G-Fafif

If he needed 22 days and he was recalled Sept. 1, then tomorrow, 9/22, would get him to eight full years. The final week will hopefully earn him the Platinum card, which gets an ex-player 10% off Cracker Jack for the length of one homestand (Opening Day and Subway Series not included).

Sally League champ heading to instructional league this week. Final slash at Savannah for 2013: 273/.397/.359.

Anybody here know about the Lifetime Pass? I didn't until I read this terrific piece by Chris Jones in ESPN The Magazine on Tim Byrdak's journey to rejoin the Mets for at least 22 more days on the big-league roster. Major League Baseball's Lifetime Pass is a literal golden ticket -- about the size and appearance of a gleaming gold credit card, with its lucky owner's name stamped on it in big block letters. Players receive one only after they spend 1,376 days on big league rosters, the equivalent of eight seasons. With it, they can walk into any ballpark before any regular-season game and receive two free seats, courtesy of the commissioner, "in appreciation of long and meritorious service." For a player who carries one, the Lifetime Pass means baseball's doors will be open to him forever. He will always belong. In July 2012, Tim Byrdak was close to earning his Lifetime Pass. He was also 38 years old, a journeyman lefty on his way to having worn 24 professional jerseys for seven major league organizations. But after an improbable late-career revival, Byrdak was making a million dollars to come out of the Mets bullpen, even leading the league in appearances at the time. "Eight years, that gold card, had become an important goal for me," he says. Then he threw a slider to Lyle Overbay in Arizona and felt his left shoulder go pop. "It didn't really hurt," Byrdak remembers today. The sensation was closer to strange. Byrdak had overcome several medical hurdles during his quietly remarkable career, including Tommy John surgery in 2001. By the time the Mets had returned to New York, he was sure only some small repair awaited him. While he stretched out in an MRI tube, his wife, Heather, and their four children were flying in from the family home in Chicago, still hoping to see him pitch. That was before the doctor broke some very bad news: Byrdak's anterior capsule was torn. He'd seen firsthand how devastating that injury can be; it had sidelined teammates Johan Santana and Chris Young. "I was shocked," he says. "Here are my kids coming in, expecting to see me play, and I have to tell them they might never see their dad play again." The family went for a long walk in Central Park, and Byrdak couldn't help doing the math: After nearly two decades in professional baseball, he would fall 22 days short of long and meritorious service. "It was a very emotional time," he says. "A lot of tears." Byrdak flew back to Chicago with his family to decide his next move. He tried to toss batting practice to his 7-year-old son, Nathan. "I almost hit him three times," he says. The game had already taught him what struggle felt like. In a 2003 Northern League outing, he'd walked 77-year-old Minnie Minoso, after Minoso had fouled a fastball straight back. ("I stood on the mound thinking: You just walked a 77-year-old man. It might be time to quit.") During a nearly five-year absence from major league money between 2000 and 2005, he'd installed insulation and worked the overnight shift at Target. Now, after almost beaning his son, Byrdak feared that even backyard catch would be out of his reach. He elected to have surgery. Next came an arduous rehab. Last November the Mets signed him to a minor league deal. It looked like pity. It looks different now. On Sept. 1, after Byrdak had added three more minor league stops to his travels, he was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas. Now 39, the National League's fourth-oldest player soon pitched 1 scoreless innings in a blowout loss to the Braves. By so many measures, it was a meaningless game. And yet Byrdak couldn't feel his legs. On Sept. 6, exactly one year after he went under the knife, Byrdak and the Mets played the Indians in Cleveland. Heather took the kids out of school and they drove from Chicago to meet him. It was a beautiful evening, warm and clear. Perfection stopped there. In the eighth inning, Byrdak jogged out from the bullpen with two men on; he walked the first batter he faced and then gave up a grand slam. He stood on the mound and watched it sail over the fence. Baseball's endings aren't always storybook, and its calculus is not always kind, especially this time of year. Except that four children had seen their dad back in a major league ballpark after all, and now he was only 16 days from always belonging in one. Against every possible odd, Tim Byrdak was 16 days away from golden.

Spotted keeping the Rays at bay until they could no longer be denied: Josh Stinson, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings. He's come a long way from me conflating him with Josh Satin and Chris Schwinden.

Pirate loss on 9/20/2013 about as brutal (from their perspective) as the Pirate loss on 9/20/1973. Except they've got all kinds of fallback playoff spots these days to cushion the blow. But still, Votto's ball didn't bounce off the top of any wall.

Murphy 2.5 Wright 2.0 Matsuzaka 2.0 Young 1.0 Atchison 0.5 Hawkins 0.5 Feliciano 0.5 Brown 0.5 Satin 0.5

Bernard Gilkey recognizes the Arizona Diamondbacks' playoff chances, once so hot that they needed a dip in the Chase Field swimming pool, are now all wet. As consolation, Gilk gets to lead the D'Backs' contingent into the 2013 non-championship parade, what with those Snakes slithering out of championship consideration on September 20, one day after a few of them rattled with rage at various chlorinated celebratory antics.

Forecast for Sunday: Soft rain, wept by Jesus and Klapisch, not necessarily in that order.

Murphy was going to be SS. Would have made us long for the days of Jordany Valdespin at that position, but it's all hypothetical. Joint was 70% SFG fans today. Maybe Fred should stock some NY Giant gear to cater to his new fan base.

