In a move practically shouting "see you next spring!" the Mets today disabled John Maine for the second time in a month. The club was noncommital as to who would be taking Maine's starts from here on out but stands to reason the list of candidates would include Brandon Knight, who made a spot start in late July on the way to the Olympics; Brian Stokes, now working in the Mets' bullpen; or Jon Niese, the lefty prodigy whose high regard by the Met brass could be the thing that prevents his activation at this time.

Should it wind up being Knight -- who's probably due for a September recall anyhow -- he'll have to find a new number: He wore 28 then, which since has gone to Dan Murphy. May we suggest 22?

Thanks to MBTN reader Ron, who in the comments section a few posts back reports:

I contacted the Mets and Juan Lopez is now wearing # 62.

Lopez is the bullpen batting practice (thanks, commenter) pitcher whose 56 was usurped by Luis Ayala but is still listed that as such on the Mets roster.

Congrats to Mike Pelfrey on another solid game. Beat it, David Newhan. And welcome back to reluctant returnee Luis Castillo, who for now takes Maine's roster slot.

...because calling him "Reyes" would be kinda confusing.

The Mets have signed erstwhile Tampa Bay closer and journeyman Al Reyes to a minor league deal, following his recent release by the Rays. He's down in Class AA getting back into playing shape but could wind up being useful now that Billy Wagner's absence will extend for another few weeks at least.

Reyes wore No. 28 most recently for Tampa Bay but I suspect after suffering demotions, taserings, releasings and Class AA assignments, a player unofficially surrenders whatever equity he had in a number as well. Besides, 28 already belongs to Dan "Robocop" Murphy, and if they screw with him even a little, they're crazy.

Nice to see the Mets winning the games they're supposed to be winning, even while the offense scares me a little and the bullpen scares me a lot. Bring on Houston ... and revenge.

Yesterday it was Dan Murphy, indeed subing for injured Marlon Anderson and slipping in the No. 28 jersey that just came out of Brandon Knight's wash. Now today, following a shameful performance from Billy Wagner, it's Class AA reliever Eddie Kunz set to make his Mets debut.

Kunz, according to the roster posted at Mets.com, will wear No. 44 and take the roster slot of John Maine, who, not surprisingly, has been placed on the disabled list (in Mets Medicalese, "strain" means "tear," "slight" means "life-threatening" and "day-to-day" means "Hospital for Special Surgery.") Word is Wagner in the meantime is to have an MRI to explore the left arm that's been killing the season. This all could mean "Crazy Eddie" (I just made up that nickname but for a 6-foot-5, 265-pound closer-to-be in New York, it's poifict) is the closer for today, I don't know. In accordance with the post below, looks like Jon Niese is next.

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Thanks to Dave at Crooked Number, the archives are now accessible from the menu at left and on their own page here. Dave also helped improve the look of the player pages, with normal First name Last Name displays mong other improvements. In other words, he's a genius and you should give all your web business to him.

Brandon Knight is set to start for the Mets Saturday night as the replacement for Pedro Martinez, who was placed on the bereavement list following the death of his father.

Knight, who will dress in No. 28, will have come a long way from the independent Atlantic League, where he began the year, and is six years removed from his last big-league appearance, with the Yankees in 2002. The limits of the bereavement list (maximum of 7 days) and the upcoming Olympics in Bejing, where Knight is scheduled to represent the US of A and manager Davey Johnson, figure to make this a brief visit, but let's hope a successful oine.

Sandy Alomar Jr. -- as a player -- most recently wore the 28 jersey,obtaining it in a swap for No. 19 with teammate Jeff Conine last season. (Can you believe either of those guys finished their careers as Mets?) The uni had previously belonged to stylish reliever Juan Padilla (goggles, magic tricks, invariably took off his hat at the end of an inning). Padilla, who'd been rehabbing various arm ailments since a promising showing in 2005, was quietly released by the organization this month.

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That same crappy feeling I got when Robin Ventura joined the Yankees returned tonight when I learned the Bombers had traded for Pittsburgh's Xavier Nady. I don't want to see the guy fail but playing up to his abilities in Yankee Stadium's left field ought to be worth a few laughs before the season's over, and I wouldn't bet big on his continuing to run a 900+ OPS, even if I won't actively root against it.

