Loge13 was always a place where friends and family would sit and chat about all things, Mets and non-Mets.
During the lean years (pretty much every year except 1985 - 1988, 1999 - 2000, and 2006) we spent alot of time in our seats talking about everything BUT the Mets. That sort of between-inning banter has been missing from Loge13.com. Today that changes, as I feel like talking about music.
Alex Chilton has passed on. The winter has not been kind to cherished rockers. First Doug Feiger, now this. My favorite Alex Chilton story is more
about the song than the band. In 1988 the Replacements came to Boston for two
nights. So out of respect, my friends got really silly for two straight days and saw both shows.
During the day of the second show, the Mats were doing a record signing
at some music store in Kenmore Square. We showed up all wobbly, only to find the
band was even more tipsy. They were drinking 12 packs of Old
Swill and sniffing the markers they used to sign various parcels of crap. I had
them sign my copy of their rare live album "The Shit Hits The Fans" and a Ricky
Nelson tape (Paul Westerberg wrote "F*%# School" on it and told me he learned everything he
knows from Ricky).
My friend George then asked Paul to explain what
tuning he used for "Alex Chilton." It must have been the first serious question
he got all day because Paul seemed to immediately sober up and started
explaining the tuning, the chord structures, the song et al. Then he got
befuddled and said, "Tell ya what, we'll play it real slow for you tonight." He
didn't of course but my friend George swears Paul said "Pay attention" when he
started Alex Chilton that night. But we were all drunk so who really knows.
I guess I wrote all this because another great lover and creator of music has left us. So rather than wait for the next bummer news, go put on some Paul
Westerberg (or whoever your favorite shoulda-been-famous rocker is) and be
grateful they are still rocking.
Oddly, Alex received a special mention from the floor of the House of Representatives March 18th. So did the Replacements, another sign of the Apocalypse:
And here's a later version of "In the street" performed by the regrouped Big Star:
The 2010 WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony occurs at the end of March.
A few nominees have baseball ties. One is Bob Uecker for his several stints as a Wrestlemania broadcaster (Hmm that barrier to entry at the HOF is awfully high).
Perhaps the most deserving honoree is Japanese wrestler and sport ambassador Antonio Inoki. He is most famous in Loge 13 as the guy who fought Muhammad Ali live in Tokyo on June 25, 1976.
The hype for the matchup was tremendous, although the ffight itself was a dud.
"The rules of the match were announced several months in advance.
However, two days before the match a whole bunch of new rules were
added which severely limited the moves that each man could perform. The
rule change that had a major outcome on this match was that Inoki could
only throw a kick if one of his knees were on the ground. The truth
behind the last minute changes will never really be known as there are
many stories that have been floating around for the past three decades.
In this match, the only losers were the fans. The match itself
was declared a draw. Ali made over $6 million for the match while Inoki
made only $2 million. The wrestling company that he had a stake in got
to keep the gate from the live event and portions of the closed circuit
telecast."
While the Mets played
their first season at home in a ballpark other than Shea Stadium for
the first time since 1963, the team struggled for most of the year.
After the first month, the injury bug hit this team as hard as it has
ever hit a ball club in the history of this game. As the stars fell,
so did the Mets in the standings. By September, Citi Field's empty
seats finally resembled the many empty fall nights at old Shea.
Those connected to the
spiritual world started to question if there was something or someone
behind this sudden streak of bad luck. Sure, the Mets would never be
considered a winning franchise, with more losing seasons that winning
ones. But, the bloating disabled list, as well as a defensive
performance that had little leaguers laughing, started to reveal that
someone or something had a score to settle.
Perhaps the Mets'
misfortunes were caused by the ghost of Shea Stadium. Or maybe it was
the baseball gods who were trying to even the score by playing a part
in the 2009 season. Maybe the proper tribute was not displayed to the
stadium next door, as ownership continued to express how Citi Field was
a great improvement, treating old Shea as the ex who was used and
abused until something better came along.
