The Mets handed out free t-shirts commemorating the Johan no-no as fans walked into the ballpark Tuesday night. It was Santana’s first start at home since his historic June 1 performance that finally broke the franchise’s 51-year no-hit drought.
The t-shirt is nice. It has a depiction of Johan in celebration mode on the front and that game’s famous line score printed on the back. Unlike most giveaways, t contains no corporate advertising. Many fans immediately donned them over whatever they wore to the game that night.
A surprising number of fans were seen wearing a different t-shirt hand-made by Met fan Darren Meenan at his Flushing warehouse specializing in creative non-MLB licensed team-ware. It’s clear Meenan’s work has caught on in a big way. His special $20 Johan shirt rolled off the presses a few days after the no-no and it was omnipresent Tuesday night.
The Mets won five-nil. Ukrainian heritage was celebrated with an on-field song and dance routine after BP. The Stony Brook baseball team was honored before the ceremonial first pitch thrown by that team’s head coach Matt Senk. I bought a $20 seat (cheapest available) at the box office before the game. The clerk said the advance sale was abut 29-thousand. The announced attendance was 32587. Lots of Orioles fans were sprinkled in and mingled nicely with the home crowd.
After a couple $8.50 Czechvars early in the contest, I met up with Steelers Fan Mike and his pal up in section 327. The game moved quickly and was over in 2 hours, 29 minutes. We spent the latter half of the contest schmoozing in the plaza beyond center field. A cool, bay-scented summer breeze blew the entire evening. It was really pleasant
Santana pitched six scoreless. I still don’t understand how Johan’s 90 mph fastball so effectively sets up his 75 mph change but O’s hitters looked stumped throughout.
The Duda two-run homer to right field in the sixth barely cleared the wall. I can’t find firm confirmation of this, but WFAN’s Joe and Evan quoted Gary Cohen as saying 11 of the 28 Met home runs at Citi Field this season wouldn’t have gotten out had it not been for the team’s decision before the season to shrink the park’s expansive dimensions. Joe and Evan said opponents have benefited 9 times for the same reason in 2012.
Santana’s solid outing came one night after R-A Dickey pitched his second straight one-hitter. This prompted Steelers Fan Mike to say: “Spahn, Sain and pray for rain has become Dickey, Santana and hope they slip on a banana.”
Dickey’s run of dominance prompted ’FAN caller Mel from Bayside (a Dodger fan) to suggest a scouting tool that would enable opponents to better crack R-A’s knuckleball. Click below to hear Mel’s suggestion and Francesa’s reaction. It’s inane, yes, but I found it really funny as I listened to Mel’s bright idea.
-What does it say about hockey in Lipstick City that LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa failed to show for his city’s big parade honoring the Kings’ first-ever Stanley Cup? Villaraigosa blamed his absence on a Florida meeting of the US Conference of Mayors. Lame excuse, Tony.