Benjamin Grimm

Maybe I picked the wrong weekend to go all in.

It's actually 42. Nationals have 58 losses and Mets have. 63 wins.

I have to say, I'm more confident of the Mets ability to win the division than I am of their likelihood of going deep into the playoffs. But getting there is the first order of business. Things will probably look different (for better or worse) in early October from where we are now.

Cespedes 1 Clippard 1 Conforto 2 Familia 1 Niese 1 Robles 2 Torres 1 Uribe 1

We should send the Giants a basket of fruit or something.

He reminds me a little bit of the bully on Everybody Hates Chris.

Matt Reynolds! He's sure fallen off the radar, hasn't he?

Cespedes 2 Clippard 1 Colon 4.5 Familia 1 Granderson 0.5 Lagares 1

Rockin' Doc wrote: Winning is fun! I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to have the Mets contending for a pennant down the stretch. It is nice! I'm more "all in" than I have been in years, watching bigger chunks of games and afterwards not feeling like I've wasted my time.

Edgy MD wrote: And don't pitch no Parnell in no game situation until you've gotten at least two innings out of Familia and Clippard. Stretch the good arms in a tie game. That's exactly what I was thinking. Oh well, you literally can't win them all, and at least Washington lost, so the day did advance the cause and reduce the magic number.

I love him as much as I love your cousin, and I agree. Taking on the final years of that backloaded contract, without having had the benefit of the less expensive early years (and the younger Jose) doesn't make any sense at all.

Voting for Wednesday night's win over Colorado will close over the weekend, but not before noon on Saturday. Schaefer POTG 8/12/15 - Mets 3, Rockies 0

Frayed Knot wrote: If the race comes down to an every game matters situation exactly how often to you want to put off deGrom / Harvey / Syndergaard / Matz / Niese starts in favor of Bartolo getting his turn? The impression that I'm currently getting is that deGrom and Niese would be on regular rotation, but there may be extra days of rest for Harvey and Syndergaard. This will be a lot easier to figure out if Matz returns in September and stays healthy for the rest of the season/postseason. But I'm not at all sure how likely that is. I think they're going to need Colon for his innings, as long as they're good innings. If he pitches poorly, and the division race tightens, the Mets may have to make some kind of decision. Could we be seeing Dillon Gee again? It should be interesting.

Edgy MD wrote: But life often tends to make these decisions for you. That's definitely true. The picture may very well look a lot more clear (or more muddled) in early October.

I'm not trying to count any chickens, and I want to keep the cart behind the horse, but there are a few things I've been wondering about regarding the Mets possible participation in the postseason. I'll start with two: Barton Colon and Kevin Plawecki. Bartolo Colon Unless Bartolo comes on strong over the next six weeks, I have a hard time seeing him getting any postseason starts. If it was up to me (and it's not) I'd rather give those starts to Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Niese, and Matz, assuming that all are available and healthy and aren't innings-limited. Recent reports have said that innings limits aren't expected to apply to deGrom. Matz should be well below any limit, and Niese is a veteran. Is there any room for Colon in that rotation? And would he have any value in the pen? Is there a chance he could be left off the postseason roster? Kevin Plawecki I think I'd rather have Plawecki on the postseason roster than Recker. For that to happen, does Plawecki need to be recalled by August 31? (I don't remember the rules regarding that, and even if I did remember the rules, they may very well have changed recently.) It's strange that they sent him down so that he can get more playing time, when at the same time, the Mets were saying that they wouldn't concern themselves about such things during what remains of August. That's why they kept Conforto in the big leagues.

Conforto 0.5 Granderson 2.5 Johnson 2.5 Murphy 1 Syndergaard 3 Uribe 0.5

Wow, ten of the Mets' remaining 47 games are against the Phillies. Six against the Marlins.

True! It's just that collapses have more dramatic impact when they come at the conclusion of the season. The Yankees will have an opportunity to recover. The Mets didn't.

That's one weird monkey. I hope he continues to stick close to the Nationals.

Yes, chillingly familiar. While I've been pondering post-season possibilities in my head (and I'll share some of those ponderings soon) I'm very reluctant to count any chickens.

This thread is probably worth bumping right about now.

Soup appears confused as to what he did to earn Bench Player of the Month honors. I vaguely recall a useful pinch-hit. Eric Campbell earned his 1.68 bench points in three games in July: July 19: 0.37 points. Bunted home an insurance run in the top of the 18th. July 21: 1.14 points. 2-run pinch single in the 7th. July 29: 0.17 points. Pinch single. BENCH POINTS FOR JULY 2015 1 Eric Campbell 1.68 2 Juan Uribe 1.60 3 Curtis Granderson 1.17 4 Danny Muno 0.50 5 Juan Lagares 0.18 6 Lucas Duda 0.16 7 Kirk Nieuwenhuis 0.03 It generally doesn't take a lot of points to win the Bench award. Darrell Ceciliani won with 1.21 points in June. In May, Johnny Monell won with 1.65 points, and in April Curtis Granderson only needed 0.70 points. The record was set in July 2012, when Jordany Valdespin earned 9.03 points off the bench. Also of note: Scott Hairston, June 2012, 7.64 points; Marlon Anderson, August 2007, 7.17 points; Scott Hairston, July 2011, 6.56 points; and Jordany Valdespin, May 2013, 5.05 points. ALL-TIME LEADERS IN SCHAEFER BENCH POINTS Jordany Valdespin 22.54 Scott Hairston 21.11 Daniel Murphy 18.10 Justin Turner 16.20 Mike Baxter 15.77 Fernando Tatis 15.52 Lucas Duda 14.54 Marlon Anderson 13.22 Endy Chavez 13.12 Kirk Nieuwenhuis 11.62 Ike Davis 11.11 Julio Franco 10.89 Josh Thole 9.47 Chris Carter 9.28 Damion Easley 9.20 Eric Campbell 8.80 Willie Harris 8.48 Andrew Brown 8.24 Nick Evans 7.46 Jeremy Reed 6.84

Voting for Tuesday night's win over the Rockies will close on Friday morning, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG 8/11/15 - Mets 4, Rockies 0