Old Shea's ghost is mad...Very Mad. It's mad because it can see how it's friends are being treated. Its like a parent protecting their children. Those children are all of us LOGE 13'ers.
Shea's ghost remembers the first time our parents brought us. The excitement we had, how our eyes opened wide to take her all in. She KNEW we would be back. She saw us there when the team failed but was thankful that we stuck by her thru the years and rewarded us with closer seats. When times turn good, she would "SHAKE" with excitement, We all felt her, knowing we were there and stuck by her.
She saw were "$iti" made us sit last year. She's mad that our friends who we sat with us "All Those Years" were split up. She sees the changes being made for 2010 but still she thinks "$iti" can do alot better. For that, I applaud her.
Only when we can return to our old seat locations at a FAIR PRICE with the friends that sat with us thru the years, will I feel Back Home. Then and only then can Shea's Ghost Rest In Peace....
I've been out most of the week at a conference. But I can't let this occasion pass without saying:
HAPPY THIRD BIRTHDAY TO MYSELF!
Yes it was three years ago Friday when I posted the Loge13 Manifesto, which inspired countless several of you to become regular readers.
We couldn't stop the destruction of Shea. We couldn't halt Jose Reyes' overactive thyroid. But we'd like to think we helped a bit in the Mets' decision to offer partial season plans at Citi Field. Oh yeah, and we caused the Great Recession. Sorry about that last thing.
Serious thanks to all of you who have tagged along these past three years. I intended to shut this site down when Shea Stadium was no more but your kindness has kept me going. See you at the ballpark in 2010 and you are welcome in Loge 13 (Section 308) anytime.
You may win a bar bet with that name. Nelson was the last pitcher to win a game at Shea Stadium. He pitched a scoreless 7th for the Marlins on Sept. 28, 2008 and got the victory (I just re-read my memory of that last game at Shea...man, what a rough day).
It is fitting that the guy with the last victory at Shea only has seven wins total in a nine year career.
Here's the story:
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Joe Nelson won the last game ever played at Shea
Stadium. He received a World Series ring for pitching just three games
with the Boston Red Sox.
The reliever's other career milestones
are less joyous -- four serious surgeries, seven major league
organizations and too many grueling days of rehabilitation for him to
count.
Now Nelson faces another challenge. He's one of about a
half dozen pitchers competing for the lone vacancy in Boston's bullpen,
a hurdle his history of dealing with adversity may help him overcome.
"I
thrive in situations like that," the right-hander said Sunday. "I love
the game. I'm 35 and I still get to play a game I've been playing since
I was 4 years old. I can't think of anything I'd rather do."
That passion has kept him going through all the trips to operating rooms and different baseball clubhouses.
Nelson
had Tommy John surgery in 1999. Operations on his right labrum, a cuff
of cartilage that stabilizes the shoulder, followed in 2001, 2002 and
2007. He missed almost four full seasons.
And he's been with
nearly twice as many organizations. After six seasons in the Atlanta
system, he moved to Boston, the New York Mets, Tampa Bay, St. Louis,
Kansas City, Florida and Tampa Bay again.
And, now, back to Boston.
"My
wife and family have always said, 'play as long as you want, as long as
you're able to, but once you quit, you're done. You're not going to
come back,' " Nelson said. "I had a lot of nights where I said, 'I
don't know if this is going to work out.' I called my friends and
they'd be like, 'Don't quit. 9-to-5 gigs are not as fun as they're
cracked up to be.' "
He gains confidence from the success he's had when healthy.
Since
his last surgery sidelined him for all of 2007, he went 3-1 with a 2.00
ERA in 59 appearances for Florida in 2008 and 3-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 42
games for Tampa Bay in 2009.
Nelson's brief stint with the Red
Sox in 2004 was far less productive. He was promoted from Triple-A
Pawtucket on July 9 and sent back there 12 days later after posting a
16.88 ERA in 2 2-3 innings.
But, just like Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez, he received a World Series ring.
