As part of the preparation for the new launch of mbtn.net and the release of the Mets by the Numbers book, I went and gathered some dynamite celebrity interviews with folks with opinions on the Mets, Mets history and/or Mets uniforms that we will be running periodically.

Jacqueline Miranne may not be a household name (yet!) but you may recognize her face. The 21-year-old fashion model and aspiring television personaility has been appearing on your TV every Wednesday as a model on Bravo TV’s fabulous fashion competiton,Project Runway.

What has a spectacularly gay reality show got to do with baseball? Well, other than both featuring talented divas applying unique skills in a competition setting, it turns out Jacqueline is a native New Yorker and a big and knowledgeable fan of the Mets. And though the most recent episode put Jacqueline in danger of banishment from the runway (she may be still be “saved” if selected by another designer), you’ll be seeing her soon enough again in the stands at Shea.

Fans of Project Runway (admit it, you’re one) will recognize Jacquelline from some of this season’s dramatic moments. Often paired with passive-aggressive but skilled designer Victorya, Jacqueline stood between Victorya and weepy teammate Ricky as they slow-burned over the fit of her “underwear as outerwear” garment. Jacqueline was also the model who at Victorya’s request performed the near-fatal “Ice Princess” walk in the Hershey’s challenge. She also rocked Jillian and Victorya’s fantastic trench-coat outfit while wearing a mohawk-inspired hairdo, prompting Victorya to remark, “I don’t think any other model could have done that.”

In the following interview, conducted in early January, Jacqueline brought her eye for fashion to a discussion of the Mets and the world of reality TV. The transcript has been edited only to make the questioner seem less like a complete dork.

Let’s make it work!

How long have you been a Met fan? Why do you follow the team?
That’s an easy one. My mother was watching Met games when she was pregnant with me [in 1986! -ed], so it goes back before I was even born. I feel like in New York, you’re born into a Mets family or a Yankees family, so for me, growing up it was a Mets household. As I grew up I figured out more for myself which team I would root for but I always loved the heart that the Mets have shown. They don’t always come out on top, but I’m loyal. I stick with them.

What are your thoughts on the uniform?
Black is my favorite uniform. I actually own a blackJose Reyes jersey. I can see why some Met fans don’t like the fact that black isn’t a traditional Mets color. But being a fashion girl, I like what looks good. I don’t think there’s anyone in New York fashion world that does not like black. I like the way it tones down the blue and the orange. I know it’s not traditional, but it looks good.

What about in all of baseball. Who’s got the best uniforms?
I was at Wrigley Field this summer, where I happened to see Tom Glavine’s 300^th win – and I have to say I do like the Cubs uniforms. Good color combination. I also like some of the throwbacks – the Brooklyn Dodgers of ‘55 and the ‘86 Mets jerseys. They have a cool look of traditional baseball.

You didn’t go all the way to Chicago to see Tom Glavine, did you?

No, it was an added bonus in another trip.

What could the Mets do to improve their look?
In fashion, jewelry always complements an outfit. What better to improve an outfit than a world series ring?

As far as the jerseys go, I like the black. I like toning down the blue and orange. Orange is hard in fashion. For me too much of it is just ‘ah!’ The blue though is a good blue. You can wear it to the game. Blondes look good in blue.

Do you get out to Shea often?
I don’t have season tickets but I go maybe once a week or once every two weeks while they’re at home. I also tend to go to Mets.com and buy the cheaper games early in the season. You’ll see me at those.

You said you have a Jose Reyes jersey. Which are the Mets you most admire?
Jose is my man! I love his spirit. He definitely was frustrated by the end of the season, like all of them were, but I love the way he plays the game. And I still loveCarlos Delgado, even though he didn’t have a great season last year. I like his heart, he seems to be determined and a good example for the team. I love Pedro Martinez. I love David Wright, even if he’s a little goofy for me. And I can’t forgetJohn Maine. I think he’s amazing, up-and-coming talent, I was at his game, the second-to-last game, and it was something to see.

Have you met a Met?
Unfortunately, no. It would be nice if I had though my work, but we tend to run in different circles. I’d like to though.

