Breaking The Four-Games-Under-.500 Wall

At any age, Matthew Broderick has no problem breaking the fourth wall, so why can't his team break four games under .500?

In television, movies and comic books, there is a term called "breaking the fourth wall".  This term refers to fictional characters speaking directly to their viewers/readers, in essence finding their way through the imaginary wall that separates their scripted world from our reality-based universe.  A talented writer can make this wall-breaking quite entertaining (see Ferris Bueller's Day Off for an example).  However, the Mets don't have a talented writer.  And they're not exactly breaking any fourth walls.  In fact, they're having a tough time just breaking the four-games-under-.500 wall.

On June 4, the Mets lost the middle game of a three-game series in Chicago to drop their record to 28-31.  The next day, after the last place Cubs completed the sweep, the Mets found themselves four games under .500.  The Mets went on to lose their next game as well, this time in San Francisco, and failed to move back to three games under the break even point.  That game at AT&T Park began an alarming trend that is still active to this day.

Let's take a quick look at how the Mets have fared each time they've taken the field when the morning paper has reported that they're four games under .500 (since early June). 

• June 6:  The 28-32 Mets lose to the San Francisco Giants, 4-2.
• Jul. 19:  The 46-50 Mets lose to the San Diego Padres, 6-0.
• Jul. 29:  The 51-55 Mets lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-0.
• Aug. 1:  The 52-56 Mets lose to the San Francisco Giants, 5-1.
• Aug. 3:  The 53-57 Mets lose to the San Francisco Giants, 9-0.
• Sep. 11:  The 71-75 Mets lose to the Washington Nationals, 6-2.
• Sep. 13:  The 72-76 Mets lose to the Washington Nationals, 10-3.

That's seven straight losses in games the Mets have "tried" to pull back to within three games of the ever-elusive .500 mark.  And I have the word "tried" in quotation marks because the Mets haven't really competed in those seven affairs.  They've lost the heptad of games by a combined score of 46-8.  That's like the Seahawks defeating the Broncos in the Super Bowl and then adding a late field goal just in case.

To make matters worse, in the seven losses the Mets have held the lead for a grand total of one half inning.  That brief flash of hope came on a two-run homer by Daniel Murphy in the seventh inning of the Mets' game against the Giants on June 6.  San Francisco tied the contest in the bottom of the frame and scored the go-ahead runs an inning later on a two-run blast by Buster Posey.

As incredible as it may seem, that Murphy homer is as close as the Mets have come to sniffing the three-games-under-.500 mark since June 4.  For all you kids out there, that was almost 100 games ago.

The wise prophet Ferris Bueller once told us directly to our popcorn-stuffed faces, "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you can miss it."  In the case of the 2014 Mets, the baseball season has moved pretty fast.  But if they don't find a way to break that four-games-under-.500 wall, they could miss ending their streak of five consecutive losing seasons.  And that, my friends, is nothing to twist and shout about.

How This Mets Fan Became A Seahawks Fan

Gotta love my teams!

I became a sports fan at a young age.  When I was eight, I happened upon a Mets game on Memorial Day while my father was outside barbecuing.  The Mets defeated the Phillies in that 1981 game by the final score of 13-3, with Mookie Wilson running wild on the bases.  I became a fan of Mookie and the Mets that day.  The Mets were a terrible team when I became a fan and continued to be so until 1984, when they posted their first winning season since 1976.  Two years later, in my sixth season of fandom, I was rewarded with a World Series championship.

My football interests began quite differently than my baseball interests.  Although I’ve always been a New Yorker, I never rooted for the Jets or Giants.  I would watch their games (more Jets because they played their home games at Shea Stadium) just because they were on TV, but I didn’t get emotionally involved with either team.  That lasted until 1983, for on December 24 of that year, I found the team that would soon become “my team”.

Before the days of DirecTV and the NFL package, if you were an 11-year-old kid wanting to watch football, you just had your local teams and whoever was playing on Monday Night Football.  Of course, I couldn’t watch Monday Night Football at that age because the games were on too late and I had to go to school the following day.  So basically if I wanted to see a team that wasn’t a New York team, I had to wait until the playoffs to do so.  On Christmas Eve 1983, I did just that.  The Seattle Seahawks were hosting the Denver Broncos in a wild card playoff game and I decided to watch the game.  At the time the Broncos had a young rookie quarterback named John Elway and a top running back in Sammy Winder.  The Seahawks shut both of them down, blowing out the Broncos at the Kingdome, 31-7.  I was so impressed by how the Seahawks played that I watched them the following week, actively rooting for them to defeat the Miami Dolphins in South Florida.

