Benjamin Grimm

1962 Defeated the 2018 cover in Round 1.19 1990 Original Edition Defeated the 1989 Edición Española cover in Round 1.21

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SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Week ending March 31, 2018: Yoenis Cespedes, 3.43 points. Week ending April 7, 2018: Yoenis Cespedes, 3.67 points. Week ending April 14, 2018: Asdrubal Cabrera, 5.29 points.

I'm going to say A and C. I think that at the end of the season his numbers will look really good.

The final poll of the first round has now closed, and the 1984 cover has defeated the 1995 cover by a closer-than-usual vote of 9 to 6. ADVANCING TO ROUND TWO: ELIMINATED: VOTING[/bigpurple] RECAP OF FIRST ROUND Round 1.01: 1989 Revised Edition over 1990 Revised Edition, 10 to 7 Round 1.02: 1983 over 1996, 12 to 5 Round 1.03: 2002 over 1977 Revised Edition, 13 to 5 Round 1.04: 1970 over 2010, 18 to 2 Round 1.05: 1963 over 2017, 13 to 5 Round 1.06: 1991 Original Edition over 1989 Original Edition, 13 to 3 Round 1.07: 2000 over 1979, 12 to 3 Round 1.08: 1978 over 2001, 15 to 2 Round 1.09: 1976 over 2004, 16 to 2 Round 1.10: 1977 Original Edition over 2003, 16 to 1 Round 1.11: 1987 Original Edition over 1992 Edición Española, 18 to 1 Round 1.12: 1985 over 1994, 11 to 7 Round 1.13: 1981 over 1998, 10 to 6 Round 1.14: 1964 over 2016, 14 to 3 Round 1.15: 1999 over 1980, 16 to 3 Round 1.16: 1967 over 2013, 15 to 2 Round 1.17: 1974 over 2006, 13 to 3 Round 1.18: 2011 over 1969, 14 to 5 Round 1.19: 1962 over 2018, 21 to 0 Round 1.20: 1971 over 2009, 14 to 5 Round 1.21: 1990 Original Edition over 1989 Edición Española, 13 to 6 Round 1.22: 1997 over 1982, 11 to 9 Round 1.23: 1972 over 2008, 14 to 3 Round 1.24: 1966 over 2014, 11 to 6 Round 1.25: 1986 over 1993, 12 to 7 Round 1.26: 1987 Revised Edition over 1992, 14 to 1 Round 1.27: 1968 over 2012, 12 to 3 Round 1.28: 1975 over 2005, 10 to 5 Round 1.29: 1988 over 1991 Revised Edition, 17 to 0 Round 1.30: 1965 over 2015, 11 to 2 Round 1.31: 2007 over 1973, 10 to 8 Round 1.32: 1984 over 1995, 9 to 6 RESUMES[/bigpurple] In 24 of the 32 polls, the earlier cover defeated the more recent cover. Standings by decade: 1960s: 7-1 .875 -- 1970s: 8-3 .727 ½ 1980s: 9-4 .692 ½ 1990s: 4-9 .308 5½ 2000s: 3-7 .300 5 2010s: 1-8 .111 6½ TOMORROW![/bigpurple] The bracket at the conclusion of the first round. How will this play out? Will the innocent charm of the Willard Mullin covers of the 1960s prevail over the nostalgia for the players of the 1970s and 80s? Perhaps the second round, where we determine our Sweet Sixteen, will provide some clarity.

Cast your vote!

Our first round has had very few close votes, but this one was in fact close. With only a two-vote margin, the 2007 cover, in something of an upset, has knocked out the 1973 cover by a vote of 10 to 8. Tomorrow will mark the closing of the 32nd and final poll of the first round. Be sure to visit this thread again tomorrow for an update of our brackets graphic and a few other fun facts about the first round. Second-round voting will begin on Tuesday morning. ADVANCING TO ROUND TWO: ELIMINATED:

Maybe they should let Vargas wait another eleven years before his next start.

Cast your vote!

Our 30th first-round poll, which spanned exactly a half century of yearbook covers, received a mere 13 votes, but Willard Mullin's 1965 cover got 11 of those 13, and thereby advances to the second round as 2015 retreats to the sidelines. Hang in there! The second round will begin in just a few days! Our lives will once again have meaning and purpose! ADVANCING TO ROUND TWO: ELIMINATED:

I'd like to know Brady Singer's story. And how that fellow met his lady.

Vic Sage wrote: Hey, Mickey, what happened to accountability? What happened to "closer by committee" and using different guys to close depending on the situation? Isn't that what we heard in ST? I know. Mickey hasn't been nearly as out-of-the-box as he indicated he would be.

Ceetar wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm really not looking for Vargas to be spectacular. I want him to give us seven decent innings. he's not going to. Vargas isn't getting to the third time through a lot. The Mets are hoping for a lot of 5-6 IP 2-3run games from him. You may be right. I guess I assumed that because Vargas had 29 decisions and 18 wins last year (in 32 starts) that he was going deep into games. But I just looked at his Game Log from 2017. He pitched 7 or more innings in only 7 of his 29 starts. In comparison, Jacob deGrom last year went 7 or more 14 times in 31 starts.

Edgy MD wrote: I tend to wonder if they kept the right rookie from last year. Maybe they should have gone with Smitty and sent Rosey back for more seasoning. They can still send Rosario back to Vegas. Flores or Reyes can get more starts and someone like Ty Kelly or Phil Evans can come up and take a bench spot. I don't expect that will happen any time soon, if ever, but it's an option.

One thing I've been wanting to see during my lifetime is a team breaking the Mets record of 120 losses in a season. (The 2003 Tigers came oh-so-close, with a 43–119 record.) And yes, I know it's early, but here at the end of April, there are five teams with a winning percentage below .300. They are: [list:2l0thhtq]Miami 7-17 .292 Baltimore 6-18 .250 Chicago (AL) 5-16 .238 Kansas City 5-17 .227 Cincinnati 5-20 .200[/list:u:2l0thhtq] Our current foes, the Padres, are a relatively robust 9-17 .346. (Texas also has the same record.)

FINAL REMINDER: Voting for the games played between April 9 and April 18 (against Miami, Milwaukee, and Washington) will close on Monday, April 30. If you're on the list below with an 9 next to your name, you're all caught up on the games that are about to close. Ashie62 9 Kongsuds 9 Vic Sage 9 Benjamin Grimm 9 Lunch 9 Methead 9 G-Fafif 9 TransMonk 6 dgwphotography 4 Centerfield 3 RealityChuck 2