The world awakens this morning seeking to right itself after a pair of explosions rocked Boston yesterday afternoon.  Lost are three souls, with no fewer than another one hundred and thirty-two injured.  Also lost in the day’s events, a nation’s sense of security when it comes to sporting events.

Long thought to be a potential target, major sporting events are often subjected to increased security measures.  To date, the United States had been successful (or lucky depending upon your point of view) to avoid such disasters, however April 15, 2013 will live on in infamy as the day the sports world was no longer immune to a direct attack.

The aftereffects of yesterday’s events remain to be seen, but as families, the city of Boston and the nation as a whole mourn this loss, its fair to assume that our shattered sense of security will send ripples through the sports world.  Decreased attendance can only be countered by increased protection in an effort to reassure fans that they’re safe.  At what point will your trip to the stadium resemble a tour through your local prison system?  At what point are fans treated like inmates? More importantly, at what point is such treatment necessary?

Long gone is the innocence of physically attending a game, ruined by the majority of fans who feel the price of admission grants them the freedom to drink like a fish and curse like a sailor without repercussion.  That arrogance, until yesterday thought by most to be the worst you could encounter during a trip to the ballpark, is now miniscule by comparison to the violence seen in the past twenty-four hours.  So what now?

Ultimately, too much energy is lost debating the successes and more frequently, the failures of our favorite sports franchises.  That faux pas takes place on a daily basis throughout social media and on sites just like this one.  I’m just as guilty as many of your reading this.  We’re debating a game..something that shouldn’t be life or death.  Its unfortunate that it takes such tragedy for things to fall in line once again, but it has become apparent that this is the world we live in now.  So remember, the next time your headed out to Citi Field, be cognizant of those around you, because not everyone is on the same team.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83.

Adam Baker, an incredible man and once writer for MMO, passed away about two years ago now. Joe D. and myself found out around March 11th that he had passed away, a little over a week after the tragic event, and the news hit us hard. I still remember the whole time period vividly and I remember Joe’s emotional post on the subject. 

I tried to stay strong on the subject… I really did, but a few days later in school, I was sitting alone re-reading that same post by Joe when I burst into tears. My mentor, a man I had cherished as a father figure and dear friend, was gone. I never even had a chance to say goodbye. It just was not fair. But Adam, a source of eternal positive feelings, would not have wanted me to be so sad.

It was against everything he believed in. He was able to make so many people happy and quite frequently as well – it did not even seem like he had to try…it all came natural to him. His great sense of humor always had me chuckling at something, as he was frequently calling me a mack daddy or making some fart joke. He also had a way of reassuring me that everything would always work out…there are often days where I could still use that.

From a man who had enough reason to be a sad and bitter creature, it was inspiring to me to see that he not only generated optimism out of nowhere – but spread it to those around him. He touched many people, and often went out of his way to make special gestures to make them smile. I remember one day specifically, when I was feeling rather sour, and Adam messaged me with a photograph. He had created me as a starting pitcher in his MLB: The Show Game… and to this day, I still have a blurry .JPEG of a starting pitcher with the last name “RAM” on the back.

Speaking of jerseys, Big Daddy Baker was buried in a Mets jersey… the man was a Mets fan all his life and he took it to heaven with him. Heroes do not always wear baseball jerseys, but this one did. In fact, the only reason I write here on MMO today was his encouragement. He pushed me to reach out to Joe D., seeing something in me that I still to this day fail to see in myself…and it eventually led to my placement as a contributing writer on the site.

When he first passed away, I really could not find a way to explain what I felt. Yet when it all hit me, I could have written a book on not only how much it affected me…but how thankful I was. I was lucky to have such a wonderful human being in my life – and even luckier that he effectively took me under his wing and guided me to success. He read every single one of my early posts and fed me encouragement to keep going… I just hope he would have been proud of me today.

Adam, I miss you man… I really do. You gave me so much happiness, introduced me to Scrubs (which brought me more happiness, mind you), and 10,000 words would not be enough for me to express my gratitude for everything. I need some of your positive ideas around here to give me a reason to spread hope again. You kept me optimistic and you found things to believe in with the Mets that made everything seem better. The 2013 season approaches quickly, and I had, for a split second, wondered how I felt about the whole ordeal.