The year before, I remember watching the Dolphins defeat the Jets in the AFC Championship Game, 14-0, with the Dolphins’ A.J. Duhe intercepting Jets quarterback Richard Todd three times on a rainy day that created a ridiculously muddy field.  Since most of my NFL viewing at the time was restricted to Jets games, I did not like Miami at the time.  The fact that they were playing this Seahawks team that I enjoyed watching the previous week made it easier to pull for Seattle in the New Year’s Eve game.  I knew that like Denver, Miami also had a dynamic rookie quarterback in Dan Marino.  But Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg had a weapon of his own in wide receiver Steve Largent.  A huge 40-yard completion to Largent late in the game helped set up the go-ahead touchdown for Seattle in the fourth quarter.  The Seahawks tacked on a field goal and upset the heavily-favored Dolphins on the road, 27-20.

I was completely hooked.

Hall of Famer Steve Largent

Although the Seahawks lost the AFC Championship game to the Raiders, 30-14, I had become a fan.  I later found out that this was the first time the Seahawks had made the playoffs in their eight-year existence and felt even better about my choice to become a fan.  I guess you could say I became a bandwagon Seahawks fan during their first-ever playoff run in 1983 without realizing it.  Seattle made the playoffs again in 1984 after finishing the regular season with a then-franchise-best 12-4 record.  But this time, they defeated the Raiders in the wild card game (Denver had won the AFC West with a 13-3 record after Seattle lost its final two games of the regular season) and lost the divisional game to the Dolphins.

In 1986, the team that shared Shea Stadium with the Mets in my pre-Seahawks fan days was now playing its home game in New Jersey.  The Jets, who I kinda sorta rooted for prior to December 24, 1983, got off to a team-record 10-1 start that year while the Seahawks slogged through their schedule with a 5-6 record through their first 11 games.  After not making the playoffs in 1985, it appeared as if the Seahawks were going to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive season.  I had only been a fan (or a “12”, as Seahawks fans are known) for four seasons, but the team I expected to be competitive annually after their 1983 and 1984 playoff runs was testing my loyalty.  “I could have been a fan of the AFC-best Jets, but I decided to root for this team in Seattle who I can’t even see on TV every week”, I would say to myself.  It wasn’t easy being a Seahawks fan in New York in 1986, especially after the Mets had won the World Series and the Jets looked like they were on their way to the Super Bowl.  But a funny thing happened on the way to the playoffs.

The Jets lost their last five games to finish 10-6 and the Seahawks won their final five games to go 10-6 as well.  There was only one problem.  The Jets had defeated the Seahawks during their 10-out-of-11 streak early in the season.  That meant they owned the tiebreaker over Seattle.  The Jets made the playoffs.  The Seahawks made vacation plans.

I hated the Jets then.

Seattle eventually made the playoffs in 1987 (losing the wild card game in overtime to the Houston Oilers) and finally won its first AFC West title in 1988 (losing the divisional playoff game to Cincinnati – damn you, Norm Johnson, for killing the rally by missing an extra point!).  So that was four playoff appearances in six years.  Things were looking up for the Seahawks.  And then everything went downhill.

From 1989 through 1998, the Seahawks failed to make the playoffs every year.  The 1992 team finished the year with a franchise-record 14 losses, but even when they were bad, they weren’t bad enough.  New England got the No. 1 pick in the draft, while Seattle got No. 2.  The Patriots drafted All-Pro quarterback Drew Bledsoe with the top overall pick.  The Seahawks took quarterback Rick Mirer.  Needless to say, New England got the better deal.

I was now entering my second decade as a Seahawks fan.  I had made it through the Tom Flores and Dennis Erickson eras and I even survived Brian Bosworth (even if the Boz couldn’t survive the schooling given to him by Bo Jackson in an infamous Monday Night Football game).  As a Mets fan, I was used to losing seasons, as the team had gone through six straight of those from 1991 to 1996.  But it was hard to say “I’m a Seahawks fan” for a full decade and having people respond with a blunt “why?”.  Of course, being a fan means hanging with your team through the highs and lows.  I was a 12.  And mediocrity was not going to stop me from continuing to be a 12.

Brian Bosworth couldn't stop Bo Jackson, nor could he prevent me from abandoning my loyalty to the Seahawks.

My patience was finally rewarded in 1999 in the form of a second AFC West title.  I had waited 11 years for the Seahawks to play in January again, just like I had for the Mets, who by coincidence ended an 11-year playoff drought in 1999 as well.  Seattle played Miami at the Kingdome in their first home playoff game since 1984, but lost a heartbreaker to Dan Marino and the Dolphins, 20-17.  It would be Marino’s last win as an NFL quarterback.  It would also continue Seattle’s streak of not winning a playoff game to 15 years.

Seattle didn’t make the playoffs again for another four years.  When they did, heartbreak followed.  They lost in Green Bay in overtime after the 2003 season.  Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck told America during the coin flip that “we want the ball and we’re gonna score”, then proceeded to get the ball into the hands of the Packers’ Al Harris, who returned the interception for a season-ending touchdown.  The following year, Hasselbeck kept the ball out of the hands of his opponents during a last-minute drive in the wild card round.  But he couldn’t put the game-tying touchdown in the hands of his own receiver, as Bobby Engram dropped a pass in the end zone on fourth down, giving the St. Louis Rams an unexpected victory in Seattle.

