codyross.org

I recieved this thoughtful email from a friend and codyross.org subscriber.  The email was so well written and really nailed what it like to be a die-hard lifer fan of a team, a stadium and what it stands for and means to you and what it feels like to see your hopes plummet when your team fights for its life to get into the post season and fails.  These are thoughts that were all so common for me being a Red Sox fan up until recent history.  As a matter of fact, the team that this email is about is the same team that squandered my hopes of a World Series victory in ‘86.  Well, enough from me, let’s get to the email.  Enjoy:

Shea Goodbye,

Well since Santana raised the hopes and proving why the Mets went out and brought him here the Mets played a meaningful last game at Shea and couldn’t ask for more out of Ollie.

I have got to tip my hats to the Marlins who surprised everyone with the year they put up and with nothing on the line you would think that the Marlins who had first place or within grasp the better part of the season would just pack it in. Not these Marlins they come out to play baseball.

My Nerves were shot through out the day, waiting impatiently for the game to start. This is going to be a real good day or a real bad day, This really couldn’t happen two years in a row could it, Well Ollie got through the first inning unscaved but as the game went on scoreless, I just knew the longer the game went on the Marlins would eventually strike and strike they did, then Beltran who blast a two run shot to tie the game, so you would think this would rally the Mets, nope - bullpen comes in and blows yet another one. First of all Helms pitch hitting for Jacobs was a good move but why Manuel didn’t take out Schoeneweis and bring in a righty is beyond me. So the Mets blow it two years in a row. I am finding myself laughing at the situation other than trying to tear down the rig or throw pool cues through a window.

Now I’m upset

If anyone watched SNY and the closing ceremony on Shea Stadium, the first thought was how could we deal with this now. The Mets just lost the game and the mood of the fans, players can’t possibly be up for this. As they started announcing all the Great Mets I forget about the loss, nothing else mattered as they called out all the players from center field, It really brought back the memories of me as a kid and why I became a Mets fan, They called out Strawberry, Darling, Hernandez, “Doc” Gooden, Seaver and Piazza who kept me a Met fan and brought back hope to us fans. To many great players to mention. The last pitch at Shea between Seaver throwing it into the dirt and watching Piazza dig it out really hit me. As the two Seaver, Piazza walking out toward the center field gates to close them for the last time the crowd is cheering, some fans shedding a tear or two, i’m just watching and taking in this moment as it hit me when the fireworks went off at the top of the stadium and the view of Shea in the sunset I shed a tear, the next time I see the Mets, Shea will not be there. The Beatles, The Pope, NY Jets, Yankees even called it home for a while. 9/11 and the Mike Piazza home run against the Braves, Endy Chaves’ Game saving catch in game seven of the NLCS, all the memories and the games played. I will miss Shea and not even being a native New Yorker, Shea is and always be a part of my life good and bad.

Cody Ross has got to do something that not everyone has a chance to do. Play baseball for a living, we all dream about it growing up whether being a Rock Star or an Athlete. What a life it must be. What a way to close the 2008′ season for Cody, Seeing the great players of the past and present, Standing in right field as the last out was recorded. My only wish was that he would have taken some dirt or grass for me. Cody has had his share of Shea stadium memories, I will not forget them either.

With that said, I hope the “Current” Mets take this last moment to seize the moment of the past and as great as it was, put 07-08 seasons behind them. The move to Citi Field will provide a new atmosphere and time to maybe create new memories for Citi Field and the Fans.

–Justin Pierce

It was a must win game for the Mets to make it into a wildcard tie with Brewers. But they had to win. They had to beat the low 22 million payroll against 140 million payroll. No contest right? Wrong. Marlins sent the Mets home with a 4-2 upset against the Mets. To make matters worse for the Mets it was the last game in the historical Shea stadium. Past Mets players, stars, and very important people were at the farewell to Shea stadium. A storybook ending was in order for the Mets but it wasn’t to be. Scott Olsen pitched the best game of his life and didn’t get the win. Jorge Cantu was chasing 30 homeruns to make the first 4 infielders in history to have all infielders with 30. He had a double off the wall but didn’t hit 30. History is written with 29. Wes Helms did come in off the bench to hit a homerun. Uggla came up next and hit another homerun. Score 4-2 Marlins. The bullpen relieved Olsen in the 7th with Nelson, the 8th with Gregg and Rhodes, the ninth with the Marlins probable closer next year with Lindstrom. Great game Marlins. Great season. The third best record in Marlins history with a bunch of young guys chasing the dream. No multi million dollar players in writing, no expectations of doing anything this year but finishing last. They didn’t finish last and they didn’t finish first, but they did something that will not be done for a very very long time. They sent the Mets dreams packing for two years in a row. They played heads up with the NLE winners. The Phillies. They took the last series against the NLC winners. The Cubs. The Marlins turned alot of heads this year and I don’t think anyone of them will ever look back withoug fond memories of 2008.

