Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Clemente's game
The Mets & Marlins are playing three in San Juan, Puerto Rico at a minor league size park with artificial turf. The idea is good, the stadium is not. You'd hope, with the Puerto Rico economy so depressed, that the two clubs would buy up all the seats & give away tickets to fill up the place. But as Mets radio announcer Howie Rose sadly explained, Puerto Rico is now a major league backwater, not even adequately scouted, only 25 native born Puerto Ricans playing in the majors, five with the Mets. By contrast, the Mets, Yanks & other wealthier teams not only heavily scout the Dominican Republic, but are actively involved in developing ballplayers there with baseball "academies."Rose has been getting his well-researched two cents in throughout these broadcasts that MLB is not supportive of the Puerto Rican game, which gave us Roberto Clemente.
Although Mets are the visitors in this series, they're clearly the home team for the crowd. Too bad Carlos Beltran couldn't be in the lineup. They lost the first two. Last night they fought back from 6-2 to tie in the top of the 9th, only to have reliever Pedro Feliciano give up a game-winning single to Dan Uggla, who had already hit a homer. feasts on Mets pitching, & should have been walked with first base open.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Although Mets are the visitors in this series, they're clearly the home team for the crowd. Too bad Carlos Beltran couldn't be in the lineup. They lost the first two. Last night they fought back from 6-2 to tie in the top of the 9th, only to have reliever Pedro Feliciano give up a game-winning single to Dan Uggla, who had already hit a homer. feasts on Mets pitching, & should have been walked with first base open.
Labels: baseball
