Updates (Sept. 29): By now everyone knows the Mets will be Pedro-less for the playoffs but let's be honest: That doesn't surprise us. He hasn't been healthy for a long while, and though it would be nice if the Real Pedro was with us, we've been more concerned about the lineup than the pitching all year long, even while they made it look easy and now, especially, as they make it look difficult.

Stuff we neglected to mention recently: Ramon Castro 11 returned from the disabled list Sept. 12; Kelly Stinnett 36 was designated for assigment Sept. 27 and Phillip Humber 49 made his big-league debut Sept. 24. Along with the return of Mike Pelfrey 34 to the (nominally) active roster, the '06 Mets have 36 active players on their roster at once, which ties them with three other Met clubs for the second-most ever, according to Met roster historian Jason: