Benjamin Grimm

Voting for the games played against the Phillies on Tuesday and Wednesday will close over the Labor Day weekend, but not before 10 a.m. on Saturday. Schaefer POTG 9/1/15 - Phillies 14, Mets 8 Schaefer POTG 9/2/15 - Mets 9, Phillies 4

The Mets were idle yesterday, and Washington beat Atlanta, so the NHOP rises. Had the Nationals lost, the NHOP would have dropped below .400 for the first time. Oh well. 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 374-5968-65624580.414

We'll get our shot at them too

Bartolo did something similar last year, talking Terry into skipping deGrom's last start of the season so that Colon could be Pitcher of the Year. Jeurys Familia, by the way, has totally left Brian Stokes in the dust.

You're right. He earned 0.68 points that game, and that was the difference.

Yes, it's his first. (He was bench player of the month in April.)

SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK, 2015 Week ending April 11, 2015: Travis d'Arnaud, 4.86 points. Week ending April 18, 2015: Lucas Duda, 8.80 points. Week ending April 25, 2015: Matt Harvey, 6.45 points. Week ending May 2, 2015: Daniel Murphy, 8.63 points. Week ending May 9, 2015: Bartolo Colon, 4.92 points. Week ending May 16, 2015: Wilmer Flores, 6.25 points. Week ending May 23, 2015: Noah Syndergaard, 5.95 points. Week ending May 30, 2015: Lucas Duda, 7.14 points. Week ending June 6, 2015: Bartolo Colon, 8.43 points. Week ending June 13, 2015: Jacob deGrom, 8.08 points. Week ending June 20, 2015: Matt Harvey, 4.94 points. Week ending June 27, 2015: Matt Harvey, 7.52 points. Week ending July 4, 2015: Steven Matz, 6.00 points. Week ending July 11, 2015: Jacob deGrom, 5.82 points. Week ending July 18, 2015: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, 6.08 points. Week ending July 25, 2015: Bartolo Colon, 5.15 points. Week ending August 1, 2015: Lucas Duda, 12.32 points. Week ending August 8, 2015: Curtis Granderson, 7.28 points. Week ending August 15, 2015: Daniel Murphy, 5.64 points. Week ending August 22, 2015: Yoenis Céspedes, 6.34 points. Week ending August 29, 2015: Logan Verrett, 5.95 points.

SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE MONTH, AUGUST 2015 AUGUST 2015 Player of the Month: CURTIS GRANDERSON Pitcher of the Month: BARTOLO COLON Reliever of the Month: JEURYS FAMILIA Bench Player of the Month: MICHAEL CUDDYER Updated award winner standings, with this month's winners in bold: PLAYER OF THE MONTH David Wright 14 Johan Santana 6 Carlos Beltran 5 Jose Reyes 5 R. A. Dickey 4 Lucas Duda 4 Daniel Murphy 3 Cliff Floyd 2 Tom Glavine 2 Carlos Delgado 2 Ike Davis 2 Matt Harvey 2 Mike Cameron 1 John Maine 1 Angel Pagan 1 Jeff Francoeur 1 Ruben Tejada 1 John Buck 1 Marlon Byrd 1 Dillon Gee 1 Jonathon Niese 1 Bartolo Colon 1 Juan Lagares 1 Jacob deGrom 1 Noah Syndergaard 1 CURTIS GRANDERSON 1 PITCHER OF THE MONTH R. A. Dickey 10 Johan Santana 9 Pedro Martinez 6 John Maine 5 Mike Pelfrey 4 Jonathon Niese 4 Matt Harvey 4 Jacob deGrom 4 Tom Glavine 3 Dillon Gee 3 BARTOLO COLON 3 Orlando Hernandez 2 Alay Soler 1 Steve Trachsel 1 Oliver Perez 1 Livan Hernandez 1 Tim Redding 1 Chris Capuano 1 Zack Wheeler 1 Noah Syndergaard 1 RELIEVER OF THE MONTH JEURYS FAMILIA 8 Brian Stokes 5 Billy Wagner 4 Aaron Heilman 4 Bobby Parnell 4 Carlos Torres 4 Francisco Rodriguez 3 Duaner Sanchez 2 Raul Valdes 2 Pedro Beato 2 Manny Acosta 2 Jon Rauch 2 LaTroy Hawkins 2 Darren Oliver 1 Chad Bradford 1 Guillermo Mota 1 Joe Smith 1 Jorge Sosa 1 Scott Schoeneweis 1 Pedro Feliciano 1 Sean Green 1 Fernando Nieve 1 Hisanori Takahashi 1 Elmer Dessens 1 Jason Isringhausen 1 Frank Francisco 1 Josh Edgin 1 Scott Rice 1 BENCH PLAYER OF THE MONTH Fernando Tatis 3 Daniel Murphy 3 Jordany Valdespin 3 Eric Campbell 3 Julio Franco 2 Damion Easley 2 Marlon Anderson 2 Endy Chavez 2 Josh Thole 2 Justin Turner 2 Scott Hairston 2 Andrew Brown 2 Eli Marrero 1 Michael Tucker 1 Ricky Ledee 1 David Newhan 1 Ramon Castro 1 Ruben Gotay 1 Robinson Cancel 1 Gary Sheffield 1 Alex Cora 1 Jeremy Reed 1 Omir Santos 1 Cory Sullivan 1 Chris Carter 1 Mike Hessman 1 Nick Evans 1 Jason Pridie 1 Willie Harris 1 Val Pascucci 1 Mike Baxter 1 Ronny Cedeño 1 Kelly Shoppach 1 Josh Satin 1 Zach Lutz 1 Ike Davis 1 Lucas Duda 1 Chris Young 1 Anthony Recker 1 Curtis Granderson 1 Johnny Monell Darrell Ceciliani 1 MICHAEL CUDDYER 1

