Studious Metsimus Presents The Happy/Crappy Recap For 2009

It's the end of another year and Studious Metsimus would like to recap 2009 for you, followed by a thank you to some of our special readers and fellow bloggers who helped make Studious Metsimus what it is today.

It all began so well for the Mets in 2009. Then the Star-Spangled Banner was sung on Opening Day and everything fell apart. Injury after injury turned into loss after loss and the Mets could only manage a 70-92 record, good for fourth place in the NL East.

To make matters worse, Mets fans were subjected to the Doomsday World Series between the Yankees and the Phillies. Some major retooling had to be done after the World Series was completed and the Mets almost waited for 2009 to end before they made any noise in the free agent market, finally acquiring Jason Bay before the calendar changed to 2010.

The 2009 season saw the premiere of Citi Field with the Citi Kitty cursing the Mets on Opening Night. It also saw dropped popups, the Tony Bernazard Strongman Competition (probably seen on ESPN 2 sometime after 3 AM), the rise and fall of the Three Fernandos, David Wright's head-seeking missile and too many other moments that made this a forgettable season.

Fortunately, Studious Metsimus has something to be thankful for. To our readers such as Señor Solly, Satish, Jason, Efrain, Tracy and Anonymous (thank you to Anonymous for leaving the most comments), we'd like to thank you for your readership. You helped us surpass our goal of having two readers in 2009. Your comments were always appreciated and made us want to write more quality stories to hide the fact that the Mets really sucked this year.

To Kelly, thank you so much for designing the Studious Metsimus logo. It gave the site credibility that our excuse for writing would not have been able to get on its own. The writing got better once we said to ourselves, "Oh, crap! We look like a professional Mets blog. We'd better made the writing match the beautiful logo!"

To Denise, thank you for convincing us that we had some talent. Without your encouragement (and Kelly's as well), we wouldn't have started blogging on the Mets, first on Mets Merized Online, then expanding to Studious Metsimus.

To Joe D, thank you for giving us our first break. Without the opportunity you gave us, we never would have grown the cojones to start Studious Metsimus. We're waving our David Wright Pom Poms that we borrowed from Bayonne Mets Fan to show our appreciation for everything you've done for us.

To Jon and Lisa, thank you for teaching the two-member Studious Metsimus staff that sometimes squawking is the way to go to attract attention to our blog. Don't give up hope, Jon. We'll always have 1986. And Lisa, you may be the only Yankee fan who's cool in the eyes of Studious Metsimus. Even Joey thinks so!

Last, but certainly not least, we must give a shout out to Coop. For inspiring a number of blogs, for taking the Studious Metsimus staff on a tour of Citi Field, for being you...thank you. Hopefully, Joey will be able to persuade you to join the Studious Metsimus staff in 2010. You're a legend in the blogosphere and we'd love to have you!

From Joey and I, we'd like to wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2010. Thank you for supporting Studious Metsimus and as always, LET'S GO METS !!

The Citi Field Cat Takes Its Latest Victim

After all this time being the sole representative of the so-called "core of four" not to miss time due to an injury, David Wright has now joined shortstop Jose Reyes, centerfielder Carlos Beltran and first baseman Carlos Delgado in the walking wounded category.

As you probably already know, during the fourth inning of Saturday's 5-4, 10-inning loss to the San Francisco Giants, David Wright was hit near the left ear flap of his batting helmet by a Matt Cain fastball, estimated to be traveling at 93 MPH. He was given a CT scan and was diagnosed with a concussion. Although he was released from the hospital Sunday morning, he will continue to be monitored for his PCS (post-concussion symptoms). As a result, the Mets placed Wright on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his career. He will be eligible to come off the DL on September 1.

The Citi Field Cat from Opening Day has now claimed every position player from the Opening Day lineup except Daniel Murphy. All of the other everyday players have either spent time on the DL or missed games due to injuries, with the most recent being Luis Castillo when he missed four games after falling down the Citi Field dugout steps. If Murphy is to survive the rest of the season uninjured, he should recruit some help to rid the Mets of the Curse of the Citi Field Cat. There are a few candidates to consider for the job, including Muttley and Underdog.













Muttley was intereviewed by Murphy for the job, but was immediately rejected once Murphy conducted a background check. Muttley was discovered to have been affiliated with the Really Rottens, a team of mischievous criminals whose main purpose was to foil the Yogi Yahooeys and the Scooby Doobies in order to earn gold medals in the Laff-A-Lympics.

