Big Announcement!

Here’s one offseason move you may have missed: Mets by the Numbers is donating its data to be hosted at the Ultimate Mets Database in a combination of two of the longest-running Mets reference sites on the Internet. Beginning today, you can find all player uniform numbers as well as an all-time numerical roster at the Ultimate Mets Database.

Over the coming weeks, I will redirect the links to player profiles, uni numbers and rosters here to their counterparts at the UMDB, then commence a relaunch of this site only without the bolted-on database. What will stay are years of site updates, essays and the discussion of Mets past and present that have been a part of this site from the beginning. Only the roster and player records are moving — and I’ll still be maintaining that data, only there, not here.

Why now? For one thing, this site was long overdue for a re-engineering (it’s built on a long-outmoded version of the useful but complex and ever-changing CMS Drupal — but I don’t have the time or skill to devote to keeping it up to date. But the best argument for it is that uni number data has always been a natural fit for the UMDB, which until now included just about everything except uni numbers. Moving the info to the UMDB and integrating it with all the other cool data there also allows for new features like scorecards with numbers and truly awesome running tallies of uni-number leaders and stats-by-uni-number — features that I’d only been able to scratch at here. All these links should be functional right now; if you encounter any bugs just let me know.

MBTN and the Ultimate Mets Database go back a long way. Shortly after launching this site, I went to check on some facts when I came across it for the first time. As it turns out, our sites launched within weeks of one another in February of 1999 (that’s more than 14 years ago!!) and we’ve since collaborated on projects through fellow Mets fans at the Crane Pool Forum including the Schaefer Mets Player of the Year project, which recreates the sponsored recap of Met broadcasters of the 1970s. You too should participate in these projects. Trust me when I say this stuff is in good hands over there.

You can still add to the discussion and contact me here; in the meantime look for a re-launch of this site soon. Oh, and opening day in 2 weeks. Let’s Go Mets!!

Out-Hacking the Hacks

31Mike Piazza probably didn’t deserve the suspicion and innuendo that writers latched onto to deny him the Hall of Fame votes he deserved this year, but if they deny him again based on the garbage in his new biography he has only himself to blame. To be fair I haven’t read LONG SHOT and don’t think I will but the reviews I’ve seen make it apparent that Piazza would be better positioned to head to Cooperstown next year had he not picked a fight with legendary broadcaster Vin Scully, said dumb things about Latin ballplayers, and in an effort to out-hack the hacks, cops to a lifelong struggle with “back acne” while coming clean on trying everything but steriods in an effort to improve his game.

Hey look. We all know by now how the game was played during the Mike Piazza Era, and to me at least whether anyone did or didn’t ought not be the only thing that comes between a player and his Hall of Fame chances. But just having a book coming out seemed like the kind of thing writers who’d hold it against Piazza would hang him for no matter what: If he admits to steroid use in his book, he’s out; if he doesn’t, he’s a liar. I’m sure he gets in, wearing a Mets cap, and the Mets retire his number like they oughta, it’s just going to be more difficult now.

All in all, I prefered the mopey Mike Piazza who didn’t say or do much more than drive home runs screaming into the Keypan sign.

New Numbers Issued

Adam Rubin of ESPN got a hold of the list, and it looks like this (new issues in bold):

