Baseball 2011, It's Back!

Birds are chirping, the breeze is warmer and the snow is starting to disappear in most places. This can only mean one thing-- it's time to play ball. I'm not going to get all Norman Rockwell on you and wax poetic about the days of yore, but I do get a certain feeling in the cockles of my heart during this week before opening day.  It's a feeling of hope; a feeling of renewal.  Some people get this feeling on New Year's Eve.  Some get it on their birthdays.  I get it on or around April 1st.  It has been happening since I was a little kid, and it still happens today. Even this year, as I sit here on March 29th, 2011, I have that very sense of hope and renewal.  As you may know, I am a rabid Mets fan, and I live and die with that team-- which is why I've been dead inside since 2007.  But the magor difference between this year and the past ten is that this year, the Mets have NO CHANCE.  None. Fahgheddaboutit. The Citi Field faithful will cheer for approximately 2 weeks before the Phillies' stranglehold begins, the Braves' young lineup and pitching shows one more year of experience, the Marlins' ever-present talent surpasses us again, and even the lowly Nationals' off-season moves prove to best the Metropolitans. I fully expect the Mets to be cellar dwellers by June.  They have ok, but questionable pitching; Santana's health is a huge question mark. Their lineup is spear-headed by a very overrated Jose Reyes, who is now a shell of the offensive threat he once was. A now very overpaid Carlos Beltran hasn't been the same since he stared at strike 3 in Game 7 of the 2007 NLCS. The 150K kid, Ike Davis, is this generations Dave Kingman.  And a host of hasbeens and never-will-bes will guarantee that your 2011 NY Mets, will finish dead last in the NL east, and possibly the NL period. And there is no end in sight.  With financial troubles abound, an owner who is so inept, he found a way to have his team forever linked with Bernie Madoff, and a star closer that's just punching people, this could be a 5 year swoon, not just one rebuilding season.

So you fans in Kansas City, San Diego, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, you're always saying that the big cities don't know what it's like to feel like you have no chance of winning.  Rest assured, there is a whole fan base in New York City with that very feeling, they just don't know it yet. But Opening day is upon us, and for that I'm thankful.  Because for just one day in the spring, everyone is in first place.
Now that my opening salvo has been shot at my beloved Mets, it's time to get into what the baseball season is really about. For me, it has not always been about the wins and loses, it's about what we did as kids that I hold so dear. Funny things, serious things, and sad stupid things.  Over the next week, and probably for the season, The Riot! will be providing the stories and analysis you won't be reading anywhere else.  Other than my downtrodden view on my NY Metropolitans, there will not be a "season preview" coming your way.  I write that because anyone who knows me, is shocked to hear me say those things. So enjoy, and Play Ball!