But it did not take me long to remember you, old friend. So I will watch – and I will write too. Not only do I owe you that much, but…it’s baseball season. How could I hate baseball? We could have lost every game and you and I would have still found a reason to watch, right?

People like you make me proud to be a Mets fan – you were the gold standard. As you rest peacefully, I hope they gave you something better than SNY in heaven…because I know you’d still be looking for a way to watch the Mets. With misty eyes, I know that I am by far not the only one who remembers you – and remembers you so fondly. So on this day, Adam Baker, I thank you once again because if I know you, you’re still looking out for me..

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives…so by my count man, you were the most important person in the world. I miss you today, I missed you yesterday, and I will miss you every day going forward…and not as Perseus or anything like that – as Satish Ram, the once 14-year old boy that you inspired so long ago.

Updated 1/18

I just had to delete 67 comments from readers and writer alike. Still more to chop, but seriously what gives? Why must some of you engage in a wicked game of “johnny on the pony” and only add to the situation we are trying to rectify?

What’s with this new thing of everyone calling each other out because they have an “agenda”?

Everyone accusing the other of having an agenda? That’s rich… It’s also juvenile and ignorant…

If you use the word than you probably are the one with the agenda, because it takes one to know one.

If you group people you will have your comments deleted and you will go into moderation…

Chill the hell out…

Original Post 1/14

Every now and then I find it necessary to delete a comment because it fails to add anything to the debate and is simply an immature or irrational comment whose purpose was mostly to insult an author or reader on this site.

In the past week I’ve had to ban six users from the site. I don’t enjoy banning readers from commenting on the site, but with the huge influx of new readers it’s my responsibility to ensure they have an enjoyable experience. I also owe it to our longtime readers to try and keep the site as clean as possible.

My goal is to raise the level of discourse in the comments, eliminating inappropriate language and insults, and strictly enforcing our commenting policy.

Here’s how it works:

1. You can leave comments and join or start a debate on anything we post on this site. Feel free to agree or disagree with the topic without insulting anyone. As long as you abide by that, you will have no problems and your comments will not be moderated.

2. Any comment that insults another reader or author, will have their comment permanently deleted. Comments are for discussing the topics at hand, and are not a sounding board to vent your dislike of another individual on this site.

3. Once we are forced to delete a comment for violating our comment guidelines as listed below, all future comments by that individual will go into moderation. That means all of your comments will be moderated and only those comments that meet our guidelines will be approved. It could take up to two hours for it to post depending on when an editor gets to it.

4. If your comment is deleted and you go into the moderation process, you will remain in moderation for a minimum of thirty (30) days. If during that period your comments had no further problems, you will immediately become approved to comment freely again. However, if it happens a second time, you will simply be banned.

Comment Guidelines

Because I allow unregistered commenting on this site, I have no other choice than to ask everyone to kindly adhere to these simple rules of common sense and decency when commenting on this site.

• I believe in free speech, so you are free to debate and post an opposing point of view in any manner you see fit as long as you do it without attacking or insulting another reader, commenter or writer along the way. I will remove any comment that crosses this line.
• I don’t require that you stay on topic. You can talk about whatever you want, as long as what you have to say has some interest to the readers of this site. What I won’t tolerate is personal attacks or comments intended only to antagonize.
• If you’re a fan of another team and don’t like the Mets, you are free to post and join the debate. However, if your idea of a debate is “Mets suck”, your comment will be deleted and you will be banned from this site. Go vent somewhere else. This is a website for discussing all MLB topics and issues.
• Keep your language clean. I don’t swear here, and I’d appreciate if you didn’t either. I’d like for parents to feel comfortable having their kids read this site. I’m no angel, so if I can express myself without profanity, you can, too.
• Please be respectful. We have fun here disagreeing with each other, but we do it with respect. Hate speech against and individuals or groups will never be tolerated.

By posting a comment to this site, you are agreeing to abide by these rules.

If you see any comments that you find offensive, please contact us immediately at GetMetsmerized@aol.com and we will take care of it. Include a link to the post and the name of the reader who left the comment. This process is completely anonymous.

A link to these Comment Guidelines is always located at the bottom of our site.

On behalf of everyone at Mets Merized Online we would like to take some time to remember and honor all of the brave servicemen and women that have served and continue to serve our great country.

