Benjamin Grimm

The Mets lost tonight to the lowly Braves, and you never really want to lose to a team whose first name is "lowly." However, on balance it was still a good day, as the Nationals lost a home game to the Orioles. The division lead remains at 6.5 games. The magic number drops from 7 to 6. The NHOP hits a new season low, dropping from .280 to .261. The NHOP for clinching before the Nationals come to Citi Field on October 2 is now .353. DateMets RecordNationals RecordMets LeadMagic NumberGames RemainingNHOPAugust 356-5054-501571140.500August 457-5055-501561120.500August 558-5055-512541100.491August 658-5056-511.5541090.495August 759-5056-522.5521070.486August 859-5157-521.5521050.495August 959-5257-531.5511030.495August 1060-5258-531.5501010.495August 1161-5258-542.548990.485August 1262-5258-553.546970.474August 1363-5258-564.544950.463August 1463-5358-574.543930.462August 1563-5458-584.542910.462August 1663-5558-594.541890.461August 1763-5558-594.541890.461August 1864-5559-594.540870.460August 1964-5660-593.540850.471August 2064-5660-60439840.464August 2165-5660-61537820.451August 2266-5661-61536800.450August 2367-5662-61535780.449August 2468-5662-615.534770.442August 2569-5663-615.533750.440August 2670-5663-626.531730.425August 2771-5664-626.530710.423August 2871-5764-636.529690.420August 2971-5865-635.529670.433August 3072-5866-635.528650.431August 3173-5866-646.526630.413September 173-5966-656.525610.410September 274-5967-656.524590.407September 374-5968-65624580.414September 474-6069-65524560.429September 575-6070-65523540.426September 675-6171-65423520.442September 776-6171-66521500.420September 877-6171-67619480.396September 978-6171-68717460.370September 1079-6171-687.516450.356September 1180-6171-698.514430.326September 1281-6171-709.512410.293September 1382-6172-709.511390.282September 1483-6173-709.510370.270September 1583-6274-708.510350.286September 1683-6375-707.510330.303September 1783-6375-7189320.281September 1884-6376-7188300.267September 1984-6477-7178280.286September 2084-6578-7168260.308September 2185-6578-716.57250.280September 2285-6678-726.56230.261

At the moment, identical scores in New York and Washington. Mets and Nationals both losing 4-1. Nationals have two out in the bottom of the 6th and the Mets are about to come to bat in the 7th.

Use your imagination!

Voting for all three games from this past weekend's Subway Series at Citi Field will close on Wednesday morning, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG, 09/18/2015. Mets 5, New York (AL) 1 Schaefer POTG 9/19/15: MFYs 5 Mets 0 schaefer POTG 9/20/15 - MFY's 11, Mets 2

I think I prefer her at focal length 70mm, by the way. That will be my favorite focal length.

I know! The upper left and lower right look like two different people!

Daniel Murphy's done that a few times. He forgets that there's a game going on and orders delivery.

The thing is, if he starts to unravel early in the game, there's a temptation to try to get him to work through it, because you don't want to go to the bullpen in the third inning. But if it's the seventh or eighth inning, you can pull him before things get too nasty.

I'm not surprised that he thought that, but a little surprised that he actually said it. I think, even with that thought, I would have let Niese pitch until he gave up a baserunner. If the lead was greater than two runs, I might have allowed him two baserunners. I'd want to let him keep eating up outs for as long as he could.

So... posting a photo of Mickey Mantle would be a faux pas, I assume?

Cespedes 0.75 Clippard 0.5 Conforto 1.5 Familia 0.5 Granderson 0.5 Murphy 1.5 Niese 4 Reed 0.75

