Benjamin Grimm

So who do the Mets have in the second-tier category? Humber? Mulvey? Smith?

I remember how Robinson's desire to be a major league manager was an ongoing story. Sad that he never got the chance. Also, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Steve Rogers posted a 3,000 word essay about Bill Robinson in the "thread of silence."

Well, are the Twins "buying" or "selling?" They're 6.5 games out of the wild card, so I imagine they're buying, and looking for someone who can help them win this year. Castillo seems to be having a decent year. Not a lot of extra base hits, but he's hitting .304 and he's scored 54 runs. Do they have a replacement for him on hand if he's dealt? If the Twins were really in "sell" mode I'd be talking to them about Torii Hunter. I'd guess that the Mets most likely trading partner is a team that's firmly a seller. The Mets don't have a whole lot of major leaguers who they can spare AND who can help another contender. (It would be different if Endy and Gomez and Milledge were all healthy, but they're not. They can't afford to deal Milledge now, and they're not allowed to trade Endy or Gomez while they're disabled.)

Payton's numbers this year. He's played 84 games, has 281 at bats, so he's been getting a lot of playing time: AvgHRRBIRunsSB

That's okay, I'm a little behind in tallying. There are currently six games open, and they'll all be closed by Wednesday.

Voting for last Wednesday night's win over the Pirates, and Thursday afternoon's loss, will close on Tuesday. July 25, Mets 6, Pirates 3: http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6952 July 26: Pirates 8, Mets 4: http://cranepoolforum.net/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6957 The entire four-game series against the Nationals will close on Wednesday.

Maine 3 Castro 2 Reyes 2 Wright 2 Milledge 1

Pelfrey 2 Mota 1 Heilman 1 Delgado 3 Wright 2 Gotay 1

OHernandez 5 Heilman 1 Wagner 1 Gotay 1 Reyes 1 Delgado 1

Alou 1 Green 1 Easley 0.5 Delgado 0.5 Adkins 0.5 Heilman 0.5

The Mets have five weeks to get their roster in order for the postseason. It will be interesting to see if Smith comes back before August 31.

I've been trying to remember what I thought of the Glavine signing way back in late 2002. Maybe my written reaction has somehow survived the ezBoard massacre, but I'm not going to dig through that mess. I think my memory is pretty accurate: I was glad they signed him. I figured he still had a few good years left and I'd have rather seen him with the Mets than with the Phillies or Braves. I thought the contract had too many years and too many dollars. But I don't' worry too much about that kind of stuff (especially the dollars) because it's not my money. My biggest concern was that Glavine would be washed up by 2006 and he'd be stuck in the rotation because of his high salary. But I wasn't concerned a whole lot with 2006 back then. The Mets were hoping that 2002 was an aberration, and with bounceback years from Alomar and Vaughn and Burnitz they'd return to contention and Glavine would help with that. So I felt that they were gambling on 2003 and planning on dealing with the consequences in 2006. I didn't think that was such a smart gamble because although I thought Alomar was likely to bounce back (although he didn't) I figured it was much less likely for Vaughn. I didn't really see the Mets contending in 2003. The way I saw it playing out, Glavine would pitch well for the Mets in 2003 but the team wouldn't contend. And by the time the team would contend again, Glavine would no longer be able to contribute much. I was right about 2003 not being a good year for the Mets. I was wrong about Glavine pitching well in 2003. The biggest surprise may have been that Glavine ended up contributing more at the end of his contract than at the beginning. The Mets won the division in 2006 and Glavine was a part of that. He didn't earn his full salary, but he had a decent year. I don't think he's been a disaster. I don't agree that he was the reason the Mets got Beltran and Pedro. I see him as a guy who's earned too much money, and got too much animosity because he was "tainted" by his time in Atlanta. Overall, he's been decent but overpaid. I don't concern myself at all about how Glavine's salary might have otherwise been spent. The Wilpons have plenty and I don't worry about their budget.

VOTING FOR THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED Totals for July 24, 2007 (14 votes) New York Mets 8, Pittsburgh Pirates 4 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJohn Maine68.014.86(W) 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO.Lastings Milledge31.792.273-3, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI.Ruben Gotay13.360.952-4, R, 2B, RBI, SO.Jos� Reyes12.310.882-5, R, 2B.Paul Lo Duca9.650.692-4, 2 R, 2B.Shawn Green2.160.151-4, R, RBI, SO.Carlos Beltran1.250.091-4, 3 SO, SB.Aaron Heilman1.220.091.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.David Wright0.200.010-3, RBI, SO.Guillermo Mota0.050.001.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.

Well, Piazza did gesture at Clemens, but that was about it.

Associated Press wrote: PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies lost more than a game. Chase Utley, Philadelphia�s All-Star second baseman, broke his right hand in Thursday�s 7-6 defeat to the Washington Nationals. Utley was hit in the fifth inning by John Lannan, who was making his major league debut. Utley finished the game, going 2-for-4, but X-rays afterward showed he broke a bone in the hand. Utley planned to see a specialist on Friday to determine the first step in his recovery. �As breaks go, it�s not that bad of a break,� Utley said. �It�s definitely disappointing.� Utley, batting .336 with 17 homers and 82 RBIs, didn�t think he�d be sidelined for a month. �I think it will be sooner than that,� he said.

Glavine helped the nation heal after Watergate.

That makes me feel better. A loss by the Braves tonight and the day will be a wash.

That's it! Thank you for playing. Drive home safely! 1. Marshall 2. Sutter 3. Bedrosian 4. Forster

Mike Marshall yes, Bill Campbell no. 1. Marshall 2. Sutter 3. Bedrosian 4. The remaining guy, who once led the AL in saves, did so as a White Sock.

Not McMichael (his career started after Keith had retired) and not Dailey. The guy who was a Met and a Brave spent very little time with either team. Four games as a Brave, 20 as a Met. He was an established veteran when Keith was a rookie. The guy who wasn't a Met is someone I don't think of as a closer, but he did lead the American League in saves once.

Bedrosian yes, Camp no. 1. 2. Sutter 3. Bedrosian 4.

Perez 2 Mota 1 Reyes 1.5 Wright 0.5 Milledge 1

box score

No, no, and no.