hour, one-minute record for consecutive games was still intact.

The Mets did not play their third 5+ hour affair until 1973, when they took a 7-3, 19-inning decision over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.  Their next five-hour game took place a year later, when the Mets played a team-record 25-inning game at Shea Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals.  The game took seven hours and four minutes to complete.  The following night, the Cardinals and Mets needed two hours and 57 minutes to play nine innings, giving them a record-tying ten hours and one minute of playing time for two straight games.  But the Mets still had not played back-to-back five-hour games.

After their 1974 marathon, New York played a handful of five-hour games.  They played exactly five hours in a 1979 game against Houston (an 18-inning loss) and competed for five hours and one minute versus San Diego in 1980 (another 18-inning loss).  The Mets played two five-plus hour games in 1985 and they actually won them both.  Of course, who can forget Fireworks Night in Atlanta on July 4 (and 5), when the Mets neeeded six hours and ten minutes to end the 19-inning rain-soaked slugfest?  That memorable game took place two months after New York claimed an 18-inning affair against Pittsburgh in five hours and 21 minutes.

The Mets came close to playing back-to-back five-hour games in 1986, when they lost to Houston in 15 innings on July 20 and defeated Cincinnati in a fight-filled 14-inning contest two nights later.  Both games lasted at least five hours.  However, the Mets played a game in three hours and seven minutes on July 21, making that game the meat in a five-hour marathon sandwich.  Those were two of the three five-hour matches the Mets played in their storybook 1986 campaign, as they played a long-since forgotten five hour and three minute game on April 12, when they lost in 14 innings to the Phillies.

From 1987 to 2012, the Mets played a total of 11 five-hour games, which includes Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS against the Braves and Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS versus the Giants.  Then in 2013, the Mets played five such games, including a notorious 20-inning affair against the Marlins on June 8 that took six hours and 25 minutes to complete.  The following day, the two teams squared off again and played another extra-inning contest.  However, that game ended in ten innings, taking three hours and 35 minutes to complete.  Still, it was the third time in franchise history that the Mets needed at least ten hours to play consecutive games.  But they still hadn't played back-to-back five-hour games.

Then May 30 and May 31, 2014 happened.  And history was made at Citizens Bank Park.  This tweet by yours truly says it all.

Congratulations, #Mets fans! You're watching history! This is the first time the team has played back-to-back games of five hours or more!
— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) May 31, 2014

It took until the team's 53rd season, but they had finally done it.  At last, the team played consecutive games in which each contest took over five hours to complete.  And by playing a total of ten hours and 55 minutes over the two days and nights, the Mets shattered the team record of ten hours and one minute needed to play two straight games.  That record was first set in 1964 and then matched ten years later.

As the old adage goes, "You win some, you lose some."  That's exactly what the Mets did over the last two days.  They lost a game to the Phillies on Friday night (and Saturday morning) and then followed it up by defeating Philadelphia in their next game.  But they needed forever and a day (and some of the evening) to win one and lose one against their division rivals.

Baseball is beautiful because the game is not timed, unlike the other major team sports.  But just because there's no clock attached to it doesn't mean time is completely ignored.  If it was, then you wouldn't have just found out that the Mets just played back-to-back five-hour games for the first time in team history and needed nearly 11 hours to do so.  You also might not have known that it was just the second time in club annals that they needed to play 14 or more innings in consecutive games.

The Mets never make things easy for their fans.  But they do make things fun.  That's assuming you have the time for it.

Where There's A Wil, There's A Way

Earlier today, when the Mets released the starting lineup for their series finale against the Phillies, I posted this tweet on Twitter, in the hopes that Wilfredo Tovar (who was making his major league debut) and Wilmer Flores (who was starting in place of the red-hot David Wright at third base) would have great games against the Phils.  Little did I know how much they'd contribute.

I'm hoping Wilmer Flores and Wilfredo Tovar lead the #Mets to victory so I can use "Where There's a Wil, There's a Way" as my recap title.
— Ed Leyro (@Studi_Metsimus) September 22, 2013

Tovar went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, delivering the seventh-inning single that gave the Mets the lead.  Meanwhile, Flores contributed a key double in the fourth inning that helped lead to the Mets' first run of the game, after Phillies' starter Cliff Lee had retired the first nine batters in order.