Yesterday was a good day! And the air smells more fresh and clean this morning than it has in the last couple of days. The Mets won at home against the Braves, while the Nationals game against the Orioles was rained out in Washington. The division lead goes from 6 to 6.5 games. The magic number drops from 8 to 7, and the NHOP drops from .308 to .280. For the Mets to clinch the division before the Nationals come to Citi Field on October 2, the NHOP is .368. Here's another way of looking at what lies ahead. The Mets next nine games, prior to the three against Washington, are all against teams with losing records. If the Mets go 5-4 over those 9 games, which is not at all a tall order, the Nationals would have to win all 13 of their remaining games (after having won 7 of their last 8) to win the division outright. That would be a stretch of 20-1. If Washington loses exactly one of their remaining games under this scenario, the division would end in a tie (as long as that loss isn't in New York) and the Nationals would then have to win the one-game playoff. To sum up: The Mets go 5-4, the Nationals have to go 13-0 or 13-1 to keep the Mets out of the playoffs. Of course, if the Mets win 7 of the next 9, it won't matter at all what Washington does. If all goes well, the Mets can clinch as early as Friday. DateMets RecordNationals RecordMets LeadMagic NumberGames RemainingNHOPAugust 356-5054-501571140.500August 457-5055-501561120.500August 558-5055-512541100.491August 658-5056-511.5541090.495August 759-5056-522.5521070.486August 859-5157-521.5521050.495August 959-5257-531.5511030.495August 1060-5258-531.5501010.495August 1161-5258-542.548990.485August 1262-5258-553.546970.474August 1363-5258-564.544950.463August 1463-5358-574.543930.462August 1563-5458-584.542910.462August 1663-5558-594.541890.461August 1763-5558-594.541890.461August 1864-5559-594.540870.460August 1964-5660-593.540850.471August 2064-5660-60439840.464August 2165-5660-61537820.451August 2266-5661-61536800.450August 2367-5662-61535780.449August 2468-5662-615.534770.442August 2569-5663-615.533750.440August 2670-5663-626.531730.425August 2771-5664-626.530710.423August 2871-5764-636.529690.420August 2971-5865-635.529670.433August 3072-5866-635.528650.431August 3173-5866-646.526630.413September 173-5966-656.525610.410September 274-5967-656.524590.407September 374-5968-65624580.414September 474-6069-65524560.429September 575-6070-65523540.426September 675-6171-65423520.442September 776-6171-66521500.420September 877-6171-67619480.396September 978-6171-68717460.370September 1079-6171-687.516450.356September 1180-6171-698.514430.326September 1281-6171-709.512410.293September 1382-6172-709.511390.282September 1483-6173-709.510370.270September 1583-6274-708.510350.286September 1683-6375-707.510330.303September 1783-6375-7189320.281September 1884-6376-7188300.267September 1984-6477-7178280.286September 2084-6578-7168260.308September 2185-6578-716.57250.280 Remaining schedule for Mets and Nationals: (Revised to reflect the makeup game for the Nationals on September 24. This was originally scheduled to be a day off for Washington, but they will instead be making up the game against Baltimore that was rained out on September 21.) MetsNationalsSeptember 22AtlantaBaltimoreSeptember 23AtlantaBaltimoreSeptember 24At CincinnatiBaltimoreSeptember 25At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 26At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 27At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 28CincinnatiSeptember 29At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaSeptember 30At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaOctober 1At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaOctober 2WashingtonAt MetsOctober 3WashingtonAt MetsOctober 4WashingtonAt Mets

That can be Zvon's next Photoshop project.

Come on guys! Three or four runs here!

I wish Reed would stay in but I doubt it. He is due to lead off.

Kirk was gonna hit for Niese but Wilmer's GIDP ends the inning early. Will Niese come out for the seventh?

Niese will leave the game after 6. I'm not liking this and neither does the Mets booth.

And was Teufel screaming at Murphy to keep going? I would hope so.

Then why was he clapping his hands?

Remind me again why we call him "Muffy"?

Voting for the games played on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week against the Marlins will close on Tuesday morning, September 22, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG 9/15/15 - Marlins 9, Mets 3 Schaefer POTG 9/16/15 - Marlins 6, Mets 0)

Nothing good to report today, I'm afraid. Yesterday was our second consecutive bad day, with the Mets losing and the Nationals winning. Washington has now won seven of their last eight, and the Mets lead has narrowed to 6 games. The magic number hasn't budged since Friday, remaining at 8. The NHOP rises for the second consecutive day, going from .286 to .308. The NHOP for clinching before Washington comes to town on October 2 is .400. DateMets RecordNationals RecordMets LeadMagic NumberGames RemainingNHOPAugust 356-5054-501571140.500August 457-5055-501561120.500August 558-5055-512541100.491August 658-5056-511.5541090.495August 759-5056-522.5521070.486August 859-5157-521.5521050.495August 959-5257-531.5511030.495August 1060-5258-531.5501010.495August 1161-5258-542.548990.485August 1262-5258-553.546970.474August 1363-5258-564.544950.463August 1463-5358-574.543930.462August 1563-5458-584.542910.462August 1663-5558-594.541890.461August 1763-5558-594.541890.461August 1864-5559-594.540870.460August 1964-5660-593.540850.471August 2064-5660-60439840.464August 2165-5660-61537820.451August 2266-5661-61536800.450August 2367-5662-61535780.449August 2468-5662-615.534770.442August 2569-5663-615.533750.440August 2670-5663-626.531730.425August 2771-5664-626.530710.423August 2871-5764-636.529690.420August 2971-5865-635.529670.433August 3072-5866-635.528650.431August 3173-5866-646.526630.413September 173-5966-656.525610.410September 274-5967-656.524590.407September 374-5968-65624580.414September 474-6069-65524560.429September 575-6070-65523540.426September 675-6171-65423520.442September 776-6171-66521500.420September 877-6171-67619480.396September 978-6171-68717460.370September 1079-6171-687.516450.356September 1180-6171-698.514430.326September 1281-6171-709.512410.293September 1382-6172-709.511390.282September 1483-6173-709.510370.270September 1583-6274-708.510350.286September 1683-6375-707.510330.303September 1783-6375-7189320.281September 1884-6376-7188300.267September 1984-6477-7178280.286September 2084-6578-7168260.308 Remaining schedule for Mets and Nationals: MetsNationalsSeptember 21AtlantaBaltimoreSeptember 22AtlantaBaltimoreSeptember 23AtlantaBaltimoreSeptember 24At CincinnatiSeptember 25At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 26At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 27At CincinnatiPhiladelphiaSeptember 28CincinnatiSeptember 29At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaSeptember 30At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaOctober 1At PhiladelphiaAt AtlantaOctober 2WashingtonAt MetsOctober 3WashingtonAt MetsOctober 4WashingtonAt Mets