Shealogy

It's over. Shea Stadium is officially demolished. We all want to equate the stadium to an old friend, maybe one that had seen better days, one that would be sorely missed. To me, the most chilling moment was that last game, that last walk out. All the pictures, all the drive-bys, all the reports since then have felt empty because without baseball Shea was just a building.

Shea Stadium died five months ago. That's when it contracted that terminal illness that we all knew would take her life within months. Yesterday it finally happened; Shea Stadium took it's last breath. To me, it was a relief. Finally she'd been put out of her misery, having her innards photographed and displayed for everyone to see, her illness discussed across the world.

I ask that you remember her as she was in her glory days, and not in her sickness. Don't remember the final tumble of those ramps, or the demolition of the scoreboard. Remember the fans rushing the field after that first championship, even if you weren't there. Remember Ventura's Grand Single, Pratt's home run, the glove that never came down, Seaver, Strawberry, That amazing June comeback against the Braves in the 8^th, or whatever your favorite moments were.

She's in a better place now, in our minds, on our blogs, on our highlight reels. Take a month, or 53 days, to mourn. A new friend waits on the horizon. One you don't quite know yet, one you've only exchanged the briefest of words with. You may be skeptical you can ever get along, or that you'll ever love again, but you will. It has tough foundations to fill, but rumor is it's up to the task.

Better Luck Next Year

This doesn't hurt as much, but it still sucks.  These players are too good to be this bad.  MVP candidates, Cy Young candidate, Gold Gloves, probably some Silver Sluggers..with players this good you can't be this bad.  The injuries to Wagner and Maine hurt, sure, but it's something deeper.  The bullpen had streaks here and there, so they definitely showed talent, even if it was rare.  I don't discredit Omar, he did a lot to shake things up from last year, but many of them failed, but plenty succeeded also.  

So what's left?  Management.  We all credit Warthon with Perez and Pelfrey turning around, but Pelfrey had already shown flashes.  Did Warthon speed that up? maybe.  Allowing Perez to be Perez was certainly helpful at first, but yesterday he pitched like April, excellent until the 6th inning.  The offense continually put pressure on the bullpen because they wouldn't score more runs, and then the bullpen continually put pressure on the offense because they couldn't put up zeros.  For such great players they struggled with situational hitting, except for some streaks and some guys like Castillo who had good numbers in key situations.  The batters often failed to hit the ball on the ground, or get a sac fly, or go the other way, or not swing for the fences, while the pitchers often failed to be able to induce a groundball, or throw a pitch that won't be hit out.  The manager and coaches are the people most responsible for creating these game plans, and they haven't worked.  Maybe part of it is the calling of the game.  Could Schneider be responsible?  Was he even calling all the pitches?  Was his almost-platoon status inhibiting his authority to call pitches and be respected by the pitchers?  Who knows, but something is wrong with the fundamentals, and I think Jerry Manuel is doing more harm than good. 

The farewell ceremony was touching and nice at least.  That's two stadiums I've closed out in two years now.  

All or Nothing

Shea was great on Saturday. And hopefully it'll be great on Sunday. Hopefully this isn't actually the last game. Either way I'm going to take 6 zillion pictures. It's going to be insane, and we won't know the final of the Brewers game until the middle of the Shea Goodbye ceremony, which will make it all the more nerve wracking.

What Johan did was amazing. Oliver Perez never moved from his spot leaning on the railing in the front of the dug out, and was one of the first out to congratulate him. Here's hoping he was taking notes.