N.Y. Times: On Ceremony for Pitcher, Caller Tosses Bloomberg a Bit of a Curve (RR)

Dont want to go down in a tube station…no other rider is going to do that again

On Wednesday, after a thunderstorm shut down the subways and a rare tornado wreaked havoc in Brooklyn, Mayor Bloomberg paused to present pitcher Tom Glavine of the Mets the key to the city in honor of his 300th career victory, which he collected on Sunday night in Chicago. That did not sit well with a woman, identifying herself as Lynn, who called in to the mayor’s weekly radio program on WABC this morning.

“Mr. Mayor, with all due respect, on Wednesday, was it that necessary to have to give the key to the Mets player when people are sweltering out on the streets waiting for buses for three or four hours and you’re not even out in those boroughs?” the caller asked.

The mayor skirted the question, treating it as if it were about whether he favored the Mets over the Yankees:

“Well, Lynn, maybe you’re a Yankee fan and if you are, we’re going to give a key to Alex Rodriguez for his 500th home run. I’m not quite sure what to say, Lynn. A lot of things go in the city simultaneously, and I know the service, the mass transit, wasn’t great on that day, but we were honored to have Tom Glavine and his wife and his three kids in. Three hundred career victories is an accomplishment. Maybe no other pitcher is going to do that again.”