Royalty w/o 4/22 in review

Taste of Italy No. 2

Monday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner and then went out & I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I stopped off at a restaurant called Taste of Italy No. 2 which is located at 40-05 Junction Blvd in Corona, Queens. It's right off the 7 train which makes it nice & convenient to go to. I want to thank my pal Vincent Ascanio for the royal recommendation. I wound up getting chicken parm and spaghetti which came with three garlic knots for $5.95. They have waitress service too so you can sit down, relax and enjoy your meal. I certainly did. When I got done, I hopped back on the 7 express train one stop to Citi Field where I went to see the Mets open a three game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicken Parm and Spaghetti

When I got off the train, I went to see my pal Sam Citron who greeted me with a handshake. As always, it was a pleasure to see him again. I went upstairs to section 515 because that's where the rest of the people I know were sitting on this cold, windy night. Amongst us regulars were our friends Steve Tepperman, Pat Gorman and Martin Caamano who were present and accounted for as well.

In addition, we had some musical entertainment in section 513 as the Hooligan's were at the game too. They always make the game experience more amusing. In fact, they chanted out during the game, Where's the King? He was near me. He said and I quote "they're asking for me." I told him, yes they are. They're also big fans of his signature strikeout call which they join him on. Regardless of the lousy weather, it turned out to be a great night out.

As for the game we saw, the Dodgers got a three run homer from Mark Ellis in the seventh inning which broke a 2-2 tie to make it 5-2. In the eighth inning, they added a few more runs thanks to a two run double by A.J. Ellis. The Mets wound up losing the game, 7-2. The one bright spot for the Mets was that former Brooklyn Cyclone Juan Lagares who was called up from the minor leagues got his first major league hit, a single in the seventh inning.

Wednesday night after work I went to Subway and Carvel for my pre game meal before I went to Citi Field for game two of the three game series between the Mets and Dodgers. This time we sat in our usual section 516 up near the top. We had a nice gathering on this night which was also cold & nasty. Thankfully Matt Harvey was starting for the Mets so we had a chance to see a good game.

As for the people who joined us, we had Manny Morales, Charlie Vitanza, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Rich Wolber, Alan Gimpel and Martin Caamano. In addition, we had some special guests who used to show up more often. I'm referring to my good friend James Gabriele who was there with his son Andrew and our pal Mike Klein who came out as well.

As for the game we saw, Matt Harvey pitched well. He went six innings. He allowed three runs & four hits while he walked just one and he struck out seven. He left the game down 3-2. The Mets rallied to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning thanks to a clutch two out hit by David Wright which got Matt Harvey off the hook for the loss. The game was decided in the tenth inning as the Mets got a game winning grand slam from Jordany Valdespin which gave them a 7-3 win.

Thursday night after work I went up to the Bronx. I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant. I got a roast beef sandwich for dinner. I took it into Yankee Stadium and I ate it. I was joined by the King.

The Yankees were opening a four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Thanks to the horrible scheduling the Mets were home over the weekend too at the same time Friday and Sunday.

As for the game we saw, the Blue Jays took an early 3-0 lead thanks to Edwin Encarnacion who hit a two run homer in the first inning and Brett Lawrie who hit a solo shot in the second inning. The Yankees answered back in their half of the second inning as former Blue Jay Vernon Wells hit a solo homer to make it a 3-1 game. In the third inning, Robinson Cano hit a three run homer with two outs to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. They added another run in the fourth inning when Francisco Cervelli hit a rare homer as home run derby continued. The Yankees and Blue Jays didn't score the rest of the way as the Yankees won the game, 5-3.

Friday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for a pre game meal on my to Citi Field as the Mets opened a three game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Since the Yankees were also home, we had a smaller than usual crew amongst us on this night. Those who were present & accounted for were Pat Gorman, Frank Anichiarico, Alan Gimpel, Martin Caamano and Michael Carson. In addition, the Hooligan's were in the house again too which is also a welcome addition.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and Phillies were scoreless until the sixth inning when the Phillies finally broke through. They roughed up Mets starter Dillon Gee who gave up four straight hits which resulted in four runs before he recorded an out. Michael Young got a run scoring single and Ryan Howard cleared the bases when he hit a home run to center field to give the Phillies all the offensive support they needed as starter Kyle Kendrick pitched a gem. He went the distance as he shutout the Mets on just three hits. He walked one and struck out five as the Phillies took the opener, 4-0.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, the King & I went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the way we made the most of our weekend in NYC.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 9/26 in review

Post Season in the Bronx

This was the last week of the baseball season. The regular season that is. For the fifth consecutive season the Mets were playing out the string. It was another up and down season for the Metropolitans. They started the season 5-13. From that point on, they played .500 ball the rest of the way.

In years past, the season normally ended on a Sunday but this year was different. The season ended on a Wednesday. The reason being they didn't want the World Series to be extended into November again.
Much to my chagrin, the Mets played an afternoon game in the closing game. Unfortunately, I had to work.
I did see them wrap up with the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night and Tuesday night though.

Monday night they battled it out with the Reds before they lost, 6-5.

Tuesday night was my grand finale at Citi Field for this year and it was a fun night up in the stands as the King entertained the crowd who was sitting around us with his unique strikeout call. Some nights are better than others. It depends on the pitcher on the mound and the people in the stands. On this night, he had a very captive audience and they thoroughly enjoyed his act. In addition, we had some surprise guests. They were the King's father, Miguel and his half brother Charlie. We also had our good friend James Gabriele and his son Andrew too. Their company added to the atmosphere which was very festive.

One person in particular, Phillip Poeta who I believe I've seen in the past near where we sit up in section 516/517 depending on the size of the crowd was on hand.

I decided to reach out to him and we enjoyed each other company during the game. He said he comes to around 20 games a year. He does live in New Jersey so that's not bad all things considered. He said he likes to travel. I told him about all the places the King and I have gone. He said he's been to seven different ballparks this year. I told him that's great. He said he went to Pittsburgh for the first time. He also mentioned Chicago and Milwaukee. He sounds like an up and coming ballpark chaser.

I told him to check out my blog so he can get a more in depth overview of what royalty is all about. I plan to stay in touch with him. That way if and when he needs my expert advice on getting from ballpark to ballpark and/or place to place, he knows I'm here if and when he needs me.

As for the game we saw, it was a long one. The Mets eventually lost to the Reds again, 5-4 in 13 innings as Drew Stubbs laid down a beautiful squeeze bunt to end this marathon. The Mets' bullpen collapsed again in this one causing the game to go into extra frames. It was prolonged agony in what may have been the last time I saw Jose Reyes wear a Met uniform. If that's the case, at least Jose gave me a lasting memory. He hit two home runs in the losing effort.

Like they say, wait till next year. For us Met fans that's all we can do. With or without Jose Reyes, I plan to be back at Citi Field on April 5th for Opening Day against the Atlanta Braves.

I wound up going home after work Wednesday and Thursday night. Friday night after work I went up to Yankee Stadium after stopping off at Donovan's Pub for dinner in Queens first to see post season baseball but after the Yankees played an inning and a half against the Detroit Tigers, mother nature unexpectedly got in the way for a change. After waiting until around 10:30PM they suspended the game. They were planning to resume Saturday night at 8:37PM.

Stay tuned for the recap of our adventurous weekend. Just so you know we didn't return to Yankee Stadium. We went out of town instead as planned.

In addition, I plan to write a special post about my boy Gio Gonzalez of the Oakland Athletics who had a solid season on the mound.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman