Benjamin Grimm

I know that, if Jim Joyce's name is going to remind me of anyone, it should be James Joyce, the author of Ulysses and other works. But my recent experience with Joyce Kilmer gets in the way, and I find myself wondering if this umpire is a man or a woman.

25 years old. (Born November 23, 1984, Long Beach, California.) Height: 5' 11" Weight: 180

I can't see how not having Glavine or Appier would have resulted in any additional Mets championships. (In retrospect, though, I'd certainly send a different starter to the mound for the last game of the 2007 season.) Any retroactive changes I'd make would be planned to add at least one more title. Either a World Championship in 2000, a division title in 2001 or 2007 or 2008, or an NL pennant in 2006. (Of course, the hope would be that the 2001, 2006, 2007, or 2008 changes would ultimately lead to a World Series title. Two birds, one stone, and all that.)

Voting for Tuesday night's win over the Padres in San Diego will close on Friday morning. Schaefer PotG, 6/1/2010, Mets 4, Padres 2

Centerfield wrote: Look at the size of that head. Guy is clearly juicing. You can tell that's late Schulz; look how wobbly the outline is.

I might consider intentionally walking Yadier Molina. Or better yet, I'd pick through Game 2 of the 2006 NLCS and find some move that might have tipped that game in our favor. (Too lazy to actually do it now, but if I had the power to change the past, then I'd make the effort.) There's a 1999 deal that I'd like to undo, which would have had an impact on the following decade: not trading Jason Isringhausen for Billy Taylor. Keeping Izzie would have potentially spared us Braden Looper and Billy Wagner.

SCHAEFER METS PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE MONTH, MAY 2010 The Schaefer Mets Player of the Month and Pitcher of the Month for May 2010 is JOHAN SANTANA. This is the fifth time that Johan has been named Player of the Month and the eighth time that he's been Pitcher of the Month. After getting shelled in his first May start (10 earned runs in 3.2 innings at Philadelphia) Santana settled down and began racking up the Schaefer points over his next five starts, when he was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA. Santana led Mets pitchers in May wth 41 innings, 26 strikeouts, and a 3.73 ERA. (Mike Pelfrey was 3-1 in May with a 3.82 ERA. Hisanori Takahashi fell just short of the necessary 29 innings. Otherwise his 2.93 ERA would have been the teams' best.) May's race was especially tight, with as many as six players in close contention for Player of the Month in the final days of May. Angel Pagan ended up finishing a close second, with Rod Barajas not far behind. Jason Bay, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Mike Pelfrey all put up good Schaefer totals in May. Barajas led the club in May with 6 homers and 19 runs batted in and a .608 slugging percentage. Pagan led the Mets with a .333 batting average, and OBP of .388, 35 hits, and 19 runs scored. And the Schaefer Mets Relief Pitcher of the Month for May is a first-time winner, RAUL VALDES. Valdes benefited from Takahashi's ascension into the starting rotation, as the Japanese rookie had a solid lead among relievers at the time of his promotion. Valdes led the Mets in relief innings, with 18.2, and was 2-1 with an unimpressive 5.30 ERA. Month-to-date totals for May 2010 Through game of May 31, 2010 RankNamePoints1Johan Santana20.842Angel Pagan19.573Rod Barajas19.074Jason Bay17.715David Wright17.066Jos� Reyes16.847Mike Pelfrey15.468Hisanori Takahashi13.449Ike Davis12.8510Jeff Francoeur10.8111Raul Valdes8.3412R. A. Dickey7.5313Luis Castillo7.0814Alex Cora6.3015Francisco Rodriguez5.7916John Maine5.7517Pedro Feliciano5.5018Henry Blanco5.0919Jenrry Mejia4.3619Chris Carter4.3621Fernando Nieve3.3822Manny Acosta3.3723Oliver Perez2.9024Gary Matthews1.7125Elmer Dessens1.5526Jon Niese1.0527Fernando Tatis1.0328Ryota Igarashi0.5829Frank Catalanotto0.45

Totals for May 31, 2010 (11 votes) San Diego Padres 18, New York Mets 6 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceAngel Pagan16.461.502-3, R, RBI, BBJos� Reyes15.021.371-3, R, 3B, 2 RBIRod Barajas14.821.351-4, R, HR, 2 RBIDavid Wright9.970.912-3, R, BB, SBGary Matthews5.500.501-1, R, 2BJenrry Mejia4.980.451.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Alex Cora2.000.180-4, RBI, BB, SOJeff Francoeur0.250.021-3, R

