Benjamin Grimm

... after all this time I'm still not sure how to pronounce Jeurys Familia's first name. I've heard "Joris" (rhymes with "Boris") And Jay-oris. And Jay-or-reese. And "Jairiss" (First syllable rhymes with "Hair") And I recently heard Daniel Murphy refer to him as "Yoris" which, probably, is the most accurate. Can't we get this settled?

On my first-ever visit to Shea, in 1971 when I was eight years old, we had seats deep under the overhang in the Mezzanine. We couldn't see the sky or the scoreboard. My mother raised a stink (she could be good at that!) and got us moved to better seats, I think in the Upper Deck behind home plate, but not too far back. I learned my lesson from that and never sat in those towards-the-back rows in Loge or Mezzanine again. (And I suspect I never will...)

The Mets might win the National League pennant some time in the next 36 hours.

From December 2013: Barotolo Colon es un Metro Benjamin Grimm wrote: And who knows? Maybe he'll be pitching for the Mets in the 2015 World Series. I'm also surprised that I mentioned Jacob deGrom in that same post. I don't recall being aware of deGrom until he was called up in 2014, but I guess I was wrong.

If I allow it, I can drive myself crazy thinking through the possibilities. With a 2-0 lead, this isn't a must-win for the Mets, but it is a must-win for the Cubs. Therefore, it's a must-win for the Mets, because we must deprive the Cubs of winning a must-win game. (In the spirit of Kill Kill Kill, of course.) I want to see this series end in four games; let's go all Brett Anderson on the next two Cubs starters. Although Lester and Arrieta proved that they're not all that scary, I'd rather not see either one of them again.

Gwreck wrote: We want Kansas City, right? I don't really have a preference. I just hope that the series goes seven games so that the AL Champ doesn't have a chance to rest up and align its rotation.

Centerfield wrote: Give him 5-6 years. Go for it for the next 4 years. Rebuild after that. Things I'd suggest for a Mets Cespedes contract: No no-trade clause. (He won't be a five-and-ten until after the sixth year of the contract since he has only four years of service so far.) And front-load it instead of back-loading it. I don't know why so many contracts are back-loaded; you commit yourself to paying more for a player in his late thirties than in his early thirties, and with that ballooning contract he's less tradeable as well. Even with front-loading, Cespedes could become an albatross in 2020 and 2021, but at least he wouldn't be an albatross making $30 million per year. Is there any reason why players would prefer to get their money later rather than sooner? Inflation? I can't imagine that inflation has too big an effect on someone making that much money. If the price of a gallon of gas or a carton of milk turns out to be a bit higher in 2021, I don't think it has too big an effect on multimillionaires.

I'm not sure how "substantial" the difference might be, but it's entirely possible that Murphy's free agent contract would pay less than $15 million per year, so he might opt to take a one-year deal to stay with the Mets and maybe have another exciting playoff run. The drawback to doing that, of course, is that he'd be deferring free agency for a year and after 2016 he'll be a year older than he is now, and probably not coming off of a scalding hot postseason.

I seem to remember Darryl Strawberry hitting the apple with a home run, but I don't recall any of the details.

d'Kong76 wrote: I'd like that, but see no reason why he would do it. He probably wouldn't, but at least the Mets would get the draft pick.

Gwreck wrote: Also, I would of course extend Murphy the qualifying offer...and kind of hope he accepts it. I agree with that. I think we can use him for one more year.

