Checking in

One fifth of the 2015 baseball season has already gone by, All-Star voting has been underway for weeks and we’ve seen historical milestones reached, even if some people would prefer to ignore them.

The Mets had an 11-game winning streak, which included an undefeated 10-game home stand to open the season. They’re still in first place, but that success is a distant memory. Injuries have led to a lineup that’s featured Kirk Nieuwenhuis and his .088 as the starting center fielder and shortstop Wilmer Flores batting fifth… it’s turned out about as well as you’d expect.

Factor in an overworked bullpen which has also been affected by injuries, and it doesn’t really matter how brilliant the starting pitching is…the Mets are having a hard time winning games.

Due to a combination of reasons- a fluctuating work schedule, church responsibilities, and a severe allergy season chief among them – I’ve only been to one baseball game so far this year: the Mets’ home opener. (They won!) I haven’t been to a minor league or independent league game at all yet.

Thanks to Stubby, I do have my 2015 Topps Heritage Mets team set… and I grabbed the Mets’ blister-carded Topps team set when I saw it in Trenton last month. But aside from those, I haven’t been adding to my baseball card collection. I’m thinking about whether I want to bother with Bowman, but I’m probably going to wait for Topps Series 2 at this point.

My friend Greg added to my autographed baseball collection while he was in Florida. I’ve also gotten a couple more of the cards that I sent out during spring training back in the mail – my successful return rate is now up to 40 percent, 20 out of 50.

And thanks to a connection made through this blog, I am now the owner of a neat Mets Old Timer’s Day presentation ring that once belonged to Roy McMillan and is older than I am.

When (if) I start going to more baseball games, I’ll probably be a more active blogger. If you want to keep in touch with me (and don’t mind the non-baseball content), I invite you to follow me on Instagram and Twitter. And I do answer most emails to paul@randombaseballstuff.com.