Niese 3.0

72 Career Homers Young � 7 Satin � 2 Murphy � 37 Brown � 12 Flores � 1 Lagares � 4 d�Arnaud � 1 Quintanilla � 8 Niese - 0

Nope. Niese is batting ninth. Go figure. Young � LF Satin � 1B Murphy � 2B Brown � RF Flores � 3B Lagares � CF d�Arnaud � C Quintanilla � SS Niese - LHP

Matinee. Tejada out for year with a broken right fibula. Nobody ever talks about fibulas when they're fine. Niese vs. Bumgarner. Lineups not yet posted, but Niese should bat no lower than sixth.

Satin 3.0 den Dekker 1.5 Lutz 1.5 Centeno 1.0 Torres 1.0 Aardsma 0.5 Black 0.5 Lagares 0.5 Brown 0.5

Rubin tweets reason Harvey apologized for douchey behavior was because he was "being rude to media when fans could see/hear it," strongly implying our phenom is a phenomenal dick out of camera and microphone range.

966. Aaron Harang 967. Juan Centeno

Anybody else have this battery coming out of Spring Training? Eric Young, Jr. - LF Josh Satin - 3B Daniel Murphy - 2B Andrew Brown - RF Lucas Duda - 1B Juan Lagares - CF Ruben Tejada - SS Juan Centeno - C Aaron Harang - RHP

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Qualcomm is really great. I still call it The Murph.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: This is a great parade. Although the representative of the Mets is dead at the present time. Which probably explains his befuddlement at being asked to participate.

Despite the best efforts of North American hero R.A. Dickey, Jackson Todd has been tabbed by Canadian authorities to lead the Toronto Blue Jays into 2013's non-championship parade. Dickey took care of some pressing MFY business on September 17, but the Jays crossed the border away from championship consideration and into mathematical oblivion

Flores 1.5 den Dekker 1.0 Murphy 0.5 Atchison 0.5 Tejada 0.5 Aardsma 0.5 Satin 0.5

Edgy MD wrote: This was all an elaborate ruse orchestrated by the Mets to limit Harvey's innings while not seeming like timid little bunny rabbits. Terry Collins is ashamed he participated and will tell all, sooner rather than later. Mark my words. Harvey...rabbit...and now THIS damning evidence! 42? You mean like the number innings the Mets shaved off Harvey's 2013? Oh, you've stumbled onto something nefarious here.

An unsourced update about Matt Harvey deciding not to do something is more interesting than the entire four-game series against the Nationals last week.

From Heyman... Mets star right-hander Matt Harvey is expected to try to avoid Tommy John elbow surgery after seeing noted sports doctor James Andrews on Monday. The diagnosis apparently was positive enough that Harvey is expected to try rehab for now, then begin a throwing program in 1-2 months. Surgery remains a possibility, depending on how the rehab and throwing go. Harvey was diagnosed by Mets doctors as having a partial tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament a few weeks ago. That does not appear to be in dispute, but while such a tear usually requires surgery, some pitchers have been able to pitch through such an injury. No details of Andrews' examination are known. The Mets announced Monday that they were planning to make an announcement Tuesday regarding Harvey's prognosis and protocol. Mets co-owner Jeff Wilpon and Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, declined comment. The very common Tommy John surgery is believed to be up to 90 percent effective with ligament tears in the elbow, but since the procedure isn't quite 100 percent and would surely cost him the 2014 season, Harvey has been said to be hoping to avoid surgery. He has also heard from Phillies star Roy Halladay shortly after his diagnosis, who was a rare pitcher to avoid the surgery after a similar diagnosis. Even if Harvey eventually needs surgery, he still would have time to try rehabbing the injury and be ready for the 2015 season, which is another consideration. Harvey had a 2.27 ERA in 178 1/3 innings for the Mets in 2013 and was a Cy Young candidate before he was sidelined.

Heyman says Harvey to rehab elbow, eschew TJ surgery for now. Mets star right-hander Matt Harvey is expected to try to avoid Tommy John elbow surgery after seeing noted sports doctor James Andrews on Monday. The diagnosis apparently was positive enough that Harvey is expected to try rehab for now, then begin a throwing program in 1-2 months. Surgery remains a possibility, depending on how the rehab and throwing go. Harvey was diagnosed by Mets doctors as having a partial tear of his right ulnar collateral ligament a few weeks ago. That does not appear to be in dispute, but while such a tear usually requires surgery, some pitchers have been able to pitch through such an injury. No details of Andrews' examination are known. The Mets announced Monday that they were planning to make an announcement Tuesday regarding Harvey's prognosis and protocol. Mets co-owner Jeff Wilpon and Harvey's agent, Scott Boras, declined comment. The very common Tommy John surgery is believed to be up to 90 percent effective with ligament tears in the elbow, but since the procedure isn't quite 100 percent and would surely cost him the 2014 season, Harvey has been said to be hoping to avoid surgery. He has also heard from Phillies star Roy Halladay shortly after his diagnosis, who was a rare pitcher to avoid the surgery after a similar diagnosis. Even if Harvey eventually needs surgery, he still would have time to try rehabbing the injury and be ready for the 2015 season, which is another consideration. Harvey had a 2.27 ERA in 178 1/3 innings for the Mets in 2013 and was a Cy Young candidate before he was sidelined.