Benjamin Grimm

According to Kristie Ackert, the three-year deal they were discussing was worth more than $40 million.

My understanding is that if there was an extension, it would run through 2019, which isn't all that long. But yeah, I agree with "why commit now?"

He'll be 28 years old in April. Has never played a big league game. I suspect that Travis d'Arnaud may be susceptible to pressure from below, but this guy seems like a bit of a longshot to be the guy who displaces him. I guess he'll spend most of the year in Vegas, maybe getting one or two brief stays with the Mets.

I think I had forgotten about the option. Kristie Ackert reported that the Mets and Neil Walker are willing to discuss an extension that would keep Walker in New York for at least a few years beyond 2017. I'm no longer clear on who the second baseman of the future is expected to be now that Dilson is gone. If Walker leaves, I guess Cabrera could shift to second for 2018. And there's always Wilmer Flores. Is L.J. Mazzilli still considered a prospect?

My favorite Met of 2016. It seems likely that 2017 will be Asdrubal's final year with the Mets, unless Amed Rosario gets stalled somehow. For 2017, I'll say .270, 18 homers in 140 games.

Edgy MD wrote: ... it would seem to be a far better ambition to invest hopes in Gsellman. I think so too. Kristie Ackert made the argument today that Wheeler has to pitch as a starter because he wouldn't be able to handle the ups and downs of being a bullpen pitcher. If she's right about that, then should he get those starts at Vegas, while Gsellman pitches for the Mets? Or are Wheeler innings going to be regarded as so precious that they have to be pitched in the big leagues?

Edgy MD wrote: ... it would seem to be a far better ambition to invest hopes in Gsellman. I think so too. Kristie Ackert made the argument today that Wheeler has to pitch as a starter because he wouldn't be able to handle the ups and downs of being a bullpen pitcher. If she's right about that, then should he get those starts at Vegas, while Gsellman pitches for the Mets? Or are Wheeler innings going to be regarded as so precious that they have to be pitched in the big leagues?

I'm going to guess "Dave Roberts". I'm not entirely sure that the Mets ever had a player named Dave Roberts, but somehow I associate that name with Randy Jones.

Is the uniform number guy Kelvin Torve?

41Forever wrote: As mocked as Terry is sometimes, he's working his way toward a plaque in the Mets Hall of Fame. Another trip to the World Series this year would cement it, I think. I think he's already there. I don't think he's in retired-number territory, nor do I think he'll get there, but if he retired today to devote the rest of his life to chasing Maja around Stockholm, he's already a Mets Hall-of-Famer. And I say this as someone who's not a big supporter of his.

I thought Monica married Chandler?

I think I've completely relegated Jenrry Mejia to the dustbin of my memory. He's dead to me!

Yeah, and hopefully the Mets won't be the second team that happens to, a week after they trade Jay Bruce!

I can't believe I'm drawing a complete blank on this guy: T5. __________, rp, sp, 2010-2015: 5 seasons I was pondering it while walking the dog this morning and I got nothing!

41Forever wrote: I predict he's traded in spring training and we don't get the value we should be getting for him. That sounds right to me. But instead of "in spring training" I'll say "before May 15."

He played for the Minnesota Vikings.

That's true too.

Hopefully that's all it is, but big things frequently start small. Next week we'll probably be reading about how someone found his arm lying on the dugout floor.

I'm not at all confident in this guess, but I'll put it out there anyway. Number 1: Mark Clark?

I thought Tom Veryzer was from Long Island? Something tells me that number 3 is Phil Mankowski.

My apologies to Curtis. I've added him to the list above.

It may win if we have a "goofy expression" subcategory.