It had now been over two decades since I became a 12.  And after the 1984 season, all I had seen was playoff loss after playoff loss.  Then came the 2005 season.  And 22 years of fandom were finally rewarded.  First, Seattle finished the regular season with a team-record 13 wins.  Then they ended their 21-year winless drought in the playoffs by defeating the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers.  The latter win, a 34-14 thrashing, put Seattle in its first Super Bowl.

I had rooted for this team for more than half my life.  And I was finally going to see them play in the ultimate game.  But all my superstitions (standing up for the entire game, makeshift voodoo doll of Ben Roethlisberger, etc.) failed to help the Seahawks win the Super Bowl.  Perhaps I should have sent the referees a box of chocolates instead.  That way, they wouldn’t have bumbled their way through bad call after bad call.  The Seahawks lost Super Bowl XL to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-10, and it was back to the drawing board for Seattle and this New-York based 12.

Seattle won division titles in 2006 and 2007, but could only win one playoff game each year, falling to Chicago and Green Bay, respectively.  The team then posted four consecutive losing records (although the 2010 team made the playoffs with a 7-9 mark, then set off seismometers with an unlikely playoff victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints) and it looked like the early 1990s all over again.

Until a man named Russell Wilson was selected in the third round of the 2012 draft.

Through shrewd drafting and a will to win that was instilled by head coach Pete Carroll, the Seahawks started the 2012 season with a 5-4 record heading into their game with the Jets.  Yeah, those Jets.  The same Jets that kept the Seahawks out of the playoffs in 1986.  And the same Jets that also screwed the ‘Hawks in 1998, when Vinny Testaverde scored a “phantom touchdown” by getting his helmet into the end zone in a December game against Seattle but failing to push the ball over the plane of the goal line.  But there was one difference between this game and previous games against the Jets.

It was November 11, 2012, and I was going to this game.

You see, I was turning 40 that week, and my wife decided it would make a fine birthday present for me to finally attend a Seahawks game in person.  We had never been to Seattle and we decided to make a long weekend out of it.  Oh, here’s another factoid about that Seahawks-Jets game.  Did you know my wife was a Jets fan at the time?  Did you also notice how I said “was”?  She stopped being one after the game.  The Seahawks won the game and her heart that day.  Seattle didn’t stop winning until the middle of January.

After we attended the Seahawks-Jets game at CenturyLink Field in 2012, my wife traded in her Jets green for Seahawks blue.


Although the team was knocked out of the playoffs on a last-second field goal in Atlanta, they accomplished a number of things in 2012:

• They ended a streak of four straight sub-.500 seasons, finishing with 11 wins – the third highest win total in franchise history.
• They won their first playoff game on the road since December 31, 1983, which, if you recall, was the first game in which I actively rooted for the Seahawks to win.
• They won over a new fan in my wife, making it easier for me to be a Seahawks fan in New York.
• They planted the seeds for greater success in 2013.

With a little Seattle rain, those seeds grew into the season I waited 30 years for.  Three decades after deciding I was going to root for this team from the Pacific Northwest, they reminded me why I became a fan in the first place.  I went through early success as a fan in the mid-to-late 1980s.  Then I remained a fan through a decade of mediocrity.  Through all the lean years, I never wavered and I never gave up hope that someday I would be rewarded with a Super Bowl title.  I came close to feeling that unbridled joy eight years ago.  I finally got to experience it this past Sunday.

I watched my first Seahawks game on December 24, 1983.  I rooted for the team for the first time a week later.  I waited over 30 years to taste the nectar of victory.  And on February 2, 2014, I finally got that taste.  It was the sweetest thing I had ever tasted.

I became a Mets fan when the team was not very good, but it only took six seasons before they gave me a championship.  I became a Seahawks fan when the team was having its first bout with success.  It took a lot longer to climb to the top of the mountain with them.

It isn’t easy being a 12 in New York.  But it sure is a lot of fun.  And it’s even more fun now that the team has finally won a Super Bowl.  I’ve never been more proud of this team.  Go Hawks – today, tomorrow and forever.

We are the champions, my friend!  (Photo by Ted S. Warren/AP)

An Unexpected Interview With Daniel Murphy and Zack Wheeler

Earlier today, my Better Half (and Gal For All Seasons scribe) decided to take a walk to our neighborhood Dunkin Donuts for her morning coffee.  But she got so much more than just a quick caffeine fix. 

No, she didn't get a Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich, nor did she pick off anything plugged by Eli Manning (who knows a thing or five about getting picked off).  What she got was something completely unexpected.  It was so unexpected that I'll allow her to tell the story in her own words.  Take it away, TBH!


I would normally get my coffee fix, but I had to stop at DMV to renew my license - ah, the joys of getting a year older, and to make my Monday that much more masochistic.  Imagine my surprise when I see that Zack Wheeler is tweeting that he and Daniel Murphy are at the Dunkin Donuts, signing autographs and serving up coffee! 

