Great Moments in Broadcasting, Greater Moments in Baseball

Hey everyone, A Friend of Mr. Glass' here. Regular readers know that weekend updates are rare, but after a win like yesterday's you know we've gotta throw something up.

If you're like me, you didn't get to see a lot of the game as it happened. I know, I know, pretty fucking weak on the Glass' part. I make no excuses.

So I wasn't able to watch a lot of the game, but I covered my bases during my absences. I caught the first three innings, then relied on text message score updates from Sip through the next 8 innings.

The text messages read as follows:

9:06 p.m.: 2-4 bot 6

9:31 p.m.: 2-6 bot 7, mets suck when i give u scores

9:47 p.m.: 6-6 top8, new mets!

10:09 p.m.: 6-6 top 9. Blew reyes leadoff triple salt

10:30 p.m.: Going to extras

11:41 p.m.: Top 14

And that's where it ended. Thankfully, I was able to skip out on the bill at a restaurant (relax, Hound, I left 60 bucks with my friends), and find a bar that was showing the game shortly after Cliffy went yard.

This was no easy feat, mind you. It seems the clientel down in Alphabet City is decidedly pro-Yankees. This is not altogether surprising given the number of New York City transplants down there, many of whom define their existence by being trendy, but still pretty f'ing weak.

So it didn't come easy for the Glass. I charged a few blocks downtown on Avenue A, peering into every bar I could find, collecting about 3 stamps at the door as evidence of being over 21, but no dice.

So with spaghetti bolognese and three appetizers fresh in my belly I sprinted the long block up to First Avenue, turned the corner, and found about the most perfect dive bar in the city.

I can't recall the name of the place, but my conversation with Ken, a Bizarro Coach Miranda who roots for the Yankees but has love for the Mets (normally this would be severe salt, but what can I say, Ken pulled it off), was priceless.

In between innings of Mets baseball, Ken expressed his frustration at being unable to pick up white girls generally, but more specifically three pseudo biscuits from Michigan who were seated next to him.

He talked me back from the ledge when Jorge Julio let Chipper reach base leading off either the 13th or 14th, saying "The Mets are what this city is all about!"

I feel the same way, Ken.

And that's when it happened. David Wright got the game winning hit, I jumped out of my chair, clapped my hands, screamed an elated "LET'S GO!!" scaring the shit out of Ken's white girls, gave Ken and two other dudes seated nearby high five, shouted out "NEW METS!!" and was on my way to meet back up with my friends.

Hell of a finish. Hell of a ballgame.

Yeah, it's only one game, but it's only been one game 20 times this year in 29 games. NEW METS!

Oh yes, there is one more thing. We like to kid around about SNY here at the site, but the fact is that it's one of the best things to happen to New York sports since the Mets won the World Series in 1986, and Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez are a big part of the reason why.

I didn't hear the commentary live last night, but I had the Hound record the late innings of the game and that gave me a chance this morning to catch Gary and Keith at their best.

Their game-calling and -analysis prowess were never in dispute, but last night we saw another side to the two broadcasters.

We saw them wearing rally hats even as they repeatedly defended their impartiality.

We heard classic lines from Keith about his long commute, his scorecard system, and the Braves bullpen coach, who Keith theorized had been alive in 1898.

And it was all an absolute pleasure. Relating the lines here wouldn't do them justice, it was as much the comedic timing as anything else, but all in all, very funny stuff. Well done!

That's all for now. Still two games left in this series, but a great win last night. LET'S GO!!

- A.F.O.M.G.