From Baseball Prospectus: The Mets odds to win the division have declined a bit. It's currently 92.8% for the NL East and up to 0.5% for the wild card. World Series odds have increased to 9.4%, still the lowest of any division leader. Royals have gone up to 10.2%, Dodgers are way up at 17.2%. Tragic Number updates: Phillies 8, Marlins 10, Braves 10, Nationals 24.

When it comes to inside-the-park home runs, the one that comes to mind for me is the one by Don Hahn. I remember wondering if such a thing was possible, and then it happened! Proof that it was indeed possible! I saw one in person once, by Howard Johnson, and maybe one by Darryl Strawberry. They're always fun, but the one by Don Hahn will always be my favorite. I suspect that Ruben Tejada's will stick in my head because of the unique sight of an outfielder tumbling headfirst over the wall and disappearing.

Cespedes 1 Conforto 2 Gilmartin 0.5 Harvey 1.5 Johnson 1 Murphy 0.5 Tejada 3 Wright 0.5

I predict that the Mets will go into Washington with a 6-game lead. (Mets will win two in Miami, Nationals will win three of four from Atlanta.) If that in fact happens, the Nationals can take two of three from the Mets without things getting at all scary in the standings.

It looks like next week's series in Washington will have Niese, Harvey, and deGrom as the starters. Monday would be a good day for Niese to snap out of whatever funk he's been in.

Yesterday the Mets and Nationals both won. The magic number drops by one, to 24. The NHOP declines as well, from .410 to .407, a new season low. Today the Mets are idle while the Nationals play the Braves. The magic number may or may not change, but the NHOP will. When the Mets wake up in Washington on Wednesday, September 9, the day of the final game of the three-game series against the Nationals, they will be in first place. 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 274-5967-656.524590.407

Cardinals, trailing the Nationals 3-2 in the seventh have just tied the game on a single by Wong.

Voting for Monday night's win over the Phillies will close on Thursday, but not before 12 noon. This will close out the month of August. Schaefer POTG 8/31/15 - Mets 3, Phillies 1

Even if I am selected, I'm not certain that I'd go. But I can't not throw my hat in the ring!

That struck me as odd as well. I'm guessing that they don't think the Royals match up well against the Blue Jays, or the Cardinals against the Dodgers. Each team has very high odds (close to 100 per cent) of making the playoffs so their current division leads won't be a factor in how they'd perform in the postseason series.

I have just registered "for the possibility of being selected for the opportunity to purchase tickets, subject to availability, for potential New York Mets 2015 Postseason games at Citi Field." Are there enough qualifiers in that sentence? I guess they're trying to make it as clear as possible that I'm not guaranteed to get tickets for games that may not even be played.

Maybe because yesterday the Nationals lost a game that they had been expected to lose, but the Mets lost a game they had been expected to win? Just guessing here...

I think so too. And remember, if they have the 12-man pitching staff in the postseason (as in the regular season), but only use four starters, then they do have an 8-man bullpen.