Since this city has one of the most efficient DMVs I've ever been to, I got my replacement license, dropped it in my bag and rushed to eight blocks to the store.

I expected there to be a few dozen people there -- there was Murphy, Wheeler, Jay Horwitz, another Mets media person (taking videos and photos) and a Dunkin rep.  I was out of breath, and I say, "Hi! I know you, Daniel Murphy!" (Hey, I never said I wasn't a dork).  Then Zack Wheeler hands me a ticket voucher for April 2014, to which I say, "Oh my goodness!  I know you too!"

My wife had an interesting coffee break this morning.

We got some pictures, exchanged some pleasantries, and a few other fans came in. The Dunkin rep told me I could feel free to talk to the players, ask them questions, take more pictures.  This was WAY different than any other Mets event I've attended, where they guard the players.

So I asked Wheeler about his feelings on Bartolo Colon.  He said he was excited, that Colon had a tremendous year, should take some pressure off the rotation.  He went to take another picture, and I approached Daniel Murphy with a question on his aggressiveness on the base paths in 2013.  (For those keeping track at home, he stole 23 bases, and had the highest stolen base percentage of anyone in the National League).

I led in with Curtis Granderson (who is a stolen base guy), and asked him about his own SBs.  I was pleased to see Murphy is a GREAT interview, gives well thought out responses.  He credited Tom Goodwin, Mets first base coach, with the aggressive running on the team.  He said he almost scrapped his stolen base ethic because he was about one in his first four attempts, and he was wasting outs for hitters behind him, like D-Wright.  The stolen base philosophy is that if you get on base, the hitters behind you want to drive you home, and scoring from second on a single is what they aim to do.  

One thing I picked up on while talking to Murphy is that this guy LOVES baseball.  I mean, he just LOVES TO PLAY BASEBALL.  I can't express it enough.  If I wasn't already with 28, I am now.  

Also some other funny round ups: Murphy and Wheeler take a PR photo for Dunkin, and their rep says to hold the cup a certain way.  Murphy says, "Oh this is why I went to college: to learn how to hold a coffee cup!"

I guess you had to be there.  But it was great.  I just wanted to bring Murphy to my Irish grandmother and have her cook him corned beef and cabbage.  And I had a southern grandmother, I'm sure she'd make her famous chili for Wheeler, southern boy that he is. 


Well, there you have it - our unexpected interview with Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy and starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.  And by "our", I mean my Better Half's unexpected interview with the two players.  Unfortunately, I was at work eating a banana for breakfast instead of getting my mitts on one of those 10,000 calorie Glazed Donut sandwiches.

Listening to her story about Murphy and Wheeler made me miss baseball even more than I already had.  But it also made me look forward to seeing two really special players take the field for our beloved Mets in 2014.  I can't wait until it's time for them to play ball.

Sucks To Be A San Francisco Sports Fan This Week

#BlameNoOne

In 2006, Carlos Beltran came up to bat in the ninth inning of the National League Championship Series.  After hitting a franchise record-tying 41 HR during the season, all he needed was to hit a ball in the gap to score the three runners on base and give the Mets the National League pennant.  He was facing rookie pitcher Adam Wainwright.  The crowd was on its feet, screaming, praying, rally capping - doing whatever they needed to do to help Beltran and the Mets.  Wainwright threw two strikes to Beltran.  The crowd got louder.  Then came a Lord Charles straight out of the Dwight Gooden playbook.  Beltran got a good look at it.  So did the home plate umpire.  Strike three.

For the rest of his Mets career, Beltran was unfairly blamed for anything that went wrong with the team, even if it was kinda sorta tongue-in-cheek.

Second and third, less than two out, rally-killing pop-up?  #BlameBeltran

Relief pitcher giving up another walk-off homer?  #BlameBeltran

Finish the toilet paper and don't have an insurance roll at your disposal?  #BlameBeltran

It was very easy to pin the Mets troubles on Beltran.  After all, prior to this year's re-signing of David Wright, no everyday player had ever earned as much money than Carlos Beltran did as a Met.  Plus, everything was going right for the Mets prior to Strike Three.  Nothing has gone right for the team since then.  Although Beltran was a great player during his time with the Mets, he came up short once in a big spot.  But that "once" unfairly became his legacy.

That brings me to the Seattle Seahawks.

Mets jersey?  Check.  Mets cap?  Check.  Seahawks shirt and carpet logo?  Check, check.

As many of you may know, I have been a Seahawks fan almost as long as I've been a Mets fan.  I've been a fan long enough to have watched their previous road playoff victory (December 31, 1983) prior to last week's win at Washington.

The Seahawks lost today to the Atlanta Falcons in heartbreaking fashion.  Down by 20 points entering the fourth quarter, the Seahawks scored three unanswered touchdowns in the final 15 minutes, taking the lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch with 31 seconds remaining.  Unfortunately, that lead did not stand, as the Falcons completed two passes to set up the game-winning 49-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, the Seahawks were at the Falcons' 11-yard line and went for it on 4th-and-1 when they could have attempted a short field goal.  They were stopped short.  At the end of the first half, the Seahawks were once again in field goal range when Russell Wilson was sacked.  Without a time out at their disposal to stop the clock, they did not get their next snap off in time.  No field goal attempt.  No touchdown pass.  No points.

