So having tired of the packed-in crowds at the Long Island Ducks baseball games, we opted instead for the relatively emptiness of major league baseball by going to Shea stadium on Saturday. The bit-more-than-half filled stadium was hemorrhaging fans by the seventh inning as the Mets found themselves down 10-4 to the Cardinals. We hung out since we had reasonably good seats in foul ball territory (although we didn't catch any.)
Going into the bottom of the ninth, still down 10-4, the roving camera guy in the "crowd" aimed his lens at two nuns. The nuns appeared on the Jumbotron and one of them promptly crossed herself and clasped together her hands in supplication. The message was clear: Only Jesus could help the Mets now.
Whereupon the Mets promptly rallied. Before a stunned crowd and a fumbling Cardinals outfield, the Mets strung together five runs, bringing it to 10-9 and runners on the corners with two outs. Unfortunately Jesus must have sneezed or his attention was drawn elsewhere for a moment, because a long fly ball caught by a running Cards outfielder ended the game one short of a total comeback. Still, a 10-9 nail-bitter was a hell of a lot more entertaining than the 10-4 blowout we thought we were going to end up with.
And apparently to make up to the Rally Nuns for his lapse, Jesus came on strong for the Sunday game and the Mets won 13-5.
All those times I sat there, watched the Mets and muttered "Chriiiist," who knew? I'm only hoping the Rally Nuns come there regularly from now on. The Mets need all the help they can get.
PAD
Posted by Peter David at August 4, 2003 11:10 AM | TrackBack | Other blogs commentingI would have thought the Nuns would have been rooting for the Cardinals!
Ahhh, those poor nuns never work. Ask the Red Sox or the Cubs. ^_^
Watching the Mets lose is almost as much fun as watching the Yorkies lose. :-)
Well, actually I do kinda feel for the poor Mets at times. Their farm system is such a disaster, and they made all these high-risk gambles on old players who might bounce back - and didn't. At least they've finally gotten their heads on straight and are trading anyone and everyone who's not likely to be part of the next good Mets team. (I'm sure Jim Duquette regrets not being able to move Glavine or Leiter before the trade deadline.)
Of course, that next good Mets team is probably 3 years away at this point, assuming things break right.
As you can guess I'm, uh, not a fan of New York sports teams. (Although I do have Jose Reyes on my fantasy team.)
"I would have thought the Nuns would have been rooting for the Cardinals!"
A friend's reply to that was: "And who would they cheer for if it was a Cardinals-Padres matchup? :)"
I'm betting the Cardinals, if only because they're higher up on the ecclesiastic food chain. ;-)
"Ahhh, those poor nuns never work. Ask the Red Sox or the Cubs. ^_^ "
As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I resent being lumped in with the Cubs. The Red Sox usually do well, but just can't win the World Series. The Cubs are perennial losers.
This is a damned good record:
Year League Record Finish Manager High OPS Low ERA Year
2002 AL East 93-69 2 Grady Little Ramirez Martinez 2002
2001 AL East 82-79 2 Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan Ramirez Wakefield 2001
2000 AL East 85-77 2 Jimy Williams Garciaparra Martinez 2000
1999 AL East 94-68 WC 2 Jimy Williams Garciaparra Martinez 1999
1998 AL East 92-70 WC 2 Jimy Williams Vaughn Martinez 1998
1997 AL East 78-84 4 Jimy Williams Vaughn Gordon 1997
1996 AL East 85-77 3 Kevin Kennedy Vaughn Clemens 1996
1995 AL East 86-58 DIV 1 Kevin Kennedy Vaughn Wakefield 1995
1994 AL East 54-61 4 Butch Hobson Vaughn Clemens 1994
1993 AL East 80-82 5 Butch Hobson Vaughn Viola 1993
1992 AL East 73-89 7 Butch Hobson Brunansky Clemens 1992
1991 AL East 84-78 2 Joe Morgan Boggs Clemens 1991
1990 AL East 88-74 DIV 1 Joe Morgan Burks Clemens 1990
1989 AL East 83-79 3 Joe Morgan Boggs Clemens 1989
1988 AL East 89-73 DIV 1 John McNamara and Joe Morgan Boggs Clemens 1988
1987 AL East 78-84 5 John McNamara Boggs Clemens 1987
1986 AL East 95-66 AL 1 John McNamara Boggs Clemens 1986
1985 AL East 81-81 5 John McNamara Boggs Boyd 1985
1984 AL East 86-76 4 Ralph Houk Evans Nipper 1984
1983 AL East 78-84 6 Ralph Houk Boggs Ojeda 1983
1982 AL East 89-73 3 Ralph Houk Evans Stanley 1982
1981 AL East 59-49 Ralph Houk Evans Torrez 1981
1980 AL East 83-77 4 Don Zimmer and Johnny Pesky Evans Stanley 1980
1979 AL East 91-69 3 Don Zimmer Lynn Eckersley 1979
1978 AL East 99-64 2 Don Zimmer Rice Eckersley 1978
1977 AL East 97-64 3 Don Zimmer Rice Jenkins 1977
1976 AL East 83-79 3 Darrell Johnson and Don Zimmer Lynn Tiant 1976
1975 AL East 95-65 AL 1 Darrell Johnson Lynn Lee 1975
1974 AL East 84-78 3 Darrell Johnson Yastrzemski Tiant 1974
1973 AL East 89-73 2 Eddie Kasko and Eddie Popowski Yastrzemski Lee 1973
1972 AL East 85-70 2 Eddie Kasko Fisk Tiant 1972
1971 AL East 85-77 3 Eddie Kasko Smith Siebert 1971
1970 AL East 87-75 3 Eddie Kasko Yastrzemski Culp 1970
1969 AL East 87-75 3 Dick Williams and Eddie Popowski Petrocelli Nagy 1969
1968 American Lg 86-76 4 Dick Williams Yastrzemski Culp 1968
1967 American Lg 92-70 AL 1 Dick Williams Yastrzemski Stange 1967
Yes, the sox do well EXCEPT THEY CAN'T WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS. It's fantastic to be a great regular season team. We should go back to the 1800's and have the world champion be decided by the regular season wins leader.
