Benjamin Grimm

Farmer Ted wrote: Watching on the Phils comcast with Harry Kalas. Trivia...only Mets player with the last name beginning with U? Easy one. I think Harry's been checking out the UMDB.Interesting. So that's why Del is getting so many hits today. He might even win the daily title for the first time.

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Going into the bottom of the fifth with Beltran, Delgado, Wright.This would be a good inning to score a few runs. And then again, maybe not. Wright hit by a pitch and steals second, but the Mets don't score.

Going into the bottom of the fifth with Beltran, Delgado, Wright. This would be a good inning to score a few runs.

Braves and Nationals scoreless after four. DC fans must be wild with excitement.

Kid Carsey wrote: Rollins gets another AB, doesn't homer.Hah! What a loser!

Here's the inning: - M. Alou singled to deep right center - S. Green singled to left, M. Alou to second - E. Chavez ran for S. Green - J. Valentin grounded into fielder's choice, M. Alou out at third, E. Chavez to second - J. Franco hit for P. Feliciano - J. Franco walked, E. Chavez to third, J. Valentin to second Edgy DC wrote: That was the third-most-damaging offensive play by a Met, advancing their win probablility (based on 2001-2006 game data) by 19.2 percentage points, from 38.2% to 57.4%. - J. Reyes reached on fielder's choice, E. Chavez scored, J. Valentin to third, J. Franco to second on J. Rollins' fielding error Edgy DC wrote: Reyes' conspiring hit to Mr. Team-to-Beat pushed our scheme ahead by 22.8 points, from 57.4% to 80.2%. - J. Valentin scored, J. Franco to third, J. Reyes to second on wild pitch Edgy DC wrote: That brought in the go-ahead run, but the likeliness that it was going to be brought in one way or another at that point apparently supressed the overall statistical impact. It advanced the marker 12.1 points, from 80.2% to 92.3%. - P. Lo Duca walked Edgy DC wrote: Most of what Lo Duca's walk would have accomplished was already accomplished in the wild pitch. The walk only advanced the Mets 1.8 points, from 92.1% to 93.9%. - J. Lieber relieved J. Lieber - C. Beltran hit sacrifice fly to center, J. Franco scored - C. Delgado walked, J. Reyes to third, P. Lo Duca to second - D. Wright doubled to deep left, P. Lo Duca and J. Reyes scored, C. Delgado to third Edgy DC wrote: Wright's double was vicious, but the Mets were already up by a few and it was late. It advanced the likelihood of a Mets win 3.3 points, from 94.3 %to 97.6%. The game wasn't in bed, but the lights were out and the covers were pulled. - M. Alou singled to left, C. Delgado and D. Wright scored - E. Chavez grounded out to shortstop So the big leap had to have come early in the inning. Interesting. My second (and final) guess: Green's single?

See the next page...

How about Wright's double?

Voting for April 11 will continue until some time Saturday morning.

Month-to-date totals for April 2007 Through game of April 9, 2007 RankNamePoints1Orlando Hernandez9.542José Reyes7.493Carlos Beltran6.284Carlos Delgado5.465John Maine5.296Paul Lo Duca5.217Tom Glavine5.038Oliver Perez4.489Shawn Green4.3410David Wright2.1611José Valentin2.0112Moises Alou1.8213Aaron Heilman1.2613Ramon Castro1.2615Joe Smith1.1616Scott Schoeneweis0.8917Billy Wagner0.7018Pedro Feliciano0.5419Julio Franco0.2220Ambiorix Burgos0.0421Aaron Sele0.0322Endy Chavez0.02

I knew it was overly optimistic to say that Perez had "figured it out." Hopefully there won't be too many outings like this one, but there very well might be. Get well soon, Pedro.

That "Fame" isn't the one from the movie, is it? "I wanna live forever..." I pretty much NEVER notice any player's entrance music, but last year there was one significant exception: Carlos Beltran's El Esta Aqui. (I thought it was "Vanis Takee.") Beltran was so hot at one point last year that whenever there were runners on base and I'd hear "Vanis Takee" I'd feel a surge of anticipation. I would have known his at bat was next anyway, of course, but somehow that song became associated in my mind with big base hits. I hope that happens again this year.

A win tonight and tomorrow, with the Nationals coming in to town over the weekend, and this season could be off to an outstanding start. I hope Oliver and the boys can keep the ball rolling.

Voting for the series in Atlanta closed this morning. Voting continues for Monday's home opening win over the Phillies. I'll shut it down and post the totals some time on Thursday morning. http://cybermessageboard.ehost.com/getalife/viewtopic.php?t=6060

This is all from IMDB. Iron Man is due out in 2008. Jon Favreau directs. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Gwyneth Paltrow is Pepper Potts. Plus Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes, Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane and Shaun Toub as the Mandarin. I like Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. (My first choice, Clark Gable, is dead at the present time.) I don't remember who Obadiah Stane is. A business rival of Tony Stark, I believe. The Incredible Hulk is in pre-production for a 2008 release. IMDB says, "Casting is currently underway" which gives me a measure of hope that they're starting fresh and not creating a sequel to that awful 2003 movie. Maybe this time they'll get it right. (I want to see Rick Jones playing the harmonica in the desert, and Bruce Banner throwing him into that ditch just as the bomb goes off!) Thor is also in pre-production for a 2009 release. (It will be hard to do the character justice without making a very silly looking movie, I think.) In the category of "Announced" we have Nick Fury in 2008. (Here's the plot description: "A daring amateur boxer from Hells Kitchen is recruited by the Army for some top-secret assignments. He soon is promoted to captain, where he puts together the First Attack Squad, a group of elite soldiers who carry out elite missions.") and Captain America in 2009. ("Unassuming Army officer Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals.") Hopefully any Captain America movie would be set in World War II, and we'd see the Red Skull, Baron Zemo, and, of course, Bucky. (I'd also like to see the Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch and Toro too but that's probably too much to ask.)

Carlos Beltran is very wise. That's why he's known as the Met with hair.

And Maine is getting a low of zero and a high of 3. Wright is ranging from 0.25 to 2.5.

Wide disparity in voting for the home opener. It will be interesting to see what the final consensus looks like.

iramets wrote: Where you getting those dates (and that order) from? The dates are from the box score data. The sequence, when more than one player debuts on the same date, is probably by chance, although I may be listing starters first and then reserves, but I don't recall if I am or not.

Obernauer, Michael, "Willie defends pitch to Howard: He's not Bonds", New York Daily News, Tuesday, April 10, 2007, page 54.

He said it was because Heilman was unavailable and he didn't want to go too deep into his bullpen too early. And that Ryan Howard "isn't Barry Bonds."

The icing on the cake is that the Phillies must be a bit demoralized at this point. It will be so great if the Mets can take the next two as well.

Taking advantage of the other team's mistakes is a time-honored way of winning.

Endy grounds out. The Mets will have to settle for a 7-run inning.

There's plenty of Schaefer to give out today! (And very little of it will go to pitchers, I think.)