Benjamin Grimm

Yeah, there's no way that Omar could have traded himself out of this mess. You might argue that he could have done something before the mess became so large, but even if he had, it wouldn't have helped any. It's probably better that he did nothing. It's certainly good that he didn't make any desperation trades. (I do wonder what kinds of deals he was working on.)

Figueroa 2.5 Green 1.5 Rodriguez 1 Francoeur 1.5 Tatis 1

Michigan is a journalist. He should reach out to Jerry Koosman and follow up.

Box score Stokes 0.5 Takahashi 0.5 Tatis 2 AHernandez 1.5 Murphy 1.5 Sullivan 1

Unreal.

Delgado might very well have hit 35 homers this year, and been as productive as he was for most of last year. But even so, was it better to get one year of Delgado, or to get his successor in place? There's no Texiera on the market this year, but there was one last year. I was hoping the Mets would go for him, not so much for the sake of 2009, but for the sake of 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for August 21, 2009 (8 votes) New York Mets 4, Philadelphia Phillies 2 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMike Pelfrey22.752.84(W) 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO.Jeff Francoeur12.681.583-4, R, HR, RBI, SO.Fernando Tatis7.230.901-3, 2 R, 3B, SO.Daniel Murphy7.040.882-4, 2B, RBI, SO, SB.Brian Stokes6.210.781.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Angel Pagan5.750.722-4, RBI.Francisco Rodriguez5.240.66(Sv) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Omir Santos5.080.641-2, R, RBI.Pedro Feliciano3.590.450.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Luis Castillo2.990.372-4, SO.Jeremy Reed0.340.040-0, BB.Gary Sheffield0.100.011-4, 2 SO.

Sacroiliac? Heavens to Mergatroid! I thought only Snagglepuss had one of those!

Certainly not. Three months ago it was May and the Mets were surging towards first place. I'd say it started feeling lost when the bad June turned into a bad July, with no signs of improvement. So I'd say it's been lost for, at most, about six weeks. (It just SEEMS like two or three months.)

The series against the Phillies will be closing... soon. Very few votes for most of the games. I'll keep the Monday afternoon game open until at least Thursday, but the first three games of the series may close as early as tomorrow (Wednesday) if I feel the urge to do so. Please be sure to vote!

Rubin hinted that not ALL of it would be reinvested. He didn't imply that NONE of it would be.

Takahashi 0.5 Wagner 0.5 Sheffield 1 Pagan 1

Redding 2.5 Dessens 1 Figueroa 1 Pagan 1 Castillo 1 Santos 1

Caleb Clay? Didn't he change his name to Mohammed Ali?

The buzz we've been hearing about how $30 million will be coming off the payroll, and that the Mets won't be reinvesting all of it, is not very encouraging. Hopefully it's not true. (If they reinvest $28 million of the $30 million, I won't gripe too hard, but if they put all 30 in their pockets, then it's a sure sign that we're entering another period of mediocrity.)

="Valadius":3nyo3a2x]I really liked him, for whatever reason. One of the top three closers of his generation, giant upgrade over Looper.[/quote:3nyo3a2x] I guess. But I just can't get excited over closers. G-Fafif Aug 25 2009 01:59 PM Preserved a Glavine gem on Ralph Kiner Night. I didn't like Glavine, I wasn't crazy about Wagner, but I sure do love Ralph Kiner. Billy and Paulie embracing upon clinching of the Mets' first division title in 18 years, as if they were the ones who waited 18 years. Ryan Zimmerman preventing a 9-0 start in '06, though a) you can't prove it would have happened and 8-1 was pretty good. LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 25 2009 02:09 PM ="Edgy DC"]I can't forget how angry I was that he was even in the game. It stunk of panic in a game the Mets had in hand. Ditto. One of the few times in my life where I could actually feel my face reddening. I got KYP Rook, the MFY 4-0 lead, and So Taguchi. I do have a few images of late summer 2006 that make me smile, though, to leaven it. Also: ]"Somebody want to tell me why the closer is being interviewed and I didn't even play," Wagner said in an expletive-laced tirade, "and why they are over there and not being interviewed? I got it; they're gone. (expletive) shocker." seawolf17 Aug 25 2009 02:12 PM He raises llamas; I've used "Billy Wagner's Llamas" as a fantasy team name in the past. Gwreck Aug 25 2009 02:21 PM I believe the animal in the avatar directly above your post is actually an alpaca. metirish Aug 25 2009 02:28 PM ="G-Fafif":1saux1au]Preserved a Glavine gem on Ralph Kiner Night. I didn't like Glavine, I wasn't crazy about Wagner, but I sure do love Ralph Kiner. Billy and Paulie embracing upon clinching of the Mets' first division title in 18 years, as if they were the ones who waited 18 years. Ryan Zimmerman preventing a 9-0 start in '06, though a) you can't prove it would have happened and 8-1 was pretty good.[/quote:1saux1au] I'll say it again, your ability to remember such specifics is amazing. It's only after I read your posts that I remember individual instances like that. I have a foggy memory of him mowing didn the Yankees 1 2 3 but don't ask me when. Farmer Ted Aug 25 2009 02:37 PM I never had a problem with Wagner other than the 2006 NLCS. Spoke his mind and didn't give a fuck about hurting anyone's feelings. I hope he knocks Papelbon's teeth out. Nymr83 Aug 25 2009 02:51 PM i thought this was supposed to be dead in the water and then i see a "memories of" thread. sadly the legacy of wagner to me is him not being there when the bullpen imploded down the stretch in 2008. John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 25 2009 03:50 PM ="Benjamin Grimm":356z0pnq]I'll probably remember the venom that Johnny Lunchbucket feels for Billy.[/quote:356z0pnq] I don't want to come off as a hater, but my reason for "hating" Wagner was a little bit about how he burned every bridge in Philly and Houston on his way out of those towns; and left their fans heartbroken and betrayed, and how when he came to the Mets he was hailed as the kind of guy who wouldn't do that -- then did. In the end he was crap in the 06 postseason, not a great teammate, and ultimately fragile and unreliable. We'd have done just as well signing Braden Looper for his tenure here. Now watch him go set fire to the Red Sox. Edgy DC Aug 25 2009 05:44 PM 'Bucket, I'm sending you a facebook mail NOW!!!! Ashie62 Aug 25 2009 05:50 PM My memory of Wagner is belowing Pedros 3 run lead against the MFY'S in midsummer in 06 I beleive. I was there and didn't smile til our group got to Virgil's

Oops, I forgot to look at the Sea Dog pitchers! How about Felix Doubront or Junichi Tazawa?

How about Luis Exposito and Josh Reddick?

I'll probably remember the venom that Johnny Lunchbucket feels for Billy.

I'd be more than happy with a AA player who's ranked among the top ten in the Boston organization.

A vat of clam chowder!

If Wagner accepts arbitration, his new contract won't have a no-trade attached, and he's not 5-and-10 yet, so the Mets could end up trading him to anyone who wanted to accept his contract. That wouldn't be such a bad outcome, except that his contract might be so high that he couldn't be traded without the Mets adding in some cash.