Each Veteran’s Day we have an opportunity to recognize all the amazing men and women who make up the greatest military in the world. They faithfully protect our borders and our freedom and our way of life.

With the Manhattan VA shutdown after damages suffered during Hurricane Sandy, tens of thousands of veterans are now being served by the Brooklyn VA where I go for treatment and sometimes volunteer. The lines there are unbelievable now as I was there on Friday. It’s going to be that way for 6-8 months until Manhattan opens again. It’s very tough right now. With many of the active duty troops coming home and needing help physically and psychologically, you can imagine how crammed it is, and the shortage of beds is a growing concern. So hug a veteran today and just say, thanks…

God Bless you all for your unwavering loyalty, patriotism, strength and courage.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

View from La Guardia Airport of the flooding. In the distance you can see Citi Field

Hurricane Sandy came through the past few days and absolutely battered the tri-state area. Homes are destroyed, millions are without power, the entire transit system is in shambles and a death toll that continues to rise. We have just experienced one of, if not the worst natural disasters in our area’s history, and now is the time to come together and pull through this as one just as we have so many times before.

Many of our readers are obviously in the area in which the destruction has occurred, and we at MMO hope and pray that everyone out there is safe and dry. Our fearless leader Joe D. is currently out of power but getting by so as a result myself and my fellow MMO’er Dan Valis will be keeping things going until the lights come on for him. If you have any questions or need to contact us about anything, you can E-Mail me at maybenextyearmets@yahoo.com or Dan at bigapplemetstalk@yahoo.com.

Many famous areas and key landmarks of the region received severe flooding and sustained significant damage. La Guardia Airport as you see above has been flooded and “extremely damaged”, however the home of our New York Mets, Citi Field, has emerged unscathed. I guess it’s well versed in weathering storms .

For those of you who still have power/internet access, here are some images of Citi Field throughout the storm:

The7Line with photos of Citi Field’s preparations for the storm. You can see they constructed a steel storm barrier around the perimeter o the ballpark.

MTA buses lined up in Citi Field parking lots in an effort to protect them from any potential damage. Courtesy of MTA Flickr page.

 Matthew Zimmerman with the photo above as well as this footage below:

Across the Eastern seaboard as we huddle for shelter, preparing to weather Hurricane Sandy, three men stand unfazed, with a job still to do no matter what the conditions. At Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknowns will be guarded by three sentinels throughout the course of the hurricane.

Since 1948, the tomb which holds the remains of unidentified soldiers from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam, is guarded around the clock, 24/7, rain or shine, and that theme will hold true for this storm.

So throughout the course of the storm, keep these brave man in your thoughts, as well as the two missing crew members of the HMS Bounty, a 180-foot replica of the “Mutiny on the Bounty” that sank off the coast of North Carolina. The ship often comes into my town –I’ve been on the ship several times– and the owner is a family friend of ours. Several people I know have worked as crew members aboard the ship and at this time we’re unsure if any of them were aboard.

Everyone please stay safe throughout the course of this storm, and keep those in harm’s way in your thoughts and prayers.

9/11 is a day that is still very heavy on the hearts of every New Yorker, and every American. One is hard pressed to find anyone in the Tri-State area that didn’t know someone, or knew someone that knew someone, who was in Lower Manhattan on the day the towers fell. The shock has not yet faded, videos and photos of the attack, the pain on the faces throughout the world still sends shivers down our spines. Yet here we are, 11 years later, emerging from the ashes as a stronger nation. We are damaged, we are wounded, but we have emerged bolder, wiser and proud to call ourselves citizens of the United States.

Ground Zero has been transcended from a smoldering pile of death and anguish, into a place of healing. It is a location for families –like those pictured above– who never received anything from their fallen loved ones to go for a sense of closure. The reflecting pools list the names of all 2,996 Americans who went to work, boarded a plane, or put on an oxygen mask on that day and did not return as well as the half of a dozen who perished in the bombing in 1993. As someone who has seen the memorial first hand, I can say from a first hand experience, that it brings unwelcome memories to the forefront of your mind and makes everything seem much more real, however at the same time has an eerie, calming silence.

It is a place of serenity, a place of peace, a place for mourning, but a symbol as well. It shows us that we are rebuilding, the new World Trade Centers are nearing completion, life will once again be revived into zip code 10048, but we will always remember. That horrific day is etched in the minds of all of us, whether we want it to or not.