"It's
a prized possession," Nelson said. "I wasn't on the postseason roster
and I only threw in a few games but I was a part of that team and they
can look in the books if they want to and go, 'yeah, he actually did
pitch.' "
The most memorable accomplishment of his career came four years later with the Marlins.
They
were at Shea Stadium on Sept. 28, 2008, the last day of the regular
season, for the final game in the 44-year-old ballpark. The Mets and
Milwaukee Brewers were tied for the NL wild-card berth. If both won or
both lost, they would meet in a one-game playoff.
But Milwaukee
beat the Chicago Cubs 3-1, and Florida beat New York 4-2, breaking a
tie in the eighth inning on a homer by Wes Helms. The next batter, Dan
Uggla, also homered. Nelson pitched just one inning, striking out two
in a perfect seventh, to earn the last win at Shea.
"That's
something I'll hold onto," he said. "I have a good friend that's a Mets
fan and I went up to home plate after the game and scooped up some dirt
and I had it authenticated by Major League Baseball and I gave it to
him for Christmas."
Nelson has won only six other major league games. He has two losses and a 4.07 ERA with 13 saves in 149 outings.
"He's
shown a lot of perseverance, both from a physical standpoint and what's
he's come back from and never being a guy who was guaranteed anything,"
Boston pitching coach John Farrell said. "We're looking for that second
lefty in the bullpen or a right-hander that can attack left-handers
efficiently. He's going to get a long look here in camp."
That's all Nelson wants.
"I
don't take any days for granted," he said. "Every day I get to put on a
uniform is special. I know one day I'm going to have to give it up, but
who knows when that will be? I've had a weird career. Maybe I'll last a
lot longer."
If he must start the season at Pawtucket, he's
willing. After all, he didn't make a major-league opening day roster
until last year, his 14th in pro baseball. He said his arm has felt
"spectacular" in spring training but knows that could change at any
time.
"Today when I go out and play catch if it feels good then
I'll make it through another day," Nelson said. "I've already lived
every kid's fantasy and if it ended today I could walk away from this
game completely satisfied because all I ever wanted to do since I was 4
years old was play in the big leagues.
I wrote about Bobby Valentine the other day. At the time he was just making appearances in print.
But yesterday he arrived in the flesh as part of his ESPN gig. The New York Times reported on his visit and the inevitable chatter about his possible return to manage.
Valentine Visits Mets; Fans Ask Him to Stay By DAVID WALDSTEIN
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Bobby Valentine stood on the top step of the Mets' dugout at Champion Stadium, just as he had done many times before. But this time he was wearing a black track suit instead of a uniform, and he was chatting amiably with Manager Jerry Manuel.
That was obviously a tantalizing image for the dozens of Mets fans sitting in the stands behind the dugout, many of whom yelled to Valentine to please return to the Mets for a second term in office. Valentine ignored those entreaties, or never heard them, and kept talking to Manuel, the third man to hold his old job since he was fired eight years ago.
Valentine, who managed the Mets from 1996 to 2002, could not be bothered with such far-fetched speculation because he was too busy pumping Manuel for information. He was not asking about palace intrigue or issues of job security, only about Manuel's team and his players.
Now a commentator for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," Valentine is in the midst of a self-initiated immersion course over three weeks to learn as much as possible about the estimated 700 baseball players he has not seen in the past six years. He is using his eyes to watch them and his ears to hear what those around them think.
"I've been away a long time," Valentine said. "A lot changes in six years. So I'm going back to school."
For two days in February, Valentine was on assignment in Florida for ESPN, but when that assignment ended, he stayed on, and has been paying his own way. With a spiral-bound book of scouting reports under his arm, Valentine is trying to learn as much as he can before opening day.
Not content to learn gradually as he goes, Valentine has attacked the task. Plan your work and work your plan is one of his mottos, and he is doing it.
In typical Valentine fashion, he first broke down the problem into manageable numbers. Before he arrived in Florida, he went through every major league roster and added up how many players he did not know.
"There were 1,322 players in the major leagues last year," he said. "I counted about 700 I didn't know."
