Benjamin Grimm

Yeah, I was too. "Ham Fighters" is such a cool and nutty name. Remember when it looked like Northern Virginia might get a baseball franchise? (Instead it went to the Washington Nationals.) I was hoping the team, if it came to be, would be called the "Virginia Ham Fighters."

Mike should try to stay away from Steve Phillips. There were some additional photos of Brooke in the Daily News this morning that were slightly more flattering, but I still don't think she'll be getting any phone calls from Maxim.

I really hope that Luis Castillo, for his own sake, has an enduring glorious moment as a Met, like Bucky Dent did in 1978 for that other team. It's the only way he can possibly eclipse the memory of that game-ending pop-up. I'm glad I wasn't watching when that happened. I still haven't even seen a clip of it, and I don't plan to seek one out. Maybe they'll play it on Mets Hot Stove Report this winter.

This may explain it: Mrs. Steve Phillips

I'm sure there's no classier variety of herpes than Jeterherpies.

I don't think I'm "yielding to their thinking" as much as I'd like to see a happy event that also conclusively disproves the misconceptions.

Yeah, he was suspended for a short period during the 1998-99 offseason. They actually exhumed Frank Cashen to fill in, and it was Cashen who completed the Mel Rojas-Bobby Bonilla trade.

I can't wait to hear what kind of jokes David Letterman makes about this! Oh... wait...

Yeah, that only works for rational people. I think the bud would be more effectively nipped if somebody slugged 30+ homers for the Mets next year. I'm not caring what the fans or the press think; I just don't want the Mets to become an unattractive destination for free agent sluggers.

That's Keith? He seems to have a different mouth these days.

I thought this was going to be about the reports that the Mets actually made $48 million out of their dealings with Bernie Madoff.

Earlier today on WFAN, SI.com�s Jon Heyman said he believes the Mets would like to sign Matt Holliday to play left field next season. Heyman said he feels the Braves, Giants and Mets will compete for Holliday, though he �wouldn�t be shocked to see him go to the Yankees, Red Sox or Cardinals.� In the end, he believes Holliday will stay in National League. Earlier this week, in a post to his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff said Holliday�s first choice is to sign with the Yankees, then the Mets. �of course, the Mets play in the National League� the Yankees do not� it�s going to be about money for holliday, as it should be� the thing i keep wondering about is will the Mets have to pay for Citi Field� i mean, if holliday is going to be forced to take a shorter-term deal, does he want to sign for his next supper with offensive stats from a pitcher�s park� in other words, if the Mets are going to dish out a huge, mega-deal for seven years, i bet he shakes off Citi Field pretty quick� but, most things being equal, will he just as soon sign in a park and with a team that might serve him better in a few years on the open market� In regards to a starting pitcher� Heyman said he doesn�t see the Mets trading to get Blue Jays RHP Roy Halladay, despite having enough, quality prospects to make a deal. Instead, Heyman believes the Mets will look at the market for free-agent starting pitchers, in an effort to sign a �solid innings-guy, who doesn�t get hurt. According to Heyman, the Mets regret not signing Randy Wolf last off season, instead choosing Oliver Perez. I do like the idea of getting a starting pitcher who's immune to injury. (And I share the regret over Randy Wolf.) The Mets do have enough quality prospects to deal for Roy Halladay? That contradicts what we've been hearing from most "pontificators." As for Matt Holliday, I'm not sure what to root for here. Is he the best use of the Mets' off-season dollars? I don't know enough about him to have an opinion, but I'm sure that others here do. Holliday aside, I'd like someone to hit 30 homers for the Mets next year (Wright, Beltran, Ike Davis, a new import... somebody!) so that this Citi Field-as-an-albatross thing can get nipped in the bud before it really takes hold.

I think it's just a Japanese syllable that happens to be the same as our abbreviation for Kenneth.

I also think there may have been a maximum number of players who were allowed on the DL at any one time, which may have discouraged using the DL for nagging injuries so that you'd have open spots on the DL for the more serious stuff. Jerry Grote, for example, was injured throughout the 1972 season, yet (as far as I can tell) never went on the DL. He just had severely reduced playing time.

On that link I posted above, take a look at Ron Gardenhire in 1984 and 1985. Made me think, in an uncomfortable way, about Jose Reyes.

Was almost the Schaefer Mets Relief Pitcher of the Month for September 2009. (He was close enough that I prepared a Topps Retrocard for him, but never got to use it.) I seem to recall that he was penciled in as a tentative starter at least once during the season, but he never did start a game for the Mets.

It's amazing how some years have so few DL stints, and other seasons have so many. There seem to be a lot fewer in the earlier years. I wonder, is it because of fewer injuries? Or because the rules of the time somehow made teams be more conservative about using the DL? Or is it because of incomplete data in the media guides? I suspect it's the second reason I listed, that it's some reflection of the rules that were in effect regarding the disabled list. But it's just a guess. I don't know for sure what changes have been made, although it seems that the 21-day list was eliminated at some point along the way.

I do want to shut up the local yokels, but a Yankees World Series victory is a price that's much more steep than I'm willing to pay. I picked up a used sensory deprivation tank on eBay. I'll just stay in there until the World Series (and the parade) are over.

And YouTube is going to ruin your career.

Still haven't gone through all of the posted scans, but here's what I have so far: http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/disabledlist.php

I'm really surprised by how high some of these numbers are. 87 memories about David Wright? They seem to just trickle in, but I never noticed how quickly they were adding up. And I have no memory of creating that page. I was absolutely surprised to see it there. I must have knocked it out pretty quickly. (Either that, or it was put there by elves.)