Benjamin Grimm

He currently seems to have a lot of positive vibe around him, given that he's had a few good consecutive exhibition game outings. If he maintains this, it will be fantastic, but I'm skeptical. Two years ago on May 25, Matz was 7-1 with a 2.36 ERA and 50 strikeouts and 9 walks in 49.2 innings. If that's how he pitches when healthy, and if he defies his history and stays healthy, then maybe this will be his year.

cooby wrote: I could tell you who at least most of the guys on the 1970 are, 2010 prolly none of them Not even Reyes, Wright, Santana, and Beltran?

G-Fafif wrote: That was Jeff Francoeur. Oops! My bad, I thought that was an FE and not an FR.

Our most lopsided poll so far, and one that has the potential to be unanimous. (1970 has all 12 votes at this point.) I looked up the 2010 Mets, and that last photo in the lower left may be... Jesus Feliciano? If Jesus Feliciano was expected to be the tenth most prominent Met in 2010, they probably should have just put nine photos on the cover.

I know what you mean. My first yearbook was the 1971 edition when I was eight years old, and my copy ended up in tatters. I wrote notes in it, I cut pictures out of it, and spent so much time flipping through it that it was literally coming apart. Years later I ordered a replacement edition that has remained in much better shape.

The 1970 cover is, incidentally, the inspiration for the Yearbook Cover Derby, when it was the subject of this recent thread. I have to say, this cover does a great job of capturing the celebratory nature of a World Series win. Much better than either of the 1987 covers did, as we'll soon see. The 2010 cover isn't bad at all, but fate dealt it a tough first-round opponent. I can easily identify most of the players, except for two. In the top row we have Rodriguez, Beltran, Santana, Wright and... Perez? In the bottom row, Reyes, Pelfrey, Bay, Maine, and... I have no idea. His name starts with FE but I have no recollection of who it might be.

1970 2010

Mickey has said that he's not going to designate anyone as an official closer, but it's expected that Familia will get most of the chances early on. But I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up trending towards someone else. Maybe even Swarzak.

Is John Belushi's 1941 a remake of From Here to Eternity? Or of Tora Tora Tora?

Titanic: Real life event. King Kong: Fiction

James Cameron's movie wasn't a remake, though. It was a new film about a subject that's been filmed before.

The 2002 cover is a little too busy for my taste, but it's better than a photo of a guy sitting at a desk with his mouth open. I understand that the 1977 yearbook had to be revised, considering the franchise altering trades that saw the departure of Mike Phillips, Dave Kingman, and someone else, whose name escapes me at the moment. He was a pitcher who went to Cincinnati. But I remember being disappointed that they revised the cover. I liked that Jerry Koosman was finally getting his due, with a cover devoted to his 20-win season.

1977 Revised Edition 2002

The thing is, most of them are chum, needed to play ball with the subset of players who are actual prospects. Their time in the minors isn't likely to lead to a professional career. They're just delaying the start of their eventual "civilian" lives. But they're definitely providing a service to their employers, and they should be treated fairly.

And Adrian Gonzalez this year.

It really is a bad likeness.

On the 1996 cover, I recognize Todd Hundley, but I don't know who the other three faces are. I suppose I might have recognized them twenty years ago, but I'm not even sure of that. There was a period between the end of Channel 9 as a superstation and the advent of Extra Innings and the like when I didn't get to see too many Mets games. And I have no idea whose hands and feet are depicted in the other "body parts" images on that cover. 1983 is definitely a weird cover, and as Steve mentions, it's strange that Keith Hernandez didn't replace Neil Allen in the upper right corner for the revised edition. The illustrations seem to be inspired by the Bruce Stark caricatures from the previous decade, in composition anyway. Certainly not in terms of style or quality. Looking at that cover now I have the same reaction that I did 35 years ago. Tom Seaver as a hitchhiking vampire???? And I guess it's understandable that George Foster got off to a poor start with the Mets, given that he opted to use a giant candle instead of a baseball bat. I'm curious to know who that cover artist is. The online images of the cover that I've seen are too small in size to read the signature. I thought about digging out my print copy, but I'm not sure it would tell me much. I kind of doubt that the cover artist is credited on the inside of the book, but I could be wrong. I voted 1983. It's strange and ugly, but in a fun quirky way. "Now the fun starts" also proved to be accurate. It was when the good times were just getting started. 1983 was still a losing season, but with the arrival of Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry (who would both have to wait until the following year to appear on a yearbook cover) there was a definite sense that better times were ahead.

1983 1996

The report I saw on Bumgarner said six to eight weeks.

Jason Vargas is in the Emergency Room. With a stomach virus. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-jason-vargas-lands-emergency-room-stomach-virus-article-1.3892588

That, and the 1988 game when Scioscia hit that awful homer against Gooden, stand out for me as my coldest Shea experiences.

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Guessing it would only be to get more reps and get timing down. That makes sense. I expect we'll be able to see him before May 1. From the beginning, that seemed like a slightly pessimistic date to me.

My proposed yearbook cover:

I would imagine the other spectators would be a bit grossed out to see someone rubbing beer on their bones.