MANAGER Terry Collins, entering his seventh season, has a chance to be the first Mets manager to complete seven seasons. Davey Johnson made it a quarter of the way through his seventh season before being fired on May 29, 1990. Bobby Valentine was hired late in the 1996 season and then managed another six full seasons but was fired after the 2002 season. Johnson and Valentine are the only Mets managers to have managed 1,000 games, and Collins looks likely to join that exclusive company. Barring rainouts, on May 17, 2017, in Arizona for the 41st game of the season, Terry Collins will pass Davey Johnson for most regular-season Mets games managed in a career. For Terry to pass Davey in wins, the Mets would need to win 115 games in 2017. (How great would that be?) Terry needs only 56 wins to pass Bobby Valentine and take possession of second place. Terry already has more losses than any of his predecessors, with 491. If the Mets win 86 games in 2017, Terry's overall Mets regular-season record will reach the .500 mark. If the Mets win 83 games, Terry's winning percentage will nudge ahead of Yogi Berra's. GAMES Davey Johnson 1012 Bobby Valentine 1003 Terry Collins 972 WINS Davey Johnson 595 Bobby Valentine 536 Terry Collins 481 LOSSES Terry Collins 491 Bobby Valentine 467 Joe Torre 420 WINNING PCT. (Minimum 200 games managed) Davey Johnson .588 Willie Randolph .544 Bobby Valentine .534 Bud Harrelson .529 Gil Hodges .523 Yogi Berra .497 Terry Collins .495 Jerry Manuel .489 Joe Frazier .488 BATTING The Mets have two current players who are at or near the top of the list of career leaders in many offensive categories. Jose Reyes, currently in 8th place, can move up a few notches on the list of most games played by a Met. David Wright, in second place, is not within reach of Ed Kranepool this year, even if he miraculously manages to play in all 162 games. A much easier milestone for David is in the At Bats category, where he needs only 4 to become the first Met ever to reach 6,000. Wright and Reyes are in first and second place in Runs. If David can score 51 runs this year he'd become the first Met to score 1,000 times. Wright's recent injuries have significantly slowed his attempt to get 2,000 hits. 1,800 is hopefully in reach this year. To get to 1,900, he would need 123 hits. Jose Reyes, meanwhile, needs 51 hits to pass Ed Kranepool and move into second place. Wright needs 10 doubles to reach 400. Reyes is in a distant second place, with 235. Wright's assault on Darryl Strawberry's record of 252 home runs has also been stalled the past two years. He had 7 last year. If he gets 11 this year he'll be the Mets Home Run King. Lucas Duda, in 11th place with 108 homers, can move up the list this year. With 17 homers he'd pass Ed Kranepool, Edgardo Alfonzo, Kevin McReynolds, and Todd Hundley and move into 7th place. Also, 11 homers would make Jose Reyes the 13th Met to hit 100. David Wright, the Mets all-time RBI leader, needs 30 more to reach 1,000. Jose Reyes, in 11th place, with 447, needs 10 more to pass Kevin McReynolds and claim a spot in the top ten. 22 runs batted in will move him ahead of Keith Hernandez. All-time leader Jose Reyes needs 21 stolen bases to reach 400. David Wright, in fourth place, needs 4 to reach 200 and 7 to pass Howard Johnson and move into third place. If David Wright gets 55 total bases, he'll extend his Mets career record in that category to 3,000. GAMES 1. Ed Kranepool 1853 2. David Wright 1583 3. Bud Harrelson 