Blogger’s disclaimer: I am not being serious in this post in any way, shape or form. I’ve just had enough trying to figure out what went wrong with this year’s team. While others blame Omar Minaya or the trainers, I’ve found something else to blame for this year’s misfortunes. Read on…
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.
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!
Editor’s note: This was first posted by Ed Leyro on the Mets site Zombies and Comics and Bears…Oh My!
You see I think it is the Wilpon’s fault; they spited the history and memory of Shea. It seems the ghost has cursed up. We tore down Shea. We built a new one and named it after a bank that needed a bailout. There was no embracing of the Mets or our lone Hall of Famer, but plenty for the Dodgers and Robinson.
It seems Shea, who helped got the Mets here, is disgusted with how the Wilpons have treated his team. From the stadium to the history, it has all been ignored. So to get back at the Wilpons…well…yeah we know. Everything from Madoff to the Apple not coming up.
Of course this is all a joke. Then again, wasn’t Queens once part of Native land? Did someone move the stones and not the bodies?! =/
That damn cat! I love the way that lady jumped in the video, it’s hilarious!
http://www.sfgate.com/n/pictures/2007/04/12/cat8.jpg
That looks like the same cat! Same long strides and all! Why weren’t the Phillies cursed?
I remeber that. I thought that poor little cat was so cute at the time. Little did I know!
LOL!
[...] The black cat from Opening Night cursed the Mets, Ed Leyro jokes in a post to Mets Merized Online. [...]
There was an article in the NY Daily News during the off season about who the Mets are making sure that the cats who inhabited Shea Stadium were brought over to CitiField. The article implied that the Mets feel the cats are good luck to them. Go figure.
I did find this on gothamist.com.
http://gothamist.com/2008/10/03/cat_lovers_want_shea_stadium_feral.php
I think I remember that Daily News article. The cats were supposed to keep the rats away or something like that. I found it interesting that the Citi Field cat passed by David Wright and he’s the only player who hasn’t been hurt (well, he and Daniel Murphy).
[...] In “The Opening Night Cat Cursed the Mets,” an article on the Mets Merized Online blog, Ed Leyro notes the coincidences between 1969 and now: 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. [...]