But wait, there's more.

After Lynch scored his go-ahead touchdown and the Falcons drove down the field, Pete Carroll called a time out to "ice" Atlanta's field goal kicker.  Matt Bryant ended up missing the field goal wide right.  But because the play was blown dead because of the time out, Bryant got another chance to be the hero.  This time, he kicked it right down the middle to give the Falcons a 30-28 lead.  Seattle tried one final Hail Mary, but their prayers were left unanswered.

I could place the blame on the play-calling during the two deep second quarter drives into Falcons territory that resulted in no points.  I could blame the rule that allows an opposing team to call a time out a split second before a last-second kick is attempted (a rule I've always disliked).  I could blame Pete Carroll for taking advantage of that rule.

But I'm not.  Instead, I #BlameNoOne.

The Mets were supposed to be the dominant team in 2006.  They steamrolled their way to the NL East title.  They won 97 games when no one else in the National League won more than 88.  They had a lineup that could overcome any deficit the so-so starting rotation gave them.  They had a pretty good closer in Billy Wagner.  But they lost.  And we were left to blame Beltran.

But this year's Seahawks weren't supposed to be much of a factor.  They were coming off four consecutive losing seasons (even if one did produce an unlikely division title) and were trusting their offense to a rookie quarterback - one that was overlooked by every team in the NFL before being drafted by the Seahawks in the third round.

The San Francisco 49ers were the class of the division.  The Green Bay Packers were the perennial favorite to come out of the NFC.  The Seattle Seahawks?  They had pretty-looking new uniforms.  And not much else.

But after a 4-4 start, Russell Wilson played with the poise of a veteran and the heart of a champion.  The rest of the team, especially their frighteningly good Legion of Boom secondary, would not let the team lose.  Seattle finished the season with an 11-5 record, the third-best record in team history.

The Seahawks, much maligned for their inability to win games on the road, won three consecutive road games against the Bears, Bills and Redskins.  Two of those three teams went 10-6 in the regular season (Chicago, Washington).  One of those games came in the playoffs (Washington).  And they came within a last-minute drive and a last-second Hail Mary of winning their fourth straight road game to send them to the NFC Championship Game.

Many things could have been done differently in this game.  Just one of those things could have given Seattle the victory.  But there is no one to blame for this loss.  Not even Carlos Beltran.

The future is bright in Seattle.  And before long, it will be opposing teams that will be finding people to blame after every loss to the Seahawks.  It's a good time to be a 12.

Happy 50th Birthday, Jamie Moyer!

At Studious Metsimus, we tend to make fun of Jamie Moyer.  We've written posts about him such as "Senior Citizens Appreciation Day" and "Rip Van Winkle Not Coming Back To The Phillies".  Our fav'rit AARP member has been attacked because of his age quite a bit on this site, but today we'd like to be serious for a change and wish him a happy birthday.

You see, Jamie Moyer was born on November 18, 1962, meaning that today he is celebrating his 50th birthday.

Most middle-aged men spend their time watching reruns of Matlock.  Jamie Moyer spends his time trying to hook up with a major league team.  That has to commended.  He also runs wild while raising the 12th Man flag for this blogger's fav'rit football team in the Pacific Northwest.  Pretty cool for a non-Matlock watcher.

So even though it would be easy to make fun of a man who was the elder statesman of a team Mets fans love to hate (the Phillies when they were actually good a few years ago), today is the day to celebrate him on his birthday.

From this Mets fan, I'd like to wish Jamie Moyer a happy 50th birthday.  I just hope he remembers to put his dentures in before he eats his cake.

Gettin' Iggy With It: The Iggy Beartran Experience

Hi!  This is Iggy Beartran.  You may know me as the younger sister of Joey Beartran, who recently wrote a recap of our tours of Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field in Seattle.  (If you didn’t read it yet, shame on you!  You’re either way behind in your Studious Metsimus reading or you’re a relative of the Safeco Field tour guide that Joey trashed because of her inability to share accurate Seattle Mariner facts.)   In today’s edition of Gettin’ Iggy With It, I’d like to share my thoughts on the Seattle trip.  In particular, I’d like to discuss why I couldn’t help but think of the Mets and a certain other “fishy” division rival while I was touring the stadiums and the city in which they were located.

As far as the tours went, I actually didn’t have a problem with the Safeco Field tour.  I’m not into the history of the Seattle Mariners so I didn’t mind the mistakes made by our tour guide.  The Safeco Field tour reminded me of the Mets tour at Citi Field, where I spent an hour visiting things I didn’t care about (suites I can’t afford to sit in, the press box I’ll never write stories from because bloggers such as myself don’t get the love we deserve, etc.) and a minute or two on the field.  As with the tour at Citi Field, I was told that security wouldn’t be very pleased with me if I touched the grass because apparently, billionaire owners can’t spend a few bucks on replacing a blade of grass that might have been damaged by my eight-ounce furry body.  Then again, what would you expect from the Mariners and the Mets?  They need to spend their money on better things, like Oliver Perez.