Enter Cody Ross. Outfielder, starting centerfielder on opening day because of injury to De Aza. Then platooned with Amezega because of the left hand pitching stigma that Ross had at the time. Marlins sign Jacque Jones to start at centerfield. Bust. Cody finally gets the starting position at Centerfield. Plays centerfield, rightfield, and left field all season with no errors until the last week with a blooper missed catch. ($htmthrfkerc@ckdammmmm) ends with one error all season. Ross hits 22 homeruns with 10 of em to tie or to take the lead in a game. Ross ties the lead with triples at 5. Ross was 4th on the team with most RBI’s with less at bats with the top three, 73. Shane Andrews told me the average years for a player in the major leagues is 2. Cody now has three with a paycheck next year. Congrats Cody for a great personal best 3rd year in the Majors. You have made the grade and will reap the rewards next year. Great job my man. Keep the dreams alive for all the young players in the game and for all those players that were tagged too short to play the show.

After losing 2 games to the Phillies, a game to the Reds and a game to the Nats. The Marlins fall out of contention for a playoff bid. I have watched over 180 games to type that sentence. That sucks. I will get over it probably sooner than Cody who has played a record number of games (140) in his career so far. The first full season in the bigs for Ross has done an outstaning job. He was the opening day centerfielder for Fla. but had not nailed down the starting job untill later in the season. First it was a platoon situation with Amezaga and then the Marlins signed  J. Jones for a shot at it. He failed. Ross hung in there and won the job. With Cody’s outstanding defensive ability won the job and went on to be an above average hitter with 22 home runs and a .265 hitter. Having only one error ($ht,mthrfk what the, whre dd the ball go, I didn’t ctch the dm thing ptts #%$&*!!!! ball) for the season gives him a .997 fielding %. As everyone knows its Cody’s arbitration year which means he made it for three years at minimum pay and now it is time for payday. The Marlins are in a situation where they have 18 eligible players up for arbitration. Its likely that alot of players will not return to the team because of payroll concerns. Cody is considered one of the players the Marlins want to keep because of his power, defense and the ability to play all three outfield positions. The Marlins big problem is they will not get their new stadium untill 2011. Thats three more years with loss of income playing in Dolphin stadium. So it was great signing Hanley to a long term deal but no other big contracts have been made. Speculation has Uggla, Jacobs, Olsen, Hermida, and others leaving the team. Its a huge compliment to Cody that he is considered a keeper for the Marlins. By the middle of December it will all hang out. That is the deadline for contracts for 2009. It will be an interesting off season for Ross and other Marlins who will be Fish or not. It has been a special three seasons with all these rookies doing things in the Majors that no other team has matched or ever will. I was sucked into this game because of Cody and it has been a new passion of mine and my wife watching Ross and the Marlins. We will try and keep everyone updated on things that happen in the offseason so keep comin back for updates. Also please feel free to post. We will be bringing you guys questions to poll on in the future and the site will get better next year I promise. Maybe we can talk Cody into posting some comments in the future.

By the way Cody went 2-4 tonite with a single and a home run to make it 22. He ain’t done yet. I can feel it. The Mets and Phillies are down to a playoff race and the Marlins have a big part of what will happen those last three days in New York………

It might be slim but the Fish are still in it. After sweeping the Astros and winning the first game agains the Phillies its time to make up some of those nasty losses. In a 9 game winning streak the Fish have put themselves back in the playoff race. IT gets confusing from here but here goes. 5 games back now in the NLE race and 4 and 1/2  games back in the wildcard race. That will change day to day in the race for a playoff berth. Fish are playing well with the injection of Camron Maybin. He is 8 for 9 with a walk and two stolen bases in two games. Wow. Could be a fluke, could be the real deal, time will tell. Ross is hitting .264 with a great series against the Astros. After beating the Phillies tonight it is going to be a close race for the Fish to get in the playoffs. Play on Marlins and I hope the Family is having a good time in Miami………

Ross was the first one over the plate for the Marlins after hitting a double and scoring off of Amezaga’s triple. That made the score 6-1. In the 8th inning Marlins scored 6 runs, thier biggest come from behind push all year went on to beat the Nats 8-7. Kudos to Anibal Sanchez, Andrew Miller, Artie Rhodes and Joe Nelson to hold down the pithcing. Great hitting by all those slumping Marlins to take a sweep against the Nats. Astro’s next. You never know what can happen.