Benjamin Grimm

I may go once. (Which would be as many times as I went in 2010 and 2011.) I saw a few road games in 2010, in Baltimore and Puerto Rico. Maybe I'll satisfy my Mets fix in 2012 (if I have one) in DC.

I have no idea what the attendance is going to be, but I would love to see it as close to zero as possible.

Miles Head??

I remember thinking he was an asshole when I read him in The Sporting News all those years ago. I see my impression was accurate.

There seem to be a lot of people (in Philadelphia, not New York) who think "You Gotta Believe" originated in 1980.

Oh, and it's also worth pointing out that one of the four accusers is Conlin's niece.

I remember reading (and not particularly liking) Conlin many years ago in The Sporting News. In the years I've been in the Philadelphia area, I've been a reader of the Inquirer but not the Daily News. I wasn't even aware (until today) that Conlin was still active. (And now, of course, he's not.)

metirish wrote: Creep, rival papers but they share the same web space? The Daily News has a full front page pic of the creep. http://phillydailynews.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx The two papers haven't been "rivals" in years. They're owned by the same company, have the same headquarters, and use the same printing presses and same delivery trucks. The only thing separate (that I'm aware of) is the editorial staff.

For $20 million? You bet. That certainly deserves the full red carpet treatment. (And that's just a little less than the Doubleday/Wilpon group paid for the entire franchise back in 1980!)

I think they also require you to undergo Metsmerization.

I like how you get to go on a road trip, and the Mets pick which one you can go on. I give you $20 million and you tell me I can't go to San Diego, I have to go to Milwaukee?

Grote has longevity. Carter has 1985.

I just opened my Christmas e-mail from the Mets and watched the little highlight video, which concludes with a greeting from David Wright. As I was watching, my thought was, "Gee, I wish you guys were more relevant." Do you think that's what they were going for?

I can't quibble with that list. I notice that of the 12 players, only five won a World Series with the Mets; three 69ers and two 86ers. (And there are four others who lost a World Series with the Mets, all in 2000.) The remaining three came very close to a World Series in 2006.

They should have also thrown in a pair of pants.

Lefty Specialist wrote: I have no idea who that person is. That's the job of the Mets HR Department. Kevin Burkhardt?

Maybe the Mets should have signed Danny Frisella instead.

Who? Chuck James! Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger wrote: Mets add to rotation depth with veteran pitcher Chuck James By Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger As part of general manager Sandy Alderson�s search for rotation depth, the Mets have signed veteran left-handed swingman Chuck James to a minor-league contract. James received an invitation to major-league camp. James, 30, worked strictly out of the bullpen last season with Minnesota, after spending much of his career as a starter. James struggled during a brief major-league stint � a 6.10 ERA in 10 1/3 innings � but was a solid Triple-A reliever. When asked about finding more starting pitchers, Alderson on Tuesday said the team was looking more for a swingman or someone capable of shuttling back and forth between the majors and Triple A. James fits that profile. The Mets hope their five-man rotation is set, but they are banking on the surgically-repaired left shoulder of former ace Johan Santana. Santana did not pitch in the majors last season. He is in the midst of his regular offseason throwing program, but there is no guarantee he will be ready by Opening Day.

Have we learned yet how his name is pronounced?

There's an exclusion in that paragraph for team-switchers.

I'm gonna have to punt on the "who I want it to be" part because I know very little about most of those guys listed, and since it's not my decision to make, I'm not gonna do the research. But I do think that the 2012 backup to Josh Thole will be somebody who's currently in the Mets system.

I guess that even if a ball is called foul by the umpire, you have to play it like it's fair, just in case. There's already that possibility with the home run calls. If something gets originally called a home run and then that's overturned on appeal if the ball is fair the umpire has to make a judgement call about where to place the baserunners.

So what's the penalty if a player gets the Keebler Elf tattooed on his neck? Will he be forced to have it removed? Or will he have to wear a turtleneck, even in August? Or will he just have to pay a fine, which might very well be paid off by Keebler? Here's what I'm wondering about the new setup: If two teams finish in a tie for first place, previously there was little practical difference between being the division champ and the wild card, so they had the various off-field tiebreakers (head-to-head, common opponents, etc.) But now there's going to be a significant difference, the exemption from that one do-or-die game. I would think that ties for division leads should now be broken by a playoff game, to be played before the do-or-die game, but I haven't heard anything about whether that will be the case.

Exactly. Which is why it's entirely possible that Valdespin and Nikeas and Niewendiwesis (or whatever the hell his name is) may have more reason to hope to be in Flushing than they normally would.

I guess that right now Valdespin is number two in the organization on the shortstop depth chart? I can't think of anyone else either. I suspect that will change before spring training, but maybe not.