The Mets defeated the Phillies, 4-3, to sweep the weekend series at Citizens Bank Park.  The one-run victory moved the Mets into a third-place tie with Philadelphia and gave New York the season series as well.  (The Mets won 10 of 19 games from the Phillies this year.)

There's always a way to win when the team wills itself to get it done.  Today there were two Wils in the Mets' starting lineup and they both found a way to lead the Mets to a satisfying victory.

No Sweep, But The Mets Still Made History In Philly

Scott Hairston (left) and Mike Baxter (right) both went deep in Philadelphia today.

The Mets failed to sweep the Phillies in their recently-completed three game-series at Citizens Bank Park.  But in winning two out of three games, they did accomplish some rare things.

Since 1976, only two teams have won at least seven road games in Philadelphia.  One of the teams is the then-Florida Marlins, who took seven of nine games at Citizens Bank Park in 2009 (while losing seven of nine in Florida).  The 2012 Mets have joined that Marlins team as the only teams to win seven road games in Philly, as they also took seven of nine in Philly.

For only the third time in franchise history, the Mets won every series they played in Philadelphia in a season (min. three series per season).  The first time this happened was in 1970, when the Phillies called Connie Mack Stadium home.  The defending World Series champion Mets swept a two-game series in May, won three games in a five-game series in July and swept another two-game series in September.  The other time this occurred was in 1989, when the Mets won two out of three games in each of their three series at Veterans Stadium.  (Note:  The Mets won eight of nine games in Philadelphia in 1972, but their one loss came in a two-game series.  Thus, the Mets split that series and could not win every series they played in Philly that year.)

By winning three games at Citi Field in two series earlier in the season, the Mets have defeated the Phillies ten times this year, with a three-game series against Philadelphia left to play in September.  The last time the Mets won 11 games against the Phillies was in 2008, when they went 11-7 versus Philadelphia.  If the Mets can win two out of three in their final series against the Phillies, they will have defeated Philadelphia a dozen times for the first time since 1989.  A three-game sweep at Citi Field would give them a 13-5 record against the Phillies this year, which would tie the franchise record for most wins versus Philadelphia in a single season.  The Mets had gone 13-5 against the Phillies four times before, doing it in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1987.

Obviously, being the die-hard Mets fans we are, we would have liked for our team to take the brooms out and go "Broom-shaka-laka" against the Phillies.  But even though that didn't happen, we should still be proud of what the Mets accomplished in Philadelphia in this series and all year.  It's about time the Mets put the Phillies in their place at their place.

Mets vs. Phillies: The Battle For Turd Place

The New York Mets.  The Philadelphia Phillies.  As recently as four years ago, both teams were competing for the top spot in the National League East.  Now they're both far behind the first place Nationals and the second place Braves, just barely ahead of Ozzie Guillen and his Merry Marlins, who are 20,000 leagues under the East.

The Mets and Phillies will be meeting this week in a three-game series beginning tonight at Citizens Bank Park in a series that will be a battle for third place in the division.  Battle for third place?  With the way these two teams have played in 2012, it's more like a battle for "turd" place.

The Mets started off well this year.  At the one-third point of the season, they were a season-high eight games over .500.  As late as July 7, they were 9½ games ahead of the then-last place Phillies in the NL East.  But since then, the Mets have gone 13-30 while the Phillies are 24-18.  After spending the majority of the season chasing the Mets, Philadelphia is now two games ahead of New York.

The Phillies have passed the Mets despite:

• Trading Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence, Jim Thome, Joe Blanton and Chad Qualls in an in-season cost-cutting measure (otherwise known as raising the white flag).

• Chase Utley and Ryan Howard missing a combined 165 games, then both hitting under .250 in the games they have participated in.

• Jimmy Rollins being the only regular to play just about every day, but hitting under .250 and barely reaching base at a .300 clip.

• A horrible bullpen with an ERA of 4.38, a WHIP of 1.32, and a Bastardo.

• Cliff Lee winning three more games than Cliff Clavin at a salary that's far more than that of your average postal worker (although Mr. Clavin could probably tell you the origin of Mr. Lee's middle name of Phifer).

With that combination of misfortune and spending a fortune on misses, the Phillies should be buried in the depths of the division.  Yet not only are they in the middle of the division, they're ahead of the Mets, who have the league's top winner and strikeout leader in R.A. Dickey, two corner infielders that have combined for 41 HR and 146 RBI, and a year-long penchant for scoring runs with two outs (239 two-out runs, as opposed to 295 in all other situations).

Despite the Mets' recent woes, they have defeated the Phillies eight times in twelve head-to-head matchups this season, easily their best record against any NL East opponent.  (The Mets are a combined 14-22 against the other three teams in the division, not winning more than five games against any of them.)  They need to continue playing well against the Phillies this week to reclaim third place.

Games between the Mets and Phillies used to have so much riding on them.  Now with the two teams playing sub-.500 ball, the only thing they're riding out is the schedule.  It's a battle for third place in the city of Brotherly Love.  Hope it's not a stinker.

Phillie-busters!

On Wednesday night, the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, coming from behind to win all three games.  It was the first time the Mets swept the Phillies in Philadelphia since June 13-15, 2006.  With the victory, the Mets improved to 18-13, the first time they've been five games over .500 since July 19, 2010.  Conversely, the Phillies' loss dropped their record to 14-18.  The last time they were four games under .500 was five years ago to the day (May 9, 2007), when they were 15-19.

Before our thoughts turn to the upcoming weekend series against the Miami Marlins, let's look at some other things you may not have known that came to my attention after the Phillie-busting was complete.

The Mets absolutely annihilated the Phillies' bullpen over the three games.  In 7⅓ innings, the Phillies' relievers allowed 14 runs (12 earned) on 13 hits and six walks.  The Mets had not scored as many as 14 runs in any of their last three series against the Phillies, dating back to last year.  Yet they managed to score that many runs in this three-game series solely against the Phillies' bullpen.

By scoring ten runs against the Phillies in the series finale, the Mets achieved a season high in runs scored in a game.  The last time the Mets scored double digit runs in a single game was last September 16 in a 12-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.  Wednesday's victory was only the second time in their last 81 games that the Mets reached double digits in runs scored.

The Mets outscored the Phillies 22-12 over the three games.  The last time the Mets outscored an opponent by at least ten runs in a three-game series sweep was in 2010, when they swept the Orioles out of Camden Yards by a combined score of 19-6.  Who was the last National League team they accomplished the feat against?  None other than the Philadelphia Phillies during the Mets' memorable three-game shutout sweep at Citi Field from May 25-27, 2010, outscoring them 16-0.

Seven different Mets scored at least one run in Wednesday's finale (Andres Torres, David Wright, Scott Hairston, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Justin Turner, Ike Davis, Dillon Gee) and seven players drove in at least one run (Torres, Daniel Murphy, Wright, Hairston, Turner, Davis, Lucas Duda).  The last time the Mets accomplished this double dip on their way to victory was September 5, 2010, when a whopping 11 players scored at least once and eight players tacked on at least one RBI to their season totals in an 18-5 demolition of the Chicago Cubs.

Finally, Wednesday's game marked the 402nd win for the Mets over the Phillies in their 50-plus years of existence.  It's the most wins they have against any opponent in the major leagues.  Second on the list are the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals franchise, who the Mets have defeated a total of 371 times.  For as good as the Phillies have been over the past half-decade, the Mets have done fairly well against them, going 23-21 over their division rivals over their last 44 games.

By the time the 2012 season comes to a close, the Mets and Phillies might have switched positions in the NL East standings.  But it sure feels good to have the Mets sweep the three-game series in front of their red-clad fans, or the few that were left at the end of Wednesday's series finale.  I guess they couldn't stand to see the Phillie-busting in its entirety.

Former Red Sox Closer Lights A Papelbon-fire

What is it about becoming a member of the Phillies that gets certain players to say things to rile opposing fanbases?  It began so innocently five years ago when Jimmy Rollins proclaimed the Phillies the team to beat in the NL East.  Then Cole Hamels called the Mets chokers after the Phillies won the World Series in 2008.  Now one of the newest members of the Phillies has made a comment that is sure to get the attention of his former fans.

On Thursday, Phillies' closer Jonathan Papelbon told a Philadelphia radio station that his new team's fans "tend to know the game a little better" than Red Sox fans.  He also went on to say that fans in Boston are "a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball".

Oh, really?  I believe now would be a good time for me to respond to Papelbon's comments by quoting the great philosopher, Jules Winnfield, when I say "Well, allow me to retort".

Prior to 2007, Phillies fans stayed away from the ballpark in droves.  When Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004, the Phillies averaged 40,125 patrons per home date.  The luster of the new ballpark faded quickly, as attendance plummeted in CBP's second year, with an average of 32,905 fans showing up to see a decent Phillies team finish 88-74.  The 88 victories represented the highest total for a Phillies club since the 1993 National League pennant-winning team.  It was the Phillies' most successful season in 12 years, and home attendance DROPPED by 20%.

Although the Mets ran away with the NL East title in 2006, the Phillies competed for the wild card until the final week of the season.  They fell short in their quest, but not by much, finishing three games behind the playoff-bound Los Angeles Dodgers.  Despite contending for a playoff spot all year, the average attendance for a Phillies' home game in 2006 was 33,356.  Contention brought in an extra 451 fans per game compared to the 2005 team.

Meanwhile, Boston's Fenway Park, which doesn't even have a capacity of 40,000, has drawn over 30,000 fans per game in every season since 1999.  The last time the Red Sox failed to draw over 2,000,000 fans in a non-strike-shortened season was in 1985, which was the same year Jonathan Papelbon turned five.

Of course, Phillies fans, according to Papelbon, know the game better than Red Sox fans do.  That explains why they didn't start showing up to games until after the Phillies actually won something in 2007, which Papelbon would know nothing about since he was too busy winning a World Series in Boston for those "not-as-knowledgeable" Red Sox fans.

Also, how would Papelbon know anything about what Phillies fans are like?  As a member of the Red Sox, he pitched a total of 4⅔ innings at Citizens Bank Park.  He actually pitched very well in Philadelphia, allowing no runs on one hit in five appearances against the Phillies, which means he probably heard a lot of boos from the Philly Phaithful.  Again, this clearly shows the superiority of Phillies fans over Red Sox fans when it comes to knowledge of the game, doesn't it?  When in doubt, just boo.

In 2008, Brad Lidge went 41-for-41 in save opportunities for the Phillies.  The following season, he suffered from a Jekyll and Hyde-like transformation, causing him to pitch like a post-1984 Doug Sisk.  Phillies fans shared their knowledge of four-letter words with Lidge once their post-championship hangover ended.  Is that the "knowledge" Papelbon is referring to?

I understand that Jonathan Papelbon wants his new fanbase to like him.  What player on a new team wouldn't?  But to slap the faces of his former fans with a statement that just isn't true - well, actually, we'd expect that more from a Phillies fan and not a Phillie.  Then again, maybe Papelbon is just trying to fit in with his big-mouthed teammates.

Perhaps Red Sox fan (and Studious Metsimus reader) Chris Giordano said it best when he said, "Maybe Papelbon should take it out on Red Sox management.  The fans had nothing to do with the Red Sox not re-signing him."

The Red Sox weren't aggressive in their pursuit of Papelbon.  The Phillies were.  If Papelbon had a problem with the way his former team went about the negotiating process, that's between him and the front office.  His displeasure should not bring his former fans into the mix.

Simply stated, Red Sox fans know their baseball.  They're passionate about it in a way that Papelbon will more than likely never see in Philadelphia.  Phillies fans will only come out for a winner.  Red Sox fans come out for the Red Sox.  Papelbon better hope the Phillies continue to win division titles during his four years there.  If not, the only sounds he'll be hearing at Citizens Bank Park will be coming from the crickets.  But then again, he probably already has "knowledge" of that.

The Phillies Can Look But They Can't Touch

Perhaps there's something in the water in the visitor's clubhouse when the Phillies come to town or perhaps they're just not a very good hitting team away from Citizens Bank Pinball Machine, but tonight marked the fourth consecutive time the Mets shut out the Phillies at Citi Field.

