April 20: Kaz Matsui 25 made his return as the Anderson Hernandez Experiment ended due to injury, not an inability to hit.

April 17: Underutilized stick Victor Diaz 20 was told to play all he wants -- in Norfolk. Lefty Pedro Feliciano 39 takes his place on the roster.

Still finishing extensive site update. Thanks for your patience...

Opening Day! (April 3):MBTN.net officially welcomes the following 12 players to the All-Time Met roster:

Meet More Mets (Dec. 10): Omar Minaya returned from the Winter Meetings with a new catcher, Paul LoDuca, acquired from the Marlins at full retail -- pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez, and minor-league outfielder Dante Brinkley. LoDuca is likely to dress in his familiar No. 16, vacated by 2004's disappointing first-base experiment, Doug Mientkiewicz.

In other moves, the Mets made official minor-league contracts and spring training invites for lefty Matt Perisho, formerly of the Marlins and Jose Valentin, the former Brewer and White Sock infielder most recently with the Dodgers. Valentin has worn No. 22 most often in his career, but was 10 last year. Both are theoretically available as both Royce Ring 22 and Shingo Takatsu 10 have been booted from the 40-man roster.

Delgado takes 21 (Nov. 28): In meeting the press and Willie Randolph today, newly acquired first baseman Carlos Delgado said goodbye to jersey No. 25, and his beard, both of which he can no longer wear. Taking No. 21 instead, Delgado explained that 25 belongs to Kaz Matsui, though MBTN suggests you don't spend all your Christmas money on a new Delgado jersey pending Matsui's survival of this winter's hot stove.

Trach is Back (Aug. 23): The Mets today welcomed back Steve Trachsel 29, and slotted him in the rotation on Friday. The drama as to who would be sacrificed to make room for him was satisfactorily resolved when washed-up mop-up man Danny Graves 32 was designated for assignment. On Monday, beefy reliever Heath Bell 19 was recalled from Norfolk while Dae Sung Koo 17 was demoted. On Sunday, reserve catcher Mike DeFelice 33 returned to the active roster when the Mets got around to disabling catcher Mike Piazza 31. Meanwhile, a massive three-run homer in his debut turn at bat Sunday appears to have saved a job for Mike Jacobs 27, who's now your starting first baseman.

MBTN reader Mike from Tennessee points out that Jacobs became the fourth Met to hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat -- and that each of them had ascending uni numbers: Benny Ayala 18; Mike Fitzgerald 20; Kaz Matsui 25; and Jacobs 27. This is the kind of useless history MBTN was designed to capture.

Mientkiewicz to DL; Jose Offerman Arrives (June 26): When Doug Mientkiewicz' attempt to revive his season was interrupted Saturday by a hamstring tear, the Mets fished the Norfolk waters and reeled in fossilized utilityman Jose Offerman. Offernman, just .167 in 36 turns at bat for the Tides, suited up Sunday night in No. 35, recently cashiered by Mike DeJean. Truth be told, the elderly switch-hitting Offerman wasn't that bad as a pinch-hitter for the Twins last year.

Diaz Recalled, Valent Designated (May 28): The Mets' piddling offense over the last week in the wake of so-called day-to-day injuries to Carlos Beltran and Kaz Matsui highlighted the need for a more threatening bat and so the team recalled Victor Diaz 20 from Norfolk. But the failure to send either player to the disabled list may wind up costing the Mets pesky reserve outfielder Eric Valent, whom they'll try to sneak through waivers and stash at Norfolk to make room for Diaz.

At the moment, this move has yet to earn the MBTN Seal of Approval: Though Valent was off to a slow start this year, lefthanded bench players who cost nothing and hit 13 home runs in part-time work are hard to find and probably, in demand. We also admire Valent's contribution to Met Uni history, continuing to wear the absurd No. 57 he was issued as a non-roster spring-training invitee in 2003 when he made the team unexpectedly. Could the Mets have lived with 11 pitchers for a while instead? Did Willie have to give all the lefthanded pinch-hitting opportunities to Marlon Anderson, who for all his success can't smell Valent's power? Will Valent clear waivers? How many days before day-to-day becomes week-to-week? We shall see.

Trade Chain Snapped with Strickland Release (May 28): When the Mets failed to recall Norfolk reliever Scott Strickland last Sunday, triggering the rehabbing righty's right to free agency, they also clipped off the lone remaining branch of a Trade Tree with roots in the infamous Ed Hearn-for-David Cone trade of 1986. That leaves one-time reserve infielder Tim Bogar as the grandfather of the current longest trade chain: Bogar was traded to Houston in 1997 for Luis Lopez, who went to Milwaukee for Bill Pulsipher, who went to Arizona for Lenny Harris, who went to Milwaukee for Jeromy Burnitz, whose trade to Los Angeles yeilded Victor Diaz and minor leaguer Joselo Diaz; the latter brought back Victor Zambrano.