The CenturyLink Field tour guide actually allowed us to stand on the turf, albeit just one corner of it, but at least she had a good reason not to let us frolic on the field.  The Washington Huskies were going to play a game on that same field just four hours after we placed our paws on it, so they couldn’t let us claim it for ourselves.  No worries.  We found other places to frolic!

The city itself was lots of fun!  We went to many places in Seattle, such as the Public Market (where guys throw expensive fish around like the Marlins toss around their high-priced players –  I mean, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson to Toronto?  Great googly moogly!) and the iconic Space Needle, which looks quite a bit like the big syringe Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria must be using on himself before making these head-scratching trades.

The food in Seattle was even better than the food at Citi Field.  I never got to try the Ichi-roll (apparently, the Mariners don’t open their food courts during the off-season – bad business move in my opinion), but in downtown Seattle, I had the tastiest New England Clam Chowder ever made!!  Unfortunately, I ate it so fast that I don’t have photographic proof of this tasty meal so all I can give you is this photo from my breakfast trip to Denny’s.

So to recap this … uh … recap, I had great food in places other than Denny’s, the Marlins are selling off their players faster than you can say “the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire”, CenturyLink Field is pretty cool and bear-friendly, and Safeco Field wasn’t as bad as my brother described it, even if the team that plays there gladly employs Oliver Perez.  At least they’re not proud of the fact that they once had Rip Van Winkle himself on the team.  Oh wait, never mind.

That’s all for now, Mets fans.  I hope you enjoyed this edition of Gettin’ Iggy With It.  Till next time, keep your feet on the bases and keep an eye out for flying fish.  After all, you don’t want to get hit by a former Miami Marlin.

Joey's World Tour: Mr. Beartran Goes To Washington (State)

Hello, everyone!  This is your fav'rit roving reporter, culinary expert and sometimes tour guide, Joey Beartran.  So tell me, Mets fans.  Did you do anything interesting this weekend?  I spent mine taking a trip to the far reaches of the Pacific Northwest, visiting not one, but two stadiums in not one, but two sports.

That's right, faithful readers.  I went to Seattle, home of such musical legends like Queensrÿche, The Presidents of the United States of America and Sir Mix-A-Lot.  I'm sure there were other musical geniuses from Seattle, but those are the ones most commonly associated with the scene there.  They "experienced" the heights and depths of musical success.  They put their "hearts" into their music whenever they "jammed" in the Pacific Northwest.  Some of them left us too early, but I'm sure they've broken the "chains" of the "pearly" gates and are now planting the seeds to a new "sound garden" in their musical "nirvana".

But enough with the musical references.  You're here because you like sports, especially baseball, right?  So let's stop with the jibber-jabber and allow me to take you on a tour of Seattle's two stadiums located directly across the street from each other in SoDo (South of Downtown Seattle).

First up, Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.

My colleagues and I took an early tour of the ballpark, and we were promised by the tour guide that it would take no more than an hour and twenty minutes.  Hogwash.  The tour took as long as it took Steve Trachsel to finish an inning after allowing a leadoff walk.  And it wasn't like she gave me interesting information.  In fact, not only did she keep repeating the same information over and over (how many times can a person mention the 1995 American League Division Series), but she got much of her facts mixed up.

For example, prior to the birth of the Seattle Mariners in 1977, Seattle had another major league team in 1969 known as the Pilots.  But that team lasted all of one season in the land of Sir Mix-A-Lot, moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1970.  Of course, our supposedly knowledgable tour guide told us they played in 1968 and 1969.  Strike one.

She also talked about the year Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr. were teammates on the Mariners, making sure to say that the father-son duo hit back-to-back home runs in the same game in 1995.  Uh, no.  That happened in 1990, when 20-year-old Junior was avoiding a sophomore slump and 40-year-old Senior was finishing out his career.  Papa Griffey had already been out of baseball for four years by 1995.  Strike two.

Finally, with all her talk about the 1995 ALDS, which ended with Edgar Martinez driving in Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr. in the bottom of the 11th inning to eliminate the New York Yankees in the fifth and deciding game, she claimed that the Mariners' victory in that game earned them their first-ever playoff spot.  Wow.  Even a non-baseball fan knows that the ALDS is a playoff series.  The Mariners clinched the AL West division title in a one-game playoff versus the California Angels to advance to the division series against the Yankees.  Therefore, that moment she was so proud of did not actually clinch a playoff spot for Seattle.  They had already done that the week before in a game that capped a miraculous comeback by the Mariners for the division title.  Swing and a miss.  Yer out!

Attention, tour guide.  The play depicted above happened in the playoffs.  It did not send Seattle to the playoffs.

