Benjamin Grimm

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He had a restaurant near where I lived when I was a kid. Whitey Ford's Colonie Hill in Hauppauge. I never ate there, but we used to go sledding at Colonie Hilll (I think it was a golf course) and I'd see the signs for the restaurant.

Definitely. They should decide it very shortly after the World Series ends.

I'd make Smith the left fielder. But I think there's probably going to be a DH. (When do we find out, anyway???)

I think Rosario will be traded for a pitcher.

My guess is that the DH will remain, and that for the Mets it will be a lot of Alonso and Cano, with Smith getting most of the starts at first base. If there's no DH, I think Smith has to be an outfielder, right? Does that mean Nimmo gets dealt? Like I said, interesting offseason. I have to think that the DH decision will be made soon. Teams have to make plans.

Something I read, and I can't remember who wrote it, (maybe DiComo?) said that the likely scenario is Nimmo and Conforto playing the corner spots next year and the Mets importing a centerfielder. If there's no DH in 2021 that makes things complicated, because you don't want to bench Dominic Smith. Would J.D. Davis be traded? Or McNeil? It will be an interesting offseason. (I think all offseasons are interesting, but this one will be particularly interesting, what with new ownership and a new front office and uncertainly of whether or not 2021 will be as abnormal as 2020 was.)

Steven Matz

This year all ballots will be thrown in the river.

It goes back so far we'll even have Carlos Beltran covers to look at.

If they change their name to "Naps" their logo can be someone taking a siesta in a giant sombrero. They might as well spend the next hundred years offending a different segment of the population. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/74/5e/05/745e05df316ac871730f19945ca62f26.gif>

Cleveland Scene wrote: Cleveland already owns the rights to the Cleveland Naps, Cleveland Bronchos and Cleveland Blues. (These were all registered in 2010 for merchandise reasons and renewed in 2020.) The team also has two trademarks on "Tribe," which makes it unlikely the government would grant the "Cleveland Tribe" trademark to anyone else. Full article: https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/10/05/spiders-speculation-and-trademarks-whats-next-in-the-cleveland-indians-search-for-a-new-franchise-name>Spiders, Speculation and Trademarks — What's Next in the Cleveland Indians' Search for a New Franchise Name While they were trademarking "Naps" and "Blues" they certainly should have locked down "Spiders". And "Broncho" with an H? It makes me think of a respiratory disease. Not a good connotation, especially these days.

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http://leaptoad.com/mets/clippings/00005.jpg> Here it is: The Dick Young column that chased Tom Seaver out of New York. Chances are, Seaver probably would have opted for free agency after the 1978 season (or would he have had to "play out his option" in 1979?) and might very well have been scooped up by George Steinbrenner.

Edgy MD wrote: Yeah, I was thinking DH's should possibly count as bench players in 2020. I'm thinking that maybe it can be players who started fewer than half of the games. If Jake Marisnik, for example, gets a start his points would count as 'bench' points.

