METS WIN OPENER! Johan Ace in His Mets Debut!

ME: today was a real letdown. had a ton of work to do at work; making resumes for impatient clients, wanting to send a resume out to get a new job. then, my dad was completely weird on the phone with me and made me feel like shite, basically. didn't know how to respond and it brought me down. over the years, our relationship has grown strained, at best. he refuses to let me visit him. i could just go and should. i keep thinking about it. want to then half of me thinks i shouldn't even make the effort. so many issues. went home, got productive and took care of things that needed tending to. managed to watch baseball.

METS: today the Mets opened their season in Florida. Johan took the mound and dominated, allowing two runs on three hits (gave up a two-run homer to Jorge Cantu, of all people). but striking out eight in seven innings! he went 0-3 in his first game where he had to hit...no surprise there. but what if, he really learned how to hit and became a good hitter. Perez is a decent hitter. Gooden was awesome. Mets beat the Marlins in the Marlins opener, 7-2. Jose went 2-4 with a run and RBI. Castillo was 1-3 with two walks and run scored. Wright? 2-3 with 3 RBI, including a hard hit double, which knocked in runs. Pagan, in for Alou, went 1-3 with a run and RBI. Church went 1-4 also with run and RBI. it was a terrific offensive game for the Mets; hitting everything Hendrickson offered. Hendrickson went on to pitch five innings and gave up six runs on seven hits. great way to start the season!!!

OPENING DAY IS TOMORROW!!!

ME: woke up at like 8 or 9 AM, sick as hell...room spinning. felt sick as hell. couldn't see straight. becky put on the light and it killed my brain. she went to work and i went back to bed. trying my best to see straight and stop the room from spinning. drank water and threw it up. went to dan lubell's, stumbled over and edited something we shot a bit ago (see above). went back home and felt better as the day went on. horrible times. watched the Washington Nationals play the Atalnta Braves. Bush threw out the first pitch and got booed by like...EVERYONE! sad. he'd make a fine manager i think. Ryan Zimmerman won the game in the bottom of the ninth.

METS: no game today...OPENING DAY IS TOMORROW! Johan versus the Marlins. I wonder how he'll sleep tonight. i'm very excited. 162 games to go! LET'S GO METS!!!!

Civil Rights Game a Success

ME: woke up dumb early in effort to go to coney island to get medicaid to help with this outrageous hospital bill i have when i conked out and hit my head on Martin Luther King Jr., Day. god, what a terrible day. it wasn't supposed to be. it was, after all the beginning of a week vacation. i wound up spending my time recuperating. sucked. i can't say exactly why i passed out. i was with dan lubell. i hadn't eaten very much that day. i was stressed, or, just getting over being so stressed. i wound up in the ER of methodist hospital. they gave me a CATSCAN and a million other tests that i didn't want to pay for. when i first hit the ground, i asked dan to just help me get home, or something to the effect that i could get home and that i'd be okay. well, it just didn't turn out like that and i was completely incapable of standing, let alone, walking. so dan wanted me to get on the stretcher and that's what i did. didn't have much choice...although...i lived right around the corner. how frustrating. anyways, so the bill is out of this world. and i need medicaid. i have no insurance and i have to get medicaid soon, so they can help cover this bill. anyways, i missed going to the coney island location. they're 9-12 on saturdays. the only office opened on the weekend. but it didn't work out so well...so then the couch came, via "man with van"--ruddy got a very dope, sweetass couch from greg and zora, since they're moving to miami. so, i moved everything around. vacuumed and did other home things...like...all day...now, i have two parties to go to, both birthdays, and a friend's show at the knitting factory. i wish i were an amoeba. wound up going to the bay ridge birthday party where i drank too much and vomited all the way home...this nice gal, setfania drove me home and i felt terrible...i made no mess in her car, but i certainly had her pull over quite a bit. i guess i needed to let it all out...have a good smashing. well, i got it alright! damn!


