Hi Diddle Dee Dee! A Questionnaire For Me!

With thanks to Shannon Shark at Mets Police, (and a shout-out to the one and only Coop for bringing this to the attention of Studious Metsimus), here are five questions that all Mets fans should take the time to answer. If Mets fan extraordinaire Julia Stiles answers this questionnaire, please be sure to include your e-mail address at the bottom of your comment so we can...ahem...discuss your answers privately.

First you will see Joey's answers, followed by his colleague's answers. Enjoy!


Question #1: When did I start following the Mets?

Answer: June 20, 2004. That was the day I was born. I was born at the Mets Team Store at Shea Stadium. I was named after Jose Reyes, but immediately changed my name to Joey because I didn't know Spanish at the time and I wanted to be able to pronounce my own name.

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Question #2: Favorite Mets memory?

Answer: May 17, 2007. The Mets were down 5-1 in the ninth inning against the Cubs and rallied for five runs to win 6-5. I was in Section 2 of the Upper Deck and I lost my voice. My colleague almost fell into the row in the front of him twice while he was jumping up and down in front of his seat. I would have paid to see that. Another Mets moment I will never forget was sitting in field level seats for Game 1 of the 2006 NLCS.

My fav'rit Mets moment would have been September 18, 2006 (the night the Mets clinched the NL East Division title), but someone forgot me at home that night.

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Question #3: Worst Mets memory?

Answer: The day the picture below was taken. I was so embarrassed that day. Poofball hats and me; not a good combination.


Another horrible memory occurred when I dropped my cannoli at Citi Field. My colleague didn't go for my "five second rule". It was still in one piece. Why couldn't I pick it up? I don't even remember if the Mets won or lost that game. It was all about the cannoli for me.

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Question #4: One off-field change I could make?

Answer: Two words - CAKE SHACK!

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Question #5: First thing I would change if I owned the team?

Answer: Three words - MORE CAKE SHACK! (I'd also make sure that Omar Minaya would make himself available before each home game to sit in the Dunk Tank in the Fan Fest Area.)

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Those are my answers and I'm sticking to them. Now here are the answers by my colleague. Let's see how wrong his answers will be.


Question #1: When did I start following the Mets?

Answer: It was during the 1981 season. I remember watching Mookie Wilson run the bases and fell in love with him (not that there's anything wrong with that) and the team. Then the strike happened. To this day, I wonder if major league baseball would have gone on strike had I not put a hex on Craig Swan that season.

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Question #2: Favorite Mets memory?

Answer: For games I attended, we have October 3, 1999. That was the game Brad Clontz threw a wild pitch past Mike Piazza that allowed Melvin Mora to score the winning run and send the Mets "to some semblance of post-season play" (quote provided by Howie Rose). I also have fond memories of attending the division clincher in 2006 (sorry for leaving you home, Joey) and three post-season games that year, all of which were Mets victories.

Of course, Game 6 of the 1986 World Series is not only my fav'rit Mets moment of all-time, it's also the single greatest moment of my life. I remember every moment as if it took place yesterday. I can still see my mother toss aside her lucky ceramic elephant after her "pollo", Keith Hernandez, flied out to Dave Henderson for the second out of the tenth inning. I picked up the elephant and we all know what transpired on the field after that. I threw the elephant up in the air after Ray Knight scored the winning run and it didn't break when it hit the ceiling at full speed. You just knew the Mets were going to win the World Series after that comeback.

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Question #3: Worst Mets memory?

Answer: September 28, 2008. It was the day I said goodbye to Shea Stadium. It did not end with a celebration, but with a loss. Even the ceremonies after the game seemed funereal to me.

Another bad Mets memory actually happened on a day when the Mets won on a walk-off home run by Rico Brogna. The day was May 11, 1996. The Mets had a four-run lead on the Cubs and Pete Harnisch was pitching well. Then Cubs' catcher Scott Servais started jawing at Harnisch when Pete came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth inning. Harnisch turned around, got in Servais' face and haymakers ensued. I was sitting behind the Cubs dugout and the fight spilled over near where I was sitting. Of course, since I knew I would be a Mets blogger 13 years later, I figured I should get closer to the action to take a picture of the fisticuffs. Then my left cheek was introduced to Mark Grace's fist...

I never did get any pictures that day, but I did get a swollen cheek. The Cubs eventually rallied to tie the game in the ninth inning, but with one out, Rico Brogna hit a long fly ball down the right field line that just went over the outstretched glove of Sammy Sosa at the wall for a game-winning home run. The Mets won the game 7-6, but I took home some of Mark Grace's DNA on my cheek.

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Question #4: One off-field change I could make?

Answer: Do not allow the Phillies team bus to enter the Citi Field parking lot for any reason. With a couple of forfeits, the Mets might have some meaningful games in September next season.

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Question #5: First thing I would change if I owned the team?

