Cowtipper

That 2004 first round had some great pitchers. Verlander, Jered Weaver, Gio Gonzalez, Huston Street, Glen Perkins, J.P Howell. Even Phil Hughes, Homer Bush and Jeff Niemann had their moments. We got Phil Humber, lol. Hey, at least he got us Johan Santana.

Here we go.

In 139 games and nearly 500 ABs, that's just the 15th double for Semien this season.

Sean Manaea working down 6-4. (I'm just pre-empting the inevitable).

He just hit #300!

#300 for Lindor! Woohoo!!!! He did it!

A middle infielder with real raw power like Mauricio is worth a lot more than whatever Vientos is right now.

2027: -Vientos +Mauricio

Who's this girl behind the plate? Is she there to deliver cookies to the players? Where's the umpire?

The Mets, with one game left, have 202 home runs. That's seventh-most in team history. They have 11 guys with double digit home runs, and it could be 12 if Torrens hits one in game 162. That's rather impressive considering how unimpressive the team has been elsewhere. Astoundingly, not a single guy has 30+ dingers and just one, Soto, has more than 25.

If the Mets win today, they'll finish the year 75-87. The last time they finished 75-87, 2023, they were in the NLCS the next year. If they lose, they'll finish the year 74-88. The last time they finished 74-88 (2013), they were in the World Series two years later.

Joely Rodriguez - 34-year-old former Mets pitcher (2022) went 1-4 with a 5.68 ERA in 27 relief appearances for the York Revolution. Tyler Rogers - 35-year-old former Mets pitcher (2025) went 2-3 with a 1.77 ERA and 294 ERA+ in 74 relief appearances for the Blue Jays. Amed Rosario - 30-year-old former Mets infielder (2017-2020) has hit .238/.279/.405 with 10 home runs and 34 RBI in 87 games for the Yankees. More figures who were in the Mets system but never played for the big club: Anthony Gose - played in the Mets system in 2025. Is 1-1 with a 0.66 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the Royals in 2026. For Triple-A Omaha, he was 2-3 with a 4.89 ERA in 39 relief appearances -- in 46 innings, he had 58 Ks. In 6 appearances for Yucatan in Mexico, he had a 0.00 ERA. Hobie Harris - signed by the Mets in November 2024, but never played in their system. Across two stops in the Red Sox system in 2026, he was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 21 games (3 starts). Josh Hejka - played in the Mets system in 2019, 2021-2022 and 2024. Went 1-0 with an 8.04 ERA in 29 appearances for four minor league teams across two organizations in 2026. Edward Olivares - Signed by the Mets prior to the 2025 season, but was released before the season began. Was 1-for-9 for the Durham Bulls and hit .315/.371/.492 with 6 home runs and 26 RBI in 49 games for Union Laguna in Mexico in 2026. Connor Overton - signed to play in the Mets system for 2025, but never did. Was 6-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 16 starts for the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in 2026. Gose, Harris, Hejka, Olivares and Overton had all been free-agent signees.

There was, one might say, a certain disturbance in the Mets’ household this weekend—a rearrangement of pieces that seemed at first merely routine, yet carried with it the faint air of mystery. On September 27, RHP Jonathan Pintaro was placed upon the 15-day injured list, the nature of his illness left undisclosed, while LHP Jefry Yan was summoned from the FCL Mets to take his place. The previous day had seen another curious exchange: RHP Chayce McDermott was recalled from Syracuse, only for Yan, who has again rejoined the major-league club, to be sent back to the FCL. And on September 25, the comings and goings became positively intricate. RHP Xzavion Curry was sent outright to the FCL Mets, RHP Jack Weisenburger was optioned there as well, and RHP Justin Hagenman was recalled from Syracuse. Thus the Mets’ roster had been shuffled once again, with pitchers appearing and disappearing through the clubhouse doors like guests at a country house gathering. Yet, as in any good mystery, the most conspicuous detail may be the one left unexplained: precisely what had befallen Jonathan Pintaro, and why the Mets had so urgently begun rearranging the pieces. (I've had AI write the past few entries in the styles of certain authors. If you can guess the authors, I will reward you with, well, nothing, but it's still a fun exercise).

Jonathan Pintaro: Lands on IL with illness. The Mets placed Pintaro on the 15-day injured list Sunday with an illness. The unspecified illness will end Pintaro's campaign, opening the door for Jefry Yan to return to the active roster for the final day of the season. Pintaro made 22 appearances out of the Mets' bullpen in 2026, posting a 5.28 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 30:16 K:BB with three holds in 30.2 innings. Injury: Illness. Est. Return 2/1/2027. Christian Scott: Shut down with knee inflammation. The Mets placed Scott on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with left knee inflammation. Scott might have pitched through the injury if the Mets were still in playoff contention. However, it makes sense to go ahead and shut him down given that he's at 123.2 innings in 2026 between the majors and minors after not pitching at all in 2025 following Tommy John surgery. Scott flashed plenty of promise with the Mets this season, authoring a 3.85 ERA and 134:47 K:BB over 110 innings covering 23 starts. Injury: Knee. Est. Return 2/1/2027.