1. Jordany Valdespin
2. Justin Turner
3. Omar Quintanilla
4. Collin Cowgill
5. David Wright
6. Marlon Byrd
9. Kirk Nieuwenhuis
11. Ruben Tejada
12. Brandon Hicks
15. Travis d’Arnaud
16. Brian Bixler
19. Zach Lutz
20. Anthony Recker
21. Lucas Duda
22. Landon Powell
23. Mike Baxter
27. Jeurys Familia
28. Daniel Murphy
29. Ike Davis
30. LaTroy Hawkins
32. Jenrry Mejia
33. Matt Harvey
34. Brandon Lyon
35. Dillon Gee
36. Collin McHugh
38. Shaun Marcum
39. Bobby Parnell
40. Tim Byrdak
44. John Buck
46. Greg Burke
47. Aaron Laffey
48. Frank Francisco
49. Jonathon Niese
50. Scott Atchison
52. Carlos Torres
53. Jeremy Hefner
55. Pedro Feliciano
56. Scott Rice
57. Johan Santana
58. Cesar Puello
60. Darin Gorski
61. Wilmer Flores
62. Elvin Ramirez
63. Juan Lagares
64. Reese Havens
65. Zack Wheeler
66. Josh Edgin
67. Hansel Robles
68. Matt den Dekker
70. Wilfredo Tovar
71. Gonzalez Germen
72. Juan Centeno
73. Robert Carson
74. Rafael Montero
75. Cory Mazzoni
76. Josh Satin
77. Andrew Brown
80. Jamie Hoffmann

Couple of interesting things to point out here:

* Josh Satin tumbling from 3 all the way to 64

* Pedro Feliciano coming full-circle to reacquire the 55 first issued to him when he was a throw-in in the Shawn Estes Trade.

* Frank Francisco staying in 48 while newcomer Scott Atchison gets 50: I will bet that changes.

* Omar Quintanilla getting No. 3 while 6 (his last number) goes instead to Marlon Byrd. I would guess that changes, with Byrd taking whichever of 20 or 22 are surrendered by the backup catchers Recker and/or Powell.

* On the other hand, LaTroy Hawkins has been 22 or 32 for nearly his entire career, so looks like he’d take Powell’s 22.

Prospecting

72Some discussion in the post below raised the practice of dressing young prospects at camp. I was certainly expecting to see Zack Wheeler wearing his preferred 45 but was pleased to see the Mets haven’t granted him that priviledge quite yet. As Gogred points out, Dwight Gooden wore 64 as a spring training invite in 1984 (and again many springs later in an atempt to recapture the feeling. At this time in 2004, David Wright was rocking No. 72 — although Jose Reyes wore 7 during 2003’s spring training. Last year, Matt Harvey was 70 and Kirk Nieuwenhuis was 72. It’s believed that Travis D’Arnaud could be assigned his preferred 15 (I incorrectly said 16, below) but there’s something to be said for reminding the youngsters to have some humility.

We should have the first sightings of unis and/or rosters real soon. Keep an eye out.

Waiting on the Countdown

Hi again!

Only days until we’ll know what numbers the Mets will issue to their new personnel, and there’s a lot of it. That includes at least 12 guys on the 40-man roster yet to have been issued a number, and at least a dozen more with spring training invites. And that doesn’t include the couple of brand-name goods they may still buy this spring, Brandon Lyon (frequently but not always, 38) and Michael Bourne (most recently, 24 with Atlanta).

Let’s start with a few good guesses. Shawn Marcum wore 18 last year with Milwaukee. That gives me an uncomfortable 10-year flashback to Jeff D’Amico, like Marcum a veteran junkball pitcher via Milwaukee, recovering from an injury, wearing 18. But that would require Tim Teufel changes his shirt (could Ruben Tejada surrender 11 in a chain reaction?) Marcum also has some equity in 28, although that belongs to Daniel Murphy. 38 would work as long as they don’t issue it to Lyon should he come aboard.

Frank Francisco wore No. 50 throughout his career, but the Mets did not issue that last year and Francisco took 48. We could see him switch this year.

John Buck, acquired in the Dickey deal, wears 14 most frequently but with that retired here could wear 4 or if he dares, 44. Travis D’Arnaud appears to prefer 16. Zach Wheeler, as per his Twitter handle, appears to prefer 45, which is available. Omar Quintanila is back on a minor league deal and could reacquire No. 6, and Josh Satin could take back No. 3, but no guarantees for either. Finally there’s the complicated case of Pedro Feliciano, who’s worn 55, 39 and 25 in his Met stints. Who knows what they give him this time. His coming back to the Mets without having appeared at all for the Yankees and their arrogant general manager is about the greatest thing ever. I’m less certain he’s got anything left, but that’s what the invite is for.

The rest of the new guys are more or less unknown quanties and likely to take what’s given them.

The following numbers are currently un-issued: 3,4 ,6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 22, 30, 40, 43-47, 50, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 63-65, 67-72, 74-99, not to mention 0 and 00.

The following players need assignment, as per the Mets official roster: Pitchers Greg Burke, Gonzalez German, Darrin Gorski, Marcum, Hansel Robles and Wheeler; Catchers Buck, D’Arnaud,and  Anthony Recker, infielders Brandon Hicks and Wilfredo Tovar; and outfielder Collin Cowgill.

Nonroster invitees awaiting unis: Pitchers Scot Atchison, Feliciano, LaTroy Hawkins, Aaron Laffey, Cory Mazzoni, Rafael Montero, and Carlos Torres; Catchers Juan Centeno and Landon Powell; Infielders Brian Bixler and Satin; and outfielders Andrew Brown, Marlon Byrd and Matt den Dekker.

See you in St. Lucie!

(Headline influence by Lindsay Buckingham).

If I Had a Hammer

The Mets this week made what ought to go down as one of the more important personnel moves in recent history with the trade of beloved knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (along with both of his catchers!) to Toronto for catcher prospect Travis D’Arnaud, young pitcher Noah Syndergaard, veteran catcher John Buck and very young outfielder Wuilmer Becerra.

Given Dickey’s age, the Mets’ needs, and their limited resources, dangling him in a trade was absolutely the right thing to do, and from here it’s on D’Arnaud and his mates to make it worthwhile. I don’t for a minute believe the Mets necessarily “punted” on 2013, 2014 or whatever, I’m certain they can repeat a 4th place showing with or without a few hot new prospects and optimistic they might do more. They might not either, but that’s why they play the games. As for Dickey, what can you say. He was a great Met, and we’ll miss him, but this was one opportunity where the Mets had a hammer, and I’m pleased to see they used it.

Even more shockingly, they managed to unload both Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas while doing so. Thole, who looked like a backup goalie in his. No. 30 jersey, probably still has a chance to hit .300 but I’m glad he won’t be trying it with us. That Nickeas could be included in any deal almost defies reason: The Mets fearlessly whacked him from the 40-man roster this offseason but getting him back into the fold on a minor-league deal was one of those tiny details packing a potentially big payoff. It also miraculously resuscitated the Tim Bogar Trade Chain with four new branches when I was certain it was dead. Good job on that Sandy. Nickeas leaves behind No. 4 and previously wore No. 13.

If we needed the reminder (you probably don’t) that not all hot prospects work out, Mike Pelfrey quietly signed a make-good deal with the Twins this week. I have to admit that I pulled just as hard if not more for Pelf to succeed here than Dickey. He looked like a great power pitcher until you saw the doubts and poor results that tortured him here: I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out he was hurting for longer than we knew.

Finally the Mets added an outfielder. Collin Cowgill probably wasn’t high on anyone’s wish list but he’s a right-handed hitter (and lefty thrower!) who reportedly can go get it in center field, suggesting at worst he could platoon with Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Cowgill, acquired for minor-league infielder Jefry Marte (an Omar-Era International signee briefly considered a real prospect) wore No. 12 most recently in Oakland and No. 4 previously with Arizona.

Of the Toronto arrivals, D’Arnaud is listed as No. 15, which ought to be available unless Fred Lewis comes back or makes a stink and I wouldn’t expect either. John Buck in this article passed along by MBTN reader Matt details his reason for preferring 14, but with that number retired, could choose 44, 4 and/or 34.

Top Twelve 12s

In honor of today’s date — 12/12/12, MBTN presents the Top Twelve 12s in Mets history, presented Casey Kasum style:

12. Danny Garcia (2003-04): Reserve infielder who seemed to play with a chip on his shoulder, Garcia became the first Brooklyn Cyclone ever to graduate to the Mets. His assignment of No. 12 was no mistake as the organization appeared to intentionally distance itself from its previous occupant (see No. 8 on the list, below).

11. Jesse Gonder (1963-65): Lefthanded hitting catcher who had a fine offensive campaign in his one and only season as a regular, 1964, when he hit .270 with 7 home runs in newly built Shea.

10. Shawon Dunston (1999): Brooklyn product who made the most of a short stay in Metsville. Remembered best for a grinding at-bat to lead off the bottom of the 15th, in the rain, during Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS vs. Atlanta. His single helped to set the table for Robin Ventura’s dramatic “Grand Slam Single” that ended it.

9. Jeff Francoeur (2009-10): Gregarious, enthusiastic, maddening player of tantalizing abilities and awful results, I’ll remember Francoeur as the final middle finger in Bobby Cox’s long history of flipping off the Mets.

8. Roberto Alomar (2002-03): When Bobby Valentine heard that general manager Steve Phillips had acquired All-Star Roberto Alomar for a collection of varied Met junk, his first question was “what’s wrong with him?” Beyond declines in bat speed, foot speed, defense, enthuiasm and charisma, not a thing.

7. Jeff Kent (1993-96): Anyone watch Jeff on “Survivor”? Good competitor who lost his teammates by being too singleminded. Never saw that coming.

6. Willie Randolph (1992; 2005-08): If things in Metville keep going as they have, the nostalgia for the Willie Randolph Era will ramp up accordingly. He was after all the last manager to bring a Mets team to the playoffs. Resist. Although Willie brought a certain dignity to the role that is missed, his team rotted beneath detachment, denial and paranoia, setting into motion years of half-assed fixes.

5. Scott Hairston (2011-12): Yeah, I wouldn’t have guessed he was this high either but he just gave us one of the best seasons a nominal Mets “backup” ever provided.

4. Tommy Davis (1967): A star in his one and only year as a Met (1967) and key figure in blockbuster Tommie Agee trade.

3. Ken Boswell (1968-74): Sometime starter and steady reserve infielder, and a key contributor in 2 postseasons (3-for-3 pinch-hitting in the 1973 World Series and two HRs in the 1969 NLCS).

2. Ron Darling (1985-89): The longest-tenured and best of Darling’s three Met uni numbers was 12. He was 30 games over .500 wearing 12 (68-38) and one game under .500 wearing 44 and 15 (31-32). He’s also become an excellent broadcaster and ambassador.

1. John Stearns (1977-84): A Bad Dude, a four-time All-Star, and setter of weird stolen-bases-for-a-catcher records.

The Only Alternatives and Other Possibilities

So we all knew Mets did a poor job of keeping the fact they would have a few new uniform looks in 2013 a secret but all the same was anyone as shocked as me by how softly they revealed them today given the potential for the new look to spark a retail renaissance and maybe sell a few tickets? Couldn’t they have asked Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum to come along for a big runway show instead of unceremoniously Tweeting the news that these new looks are available?

Come on Mets, you don’t need geeks like me to tell you there are thousands of fans who eat this kind of stuff up. I mean, new unis is something the Yankees never get to do, why the sudden soft sell? And why do you suppose when they showed this rather handsome new road-blue jersey they showed it with … Ronny Cedeno’s number? (never mind, I get that now. Sheesh).

