Benjamin Grimm

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Harrison and Sophia may someday prove to be the next comings of Jeff Wilpon and Lorinda deRoulet, but that's a concern for another decade.

David Stearns, of course.

It's still really early. And hiring a business guy isn't going to distract from player moves. It probably involves the attention of an almost entirely different set of people.

https://www.fox13now.com/sports/salt-lake-city-named-favorite-for-mlb-expansion-by-baseball-insidersSalt Lake City named favorite for MLB expansion by baseball insiders One of the two "insiders" quoted in this article is David Cone, so perhaps this scoop should be taken with a grain (if not a lake) of salt. But until now, I was unaware that Salt Lake City was putting in a bid for an expansion team. I think Portland would be a better choice for the West Coast expansion team, but maybe SLC's greater distance from Seattle will give it an advantage. Other cities mentioned in the article are Nashville, Charlotte, and Montreal. I've seen elsewhere that there's a good chance that we'll have 32 teams by 2028.

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I thought about it, but I'm not going to go. It just won't be practical for me in 2024, but London is a wonderful city and I encourage anyone for whom it's doable to go for it.

After my last request for a tie-breaker, RE-PETE OFFENSE took a slight lead, but POLAR ECLIPSE has since gotten another vote, and we're tied again. So once again, we need someone to step up and break this tie. Anyone?

Today's poll is the final poll of the first round. We have now seen all of the covers for this year's tournament. There were 222 covers this time around, with 81 from Newsday, 77 from the Daily News, and 64 from the New York Post. This is the first year that Newsday has submitted the most covers; the Post had the most submissions in 2020, but every other year it's been the Daily News. We'll now wait for the seven polls that are still in progress to close, and then we'll start the second round on December 4. [TABLE] [th]Year[/th][th]Daily News[/th][th]New York Post[/th][th]Newsday[/th][th]Total Number of Covers[/th] 2015135124110369 2016150117114381 2017835867208 20181148481279 201911411193318 2020728349204 20211047092266 20221037795275 2023776481222

The exploding name on the back of the jersey seems to be the latest innovation in uniform technology. And long overdue, I might add!

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http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/TCD.png> Vote for the tabloid covers that you like the best. You may select up to three choices. Voting will run for seven days. SPECTATOR SPORT Newsday, October 11, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231011_NSD_02.jpg> IT COULD BE YOU! New York Daily News, November 3, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231103_NYDN_02.jpg> CHANGING STRIPES Newsday, November 7, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231107_NSD_02.jpg> MEET THE YANK New York Daily News, November 7, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231107_NYDN_02.jpg> CARLOS METDOZA New York Post, November 7, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231107_NYP_02.jpg> PEOPLE PERSON Newsday, November 15, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231115_NSD_02.jpg> IT'S CARLOS' SHOW New York Daily News, November 15, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231115_NYDN_02.jpg> THOMSON TWIN New York Post, November 15, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231115_NYP_02.jpg> CASH CAB New York Daily News, November 18, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231118_NYDN_02.jpg>

He's my go-to Tiger/Phillie in Immaculate Grid.

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We currently have a tie between RE-PETE OFFENSE and POLAR ECLIPSE. Would anyone care to break this tie?

http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/TCD.png> Vote for the tabloid covers that you like the best. You may select up to three choices. Voting will run for seven days. FIRST IMPRESSIONS Newsday, September 2, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20230902_NSD_02.jpg> SOMETHING BREWIN' New York Post, September 6, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20230906_NYP_02.jpg> THE SHO' MUST GO ON New York Post, September 20, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20230920_NYP_02.jpg> ONLY 20 MORE WEEKS Newsday, October 1, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231001_NSD_02.jpg> BUCK STOPS HERE Newsday, October 2, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231002_NSD_02.jpg> BUCK OUTTA HERE New York Daily News, October 2, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231002_NYDN_01.jpg> CLASS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING! New York Daily News, October 2, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231002_NYDN_02.jpg> QUICKIE DIVORCE Newsday, October 6, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231006_NSD_02.jpg> THE END OF BILLY BALL New York Daily News, October 6, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231006_NYDN_02.jpg> EPPLER SHOCKER New York Post, October 6, 2023. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20231006_NYP_02.jpg>

Two New York Post covers this year with very similar headlines: http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20230111_NYP_02.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2023/20230813_NYP_02.jpg>

What years are covered by this chart? Did it say?

Reports are that the Mets are talking with the former Yankee pitcher. 29-year-old starter, sucked last year (6.65 ERA, 18 starts, 89.1 innings) but was much better in 2022 (3.18 in 102 innings). He's had some injury issues in the last couple of years. He was on the 60-day IL in 2022 with a low-grade lat strain (whatever that is) and his 2023 season ended in early September with a high–grade oblique strain. He's a free agent, and made $15 million in 2023, the final year of a five-year deal.

This year's Tabloid Cover Derby will have 22 first-round polls, down from 26 in 2022 and 24 in 2021. To get to a field of 16, ten covers will get a bye in the second round while the other twelve will compete in six head-to-head polls to see which ones will advance to the third round. With thirteen rounds now complete, the field is starting to shape up. Covers are ranked based on the percentage of votes they've received in the first round. Two covers have already clinched that second-round bye (STOP THE MUSIC and FUNDING NIMMO) while three (BREAKING OPEN, HOUSE OF HORRORS, and COOKIE MONSTERS) no longer have a chance at the bye and are already preparing for second-round competition. The final poll of the first round will be posted on Wednesday of this week. We'll then take a break to wait for all first-round polls to end, with the second round beginning on Monday, December 4. 1. STOP THE MUSIC (Daily News) 2. FUNDING NIMMO (Newsday) 3. PUT-EM IN THE BOOKS (Daily News) 4. WOETOWN (Newsday) 5. THIS MUCH! (Newsday) 6. REDEMPTION (Newsday) 7. THEY DON'T GOT IT (Daily News) 8. THE FRIENDLY "GHOST" (Daily News) 9. REGIFTED! (Daily News) 10. LIKE WE NEVER MET (Daily News) =#FF8000]11. BREAKING OPEN (Daily News) 12. HOUSE OF HORRORS (Newsday) 13. COOKIE MONSTERS (Daily News)