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I’m back, sitting on the top step of the dugout, and I’m a bit more emotional than I thought I ever would be.
Fact is, I was quite lonely as a little kid. I didn’t have very many friends who I connected with. Who knows why? Divorce. Too shy. Whatever. In either case, baseball was a place I could go and be confident and comfortable, even when alone, in my back yard pretending to be the shortstop for the Mets. So, to be here now, alone, able to say goodbye, is something I will always remember and something I always be grateful for.
It’s like getting one last chance to look an old friend in the eye and say goodbye.
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Matt, I’m jealous. You’re very fortunate you can get closure on something that is a large part of your life and who you are.
Way to go Matt, you are living the dream. Thank you for sharing your experience…probably the best series of posts on Metsblog I’ve ever read.
You’ve done a wonderful job of taking last night off of my mind. You’ve really helped me get through the day with all these great posts. Thanks alot Cerrone. Don’t forget to bottle some dirt if you can sneak it.
AMEN! I can’t even think about leaving my office until the last of the CERRONE LIVING OUR DREAMS posts are done….
I presume he won’t be taking batting practice with the mets….
Can’t agree more. Matt has my dream job.
What a great job of taking our minds off all this, if only for a few hours today.
I’m so jealous….
I’ll be even more emotional if this team doesn’t win tonight.
Congrats on all your success with the blog.
We’re all insanely jealous.
I’m not jealous but I’m very, very proud of you Matt. I dont know you but I mean that, I’m really proud of you.
Boscov, I know exactly what you mean and I’d like to echo the sentiment. Thanks again for everything Matt.
Are you going to get a chance to go into the clubhouse? That’d be SWEET.
Thanks Matt.
Meanwhile, in the pre-game, Manuel said he will not pitch Maine again this year. Doctors cleared him but it’s his decision.
Maine wasted 6 weeks of potential rehab for that?
Ya Gotta Believe!!!
Let’s Go Mets!!! Let’s Go Mets!!!! Let’s Go Mets!!!
Can I get a lezgomets.
lezgomets
Lezbomets
I am befuddled by the Maine situation.
Nice job on the Shea look Matt.
Matt, tell that old friend to get the hell out of here. Good riddance! LOL
Weather update?
Uh, it’s gonna rain. A lot.
it is going to start raining in the next hour or two. I bet Jersey is getting rained on right now. They should be seeing some heavy rain around 8 or 9.
Still not raining 30 miles northeast of Philly.
Maybe the rain can hold off until about 9pm, that would be a perfect time for a torrential downpour.
looking at the flushing radar on wunderground.com it looks like there is a storm coming in from off the water that should be hitting us soon.
Precipitation is nearing the 67%-83% range approximately 23 miles southwest of Louisiana, with storm fronts approaching Queens somewhere in the vicinity of 7pm-12:30am, details to come, up next on the weather channel…don’t touch that remote!
Congrats Matt. I am jealous you got to do all those crazy things. I have had my share of time when I have been able to get on the field with some form of access but to have it on the final homestand of the ballpark must be something else.
I will be there Sunday and will miss the place as it will be my last time in the ballpark, whether the mets make the playoffs or not.
This team has to refuse closing this ballpark with such bad memories. These guys need to show they have pride in themselves, their team and their fans.
Go get em tonight boys.
You’re a lucky man, Matt.
It had to be quite an experience to say good bye to a place, warts and all, represents most of our childhoods.
Thanks for sharing it with us. Lets hope they close the park on a high note, and much later than the end of September.
Why would John Maine work is butt off to return andput off surgery only to not pitch…
WOW…
Tough decisions by Jerry… He must be starting to feel the heat… He’s toast if they don’t make it…
For the “its over” crowd:
Milwaukee really is that bad.
We’re disappointing and tragic too, but we are tied with a team that really is worse, right now.
I would not say that Milwaukee is in a worse position than we are…
We at least have two routes to the playoffs left. It doesn’t seem that way at this precise moment in time.