Those curious asides aside, I think we’ve got a handsome jersey, particularly the return of the silvery letters that last appeared on the Mets’ jerseys the last time they were blue. I’m not necessarily sold on the piping but at the same time welcome the orange back to the color scheme. My other critique, such as it is, is that the shade of blue is much darker than it was 30 years ago, as though someone dumped half a bottle of purple into the royal shade of yesteryear. I guess black dies hard.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those Howie Rose types who bemoans every moment the Mets aren’t outfitted in baggy wool pinstripes: I like that things can change from time to time and I believe the Mets could easily and successfully get away with going further in this change: How about an alternate hat with a Mr. Met logo? As I mentioned above it’s something the Mets have on the Yankees, at least when they do it right. Here I think they have a good looking alternate, and it’s weird that they’re keeping it to themselves.

Hello! And Goodbye!

44So long, Jason Bay, and sorry it didn’t work out. I’m not so certain the agreement to tear up Bay’s contract and all its associated evils will necessarily garner the team any more flexibility with regards to the payroll — he shouldn’t settle for a nickel less than his moronic bosses agreed to pay him — but in the sense it means Someone Else will play left field for the Mets next year, I’m delighted.

And so ends yet another Omar Minaya Free Agent debacle, guys who signed back when the Wilpons were awash in free money and absolutely convinced of the wisdom of paying full retail for Brand-Name Stars. I will always associate Bay with Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, and a lesser extent with Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez, as foreseeable wastes of good money who played their way off the team despite money on the table. (Yeah, Santana earned some of his and still belongs to the organization, but I’m convinced if Sandy Alderson only could, he’d have sent him packing already).

We pointed out numerous times that Bay was a poor fit in the No. 44 jersey, not only because the number itself tends to be a poor one on Mets, but because the whole assignment reeked of forced equity from the start. Bay was not a 44: He was just a guy. We should have paid and treated him like one.

Yes, guys, I know, it’s my first post in months, and I apologize for the lengthy funk. Part of the delay had to do with my struggling with a redesign of the site, which remains in need of some engine and bodywork, and part was my running out of ways to make the end of another disappointing season fun and interesting. During the time off I made some progress toward a solution which hopefully will make the site better looking, easier to read (and from my perspective, manage) but it may take some time to get together so be patient. I will endeavor to update when I can and as always am happy to engage in the comments section or via email. I also twitter sometimes at @springer66 but that too tends to come in bursts.

Hope everyone survived the storm, by the way. MBTN Headquarters stayed dry and with power/Internet almost throughout although I know lots of friends and neighbors who didn’t.

Collis, Collin, Myrick and Carson

44I’m no more panicky or distressed today than I was weeks ago over this team, just a little disappointed now that it looks like they’re headed for another last place finish when 3rd place once looked so attainable. Some insist this demands the end of the Terry Collins Era; I’m of the feeling that Terry would be around until the team is ready to be passed along to the next guy, but it’s getting harder to imagine when that day is coming. This team needs a lot of help. So does Terry.

He presided over another bad loss yesterday, as the bullpen, poor defense and a punchless offense wasted a fine debut effort from Collin McHugh, the new No. 36. You might have noticed Robert Carson was back for a spell too.

And you might also have seen this article the other day by hardworking blogger Brian Joura, reviewing the failures of the Mets and Collins as they idiotically pursue “a second lefty” the same way Jerry Manuel wasted so much time and energy on the “8th inning guy” while the rest of the team grew increasingly tight and unable to give the bullpen much of anything to work with in the first place. Why, Joura asked, should a team value narrow platoon advantages over versatility? Where have you gone, Bob Myrick?

As it turned out, Bob Myrick died yesterday of a heart attack at age 59. Myrick, who wore No. 44 for the late-70s Mets, was a lefty who could start or relieve. His splits were radical only in the sense that they basically didn’t exist: Joe Torre never once needed to tie his roster in knots in order to shoehorn him into a game. He more or less was an average reliever who happened to throw with his left arm, an almost unheard-of concept today.

Myrick’s obituary mentioned first not that he was a former Mets pitcher, but that he was general manager of a family-run building supply business in Hattiesburg, Miss. — his hometown, and also Robert Carson’s hometown. It’s entirely possible Robert Carson grew up in a home built with lumber Bob Myrick provided.