title updated 2/17/08 at 10:15am on the advice of carm
Last August I thought I’d be sad to see the last pieces of Shea Stadium hit the ground. A part of me thought that watching my favorite baseball team in some other stadium just wouldn’t be the same without that old rusty bowl - it wasn’t much, but it was ours. Then I saw video of it:
No tears, no sadness…nothing, really. Probably a culmination of the beatings that I’ve taken by that same favorite team over the last couple of years. I’ve been disappointed by them before of course - ‘91-’96 was pretty bad, as was ‘02-’04. A spattering of playoff appearances, the ‘99 NLCS and the ‘00 World Series are basically all I have to hang my hat on. I guess that’s why the last few years have been so tough - 177 wins but not a single playoff game. Brutal. And Shea Stadium has been home to it all.
So I guess I’m a bit soured on the whole thing and I want to start fresh. I want Citi Field to be a place of renewal and a place where the Mets play the kind of baseball that I think they’re capable of playing. I want to believe that using a pretty box will somehow turn a mediocre present into a great one.
As anyone who might be reading this probably already knows, Willie Randolph was fired yesterday under some interesting circumstances. Jon Stewart gives his recap of the events and provides a secret recording of the actual firing:
The Mets may have needed a change, but no matter what you thought of his managerial style and decisions Willie deserved better than this. Here’s hoping he gets another opportunity somewhere else fairly soon.
Finally, the pain has ended after 3 long months! Syracuse is heading to the NIT once again after an 82-63 drubbing at the hands of Villanova earlier this afternoon. Normally I would be distressed in this kind of a situation but, honestly, it doesn’t really feel like much of a letdown this year. Last year I was shocked that the Orange were without an NCAA tourney bid, but I’ve been expecting this since the beginning of January. When two of your best (and most experienced) players go down for the year with injury you know you’re in trouble. Here’s to a bright ‘08-’09 season, however - assuming everyone actually comes back as expected.
Now time to relax and prepare for the amazing onslaught of basketball to come over the next 3 weeks or so.
