Benjamin Grimm

Conforto's sitting too against the lefty. That's Cuddyer in the corner spot. I expect we'll see Curtis pinch-hitting against a righty reliever.

There have been times when the team has looked pretty dead. There was one year (last year, maybe, or 2013) on or around Father's Day when I heard him sounding so defeated I was sure he was about to be fired. Of course, the Mets recovered from whatever that was. I'm pretty sure Terry comes back unless the season ends in a humiliating collapse. (And that kind of thing never happens, does it?)

Voting for the two games played in Baltimore last week will close on Tuesday morning, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG 8/18/15 - Mets 5, Orioles 3 Schaefer POTG 8/19/15 - Orioles 5, Mets 4

I'm pretty neutral on him too. I won't be upset if he doesn't come back next year (although I think he probably will) and I won't be upset if he does. I do agree with this, however: batmagadanleadoff wrote: His bullpen usage drives me crazy -- but you know what? -- so would the bullpen usage of just about every other manager out there.

Nationals are off today, host the Padres for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. This is followed by a three-game series at home against the Marlins over the weekend, and then they travel to St. Louis for a three-game series.

Yes. The Mets were playing like they were afraid to lose. (And they were.) The 2015 Mets have to avoid falling into that trap.

I know. I think the odds are in the Mets favor, but a bad week can change that dramatically. Tonight's game isn't technically a "must win" but it feels like one, and that definitely counts for something.

I agree. A four-game sweep would be fantastic, but I wouldn't be at all disappointed with three wins. I can reluctantly accept two, but anything less than that is a real setback and has to be avoided.

Another good, but not great, day. The Mets win today over the Rockies drops the magic number to 35, with 39 games to play. Because of the Nationals win, the NHOP drops only slightly, from .450 to .449. As the number of remaining games continues to drop, we should start seeing more fluctuation in the NHOP, for better or worse. 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 2367-5662-61535780.449

Box score Conforto 1.25 Flores 1.25 Murphy 1.25 Recker 0.75 Verrett 5.5

Cuddyer hitting for Verrett. Oh well.

Verrett gets the Rockies 1-2-3 in the 8th. He's due to lead off the top of the 9th. I hope he does!

I guess we'll see!

I agree. There was action in the Mets pen, but I'd like to see Verrett get the 8th. And if his pitch count remains low, the 9th as well.

Edgy MD wrote: Kinda happy the Mets didn't deal for Charlie Blackmon about now.. He was probably distracted by the bad stench coming from his beard.

Final in Washington: Nationals won.

There's no reason to think that run won't hold up, is there?

When I see someone with a beard like Charlie Blackmon's, I can't help but imagine that he smells really bad.

Baseball Prospectus odds have improved a little bit. NL East title goes from 85.5% to 85.9%, which makes sense. We're a day closer to the end of the season, and the Nationals failed to gain any ground. The Wild Card odds also increased, from 0.2% to 0.3%. That seems a little counter-intuitive, since both the Cubs and Pirates won yesterday, so it should therefore be a little bit harder for the Mets to finish with a better record than one or both of those teams. It also occurred to me that the NHOP numbers above may not be as accurate as they should be. There aren't 80 combined games remaining, because the Mets and Nationals will be playing each other six times in September. That means that the number of games is actually 74, and the numbers will have to be adjusted accordingly. Those six games are also the reason why we shouldn't get overly optimistic yet, because they give the Nationals a real opportunity to turn things around. That's what happened in 2007. The Mets had a four-game series in Philadelphia that started on August 27, and another three-game series at Shea against the Phillies that started on September 14. If the Mets had just won one of those seven games, things would have been very different, but of course, the Phillies won all seven. Fortunately, the two remaining series against Washington are three weeks apart, so if the Mets have a cold streak or the Nationals have a hot streak, it will hopefully encompass only one of those series, but make no mistake, danger is still lurking. The Mets will be in Washington on September 7, 8, and 9. We'll have a better sense of the challenges ahead once that series has ended.

Box score d'Arnaud 1.5 Flores 2 Granderson 2 Lagares 2 Tejada 1 Uribe 1.5

Mets and Nationals both win. Magic number drops by one, from 37 to 36. NHOP drops too, but only slightly, from .451 to .450. Any day the magic number drops is a good 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 2266-5661-61536800.450

This unicorn may soon have a mate.

I have the Brewers-Nationals game on the TV (with the sound off) as I'm reading my book, but I just glanced up and saw the Brewers turn a nice double play. Runners on first and second, the Milwaukee centerfielder makes a nice diving catch and then guns down Werth trying to advance to third.

True, I hadn't considered that. Did Puello's release free up a spot on the 40-man roster?

The original NHOP thread. I hope it turns out better this time around!