1322 4. Jerry Grote 1235 5. Cleon Jones 1201 6. Howard Johnson 1154 7. Mookie Wilson 1116 8. Jose Reyes 1110 9. Darryl Strawberry 1109 10. Edgardo Alfonzo 1086 AT BATS 1. David Wright 5996 2. Ed Kranepool 5436 3. Jose Reyes 4708 RUNS 1. David Wright 949 2. Jose Reyes 780 HITS 1. David Wright 1777 2. Ed Kranepool 1418 3. Jose Reyes 1368 DOUBLES 1. David Wright 390 2. Jose Reyes 235 HOME RUNS 1. Darryl Strawberry 252 2. David Wright 242 3. Mike Piazza 220 4. Howard Johnson 192 5. Dave Kingman 154 6. Carlos Beltran 149 7. Todd Hundley 124 8. Kevin McReynolds 122 9. Edgardo Alfonzo 120 10. Ed Kranepool 118 11. Lucas Duda 108 12. Carlos Delgado 104 13. George Foster 99 14. Bobby Bonilla 95 15. John Milner 94 16. Cleon Jones 93 17. Gary Carter 89 17. Jose Reyes 89 19. Tommie Agee 82 20. Cliff Floyd 81 21. Keith Hernandez 80 22. Robin Ventura 77 23. Curtis Granderson 76 RUNS BATTED IN 1. David Wright 970 2. Darryl Strawberry 733 3. Mike Piazza 655 4. Howard Johnson 629 5. Ed Kranepool 614 6. Carlos Beltran 559 7. Edgardo Alfonzo 538 8. Cleon Jones 521 9. Keith Hernandez 468 10. Kevin McReynolds 456 11. Jose Reyes 447 STOLEN BASES 1. Jose Reyes 379 2. Mookie Wilson 281 3. Howard Johnson 202 4. David Wright 196 TOTAL BASES 1. David Wright 2945 2. Jose Reyes 2076 PITCHING In most pitching categories, Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman racked up totals that no Mets pitcher, other than Dwight Gooden, was ever able to approach. That won't change this year, but there are some opportunites for a few Mets pitchers to advance in a few categories. Jeurys Familia is in 19th place in games pitched. His likely suspension will prevent him from appearing in as many games as he did last year, but if he gets into 49 games he'll pass ten pitchers and take ninth place. Matt Harvey (36th place) and Jacob deGrom (40th place) can make significant ground in the Innings Pitched category this year. DeGrom's 30 wins has him in 35th place, tied with Ray Sadecki. Matt Harvey has 29 wins, tied with Oliver Perez, Nolan Ryan, and Bret Saberhagen. And Noah Syndergaard, with 23 wins, is in 49th place. All three have a chance to pass a number of players and put themselves in better position for next year. Matt Harvey (19th place), Jacob deGrom (25th place) and Noah Syndergaard (40th place) can expect to climb many slots on the all-time strikeout list. Harvey needs 18 starts and deGrom needs 24 to reach 100. Jeurys Familia has 100 saves and is in fifth place. With 8 saves this year, he'd pass Billy Wagner and Jesse Orosco and move into third. Armando Benitez, in second place, will have to wait until at least 2018 before Familia passes him. John Franco, in first place with 276, is way out of reach for the time being. GAMES 1. John Franco 695 2. Pedro Feliciano 484 3. Tom Seaver 401 4. Jerry Koosman 376 5. Jesse Orosco 372 6. Tug McGraw 361 7. Armando Benitez 333 8. Bobby Parnell 329 9. Aaron Heilman 305 9. Dwight Gooden 305 11. Jeff Innis 288 12. Turk Wendell 285 13. Roger McDowell 280 14. Ron Taylor 269 15. Doug Sisk 263 16. Ron Darling 257 17. Dennis Cook 255 17. Sid Fernandez 255 19. Jeurys Familia 247 20. Craig Swan 229 INNINGS 1. Tom Seaver 3045.2 2. Jerry Koosman 2544.2 3. Dwight Gooden 2169.2 4. Ron Darling 1620.0 5. Sid Fernandez 1584.2 6. Jon Matlack 1448.0 7. Al Leiter 1360.0 8. Craig Swan 1230.2 9. Bobby Jones 1215.2 10. David Cone 1209.1 11. Jon Niese 1079.1 12. Tom Glavine 1005.1 13. Al Jackson 980.2 14. Steve Trachsel 956.1 15. Jack