On Jan. 18, the Mets signed former Ham Fighter and Tokyo Giant Yusaku Iriki (You're So Fine), who looks to compete for the longman job. Iriki wore No. 49 with the Ham Fighters and No. 20 with the Giants, research shows.

We overlooked the late December addition of lefty sidearmer Mike Venafro. He has a minor league contract and spring training invite.

Photos from the Mets Caravan revealed players in new unis including Julio Franco in 23, Paul LoDuca in 16 and Jose Valentin in 18. Newly arrived reliever Jorge Julio was wearing a jersey with no number on it. MBTN reader Rich reports: Chad Bradford appeared in No. 35, Duaner Sanchez in 40, and Mets.com is selling Bret Boone jerseys bearing No. 9.

Additional photos show Xavier Nady wearing No. 10 and Steve Schmoll in the dreaded No. 46.

New Year Updates (Jan. 4, 2006): Met fans were wondering again today whether Omar Minaya can be trusted at a swap meet, giving up underappreciated starter Jae Seo 26, along with lefty reliever Tim Hamulack 46, in a trade for goggle-wearing Duaner Sanchez and his sidearm-throwing teammate, Steve Schmoll, both righthanded relievers for the Dodgers. We wish the best of luck to Seo, whose frequent bobs between New York and Norfolk resulted in three uniform numbers (he also wore 38 and 40). In case you're also wondering, Sanchez wore No. 50 and Schmoll No. 40 in Chavez Latrine last season.

The Mets also invited veteran second baseman Bret Boone to camp with a minor league deal. Boone was released twice last year but according to Omar "knows how to win," and will challenge incumbent Kaz Matsui for a job. Boone most often has worn No. 29.

Catching up with more winter moves, the Mets on Dec. 28 agreed to a one-year deal for freaky underhanded relief pitcher Chad Bradford, a hero of Moneyball and most recently, a patient with the Red Sox team doctors. He wore No. 53 for both teams.

On Dec. 23, former Met outfield prospect Endy Chavez was signed to a one-year deal. Chavez wore No. 19 with Expo-Nationals and 47 when he was traded to Philadelphia late last year.

The Mets also released maddening lefthander Kaz Ishii 23, and invited journeymen Darren Oliver, Jose Parra and Pedro Feliciano to camp. We last saw Parra and Feliciano in Met uniforms 46 and 55, respectively, in 2004 (unless we vacationed in Japan in 2005).

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.

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.

Battles Continue (March 30): With exactly one week left before the starting gun fires, the Met pitching staff is still under construction. Another subpar outing this afternoon by Jae Seo 38 could give additional hope to one or more of Grant Roberts 36; Aaron Heilman 48; Scott Erickson 89 and Tyler Yates 33. In the bullpen, Orber Moreno 49 and Dan Wheeler 39 are looking to secure jobs.The lineup looks complete unless (or until) the starting infielders cease getting hurt.

More from St. Lucie (Feb. 29): New pitching coach Rick Peterson has been spied wearing No. 51 and Shane Spencer in 43. Among those wearing a different number than their previous appearances in a Met uniform: Pat Strange in 34 and Jeff Duncan in 10.

Ouch (April 30): The Mets ended a dreadful April with a roster move: The role of late-inning beatdown victim goes to Jason Middlebrook 27 rather than Jaime Cerda 43.

Pain and Suffering (April 24): Two of the few things that went right for the Mets early this season joined all the others on Tuesday when ancient starter David Cone 16 and revived right fielder Jeromy Burnitz 20 fininished a depressing 6-2 loss to Houston on the disabled list. Cone should ... uh, could be gone forever; Burnitz will miss up to 6 weeks with a hand broken by a wild Billy Wagner fastball. In their place, the Mets recalled outfielder Raul Gonzalez 21, utilityman Joe McEwing 11 and pitcher Pat Strange 38. Strange was sent back to Norfolk after Wednesday's win so the Mets could re-able Pedro Astacio 34, who is scheduled to start today.

Relief from Down Under: (Jan. 25) The Mets offseason quest for Yankee rejects continued Friday when they signed giraffish Australian lefthanded reliever Graeme Lloyd to a minor league contract with a spring training invite. Lloyd wore No. 27 with the Yankees and 47 more recently with the Expos and Marlins. The latter figure has already been issued to new enemy arrival Tom Glavine; the former to another might-be Met, Jason Middlebrook.

Shinjo's Back: (Jan. 12) The Mets on Saturday reached a one-year contract with charismatic former outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Here's hoping that Shinjo, who wore gigantic orange wristbands and the No. 5 jersey with the Mets in 2001, can provide the solid outfield glove, bench depth and general likeability the Mets have lacked ever since they shipped him off to San Francisco last offseason.

Cliff-Hanger: (Dec. 23) The Mets today introduced Cliff Floyd to the press and presented him with the seldomly issued No. 30 jersey. Floyd becomes just the 12th man in team history to be issued No. 30; the number owes its unpopularity not to any longtime wearers but a to 10-year gap between Mike Torrez in 1984 and Doug Linton in 1994. Jorge Luis Toca was the most recent occupant.

On Friday 12/20, came word that third baseman Norihiro Nakamura isn't coming after all. No word on how many NAKAMURA 5 jerseys went into the incinerator.