Updated through Game 2. Some 2015 Mets are starting to pop up on the list. BATTING LEADERS Games Played 13 - Wally Backman, Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry 11 - Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza, Robin Ventura 10 - Mookie Wilson At Bats 54 - Gary Carter 52 - Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry 45 - Edgardo Alfonzo Runs 9 - Lenny Dykstra, Darryl Strawberry 8 - Carlos Beltran, Timo Perez, Mike Piazza 7 - Edgardo Alfonzo, Wally Backman, Cleon Jones Hits 14 - Edgardo Alfonzo, Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry 13 - Lenny Dykstra 12 - Cleon Jones Doubles 5 - Edgardo Alfonzo 4 - Lenny Dykstra, Cleon Jones 3 - Carlos Delgado, Wayne Garrett, Mike Piazza, Darryl Strawberry, Todd Zeile Triples 1 - Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter, Lenny Dykstra, Bud Harrelson, Keith Hernandez, Jose Reyes Home Runs 3 - Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Mike Piazza, Rusty Staub, Darryl Strawberry 2 - Tommie Agee, Ken Boswell, Lenny Dykstra, Kevin McReynolds, =#0000BF]Daniel Murphy, John Olerud 1 - =#0000BF]Travis d'Arnaud, Wayne Garrett, Keith Hernandez, Cleon Jones, Melvin Mora, Jay Payton, Jose Reyes, =#0000BF]David Wright, Todd Zeile Runs Batted In 11 - Darryl Strawberry 9 - Carlos Delgado 8 - Keith Hernandez, Mike Piazza, Todd Zeile Total Bases 26 - Darryl Strawberry 25 - Lenny Dykstra 23 - Mike Piazza Bases on Balls 9 - Keith Hernandez 8 - Benny Agbayani, Robin Ventura 6 - Carlos Delgado, Lenny Dykstra, Mike Piazza Strikeouts 17 - Darryl Strawberry 13 - Keith Hernandez 10 - Edgardo Alfonzo PITCHING LEADERS Games 8 - Armando Benitez 7 - Turk Wendell 6 - John Franco, Roger McDowell Wins 3 - Jesse Orosco 2 - Mike Hampton, Randy Myers, Tom Seaver, Turk Wendell 1 - David Cone, Octavio Dotel, Tom Glavine, =#0000BF]Matt Harvey, Jerry Koosman, John Maine, Jon Matlack, Bob Ojeda, Oliver Perez, Glendon Rusch, Nolan Ryan, =#0000BF]Noah Syndergaard, Ron Taylor Losses 2 - Sid Fernandez, Kenny Rogers 1 - David Cone, Ron Darling, Tom Glavine, Dwight Gooden, Aaron Heilman, Al Leiter, Roger McDowell, Harry Parker, Rick Reed, Tom Seaver, Steve Trachsel, Billy Wagner, Masato Yoshii Innings Pitched 35.0 - Dwight Gooden 23.0 - Tom Seaver 16.0 - Mike Hampton Games Started 4 - Dwight Gooden 3 - Ron Darling, Al Leiter, Tom Seaver 2 - David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton, Jerry Koosman, John Maine, Bob Ojeda, Oliver Perez, Rick Reed, Masato Yoshii Complete Games 1 - David Cone, Mike Hampton, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Bob Ojeda, Tom Seaver Shutouts 1 - Mike Hampton, Jon Matlack Saves 2 - Armando Benitez, =#0000BF]Jeurys Familia, Tug McGraw 1 - Ron Taylor, Billy Wagner Bases on Balls 13 - Dwight Gooden 9 - John Maine 8 - Tom Seaver Strikeouts 29 - Dwight Gooden 19 - Tom Seaver 14 - Jerry Koosman, Al Leiter Hits Allowed 26 - Dwight Gooden 20 - Tom Seaver 16 - Ron Darling Runs Allowed 13 - Ron Darling 9 - Sid Fernandez, Al Leiter, Tom Seaver 8 - Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman Earned Runs Allowed 10 - Ron Darling 9 - Sid Fernandez 8 - Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Al Leiter, Tom Seaver Home Runs Allowed 4 - Tom Seaver 3 - Sid Fernandez, Oliver Perez 2 - Dwight Gooden, Bobby Jones, Jerry Koosman, Rick Reed, Kenny Rogers

I think Daniel Murphy has more good years ahead of him right now than Ray Knight had after 1986. And I'm not just saying that in hindsight; Knight was a past-his-prime player who had a well-timed (and temporary) comeback in 1986. But enough about Ray Knight... I wish Murphy still had one more year left on his contract, because I don't think he'll be so easily replaced in 2016. Is Dilson Herrera ready to step in and be a productive hitter at the age of 22? Maybe... but if he can't produce close to what Murphy did the Mets will have taken a step back in their offense, especially if (as is likely) Cespedes departs as well. I'm not spending too much time these days worrying about 2016; the 2015 ride is still too much fun. But I do want another division title next year, and the Mets will have a challenging offseason. I'd hate to see them go back to the offense that they had the first half of this year although, if healthy, Wright, d'Arnaud, and Conforto should be an upgrade over Campbell, Plawecki, and Cuddyer.

They should certainly offer him the QO.

Centerfield wrote: You know the cool thing? With each win, the Mets guarantee that their season will last at least 4 more games. I also do that kind of math when the Mets are in the postseason. I first noticed myself doing that in 1999. Also, when the season ended, I calculated that Citi Field would host between one and nine games. They've already played four, and it's now guaranteed to be at least five.

I went with the plural noun. I could never vote against the Mets.

Edgy MD wrote: Duda back in left field?! No huh-way! Should I have said "batting order"?

I'd like to see Duda and Conforto swapped in that lineup.

If Familia is unavailable tonight (and he might be) then I wouldn't be at all surprised if Colon was called upon to get a three- to six-out save.

I voted for Syndergaard too, only because there was no option for Kevin Kobel.

Frayed Knot wrote: Most disappointing fans of the night: the ones who passively allowed Rizzo to reach 6 rows deep to catch Cespedes's foul pop. That was the second of two consecutive foul pops which were right in front of d'Arnaud's HR. Nothing could have been done about the first one over on the 3rd base side, but that second one was clearly in fan territory and could have -- Should have -- been prevented from ever getting to Rizzo and there would have been no chance of interference on the play. I know! I was thinking the exact same thing. I blame Jeff Wilpon for not properly instructing the fans.

Mets saying it will be Syndergaard in Game 2. USA Today wrote: NEW YORK � Mets manager Terry Collins named fireballing right-hander Noah Syndergaard his starting pitcher for National League Championship Series Game 2 on Sunday despite the rookie�s relief appearance on Thursday. Mike Vorkunov on NJ.com adds that it will be deGrom in Game 3 and Matz in Game 4.

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: That looks like MY cat! Mine, too! His name is Tug. My cat is Ingrid. I was going to try to get a photo of her on the staircase with a Mets cap in the foreground, but I've been a little too busy today to actually try to get a cat to cooperate by posing for a photograph.

Edgy MD wrote: I support the Cuddyer move. I just fear it could be undermined by him getting booed during introductions. I hope that won't happen, but if it does I think he can handle it. After that Game 5 in L.A., no Mets fan should be booing anybody. Things right now are about as positive as they can possibly be.