Props for Amazin' Avenue

by pkyankeefan on Oct 4, 2010 9:58 AM EDT

[Disclaimer: I have nothing against the Mets, and I love Met fans after reading AA]

I came over to Amazin' Avenue in the preseason when the Jason Bay rumours were coming from everywhere. I thought I'd come over here and see, and all I can say is that I was hooked. AA has an amazing mixture or humour, off-beat conversations and sabermetrics, as well as one of the best communities I've seen on the internets. While I haven't seen a Met game in 10 years (the time difference here means a 7.05 ET start time is 4.05 a.m. for me, and I have enough trouble following my own team), I've come here nearly every day and read some fantastic gamethreads and recaps, musings, and some amazing analysis. At first I was fascinated by how utterly hilarious everyone could be in a losing season, and I still love how everyone over here can diss the team without being overly negative.

I know I probably can't add much to the conversations (except maybe the off-topic threads) since most of my Met knowledge comes from here anyway, but I really feel like I want to know what happens with the Mets every day. I think the two things that sealed it for me are the Amazin' Avenue annual, and the Dickey Photoshop contest. Both were ridiculously good.

So, here's some thanks and props from a Yankee fan for providing a great blog. Kudos to you all.

This FanPost was contributed by a member of the community and was not subject to any vetting or approval process. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions, reasoning skills, or attention to grammar and usage rules held by the editors of this site.

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Comments

Thank you for being a classy Yankee fan.

Make a dickey photoshop/ ms paint if you really want to contribute.

Ryan Miller was the true MVP.
I really hate Jerry.

by Jsz on Oct 4, 2010 4:42 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

This

And don’t worry if it’s bad. The badder the better!

You don't cheer for the Mets. You drink for the Mets.

by Kevin H on Oct 4, 2010 5:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Open-minded fans of all teams are welcome

Thanks for sharing this!

by Eric Simon on Oct 4, 2010 9:36 PM EDT reply actions

Where do you live man?

By the time difference, the use of the British spelling of “humour,” and your nick I’m guessing Pakistan, in which case a hat tip to your grission for keeping up with baseball so far afield….

by MookieTheCat on Oct 4, 2010 9:43 PM EDT reply actions

The -our is also Québécois (although I'm sure it extends to other French influenced areas that also have English speakers)

Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.

by Ogre39666 on Oct 4, 2010 10:02 PM EDT up reply actions

All of Canada actually...

As well as much of the former empire.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 4, 2010 11:22 PM EDT up reply actions

.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.

by Ogre39666 on Oct 4, 2010 11:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

See, this conversation is exactly why I got hooked to AA

by pkyankeefan on Oct 5, 2010 5:39 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

That's a pretty great guess

I’m from Pakistan, indeed.

And I’ve never been applauded for my grission before. I feel touched.

by pkyankeefan on Oct 5, 2010 5:32 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

We welcome grission from all over

Sandy Alderson for GM!
R.A. Dickey for Governor!

by Russ on Oct 5, 2010 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Except when it's grission from Jeff Francoeur.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 5, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I learned cricket when I lived in Zimbabwe...

Really got into it for a while as I was there when Zim beat South Africa, which was a big deal. But there is no way on earth that I could keep up with cricket nowadays, so I applaud your effort to follow baseball from there.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 5, 2010 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

The only time that I was ever exposed to Cricket was a few months ago

I was in Brooklyn heading to DiFara’s Pizza. I took a quick walk through the neighborhood, and saw some kids playing cricket in the street. it turns out that they are originally from Pakistan, and they were kind enough to talk to me and explain the basics of the game, which I still don’t fully understand.

Sandy Alderson for GM!
R.A. Dickey for Governor!

by Russ on Oct 5, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions

One thing about cricket folks...

I have never met a single one who will not take the time to explain it to you. For me it was originally the West Indians in Corona/Flushing Parks, then the folks I watched the games with in Zimbabwe. Eventually after a few days of tournament play and what seemed like a PhD level of advanced instruction I began to see things for myself, and could get excited by good plays without being told they were good plays, and start doing the bizarre calculations of how far we were ahead/behind etc.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 5, 2010 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions

Funny how that's true

I’ve always tried and explained cricket to anyone who’s asked. It is (obviously) the biggest sport around here, though the dysfunctional national team makes the Mets look like a well-oiled machine, honestly. Coups within the team for the captaincy, spot and match-fixing scandals, a severe lack of team leadership off the field (the cricket board is a joke) – it’s a long, long list. It’s hard being a fan sometimes, but the highs (we won the World Cup in 2009) are just so, so high. And it’s not like you can stop supporting your country, anyway.