THE SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE YEAR, 2020 http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/images/schaefer2020.jpg> PLAYER OF THE YEAR http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/cards/MichaelConforto1972.jpg> The Schaefer Mets Player of the Year for 2020 is first-time winner MICHAEL CONFORTO, with 36.56 points, just above second-place finisher Dominic Smith, with 35.73. PREVIOUS WINNERS: 2005 - David Wright, 140.17 points*; 2006 - David Wright, 121.16; 2007 - David Wright, 124.77; 2008 - Johan Santana, 121.37; 2009 - David Wright, 91.72; 2010 - David Wright, 117.56; 2011 - Jose Reyes, 104.96; 2012 - David Wright, 113.06; 2013 - Daniel Murphy, 107.30; 2014 - Lucas Duda, 95.62; 2015 - Jacob deGrom, 97.08; 2016 - Yoenis Cespedes, 90.62; 2017 - Jacob deGrom, 92.11; 2018 - Jacob deGrom, 126.99; 2019 - Pete Alonso, 124.86. * Totals were higher in 2005 because of a rule specifying that ten points were to be awarded for each game. http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/images/all_winners2020.png> PITCHER OF THE YEAR http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/cards/JacobdeGrom1978.jpg> The Schaefer Mets Pitcher of the Year is, for the fifth time, JACOB deGROM. Jacob's 34.82 points placed him well above runner-up David Peterson, who had 23.42. PREVIOUS WINNERS: 2005 - Pedro Martinez, 120.68 points*; 2006 - Tom Glavine, 80.26; 2007 - Tom Glavine, 75.97; 2008 - Johan Santana, 121.37; 2009 - Johan Santana, 84.61; 2010 - Johan Santana, 90.42; 2011 - R.A. Dickey, 69.40; 2012 - R.A. Dickey, 110.12; 2013 - Matt Harvey, 86.68; 2014 - Bartolo Colon, 74.77; 2015 - Jacob deGrom, 97.08; 2016 - Noah Syndergaard, 89.81; 2017 - Jacob deGrom, 92.11; 2018 - Jacob deGrom, 126.99; 2019 - Jacob deGrom, 106.29. * Totals were higher in 2005 because of a rule specifying that ten points were to be awarded for each game. RELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEAR http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/cards/EdwinDiaz1975.jpg> The reliever of the year is a first-time winner, EDWIN DIAZ. He earned 12.96 points out of the bullpen. PREVIOUS WINNERS: 2006 - Billy Wagner, 40.39 points; 2007 - Aaron Heilman, 34.86; 2008 - Aaron Heilman, 34.50; 2009 - Francisco Rodriguez, 38.58; 2010 - Hisanori Takahashi 28.69; 2011 - Pedro Beato, 25.93; 2012 - Bobby Parnell, 29.01; 2013 - LaTroy Hawkins, 32.30; 2014 - Carlos Torres, 35.75; 2015 - Jeurys Familia, 35.85; 2016 - Jeurys Familia, 36.70; 2017 - Paul Sewald, 22.41; 2018 - Seth Lugo, 36.26; 2019 - Seth Lugo: 39.38. BENCH PLAYER OF THE YEAR http://www.leaptoad.com/mets/cards/AmedRosario1976.jpg> The Bench Player of the Year is Amed Rosario, who earned 2.83points in games in which he was not in the starting lineup. There were very few players earning "bench points" this year. Our Swedish overlords are considering the redefinition of "Bench Player" if the Designated Hitter rule remains in the National League in coming years. PREVIOUS WINNERS: 2006 - Julio Franco, 7.16 points; 2007 - Marlon Anderson, 10.39; 2008 - Damion Easley, 5.06; 2009 - Fernando Tatis, 8.37; 2010 - Chris Carter, 9.28; 2011 - Scott Hairston, 8.77; 2012 - Jordany Valdespin, 13.84; 2013 - Jordany Valdespin, 8.70; 2014 - Eric Campbell, 5.89; 2015 - Michael Cuddyer, 3.49; 2016 - Kelly Johnson, 8.29; 2017 - Wilmer Flores, 4.89; 2018 - Wilmer Flores, 9.99; 2019 - J.D. Davis, 10.98. SEASON TOTALS FOR RELIEF PITCHERS IN 2020 1 Edwin Diaz 12.96 2 Chasen Shreve 10.26 3 Jeurys Familia 10.13 4 Justin Wilson 8.26 5 Jared Hughes 5.84 6 Seth Lugo 4.92 7 Dellin Betances 4.89 8 Erasmo Ramirez 4.86 9 Miguel Castro 3.64 10 Brad Brach 3.47 11 Corey Oswalt 2.80 12 David Peterson 2.39 13 Michael Wacha 2.35 14 Drew Smith 2.28 15 Franklyn Kilome 1.61 16 Walker Lockett 1.50 17 Paul Sewald 1.21 18 Hunter Strickland 0.91 19 Steven Matz 0.83 20 Robert Gsellman 0.72 21 Luis Guillorme 0.30 22 Todd Frazier 0.25 SEASON TOTALS FOR BENCH PLAYERS IN 2020 1 Amed Rosario 2.83 2 Billy Hamilton 0.62 3 Andres Gimenez 0.60 4 Luis Guillorme 0.55 5 Robinson Cano 0.54 6 J.D. Davis 0.25 7 Rene Rivera 0.22 8 Eduardo Nunez 0.13 9 Brian Dozier 0.11 10 Juan Lagares 0.08 11 Jake Marisnick 0.07 12 Ryan Cordell 0.04 http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/poty_results.php?year=2020> SCHAEFER METS PLAYER OF THE WEEK, 2020 Week ending July 25, 2020: Jacob deGrom, 3.50 points. Week ending August 1, 2020: Robinson Cano, 5.39 points. Week ending August 8, 2020: Michael Conforto, 5.16 points. Week ending August 15, 2020: Dominic Smith, 7.52 points. Week ending August 22, 2020: Dominic Smith, 4.17 points. Week ending August 29, 2020: Jacob deGrom, 4.42 points. Week ending September 5, 2020: Michael Conforto, 9.38 points. Week ending September 12, 2020: Michael Conforto, 7.14 points. Week ending September 19, 2020: Brandon Nimmo, 5.80 points. Week ending September 26, 2020: Jacob deGrom, 6.36 points. Week ending October 3, 2020: Pete Alonso, 2.88 points. Thanks to those who participated!

