Benjamin Grimm

Pagan 0.5 Davis 0.5

Takahashi 2.7 PFeliciano 0.5 Acosta 0.7 Rodriguez 0.7 Wright 2 Pagan 2 JFeliciano 1 Beltran 0.4

Voting for Thursday afternoon's businessman special victory over the Cardinals at Citi Field will close on Tuesday morning. (If you haven't yet voted, try to do so today.) I'll post another reminder tomorrow, but the three-game series that just concluded against Arizona will close on Wednesday, and the July Players of the Month will be announced. Schaefer POTG 07/29/2010 Mets 4, St. Louis 0 To Gwreck's point, I've seen that the majority of votes come within less than 24 hours after the game has ended, leaving them open longer than that brings diminishing returns. I prefer to keep things moving; if I fall well behind in the tallying it becomes an effort to get caught up. Having said that, I'll be offline and out of touch for about two weeks, beginning August 19, so about half the games in August will be open for considerably longer than usual.

Pretty poor voter participation for this game. Seems we're hitting the summer doldrums... Totals for July 28, 2010 (6 votes) St. Louis Cardinals 8, New York Mets 7 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceAngel Pagan10.011.672-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, SOIke Davis8.341.391-1, 2 RBIMike Hessman7.751.291-5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, SOCarlos Beltran7.021.172-5, R, HR, RBI, BB, SOFrancisco Rodriguez6.721.122.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO.Jos� Reyes4.310.723-6, R, BB, SOBobby Parnell4.110.681.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.Hisanori Takahashi3.190.531.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.David Wright2.750.463-6, RElmer Dessens2.580.431.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Manny Acosta1.330.220.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.Raul Valdes1.030.170.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.Josh Thole0.510.080-3, BBPedro Feliciano0.250.04(L) 1.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO.Luis Castillo0.100.021-6, R

Willets Point wrote: Telly was originally obsessed with television (hence the name) I didn't know that! Does that also apply to Telly Savalas?

Wright 5 Reyes 2 Pagan 1 Acosta 1

Look how young Mr. Met was!

Found this on a CBC site: With the rumour mill churning out the names of up to seven Toronto Blue Jays, Saturday's non-waiver trade deadline could rank among the busiest in the team's 34-year history. Relief pitcher Scott Downs appears to be the most likely to leave, while fellow relievers Kevin Gregg and Jason Frasor, catcher John Buck and infielder-outfielder Jose Bautista also could have new addresses by 4 p.m. ET Saturday. Maybe Gregg or Frasor is the PBTNL? (They'd come cheaper than Downs.) Gregg, RHP, 32 years old, has a 3.63 ERA in 39.2 innings in 40 games. Frasor, RHP, 33 in two weeks, is at 4.62 in 39 innings and 44 games.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Piece of shit, pretty much. Did have a home run, I think. Yes, he did. It was against the Nationals at Citi Field during the Mets second home series of the season. (I remember because I was there; so far it's been my only Citi Field visit of 2010.) It was a blast that landed in the Pepsi Porch vicinity and it came in a game that the Mets were already well on their way to losing. (Santana gave up a grand slam in the first inning, and the game was really never competitive.)

Edgy DC wrote: I think Jake is the first part of a trade for Downs and the rest will be revealed in the fullness of time. The real PtBNL will be the second Met. That makes sense to me. Jacobs wouldn't be enough to net Downs, of course. If your guess is correct, then the Mets get to keep their PTBNL for the remainder of the pennant race (such as it is). The Jays won't need their new guy for the remainder of this season. But wouldn't Downs have to be "named" by tomorrow in order to not have to clear waivers? If so, then we'll know whether or not he's the guy within the next 25 hours and 16 minutes.

Andy McCullough/The Star-Ledger wrote: NEW YORK - The Mets shipped Triple-A infielder Mike Jacobs, a former regular with Florida and Kansas City, to Toronto on Friday afternoon in exchange for a player to be named later. In Jacobs� place, the organization promoted Nick Evans to Buffalo. Jacobs was with the big-league club on Opening Day, but he triple-slashed .208/.296/.375. Citi Field fans booed him. He was demoted to make room for Ike Davis. With Buffalo, he hit 15 homers and knocked in 57 runs. Evans appeared in 30 Mets game last season. For Binghamton, he hit 17 homers and 30 doubles. He punched up an .893 OPS.

