Benjamin Grimm

Wright 1 Delgado 1 Alou 0.5 Lo Duca 0.5 Castillo 0.5 Pelfrey 0.3 Gomez 0.5

And Mackey Sasser!

My guess would be spring of 2004. I think it was a while before Wright would be called up but after the buzz had started.

Last night's loss helps the Phillies more than it hurts the Mets. Padres lost again. Even if the division title slips away from the Mets, the Wild Card chances are very good. Mets Magic Number over San Diego is 5, but they seem more likely to lose on any given day than the Phillies do. Colorado is surging, but the Mets Magic Number for them is 4. Even if the Phillies outplay the Mets by two games, the Wild Card is a likely consolation prize. (I want that division title though!) Average wins by position in NL East: 90.9 88.5 85.1 71.8 68.6 NL East W L Pct3 Avg W Avg L Champions Wild Card Playoffs 1D Change 7D Change Mets 87 69 .561 90.9 71.1 90.94177 6.96639 97.90816 -0.78904 2.46349 Phillies 85 71 .535 88.5 73.5 9.02697 47.66327 56.69023 8.41595 14.51530 Braves 82 74 .539 85.1 76.9 .03127 1.21156 1.24282 .38003 .41227 Average wins by position in NL West: 90.8 88.2 86.8 83.4 72.2 NL West W L Pct3 Avg W Avg L Champions Wild Card Playoffs 1D Change 7D Change Diamondbacks 88 68 .485 90.8 71.2 91.75357 4.88523 96.63879 1.17677 20.26668 Padres 85 71 .517 87.9 74.1 4.56907 27.10483 31.67389 -12.14527 -38.30257 Rockies 84 72 .547 87.2 74.8 3.67737 12.16189 15.83925 2.95712 14.01447

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for September 20, 2007 (12 votes) Florida Marlins 8, New York Mets 7 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceMarlon Anderson35.442.951-1, R, 2B, 3 RBI.Moises Alou17.941.501-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB.David Wright15.251.273-4, 2 2B, RBI.Aaron Heilman8.760.731.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Guillermo Mota7.680.641.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Scott Schoeneweis4.910.410.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Paul Lo Duca3.600.301-4, 2B.Carlos Beltran2.000.171-5, R, RBI, 2 SO.Joe Smith1.200.100.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Lastings Milledge0.900.080-2, R.Shawn Green0.420.040-1, R, BB.Ruben Gotay0.480.040-5, R, 3 SO.Jeff Conine0.070.011-4, BB, 3 SO.

So there's no discount for back rows of Mezzanine?

I think Rollins will be helped by his being a shortstop.

Pete Hamner has posted probably about a dozen messages about various players and coaches. He hasn't left one about himself though.

Here are the results of the tie-breaker coin tosses from a few weeks ago. Some of the matchups clearly won't be happening, and some potential matchups (including those for ties between more than two teams) were not accounted for. The only coin toss the Mets were involved in was the one for the division tie. If they ended up tied with the Padres for the wild card there would have to be a new coin toss. Look at Rockies/Padres: They'd be in Denver if the Wild Card was at stake, and in San Diego if it was the division title. AL WILD CARD Mariners @ Yankees Tigers @ Yankees Mariners @ Tigers NL EAST Mets @ Phillies NL CENTRAL Brewers @ Cubs Cubs @ Cardinals Cardinals @ Brewers NL WEST Padres @ D-backs Dodgers @ D-backs Rockies @ D-backs Padres @ Dodgers Rockies @ Padres Dodgers @ Rockies NL WILD CARD Dodgers @ Padres Phillies @ Padres Padres @ Rockies Cubs @ Padres Padres @ Brewers Phillies @ Dodgers Dodgers @ Rockies Cubs @ Dodgers Dodgers @ Brewers Phillies @ Rockies Cubs @ Phillies Phillies @ Brewers Rockies @ Cubs Brewers @ Rockies Brewers @ Cubs

There's a lot more important stuff going on, but I'm glad that Moises Alou removed the ambiguity around the club hitting streak record. (Hubie and Piazza holding the "single-season" record and Wright with the "multi-season" record.) Of course, if Moises gets hits in each of the next seven games, and another on Opening Day next year, then the ambiguity is back. (Sort of.)