Since when has she been working on behalf of the American People?

SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE MONTH, SEPTEMBER 2020 http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/MichaelConforto1977.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/DavidPeterson1978.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/EdwinDiaz1975.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/AmedRosario1979.jpg> SEPTEMBER 2020 Player of the Month: MICHAEL CONFORTO Pitcher of the Month: DAVID PETERSON NOTE: While the graphic below seems to indicate a tie, David Peterson actually edged Jacob deGrom for Pitcher of the Month by what is perhaps the narrowest margin in Schaefer history. When expanded to additional decimal points, Peterson's total is 12.292857 while deGrom's is 12.291071. Reliever of the Month: EDWIN DIAZ Bench Player of the Month: AMED ROSARIO http://potg.leaptoad.com/mets/potm_results.php?month=09&year=2020> Updated award winner standings, with this month's winners in bold: PLAYER OF THE MONTH David Wright 14 Jacob deGrom 10 Johan Santana 6 Jose Reyes 6 Carlos Beltran 5 R. A. Dickey 4 Lucas Duda 4 MICHAEL CONFORTO 4 Daniel Murphy 3 Pete Alonso 3 Cliff Floyd 2 Tom Glavine 2 Carlos Delgado 2 Ike Davis 2 Matt Harvey 2 Noah Syndergaard 2 Curtis Granderson 2 Yoenis Cespedes 2 Mike Cameron 1 John Maine 1 Angel Pagan 1 Jeff Francoeur 1 Ruben Tejada 1 John Buck 1 Marlon Byrd 1 Dillon Gee 1 Jonathon Niese 1 Bartolo Colon 1 Juan Lagares 1 Wilmer Flores 1 Neil Walker 1 Jay Bruce 1 Asdrubal Cabrera 1 Brandon Nimmo 1 Jeff McNeil 1 Dominic Smith 1PITCHER OF THE MONTH Jacob deGrom 22 R. A. Dickey 10 Johan Santana 9 Pedro Martinez 6 John Maine 5 Bartolo Colon 5 Mike Pelfrey 4 Jonathon Niese 4 Matt Harvey 4 Noah Syndergaard 4 Tom Glavine 3 Dillon Gee 3 Orlando Hernandez 2 Robert Gsellman 2 Alay Soler 1 Steve Trachsel 1 Oliver Perez 1 Livan Hernandez 1 Tim Redding 1 Chris Capuano 1 Zack Wheeler 1 Rafael Montero 1 Steven Matz 1 DAVID PETERSON 1RELIEVER OF THE MONTH Jeurys Familia 12 Seth Lugo 8 Brian Stokes 5 Addison Reed 5 Billy Wagner 4 Aaron Heilman 4 Bobby Parnell 4 Carlos Torres 4 Francisco Rodriguez 3 Hansel Robles 3 Robert Gsellman 3 Duaner Sanchez 2 Raul Valdes 2 Pedro Beato 2 Manny Acosta 2 Jon Rauch 2 LaTroy Hawkins 2 Darren Oliver 1 Chad Bradford 1 Guillermo Mota 1 Joe Smith 1 Jorge Sosa 1 Scott Schoeneweis 1 Pedro Feliciano 1 Sean Green 1 Fernando Nieve 1 Hisanori Takahashi 1 Elmer Dessens 1 Jason Isringhausen 1 Frank Francisco 1 Josh Edgin 1 Scott Rice 1 Paul Sewald 1 Chasen Bradford 1 Wilmer Font 1 Chasen Shreve 1 Edwin Diaz 1BENCH PLAYER OF THE MONTH Wilmer Flores 5 Dominic Smith 4 Fernando Tatis 3 Daniel Murphy 3 Jordany Valdespin 3 Eric Campbell 3 Kelly Johnson 3 Julio Franco 2 Damion Easley 2 Marlon Anderson 2 Endy Chavez 2 Josh Thole 2 Justin Turner 2 Scott Hairston 2 Andrew Brown 2 Lucas Duda 2 Juan Lagares 2 Brandon Nimmo 2 AMED ROSARIO 2 Eli Marrero 1 Michael Tucker 1 Ricky Ledee 1 David Newhan 1 Ramon Castro 1 Ruben Gotay 1 Robinson Cancel 1 Gary Sheffield 1 Alex Cora 1 Jeremy Reed 1 Omir Santos 1 Cory Sullivan 1 Chris Carter 1 Mike Hessman 1 Nick Evans 1 Jason Pridie 1 Willie Harris 1 Val Pascucci 1 Mike Baxter 1 Ronny Cedeno 1 Kelly Shoppach 1 Josh Satin 1 Zach Lutz 1 Ike Davis 1 Chris Young 1 Anthony Recker 1 Curtis Granderson 1 Johnny Monell 1 Darrell Ceciliani 1 Michael Cuddyer 1 Yoenis Cespedes 1 Gavin Cecchini 1 Michael Conforto 1 Jose Reyes 1 Devin Mesoraco 1 J.D. Davis 1 Jeff McNeil 1 Luis Guillorme 1 Robinson Cano 1 Leaders for Relievers in September: 1 Edwin Diaz 6.21 2 Erasmo Ramirez 4.86 3 Miguel Castro 3.64 4 Justin Wilson 3.62 5 Jeurys Familia 3.56 6 Chasen Shreve 3.31 7 David Peterson 2.39 8 Michael Wacha 2.35 9 Brad Brach 1.39 10 Jared Hughes 0.57 11 Dellin Betances 0.33 12 Todd Frazier 0.25 13 Corey Oswalt 0.10 Leaders for Bench Players in September: 1 Amed Rosario 1.15 2 Luis Guillorme 0.25