Ashie62 awarded 11.15 points, and Fman99 awarded 11 points. Their votes were prorated as follows: Ashie62 Dickey 3 2.68 Castillo 1.2 1.08 Reyes 0.75 0.67 Wright 1 0.9 Bay 0.2 0.18 Pagan 1.5 1.35 Francouer 2.5 2.24 Blanco 1 0.9 Fman99 Dickey 2.5 2.27 Dessens .5 0.45 Rodriguez .5 0.45 Francoeur 1.5 1.36 Pagan 1.5 1.36 Castillo 1.5 1.36 Wright 1 0.91 Blanco 1 0.91 Reyes 1 0.91 Totals for May 30, 2010 (11 votes) New York Mets 10, Milwaukee Brewers 4 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJeff Francoeur23.132.104-5, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SBR. A. Dickey21.701.97(W) 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO.Angel Pagan15.081.372-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBILuis Castillo14.471.322-5, 2 RBI, BBHenry Blanco14.571.323-4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BBDavid Wright8.130.742-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI, BBJos� Reyes6.660.612-5, R, 2B, RBI, BB, SOElmer Dessens3.900.351.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Francisco Rodriguez1.400.131.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Jason Bay0.180.020-4, 2 BB, 2 SOGary Matthews0.170.020-0, BB

Totals for May 29, 2010 (8 votes) Milwaukee Brewers 8, New York Mets 6 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceIke Davis17.372.171-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, SOJos� Reyes11.141.392-4, R, RBI, BB, 2 SO, SBJason Bay10.811.352-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, SOElmer Dessens9.591.202.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Jeff Francoeur5.320.662-3, BB, SO, SBAngel Pagan4.380.552-5, R, 3 SO, SBRyota Igarashi2.710.341.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Jenrry Mejia2.470.311.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.Rod Barajas1.000.120-4, RBILuis Castillo0.750.090-4, R, BB

Totals for May 28, 2010 (11 votes) Milwaukee Brewers 2, New York Mets 0 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJohan Santana61.805.628.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO.Rod Barajas9.830.892-3Pedro Feliciano2.630.240.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Jos� Reyes1.800.161-4, 2B, SODavid Wright1.390.130-3, BB, SOJason Bay0.800.071-4, SO

The day the Mets won the World Series in 1969. I was six years old and wasn't watching; wasn't interested. But I was at my grandparents' apartment, and my grandfather was watching. (I can't believe I was in a room where the game was on TV when Davey flied to Cleon and was completely disinterested!) But when the game ended, my grandfather turned to me and said, "The Mets just won the World Series!" and he was so happy that it made quite an impression on me. From that point on I knew that a Mets win was a good thing. I kept that thought in my head, but didn't actually start watching games until 1971, which is when the kids in my neighborhood discovered baseball cards and I learned that Tom Seaver was a really big deal.

Gallaraga may be able to take some consolation in the thought that he'll end up with more immortality because of this than he would have if he had actually gotten credit for the perfect game.

Holy crap.

Gil Hodges.

Santana 5 Dessens 1 Bay 1.5 Francoeur 1

I don't get all the angst about Alex Cora either. Sure, he ain't all that, but his presence on, or absence from, the 2011 roster isn't going to make or break the team. If the Mets can replace him with someone better, then great, but he's just a backup infielder. If he's the biggest problem on the team, then they'll have a pretty darn good season.

Wow... MGIM is like our own Rosie O'Donnell*. He starts an IGT, and it becomes all about Michigan! *In that she always makes everything all about her.

Our traditional "Wacky Wednesday" is delayed this week because of the extended weekend. As a result, four (count 'em! four!) games will be closing on Thursday. All three games from the weekend series in Milwaukee will be tallied, as well as the series-opening loss Monday night in San Diego. This will close out the merry month of May, so look for the big POTM announcement tomorrow. Pitcher of the Month and Reliever of the Month appear to be set, but the overall award for Player of the Month is very much in play, with about a half dozen players in contention. Please try to get any remaining May votes submitted today. Schaefer POTG 5/28/10 - Brewers 2, Mets 0 Schaefer POTG 5.29.10 - Brewers 8, Mets 6 Schaefer POTG 5/30/10 - Mets 10, Brewers 4 Schaefer PotG 5/31/2010, Padres 18, Mets 6

Totals for May 27, 2010 (11 votes) New York Mets 3, Philadelphia Phillies 0 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMike Pelfrey50.154.56(W) 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO.Jose Reyes25.972.363-4, R, 2B, 2 RBIJason Bay9.890.901-3, 2B, RBI, BB, SOFrancisco Rodriguez7.220.66(Sv) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Angel Pagan7.110.652-4, SBPedro Feliciano6.590.601.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Fernando Tatis0.620.060-1, RLuis Castillo0.500.050-2, BBIke Davis0.550.051-3, BB, SOJeff Francoeur0.250.021-4, SOHenry Blanco0.250.020-4, R, 2 SO

I thought I'd revisit this topic, now that we're about a third of the way through the season.

Pelfrey 5 Wright 3 Davis 2

Voting for the final game of last week's shutout sweep of the Phillies will close on Wednesday morning. Schaefer PotG, 5/27, Mets 3, Phillies 0 I'll post an announcement with links tomorrow, but you can expect the entire weekend series in Milwaukee to close for voting on Thursday. Vote while you still can!

Reyes 1.5 Barajas 1.5 Pagan 1.5 Wright 1