Ceetar wrote: seawolf17 wrote: Not necessarily. PTBNL, apparently. Don't know why they'd give us a live arm for Jacobs. I'm not sure a dead arm wouldn't be too much for Jacobs. (Don't be grossed out... it's only vinyl!)

I can't imagine the Mets will get much for him. I wonder, what's the Blue Jays motivation for this? They're really not contending this year, so I doubt it's a stretch-drive bat that they're looking for. Maybe they're looking to fill a AAA need?

Niese's big advantage that I can see is his wonderful date of birth. I also like that he was born in a city that sounds like it could be in Peru.

If the season ended today, I don't think he'd be the favorite, but he does have another two months to (hopefully) strengthen his case. It also could go to a pitcher. Stephen Strasburg is on the DL at the present time, and he got a late start to his season, so it's hard to say how much of a factor he'll be. But he's certainly gotten attention, and that's a big part of the battle.

Keith did, yes.

Voting for Wednesday's 13-inning loss to the Cardinals at Citi Field will close sometime over the weekend, perhaps as early as Saturday morning. So far we've only heard from six voters: themetfairy, Edgy DC, G-Fafif, Benjamin Grimm, LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr, and Frayed Knot. If your name isn't on that list, and you'd like it to be, please get your votes in today. Schaefer POTG 7/28/10 - Cardinals 8, Mets 7 (13 Innings)

Second Spitter awarded 10.5 points, and his votes were prorated: Reyes 1.19 Francoeur 2.86 Niese 3.09 Wright 0.95 Beltran 0.95 Davis 0.48 Valdes 0.24 Acosta 0.24 Totals for July 27, 2010 (10 votes) New York Mets 8, St. Louis Cardinals 2 NameTotal PointsPoints AwardedPlayer PerformanceJon Niese30.313.03(W) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO.Jeff Francoeur23.392.341-4, R, HR, 3 RBI, SOCarlos Beltran13.361.342-3, R, 2B, RBI, BBJos� Reyes13.071.311-5, R, HR, 2 RBI, 2 SORaul Valdes4.330.431.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.David Wright3.840.380-1, R, RBI, 2 BB, SOLuis Castillo3.730.372-5, R, SOIke Davis2.730.271-4, R, RBI, 2 SOAngel Pagan2.650.261-3, R, BB, SO, SBFrancisco Rodriguez1.200.121.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO.Manny Acosta0.890.091.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO.

They're all on the UMDB Facebook page.

Agent: Oswalt says OK for trade to Phillies By BERNARDO FALLAS Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle July 29, 2010, 2:20PM James Nielsen Chronicle Astros righthander Roy Oswalt has agreed to waive his no-trade clause and accept a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies, his agent, Bob Garber, confirmed Thursday. The deal is pending Oswalt passing a physical. The Astros are expected to receive pitcher J.A. Happ and at least two prospects from the Phillies. The Astros presented Oswalt with the trade proposal on Thursday morning. Oswalt, under contract through 2011 with a 2012 option, asked the Astros to consider trading him to a contender more than two months ago. From the beginning, Oswalt stated that he is seeking a deal that is mutually beneficial. The Astros are also expected to pick up some of the money owed to Oswalt, currently some $22 million through 2011. As is his policy, Astros general manager Ed Wade declined comment when reached by telephone Thursday morning. Multiple efforts to reach Oswalt and agent Bob Garber via text message and telephone have been unsuccessful. Oswalt has a $16 million option for 2012, but it is unclear at this time whether the Phillies intend to pick it up. The Astros have been taking more phone calls for Oswalt as the trade deadline approaches. The cash-strapped Texas Rangers also made an offer for Oswalt, a person with knowledge of the negotiations has confirmed. Oswalt has spent his entire 10-year major league career with the Astros, in the process becoming one of the most dominant pitchers in team history. He went 143-82 in nearly 10 seasons with the Astros. The Astros picked Oswalt in the 23rd round of the 1996 amateur draft.

Let's follow this up with a revenge-sweep of the lowly Diamondbacks, and head into August on the right foot.

Box score Dickey 5.75 Davis 2.5 Rodriguez 0.5 Pagan 1.25

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!