Chapter 72.8: Long Live Signman!

In this era of throwback baseball stadiums, with their entertainment areas, swimming pools, and oh yeah baseball, one aspect that hasn't quite been retrofitted is the sense of continuity. Owners have tried, of course. They've incorporated elements of previous eras -- the little hill in deep center at the Astros park and the cut line from home to the pitchers' mound in Arizona, for instance -- but they come off as affectations. What really makes continuity and atmosphere in a stadium are the fans.

As a longtime Met fan, I still have many memories of the Signman (Karl Ehrhardt)who seemed to attend almost every game at Shea when I was growing up in the late '70s, when the team stank so bad fans almost needed masks. Only a kid could love a staff that included Craig Swan, Pat Zachary, and Nino Espinosa. The Signman was unique. You knew you were watching a Mets game (on WOR, Channel 9) when the camera showed him hoisting some clever commentary about a play or a player. Perhaps the most famous were associated with the '73 team that was in last place in September and went on to win the division with an 81-win season. "Ya Gotta Believe!" Tug McGraw exclaimed, and the Signman, in late September and early October, would reply "We Believe!"

The signman died this past week. He was 83. I for one have missed him. According to a 2006 article, the Signman had caught the message of the team's new ownership in the early '80s and stopped coming to Shea, where the stink of the late '70s teams lingered. Like Tom Seaver before him, Signman was no longer wanted by anyone but the fans.

I wish Signman had had a chance to move with the Mets into the new Citi Field, which is expected to open in about 13 months. I think there's reason to believe the Wilpons would have invited him. He'd been brought back before -- in 2002 to help celebrate the team's fortieth anniversary -- and I hope they do something to commemorate him this year.

The Wilpons designed the new stadium in the image of the old Ebbets Field where the Brooklyn Dodgers played. They seem to have some sense of history. If they know their fans, they'll recognize the late Ehrhardt's passing somehow this year. And if they hope to populate Citi Field with more than simply three million fans -- if they want to retain the best aspects of Mets history in the new home -- then they'll honor Signman in the new stadium. It's the right thing to do.

Chapter 69.95: The Cat Trial of the Century

As the owner now of two cats, I can't help but respond to this recent article that appeared in the New York Times. Apparently, a bird watcher shot a cat with a .22 calibre rifle because he believed it was killing the birds. He doesn't deny that he shot the cat. The point of contention in the suit is whether the cat was feral.

I don't know how the law treats questions of feralness (ferality?), but this sounds like a clear case of animal cruelty to me. We took in a stray kitten just this week, gave it a name the other night, and are slowly introducing it to our other cat -- who probably wishes he had a .22 in the closet right now that he could use on the small quadriped that's taking some attention away from him -- and I'd say this cat is no longer feral. She's quite comfortable living here, accepting our pets and attention in return for lots of purrs, soft mews, and an inordinate amount of methane gas. (Surely those field mice and moles have worked through you system by now, Oreo. What on earth is wrong with your intestines?!)

Beyond that, how can a man who loves animals shoot and kill a cat? Is he not human?

Humans care for those who are less fortunate than themslves, like Texas toll collector John Newland, who named Mama Cat. The cat lived under a toll bridge but gladly accepted food and toys and bedding from Mr. Newland. I won't get into the vitriolic debate between bird bloggers and cat bloggers, who are writing hateful posts about the other, but I'll say this: a man who would kill a defenseless animal (I don't think the claws and teeth were any threat to the admitted cat killer) is no better than a thief. He deserves punishment.

I don't think it's as heinous a crime as rape or murder of a person, but it's despicable and cannot be condoned. The two years and $10,000 he faces seem appropriate to me.