Answer: First, I'd bring back Mike Piazza and have Zakk Wylde provide the music while the opposing team is batting. If Zakk Wylde is unavailable, just have Piazza play guitar for Skid Row. However, make sure Sebastian Bach is the lead singer. Otherwise, kidnap Zakk Wylde and blame it on Shane Victorino. Say he's still bitter for making the last out of the World Series.



The main thing I would want the team to change is the direction they're going in. Instead of focusing on Brooklyn Dodger references, the direction each bullpen faces and hiring members of the '86 Mets for any possible job within the organization, how about putting together a team that can beat the Phillies?

Start with pitching and go from there. If the team on the field next year performs better than the one that embarrassed us this year, then I don't mind paying an extra few bucks for my promenade seats. I'd rather have more expensive tickets and a competitive team than a minor discount and craparoni on the field. I would also make it mandatory for the vendor who shouts "SODA" to go out on a date with me.

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That's it for this questionnaire, o beloved SMFs! Thanks for reading our answers and please leave comments with your own answers as well. Remember, there are no wrong answers, unless if you're a fan of the Yankees or the Phillies. Have fun!

The Wait Is Over! Mets Clinch Fourth!

September 20, 2009 is a day Mets fans will always remember. After a season filled with four thousand injuries, three Fernandos, two chicken nachos and a partridge in a pear tree, the Mets finally got to celebrate something today.

Their season-long goal (and by season-long, I mean their goal for the past two days) of finishing in fourth place has been reached. Fans, take Jesse Orosco's lead and throw your glove up in the air and shoot silly string like you just don't care.

The Mets needed two wins this weekend against the pesky Nats to bury them in last place and they did just that. It wasn't easy. Early on in the season, Washington appeared to be on pace to set the all-time record for losses in a season, also held by the Mets. Not wanting to have the legendary 1962 team removed from the record books, the Mets allowed the Nats to take two out of three against them in late July. After it looked obvious that Washington was not going to lose the 120 games the Mets lost in their inaugural season, the quest for fourth place began in earnest.

This year, there would be no choke. The Mets put the Nationals on their knees and spanked them into oblivion. Now that they've clinched, they have a new goal in sight. They want to finish 71-91. Why that record? Allow me to 'splain with a brightly colored example.

• 1974: Mets finish 71-91; 1975: Mets improve to 82-80.
• 1996: Mets finish 71-91; 1997: Mets improve to 88-74.
• 2004: Mets finish 71-91; 2005: Mets improve to 83-79.

In their first 47 seasons of existence, the Mets finished with a 71-91 record three times. All three times, they finished with a winning record the following season. Therefore, since history always repeats itself whenever Studious Metsimus talks about it, a 71-91 record in 2009 bodes well for the 2010 season.

Clinchers. They're always a special moment for any baseball team. Studious Metsimus has been fortunate to have representatives at the 2006 NL East division clincher and the 2009 fourth place clincher.

Please note that in 2006, upper deck seats for the clincher cost $9.00 per ticket. Three years later for the 2009 clincher, similar seats in Citi Field's Promenade Level were $25.00 per ticket. Then again, look how aesthetically pleasing this year's tickets are compared to the drab 2006 tickets.

We hope to be at the 2010 clincher as well. Maybe it can be a third-place clincher (with a winning record, of course). Then we can all pop open the wine coolers in celebration!

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Special Edition of Joey's Soapbox:

After celebrating the clincher at Citi Field today with a Mets cannoli (mmm, blue and orange sprinkles), I did some research on wine coolers in the event the Mets need them for a possible third-place finish in 2010. Here's what I discovered:

The official wine cooler of Major League Baseball is Bartles & Jaymes. You may remember the ads from the late 80s and early 90s featuring two elderly gentlemen pitching their product. One of them spoke and the other one didn't. (Jay & Silent Bob and Penn & Teller owe EVERYTHING to them!) The catchphrase at the end of each commercial was "thank you for your support". Now do you remember? Well, just say that you do so I can move on!

Anyway, teams that clinch third place spray Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers on each other in the clubhouse after the last out of the clinching game. It has come to my attention that Bartles & Jaymes has followed the current trend of shortening its name to initials. This trend is what led Kentucky Fried Chicken to shorten its name to KFC, Gatorade to shrink its name to G and is also rumored to be the reason for the Film Actor's Guild's decision to shorten their name in the Team America movie.

As seen by the picture to the right, Bartles & Jaymes has decided to jump on the name-shortening bandwagon by referring to themselves as B & J. They have also changed some of the flavors. Some players have complained about both the name change and the lack of manly flavors. They refuse to use these new wine coolers in their third place celebrations.

Studious Metsimus was able to use our media credentials to acquire some of these bottles. We wanted to give B & J a chance. After removing the protective cover, we put our lips around the rim and took a little of it in. Then we had too much, some of it spilled and it ended up being very messy.

The bottom line after going ahead with B & J...IT SUCKS! For some reason, that seems quite appropriate to me, but I don't know why. After all, I'm only five years old. I don't know everything yet!

Time to get off my soapbox before my mouth gets washed out with soap!