Ishii Back, Castro Out, DeFelice Up, Diaz Down (May 17): Kaz Ishii 23 returned to the active roster today and pitched well in a win over Cincinnati and maybe, Victor Zambrano's job. To make room, the Mets optioned one-time rookie-off-the-year candidate Victor Diaz 20 to Norfolk, where he'll work on his defense and await Cliff Floyd's next injury. In the meantime catcher Ramon Castro 11 went to the disabled list with a strained quad, and journeyman Mike DiFelice was recalled from Norfolk. DiFelice made his Met debut tonight in No. 33, recalling historical Metly backup catchers Clint Hurdle, Barry Lyons, Tim Spehr, Mike Kincade, Charlie O'Brien and Barry Lyons.

Benson, Cameron Return (May 5): Two regulars on the shelf from Day 1 return this afternoon when Kris Benson 34 makes his first start and Mike Cameron 44 plays right field. To make room the Mets sent reliever Royce Ring 22 and starter Jae Seo 26 to the minors. Tough break for Seo, who pitched better than both Tom Glavine and Victor Zambrano during his stay. He may be back if either of those two continue to struggle.

Front-office Shenanigans (Sept. 30) With the idea in mind that front-office bigwigs ultimately affect the unimportant stuff that eventually gets reported and published here, MBTN would like to take the opportunity to go blog on you and comment regarding this afternoon's bizzarre transfer of power in Metland.

We predict it will become clear that what emerged today was the Wilpons' lack of trust in castrated former head honcho Jim Duquette, who like Art Howe (below) is absorbing some punishment for circumstances beyond his control. While we think it's great that local Queens guy Omar Minaya is getting an opportunity to truly lead the Mets, at the same time it's a shame that Duke was never really afforded the same, even though, at least until July 30, his moves, and his team, ought to have demonstrated to his bosses he deserved it.

What we learned today in an unfortunately candid moment was that the Wilpons never took the training wheels off Duke's contract and may never have intended to, seeing as Minaya was the man they wanted all along. And that's because his assignment in Montreal -- which everyone knew was temporary when it began -- provided Minaya with the one thing Duquette could never have: A fair shake at some experience.

Taken broadly, that's a thread that runs through a myriad of Wilponian messes including the Kazmir-Zambrano trade: The idea that unproven rookies are risks for other organizations to take. Ironically, the fact that that move -- widely rumored to have come at the behest of Duquette's senior scouting advisors -- hasn't paid immediate dividends only goes to prove how right the Mets philosophy can be made to appear: Duquette, the unproven rookie, is taking the fall for it.

Anyhow, we wish Minaya the best of luck but hope in light of his previously stated allergies to progressive thinking that he honors his pledge to utilize Duke as his "right-hand man" and that the Wilpons resist getting in the way unless he doesn't. You gotta believe.

We're Back (Sept. 24) Just like Richard Hidalgo, we took most of September off, but we're back in time to wrap up the September moves. Thanks for hanging in there as we moved to new World Headquarters in Brooklyn.

Let's plow through the September moves we missed (all updated now):
Sept. 1: Recalled Matt Ginter 13; Tyler Yates 33 and Craig Brazell 9 from Triple-A Norfolk.
Sept. 4: Called up veteran lefty Vic Darensbourg from AAA, and assigned him No. 39.
Sept. 8: Recalled Aaron Heilman 48.
Sept. 10: Sent Matt Ginter 13 to the 60-day DL and recalled AAA hitting machine Victor Diaz, who debuted the next day wearing No. 50.
Sept. 14: Sent Vance Wilson 3 to the disabled list and recalled catcher Joe Hietpas from AA Binghamton. An emergency catcher, Heitpas has somehow avoided emergencies since his recall and is still waiting to become the third No. 10 this season.
Sept. 24: The Mets finally get their table setters returned to them, Jose Reyes 7, who sat out with a broken bone, and Kazuo Matsui 25, resting a sore back.

Finally, let's bid farewell and better times to manager Art Howe, who'll be turning over his keys and the No. 18 jersey after the season, along with most of his coaching staff. Though we grant Art was little more than a caretaker and nobody's idea of a brilliant strategist, we're sure he did his earnest best and applaud his class and dignity as he takes the axe and unnecessarily absorbs three weeks of lame duckness for two teams that performed below expectations for reasons in, and often out, of his control. We were scratching our heads when he walked in the door, too. Good luck, Art!

As noted below, this was a weird year, even by Met standards, and we're saddened that it ends with less promise than it began. The search for Art Howe's replacement will kick off what ought to be a fascinating offseason and for the sixth straight year, join us for the soap opera here.