Benjamin Grimm

I was the one who voted "By All-Star Break". I'm certainly more optimistic now than I was in June!

If the Mets make the postseason the competition will be tougher than what they'll have faced the last month or so of the regular season, regardless of who their opponents are. Home field advantage in the NLDS is definitely something to root for, given the Mets advantage at home this season. (Although we shouldn't forget the recent three-game sweep by the Pirates at Citi Field.) Moving through the playoff rounds won't be an easy task. But for now, I'm mostly focused on seeing them lock down the division title.

The fortunes of the Mets are far more important than those of the 51s, but I hope that Wally's team isn't too adversely affected by September call-ups.

I have no trouble at all rooting for the Cardinals against the Nationals. I'd even root for the Yankees if a win on their part would benefit the Mets. Of course, rooting for the Yankees would be accompanied by the taste of bile in my mouth, but not so for the Cardinals. They're just another out-of-town team.

Colon 5.5 Conforto 2.25 Granderson 2.25

Yesterday was a very good day, with the Mets winning and Washington losing, effectively reversing the setback that occurred on Saturday. The magic number drops from 28 to 26, and the NHOP makes its steepest decline of the year so far, dropping from .431 to .413, a season low. Also, the Mets are now guaranteed to be in first place when they arrive in Washington on Labor Day. 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 3173-5866-646.526630.413

I'm going to bed now. I'll probably wake up in the middle of the night to check the final score.

I've been watching for about 15 minutes and the Cards have scored five runs in that time.

Wong drives in another! !

2-run double by Hayward makes it 7-5 St. Louis!

I'm watching the Nationals-Cardinals game. (Familiar voice of Tim McCarver in the booth) and the Cards have just come back from a 5-3 deficit to tie the game in the 7th

It doesn't seem likely, at this point anyway, that this year's Cy Young or Rookie of the Year (or MVP for that matter) will be coming from the Mets. (Maybe a Manager of the Year?) But that's okay. I'd rather see a contending team (and a championship team) than any postseason awards.

Voting for the games played last Wednesday and Thursday in Philadelphia will close on Tuesday morning, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG 8/26/15 - Mets 9, Phillies 4 Schaefer POTG 8/27/15 - Mets 9, Phillies 5

Curtis is, apparently, a moon-landing skeptic.

The first batch, who we'll see on September 1 is, according to Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, four players: Kevin Plawecki, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Eric Young Jr., and Eric Campbell.

Mitch Abramson, N.Y. Daily News wrote: Terry Collins said he doesn�t envision using either Steven Matz or Noah Syndergaard in relief in the postseason if the Mets get that far. �You�re talking about a guy who�s had injury issues,� Collins said of Matz. �To ask him to do something he hasn�t done before � to try to go warm up fast, get ready in a hurry � I�m not sure it�s fair to him.� As for Syndergaard, Collins said, �All that�s been said about how good our starting pitching is � I think his name is a part of that. And if we are fortunate to get into (the playoffs), I think you have to go with your best pitchers in the spots they�re best at.�

Oh, NOW you tell us!

Clippard 1.25 Cuddyer 2.75 Familia 1 Murphy 1.5 Recker 1 Syndergaard 1 Uribe 1.5

Baseball Prospectus odds update: Mets at 90.5 per cent to win the division, 0.3 per cent for the Wild Card, 9.2 per cent for the World Championship. Tragic Numbers: Phillies 12. Marlins 12. Braves 15. Nationals 28.

Contact Jay Horowitz. Just be prepared to work 40-hour days and 8-day weeks.

Sunday was a good day, in that the Mets won and dropped the magic number from 29 to 28, and the NHOP declined slightly from .433 to .431. Because the Nationals won, the Mets weren't able to reverse the setback of the previous day. But maybe they'll be able to do that tonight. The Mets will be hosting the Phillies and the Nationals will be in St. Louis to play the Cardinals. 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 3072-5866-635.528650.431

Clippard 1 d'Arnaud 1 Familia 1 Flores 0.75 Granderson 0.5 Harvey 4 Tejada 0.75 Wright 0.75

Colon 0.75 deGrom 3 Granderson 0.5 Johnson 1 O'Flaherty 0.75 Uribe 1

Today was our first bad day in a while. Mets lose, Nationals defeat that drooling simpleton Tom Koehler and the division lead drops back to 5.5 games. Magic number remains at 29, NHOP spikes from .420 to .433. A Mets win and a Washington loss on Sunday would undo today's setback. Let's make it happen! 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 2971-5865-635.529670.433