METS: today the Mets played in the second annual Civil Rights Game. the game took place at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee. for the Mets, it was John Maine versus the White Sox and Jose Contreras, both of whom pitched well, Maine striking out a good number of batters before coming out. runs first came off Contreras, who served up a two run homer to Carlos Beltran. for the sox, Pablo Ozuna singled with the bases loaded and tied the game. White Sox wash-up, Scott Linebrink allowed two singles and an RBI groundout in the bottom of the seventh, to put the Mets ahead 3-2. that was all they'd need and they'd go on to win by that score. it was a cool game: televised on ESPN, they showed the mets and various ballplayers taking a tour of the Civil Rights Museum. Willie Randolph was touched and said his players got a lot from the visit. this game kicked off a full weekend of events, Memphis planned as a way to look back at the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., assassinated April 4, 1968. "To me, it's an honor to be involved in this game," White Sox right fielder Jermaine Dye said. "I've got a chance to play this game because of other people like Dr. King and Rosa Parks, and it's just a great experience." my friend, dan myers feels the game is just a way for corporate entities to feel good about itself and that the game really doesn't mean anything. i disagreed and after watching this game, disagree a whole lot more. as i pointed out, it's a good way for young people and players alike to stop and take notice of society and historically, what civil rights has been through and what it means. it's taken for granted as far as i'm concerned. i taped the game and hope to show it to dan at some point...

Reyes Steals and Scores as Mets Lose to Birds

ME: today i ran around like a lunatic and argued in e-mail world with one of my closest friends, over some BS, that wasn't worth as much effort that was put into it. battling over two things, one thing involved going to a museum party at the planetarium i said i would go to, weeks and weeks ago, but never got tickets. granted, i did i say i was going to go. anyway, he goes ahead and buys himself tickets and got upset i wasn't going. mind you, he never called me to confirm, so it's a sticky situation. BUT, i had attempted to call him numerous times and never heard back from him. he had been e-mailed and was also not returning e-mails. i simply forgot to tell him i knew i wasn't going to go. but it got way more involved than that. then, he was upset for missing batting cage night; rather, meeting up afterwards. he, instead of calling and finding out where we went, decided to go home, thinking we'd all go to don's house as i said in an e-mail "...probably 1--% going to don's after." but you know, things change, and i did say "probably"...either way, once again, the kid doesn't pick up his phone and blames it on me somehow...for us eating at bonnie's grill. it's annoying. it's annoying to have to deal sometimes with friends' nuances; we all handle things differently but it's the way we do it that speaks volumes. anyways...it was a shame to have to deal. long day of work to boot...stayed at work until 8! met some pals for vietnamese food and celebrations. went home and took care of things--moving things around for a new couch...i'll post pictures tomorrow of the new living room! exciting, i know...

METS: the big story of the day here, aside from it being a close game until the finish, was the start of Orlando Hernandez and the bullpen appearance of Mike Pelfrey. the Mets lost 4-3, and the three runs that helped the Orioles win today, came all in the bottom of the ninth off Pelfrey! El Duque went five innings, striking out two and allowing one run on four hits. not bad-not bad. he seems to be ready for the season despite not having that many starts in this spring. but, the work he has done, seems to be effective. Pelfrey, on the other hand, was in the game for 3 2/3 innings and three runs on six hits. former Met, Jay Payton went 1-2 and had a run scored and RBI. outfielder Luke Scott, Brian Roberts and Torres were also all productive, each having an RBI. Jose stole two bases, went 2-3 and scored two runs. stealing them bases is going to be key this year for the mets, as we all know, it helps generate runs and gives the Wright and Beltran opportunity for RBI action. i like what i see and hope it all carries over nicely into the season!

THURSDAY'S BLOG

ME: tonight, after work, i met up with danny and went to my crib. eric came over and then don came and picked us all up. we went to the batting cage center, where they also have video games, air hockey, baseketball and a pitching tunnel! it's too much fun. also, a cute little baseball card shop. toby showed up with saeler and we hit some fastballs! saeler hit for the first time...35 mph! and the kid did great! good contact and it was great to see him hit! it was a lot of fun. went to eat burgers at bonnie's grill. paid and ate too much, but what can you do?! it was a great night and wonderful to be with the fellas; hitting some fastballs!

METS: today the Mets had their way with the Braves, winning 9-4. Perez looked sharp at times, but in the end, he gave up three runs over 6 1/3 innings of work. he struck out four and gave up seven hits. Endy Chavez smacked a couple hits, going 2-4 with 2 RBI. Marlon Anderson played first base today and went 2-3 with a run and three RBI. former Met, Royce Ring, came in for the Braves and gave up a hit but struck out two in an inning of work. the Mets are looking good. backup catcher, Raul Casanova, hit his 3rd home run of the spring and went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI on the day. Easley played second.

Clutch Delgado & Wright Can't Push Mets Past Marlins

ME: had a catch with becky and woody in the park after work. it was great. she throws the mustard. good control. breaking stuff too! went to virginia's for dinner and we went back home. great evening!

METS: 23 year old rookie, Robert Parnell started for the Mets and struck out five in five innings, allowing no runs. but Cantu's three run homer off Nelson Figueroa in the sixth and Mike Jacobs' two run shot in the seventh lead to the Marlin's win, 7-5. Reyes was 1-3 with an RBI. but the big story today came from David Wright and Carlos Delgado--both of whom hit singles with the bases loaded. both wound up with two hits and two RBI, respectively. Joe Smith allowed three runs to balloon his spring ERA to 8.18. not good.

TUESDAY'S POST: Mets Beat Braves 5-4

ME: work was brisk and over before i knew it. felt lousy in the stomach all day. went home. napped. was supposed to meet my pal, alex at 9:15 at Nice Guy Eddie's across the street from the Mercury Lounge, but overslept and wound up on Houston at around 9:45. alex was taking me to see some bands. i had no clue what i was in for. never heard of the bands before; one was named Mother Acid's Temple. japanese outfit. alex tells me they get up to 10 people on the stage at once and make crazy music. we wanted to puff a gerbil before the show, but the area was littered with 5.0...so we found, what i thought was a quiet spot, when from outta nowhere came a short asian dude, wearing a hoodie (hood down). he flashed a badge as a second person, a stout buffalo-sized woman, also wearing a hoodie approached me. these folks were undercovers and i reckon could smell the gerbilsmoke. they patted us down, looked at our IDs, gave na brief lecture, looked around and then said something like, "had we been real cops, you two would be going to a holding cell." but then what were they? i still held in my hand the hooshten! can you believe that? a third asian fella, this one taller, showed up and the three of them studied us and looked around some more. that was it. a lecture and a slap. we were freaked out, to say the least! there are some angels on my shoulders. we went in and watched this crazy band, whose name i forget, but they were these borderline speed metal/black sabbath wannabees. bassist had crazy long hair and was busting all the rock moves--whipping that hair around in a frenzy! the lead singer had a high voice and said something about time machines and future things. some riffs were definitely fresh, sounded like classical music; fast classical. we left towards the end of the set and called it and walked to the train. we met up with bex and her pal at the commonwealth. fun bar--great jukebox! rival to great lakes' juke. i kinda dig commonwealth's more.

METS: Jonathon Niese gave up two runs on two hits over five innings of work as the Mets beat the ever-so-retarded Atlanta Braves. let's face it, they've got a wonderful history-there's no denying that. especially when you include the Milwaukee-era in there. Eddie Mathews. Hank Aaron. Dale Murphy. but f**k Chipper Jones. and i'm thrilled that schmuck, Andruw Jones left them. interested actually to see how he does with the Dodgers and Torre. wild. Ivan Maldonado came in after Niese and also gave up two runs. but the Mets made up for those runs: backup catcher, Raul Casanova hit a home run in the third off of Tim Hudson. Carlos Beltran went 1-2 with two runs scored. Reyes was 0-the day as were Delagdo and Wright, though Wright scored a run. rookie third baseman and replacement to the aging and inbred, Chipper Jones, Yunel Escobar went 1-2 for the Braves. the Mets won in the ninth on a smacked single by Rafael Arroyo, driving in the winning run! LET'S GO METS!!! the Mets are now 18-9-1.