Benjamin Grimm

We won't know until you write a poem about it!

I heard the same thing too, but I don't think Halliday specified the "only" part. I think he said he'd waive it for the Yankees, but didn't say that he wouldn't for anyone else. He was probably, I think, responding to a YLDB-reporter asking if he'd like to be a Yankee.

I remember how he'd always keep his pack of cigarettes rolled up in the sleeve of his t-shirt.

He's the Bruce Chen of catchers.

I don't mind him coming back. He did a decent job as a backup, and it's not his fault that he was asked to play more frequently than his ability warranted. The $2 million does seem high, though. I'd be concerned about that if I knew that the Mets were going to be on a strict budget this winter, but there are so many conflicting reports that that's far from certain.

Cora close to deal with Mets 11.30.09 at 1:11 pm ET By Rob Bradford According to a source familiar with the negotiations, former Red Sox infielder Alex Cora is close to a one-year deal with a vesting option for second with the New York Mets. The deal, which would guarantee the 34-year-old the same $2 million he made in �09 during at least the initial year of the contract, is expected to be finalized upon Cora passing a physical. Cora played in 82 games with the Mets in �09 before injuries cut short his season. He hit .251 for the season, playing 56 games at shortstop, 19 at second base and one at first base. Cora spent most of the year trying to play with torn ligaments in both thumbs. His right thumb was the first to endure injury in mid-May, and his production steadily declined over the year. With Jose Reyes out, Cora became the Mets� primary shortstop early in the year, hitting .333 with a .435 OBP and .886 OPS in 66 plate appearances prior to his right thumb injury. After returning from the D.L., he hit .232/.290/.277/.567 before undergoing season-ending surgery in mid-August. He ended 2009 with a .251/.320/.310/.630 line. Cora played in parts of four seasons with the Red Sox before becoming a free agent following the 2008 season. Though the Red Sox are still in the market for a shortstop, they did not express interest in bringing Cora back to Boston.

I'm looking forward to watching this later, when I'm at home.

What's the beef about Whitey Ford? I wouldn't have voted for Gaylord Perry. And Ty Cobb? More of a scoundrel than Pete Rose. Yes, I'd drop him if I could.

Count me among those who think McGwire disgraced the game, and no matter what his numbers are, he doesn't deserve Fame. Same for Bonds and Clemens. It's not the Hall of Great Statistics.

Alomar and Raines.

More than one pundit has said that it's possible that history will repeat, and "Hallway" will be available to the Mets just like Santana was. (They typically qualify that by emphasizing how unlikely it is.) I guess I agree that it's possible but unlikely, but so are about a million other things.

I'd be okay with Molina getting a one-year deal. (That wouldn't really block Thole a whole lot.) And I don't obsess over the draft picks. I would object to a deal of more than one year, because, barring a trade, I hope and expect to see Thole as the starting catcher in 2011.

That doesn't disturb me. Molina is the low-hanging fruit. (Not that there's anything wrong with it.) It doesn't mean they won't get bigger or better players as well, just that Molina is the one they have the clearest shot at.

For me it's: [list:3iui5w7l]Pinstripe Home Pinstripe Home Retro Away Gray Racing Stripes Home White Away Black (with NY on the front) Home Black Mercury Mets[/list:u:3iui5w7l]

That was my first thought as well.

Good old Omir Santos saves us from being completely shutout!

Now it's official: Jauss and Hale have been announced as 2010 coaches. (Jauss on the bench and Hale at third base.)

I'm a big fan of Bad Dude, but I don't see him as HOF-worthy. I'd love to see him come back as a Mets manager, win three to eleven pennants, and get himself into the Mets Hall. But based on what he's actually done, I'm afraid he falls short.

I know I'm going to suck at this, especially since there are a bunch of guys I've never heard of, but here goes: [table:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Player[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Was[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Type[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Matt Holiday[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]STL[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Jason Bay[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ROCKIES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]John Lackey[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]METS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Joel Pineiro[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]PHILLIES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Aroldis Chapman[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]YANKEES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Andy Pettitte[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]YANKEES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Randy Wolf[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]DODGERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Orlando Hudson[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]CUBS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Felipe Lopez[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ASTROS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Noel Arguelles[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]BREWERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Chone Figgins[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]PHILLIES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Mike Cameron[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]TIGERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Nick Johnson[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]NATIONALS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Placido Polanco[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]TIGERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Marco Scutaro[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]TWINS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Mike Gonzalez[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]PADRES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Ben Sheets[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]METS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Miguel Tejada[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ORIOLES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Rafael Soriano[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]BRAVES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Rich Harden[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]PADRES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Brad Penny[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]TIGERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Johnny Damon[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]YANKEES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Billy Wagner[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ASTROS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]A[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Jon Garland[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]RAYS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Ryota Igarashi[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]MARINERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Hideki Matsui[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]MARINERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Adrian Beltre[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]RED SOX[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Erik Bedard[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ANGELS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Adam Laroche[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]PADRES[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Miguel Olivo[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]ROYALS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Jason Marquis[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]METS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Pedro Martinez[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]DODGERS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei][/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][tr:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]Carlos Delgado[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]BLUE JAYS[/td:a4smcmei][td:a4smcmei]B[/td:a4smcmei][/tr:a4smcmei][/table:a4smcmei]

Excellent news!