Welcome, Yankee Refuse: (Dec. 16) The Mets today signed ex-Yankee and ex-Brave Mike Stanton to a frighteningly long 3-year contract. Stanton is familiar to New Yorkers as the lefty who wore No. 29 for Satan's Minions. His arrival seems to portend a conflict with the current 29, Met starter Steve Trachsel. Dec. 18 Update: Stanton posed for photographs today wearing a No. 32 jersey.

Fonzie to the Rescue: (Aug. 24) Totally without coincidence, the Mets managed to break their embarrassing 12-game losing streak with the return of Edgardo Alfonzo 13 to the active roster. Ty Wigginton 9 was returned to Norfolk where he'll presumably work on his fielding. Alfonzo missed 20 games overall -- the Mets won only three of them.

Player To Be Named Now: (Aug. 21) The Mets today received outfielder Raul Gonzalez from Cincinnati as the first of the two players to be named in the Shawn Estes deal. The Mets dressed Gonzalez in No. 21, making 21 the first number issued to three players in one season since No. 10 get used three times in 1997 (Thurman, Morgan, Petagine). The 21 hot-potato went from Bobby Jones to Mark Little to Gonzalez in a span of three weeks.

Holy Mo-ly (Dec. 30): The rebuilding continued as the Mets completed a trade sending Kevin Appier 17 to the Angels for hefty slugger Mo Vaughn. The trade brings an unexpected return of No. 42 to Met history. Retired by MLB a few years back (for Jackie Robinson, not Ron Hodges), most of us figured Butch Huskey would have been the last No. 42 in Met history. Appier might have known he was on the block when the Mets assigned his No. 17 to Satoru Komiyama a few days earlier. This probably also means the end of the line for No. 9, Todd Zeile, who if nothing else was a real mensch.

In other news, the Mets signed local product John Frascatore to a minor league deal and purchased Gary Matthews Jr. from Pittsburgh. Frascatore wore No. 52 most recently with the Blue Jays. Matthews most recently wore Al Leiter's No. 22. Those figures happen also to belong to heavily rumored Juan Gonzalez. Stay tuned.

In other news, the Mets non-tendered Rick White 51, leaving the burly baldy free to pursue employment elsewhere.

Meet the Mets! (Dec. 18): Four of the six newly acquired Mets showed up at Shea Stadium today to try on their jerseys. As expected Robbie Alomar took No. 12. The 19 controversy (see below) was settled when Mark Guthrie took No. 35 and Roger Cedeno dropped to No. 18. Curiously, Satoru Komiyama tried on No. 17, which indicates perhaps a change is afoot for Kevin Appier. Either Ape is changing shirts or another trade is coming. David Weathers and Shawn Estes were unable to attend.

On a side note, we at MBTN don't consider these press corps grip-and-grins an indication of record -- we'll wait for the regular season to make anything "official." We in fact recall Roger Cedeno trying on No. 11 at one of these things two years ago, only to appear come the regular season wearing No. 19.

Sayonara! (Dec. 17): The Mets pulled yet another trade Sunday (and promised more), sending Tsuyoshi Shinjo 5 and Desi Relaford 8 to San Francisco in exchange for lefty starter Shawn Estes. This trade hurts, since we'll miss Shinjo-san's flair, style and gigantic orange sweatbands. Estes by the way wore No. 55 with the Giants -- should he remain with the Mets through the end of the week (no sure bet anymore) the number would be available, having not been worn since Orel Hershiser in 1999.

Product 19 (Dec. 14): The Mets Thursday signed X-Met Roger Cedeno to a four-year contract, creating not only a logjam in the outfield but a potential controversy over No. 19. That jersey currently belongs to Lenny Harris, himself as two time Met. Harris occupied No. 19 before Cedeno (1998) and after him (2000-present). On Friday, the Mets traded David Justice to Oakland for Mark Guthrie -- who wore No. 19 with the A's! We'll keep you updated on this breaking controversy.

Also on Thursday, the Mets created another possible conflict by signing David Weathers to a contract. The ex-Cub, ex-Yankee and ex-Brewer is most often seen wearing No. 49, digits currently belonging to Armando Benitez.

Trader Steve Strikes Again (Dec. 12, 2001): The Mets today pulled a shocking trade for Tribe second baseman Roberto Alomar, giving up outfielders Matt Lawton 23, Alex Escobar 25 and pitcher Jerrod Riggan 38. Alomar's familiar No. 12 is available. The Mets also received a minor league outfielder and lefty pitcher Mike Bascik, who wore 51 briefly with the Indians last year. Those digits currently belong to Rick White.

Goodbye Robin. Hello Batman? (Dec. 7, 2001): In a move showing mucho cojones, the Mets swapped Robin Ventura to the Yankees today for Dave Justice. We'll miss No. 4 who was a tough guy fallen on hard times. Should Justice actually suit up for the Mets, the No. 28 he wore with the cross-town bums is available. Most likely, this is only the first domino falling for the Mets -- stay tuned!

Komiyama Over (Dec. 2, 2001): The Mets signed Japanese League veteran righthander Satoru Komiyama, late of the Yokohama BayStars and Bobby Valentine's former Chiba Lotte team. After some dogged Internet research, we've determined that Komiyama favors No. 27, most recently worn by Mark Corey. In other news, the Mets have re-upped No. 47, Super Joe McEwing, and picked up the option on No. 5, Tsuyoshi Shinjo.