What it's Like to Be a Mets Fan

So I'm on my way home from Albany as I think to myself, "wow I really haven't blogged in ages. I don't deserve to be followed." So what better time than now to write my first entry in a while.

What's it like to be a Mets fan? Well, imagine an oyster. And every so often this oyster opens its shell to reveal a bright and promising pearl. The possibility of obtaining this pearl sets off a whirlwind of emotions. The 'what ifs' mixed with the 'could bes'. The emotions trigger the imagination, and the imagination triggers hope. But it just so happens that to grab this pearl is not as simple as good timing. Every time you reach for it, your fingertips getting close to the inside of the oyster, it SNAPS shut! Sometimes the outer ridge even scrapes or pricks your fingers, and its often painful. But you keep going back anyway, because the prospect that is that pearl shines oh so bright.

But then you work up enough courage and frustration to make one indefensible attempt at reaching that pearl. You time it perfectly, you get your fingers inside the oyster, but when you arrive at where that pearl should be, the shell violently shuts on your hand and the pearl is nowhere to be found. You are left with broken fingers, and a broken morale. You, like the majority of the 2009 New York Mets roster have landed on the DL.

I felt the need to post this after the latest victim, and face of the Mets franchise, David Wright was hit in the head by a fastball from Giants' pitcher Matt Cain. As Wright laid face down on the dirt, hardly moving, it was the perfect encapsulation of the 2009 Mets season. Talent, skill, possibilities, all blind sided and send to the ground. Possibilities which appeared more and more as illusions.

It's beyond coincidence at this point. Now, all 4 of the Mets core positional players (Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado) are on the DL together. Add in about 13 other players who have spent time on that special list. A season that, at its start seemed promising, as Sports Illustrated picked (and cursed) the Mets as their choice as champions of 2009, became more and more of a disaster.

So this is not a time for me, or other Mets fans, to lament any longer. No, this is a time to applaud yourself for being a foolish, but true die hard fan, and sitting through a real life nightmare lasting about 6 months. Pat yourself on the back Mets fans, the season is nearing its end and you have survived one of the most ridiculous, absurd, and after a while strangely predictable seasons to date. This is also a good luck to the fans of all other teams (except Phillies fans), get that ring. There's always next year Mets fans, hang around. I hear 2010 calls for an infirmary addition to Citi Field where the Mo's Zone currently resides.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New Video - Cannon Instrumental

I apologize for not posting much recently. I've been busy in other areas, such as writing, distributing, networking, and recording tracks such as this phone. Thanks to Paul for helping with with the video.

Never Judge a Book By Its Cover...

I tweeted and shared this yesterday but I figure I should add it to the blog as well, if you have yet to see this, prepare for a surprise...

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

A.Gyle's 2009 MLB Predictions

Alright, so, I love baseball, you love baseball (well, you should), we all love baseball. The 2009 MLB season begins tomorrow night, so it's time for my predictions. I will take you through who will win each division and wild card, the major individual awards, and then I will give you 10 random/semi-haughty predictions for 2009. Here we go:

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays (This was a ridiculously hard decision, I apologize, Yankee fans, see prediction #10)

AL Champion: Boston Red Sox

AL MVP: Mark Teixeira
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL ROY: David Price

NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Philadelphia Phillies

NL Champion: New York Mets

NL MVP: Carlos Beltran
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
NL ROY: Cameron Maybin

World Series: Mets over Red Sox in 7 games*

* While my predictions may seem biased, I want to note that 2006 was the last year I actually felt the Mets would go all the way (they lost in 7 to the Cardinals in the NLCS). I felt they would win their division the past 2 seasons, and they were on pace to do so before choking it away. With their remade bullpen and despite the support of Sports Illustrated, I truly feel this is the year. Sue me.

10 Random/Semi-Haughty Predictions:

1. Daniel Murphy will hit .315 with 22HR 105 RBI along with 45 doubles and 15 SB... and would have ran away with the NL ROY had he had 2 less at bats last season.

2. The first no hitter in Mets history will be thrown by either Johan Santana or Mike Pelfrey now that Shea Stadium no longer stands.