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http://leaptoad.com/mets/clippings/00004.jpg> This isn't the column that led to Seaver's demand to be traded -- we'll see that next. This is the preliminary round, published on May 8, 1977. Interesting that the three-year contact that Seaver signed for 1976 through 1978 includes "possibility penalties for poor performance". (It's the four P's!) I don't think I've ever heard of an MLB contract (at least, since the players unionized) that would allow a player to make less than his base salary if his performance suffered. Especially for a player of Seaver's stature. In the time before free agency, holdouts only offered so much leverage.

If these things happen in threes, then Seaver/Brock/Gibson is certainly an example of that. But you can look at this as two sets of two: Seaver and Gibson and Brock and Gibson. In that case, Steve Carlton has to be doubly worried as he would complete two trios.

http://leaptoad.com/mets/clippings/00003.jpg> I remember this column by Lupica. I cut it out and saved it on the bulletin board in my bedroom. From that point, I was a big fan of Mike Lupica. (That fandom has long since expired.) After it was published, Lorinda deRoulet refused to talk with Daily News reporters. She was offended by Lupica's "vituperative" column. It seems somewhat appropriate to read a column about the dying days of the Payson/deRoulet era now in the final days of the Wilpon era. There certainly are parallels.

I hope it mentions Jaerock Lee.

I would have had all of the answers, but for one I would have had to say "Who is Judge?" because I wasn't sure if his first name was Aaron or Adam.

It's strange to think that the LCS might feature teams that didn't meet in the regular season, but the World Series might feature teams that did face each other.