Happy Harvey Days! Where to play hooky and watch baseball tomorrow

The awesome present, and the allegedly even more awesome future. via ESPN

We’ve had a lot of fun at the Mets’ expense this year, but believe us when we say it comes from a genuine place of love and heartbreak. Why else spend so much time on them? So when we say that tomorrow the season probably peaks, we’re only saying it as frustrated realists. But their season probably does peak, with tomorrow’s doubleheader against the hated Atlanta Braves featuring phenom-of-the-moment Matt Harvey pitching the first game at 1:10pm and phenom-of-the-future Zack Wheeler making his major league debut pitching the night game a 7:10. If you were ever gonna play hooky from work to post up and watch baseball on TV, tomorrow’s the day. Here’s a few places to do just that.

773 Lounge
773 Coney Island Avenue, Ditmas Park

Going back to an experience I had when we included this Ditmas dive in the dive bar guide: any bar where you can sit down and have someone start talking to you about Dave goddamn Kingman’s ill-fated Mets tenure is a place you want to be. Plus, the bar opened in 1969, so there’s good juju for hopeful fans who want to see the next Seaver/Koosman action. Even better, the bar opens in time to catch the Harvey game, and $3 Miller Lites mean that you can soothe the pains from the Mets’ godawful attempts at scoring runs without bankrupting yourself.

Black Swan
1048 Bedford Avenue, Bed-Stuy

Bring your beer book, and maybe steal your friend’s beer book, because you can post up at this Bed-Stuy gastropub for both games, and you can get food without even getting out of your seat. Plus with $3 shots during their happy hour from 11:30am to 8pm, you can take a shot for each batter Matt Harvey strikes out and even a couple Zack Wheeler dispatches, without completely bankrupting yourself. Though if everything goes according to plan, that will not be drinking responsibly at all.

South 4th Bar
90 South 4th Street, Williamsburg

The unofficial Brokelyn headquarters knows what’s up with this special day, and will therefore be showing Matt Harvey’s start on both their regular TV and the projector in the back. Then an event in the back and the lousy NBA finals (OK, fine it’s been a good series) conspire to push the Wheeler start off the regular bar TV at 9pm. But, the odds are Zack will be taking a well-deserved shower by then seeing as how the Mets probably won’t let him pitch the whole game. Have a coffee after drinking a bunch of $3 Pork Slap cans while watching Matt Harvey slap around the Braves. Hey, we believe at least a little bit.

Rosemary’s Greenpoint Tavern
188 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg

Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler have Mets fans harkening back to the days before players routinely hit 430-foot home runs, so why not enjoy the games at a bar that’s been around since those days? Plus as a bonus, with happy hour starting at 3pm, you can buy $3 Gordon’s Gin drink or $4 margarita to toast to the Mets if they score a few runs.

The Turkey’s Nest
94 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg

Speaking of margaritas, if you need to get up and stretch after the first game of the doubleheader, head to Williamsburg’s other awesome old man bar. NBA Finals be damned, the Turkey’s Nest has more TVs than you have roommates, so Zack Wheelers (hopeful) triumph will be on at least one of them. And then you can have a $10 giant margarita ($5 small one, in sadness if the Mets lose)

The Brazen Head
228 Atlantic Avenue, Cobble Hill

A bar with many TVs, bartenders who don’t mind if you ask to put a game on and most importantly BUCKETS OF BEERS. You’ll get 5 PBRs for $12 and it will come in a bucket as unrealistically full as a Mets fan’s expectations for Zack Wheeler to make this more than a lost season