Friends of his in the game helped him compile scouting reports on all 30 teams, and the book contains information on hundreds of players, including minor leaguers. He said each day he goes through a different team. And he is also looking to extract information from the professionals he meets.
On Wednesday, he spoke to Manuel about his players and about some of his basic baseball philosophy. He also spoke to the Mets' pitching coach, Dan Warthen, taking notes in the margins of his scouting book. He chatted with the new Mets catcher Rod Barajas about the challenges of receiving pitchers for the first time in a game situation.
He also spent time with Braves Manager Bobby Cox, with whom he had some spirited encounters over the years from opposing dugouts.
"Oh, Bobby and I just competed," Valentine said, "but I always considered him a friend that I could talk baseball with."
A few days earlier, he picked the brain of Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, chatted with the Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel and held a confab with the Phillies senior adviser Pat Gillick, among others.
"That was educational," he said. "But I don't want to make it seem like this is so laborious. I get to see a lot of old friends in the game. I just saw Burt Hooton and Brad Arnsberg. This is fun for me."
Hooton and Arnsberg played for Valentine when he managed in Texas.
After he was done gathering information on the field, Valentine walked through the stands on his way to sit with the scouts behind home plate as fans buzzed, "It's Bobby Valentine." Many asked for his autograph. Several told him how much they would like to see him back in a Mets uniform leading the team again.
On this trip through the stands with a reporter, though, Valentine ignored those pleas. Yes, he would like to manage again. And, like everyone else, he knows that if a team like the Mets gets off to a poor start and he is sitting in the "Baseball Tonight" studio sounding insightful, the cry will go up to hire him. The pleas will be especially loud in Flushing, where he was the last manager to take the Mets to the World Series.
"It's awkward," he said, sounding irritated at the subject. "I'm not here for that. I've got a different job now, and I've got a lot of work to do."
"That was obviously a tantalizing image for the dozens of Mets fans sitting in the stands behind the dugout, many of whom yelled to Valentine to please return to the Mets for a second term in office. Valentine ignored those entreaties, or never heard them, and kept talking to Manuel, the third man to hold his old job since he was fired eight years ago."
So fans were basically campaigning for Manuel to get fired, *right in front of Manuel himself.* Come on, guys. I'd like to think we could be a little classier than that.
Loge13 reader Paul asked in an earlier post if we had made any progress on our seat woes with the Mets.
Indeed we did. The entire Loge13 crew is back together again and on the right side of the field where we belong.
For the 2010 campaign, we will be in Section 308, rows 7 and 8. Our own Ron Hunt went out to the stadium this winter and scouted out locations. Thanks RH for doing the leg work.
As regular readers know, we did not renew our seats up in Promenade Box 427 and were prepared to sit out the year (or the rest of our lives). Frankly, Prom Box 427 just stunk. The view was OK, as long as you are not a fan of left field. But the standing room nonsense behind us was intolerable. Plus it just felt odd to be sitting on the third base side after 24 years of being behind first base.
The Mets front office was very accommodating, no surprise given how poor ticket sales seem to be. And the weekday game plan is still intact. The only downer to the schedule is that there are no day games at all, except for Opening Day.
Obviously, the weekday plans are great for us. If they forced us to take a bunch of weekend games, we'd never do it. So my empathy is with all you Saturday and Sunday plan veterans out there. What are the Mets saying about just offering pure weekend plans again? Any chance it will happen? Let me know.
Congratulations on your new digs. I hope you enjoy them.
I've read elsewhere that the Mets received a lot of flack from 15-gamers for the Fri, Sat, and Sun plans for them being split 10 and 5. That other team created their 15-game Fri, Sat, and Sun plans as 13+2. At least they get all the ___day games in their plan. With the Mets, apparently you don't. The Ticket Office admitted this was a big reason for fans not renewing, but said that, at least for 2010, there will be no change to the plan structure. Only time will tell if the ticket office wises up and makes some SMART changes for 2011, like, bringing back Shea-like plans.
There is only so much crap that your fans are willing to eat.
All the best in your new home. Unlike you, We have NO HOME. We were unwilling to compromise. After 23 years we wanted what we had at Shea. That was Loge-Type seats between the bases, a SATURDAY ONLY Plan with Playoff rights. At $iti Field that meant Caesars Level Sects 311 to 327. We were offered Sect 326 or 312 but we were not willing to pay that price for 5 middle of the week games we would not go to or recoup the average price of $80 per seat cost. Maybe for the Tigers in Aug but not for the Cubs (In April) Washington, Rockies or Pirates.
So its off to Plan "B". This worked very well last year when we abandoned our Sect 430 seats by July and payed half price for tickets the rest of the season.
Again, best of luck at your new home....
Paul
Thanks Paul. I feel for you and your crew. It is just plain goofy that the Mets abandoned the weekend-only plan. Hang tough and if Loge13 can help spread the word, just say the word.
It's obvious when you look at the plan structures that have been in place since 2009 that the Mets MBA's apparently packaged games to sell the most tickets, figuring that the team wouldn't be sucking, and that demand for seating in the new park would drive up demand.
Well, the 'new park' fancy wearing off and half the team being on IR in 2009 jettisoned those plans.
What games will they sell, regardless? Opening Day, plus the three against the Yankees. So, lets market one of those games in a package. 20 games is too much. Let's make them 15.
Oh wait, we still have to sell another batch of games that have no draw? What to do? Let's steal 3 Friday, 3 Saturday, and 3 Sunday games from plans that will sell and lump them with 6 games that we can't sell on their own merit, and presto! the weekend-plus plan!
So there you have it. Five plans that were designed to sell the most tickets possible, based on a good team and a strong demand for a ticket to the new park.
I am hoping, that in 2011, the Mets realize that they will need to restructure their partial plans to bring back those who, guess what, only want to / can go to games on certain days of the week.
The Mets were always very generous with their partial plans when compared to other clubs, and here's hope that they become generous yet again.
Apparently, Igarashi's curve ball is not up to major league standards (Note to the front office - awesome signing. My curve ball is also weak. Can I get a job? I'm a lefty, if that would help seal the deal.).
Our still-employed pitching coach Dan Warthen has recommended Igarashi learn a slider to replace that wobbly curve. This is all interesting talk but what makes this article memorable is the source reporter David Waldstein contacted for comment:
"Bobby Valentine, who managed the Chiba Lotte Marines for seven years in two stints, saw Igarashi pitch in interleague play there and agreed with Warthen about his curveball.
He also says practice is paramount for Japanese players. In Japan, a pitcher might practice a new pitch for a full year, throwing it thousands of times, before unleashing it in a game.
"I'm sure Igarashi threw a lot of pitches in the off-season and over the years to prepare for coming here, and the slider isn't one of them," Valentine said. "But he could be a quick learner."
This three grafs are the best part of spring training so far. Bobby V is back on U.S. soil and clearly pacing his Connecticut estate, waiting for the Jerry Manuel era to end. NY sports reporters probably can't resist turning to their old pal to weigh in on his former club. And here is Bobby V in all his glory. We get:
- The worldly Bobby (he managed in Japan for seven years, ya know)
- The gracious Bobby (agreeing with Warthen)
- The passively combatant Bobby (he disagrees with Warthen. "Don't you know Japanese pitchers need a year to learn a new pitch? Oh that's right. You didn't manage for seven years in Japan.")
- And then my favorite: the wise-ass Bobby ("I'm sure Ryota is a quick learner. Wink, wink. Did I tell you I just got back from Japan?")
We're wasting time people. We need Bobby Valentine now, not in June when the Mets are 15 games under 500 and we're still blowing on the embers under Maine's/Perez's/Pelfrey's feet, hoping these guys catch fire some day. Bobby is not going to issue some Gary Carter-esque plea for the manager gig. He needs to be asked. Lets go Mets. Hire Bobby Valentine already so we can start getting ready for the 2011 season.
