Benjamin Grimm

So when are we going to find out if Familia is suspended, and for how long? The criminal case was dismissed a while ago. The commissioner's office really needs to get this settled so the Mets can know how their bullpen will be affected for the 2017 season.

Since the last name is the same, wouldn't Yoelkis more likely be Yoenis' brother from another mother?

This makes me curious to know if he has any other siblings, and what their names are.

Oops, sorry. Here it is in Russian: На Метс горячей печи несколько недель назад, они отметили, что Терри Коллинз знал, что его жена, так как ему было десять лет, но не женился на ней, пока он не был 63. Кто-нибудь знает что-нибудь об этом?

On Mets Hot Stove a few weeks ago, they mentioned that Terry Collins knew his wife since he was ten but didn't marry her until he was 63. Anyone know anything about that?

I got it from my grandfather.

cooby wrote: Doesn't matter. A brain tumor is not a good thing. I'm no doctor, but I suspect it does matter a lot. As bad as an inoperable benign brain tumor is, I would think that an inoperable malignant brain tumor is probably a lot worse. (I hope I ordered my adjectives correctly.)

I don't expect to impose any guidelines because people won't understand or follow them anyway. I prefer that they get voted on as visual artwork, which cover you'd most like to frame and hang on your wall, or in the Louvre, or in an office building lobby in Stockholm. But I think that art appreciation is, and should be, subjective.

Yeah, that surprised me too. People voting based on the sidebar and whether it was good news or bad news for the Yankees struck me as bizarre.

So should we do it again in 2017?

What was Larry Bird's scary secret? Does it have anything to do with this?

I especially admire his power of telekinesis.

I was surprised at how into it I was in 2006. And I was looking forward to it in 2009 and was then surprised at how disinterested I was. I didn't pay it any attention at all in 2013 either, and probably won't in 2017, unless I surprise myself again.

I agree with Ceetar's roster, with one exception: I think it will be Rivera over Plawecki.

Winner of Round 1.3.8 Winner of Round 2.3.2 Winner of Round 3.3.1 Winner of Round 4.3.1 CES BOOM BAH! New York Daily News, August 30, 2016 Yoenis Cespedes hits a solo homer in the bottom of the 10th to give the Mets a 2-1 win over the Marlins. Winner of Round 1.4.5 Winner of Round 2.4.4 Winner of Round 3.4.2 Winner of Round 4.4.1 11th HEAVEN Newsday, September 22, 2016. A come-from-behind 11th inning three-run homer by Asdrubal Cabrera gives the Mets an exhilarating win over the Phillies.

Winner of Round 1.1.8 Winner of Round 2.1.2 Winner of Round 3.1.1 Winner of Round 4.1.1 METS IN A LANDSLIDE New York Daily News, April 20, 2016. The Mets homer six times in an 11-1 win in Philadelphia. Winner of Round 1.2.3 Winner of Round 2.2.2 Winner of Round 3.2.1 Winner of Round 4.2.1 SEEDS OF LIFE New York Post, May 22, 2016. David Wright is showered with sunflower seeds after singling home the game-winning run in the ninth inning against the Brewers.

I've toyed with the idea of seeding the 32 first-round winners by vote percentage. That's how the seeing is currently done, but within the four "groups." Here's how they would have been ranked if there weren't the four groups. (Final Four covers in bold.) 1 WIL POWER! 2 11th HEAVEN 3 YA GOTTA RELIEVE! 4 METS FIND NIMMO! 5 CES BOOM BAH! 6 SULTAN OF SWAAT 7 IN A PINCH 8 WORLD SERIOUS 9 IN COMPLETE CONTROL 10 THE HAIR APPARENT! 11 GAME SETH MATCH 12 DOZEN GET ANY BETTER 13 THAT'S TERRIFIC 14 SIGH OF RELIEF 15 FROM MEEK TO MIGHTY 16 BLADDER UP 17 HAMMERS & THOR 18 WET & WILD! 19 LIKE OLD TIMES 20 AMAZIN' OFFSEASON 21 YO GOTTA BE KIDDING! 22 METS IN A LANDSLIDE 23 HOPE 24 SEEDS OF LIFE 25 YO & BEHOLD 26 FAB FOUR! 27 T.J. MAXX! 28 ALL TOO FAMILIA 29 SWEEPING THE COUNTRY 30 GRAND FINALE! 31 MATZ INCREDIBLE! 32 WHAT A HAM In the second round, WIL POWER would have faced WHAT A HAM, and in the third round, the winner would have gone up against the winner of BLADDER UP vs. HAMMERS & THOR. 11th HEAVEN would have faced MATZ INCREDIBLE and then the winner of FROM MEEK TO MIGHTY vs. WET & WILD. And so on.

2014 Miss Sweden, Camilla Hansson, is back, striking her favorite pose, to showcase the covers that comprise this year's Final Four! The latest brackets:

CES BOOM BAH has easily defeated WIL POWER and becomes the second Daily News cover (both featuring Yoenis Cespedes) to advance to the Final Four. Tomorrow it will face off against the winner of 11th HEAVEN vs. THE HAIR APPARENT.

I certainly hope not. The Mets playoff spot was definitely not assured at that point. And if he did in fact "lay down" then I'm glad he's gone, no matter how cute and jovial he is.

Yo-ennis. Familia's first name is another story entirely. Nobody knows for sure. Gary Cohen calls him Jay-or-reese, but that can't be correct. I've heard other pronunciations as well, too many to try to list here. During the 2015 postseason, while being interviewed, Daniel Murphy referred to Familia as "Yoris", which is probably more correct. I'm surprised that nobody has asked him, "Hey, Dude! How do you pronounce your name?" If there are any Twitter users among us (and I know there are) maybe we can contact Familia directly and get him to tell us how to pronounce his name?

$20M owed to Yordano Ventura likely hinges on his toxicology report The fate of the approximately $20 million remaining on pitcher Yordano Ventura’s contract likely will hinge on his toxicology report, according to major-league sources. The deal would remain fully guaranteed if Ventura’s death was determined to be accidental. The money would go to his estate, while the Royals — who had insurance on Ventura’s contract — would be reimbursed for an amount that is not yet clear, sources said. Ventura, who died Sunday in an automobile crash at age 25, was guaranteed $19.25 million over the next three seasons, plus a $1 million buyout on a club option. However, guaranteed contracts include exceptions that relate to player conduct, and Ventura’s deal includes a provision that will nullify payment for failure to perform due to injury or death resulting from driving a motorized vehicle while intoxicated, sources said. Royals general manager Dayton Moore said on Sunday that the toxicology results will not be known for three weeks, but that authorities in the Dominican Republic had told him that no alcohol was found at the scene. Another possibility emerged Monday night: An unconfirmed report out of the Dominican Republic said that looters descended upon Ventura while he was still alive and robbed him of his World Series ring and other belongings before leaving him to die. If an investigation determined that Ventura otherwise might have lived, it would strengthen the argument that his death was an accident and that the rest of his contract should be paid out to his estate. The Royals are in the beginning stages of discussing Ventura’s contract language with Major League Baseball, sources said. It is conceivable that the team could decide to pay a certain amount of money to Ventura’s estate even if the results of the toxicology report allowed the club to void the rest of his contract. Ventura was set to earn $3.25 million this season, $6.25 million in 2018 and $9.75 million in ’19, with a $1 million buyout on his $12 million club option for ’20, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. The five-year, $23 million extension that he signed in April 2015 also included a $12 million club option for ’21. The nature of any payout would be determined by Ventura’s will, presuming that he had one. If he did not have a will, the money would be distributed according to the laws of the Dominican Republic, sources said. The financial legacy of Ventura is different than that of late Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died in a boating accident last September and — unlike Ventura — was unsigned beyond 2016. A toxicology report determined that Fernandez was legally drunk and had cocaine in his system at the time of the crash. But it is not clear that Fernandez was driving the boat, and his estate is still in line to receive a $1.05 million accidental-death payment and $450,000 in life insurance through a player’s standard benefits package, sources said. Ventura’s estate could be eligible for the same payouts. He was the driver of his vehicle, according to reports, but it is not known whether the results of his toxicology report would affect the amount his estate received. The Royals, depending upon the amount of their insurance coverage, could redirect some of that money to the acquisition of another starting pitcher. The team previously had about $2.5 million to spend in 2017, and was seeking to add another reliever, sources said.

I think that these are the only ones I saw. (And I saw 10 Cloverfield Lane on TV, not in a theater, by the way.) 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR DEADPOOL DOCTOR STRANGE HAIL, CAESAR! SUICIDE SQUAD X-MEN: APOCALYPSE I enjoyed the Marvel movies more than those from DC, except for Deadpool, which was a chore to sit through.

SEEDS OF LIFE, the lone remaining New York Post cover, has advanced to our Final Four, and will face off against yesterday's winner, METS IN A LANDSLIDE on Thursday for the right to advance to the final round. The Post, overall, has not done well this year, with only two covers advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and only one to the Elite Eight, but thanks to the tenacity of SEEDS OF LIFE, it still has a chance to win this thing. SULTAN OF SWAAT's loss, combined with yesterdays loss for HAMMERS & THOR, results in the back-to-back elimination of the two remaining Noah Syndergaard covers.

I don't remember now... At the time the Mets signed Loney, what was Duda's prognosis? Was there still hope that he'd be back earlier than it turned out?