Yardbarker: Chris Aguila

Place Your Bids: The Citi Field Silent Auction

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:00:49 -0500

Before taking my seat in the Pepsi Porch for Friday night's Mets-Cubs game, I stopped by the game-used equipment silent auction, located at the top of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda escalators. The best items must have been won earlier this season, because these are some of the gems still available (with opening bid listed): Ramon Castro equipment bag: $300 Game used 2nd base from August 8, 2008, innings 4-6: $400 Gustavo Molina garment bag: $150 Sandy Alomar jersey, worn Aug...

Failing The Crash Test

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:54:00 -0500

People have wondered why, with the Phillies still within sight of the Mets in the N.L. East with plenty of time to go in the season, I can't just enjoy the ride.It's because the Mets clubhouse shop doesn't sell Brooklyn Dodgers throwback edition crash helmets.Believe me, there's nothing I want more than to be positive, and look at the glass as being half full (of good strong Vodka of course.) But if you still think this season can be salvaged, and you're entitled to think ...

Afternoon Re-Blight

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 17:36:51 -0500

"Do they lose every weekday game when I'm listening at work?" a reader asked late in this afternoon's affair. If I am to assume he has listened to every weekday game this year, yeah, just about. Opening Day was a weekday game and it was triumphant (thanks in great part to the awesome relief work provided by Sean Green and J.J. Putz — boy, Opening Day was suddenly a long time ago). There have been five midweek matinees since and each of them has ranged from dismal to abysmal ...

Sign Adam Dunn: My Open Letter To Omar Minaya

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:21:56 -0500

With talk swirling of Bobby Abreu possibly signing with the Mets, and Manny Ramirez's future destination, I felt the need to make a final case for a free agent who's name generally hasn't been associated with the Mets. Today, I decided to sit down and write a letter to our team's general manager, Omar Minaya (and by write a letter to Minaya, I mean post a blog on MetsMerized and hope he would find it), on this very issue. Enjoy.Omar, I'll start this out by admitting that I...

Let's Go Mets

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:28:00 -0500

From "Play's the Thing," Woodstock Times, October 2, 2008:This year was hard, but last year was harder. Such are the crumbs on which Mets fans, bred for heartbreak by their National League ancestors in this town, must feed.Yankee fans, accustomed to greatness, were stunned once it became clear they would have to yield their playoff seat, assured for 13 consecutive years, to the upstarts from Tampa Bay. But philosophically they chalked up the outcome to a rash of injuries, over-r...

Playing With Fire

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:30:00 -0500

Sure, it was crushing.But this game, unfortunately, was lost on Saturday night.Sure, one might say that the Mets squandered the lead twice in this game – and that it's hard to lambaste the team when the starting pitcher went fewer than five innings because of an injury – but this one was really over Saturday night.You might remember Saturday night's - well, maybe Sunday morning's - Mets game, a 14-inning thriller chock full of comebacks, contributions from journeymen, and guys on ...

Did Carlos Beltran Save the Mets Season?

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:51:39 -0500

The Mets looked like they were cruising along to an easy W, when a funny thing happened on the way to the victory. Mike Pelfrey impressed for the third game in a row. He pitched eight-plus innings and only gave up one run. He threw with confidence and challenged hitters all game long. It looked like Arizona was taking a patient approach with him because of his ongoing control problems, but it backfired as he pounded the strike zone. It was probably the best game he's thrown as a Met. And he picked up his first hit of the season to boot. Maybe, just maybe we're beginning to see some consistent quality from the former first-round draft pick. But then?pow! Billy Wagner happened. As Steve Martin once said in "The Jerk" when he was about to be shown a film about the horrors of cat juggling: "Roll the ugliness." Two on, two out, two strikes, here comes the pitch