That day is now eleven years old, but it feels like just yesterday. Today is a day for mourning, for remembrance, but also a day to show that we may be damaged, we may be wounded, but America will never falter and we will ultimately emerge stronger and stronger than ever before.

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children.”

- President George W. Bush, Nov. 11, 2001

Iconic American astronaut Neil Armstrong, who was the first person to walk on the moon, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Saturday.

Armstrong died following complications from heart-bypass surgery he underwent earlier this month, the family said in a statement, just two days after his birthday on August 5.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.

As he stepped off the ladder of the lunar module and onto the moon’s surface, Armstrong uttered those timeless words:

““That’s one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind.”

It was a defining moment for human history and our world was changed forever.

In a statement from the White House, President Obama said:

“Neil was among the greatest of American heroes. When Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time, he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten.”

Rest In Peace, Neil…

I spoke to Sean at 1:00 AM last night when he called to tell me that his mother was in some kind of medical distress and that they had rushed her to the hospital. This morning at 8:30 AM I was wondering how his mom was doing and I texted him to see if her condition had improved. He then he told me the sad news.

Please keep Sean and his family in your prayers. He has been an invaluable part of the MMO family for many years and he is a good friend.

Our live coverage from the Brooklyn Cyclones season opener has been cancelled. Right now we just want to give Sean our strongest show of support as he and his family deal with this sudden and tragic loss.

Be strong, Sean…

Joe

On a sad note, television broadcasting legend Dick Clark has died of a heart attack today at the age of 82.

Clark is best known for hosting blockbuster television shows such as American Bandstand, $25,000 Pyramid, and Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

“America’s Teenager” was once asked about his always youthful looks and offered this advice, ”If you want to stay young looking, pick your parents very carefully.”

Clark is survived by his 3 children from his first two marriages and his current wife Kari Wigton.

New Years Eve wont be the same without him…

Rest in peace, Dick.

All-Star Evening with All-Star Accommodations

Mets Merized Online was invited last Monday to cover a Mets food tasting at CitiField’s Delta Sky360 Club, or as they put it, “The All-Star Dining Line-Up.”  Due to some fortunate circumstances (for me), I was able to attend. So I headed out Monday with a camera and my appetite.

I know that there are some things that haven’t grown on me yet at CitiField, but their food options make it difficult to choose what I want to eat during games.  I swear, sometimes I just go for the hot dogs and crinkle cut fries from Nathan’s and be done with it!

Yet, I like so much that we were able to get.  My husband and I are big fans of the Nachos Grande stand.  I always like beer.  Though Shake Shack isn’t as much of a novelty to us as it is to others since we live within walking distance of one, Blue Smoke’s fried chicken sandwich was a new addition in 2011 and was a good one at that.  I sometimes get the elote corn on the cob at Taqueria.  While Box Frites did away with the disco frites (boo), my hub liked the parmesan garlic frites.  I like the popcorn shrimp at Catch of the Day, and eggplant parm hero at Cascarino’s.  If I have time to go to the Promenade Club during the game, the buffalo chicken salad gets high marks from me.

Like I said, it’s a little difficult for me to choose, since I have so many options.  So what do the Mets do for 2012?

They add more fabulous fanfare to the menu.  Sigh.

I guess the easiest way to go through the new options is to list them by area.  Before I get started though, I’d like to point out that I do have some weird food habits.  Like, I don’t do pastrami or corned beef.  Sandwiches are kinda lost on me.  I love sushi, but I’m sort of weird about getting it at a ballpark, or taste-testing it after eating a slider.  I love that CitiField has healthy options (like fruit, hummus, vegetarian and gluten-free options), but I didn’t try a lot of them.  I guess you can call me crazy, that though I wouldn’t put it past myself to eat a salad at a baseball game, the idea of pork osso bucco?  Eh, little too rich for this blue-collar girl’s tastes.  (Plus, I’m not that big of a fan of pork.)  Lastly, a lot of these menu items are in places many of us might visit once a year, at best if we’re lucky, like the Empire Suites or being invited by Metropolitan Hospitality to an event.

Taste Of The City

Box Frites has expanded their options by including a buffalo dog on their menu (all-beef dog with buffalo and blue-cheese sauce, pickled carrot and celery).  At the event, they paired the dog up with their new sweet potato frites option.  Box Frites is also trying their hand at desserts, by offering fried fruit pies!

