Benjamin Grimm

This year there are only 16 first-round polls, matching the low set in 2017. This means that the first-round winners will immediately comprise our Sweet Sixteen. Last year, on the other hand, we had 26 polls in the first round. The seven covers with the highest vote percentage got a second-round bye, and the remaining 16 faced off against each other to narrow the field to 16. You can see the brackets from each of the last five years in http://thecranepool.net/phpBB32/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29766this thread.

Just one.

And if Bobby's not interested, there's always Ellis Valentine. Or even Karen Valentine! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9b/2b/b6/9b2bb61011c213b406f7972a4bd176b1.jpg>

If I'm Rob Manfred, here's what I say to deBlasio: "If you fuck this up, we'll just put the Mets in New Jersey. How would you like to have that as part of your legacy?" It doesn't have to be entirely a bluff: MetLife Stadium could make for a quirky home field for a couple of years: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ff6gT5f_OjE/hqdefault.jpg> (I didn't create this graphic; I found it online.)

Yes! I'm a little out of practice and forgot to check the box that allows for vote changing. It's now been checked. We DO apologize for any inconvenience.

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. HERE WE YO AGAIN New York Post, November 20, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191120_NYP_02.jpg> GOING… GOING… Newsday, December 5, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191205_NSD_02.jpg> MUTTS TO SELL METS New York Daily News, December 5, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191205_NYDN_01.jpg> IS IT 2025 YET? New York Daily News, December 5, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191205_NYDN_02.jpg> JOY IN METVILLE! New York Post, December 5, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191205_NYP_01.jpg> MAKE IT RAIN New York Post, December 5, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191205_NYP_02.jpg> THE FAMILY GUYS New York Daily News, December 6, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191206_NYDN_02.jpg> C'MON BRO! New York Daily News, December 11, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191211_NYDN_02.jpg> YO! NOW FIX THE PEN! New York Daily News, December 14, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191214_NYDN_02.jpg> THE ACE RACE! New York Daily News, December 21, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191221_NYDN_02.jpg> MR. PERFECT New York Post, December 21, 2019. http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2019/20191221_NYP_02.jpg>

http://leaptoad.com/mets/jpeg/TCD_Bracket_2015.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/brackets2016_008.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/2017_004.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/images/2018/brackets2018_005.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/images/2019/2019_tcd_005.png>

It ended for me when Lenny Dykstra "wrote" a book.

Oh! In that case, the pickoff in Game 5 is really rather moot.

I don't know the details of that game, but it sounds like Jerry Dybzinski deserves a good share of that blame.

I don't think I'm going to read this book.

Wow... About 42 years after they last hired him as manager. That would be pretty much like if the Mets hired Joe Torre.

And Jaerock Lee? Anything?

Maybe they can placate Alex Rodriguez by giving him a tent in the Citi Field parking lot.

I can easily imagine Nimmo and/or Rosario being traded for a starting pitcher.

PREVIOUSLY, ON THE TABLOID COVER DERBY... http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/previously_2015.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/previously_2016.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/previously_2017.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/previously_2018.png> http://leaptoad.com/mets/covers/previously_2019.png>

Edgy MD wrote: As a passionate DH opponent, I may be missing something, but what does the DH do to ameliorate the effects of the COVID pandemic? It's dubious, but the only thing I can think of is that it means fewer player substitutions, which means you can get by with fewer players on hand. But then again, it was accompanied by an expanded roster...

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=49169 time=1603905299 user_id=68] Or is this a situation where the more games played under covid conditions, the more money they lose?

I first thought about making this a poll, but there are just too many possibilities. Manfred is saying that this 60-game, no-fans season has caused teams to take on over $8 billion in debt. (Whether that's true or not matters less than the fact that that's what his position is.) This past summer, there was an unstated assumption that 2020 was going to be a one-off, and everything would be normal by Opening Day 2021. While that's still possible, it seems extremely unlikely. (We would need an effective vaccine in place and efficiently and widely rolled out by March. Not impossible, but pretty unlikely.) So where does that leave us? If 60 games with no fans costs $8 billion, the owners aren't likely to want to do that again. Do they delay the season again, hoping that things will be better by May or June? (That's essentially what they did last time.) Or start the season, with no fans, or few fans, and hope that they can ramp up the attendance later? Or will the cancel-the-whole-season faction win out this time? And there's still the question of whether the DH endures in the National League (the latest buzz is that it won't, at least in 2021). And the extra-inning rule. And expanded rosters. And expanded playoffs. This can be an ongoing thread where we track the developments as they occur, and speculate about what may happens and react when it does happen. Even in normal times, this would be an interesting winter for the Mets, with the new deep-pocketed owner. But it will be interesting for every other team as well because of the enormous uncertainty. https://media.makeameme.org/created/i-have-no-wldd1j.jpg>

I wish I was more confident that 2021 will be a normal season.

The Post is reporting that the vote will be on Friday.

We will get started on Friday morning, October 30. We'll then take a break for the weekend (since we'll be having fewer polls this year, as we did in 2017) and the second poll will be posted on Monday.

Isn't Brodie precious? Making this "Robel Garcia" moves as if he's still going to have a job in a few weeks.

Probably James K. Polk. Terry has always had a bug in his ass about James K. Polk.

https://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/steve-cohen-mets-sale-nyc-major-bill-de-blasio-1.50048029NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio expects answer on Mets' sale to Steve Cohen 'very quickly;' potential MLB vote this week Major League Baseball's owners could vote as soon as this week to approve Cohen's $2.475 billion deal to buy the Mets, and — as has been the case for more than a month — Cohen is expected to receive the required 23 of 30 votes. As soon as this week? I recall hearing that it would be soon after the World Series, but I recently saw something about it being on November 17. A report from USA Today last week set off something of a firestorm when it suggested de Blasio might or had the ability to block the sale, but it is not clear that he legally has that power. And, if it is possible, there is no expectation that de Blasio actually will do so.