Besides getting her facts mixed up, our tour guide didn't really talk much about the players who came through the Mariners organization.  Whereas other tours I've taken discussed that franchise's iconic players and managers (Baltimore's tour talks about Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and the entire Ripken family), hardly anything in the Safeco Field tour focused on Mariners history.

The team store still sells Jay Buhner jerseys and T-shirts.  But not once was Buhner's name mentioned on the tour.  And this is the guy who would be the franchise's all-time leader in hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs if not for players like Ken Griffey, Jr., Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez.  Heck, Buhner's career Mariner numbers of 307 HR and 951 RBIs would rank first all-time in Mets history, a team that has been around for 15 years longer than the Mariners.  But we don't want to mention Buhner's name in a Mariners tour.  Not when the tour guide would rather make fun of A-Rod every chance she got.

Oh, and since I just mentioned Edgar Martinez, I feel like I should bring up the fact that he was also never mentioned by the tour guide other than when she mentioned his hit to end the 1995 ALDS.  This is the same Edgar Martinez who still contributes to the Seattle community eight years after he retired from an 18-year playing career, with all of those years coming in Seattle.  For Tim Bogar's sake, there's a street called Edgar Martinez Drive located right outside Safeco Field!  But no.  Everything he's done for the city and the team got him nothing more than a side note in the Safeco Field tour.

Can you tell I didn't like this tour?  I didn't.  But that doesn't take away from the stadium itself.  It has one of only four hand-operated scoreboards being used in the major leagues.  It was also the site of Felix Hernandez's perfect game in 2012, which was one of a major league record three no-hitters thrown at Safeco Field this past season (two by Seattle, one against).  Let's not talk about the tour guide anymore.  Let's just show you some additional photos, okay?

(And yes, that is former Mets first baseman John Olerud in the final photo.  He played in Seattle after leaving the Mets following the 1999 season and led them to back-to-back appearances in the American League Championship Series in 2000 and 2001.  Apparently, he's also 6'5" tall.)

Across the street from Safeco Field is CenturyLink Field, home of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks.  I don't pretend to like football, but my Studious Metsimus colleague is a big fan of that particular team, so we did a tour of that stadium as well.  Needless to say, it was superior to the Safeco Field tour.  Then again, anything would have been better than that tour...

I'll let the pictures do the talking for the CenturyLink Field tour.

Yes, Mr. Beartran did go to Washington (the state, in this case).  And yes, I did enjoy my time there.  But the next time I go to Safeco Field, I'll just go when the Mets are playing an interleague series there, when no tour guides can feed me false information and I might actually come away with a good taste in my mouth.

It's too bad they don't play baseball at CenturyLink Field.  That stadium was beautiful and the tour was exceptional.  Maybe I should watch a Seahawks game or two this season.  Hey, it beats talking about the daily David Wright/R.A. Dickey contracts that never seem to get signed.


Note:  A few years ago, I did a similar piece called "Mr. Beartran Goes To Washington", but that was referring to Washington, DC and not the state of Washington.  To reminisce with that piece, please click here.

Senior Citizen Appreciation Day (Starring Jamie Moyer)

Today, the Mets will close out their three-game series with the Colorado Rockies.  Johan Santana will take the mound trying to secure his first win of the season and hoping the Mets will finally score a run for him, as he has become the first Mets pitcher to receive a big fat zero in the run support department over his first four starts since Kaz Ishii in 2005.

Opposing Santana will be Jamie Moyer, the soon-to-be AARP member who is making a comeback with the Rockies after not having pitched in the major leagues since July 20, 2010 prior to this season.  Moyer was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1984 and made his major league debut on June 16, 1986, or a time when the Mets still had only won one World Series championship.

So would you like to know more interesting things about Jamie Moyer, considering he's older than history itself?  Here goes.

No, that's not Jamie Moyer in the photo above.  We would never stoop so low to make that claim at his expense.  That's actually his son, Jimmy Moyer, on the day his father signed his first pro contract.

Jamie Moyer won his major league debut for the Chicago Cubs on June 16, 1986, defeating the Phillies, 7-5.  Who took the loss in that game?  None other than Steve Carlton, a pitcher who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994 - 18 years ago!

The first time he faced the Mets, on July 29, 1986, Jamie Moyer got the win in a 2-1 Cubs victory.  The only run scored by the Mets was driven in by George Foster.  It was Foster's last RBI as a Met.  A week later, Moyer faced the Mets again and got a no-decision in the Cubs' 8-5 victory, a game won on pinch-hitter Jerry Mumphrey's three-run homer.  (Mumphrey has been out of baseball for 24 years now.)  That loss would become Foster's last start as a Met.

Jamie Moyer has started 27 games against the Mets over his never-ending career, going 10-6 with a 3.94 ERA.  The only National League team he has defeated more is the Florida/Miami Marlins, with 13 wins against them.  The Marlins did not exist until Moyer's eighth season in the major leagues.  By the time the Florida Marlins played their first game in 1993, Moyer had already pitched in 141 games (111 starts) for three teams (Cubs, Rangers, Cardinals) and had compiled a 34-54 won-loss record.

