Benjamin Grimm

Wins doesn't impact a manager's decision making nearly as much as saves do, but it does sometimes come into play. Like when a pitcher has an 8-run lead and two outs in the fourth, but he's getting pounded and the manager leaves him in too long. I don't like seeing that either, but fortunately it's rare. The save statistic is the one that really bugs me. Not the stat itself, but the way managers revere it. Why did Erik Goeddel pitch the 10th inning in Atlanta last week? Because Familia had to be held back until he had a chance to get a save. Makes no sense at all. Gary Cohen brought that up, said that "some people" think that the right move would be to use Familia sooner and not wait. Keith pooped all over that notion. Said he was with Terry on this. If Goeddel is on the team, then he needs to be able to get people out. And that (sorry Keith) is a stupid argument. Sure, he has to be able to get people out, but managers have to be able to choose the right situation to use each player. And Terry often fails to do that, at least regarding the bullpen. If I ever had the power to fire Terry Collins, his use of the bullpen would be the reason I'd do it.

I'm hoping that Ginny Baker gets traded from the Padres to the Mets.

They'll be playing in Seattle again, huh? They were just there in 2014.

Final reminder that today is the last day to vote for any remaining games from the month of August.

The infield is going to be one of the more interesting topics of the Mets offseason. Which hopefully won't get underway for another seven weeks or so.

Because of his association with Wally Backman? Or has Lucas Duda made a dramatic return to the clubhouse?

They're both decent enough hitters that it wouldn't kill you too much, but I'm sure it's much more important to have them pitch in a regular rhythm.

This was only the second game this season that was saved by somebody other than Jeurys Familia. (Addison Reed had one save earlier this season.)

Cast your vote!

Whew!

I wonder if time has passed Wally by. I could be wrong, but I'd guess that not many managers in the last twenty years have gotten their first big league job after their 56th birthday. I think Terry will be back. It was looking pretty iffy during the summer, but whether the Mets make the playoffs or not, I think the fact that they're in the hunt with 18 games remaining will get him invited back.

Did you see that huge lead Cabrera was getting off third base while Bruce was batting and the Washington infield was shifted to the right? I couldn't help but wonder if Cabrera could have stolen home if he burst for the plate as the catcher was throwing the ball back to the pitcher. You can do that, right? Anyway, I'm glad he didn't try it, because he scored on T.J. Rivera's single.

Noah's already been stung by a stolen base. 1-0 Washington.

Does Darryl Strawberry still call him "Little Redneck"?

And what if they win the World Series? Despite their losing one consecutive game, it's still a real possibility.

And Mike Scott too, while we're at it.

Wow.

I guess cooby and Margie Backman have a low similarity score.

The team that had the worst day yesterday was the Giants. The Mets and Cardinals, at least, crossed one game against a first-place team off their schedule without losing any ground. The Giants lost one of the "soft" games that they should have won.

Oh, and bumping this to the new page: Cast your vote!

Montero is next due to start on September 18. If they skip him, and move Syndergaard into that start, then they won't need that fifth starter until the 20th.

There's a day off coming, so the fifth guy can be skipped next time around. And maybe in the turn after that, deGrom will be ready.

Cast your vote!

Well, I'm quite surprised by this!

Let's hope Montero doesn't need to get any more starts this season.