I love you, Mets. I really do. Even if I haven’t shown it much.

photoIf I may be perfectly frank – until this current postseason, I had not seen one single complete game of baseball all year.  And that’s including the live game I caught at Wrigley Field last month.  Even there, I left in the seventh inning.

If I may be even franker, I have not paid much attention to baseball in quite a few years.  Which probably also explains why my fantasy baseball teams have been so awful.  Not that I need an excuse for my usual subpar performance in my leagues – I kind of suck.

But now I’m glued to the TV set, because my favorite team, the Mets, have come out of nowhere and no expectations to be in the World Series this year.  In fact, they are less than an hour away from playing their first game against the Kansas City Royals.  And I am going to watch.

You can call me a fair-weathered fan.  I deserve it, even if I don’t think it’s entirely true.  No, the real reason why I’ve stayed away is because of Armando Benitez.  That was back in 2000, the Subway Series against the Yankees.  I knew as everyone else knew that we didn’t stand a chance.  And every time Benitez came out to “close” the game, I wanted to just turn off the TV.  But of course I couldn’t.

And there’s another reason why I’ve ignored baseball: Carlos Beltran.  Striking out looking to end the series against the Cardinals, the NL team I hate the most (I know you guys are the nicest fans in the world, but screw all of you, because when I think of the Cards, I see a slideshow of horror starring John Tudor, Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, Terry Pendleton, Jack Clark, Ozzie Smith…oh my goodness, please, all of you, leave my brain alone), nine years ago.

So it took almost a decade and a miraculous run to bring me back to my beloved Mets.  I did write about them earlier this year in the Times, so maybe this reunion was presaged.  My dear Mets, please believe me when I say I never left you.  I just couldn’t watch you for a while.  It was me, not you.

Now let’s win four more and bring the trophy home, okay?

Sung

p.s. You know that guy named Sungwoo who’s the Royal’s Superfan?  Well, guess what — my name is Sung Woo and I’m the Mets Superfan.  So consider me your bearded Spock (sorry, Star Trek reference), Mr. Sungwoo Lee.

Should Be on the Onion: A-Rod Benched for World Series Game One

The World Series starts tonight, and I thought for sure the sports section of the Onion would’ve had a story like this.  But there isn’t, so here’s my homage.

A-Rod Benched for World Series Game One


SAN FRANCISCO–San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy has released the lineup for the first game of the 2012 World Series, and once again, slumping third baseman Alex Rodriguez has been benched.

“Alex is going through some struggles right now, and I’m afraid this is what we need to do for the good of the team,” Bochy said.

Jim Leyland, the manager of the Detroit Tigers, has also released his lineup, and Rodriguez is not on the roster.

“We could not have gotten here without A-Rod, but this is the World Series. To win four games, we’ll have to make some tough choices,” Leyland said.

Rodriguez, who is currently sitting on a bench in Central Park, could not be reached for comment.