I'd love to see Wright win this thing, but, and I hate to say it, I think a better case can be made for Jimmy Rollins.

There are Upper Box and Upper Reserved. When you come through the "tunnel" into the sunlight, the Upper Boxes are the ones you'd step down to, and when you have Upper Reserved you turn around and make the steep climb to your seats.

Over the winter, the Mets phoned me twice to get me to buy season tickets. I turned them down both times, and now they're getting even with me.

Right now, I have little confidence that the Mets will get far in the postseason. But, fiddle-dee-dee, I'll worry about that tomorrow. Let's clinch a playoff spot first, and then we'll take our chances in the playoffs. Things might look a whole light brighter next Tuesday. As we've seen, things can change quickly.

That's the same choice I would have made.

Still no e-mails from the Mets for me. I hope you guys aren't all planning on leaving me alone in the Loser's Lounge with that Dr. Pepper girl.

If everything goes right, the Mets will clinch on Wednesday night. If everything goes wrong, the Mets will be eliminated on Saturday.

metirish wrote: Look who sponsors Bannister's page.... http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bannibr01.shtml I was expecting to see that it was Iramets.

metsmarathon wrote: or is it an inherent property of the mets that no matter whichever talent evaluator they bring in, they are incapable of properly evaluating foreign talent, as compared to the excellent ability of the rest of the teams throughout major league baseball? That would be true if Mike Francesa's way of thinking was correct. I remember him saying that David Wright wouldn't amount to anything because the Mets farm system hadn't produced a quality major league hitter since Darryl Strawberry. (His memory was as faulty as his logic; he overlooked Edgardo Alfonzo.)

I agree with that, for now. If things go badly the next two days, though, then this week wins the Importance Contest.

TransMonk wrote: Beltran has been playing like a superstar who's team needs him in the lineup, rather than a superstar who doesn't play when he's not 100%. If cleon were here, he'd say, "That's his JOB. He's still a clubhouse cancer."

Do we have a list somewhere of all of the possible home field advantages for the tie-breakers? I'm curious about where a game would be played if the Phillies ended up tied with the Padres. But beyond that, it's also possible (although unlikely) that there could be a five-way tie for the Wild Card between the Mets, Phillies, Padres, Rockies, and Cubs. What would happen THEN? (Mets go 2-5, Phillies 4-2, Cubs 6-0, Padres 4-2, Rockies 5-1.) If the Mets and Phillies end up with identical records, the Phillies would get the division title based on head-to-head play. But if they were also tied with the Padres, let's say, would the Phillies get a bye? Or would they have to enter a three-way playoff? The rules changed a few times, so I'm not sure where it's at now. Back in 1999, as I remember, this is what would have happened in that scenario: The Mets and Phillies would have played a one-game playoff for the division title, and the Padres would have been the Wild Card, because they'd have a better record than whichever team lost that game.

No e-mail for me, unfortunately. In what section are your tickets? Are you reasonably close to home plate? If so, those are terrific seats for a playoff game. If the Mets go into the NLDS without home field advantage, do your tickets convert to Game 3 tickets? (I assume they would.)

I'll be very happy if the Braves can win two of their next three at Citizens Bank Park. I'll be even happier if they win all three. (A three-game Atlanta sweep would put them tied with the Phillies in second place at 85-74. Both teams would have a tragic number of 2 if the Mets get swept by the Nationals, and they'd both be eliminated (from the NL East race, anyway) by Thursday if the Mets took two from Washington.)

Yeah, I don't see how Alay Soler or Kaz Matsui have any impact on how this guy performs.