I actually didn’t partake in the items, as I was getting full just looking at a lot of the food.  From what I heard, the fried pies were divine.  I didn’t get a good report on the buffalo dog.

El Verano Taqueria is introducing a vegetarian taco (which is also gluten-free), soft corn tortillas with portobello mushrooms, zucchini, corn and poblano peppers.  Total opposite from a vegetarian gluten-free taco is the barbacoa quesadilla, slow-cooked beef with chipotle and guajillo peppers.  Jason Fry from Faith and Fear in Flushing is a big Taqueria fan.  He was so-so on the tacos, but the quesadilla seemed to be a winner if you are a beef fan.

Catch of the Day now offers beer battered shrimp skewers.  These were fabulous, a little fluffier than tempura battered shrimp but closer to a corn dog consistency if I had to put a finger on it.

I might have had more than one of these pups.

Taste of the City is located in the Centerfield concourse area on the field level at CitiField.

World’s Fare Market

Much to Ted Berg‘s delight, Mama’s of Corona introduced a new hero to their menu, called the “Mama’s Special.”  It is a hero loaded on Italian bread with peppered ham, salami, fresh mootz, mushrooms and peppers on the side.  If you are a sandwich person, you might like it.  I do not share in the enthusiasm that the sandwich king Berg does!  But I will say, I might have helped myself to a few cannoli and a cupcake (strictly for my dog…and I don’t have a dog).

Daruma of Tokyo had a lovely looking sushi platter and boat available.  Greg Prince of Faith and Fear in Flushing was helping himself to some of it, as he is a sushi fan.  I LOOOOVE sushi too, but I really wanted to try the other stuff.  I guess I’m just weird about trying sushi at a ballpark, though it did look lovely.

General Concessions

Aramark has made very few changes in the general concessions throughout the ballpark, but one item that I absolutely positively need to try is the Cholula Chipotle Crispy Chicken Sandwich.  The concession stand display had sliders of their Brooklyn Burger (including the Keith Hernandez Mex Burger) and the Cholula chicken sandwich.  The crispy chicken was one of my favorite things on the menu on the night, a chicken cutlet with Cholula (the hot sauce!) chipotle aioli (ay ai ai!), fresh guac, jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and bacon.  They put nearly every favorite thing of mine on one bun.  Depending on your level of tolerance, I didn’t think the hot sauce nor the jalapenos were spicy at all, then again I always get the global thermonuclear sauce at any wing place since they simply aren’t hot enough.  Yet, some people complained that it was too spicy.  Fair enough.  But it was still pretty damn fabulous.

I heard the Pastrami sandwich was a hit last year, so I’ll take people’s words for it.  They are offering a Pastrachos platter this year, nachos topped with pastrami, Swiss cheese sauce, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing and scallions.  If you’re into Reubens, knock yourself out!

Brooklyn burger is offering a Mex Burger, inspired by Keith Hernandez: a 6 oz. Brooklyn burger on a sesame bun with cheddar and jack cheese, topped with bacon, guacamole, chipotle aioli and jalapenos.  These are served with kettle chips and a Tootsie pop!

I love a tasty burger, and I’m a harsh critic, so I’m not sure I’d order the Mex burger on its own at CitiField.  It was a bit on the dry side, but again, I believe that the stand custom cooks them as you order, so they may be different from sitting under a lamp at a tasting event.

Other items of note: the Kozy Shack gluten free stand has a number of g-free options, as well as vegetarian options.  I heard the veggie dog and veggie burger were not worth whatever they charge (a piece of cardboard is what someone likened it to).  Melissa’s fruit cart offers a variety of fruit and packaged hummus, something any vegan would enjoy!

Delta Sky360 Club

Chances are, you won’t be going to the Delta club without an invite.  Too bad, as they had some damn good food available.  They’re introducing a fried flounder sandwich, Swedish meatball platter and seared beef tenderloin medallions.  NOM NOM.

I probably had about 8 million of the flash-fried shrimp, so I opted out of the fried flounder.  Kerel Cooper from On The Black tried it though, and said it was something he wouldn’t mind trying again.

