Benjamin Grimm

I recognized that name immediately. I used to buy his Baseball Handbook every year, probably until a few years after I discovered The Sporting News. I think (hope) that I still have them somewhere. Getting that book was a highlight of the spring, a sign that baseball was returning at a time in my life when that was very important! I think the first volume I bought was in 1975.

Buck 0.5 Davis 0.5 Flores 0.5 Mejia 3 Quintanilla 0.5

Voting for all three games played in Phoenix this past weekend will close on Wednesday afternoon, some time after 2 p.m. Friday night's game is particularly low on votes, with only three at the time of this posting. Schaefer POTG 8/9/13 - Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4 Schaefer POTG 8/10/13 - Mets 4, Diamondbacks 1 Schaefer POTG 8/11/13 - Mets 9, Diamondbacks 5

Baxter 1 Brown 3 Davis 2 Flores 2 Niese 1 Quintanilla 0.5 Recker 0.5

At this point, I'm thinking that handing the 2014 first base job to Ike Davis, in the hope that he'll be good, is a bigger risk than letting him go elsewhere. 2013 was supposed to be his rebound year from 2012. He's had two consecutive lengthy and horrendous starts. If he eventually gets his act together somewhere else, then good for him.

Davis 0.7 Feliciano 0.5 Flores 2.75 Rice 0.75 Hawkins 0.5 Lagares 2 Wheeler 2.8

Aardsma 0.3 Byrd 1 Feliciano 0.6 Germen 1 Murphy 1.5 Rice 1 Turner 2

I'm not arguing for or against Young, but he'll ultimately be judged on the last three and a half months of the season, not the first week and a half of August.

Voting for Thursday afternoon's win over the Rockies will close on Tuesday afternoon, some time after 2 p.m. Schaefer POTG 8/8/13 - Mets 2, Rockies 1

Ike Davis - 3 Ruben Tejada - 2 Lucas Duda - 3 Daniel Murphy - 1 Marlon Byrd - 3 Omar Quntanilla - 2 Juan Lagares - 1 Eric Young - 1 Jordany Valdespin - 2 Kirk Nieuwenhuis - 2 Josh Satin - 2 Justin Turner - 2 Anthony Recker - 1 John Buck - 3 Wilmer Flores - 1 Travis d�Arnaud - 1 David Wright - 1 Jenrry Mejia - 1 Jeurys Familia - 2 Bobby Parnell - 1 Jon Niese - 1 Dillon Gee - 1 Jeremy Hefner - 3 zack Wheeler - 1 Noah Syndergaard - 2 Matt Harvey - 1 I see that I only posted 13 ones, so I suppose I'm predicting 12 new Mets next year.

Hmmm... I'll have to check my World Almanac and Book of Facts.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Nice, Grimm. And what about the cards? I considered doing the cards, but geez... Mike Hessman? Ricky Ledee? Ruben Gotay? I couldn't motivate myself to look for images of those guys. Maybe one of these days...

Bizarre, isn't it? The name Mike Hessman is barely familiar to me.

As mentioned in the July POTM announcement, I've gone back and retroactively named the Reliever of the Month Award winners for 2006 and 2007, and the Bench Player of the Month Award winners for 2006 through 2011. RELIEVER OF THE MONTH AprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember2006Duaner SanchezDarren OliverChad BradfordBilly WagnerAaron HeilmanGuillermo Mota2007Joe SmithBilly WagnerBilly WagnerAaron HeilmanJorge SosaAaron Heilman BENCH PLAYER OF THE MONTH AprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptember2006Julio FrancoEndy ChavezEli MarreroJulio FrancoMichael TuckerRicky Ledee2007Damion EasleyDavid NewhanRamon CastroRuben GotayMarlon AndersonMarlon Anderson2008Damion EasleyEndy ChavezRobinson CancelFernando TatisDaniel MurphyDaniel Murphy2009Gary SheffieldAlex CoraJeremy ReedFernando TatisOmir SantosCory Sullivan2010Fernando TatisChris CarterJosh TholeJosh TholeMike HessmanNick Evans2011Daniel MurphyJustin TurnerJason PridieScott HairstonWillie HarrisVal Pascucci Revised Standings BEFOREAFTERRELIEVER OF THE MONTH Brian Stokes 5 Bobby Parnell 4 Francisco Rodriguez 3 Raul Valdes 2 Pedro Beato 2 Manny Acosta 2 Jon Rauch 2 Billy Wagner 1 Aaron Heilman 1 Duaner Sanchez 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 Carlos Torres 1RELIEVER OF THE MONTH Brian Stokes 5 Billy Wagner 4 Aaron Heilman 4 Bobby Parnell 4 Francisco Rodriguez 3 Duaner Sanchez 2 Raul Valdes 2 Pedro Beato 2 Manny Acosta 2 Jon Rauch 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 Carlos Torres 1BENCH PLAYER OF THE MONTH Jordany Valdespin 3 Mike Baxter 1 Justin Turner 1 Scott Hairston 1 Ronny Cede�o 1 Kelly Shoppach 1 Josh Satin 1 Andrew Brown 1BENCH PLAYER OF THE MONTH Fernando Tatis 3 Daniel Murphy 3 Jordany Valdespin 3 Julio Franco 2 Damion Easley 2 Marlon Anderson 2 Endy Chavez 2 Josh Thole 2 Justin Turner 2 Scott Hairston 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 Cede�o 1 Kelly Shoppach 1 Josh Satin 1 Andrew Brown 1 Brian Stokes breathes a big sigh of relief. He's still safe... for now. This retroactive thing didn't affect his standing.

That's the second reference this week to "Willie Mays Hayes." I had never heard that name before, so I googled and found out that he's a fictional character from a movie. I think you're referring, perhaps, to Willie Mays Aikens?

Yes, but why does that approach so frequently fail? I can't think of many specific examples right now, but I'm pretty sure I've seen the same thing happen with other teams. This year's Blue Jays, perhaps. Why is it that adding three or four all-stars doesn't make your team better? My best guess is that it's because generally these star players you add are past their 30th birthday, and by then there's a greater chance that they're in decline. But Vince Coleman was only 30 in 1992. Bret Saberhagen was 28. Bobby Bonilla was 29. Eddie Murray was 36 and Willie Randolph was 37. In 2003, Tom Glavine was 37, Roberto Alomar was 35, Mo Vaughn was 35, and Cliff Floyd was 30. I would say that it wasn't unreasonable to think that the 1992/93 group should have improved the team. Obviously, it didn't.

metsguyinmichigan wrote: That's a great video, with the added bonus of a Nancy Seaver sighting. She should have her own card!

I agree. I would have chosen from Hela, Enchantress, and Executioner. Walt Simonson's run on the title was terrific; I can't blame them for getting some inspiration from those stories, but I probably would have stuck with the more classic foes. I do hope, though, that in Thor 3, if there is one, that we get to meet Beta Ray Bill.

Voting for Wednesday night's win over the Rockies will close on Monday morning, some time after 10 a.m. Schaefer POTG 8/7/13 - Mets 5, Rockies 0

Edgy MD wrote: Everybody in baseball is gravitating toward first --- all non-pitchers anyhow --- and the job of coaches and trainers and team physicians is to keep that from happening as long as possible. Anybody that retires without having landed there is a small victory. Interesting thought...

Mets are now 52-60, with a winning percentage of .464. Still not good, but much better than where it was when I last checked in to this thread. With 50 games remaining, Mets currently project to a final record of 75-87.

Gee 5.5 Aardsma 0.5 Hawkins 1 Recker 0.75 Byrd 0.75 Murphy 0.75 Flores 0.75