In addition to his affiliation with the Really Rottens, he was also spotted often in the company of Dick Dastardly. Together, they were spotted in their "flying machines" trying to stop a messenger pigeon, which they failed to do repeatedly. If Muttley could not stop the pigeon, what chance would he have of capturing the Citi Field Cat? REJECTED!

Underdog was a different story. Murphy found his qualifications to be excellent and was impressed by how affable he was. His many years of service as a superhero appeared to make him a fine choice to take on the cursed cat. Unfortunately, right before Murphy could say "you're hired", he came across one minor detail about our costumed canine that was going to cause a problem.

You see, Underdog tended to speak in rhymes. When he entered the interview room, he greeted Murphy with his trademark "never fear, Underdog is here". This wouldn't have been a problem, except that the cat who cursed the Mets has been named the Citi Kitty. Murphy was afraid that Underdog would side with the cat because of his rhyming name. REJECTED!

That only left one candidate to consider. Since he was the only one left who came in for the job, he was immediately hired. Who will now be protecting Daniel Murphy from the so-called Citi Kitty?

That's right, Mets fans! McGruff the Crime Dog is now on the job! With him on the job, no cat would dare enter the field. Daniel Murphy will be spared the fates suffered by Wright, Reyes, Beltran and Delgado.

McGruff's résumé includes speaking against the use of drugs and bullying. He also has spoken about safety and encourages kids to stay in school. Now he is given the daunting task of keeping fellow Irishman Daniel Murphy on the field. (McGruff is an Irish name, right?)


Once McGruff does what Muttley and Underdog were not hired to do, Citi Field can be a player-friendly ballpark again. The cat doesn't stand a chance against McGruff. Let's just hope that while he's searching for the cat, he doesn't come across Shake Shack in center field. If he does, he might be taking a bite out of a Shake Shack burger when he should be taking a bite out of crime.

Kiti Field Photo/Graphic by Metstradamus

The Opening Night Cat Cursed The Mets!

It was April 13, 2009. Citi Field was hosting its first regular season game between the Mets and the Padres. The team was intact and ready to make a run at the division title. The Phillies' two-year reign as National League East champions was going to be a fading memory once the Mets steamrolled over the opposition. A funny thing happened on the way to the coronation. Citi Field had an uninvited guest on Opening Night as a cat found its way onto the field near the Mets dugout.

(Click here for the video of the Opening Night cat at Kitty...I mean Citi Field.)

Now I wouldn't have had a problem if this orange cat had been a crimefighter. If his alter ego was Clark Cat and he worked at a major metropolitan newspaper, then all would be fine. I would have felt safe with him running around on the field. I'd assume he was trying to protect the Mets.



However, this cat was clearly not super in any way. In fact, it may have been related to the cat that supposedly cursed the Chicago Cubs in 1969 at Shea Stadium. At Citi Field, photographers captured the cat as he worked his way onto the warning track near the on-deck circle. Notice the similarities between that picture and the picture of the black cat walking near the Cubs dugout in 1969.












The Citi Field cat ran behind Mets third baseman David Wright as he was on deck. The 1969 black cat walked behind Cubs third baseman Ron Santo as he was on deck. Wright is arguably the best third baseman in Mets history. Similarly, Santo is considered to be the best third baseman in Cubs history. After the black cat made its appearance at Shea, the Cubs went into a freefall as the Mets passed them in the standings and eventually went on to win their first World Series.

The Citi Field cat decided to take a jog on the Mets side of the field. The Mets were healthy before the cat cursed them. Now half the team is getting hurt, both on the field (Niese and Sheffield today) and coming off the field (Luis "I now use two hands, but not on the handrail" Castillo).

Forget the trainers and medical staff employed by the 2009 Mets. The CAT-astrophe that this season has become is all due in part to the events that transpired in the third inning on Opening Night at Citi Field on the 13th of April. (It had to be on the 13th as well!)

Cats have a way of deciding the fate of baseball teams in New York. It's too bad that this particular tabby chose to curse the Mets this season instead of the rest of the National League!

P.S. There is no truth to the rumor that the orange cat that infected the Mets season in 2009 was a zombie, even if this picture says otherwise.