R.A. Dickey was showing the Phillies his knuckleball all night and batter after batter, they failed miserably against Dickey and his floater. Only a sixth inning single by opposing pitcher Cole Hamels kept Dickey from recording the first no-hitter in franchise history. He had to settle for his first career one-hitter and the second one-hitter by a Mets pitcher this season, following Jonathon Niese's gem on June 10 against the San Diego Padres.

The Mets have now taken six out of ten games from the Phillies this year. They've shut out the Phillies five times this season, including all four games played at Citi Field. Zeroes have been the theme even in non-shutouts, as the Mets have held the Phillies scoreless in 86 of the 96 innings they've come up to bat against New York.

Let's face it. The Phillies are not the same team when they're not playing in their bandbox. They don't hit for nearly as much average or power when they're away from home. These are their home-road splits this season:

At Citizens Bank Park: .266 average, 72 HR, 304 runs scored
On the road: .254 average, 46 HR, 241 runs scored

The Mets also pitch far better at home than on the road, recording 15 of their major league-leading 18 shutouts at Citi Field.

Still, when guys like R.A. Dickey get thisclose to no-hitting the Phillies (his second scoreless outing against Philadelphia this year at Citi Field), you have to wonder about the three-time defending NL East champions. Sure, they've had their share of injuries, but regardless of who they send up to bat, the Mets have had the answer to retiring those batters in almost every circumstance, especially at Citi Field.

Tomorrow, Pat Misch will make his first start at the big league level in 2010. With the way the Phillies have been looking, but not touching, anything thrown by a Mets hurler at Citi Field this season, Misch has to be salivating at the thought of facing the once-potent Phillies lineup.

Butterflies? Not in Pat Misch's stomach tomorrow and certainly not for R.A. Dickey tonight. The only things fluttering by tonight were the sensational knuckleballs by Mr. Dickey in his herculean effort on the mound.

Who's afraid of the big bad Phils? Certainly not anyone taking the mound against them at Citi Field.

Judge Hurls Sentence At Phillies' Vomiter

The Phillies Phan who intentionally vomited on an off-duty police officer and his daughters was sentenced yesterday for his vile act, and the sentence couldn't have been more appropriate.

21-year-old Matthew Clemmens will serve 30 to 90 days in prison for his crime. He will also be on probation for two years and must complete 50 hours of community service, which also includes cleaning the bathrooms at Citizens Bank Park.

In addition, he must pay Michael Vangelos (the off-duty cop) and his family $315, which covers the cost of the five tickets used by Vangelos for the game in which the incident occurred on April 14. Vangelos has said he will donate the money to the Easton (Pa.) Police Athletic League.

The man dubbed Pukemon by the media sobbed as he apologized for his retchiness, claiming that his parents did not raise him in that manner. (Perhaps they only raised him to boo Santa Claus and cheer when players like former Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin get injured at Eagles games.)

Judge Kevin Dougherty did not fall for Pukemon's wimpy apology. In his decision, he told Clemmens:

"Your apology, I believe, was feigned. I don't know if you were trying to hit a home run with your friends that day . . . but you struck out."

Pukemon leaves behind his parents, an 11-year old brother and this mug shot (see photo, right) for everyone to remember him by.

The Mets will be playing at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia next weekend (the Studious Metsimus/My Summer Family World Tour will be on location in Philly for the Sunday, August 8 game), where we will surely need to relieve ourselves at some point during the game.

If you see Matthew Clemmens (now appearing at a urinal near you), please be sure to "spew" your thoughts on his actions, but keep your true thoughts down. After all, you wouldn't want to give Mets fans a black eye, would you?

Philly's Road Trip Begins In...Philly? No Phair!

Leave it to Bud Selig to drop the ball on another ruling, this time potentially causing hardship for the Mets and an unfair advantage for the Phillies.

After defeating the Cleveland Indians yesterday in Philadelphia, the Phillies started packing for their ten-game road trip that begins tonight against the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Phillies' road trip will begin tonight...IN PHILLY!

