A fashion discussion about shirseys

Welcome to "From The Rooftop." This is where we can be the prototypical Party Deck Rockies fans. Sometimes we will talk seriously about the team. Sometimes we will enjoy the sunshine and barely pay attention to the game being played. Depends on the day. The point is, it’s all about the fan experience in its entirety.

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I watched the New York Mets play the San Diego Padres in New York last weekend on MLB.TV. Yangervis Solarte fouled a four seamer off to the right side, a pop-up that landed behind the first base dugout. The kids elite enough to have seats on the first deck scrambled after the bouncing ball. Among the scrum was a boy who I estimate to be about Cameron Goeldner’s age—no older than 13 or 14. This particular Mets fan was wearing a faded black Carlos Delgado jersey t-shirt. He didn’t get the ball, but it wouldn’t have mattered, because a shirt like that means the teen would have been a loser either way (again, like Cam).

I seem to be the PR staffer most concerned with aesthetics, whether that be stadium music choice, team branding, or getting face time on the big screen. As such, I feel it is my place to address the proper usage of shirseys. Or as the uneducated might call it, a jersey t-shirt. Through the lens of this teen fashion flub, I hope to help Rockies fans to avoid making the same mistakes as those of other squads.

Let’s start with the adjectives to start off my description: faded and black. What I’m getting at here is that it’s an old shirt. One that should have been tossed or at the very least, removed from the rotation. This godforsaken Mets shirt should have been pushed to the back of the closet when this young fan started pulling out his winter sweatshirts, only to never be recovered the following spring. To give you an idea of the age of this shirt, the Mets don’t even use black as a team color anymore.

Now let’s talk about the player choice: Carlos Delgado. Don’t get me wrong. A guy who was one of the top players in the league during the three years on your team isn’t a terrible choice. He was one of the best players on the last generation’s good Mets team. When there are Luis Castillo shirseys on the market, you can do worse. But at the same time, Delgado isn’t exactly an icon; he only played three years on the team. The only acceptable shirsey from that time period would be David Wright since he is a franchise legend and anybody else is outdated. To put it in Rockies terms, a Helton shirt is acceptable to wear today, a Brad Hawpe or Garrett Atkins shirt is not.

Finally, and most importantly, let’s talk about the last piece: t-shirt. As explained by our own Ted Chalfen in April, a Rockies jersey can be a serious investment. If you dropped $300 on a Garrett Atkins jersey back in 2008, as questionable decision as that was, it is easier for me to swallow your continued use of the garment given the large investment. Except we aren’t talking about a garment that made you late on your rent. A shirsey costs $35 tops. If your t-shirt is out of date, you don’t break the bank to replace it with a crisp new Arenado top. Just pass up a couple Chipotle burritos for some ketchup and cracker sandwiches, and you will break even in no time.

ESPN made a case last month for the Kansas City Royals to have the best fans in baseball. They can talk about TV ratings and attendance numbers all they want, but the evidence is right there at the top. Look at all those fans in their crisp, blue, Lorenzo Cain gear. Do you see any black David DeJesus jerseys? Hell no! This bunch of Midwest bandwagoners keeps their closet up to date, and that is a fanbase I can respect. And who knows? If we all bring a bunch of crisp new Story shirts out to the game (and about a million more fans), we could be getting that kind of national respect.

Note: This is not a paid endorsement for the Rockies dugout store.

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Rooftop Ratings

This segment blows right past the smoke and mirrors. This site spend a lot of time analytically breaking down why the Rockies are good or bad, looking at stats, and coming to a logical, balanced conclusion. But casual Rockies fans work in absolutes, and love to overreact. My weekly rooftop rating system takes this into account. I want to boil everything we say into a yes-or-no question: Are the Rockies good?

I’m giving the Rockies a:

Bad Chettis walked seven on Monday night, and we have a struggling Jon Gray on the bump Tuesday. Yeah, he could turn it around, but bad pitching is bad, we have no chance of ever developing a rotation competent enough to ever contend, I stubbed my toe, my kids won’t even speak to me, etc. etc. It’s all the Rockies’ fault.