But if we are 1 game up in the WC, and 1 game back in the division,
With 3 to play,
ANYTHING can happen.
Our preoccupation with this season is overshadowing the significance of an entire era that is about to end.
I wish I could sit on Shea’s lawn and think about the team and my life but all I can think about is the wild card. I’m glad you have this opportunity, Matt, but even more glad that you’re sharing it.
Let’s go Mets
Well that’s a damn shame about Maine, but I think it’s a wise decision. Only consulation he can take away is he’s young enough for this not to be his last chance.
I hear Easley will be ready to go tomorrow, even if only 80% or so. And good for him. With Damion, it’s probably his last chance…
Congrats Matt! Awesome series of pics documenting your last days in Shea.
Remember folks, this is baseball… ANYTHING can happen.
Lets Go Mets Go!
idk about you Matt but my most memorable moment at shea was on Sept 24th of 2008 when David Wright swung 3-0 and got out allowing the cubs to walk the Mets’ 2 best hitters in order to pitch to Church and Castro.
jump off a bridge
“Fact is, I was quite lonely as a little kid. I didn’t have very many friends who I connected with. Who knows why? Divorce. Too shy. Whatever.”
Childhood marriages always end in divorce. You should have waited until you both were at least twelve.
shut up, cripple
Long time watcher, first time poster. Thanks for all the posts and tour round Shea today Matt, brought a tear to my eye. My last trip to Shea came in 2005 and Ill treasure the old ballpark despite its naysayers.
Thanks for doing what I always wanted to do Matt. Thanks for giving me the inside on Shea and the hidden details and all. Yes I will miss Shea also yet look forward to a state of the art stadium. Thanks again and Congrats on the blog tour Matt.
Matt, you are officially adorable!
Thanks for these posts, Matt. this is very special. It’s great to hear about what Shea Stadium is really like from a fellow fan.
We love you bro.
Frankly, if the team needs wins on saturday AND sunday, I don’t see how you DONT throw Johan on short rest on Saturday, and the entire pitching staff on Sunday
I guess I understand but I’m definitely disappointed that I won’t see John Maine for the rest of the season.
wow..what a dig at Endy..(not worse than not playing him..) But he was actually stepping it up before Murphy and Tatis arrived and started hitting. I think he’s earned and deserves a start here and there.
And, that’s a real big show of faith in Maine too. How do you think he feels, wanting nothing more than to compete, rehabbing, going on teh DL even though he didn’t want to, and getting himself cleared and activated, and than after sitting around hoping he’d get to come in for a day, Manuel says he’s not using him? Is he going to let Maine hang with the team, or did he kick him out of Shea?
Why not the entire pitching staff on Saturday and Johan on Sunday. Then the entire staff can go again Monday too.
I don’t see a situation where we only need Sat but not Sun too, so they are equally important – if not, Sunday more so.
We are tied right now. I don’t expect the Cubs to lay down the rest of the way. I think they can potentially take 2 of 3 in Milwaukee and certainly 1 of the 3. The key is winning tonight (which wouldn’t be such a key if we took care of business last night).
Revenge needs to be in the back of this team’s mind when the Marlins come to town. I mean, take no prisoners and try to blow them out three straight days.
I also think they won’t make the playoffs but weirder things have happened
plus how is it over with 4 games lewft and us being tied for the WC
I agree that its not looking promising but to say definitively that its over is untrue
I understand the idea behind it, but that’s not Manuel’s job. And there is a reason he wasn’t included in the decision making process involving Maine’s rehab and surgery. Manuel’s now possibly even hurting us in ‘09, if Maine wasted this month rehabbing when he could’ve been healing and recovering from the surgery and isn’t ready in April.
Same here. As I’ve said many times before, Maine is my favorite pitcher, so not seeing him pitch the rest of the season is really disappointing.
Yeah, ever since I discovered that he was into crossword puzzles like me, I took a liking to him.
Maine’s a tough player. I am guessing he’ll be angry about this. He could have had the surgery already and started prepping for 09 – he said it himself.