This weekend's series between the Phillies and Blue Jays was supposed to be played in Toronto. However, security concerns arose because of the G20 summit being held adjacent to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, necessitating the shift in the schedule.

In recent years, hurricanes have forced teams like the Astros and Marlins to move their home games to other venues. Two years ago, an Astros-Cubs series was moved to Miller Park in Milwaukee because of Hurricane Ike. Similarly, a Marlins-Expos series was moved to Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field in 2004 due to Hurricane Ivan.

So my question is this. Why wasn't this series moved to a neutral site, instead of moving Toronto's home games to the home ballpark of the team they're playing? Are the Blue Jays flying in their five fans to attend the games in Philly? No, they're not. The games will all be overwhelmingly attended by Phillies' Phans.

Despite the fact that the Blue Jays will be the home team and will play with American League rules (meaning the DH will be used), how is this fair to them? More importantly to Studious Metsimus fans, how is this fair to the Mets (and the other teams in the NL East)?

The Phillies will now be playing a total of 84 games this season in their home ballpark, while taking their show on the road for only 78 games.

Now imagine the uproar if the Phillies make the playoffs by one game. Even a caveman like the one pictured to the right can see that the Phillies will have an unfair advantage with those extra games in front of their home fans.

The Mets are one of the best home teams in baseball, currently holding a 26-11 record at Citi Field. However, they will only have 81 games at home to help improve their standings in the NL East.

Since the Mets aren't getting a break with the schedule maker, let's hope those five Blue Jays fans make enough noise at Citizens Bank Park to motivate their team to victory over the "road team".

Beer, The Breakfast Of (National League) Champions

By now, I'm sure you've seen this video of a four-year old boy chugging a brewski during Sunday's Phillies game against the Padres at Citizens Bank Park. (Only the first nine seconds show the youth in the act of drinking the beer.)



Although no one has confirmed that the bottle actually contained the beverage of champions, how the phudge did this kid's parents allow him to get anywhere near an open beer bottle?

Then again, we are talking about Phillies Phans. It should come as no surprise that the same fan base that produced the projectile vomiter who victimized a cop's kid (no word on whether the cop's kid was drinking at the time) and the fan who needed to be tasered when he ran onto the field during a game (see photo below) would also have a future AA member make his drinking debut at a Phillies game.


Due to an assortment of injuries, the Phillies have had to call up a number of their minor leaguers this year. However, after seeing the young boy enjoy his liquid Happy Meal, perhaps the Phillies will have to specify whether AA refers to where their minor leaguers come from or where their minor age fans are going.

Stay crassy, Philadelphia. Stay crassy.

Studious Metsimus Survey: New Food Stand Suggestions For Citi Field

Last year, Mets fans raved about all the new food items served at Citi Field. It might have been the only thing worth celebrating at Citi Field in 2009 (other than the reunion of the 1969 World Championship team on August 22). From Shake Shack to Box Frites to Blue Smoke to the various chicken nacho stands (a Studious Metsimus favorite), Citi Field's food choices were a huge upgrade from the fare at Shea Stadium.

However, just like with other things at Citi Field, there is very little mention of Mets history when it comes to food. Baltimore's Camden Yards has Boog's BBQ (named after former Orioles' great Boog Powell). Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park has numerous references to Phillies' legends, such as Bull's BBQ (after Greg "The Bull" Luzinski) and Harry The K's Broadcast Bar and Grille (after the late Harry Kalas).

What do the Mets have? Nothing. Not even a mention of Mets great and restaurateur Rusty Staub or a Tom Seaver winery. Staub would make the most sense to have an eatery named after him at Citi Field. How can the Mets not have a Rusty's Ribs at the ballpark, especially when similar establishments have popped up in Baltimore and Philly?

Therefore, Studious Metsimus would like to conduct a survey. Which eateries should the Mets open up at Citi Field? Be creative and be demonstrative when letting your feelings known. There's got to be a boyfriend of a third cousin's aunt's stepdaughter of a Mets employee reading this. Maybe word will get out and we'll be heard. Or maybe we'll just make ourselves hungry and order some takeout. Have fun with it!