When were you in Zimbabwe? Their national team has similar issues with the administration, though their on-field team isn’t probably as screwed up as ours. Pakistan has a better team, though.

by pkyankeefan on Oct 6, 2010 7:29 AM EDT up reply actions

Spimoni Gardens > DiFara, I am sorry...

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Oct 6, 2010 12:08 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh please man...

Do NOT do this. I was about to unleash a storm of pizza rage your way, not regarding either of those two establishments but about my choice for pizza, until I realized that if you get a bunch of Mets fans into this conversation it will get really ugly really quickly.

Can we at least agree that Patsy’s and its line around the block is a disgrace to Brooklyn pizza, which needs to be made not in a brick oven but an old metal oven? It’s just how life works.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 6, 2010 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I think we can all rally around the fact that

Chicago’s “pizza” is a blasphemous heresy that offends the pizza deities.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Oct 6, 2010 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions

This.

You should enter politics.

What saddened me is that when I lived in Italy for a summer is that Italian pizza (or at least northern Italian pizza) really sucks.

by MookieTheCat on Oct 6, 2010 1:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Agreed

Chicago “pizza” is in quotes for a reason.

Sandy Alderson for GM!
R.A. Dickey for Governor!

by Russ on Oct 6, 2010 5:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Only if you've never been to DiFara

Sandy Alderson for GM!
R.A. Dickey for Governor!

by Russ on Oct 6, 2010 5:57 AM EDT up reply actions

I've never been to DiFara but

Spumoni Gardens is by far my favorite pizza…and that’s saying something.

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 6, 2010 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions

That's cool.

My uncle lives in Houston, and found it profitable enough to start a mail order sports company that provides cricket equipment to ex-pats in the US.

I’ve tried explaining baseball to whomever’s seen me watching it, but they have a hard time taking to it because of the pace of the game, and also because I have to explain everything in cricket metaphors.

by pkyankeefan on Oct 6, 2010 7:32 AM EDT up reply actions

I think that baseball is only interesting if you understand the strike zone

otherwise it seems disjointed and boring. Each pitch provides intrigue, but this needs to be taught. Explaining baseball in cricket metaphors is probably a good idea. I’m sort of looking to have cricket translated to me in baseball metaphors because that is what I know.

Sandy Alderson for GM!
R.A. Dickey for Governor!

by Russ on Oct 6, 2010 8:16 AM EDT up reply actions

No offense to Yankee fans or anyone, but

the “insanity”- which, I think, simply comes from all of the shit we, as fans, have to put up with, this this team- is noticeably lacking at the Yankees’ SBNation blog, and makes it feel so much deader, as compared to AA.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Oct 5, 2010 12:24 AM EDT reply actions

I believe the Yankees' Code of Conduct prevents much of what contributes to the "livelier" atmosphere of AA.

Save Jenrry Mejia!
In lobby for Josh Byrnes/Chip Hale as Mets 2011 GM/Manager.

by Ogre39666 on Oct 5, 2010 12:40 AM EDT up reply actions

If the behavior of each teams' respective SBNation blog is

indicative of how the team is run/plays/etc., there is so much that makes sense, in terms of what’s going on in the front office.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

AA Gamethread Embiggening Record Holder- 453 posts (10/03/10)

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Oct 5, 2010 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Who was it who said that humor is pain leaving the body.

I think that explains a lot of what goes on here. Also that it’s rare that a team that has been consistently not very good (with a couple of exceptions) for decades has such dedicated fans. How do we compare to the Cubs site?

by MookieTheCat on Oct 5, 2010 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions

That's certainly true

I enjoy the gamethreads at PA a lot, but the threads here are just insane. I agree that it’s probably because of the dysfunctional events of the last few years – I mean, there is so much more to say when things are going wrong. The cool thing is how you guys make it so entertaining.

by pkyankeefan on Oct 5, 2010 5:36 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

AA: The Fun Bunch

"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult." ~ E. B. White

by CTRefJay on Oct 5, 2010 10:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Hooray!

Chamption of the R.A. Dickey Face contest and "Cromulent Photoshopper Extraordinaire" of Amazin' Avenue!

by Steve Schreiber on Oct 5, 2010 3:50 PM EDT up reply actions

The blue and orange balloons

were completely coincidental, which only adds to the awesomeness, IMHO.

"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult." ~ E. B. White

by CTRefJay on Oct 5, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions