Benjamin Grimm

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for June 5, 2008 (11 votes) San Diego Padres 2, New York Mets 1 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMike Pelfrey38.903.546.0 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO.Jos� Reyes14.851.352-3, R, BB, 2 SB.Duaner Sanchez5.500.501.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.David Wright4.400.401-4, RBI, SO.Pedro Feliciano3.750.340.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO.Joe Smith3.300.300.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Endy Chavez2.830.260-3.Ryan Church2.580.230-4, 3 SO.Carlos Beltran1.700.151-4, 2B.

Willets Point wrote: That and with whom do we replace Perez in the rotation? The #4 & 5 slots are iffy at best and without Perez that leaves only Santana and Maine as reliable starters plus the oft-injured Martinez. I'd say that a rotation of Santana, Maine, Martinez, Pelfrey, and Vargas isn't noticeably worse than a rotation of Santana, Maine, Martinez, Perez, and Pelfrey. Problem with that, though, is if Martinez goes on the DL again, we have a bit less depth. But Armas is an option. And it's even possible that Orlando Hernandez will return. (Not likely, perhaps, but possible.)

Flawed as he is, I think Oliver Perez is our best trade chip right now.

Or they can trade Oliver Perez for the best left-fielder they can manage to get, and tell Alou that he's a pinch-hitter, fill-in outfielder for the remainder of the season. Alou, too, may have trade value once he returns. Would a young contending team (like Tampa Bay, perhaps) have use for a veteran DH/pinch-hitter with a solid bat? It may be a stretch (I have no idea what the Rays may or may not need) but veteran players do get dealt to contenders often enough.

Well, I think Plan B was Pagan and Chavez. Plan C was probably Marlon Anderson and Brady Clark. Plan D was Tatis and Evans. And now we're struggling to find out what Plan E is.

Cleon has been arguing Beltran's worthlessness for a long time now.

All very true. Tatis has been overused in left field. He's probably best suited to be a Rusty Staub (circa 1984) at this point, a pinch hitter spending as little time in the field as possible. There was one game (I don't remember which one) where the Mets were protecting a late-inning lead and Tatis was still in left, with Endy on the bench. If ever there was a time for a defensive substitution, it was then, but Willie kept Tatis out there. (I don't recall if Willie got burned by doing that. Probably not; if he had I'd be remembering more of the details.) After his hot September, I was on board with bringing back Alou, but we're seeing how unwise a move that was. It's true that he's a .340 hitter, and it's great to have him in the lineup when he's healthy, but their lack of depth in the outfield is killing the Mets. The "we'll take what we can get from him when he's healthy" approach really doesn't work very well with a position player. (I think it's probably a lot less disruptive with a starting pitcher, like Pedro or Orlando Hernandez. The fact is, everyone fully expected Alou to miss some time this year, and the Mets plan was to have Pagan and/or Endy fill in for him during the time he was hurt. That worked well in April, when Pagan played really well, but for this kind of approach to really work over the course of a season, you need to have that fourth outfielder who's legitimately good enough to be a full-time corner outfielder on a contending major league team. And if they did have that guy, then you don't really need a Moises Alou.

The bright side is that I have other things going on in my life, and all my hopes for happiness aren't dependent on the Mets being successful. I'll either be able to enjoy a calm, baseball-free October, or the Mets will give us a hell of a ride over the next 100 games and they'll storm into the playoffs. I really wanted and expected the last game at Shea Stadium to be a post-season game, filled with meaning. I've had to adjust that expectation.

Voting for Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Padres in San Diego will close on Tuesday morning: http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=9202

KC awarded 10.25 points. His votes have been prorated as follows: Beltran 2.00 1.95 Delgado 1.00 0.98 Maine 4.00 3.9 Reyes 2.00 1.95 Sanchez 0.50 0.49 Wagner 0.75 0.73 VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for June 4, 2008 (11 votes) New York Mets 5, San Francisco Giants 3 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJohn Maine37.983.45(W) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO.Jos� Reyes24.592.243-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SO, SB.Carlos Beltran20.931.902-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI.Carlos Delgado10.940.992-4, 2B, RBI.Billy Wagner9.350.85(Sv) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Duaner Sanchez4.680.432.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO.David Wright1.250.110-4, R, SO.Luis Castillo0.080.011-4, BB, SO.

Ron Swoboda is getting a much larger-than-usual number of clicks today. The volume was high enough that I was worried that he might have died, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Has Ron been in the news today? I can't find any reason for his surge today.

I know Willie's not entirely to blame for all this, but I'd like to see a new manager in place by Tuesday's game, just so we can get on with our lives. Name Oberkfell as an interim manager, and let him audition for the 2009 job.

box score Vargas 1 Schoeneweis 1 Delgado 3 Easley 1 Castillo 1.2 Reyes 1 Chavez 1

My prediction: Padres 2, Mets 1.

If there's anyone interested in Oliver Perez, I'd be talking to them. He pitched reasonably well yesterday. His value may never be higher, at least, between now and the end of the season.

Voting for the Mets 5-3 Wednesday afternoon win in San Francisco will close on Monday. http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=9189

Is it almost time to crank up the deathwatch again?

Perez 2.5 Smith 1 Schoeneweis 1.5 Sanchez 2 Delgado 1 Beltran 0.5 Chavez 0.5

Frayed Knot wrote: From the moment Delgado's hit went into the corner I'm thinking that if Wright gets sent he's gonna be a dead man and we'd be crawling all over Alomar for sending another one to the gallows. So I know Keef talked about there being two outs and all but I'm not gonna kill Sandy for this one. I read that differently. As the ball was being retrieved, I was expecting a play at the plate, and thought Wright might have a decent chance. I was surprised by the red light.

And since they know he's not playing on Saturday and Sunday, why are they keeping him in San Diego? Get him back to New York BY GROUND now so he can see a doctor. If they put him on a plane AGAIN after Sunday's game, the entire medical staff should be fired.

Santana 3.5 Feliciano 0.8 Wright 1 Chavez 0.8 Reyes 0.25 Castillo 0.25

They may be bland, but that's okay for road uniforms. I loved the simple grey uniforms with the simple black BOSTON that the Red Sox wore in the 80's. And I think the ugliest uniforms currently in use are those black home jerseys that the Rockies wear, with the flared shoulders. They're so effeminate that they might as well be pink.

"Cool Papa" Bell would have looked nice on the all-time Mets roster, along with Jay and Heath and Gus and Derek.

Frayed Knot wrote: I don't get what the rule is there. Are you referring to the catcher-falling-into-the-dugout rule? I had never heard of that one either. Clearly Schneider was aware of it, since he flipped that ball behind him as he was heading down the stairs. Why would a runner advance to second base on a foul ball if the catcher falls into the dugout after a catch? Does he automatically get to tag up if the fielder is outside the field of play? If that's the case, why should it matter whether Schneider stumbled or trotted into the dugout? I'm in my 38th year of watching baseball, and I'm still seeing stuff I've never seen before.

Scott Boras is probably trying right now to represent as many of them as possible.