Fisher 931.2 16. Mike Pelfrey 896.1 17. Rick Reed 888.2 18. Tug McGraw 792.2 19. Gary Gentry 789.1 20. Bob Ojeda 764.0 21. Pat Zachry 741.2 22. Ed Lynch 730.1 23. Jim McAndrew 729.2 24. Johan Santana 717.0 25. John Franco 702.2 26. Dillon Gee 679.1 27. R. A. Dickey 616.2 28. Pete Falcone 607.2 29. Ray Sadecki 600.1 30. Jesse Orosco 595.2 31. Bartolo Colon 588.2 32. Frank Viola 566.1 33. John Maine 542.0 34. Bret Saberhagen 524.1 35. Oliver Perez 520.0 36. Matt Harvey 519.2 37. Nolan Ryan 510.0 38. Dave Mlicki 501.1 39. Pedro Martinez 486.2 40. Jacob deGrom 479.1 WINS 1. Tom Seaver 198 2. Dwight Gooden 157 3. Jerry Koosman 140 4. Ron Darling 99 5. Sid Fernandez 98 6. Al Leiter 95 7. Jon Matlack 82 8. David Cone 81 9. Bobby Jones 74 10. Steve Trachsel 66 11. Jon Niese 61 11. Tom Glavine 61 13. Rick Reed 59 13. Craig Swan 59 15. Bob Ojeda 51 16. Mike Pelfrey 50 17. John Franco 48 18. Jesse Orosco 47 18. Tug McGraw 47 20. Johan Santana 46 21. Bartolo Colon 44 22. Al Jackson 43 23. Gary Gentry 41 24. Pat Zachry 41 25. Dillon Gee 40 26. R. A. Dickey 39 26. John Maine 39 28. Frank Viola 38 28. Jack Fisher 38 28. Ed Lynch 38 31. Rick Aguilera 37 32. Jim McAndrew 36 33. Roger McDowell 33 34. Pedro Martinez 32 35. Ray Sadecki 30 35. Jacob deGrom 30 37. Oliver Perez 29 37. Matt Harvey 29 37. Nolan Ryan 29 37. Bret Saberhagen 29 41. Pete Falcone 26 42. Dennis Cook 25 42. Nino Espinosa 25 42. Neil Allen 25 45. Skip Lockwood 24 45. Terry Leach 24 45. Dave Mlicki 24 45. Danny Frisella 24 49. Noah Syndergaard 23 STRIKEOUTS 1. Tom Seaver 2541 2. Dwight Gooden 1875 3. Jerry Koosman 1799 4. Sid Fernandez 1449 5. David Cone 1172 6. Ron Darling 1148 7. Al Leiter 1106 8. Jon Matlack 1023 9. Jon Niese 838 10. Bobby Jones 714 11. Craig Swan 671 12. Tug McGraw 618 13. Johan Santana 607 14. John Franco 592 15. Rick Reed 590 16. Steve Trachsel 580 17. Gary Gentry 563 18. Al Jackson 561 19. Matt Harvey 525 20. Tom Glavine 516 21. Jesse Orosco 506 21. Mike Pelfrey 506 23. Oliver Perez 494 24. Nolan Ryan 493 25. Jacob deGrom 492 26. Dillon Gee 489 27. Jack Fisher 475 28. R. A. Dickey 468 29. John Maine 467 30. Pedro Martinez 464 31. Bob Ojeda 459 32. Armando Benitez 456 33. Bartolo Colon 415 34. Jim McAndrew 408 35. Dave Mlicki 402 36. Aaron Heilman 395 37. Pat Zachry 391 38. Bret Saberhagen 388 39. Frank Viola 387 40. Noah Syndergaard 384 41. Ray Sadecki 380 42. Pete Falcone 379 43. Skip Lockwood 368 44. Rick Aguilera 351 45. Pedro Feliciano 350 46. Glendon Rusch 313 STARTS 1. Tom Seaver 395 2. Jerry Koosman 346 3. Dwight Gooden 303 4. Sid Fernandez 250 5. Ron Darling 241 6. Al Leiter 213 7. Jon Matlack 199 8. Bobby Jones 190 9. Craig Swan 184 10. Jon Niese 179 11. David Cone 169 12. Tom Glavine 164 13. Steve Trachsel 160 14. Mike Pelfrey 149 15. Al Jackson 138 16. Rick Reed 138 17. Jack Fisher 133 18. Gary Gentry 121 19. Pat Zachry 113 20. Dillon Gee 110 21. Bob Ojeda 109 22. Johan Santana 109 23. Jim McAndrew 105 24. Ed Lynch 98 25. John Maine 96 26. Bartolo Colon 95 27. R. A. Dickey 91 28. Oliver Perez 91 29. Pete Falcone 86 30. Frank Viola 82 31. Matt Harvey 82 32. Pedro Martinez 79 33. Jacob deGrom 76 SAVES 1. John Franco 276 2. Armando Benitez 160 3. Jesse Orosco 107 4. Billy Wagner 101 5. Jeurys Familia 100

How funny would it be if the baby comes out looking exactly like Alex Rodriguez?

Don't ask me! I have no idea what's going on there. There's also a dog eating out of a garbage can. Maybe it has something to do with Maja's recent celebrity?