(Here are some suggestions by the Studious Metsimus staff, followed by explanations):

Santana's Smoothies (because 'Han the Man is just soooo smooth)

Angel Food Cake (for Angel Pagan...this could be the main item in the Cake Shack that Studious Metsimus co-blogger Joey wants established.)

Castillo's Quesadillas (and they have to be big enough so that they have to be eaten with TWO HANDS!)

Bobby O's Chicken Fingers (in honor of the infamous hedge clipping accident where Bobby Ojeda severed the tip of his middle finger, fans would be served four and a half chicken fingers per serving.)

Strawberry's Daiquiris (for the lovely ladies in the hizzouse)

Anthony Young's 27 Wonderful Flavors (27 flavors of ice cream to commemorate AY's record-setting 27 consecutive losses)

Turk Wendell's Butcher Shop (with Mr. Wendell himself providing the meat!)

Sid And Benny's Hawaiian Pizza (for the two most famous #50s in Mets history...sorry, Sean Green.)

Koosman's Pub (where 36 beers are on tap, all served with their own Koos-ie)

Ed Charles' Burgers (home of the soon-to-be world-famous Glider's Sliders)

Mazzilli's Fusilli (for the pasta lovers in all of us)

Studious Metsimus can come up with at least one thousand nine hundred and eighty six more suggestions, but we'd like to turn it over to the fans now. Which food/beverage stands would you like to see at Citi Field? (Please, no Brooklyn Dodger references in your suggestions. We already have enough of those.) Enjoy!

Mets Addressing Bullpen Needs, But Not How You Think

With numerous holes to fill, the Mets have decided to address their bullpen first. However, they're not talking about adding another lefty to assist Perpetual Pedro Feliciano or a set-up man for Francisco Rodriguez. Instead, the issues with the bullpen being addressed are where each bullpen will be located at Citi Field in 2010.

In his blog for the Star-Ledger today, Brian Costa reported that the bullpens at Citi Field are being restructured so that each team can have a non-obstructed view of the playing field. When the bullpens were originally constructed, the Mets claimed the bullpen adjacent to the field while the visiting team was given the dungeon. In all honesty, those players had a better view of the auto body shops on 126th Street than they had of the events taking place on the field.

It was always difficult for TV cameras to focus on which relievers were warming up in the opponents' bullpen because those pitchers were invisible to mostly everyone. The people who had the best view of those relievers were the fans posing for pictures by the old Shea Stadium Home Run Apple near the bullpen gate entrance to Citi Field.

What I'm curious to know is what this will do to the configurations of Citi Field. Consider the picture of the Citi Field bullpens shown below as they appeared during the 2009 season:


The Mets are planning on positioning the bullpens side-to-side, where the relief pitcher warming up will be throwing towards the outfield fence. Looking at the current dimensions of the bullpen, it doesn't appear to be feasible to position the home and away bullpens in this new way without moving the fences in front of the bullpen or behind it, although Costa's blog states that the bullpens can be positioned in this fashion.

The Mets have already said that they will not be altering the dimensions of Citi Field for the 2010 season. So what's going on here? Personally, I wouldn't mind the right field fences being moved in a few feet. It actually has nothing to do with the potential for more home runs being hit into the bullpen area.

Remember how Carlos Beltran used to glide towards the fence at Shea Stadium before timing his leap perfectly to rob an opposing player of a home run? I can't recall Beltran or any other player this past season robbing a hitter of a potential home run. The only places where the fence is short enough for this to happen is at the bullpen wall or down the right field line. Unfortunately, given the deep dimensions of Citi Field, by the time the centerfielder gets to the wall, the ball has already gone over it.

Another thing that bugs me about this move is that the Mets are doing this to accommodate the visiting teams. At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the visiting team's bullpen is located above the Phillies bullpen, placing oppposing pitchers directly underneath the highly opinionated Phillies fans who are not shy to express their feelings about those pitchers from close range. The Phillies have not realigned their bullpens to make their opponents more comfortable, so why should the Mets do so?

It just seems like an unnecessary move to me. It makes it appear as if the Mets are more concerned for the teams we root against rather than the team we root for. Of course, if they're doing this because John Lackey or Roy Halladay prefers the bullpen to be facing in the new direction, then I'm all for it!