Benjamin Grimm

My prediction: He'll stick on the roster for the whole season, thereby becoming permanent Mets property. He'll start 60 games at second base, and he'll hit .250.

The thing is, it really hasn't been restored as such. It's still unavailable from the home page. I happened to find a back door, which is why I'm hesitant to post the link here.

This news is so good I'm reluctant to post it on the forum. Check out the CPF Facebook page.

attgig wrote: I think my lucas duda projection got split into the war thread.... Oops... sorry. You may want to paste it back into the Duda thread, for the sake of posterity.

Edgy DC wrote: You don't really need the numbers to tell you, but that season was a volcanic eruption of goodness. I've never seen anything like it. Every start Doc made that year was an Event with a capital E. Actually, a capital V, E, N, and T as well.

So what was the Mets best WAR season? I'll guess Carlos Beltran in 2006 for offense and Tom Seaver in 1971 for pitchers.* *These are wild-assed guesses, by the way.

I bet the 1959 Dodgers, just two seasons removed from Brooklyn, didn't give a moment's consideration to sharing the joy with their Brooklyn fans*. Of course, the O'Malleys probably didn't dare go anywhere near Brooklyn in 1959. *And by that I mean the ones who actually continued to root for the Dodgers. I'm pretty sure it was not a high percentage. But I do remember a Dodgers fan that I worked with in the mid-80's. He continued to root for them because the Brooklyn team was his favorite as a child, and it didn't even bother him at all that they moved their home games 3,000 miles away. I couldn't fathom that.

Frayed Knot wrote: Benjamin Grimm wrote: That might have inspired me to actually learn what exactly a WAR is! A new-fangled stat designed to estimate Wins Above Replacement Joe Morgan, of course, doesn't like it and he and other curmudgeons have, in protest, adopted the slogan; "War, what is it good for? ... Absolutely nothin'!!" My ignorance comes not from contempt, as with Morgan, but from laziness. I did know what the acronym stands for, but I have no idea how it's determined, or what would be considered a good number to have. Some day, perhaps, I'll take a closer look at this stuff. If it had come along earlier, like in the 1980's, I would have been all over it. At that time, a new baseball stat would have been as exciting to me as a new planet would be to an astronomer.

In Frankie Rodriguez's holding cell?

I find myself a little curious about Detective Hunkapiller.

You beat me to that same photo by mere seconds!

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: David Wright I'm sure there are a lot of David Wrights out there to choose from, but I can't imagine you'd find one better than this guy!

Source: Mets to ink Willie Harris By Adam Rubin ESPNNewYork.com Longtime Mets nemesis Willie Harris is likely bringing his glove to New York. Harris, 32, intends to sign a one-year, minor league contract with an invitation to Mets spring training, a baseball source told ESPNNewYork.com. If he makes the team, he would serve as a fourth outfielder. Harris' career batting average against the Mets is only .159, but he has been every bit the tormentor as other notable Met-killers of recent years such as Pat Burrell and Chipper Jones. Among his memorable ninth-inning grabs against the Mets in Queens: April 10, 2010: With the bases loaded, two out and the Mets trailing by a run, Rod Barajas sends a line drive to left field. Harris makes a sprawling, game-ending catch to preserve the Washington Nationals' 4-3 win at Citi Field. May 15, 2008: Harris makes a diving catch at the left-field line on Ryan Church to preserve a 1-0 win for the Nationals at Shea Stadium, after Carlos Beltran had led off the ninth with a single. Aug. 9, 2007: Harris takes away a homer from Carlos Delgado with a leap to preserve a 7-6 win for the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium. Harris was even at it last Grapefruit League season against the Mets, taking a spring-training homer away from Henry Blanco. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told ESPNNewYork.com on Monday that three areas of need remained for the team this offseason: a starting pitcher, left-handed reliever and backup outfielder. Since then, left-handed reliever Taylor Tankersley has been signed on a minor league contract, and now Harris is on board to provide outfield depth. Jason Bay, Beltran and Angel Pagan, if healthy, are expected to serve as the Mets' starting outfield, but the organization had little depth behind them. With the team committed to placing rookie Lucas Duda at Triple-A Buffalo to ensure playing time if he is not going to be a starter at the major league level, and with prospect Fernando Martinez's inability to stay healthy, ex-Twin Jason Pridie might have been the top option as a fourth outfielder before Harris came on board. And the organization was not enthused by that prospect. Harris also has started 167 career games at second base, and could be used on a limited basis there as well. The Mets may be relying on an unproven player at the position -- Daniel Murphy, Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus or Justin Turner -- if Luis Castillo is released during spring training, which is a distinct possibility. Harris hit only .183 last season with the Nationals, but he did produce 10 homers in 224 at-bats. He also walked 33 times, making his on-base percentage .291. Harris hit only .199 on balls put in play in 2010, which signals bad luck. The major league average was .297 on balls put in play. Harris cheerfully has played the role of villain against the Mets. The day after Harris' game-saving catch against Barajas last April, Francisco Rodriguez hit him with a cut fastball on the left forearm in the ninth inning, leading both teams to storm the field. Rodriguez later indicated he thought Harris was cursing at him, but Harris insisted any expletive merely was a reaction to the discomfort of getting hit. "It's really nothing with us -- nothing with me or with those guys," Harris explained earlier that series about the heartache he has caused the Mets with his glove. "When you have 5,000, 10,000 people out there calling you all kinds of names and saying all types of things which aren't nice, you've got to find some way to make them hush. In my mind, I'm saying: 'You better not hit that ball to me.' That's what I'm thinking. That's what gets me going. That's my own little thing that gets me going when I'm on defense." I didn't realize he was such a weak hitter.