How did you get to be on Project Runway?
It was a model casting same as any other modeling job. You wait in a long line and do a walk and give them your card. It’s the traditional day of the model. I didn’t even know what it was for. I take down the information and go where they tell me to. I didn’t know it was for Project Runway until I got there. Though learning that was pretty exciting.

Tell me about your modeling background.
I’ve been doing it full-time for a little more than a year. Currently what’s most visible was in the past issue of Elle magazine. I was in a TreSemme nationwide advertisement. I’ve been in Allure,Cosmopolitan, Details, and I’ve done some work with Loehmann’s — I’ve been in their catalogs and coupons. I’ve also been in Women’s Wear Daily, on the Today show, the Isaac Mizrahi show and I’m currently in a Vaseline commercial. I’ve been lucky to be working pretty steadily. That’s not easy.

How is the Project Runway job unique?
It’s unique in the way it kind of draws you in emotionally. Normally you do a job and you’re in and you’re out. Here there becomes an emotional attachment with the people you are working with, the competitiveness of it. It was more of a roller coaster than most jobs.

Heidi Klum says, ‘Models, this is a competition for you as vell.’ How is that so? 
The models are important. You’d be amazed knowing how different the same outfit would look, and the way it’s presented, from girl to girl. The job of the model is to do their job so well you don’t notice they are doing it, but who you are does play an important role. Unfortunately we don’t have control over our destiny, as we’re not making the clothes or being judged in the same way the designers are. It’s a competition to an extent, but it’s not like America’s Next Top Model.

You’ve been paired with Victorya for most of the challenges so far. How has that been?
No matter how people may perceive her,Victorya is an amazing designer. I got to do a bunch of challenges with her so far and to witness the execution of a garment from nothing to what’s finished in such a short period of time, is amazing. I really admire her work ethic and vision and her abilities. She was always kind and considerate to me as a model, which doesn’t always happen in this industry.

If the models could choose the designer and not the other way around, who would you choose?
I can’t pick one over the other. Having seen them all work live, I think every single one of them are good. For every single outfit that I would need, I can go to one of them to make. They each have different aesthetics, but they all are good at what they do, definitely.

What was the deal with the ice princess?
When you’re in the middle of doing something you don’t know how much an impact it will make. Victorya had a vision and my job was to follow it and please my client. Before the challenge she likes to have me walk for her and see how she likes it. I gave a couple of sample walks for her until she said, “that’s the one. That’s it.” I was happy with the job I did. I know some people didn’t necessarily perceive it in the right way or didn’t like it. But for me, it was just me doing my job. I wouldn’t change it. It was my job to please the client.

Seems to me that you’ve had a lot of screen time. You were standing there between Ricky and Victorya’s argument…
Honestly, the models aren’t always there when the clothes are being made, so I actually wasn’t even aware there was a disagreement going on. You got a sense that maybe there was some disagreement. But I didn’t witness any real drama.

What’s next for you? Would you like to pursue more televison or acting work?
I’m back to the real world of modeling, day to day. You never know what job is coming one day to the next. I could be running between 10 jobs in a day or just doing one a day. I like that better.

I’ve done some TV and I’m definitely intrigued. I wouldn’t call myself an actress but I feel comfortable in front of the camera and enjoy the chance to show my personality in front of the camera, so I wouldn’t be opposed if something like that would come my way.
Do you think you could go unrecognized atShea Stadium this year?
I hope that the show has enough impact for me to be recognized. But maybe you should come back in a while and ask if that’s still true.

Do you have a favorite number?
24. It’s always been my favorite number. I can’t tell you how often that number seems to come up in my life. There isn’t a Met 24 is there?

Rickey Henderson as a coach last year. It’s spent most of Mets history in unofficial retirement for Willie Mays.

Which Mets would make the best runway models?
Based on looks, Carlos Gomez could be a male model. He’s tall, and he has a look. It’s similar actually to one of the male models that was on the [Project Runway] show. He’s a good-looking guy. I give him props. I would love to see Jose Reyes as a runway model, because that would be hysterical.