3. Alex Rodriguez will come back in May and still manage to hit 40 HR on the season.

4. David Price, once called up and given the ball will post an ERA under 2.75 and strike out 11 per 9 IP en route to winning the ROY.

5. C.C. Sabathia will be a work horse, and while still managing to post 18 wins will see his ERA raise a point back up to 3.70... A.J. Burnett will not surpass 25 starts.

6. Miguel Cabrera will see an AL sophomore season that looks like .325 46HR 128RBI and would have easily won the MVP had the Tigers played better baseball.

7. The San Francisco Giants will be in the running to win the NL West up until the last week of the season.

8. The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves will battle for the NL Wild Card up until the final weekend of the regular season.

9. Pedro Martinez will sign with a team by May 15th after an injury to a significant SP.

10. The Red Sox, Rays, and Yankees will all post over 92 wins and see the race of 3 teams for 2 playoff spots come down to at least one playoff game.

Bonus: There will be no teams with 100+ wins.

Daily Dose of Lyricism 4/4/09

Not much to say. Discovered this one in a friend's facebook status. Just sensational lyrics, love a song that makes you wonder. Hope you like it.

Where's the 'Madness' in March Madness?

Coming in a year where there seems to be a lot less drama than is to be expected from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (with the elite 8 being comprised of all 4 #1 seeds, 2 #2s, and 2 #3s), I beg the answer to the question, where is the 'madness' in March Madness? Your boy has the solution.

I don't know how many of you used to watch Nickelodeon GUTS back in the day. But if you didn't you should have, especially since you had years of syndication to catch it. The show provided us with 3 kids around the age of 13 who would dress up in outrageous athletic gear of three feuding colors (Blue, Red, and Purple) and compete against one another in activities that were even more outrageous than their attire and equipment. These kids would paddle across swimming pools while balancing on boogie boards, smash big wheels into Styrofoam stones, and eventually climb a plague filled mountain in hopes of earning a piece of it. What an adventure.

Now imagine UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, and Pittsburgh's Dejuan Blair dressed in blue, red, and purple bike shorts with harnesses strapped to each of them. Imagine a basketball hoop placed in the middle of a room, or rather a tee with a basketball placed on top of it 25 feet in the air. Strap bungee chords to their harnesses, give them a minute and a half and see which one of them can grab the most basketballs off of the tee. Now that's madness. Set up three hoops thirty feet high and see who could slam home the most basketballs. Set up one hoop in the middle and have one team defend it for the first half and switch off for the second half. Best score wins.

Let's use our imaginations, let's use our memories. Let's infuse some true 'madness'. The GUTS way.

Sick of Being Sick... The Pledge

So I've been out of commission for a while, most recently do to illness... I apologize, and I will really try and post more often now.

Writing. To write. I trip over my left shoelace, my arms dangling loosely by my sides. It's the first time I've left my house in 5 treacherous days. I notice a spiraling jet stream of an airplane fading into the distance. Things haven't changed. I notice the distinct smell of cherry Italian ices. You know, not Marino's, not that commercial kind, but the one they scoop into those small, creased, and eventually soggy white paper cups at every local pizza place in Queens. The sounds of different birds are more noticeable to me than the sounds of the traffic. Maybe things have changed. 4 days can seem like an eternity, especially when you're doing nothing, and feel like you're deteriorating. I could have sworn I was going to walk out of my house today and President Obama's first term would be over. Thankfully it wasn't, thankfully I'm still only 22 years old, and thankfully it looks like I'm regaining my health (and soon enough the weight I lost). But time wasted, whether avoidable or not, is nothing less than frustrating, and I might be wasting too much of it. So right here, right now, is my pledge, to myself and to those reading, and I invite you to take part in it as well... for you, so read it with me:

I pledge... from this point on in my life, to step up my game, to take in what may seem simple, but is in actuality more mosaic than my first glance gives it credit for. I pledge to take to take every minute I am given and use it to my full advantage towards my success, my accomplishments, my relationships, and my dreams. I pledge, to strive towards my happiness, because I realize it's out there waiting for me to find it.