Bill Giles died. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/09/bill-giles-passes-away.html Who was Bill Giles? Bill Giles (1934–2026) was a longtime Major League Baseball executive best known for his decades with the Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Rochester, New York, he was the son of former National League president Warren C. Giles. After graduating from Denison University with a degree in economics, Giles worked in minor league baseball and served in the U.S. Air Force before joining the Cincinnati Reds organization. He later helped launch the expansion Houston Colt .45s, now the Houston Astros, in 1962, working in publicity and promotions. Giles joined the Phillies in 1969 as vice president of business operations and steadily rose through the organization. In 1981, he led a group that purchased the franchise from the Carpenter family for approximately $30 million, and at one point he owned about 20 percent of the club. He served in several prominent positions, including president and general manager, before becoming chairman. After decades in the Phillies' front office, he became chairman emeritus in 2015. In 2001, Giles was named honorary president of the National League, following in the footsteps of his father, who had served as the league's president from 1951 to 1969. Giles represented the league at major events such as the All-Star Game and postseason and presented the Warren C. Giles Trophy, named for his father, to the winner of the National League Championship Series. His contributions to baseball were also recognized through the Bill Giles Invitational, a tournament for Philadelphia-area NCAA Division II baseball programs. Giles remained closely associated with baseball and the Phillies for the rest of his life and chronicled his experiences in the 2007 book Pouring Six Beers at a Time: And Other Stories from a Lifetime in Baseball. His wife, Nancy, died in 2020. Giles died at his home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 2026, at age 92, concluding a baseball career that stretched from the game's mid-20th-century era into the modern age.

Next up: Pete Alonso 500 home run tracker He could reasonably get there by age 36-37. His contract with Baltimore ends after 2030 -- just before he's likely to reach the milestone. Hopefully he can get to 500 in a Mets uniform.

Watch this fella. The Mets 20th round pick in 2025, Stratton went 5-5 with a 2.51 ERA in 48 relief appearances between Brooklyn (2.73 ERA, 21 G), Binghamton (1.52 ERA, 23 G) and Syracuse (6.75 ERA, 4 G) in 2026. He had 87 Ks in 64 2/3 innings and posted a 1.082 WHIP. He just turned 23 a couple months ago. I eagerly anticipate seeing him in the Mets bullpen next year (hey, you never know).

His final 2026 line: .194/.332/.306 with 5 home runs, 28 RBI and 12 steals in 76 games split between Binghamton and Syracuse. He did well enough at Syracuse (.255/.406/.327 in 20 games) that you'd think the Mets would've kept him around or some other team would've signed him, but that didn't happen.

The batting average was rough at .201, but he is pretty good. He still had 18 home runs, 37 steals (for a catcher?!?!) and 80 walks in 114 games for Binghamton. He's the kind of prospects the Mets love to trade, but if he's kept around, he might be pretty solid down the line.

Disregard the record, Santucci did pretty darn well. He was 4-10 between Binghamton and Syracuse. But he had a 4.03 ERA and 163 Ks in just 125 innings. He allowed just 102 hits and 10 home runs. Not bad.

Going out on a high note, Kirby Yates (46 G, 3.19 ERA, 132 ERA+ in 2026) has retired. Justin Verlander is now officially retired.

So, we don't get a huge amount of poster participation, but are the views our threads are getting at least human beings that aren't posting members, not just bots and our active members? That's some consolation. I used to post on a baseball forum that slowly lost posters over time, but I continued to post because our posts and the threads still contributed to the greater world of baseball knowledge and still got views via Google links and stuff.

I understand about Clifford, but at the big league level, he's an unknown quantity. We know what Pache and the like are at the big league level. I'd rather take a flyer on a .180 Triple-A guy who has (had) top prospect status over a guy like Pache, whose ceiling at the big league level is already known to be quite low. I'd rather deal with the known unknown (we know we don't know how Clifford will do in the majors since he's never been there) versus the known known (we know Pache is probably gonna suck). Same thing with Parada, Suero and other top prospects who have struggled in the minors so far. You can assume they'll struggle in the majors, but you don't know. And if they hit .100 in 20 at-bats in their big league debut in a year like this, who cares? The Mets are in last place. He didn't struggle in the minors, but they let Lucas Duda struggle through a rough early patch in a lost season (2010) and look what he became. He was 1 for his first 33. Pache just went 12 days between appearances on the field. 9/13 to 9/25. Why bother.

Well, I, for one, have taken Carson Benge for granted. I joined Team Ewing early, and like many Mets fans, have been focusing on the young pitching rookies -- McLean and Thornton, mostly. But what seems like without a lot of fanfare (or I just wasn't paying attention), Carson Benge has put together a 20-20 season with 20 dingers and 22 steals to date. He's also played in 155 of the team's games, scored 86 runs and is among the leaders in a million categories: Well done, Carson! Here's hoping to another 15 years of greatness in the blue and orange. These young guys really are giving Mets fans something to look forward to, and there's a bunch waiting in the minors. And Mauricio is still awaiting his full-season trial...