In 2007, when Tom Glavine was finished not being devastated over his one-third of an inning performance against the Florida Marlins in the Mets' season finale, it was Jamie Moyer who pitched the Phillies to victory and their first of five consecutive division titles.  Moyer got the win against the Washington Nationals in Game No. 162, allowing an unearned run in 5⅓ innings of work.

Seven players currently on the Mets' 25-man roster had not been born when Jamie Moyer made his major league debut.  By the time the youngest Met on the roster, Ruben Tejada, was born, Moyer had already won 32 games in the major leagues.  He had already surpassed 150 wins before Tejada's 12th birthday.  Today, Tejada will bat second, trying to prevent Moyer from getting his 269th career victory.

We've poked fun at Jamie Moyer on this site may times in the past, but we can't help but respect his drive and commitment to the game.  We'd say "break a leg" to wish him luck in today's start against the Mets, but at his age, he might take it literally.

Good luck to Jamie Moyer for the rest of career, however long it may last.  We now leave you with a video of Moyer, a die-hard Seattle Seahawks fan (as is yours truly), raising the 12th man flag at a recent Seahawks playoff game.  You can watch the video by clicking here. 

Should the Rockies' get 12th man insurance for their starting pitcher?

Why I Like The Extra Wild Card

With a wave of his mighty finger, Bud Selig recently announced that Major League Baseball has expanded its playoff format, going from an eight-team postseason to ten.  Fans everywhere have been discussing why they like or dislike the change.  I am on the "like" side of the fence, although my Studious Metsimus colleague, Joey Beartran, is not.  (That's okay.  We're still cool.)

I have a few reasons why I believe the addition of two wild card teams will be beneficial for baseball.  Hopefully, after you read them, you'll be on my side of the fence as well.

In all of the other major sports, mediocre teams are constantly winning championships or making it to the final round or game.  Just this past month, the New York Giants won the Super Bowl after going 9-7 in the regular season.  This came one year after the Seattle Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record and defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the playoffs.

In the NBA, the 1980-81 Houston Rockets advanced to the NBA Finals despite finishing the regular season with a losing record (40-42).  Had the Rockets lost to their opponent in the Western Conference Finals, the Kansas City Kings, there still would have been a team in the finals with a losing record, as the Kings finished the regular season with an identical 40-42 mark.  The Rockets' magical ride ended in the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games.  The '80-'81 Rockets were one-upped by two teams in hockey.

The 1948-49 Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup after finishing the 60-game regular season with a 22-25-13 record.  But eleven years before their unlikely Stanley Cup victory, they lost the championship round to a team that was even worse during the regular season.  In 1938, the Chicago Black Hawks (they didn't become the one-word Blackhawks until the 1986-87 campaign) defeated the Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup.  This unlikely title came on the heels of a 14-25-9 regular season.  That's right.  The Black Hawks won only 14 of their 48 regular season games, yet they still skated away with the Cup.

While I don't think teams with losing records should win championships, I do think teams with excellent regular seasons should be allowed to compete for the title.  In 1993, the last non-strike season before the advent of the wild card in baseball, the San Francisco Giants failed to make the playoffs despite finishing the regular season with a 103-59 record.  Six years later, the Cincinnati Reds won 96 regular season games, but failed to win their division or the wild card.  (The Mets defeated them in a one-game playoff to clinch the wild card berth.  Yay!)

Even with the two extra playoff teams, Major League Baseball will still have the fewest teams qualifying for the playoffs in the four major sports.  Only one-third of the teams in baseball will be invited to the postseason party, as opposed to 12 in football and 16 each in basketball and hockey.  For most teams, a 90-win season would be considered a success.  But I'm sure the 90-win Braves would not consider 2011 to be a successful season.  Good teams deserve to be rewarded for their performance over the full 162-game campaign.  The extra wild card should provide that.

Another reason why I'm in favor of the second wild card is that it will encourage teams to win their division as opposed to just settling for the wild card.

Too many teams in the past have given up on the division title (cough cough, 2010 Yankees, cough cough) to rest their players if they had the wild card to fall back on.  Now, with the possibility of their season ending in a one-game, do-or-die wild card game, teams that can still win their division will go all out to win that hat and T-shirt awarded to division champions.  Those clothes will not only signify that the team has won a championship (in this case, a division title), but will give them a chance to play in an actual playoff SERIES instead of a playoff GAME, which will give them a better chance to win the World Series.

Division champions should have an easier route to the World Series, as too many wild card teams have won it all over the years.  (Since 1995, a total of ten wild card teams have played in the Fall Classic, with five of them winning it all, including last year's Cardinals.)  Now, if a wild card team wins the World Series, they will have truly earned it, needing to win an extra postseason game and having to do so without being able to set up their starting rotation in the way they would want.

Without question, the addition of an extra wild card team in each league is a good thing for baseball.  It'll provide fans with more excitement during the season's final month and give division champions a better chance to win the World Series.  I can't be more in favor of this new playoff format.