Ezra has an anecdote about how a restaurant labeling its menu items with calorie counts would have changed his lunch order. At the Mets game Saturdy we noticed that the roving food vendors now wear buttons advertising the calorie counts of their wares. It was a welcome bit of information, and did lead one of our number away from the fallacious "not sure if I could eat a whole hot dog, maybe just a soft pretzel" line of thinking.
The game, by the way, was great, and we all had a blast on our first visits to Citi Field. Santana was amazing, and though for the most of the game he didn't leave the rest of the Mets defense with much to do (probably a good thing), we did get to see a double play in the latter innings. And though rain threatened from about the seventh inning stretch on, it held off until we were on the way home.
Showing posts with label reds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reds. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, May 12, 2008
Bike to Shea Day Addendum
Oops, forgot to link to the other pictures I took, and Blogger won't let me edit the other post. Some pics along the ride and then some at the game, including some 3D anaglyph ones.
Bike to Shea Day
Bike to Shea Day was a blast! Peter changed two flats, Nate spotted a couple warblers, I only almost drove us on to the Grand Central Parkway once, we all got All-Star ballots, and the Mets won 12-6!
Johan Santana was good, but I don't think at the top of his game. The game started out with a goofy error and a good old-fashioned pickle, and there were a lot of other fun moments. You know, as baseball tends to have. Emma and her friend Jose both know their baseball, so it was fun talking to them.
Nate had his "field glasses" (bird-watching jargon for "binoculars") with him, and took advantage of Shea's location in former wetlands to try to spot some birds. He'd been birding earlier that morning, so he had his field guide with him as well.
View Larger Map
As Andrew had predicted, it really did turn out to be "Bike to Shea Day," with the emphasis on the "to": the TransAlt tent wasn't even up anymore when the game let out, there were no cue sheets for the return trip, and people were kind of just clumping up to try and blaze a trail home together, post-apocalyptic road warrior style. I believe one pair even said they were taking their bikes on the 7 train. We muddled our way home without too many missteps.
Overall, a great afternoon. The ride isn't as scenic as the trip up the West Side bike path to Yankee Stadium, but you do go through some neat different areas, including some crazy industrial parts of Queens, and it's all nice and flat with no grueling climb at the end. Really it's not much farther than the Cyclones, though the beers are a lot pricier when you get there.
Johan Santana was good, but I don't think at the top of his game. The game started out with a goofy error and a good old-fashioned pickle, and there were a lot of other fun moments. You know, as baseball tends to have. Emma and her friend Jose both know their baseball, so it was fun talking to them.
Nate had his "field glasses" (bird-watching jargon for "binoculars") with him, and took advantage of Shea's location in former wetlands to try to spot some birds. He'd been birding earlier that morning, so he had his field guide with him as well.
View Larger Map
As Andrew had predicted, it really did turn out to be "Bike to Shea Day," with the emphasis on the "to": the TransAlt tent wasn't even up anymore when the game let out, there were no cue sheets for the return trip, and people were kind of just clumping up to try and blaze a trail home together, post-apocalyptic road warrior style. I believe one pair even said they were taking their bikes on the 7 train. We muddled our way home without too many missteps.
Overall, a great afternoon. The ride isn't as scenic as the trip up the West Side bike path to Yankee Stadium, but you do go through some neat different areas, including some crazy industrial parts of Queens, and it's all nice and flat with no grueling climb at the end. Really it's not much farther than the Cyclones, though the beers are a lot pricier when you get there.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Bike to Shea Day Tomorrow!
I slept on this last year, but tomorrow I'm totally going to Bike to Shea! I'm totally psyched. I'm not the baseball cap or jersey type (though a fitted t-shirt could tempt me), but I did have to grab some kicks:
It looks like Johan's going to start. I'm psyched to see him strike out Ken Griffey!
It looks like Johan's going to start. I'm psyched to see him strike out Ken Griffey!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Mets @ Reds
John Maine! You let me down again! How's the televised day game supposed to help get me through my work day like that? Joey Votto's first big league hit being a home run was pretty neat, though. I also thought Humber looked good when he first came to relieve, but then he also gave up a couple. The Mets' fielding was pretty disappointing all round, actually. Bah. Two running sweeps was a lot to hope for, I suppose.
And as I type this I'm watching my Mariners having another go at the hated Yankees. GO EMS!
And as I type this I'm watching my Mariners having another go at the hated Yankees. GO EMS!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Mets vs. Reds
I caught the first couple innings of the Mets game on TV before social obligations drew me away. I think I've got scorekeeping figured out at this point. The stupid thing about it is that the plays that require the most documentation are also the ones where you really want to just put your snacks down, stand up, and watch the play, and instead you're hunched over writing it all down. And then during the pauses in the action, you don't really have much to do, so your mind wanders.
I said before that keeping score reminded me of rolling up stats for an RPG character, but after spending a little more time at it, it's actually more like filling out a tax return: I think it's sort of fun and satisfying in a way, but I wouldn't want to do it every day, and probably wouldn't at all unless someone was making me. And any anxiety you might have about missing a play while in the bathroom or whatnot is just compounded when you feel like you have to be there to document every single (literally!) thing, or you'll be audited.
It was tied at deuces going into the bottom (nullus) of the third when I left to meet my friends for The Day the Earth Stood Still in the park. It was fun, and then we had some beers, and then I was pleased to come home and find that my much-celebrated New York Mets had triumphed over the Red Communists of Cincinnati.
Update: My Seattle Mariners stepped up against the Tigers last night as well. The video of that play is worth watching. Not even sure how I'd score that one on paper.
I said before that keeping score reminded me of rolling up stats for an RPG character, but after spending a little more time at it, it's actually more like filling out a tax return: I think it's sort of fun and satisfying in a way, but I wouldn't want to do it every day, and probably wouldn't at all unless someone was making me. And any anxiety you might have about missing a play while in the bathroom or whatnot is just compounded when you feel like you have to be there to document every single (literally!) thing, or you'll be audited.
It was tied at deuces going into the bottom (nullus) of the third when I left to meet my friends for The Day the Earth Stood Still in the park. It was fun, and then we had some beers, and then I was pleased to come home and find that my much-celebrated New York Mets had triumphed over the Red Communists of Cincinnati.
Update: My Seattle Mariners stepped up against the Tigers last night as well. The video of that play is worth watching. Not even sure how I'd score that one on paper.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Family Vacation
The last week of June, Nate and I drove down to Cape May Point, a charming whites-only resort town at the very Southern tip of the New Jersey shore, where my parents had rented a beach house. We saw hawks, dolphins, bunnies, crabs, a shark, and even a frog:
And we ate a cubic assload of seafood and played tons of sports.
Sadly, there was no minor league ball nearby, but we were in Phillies territory, so we got to see a bit of baseball on the television. Philadelphia had a series against the Reds, and my dad told me all about Jamie Moyer, who I guess used to pitch for Seattle. Seeing Ken Griffey Jr. go up against him was extra cool. At the end of the week they started a series with my treasured New York Mets, and I saw the good guys roll right over them in both games of a double header.
After dropping my sister off at the airport in Philly, Nate and I drove back into the city, and I listened to essentially the entire game, first on a Philly station and then on WFAN as it came into range. It was a fun game to listen to, though there was one near catch that I really wished I could see video of. It was a good way to pass the time during the drive. I've always found sports radio broadcasts really hard to follow, but with a little effort it really wasn't much worse than watching TV...maybe a little harder to catch up after you zone out, but really not that bad.
Update: I found video of that near-catch. It was by Aaron Rowand on Beltran's second homer, and it's in the highlight reel under the "Top Play" video link on the wrapup.
And we ate a cubic assload of seafood and played tons of sports.
Sadly, there was no minor league ball nearby, but we were in Phillies territory, so we got to see a bit of baseball on the television. Philadelphia had a series against the Reds, and my dad told me all about Jamie Moyer, who I guess used to pitch for Seattle. Seeing Ken Griffey Jr. go up against him was extra cool. At the end of the week they started a series with my treasured New York Mets, and I saw the good guys roll right over them in both games of a double header.
After dropping my sister off at the airport in Philly, Nate and I drove back into the city, and I listened to essentially the entire game, first on a Philly station and then on WFAN as it came into range. It was a fun game to listen to, though there was one near catch that I really wished I could see video of. It was a good way to pass the time during the drive. I've always found sports radio broadcasts really hard to follow, but with a little effort it really wasn't much worse than watching TV...maybe a little harder to catch up after you zone out, but really not that bad.
Update: I found video of that near-catch. It was by Aaron Rowand on Beltran's second homer, and it's in the highlight reel under the "Top Play" video link on the wrapup.
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