 

Jeff Conine’s surprise appearance in No. 28 for his Met debut last night was remarked upon in the TV broadcast by Gary Cohen who said it was unusual to see Conine wearing anything but No. 19. Cohen related that he brought this fact to the attention of the Mets’ current wearer of No. 19, Sandy Alomar Jr., who told Cohen he’d have no objections to surrendering the jersey, only he hadn’t because nobody had asked him to.

I’m highly suspicious of Conine remaining a 28 for much longer.

Jennifer writes:

Forgive my doubting your site…but I would have sworn that Mark Bomback wore number 26 in his brief stint with the Mets.

Not for nothing but Bomback in the 20s was a vague memory for me too (MBTN’s all-time roster lists him as wearing 36). I happened to check Jack Looney’s “Now Batting Number” and sure enough, he lists Bomback having dressed in 36 as well as 28 — not 26 — during his season here.

Both 28 and 26 were available, at least until September when Wally Backman and Scott Holman wore those jerseys, respectively. Bomback doesn’t appear in 28 or 26 on any scorecards in my inventory, but I hope you can check yours just to be sure (those dated prior to September would be most useful).

Let us know what you find! You can comment below, or send an email to mbtn /at/ mbtn dot net, or to our new addy mbtn01 /at/ gmail / dot/ com. Feel free to attach an image of your scorecard!

Deadline Terror (July 31): As opposed to say, 2004, the Mets at least didn't mean to get worse at the deadline this year, though it was certainly bad news on the doorstep to learn that rubbery reliever Duaner Sanchez 50 would miss the rest of the year as the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident in Miami; increasing any exisiting pressure they felt to do something about the bullpen, while dialing back any temptation to make Aaron Heilman a part of a bigger deal for a pitcher, left-handed pinch-hitter or anything else that might help come October. So instead the Mets swapped fungible outfielder Xavier Nady 22 to the Pirates for Proven Veteran Setup Guy Roberto Hernandez, along with Oliver Perez, who not too long ago, ranked among the most promising young left arms in the game.

Santiago Up, Bell Down (July 16): The Mets arrived in Denver tonight with journeyman righthander Jose Santiago wearing No. 33. Santiago was recalled from Norfolk Sunday when Heath Bell 19 was demoted and informed he needs to develop a change-up. No. 33 was issued earlier this year to backup catcher Mike DiFelice.

Mientkiewicz Returns, Padilla Arrives (July 16): The Mets announced Friday that first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz 16 has returned from a rehab stint and that cobwebby pinch-hitter Brian Daubach 13 was returned to Norfolk. They also promoted Norfolk closer Juan Padilla and returned lefty Royce Ring 22 to the farm. Padilla comes to the Mets having had an excellent half-season at Norfolk and Ring's demotion seems to suggest that infuriating starter Kaz Ishii 23 will get a look in the pen. Padilla was assigned No. 28, which for two years sat patiently awaiting the return of Scott Strickland.

Castro Converts (March 26): The trade of Jason Phillips vaulted Ramon Castro into a likely role as Met backup catcher and his uni number went flying too. Castro's status seems solidified by a switch from the non-rosterly 72 to the backup catcherly 11. With a week to go until the bell rings, notable recent cuts include Jae Seo 26, Scott Strickland 28, Jeff Keppinger 6, and Scott Stewart 32.

The McKnighthood of Jason Phillips: Mike Piazza's punishment for his attempted assualt of cowardly Dodger pitcher Guillermo Mota has created the potential for third-string backstop Jason Phillips cracking the roster in the early going. Should Phillips see action, it would be while wearing his third "official" different uniform number as a Met and his 4th overall: Quite an accomplishment for a guy with only 26 Major-League at-bats! To explain: Phillips was called up to Mets in May of 2001 and issued a jersey -- No. 3 -- but did not appear in a game before being sent back to AA Binghamton. Later that year Phillips made his "official" Met debut in No. 26 -- his No. 3 had in the meantime been issued to Vance Wilson. Twenty-six was issued to Marco Scutaro prior to Phillips' September call-up of 2002 so Phillips instead wore No. 7. This spring, the Mets dressed superstar-in-waiting Jose Reyes in No. 7 and told Phillips to take No. 23, which would be his likely number the next time he appears as a Met. The Goggled One still has two more uni-switches ahead of him if he wants to catch all-time