Really? They discussed last night on Mets Hot Stove that Harris wouldn't be returning to the Nationals. The fat guy (forget his name; sorry!) said that that's good news for the Mets, because he always came up big against them. And I thought, it might be even better news for the Mets if he ended up in New York. They're looking for a backup outfielder, and he might fit the bill.

That might have inspired me to actually learn what exactly a WAR is!

I like this "series." It'll be fun to review them at the end of the season.

I think I agree. It's a bit over designed.

I wonder if any other relocated teams have done anything like this? (Dodgers, Braves, Athletics...) My guess is they probably didn't.

In Hauppauge, right? Along Route 347? I think I've driven past it.

Ceetar wrote: I wouldn't rule out him being a key cog in a trade though. That's his best shot at making a playoff roster.

Willie Mays had a disastrous start too, I recall. I think Duda will start the year as the sixth outfielder, meaning he'll be in Buffalo and he'll come to the Mets to fill in during any DL stints for the five guys ahead of him. He'll eventually hit enough to stick, and we'll see more of him in 2012. I predict 50 games with the Mets this year, and about 100 plate appearances.

I think this is kinda cool... The New York Times wrote: Fifty-Six Years Later, Giants Bringing Trophy to New York By TYLER KEPNER On Oct. 2, 1954, before almost 80,000 fans at Cleveland Stadium, the Indians� Dale Mitchell popped out against Johnny Antonelli to give the New York Giants their fifth World Series championship. There is no footage of Willie Mays and friends hoisting the commissioner�s trophy in triumph. Back then, there was no such thing. Baseball did not present its champion with the familiar ring of flags until 1967, and the Giants did not earn it until last November, more than a half-century after they moved to San Francisco. Next week, they will take the trophy to their ancestral home with a public visit to New York. �It�s our new rock star,� Larry Baer, the Giants� president, said of the trophy. �It�s our celebrity. It�s the most popular member of our organization right now.� If so, then Mays, the 79-year-old Hall of Famer, is probably just behind, along with Buster Posey, the cleanup-hitting catcher. Posey will be in Manhattan on Jan. 22 to receive his National League Rookie of the Year award at the New York baseball writers� dinner, and the Giants will make an event of it. �Toward the top of our list, after winning, was doing something for our fans in New York,� Baer said. �We�ve got a tremendous number of people who talk about their childhood days following the Giants, and now their dream has been fulfilled with the San Francisco Giants winning.� On Jan. 21, Baer said, the Giants plan to take the trophy to P.S. 46 in Manhattan, near the site where the Polo Grounds once stood. Mays, who starred there at the beginning of his career, will come along. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the next day, the Giants will display the trophy at the Hilton New York, where fans can have their photograph taken with it. From 3 to 5 p.m., the trophy will visit Finnerty�s in the East Village, which calls itself the largest San Francisco Giants bar in New York. Baer said he also hoped to meet with members of the New York Giants� historical society. By now, most of the association�s members have accepted the franchise�s departure after the 1957 season. �There was a dark cloud when the Giants and the Dodgers left New York,� Baer said. �But I think now, 53 years later, everybody sort of realizes that baseball in California has flourished, baseball in New York has continued to flourish, and we can celebrate the accomplishment on both coasts for a team whose roots are in New York.� While they are here, Baer said, the Giants ideally would like to stage a stickball game with Mays, who famously played it with fans in the old days. But that might be unrealistic. �It�s so cold,� Baer said. �It would probably be tough to pull off in mid-January.

I remember thinking it was going to be Nixon buddy Robert Abplanalp. (What a great name! Robert!)

14-10, 3.50 ERA.

Was the question looking for the guy most recently selected to the Hall, or the Hall guy who most recently wore the Mets uniform? (In either case, the answer is Alomar, no?)