Thoughts: Home Opener

...from brogna blog...

I attended yesterday's game- the first time I have ever been to a home opener. And let me tell you, even though it was cold, the fans were pumped during the game. Here's a synopsis of what happened.

Phillies Introductions- The Phillies were, as you could of guessed, booed mercilessly. Manager Charlie Manuel was the first member of the team to be met with real boos, and Ryan Howard was booed pretty hard as well. Brett Myers got it real bad, for his comments in the off-season. But none could compare to the hatred shown towards shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who also made some comments about how his team was "the team to beat".
Mets Introductions- The first coach, or anyone for that matter, to get a nice reception was first base coach Howard Johnson, who actually got the nicest ovation of the day. Willie Randolph received a nice round of applause, as did Mr. Jose Reyes. Reyes was met by the ever famous "Jose" chants. David Wright was not met by the greatest cheers, which was a sup rise to me, but nevertheless, got a nice little ovation. Endy Chavez got a massive cheer both when introduced and when he pinch ran in the eighth inning. The only player to get booed somewhat was Aaron Heilman, which was terrible in my mind. Obviously it was due to his performance against Atlanta the day before, that does not warrant a boo in my mind at all. He did get some cheers, however.
...you can not boo aaron heilman, arguably our best reliever. you can't. inexcusable. however, a nice job by howie rose on the intro...

The Game- The fans were not really "amped" during the game, probably due to the freezing temperatures. I, while sitting in the upper deck, wore an Under Armour, a sweatshirt, and my Carlos Beltran jersey, an I still needed a blanket.

I would have to say the fourth inning was when the fans really got into it, more specifically when Rollins grounded into the inning-ending double play and in the bottom half of the inning when Valentin hit the two run single to take a 2-1 lead.

The Mets fans were generally displeased from the getgo from when Randolph brought in reliever Ambiorix Burgos, who replaced John Maine, who looked decent, giving up only 2 runs despite only pitching 4 2/3 innings. Although Burgos got the last out of the fifth inning, he imploded, letting two men get on, ultimately leading to a three run homer by the first baseman Howard.

How eve, the eighth inning was insane. The fans were going wild after the Rollins boot, the wild pitch by Geoff Geary, and the near grand slam by Wright.

All in all, a terrific game. And a terrific job by the fans.

...a great game indeed. the place was packed, over 56,000, and the scoreboard indicated it was a new record for shea stadium. the lines were long at every establishment in the place. it took me 10 minutes to get some fries, 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, and 10 minutes to get a sausage and peppers, a line that i got off after realizing it would of taken forever...

...unfortunately, i did not take the train, and the traffic was crazy. as the game ended around 4:30, i got home around 6:30. not to mention, we got in a little fender bender, but that's a story for another day...

...not to mention i was on tv, during the intro for the game on sny. very cool...