It’s hard to be sure why the Mets can’t remember ever having Darren Bragg. Could be, Bragg’s just one of those guys you think of playing for another team. I associate Darren Bragg most closely with the 1998 Red Sox though his resume also includes stops in Seattle, St. Louis, and Colorado before he hooked on with the Mets in 2001, and with the Yankees, Braves, Padres and Reds afterward. In just about every stop, Bragg served a similar role as store-brand white hustling lefthanded hitting corner outfield reserve.

It could also have been the briefness of his stay, or the abruptness of his departure: He was a Met for all of 18 games from late May to early June of 2001, a period the Mets spent entirely in last or next-to-last, owing, not surprisingly, to their lousy outfield. Perhaps too, the Mets forgot they ever had Darren Bragg because their last memory of him was releasing him prior to the start of 2002: He’d been invited to camp but was cut and released, and eventually signed with the Braves.

Unless something really unexpected happens, it appears Moises Alou 18 will become the 800th Met when the season begins a week from today.

Other first-time Mets would appear to be Damion Easley (No. 2), David Newhan (17), Aaron Sele (32), Scott Schoeneweis (60), Chan Ho Park (61) and “Bazooka” Joe Smith, who is, for all we know, still going around in the No. 70 jersey they assign to longshot bullpen wannabees. I made up that “Bazooka” nickname by the way, sort of. Remember Joe Smith, the basketball player? When he was a student at Maryland the school paper held a nickname contest to give him more pizzazz where ‘Bazooka’ was among the choices. I don’t think it ever stuck with that Joe Smith. We can’t let it go this time.

So what number does Bazooka Joe Smith get?

I don’t even have to look it up to tell you this is the first season the Mets began a year with two guys wearing numbers in the 60s.

Catching Up (Jan. 28): With Cliff Floyd's departure to Chicago, it may be interesting to see whether Willie Randolph alights in the now-vacant No. 30 or stays with the 12 he's worn as a Met player and manager (in his playing days, 30 belonged to Mel Stottlemeyer; Willie was 30 with the MF Yankees most of his career).

Alert MBTN reader Richard informs us that Mets.com is offering the Jose Valentin jersey in No. 22 -- the switch from 18 we expected following the Moises Alou signing earlier this off-season.

Hello to new arrivals and/or spring auditionees Scott Schoeneweis, Aaron Sele, Jorge Sosa and David Newhan.