I didn’t get a chance to try the seared medallions, though from the sounds of it (Angus tenderloin, bleu cheese polenta, fennel-tomato ragout, red wine demiglaze), it sounds like something I’d enjoy.  I did, however, try the Swedish meatballs.  AND OMG.  They were FANTASTIC.  The gravy wasn’t too creamy, but I could have done without the focaccia bread.

Caesar’s and Promenade Clubs

Cafe Roma at the Caesar’s Club is introducing two new items: the Reuben quesadilla (grilled flour tortilla filled with New York pastrami, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese and scallions) and the NY cheese steak sandwich.  I passed on both items, but the buffalo chicken salad in that club is also very good if you were looking for other options.

The Promenade Club is offering three new items, called home run wings (served with your choice of either buffalo, chipotle BBQ, teriyaki, garlic parmesan, honey-black pepper or Thai chili), the New Yawkah sandwich (corned beef topped with sweet potato fries, bacon, pickles, slaw and Thousand Island, served on a pretzel roll), and the 7-1-ATE Special (hot or sweet Premio sausage, split and grilled, topped with a hash brown, fried egg, slaw & pepper hash on ciabatta).  Holy moly!  The New Yawkah sounds like they’re trying their hand at a Primanti Brothers-style sandwich (the Pittsburgh treat that serves you with everything on a sandwich, including french fries and slaw).

I didn’t try the wings or the 7-1-ATE though both did have some pleasant reviews from those who tried them.  And I wouldn’t be against trying them either when I’m in the Promenade Club.

Acela Club

Pork Osso Bucco is the only new offering on the Acela menu this season.

Really?

I didn’t try it, but I didn’t hear any reviews on it either.  ^Shrug^

Empire Suites

So who wants to split a suite this season?  Two new offerings in the suites include buttermilk fried chicken with corn bread and mac & cheese and southwest chicken salad.

Okay, I have to admit that I am a very harsh critic on fried chicken.  I have a southern gene and anything fried needs to have some TLC added to it for me to give it my stamp of approval.  BUT…my chicken piece was a little off the mark. It was a little gamey and slightly stringy.  Blech.  Then I realized that people don’t eat fried chicken for the chicken part…they want the stuff that makes it fried!  The breading was awesome.  And the accompaniments were also stellar — corn bread with real chunks of corn in it.  The baked mac was very good.  I didn’t get to try the southwest salad though…that because…I forgot I wanted to try it.

Turns out with my fried chicken though that I may have had a chicken that put up the fight!  Joe Janish from Mets Today said his was very tender and moist and gave it a thumbs up.  Ah well.  Guess I gotta do a quality assurance test in the suites this year to make SURE I don’t like it.

Metropolitan Hospitality

The hospitality group is serving up three new dishes.  Tuna tartare, chicken and waffles and seared Long Island striped bass.  I only tried the chicken and waffles, which were served on a mini waffle.

It was really tasty!  If I can get invited to a party where the hospitality group caters, I’ll be sure to station myself next to the chicken and waffles, which were served with a maple demiglaze.

Well, all righty then!

DESSERTS!!

I didn’t see anyone cut the Metropolitan Hospitality or Mr. Met cakes, but there were ice cream sandwiches from Coolhaus, Banana bread pudding served warm in an individual mug and assorted cannoli and cupcakes from Mama’s.

I would like to point out that this was a “dry” event — meaning, no alcohol.  They must have known I was coming.  They did provide us with a menu of beer options that will be at craft beer stands, including a variety of Shock Top ales and craft beers.

One other thing I noticed was that the Delta Sky360 Club, where the event was held, that one could not look out into the field.

So I couldn’t get any photos of the wall progress.

But as I bid adieu to the night and CitiField, Ted Berg said farewell and that we’d all be watching baseball in about 10 days.

I walked onto the train platform, and the past meeting the present promo greeted me as I went back to Manhattan.

This was a nice evening, and top notch food was served.  Can’t wait to sample it for real next week!

As you may or may not have noticed we are missing our leader. Due to unforeseen, and untimely, circumstances Joe D had to undergo surgery. I won’t go into details because he’s going to kill me for posting this as it is, but he will be there for a while. As second in command I wanted to ask everyone to keep Joe in your prayers and if you would like please wish him well in the comments. We can make this his virtual Get Well card, if you will.