Face it. The Red Sox, as a franchise, have the same record of success as the Cubs. If anything, the Red Sox can claim to be a more compelling team based on the horrific nature of their near misses. Bill Simmons, of ESPN.com, explains for better than i do.
Yes, the sox do well EXCEPT THEY CAN'T WIN IN THE PLAYOFFS. It's fantastic to be a great regular season team. We should go back to the 1800's and have the world champion be decided by the regular season wins leader.
Face it. The Red Sox, as a franchise, have the same record of success as the Cubs. If anything, the Red Sox can claim to be a more compelling team based on the horrific nature of their near misses. Bill Simmons, of ESPN.com, explains for better than i do
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
I'm a fan of the football equivalent of the Red Sox, the Miami Dolphins. Last year they had 8 different ways to get into the playoffs and blew every single one.
David
I try not to leave the ballpark before the end of the game unless I'm freezing to death -- which is a definite possibility at Wrigley Field in April or September. (Heck, I had to take a jacket to a night game in July this year.)
And occasionally, I'm rewarded with a game like the one that you saw Saturday. Several years ago, I had my brother's company's seats for a game at the Ballpark in Arlington. We were three rows off the field, looking straight down the third base line. Definitely potential foul ball territory, although you certainly wanted to duck if someone managed to line one back in that direction.
The Dodgers were way ahead going to the bottom of the ninth and the Rangers scored seven runs to win the game. The fans who were left in the stadium went wild. :)
That said, I'm happy that you got to see a more entertaining finish that you might have and (as an unregenerate Cards fan) that the Cardinals still won.
Better luck against the Astros! (Please? We could use the help...)
Yeah, sticking with games until the very end can sometimes bring you an unexpected treat. Kind of like when the Braves down 8 to 3 rallied in the bottom of the 8th a couple of weeks back to take one from the Mets. (Sorry PAD, I've been a diehard Braves fan from the time I was old enough to grip a baseball, way back in the Dale Murphy days.)
All those times I sat there, watched the Mets and muttered "Chriiiist," who knew?
Obviously you have to be a nun for that to work.
Mr. D., I hope you're not thinking of converting. As an "escaped" Catholic, I'm seeing more awful things from Catholic priests and nuns in the last year than in any year of my life. These two nuns must have been an exception.
Tonight, my TV station's news had a report about a Catholic priest who was arrested for soliciting prostitution from an undercover decoy. That didn't upset me as much as the price he had negotiated. Twenty bucks. TWENTY bucks! What a cheapskate! I didn't know hookers were providing clerical discounts. Or maybe he promised her he'd go in the stands for the next Orlando Magic game and say a few (they need prayers more than the Mets).
(Tyler S said)
As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I resent being lumped in with the Cubs. The Red Sox usually do well, but just can't win the World Series. The Cubs are perennial losers.
This is a damned good record:
(lots of stats mercifully left uncut)
Hey, sorry. I lumped them in together because I like both teams. But then too, this is one of those 'the knowledge of heaven is the essence of hell' arguments, too. What is worse, having good teams close to every year and still wind up having to drown sorrows over Game 7 against the '75 Reds, or Bucky Dent's shot, or Buckner's error, just because they've been that close... or is it worse just being out of it every year by late August or September?
Hard to say. I can sympathize with the pain of both.
Ahhh, those poor nuns never work. Ask the Red Sox or the Cubs. ^_^ "
As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I resent being lumped in with the Cubs. The Red Sox usually do well, but just can't win the World Series. The Cubs are perennial losers.
**Hey, God has blessed the Cubs often. Just never in October.
As for the whiny Red Sox, GO YANKEES!!!**
A Cubs fan knows that anyone can have a bad century.
And Peter, if you're a fan of the Long Island Ducks, you may want to read Neal Conan's book, Play by Play. Conan, the host of NPR's Talk of the Nation, spent a year travelling with the Aberdeen Arsenal of the Atlantic League as their radio announcer, and he chronicles the trials and tribulations of the League in the shadow of the major and minor leagues. It's very readable, and often compelling.