Benjamin Grimm

SCHAEFER METS PLAYER AND PITCHERS OF THE MONTH, SEPTEMBER 2009 The Schaefer Mets Player of the Month for September 2009 is JEFF FRANCOEUR. Francoeur hit .308 in September and had a .471 slugging percentage, leading the team in both categories, and an on-base percentage of .339. He led the Mets in runs scored with 17. He had 3 home runs, one fewer than team leader Daniel Murphy. Jeff had 32 hits (one fewer than Angel Pagan) and 8 doubles (tied with Pagan, but just behind Murphy's 9.) Murphy and David Wright led the Mets in September with 15 runs batted in. Francoeur, along with Fernando Tatis, was the runner up with 10. The Schaefer Mets Pitcher of the Month for August is TIM REDDING. Redding had a 1-2 record in September, but led the club with a 3.19 ERA in 36.2 innings over 6 starts. (Only Mike Pelfrey, with 38, pitched more September innings, also in 6 starts.) And the Schaefer Mets Relief Pitcher of the Month is PEDRO FELICIANO. Feliciano led the Mets in September appearances, with 17. His 2.79 ERA over 9.2 innings matches the numbers posted by Sean Green over 15 games. Green finished third in this month's bullpen Schaefer competition. Ken Takahashi was a close second, trailing Feliciano by 0.76 points. Takahashi has the bullpen's best ERA, 2.70, but only appeared in 10 games. All three Schaefer honorees this month are first-time winners. Month-to-date totals for September 2009 Through game of September 30, 2009 RankNamePoints1Jeff Francoeur19.082Daniel Murphy18.653Tim Redding15.774Angel Pagan14.195David Wright13.226Fernando Tatis12.437Luis Castillo10.388Carlos Beltran9.959Cory Sullivan9.5710Mike Pelfrey9.3511Pat Misch8.4912Nelson Figueroa8.4013Josh Thole7.4114Anderson Hernandez6.7515Bobby Parnell6.5316Pedro Feliciano5.8717Ken Takahashi5.1118Wilson Valdez5.0219Sean Green4.6620Omir Santos4.5721Francisco Rodriguez4.3622Brian Stokes3.4223Elmer Dessens3.1724Tobi Stoner3.0625Lance Broadway2.8326John Maine2.8227Jeremy Reed2.7528Brian Schneider2.6329Nick Evans0.9130Gary Sheffield0.17

Maybe Wally and Tim Teufel can platoon as Mets manager next year.

Edgy DC awarded 0.65 points to Josh Thole, who didn't appear in the game. Those points were discarded. Totals for September 30, 2009 (8 votes) Washington Nationals 7, New York Mets 4 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceTim Redding25.993.256.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.Fernando Tatis10.431.302-3, 2B, RBI, SOJeff Francoeur9.471.182-4, 2 R, 2BCarlos Beltran9.261.161-3, R, RBI, BB, SOOmir Santos8.451.062-4, 2 RBIPedro Feliciano2.470.310.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Sean Green2.350.290.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.Gary Sheffield0.610.080-0, BBBobby Parnell0.320.041.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.Angel Pagan0.250.030-5, R

Bench Coach Sandy Alomar Sr. Not too surprised. You know, if you had asked me yesterday, I wouldn't have even been able to tell you who the Mets bench coach was. He's been fairly low profile, hasn't he? I don't remember, was he Jerry's pick or Omar's? (I seem to think he was Omar's.) First Base Coach Luis Alicea Perhaps the biggest ho-hum of all. Looks like he's the only one who's completely unemployed right now. Hitting Coach Howard Johnson I figured he'd be back. No surprise there. Pitching Coach Dan Warthen I'm a little surprised that he was retained. Actually, if we had done a pre-announcement poll, my guess would have been that everyone would have been let go except HoJo. Bullpen Coach Randy Niemann Whatever. Third Base Coach Razor Shines and Catching Instructor Sandy Alomar Jr. will be part of the Major League staff in 2010 in yet to be determined roles. I guess one of the two will be the first base coach. Is it possible that Razor will be the bench coach, with Sandy Jr. going to first base? Or perhaps the other way around? Here's my prediction: Sandy Jr. to third base, Razor to first base, and a new hire for the dual role of bench coaching and breathing down Jerry's neck.

You're not going to see trades announced on October 5. There won't be any trades to speak of until after the World Series ends.

Figueroa 6 Thole 1 Pagan 3

I'm intrigued and puzzled by the paperclip icon next to the thread title.

They have a shot at an undefeated October!

Misch 2.4 Stokes 1.3 Green 1.3 Tatis 2 Thole 1 AHernandez 1 Sullivan 0.5 Murphy 0.5

Maine 4 Francoeur 2 Wright 1 Murphy 1 Santos 1 Tatis 1

Don't tell me they also filled Ted's head with candy!

I'm assuming the Houston starter is a lefty. Why not give Murphy some at bats against the lefty? We should start a "Fire Jerry" Internet petition. I've never known an Internet petition that didn't work.

I suppose that could be true, assuming the replacement has to be a bigger name. My 21-year-old self was very disappointed that the Mets didn't go "big name" for their 1984 manager; instead they just promoted the Tidewater guy. That turned out to be a terrific move. Maybe Ken Oberkfell is the answer. Or some third base coach from the NL Central. (I have no idea who they are; don't ask me for specifics.) I just want a smart guy. He doesn't have to be a famous guy.

Voting will continue through the weekend for the September 30 game ( viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12599 ) but it's seems pretty certain that this month will feature three first-time winners (Player, Pitcher, and Reliever of the Month), and thus, the debut of three all-new retro baseball cards. All will be revealed early next week. There will be no POTM for October, but the three games will count towards the annual totals. The Player and Pitcher of the Year were decided a while ago, but the Reliever race is still in doubt. Stay tuned... And as for whether Schaefer continues into 2010, I suspect it will (as long as the forum is still here, of course.) A lot of the disinterest this year is probably due to overall disinterest in the Mets, so I imagine voting will pick up in April when all is sunny and hopeful. And even if it doesn't, my magic spreadsheet does 95% of the work anyway, so the tallying isn't much of a burden. But I'll make a final decision on 2010 as spring training nears a close.

Totals for September 29, 2009 (8 votes) Washington Nationals 4, New York Mets 3 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMike Pelfrey18.822.357.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.Angel Pagan17.362.173-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, SODavid Wright11.821.482-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB, SOCarlos Beltran6.670.831-3, RBI, BBWilson Valdez2.400.301-3, R, 2BPedro Feliciano2.320.290.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Daniel Murphy1.890.241-4Francisco Rodriguez1.180.150.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.Luis Castillo0.540.071-5, SO

Totals for September 28, 2009 (8 votes) Washington Nationals 2, New York Mets 1 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceNelson Figueroa21.382.67(L) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO.Fernando Tatis13.931.742-4, 2B, RBIBobby Parnell6.590.821.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO.Carlos Beltran5.210.651-3, R, BBPedro Feliciano3.130.390.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Sean Green1.960.240.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Angel Pagan1.700.210-2, 2 BBAnderson Hernandez0.970.122-3Wilson Valdez0.520.060-0David Wright0.300.041-4, 2B, SO

That's true enough. They should appreciate all of their fans, even the ones who don't ever attend a game, because they may be subscribing to SNY, buying Mets merchandise, and, through whatever fan enthusiasm they may have, spreading the word and creating other Mets fans, who may become ticket buyers, SNY subscribers, and merchandise purchasers.

Alcor also does "whole body storage" for a higher fee. I think the thinking is that the future generations would be able to clone a younger body for Ted, and put his brain into it. Of course, the clone would have a brain (and a mind) of his own, and perhaps would not be too thrilled about having his brain removed and discarded to make way for the brain of an 83-year-old dead guy.

I'd hold out for four tickets.

and continued commitment to one of the highest player payrolls in Major League Baseball Did they really say this? If so, it's encouraging. (By that I mean, it contradicts all those reports that they were going to "go cheap" this winter. It doesn't guarantee, of course, that the money will be spent wisely.)

There's nothing wrong with the Mets being classier than the Yankees are. Or would be. I have to admit that I wasn't aware of this 500th save. Did it happen at Citi Field this summer? I totally missed it. Why didn't the Mets give him the rubber right after the game? Why are they waiting until now? Is it impossible to replace a pitching rubber during the course of a season?

Don't get me wrong, I think Bobby Valentine is great, and I'd be delighted if he came back. But it it were up to me, the Restoration that I'd prefer would be Davey Johnson. As long as he hasn't mellowed (and I don't know if this is the case or not) I think he'd be the ideal guy to bring in right now. They need a smart guy, and a no-nonsense guy. Both Davey and Bobby qualify on the first count, but I think Davey better fits that second criteria.

It is. I'd fire both of them, but I think Jerry deserves firing on his own merits, not just because he was Omar's guy.