Ahhh,I read your posts on TRDMB and you certainly don't sound like one of "The Nattering Nabobs of Negativity" at all. Unfortunately, in this Bobby V. article,you do! Hopefully the 'Mets Blog' like pessimism you displayed here was done tongue in cheek. Don't fall sway to the dark side! lol.
No worries, Steve B. I'm just joshing. I do believe that Bobby V would help the team. I'm not rooting for Jerry Manuel to fail but if things go south, our old pal would be an asset. Clearly my Loge13 neighbor Ron Hunt disagrees but I love him anyway.
The NY Daily News has the story today of an 85-year-old beer vendor's law suit against Aramark.
Mildred Block, 85, says during Shea Stadium's final season, she was replaced at her lucrative beer station in right field with a younger employee, resulting in lost wages and tips.
The fact that the "younger employee" was 75 years was one of the factors that got her age discrimination suit thrown out yesterday.
I loved those sweet seniors who worked the beer stands at Shea, some of whom made the transition to Citi Field. I believed their slow service was a benefit. Many times, those long lines kept me from buying that extra beer I didn't need, saving me hundreds, maybe thousands, of dollars in the long run. Good luck with your appeal, Mildred. You are welcome in Loge 13 anytime.
Age discrimination suit tossed after Mets beer vendor, 85, is replaced by 75-year-old
An 85-year-old woman who sold suds at Mets games was crying in her beer Friday after a judge junked her age discrimination suit against the company that replaced her with a 75-year-old.
Mildred Block sued concession giant Aramark last year, charging it illegally yanked her from a lucrative beer stand during the last season at Shea Stadium.
"Everyone was like, 'Mildred, what happened?'" said the New Jersey woman. "I worked there so many years, and I think I'm an excellent worker."
Block said she was marooned at a Shea booth where tips were scarce compared to the right field stand where she'd been for nearly two decades, pocketing $40 in tips on good days.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joan Lobis sided with the New York City Commission on Human Rights, which determined it was "highly unlikely" that Aramark had discriminated.
The decision pointed out the company replaced Block - who still works for Aramark at the new Citi Field - with Gloria Smith, 75.
Block and her son, Marty, accused the commission of a "one-sided, abbreviated, incomplete and improper investigation."
Marty Block, who started working at Shea in 1973, claimed an Aramark manager told him, "Your mother is an antique dinosaur, old cripple that we do not want at Citi Field."
Aramark declined comment. In court papers, the company said it received complaints about long lines at the stand where Mildred Block worked with a male partner 40 years her junior. Block insisted she's still good enough for the beer-stand bigs, and that she "never made a mistake with the change."
"I couldn't go any faster than he served the beer," she said.
Looks like "Budweiser DAVE" from the Loge won't be seeing me this year. So far, no "JUST SATURDAY" Plan. Hey Kingman, How are you and the Loge 13 gang making out? Any Luck???
We former Loge 13er's have relocated to the Caesars Club!! Back on the first base / right field side of the park too. Section 308, rows 7 & 8. Hot stuff!!
The NY Daily News 
Old Shea's ghost is mad...Very Mad. It's mad because it can see how it's friends are being treated. Its like a parent protecting their children. Those children are all of us LOGE 13'ers.
Shea's ghost remembers the first time our parents brought us. The excitement we had, how our eyes opened wide to take her all in. She KNEW we would be back. She saw us there when the team failed but was thankful that we stuck by her thru the years and rewarded us with closer seats. When times turn good, she would "SHAKE" with excitement, We all felt her, knowing we were there and stuck by her.
She saw were "$iti" made us sit last year. She's mad that our friends who we sat with us "All Those Years" were split up. She sees the changes being made for 2010 but still she thinks "$iti" can do alot better. For that, I applaud her.
Only when we can return to our old seat locations at a FAIR PRICE with the friends that sat with us thru the years, will I feel Back Home. Then and only then can Shea's Ghost Rest In Peace....