Now I’m not one of the great writers or bloggers of this site but I am the graphic artist so I think this simple but appropriate graphic says it all. Hopefully he will get a chance to see this soon and know everyone was thinking about him. While we may not all agree on baseball all of the time, we are still one big family of Met fans. I guarantee he’s more pissed off about missing the opening of baseball season than anything else. That’s our Joe D!

God Bless and Lets Go Mets,

Kelly H

MLB Supports SOPA and That Should Bother You

I am all for legislation that goes after individuals that pirate copyrighted material. This bill appears to be too vague and far-reaching. Modern corporations can’t be trusted with this far-reaching power because they will use it in a way to destroy necessary competition. The reality is this type of bill could wind up legislating our news. Is that a situation you feel comfortable with? Imagine the only baseball information you received was from MLB and its preferred news partners? Think you might be kept in the dark? Now imagine this was the situation for the important news issues of the day.

Here is the list of companies that are supporting the bills. Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and Disney, which owns ESPN, are on the list. They will tell you it’s to stop illegal use of their product, but why isn’t the NBA or NHL on the list? Perhaps because they are third and fourth tier sports that still need to compete for customers? What will stop any sports league from using this bill to target individual sites they deem dangerous because of critical content? What makes you think ESPN wouldn’t push their corporate partners to help them shut down sites under the guise of intellectual property? You create something successful and take away customers from the big boys, and they will find a way to put you out of business. Business has become about legislating out competitors versus generating new ideas or improving current product lines. – NY Baseball Digest

Mike Silva provides the best argument against SOPA from an independent blog owners perspective that I’ve ever read. This bill really creeps me out. Team blogs backed by huge corporate sponsors have little to fear, but sites like mine and Mike’s will be huge targets because we speak our minds regardless of how critical it may come off to some. That’s the beauty of independent sites like ours.

Today you have had the benefit of reading our site mostly because I was overcome by a moment of cowardice this morning. My partner Kelly wanted to shutdown MMO today to support the blackout like so many other great sites did. That was the plan. Then I thought otherwise. After a huge heated argument this morning, I got my way and kept the site going. My conscience has been bothering me all day. I may have erred in judgement and I apologize to Kelly for that. She is a big believer in freedom of the internet and is aggressive in protecting independent blogger’s rights . Anyway, read Mike’s article at NY Baseball Digest.

On behalf of everyone at Mets Merized Online we would like to take some time to remember and honor all of the brave servicemen and women that have served and continue to serve our great country. I’ll be getting together with a bunch of them at a special dinner where I look forward to seeing some old buddy’s and if any of you are reading this, save some chow for me.

Each Veteran’s Day we have an opportunity to recognize all the amazing men and women who make up the greatest military in the world. They faithfully protect our borders and our freedom and our way of life.

God Bless all of you for your unwavering loyalty, patriotism, strength and courage.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Sometimes real events have a way of transcending sports. In the aftermath of the child sex abuse scandal at Penn State, the school’s Board of Trustees have fired legendary football head coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier on Wednesday night.

The 84-year-old coach has been at Penn State since 1950 and has been the head coach since 1966. The Nittany Lions’ 10-7 victory over Illinois on Oct. 29 made Paterno the winningest coach in NCAA history with 409 wins.

Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will serve as interim head coach for the No. 12 Nittany Lions for the remainder of the season.

The trustees said their decisions were made “after careful deliberations” and made in the university’s best interest. Although Paterno announced he plans to retire at the end of the 2011 season, the board decided that wasn’t quick enough.

Paterno’s dismissal is in response to a grand jury investigation involving former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky — who was indicted on 40 charges of sexually abusing eight boys during the last 15 years — and how the university handled allegations over the years.

Although Paterno announced he plans to retire at the end of the 2011 season, the board decided that wasn’t quick enough.

“I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case,” Paterno said in a statement. “I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief. This is a tragedy. It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

Prayers to all the victims of this tragedy, especially the children and their families.

It’s that time of the year again when we celebrate the birth of an ideal and of the greatest nation in the world.

While we enjoy all the grilling and all the fireworks with our friends and families today, let’s remember all the sacrifices that were made to make this celebration of freedom possible.

Thanks to all the service men and women who keep freedom ringing for all of us both at home and abroad.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness doesn’t come cheap…

Happy Birthday, America!