Did you see Reyes and Wright in one of those magazines? I thought they looked a little dorky.
Yes! That’s why I could never say David Wright. He’s too dorky. But I’d love to see Jose Reyes walk down a runway. It would be hilarious.

How did you take the finish last year? I was driving home from a wedding, just trying to pick up a radio signal, only to find we were down 7-0 in the first inning.
I was there! You just had to buy a hot dog and a beer and say, what can you do. It was a total disappointment, obviously. The only joy I took in that game was that my dad, who was inArizona, was relying on me to give him updates. I had tickets for the first round of the playoffs and he was arguing that he should get them. So I said, Dad, they got through, and you can have the tickets. I had him going. That was a mean trick to play but if you knew my dad, he does things like that all the time.

I remained hopeful through the last inning but the pain set in. I had a shoot the next day, and I could barely put myself into it.

Well that didn’t take long, did it now.

After 10 months in the shop, mbtn.net is back and rebuilt behind a new power plant — a database referencing every instance a player was in uniform for the Mets.

This new tool has re-organized the guts of the site so as to allow for references by number, by name, or by date. It integrates the the all-time numerical roster with the content of the site, bringing some much-needed organization and improved accuracy to the world’s first and only rundown of every player in Met history and the number they wore in their moment.

The site is live now at its signature address, mbtn.net as well as at metsbythenumbers.com, the alleged “temporary site” that went up last spring while the old site went down for repairs.

Though it wasn’t exactly drawn up this way, it’s fortunate that new site got done in time for the release of Mets by the Numbers, due in bookstores any time now. The book, written by myself along with Matthew Silverman and published by Skyhorse Publishing, is based on the original reserach and stories posted to this address over the years and illustrated with baseball cards from my very own collection. I hope you’ll buy one (my book, not my cards — they’re not for sale).

The original idea in fact was to use a revamped web page in service of writing the book but a few false starts and my own cluelessness prevented that from happening sooner. Fortunately I got solid relief work from a good web guy who helped trash an earlier version of the new site that while half-done, never worked quite the way I wanted it to.

And while this site still requires some minor tweaks and the addition of some of the old content, what’s important is that it accounts for 821 players and their uni numbers and archives posts from the old site back to its infancy in 2000. I can’t express how great it is to operate a data-driven site where the data is actually and finally organized. More cool stuff is to come.

I’ll talk about how to navigate the site in a future post.

If you’re just arriving from metsbythenumbers.com, or from the new links, welcome to the “new” MBTN.net. While there is still some work to do on navigating to old posts, arranging the roster in date view, and re-entering some of the old features and photos, the site is back to stay in this form and at this address. If you registered at the old site I’m afraid you will have to re-register here. Sorry it took so long. As discussed below, we’d made good progress toward a new site a year ago, but junked it when it didn’t work as well as I’d have liked it to.

A little late to be bringing this up, but had Bud Selig and the Players Association any sense at all, they’d have declared amnesty for all PED users with the introduction of the new CBA, admitted there was a steroid epidemic and asked for forgiveness and fresh start long before Washington got involved. With the Mitchell Report due to drop Thursday, they’ll wind up doing that anyway, only with dozens (hundreds?) of reputations ruined and a whole new layer of suspicion upon baseball.

Surely this report will only serve to further muddy up the entire whodunnit, witch-hunt aspects of the investigation, and will likely leave a false impression of the supposed “innocence” of those ballplayers whose names don’t appear. What we won’t hear nearly enough is the idea that for the guilty parties, PED use was a matter of course. If the pitcher is using, so must the batter. With millions on the line in a game where performance is obsessively quantified, a player who does not use obviously ran the risk of losing his job to one who does. And so on. That’s the nature of an epidemic.

Another bad idea we’ll hear thrown around this week is that of affixing astericks to the published accomplishments of those whose names may appear. Do your sport a favor and don’t support this. Contextualizing statistics for their eras has been a part of properly understanding baseball thoughout history. Ruth’s records were set before integration and air travel. Other eras require mental adjustments for circumstances like the dead ball or the higher mound. In the future we should look back to see accomplishments of the late 1980s to early 2000s as those that came in the “questionable training methods era” and leave it at that.