February 2012
Spring Break
Like the Mets, I'm also flying South this weekend. Only quite a bit West too.
So updates will be infrequent while I take the fam to visit the home of Sid Fernandez, Benny Agbayani, Carlos Diaz, Tyler Yates and the birthplace of Ron Darling. If you happen to see whether my imagined Tim Teufel-Ruben Tejada duel takes place and/or can fill in any other blanks below during the first week of Spring Training, just note so in the comments. Thanks and see you soon!
Gary Carter
I was a freshman in college the night the Mets traded for Gary Carter. The news so excited me that I goaded one of my roommates to stay up all night and celebrate, which for us meant wandering aimlessly around campus all night until stealing a fresh morning newspaper from a bundle left outside a store on Main Street at first light just to read about it. There was never any doubt that his arrival would transform a promising team into an excellent one, and help me realize a dream I'd harbored all my life until then. That was the power of Gary Carter.
When I presented Gary Carter with a copy of the Mets by the Numbers book at an event in 2008 his thank-you and his handshake were so warm and sincere I could barely believe he meant them. What an impression he made. Marty Noble writing on MLB.com today presents an obituary as forceful and oddly offputting as the Kid himself. What a character.
Mets by the Numbers, 2012
|
Number |
Player, pos (*-NRI) | Notes |
| 1 | Vacant | Available for Tejada if he switches? |
| 2 | Justin Turner, inf | Revealed on Twitter he was born at 2:22 |
| 3 | Josh Satin, inf | |
| 4 | Mike Nickeas, C | Switches from 13 to accommodate Ronny Cedeno |
| 5 | David Wright, 3B | |
| 6 | Omar Quintanilla*, inf | Wore 6 previously with Colorado |
| 7 | vacant | Treading carefully with Reyes' old number |
| 8 | vacant | Maybe this is the year they honor Carter? |
| 9 | vacant | Was Ronny Paulino |
| 10 | Terry Collins, mgr | |
| 11 | Ruben Tejada, inf | Could he switch (1, 9) for coach Tim Teufel? |
| 12 | Scott Hairston, of | |
| 13 | Ronny Cedeno, inf | |
| 14 | retired (Gil Hodges) | |
| 15 | Val Pascucci*, of | |
| 16 | Rob Johnson*, C | |
| 17 | vacant | Would be 2 years straight, something's up |
| 18 | vacant | Just saying: Hard to honor Carter, Hernandez and not Straw |
| 19 | Daniel Hererra*, rp | |
| 20 | Adam Loewen*, of | Ike Davis (29) has asked about acquiring 20 previously |
| 21 | Lucas Duda, of | |
| 22 | vacant | Was Willie Harris |
| 23 | Mike Baxter*, of | |
| 24 | vacant | Limbo for Willie Mays |
| 25 | vacant | Was Chin-lung Hu. |
| 26 | vacant | Was Fernando Martinez |
| 27 | Pedro Beato, rp | |
| 28 | Daniel Murphy, inf | |
| 29 | Ike Davis, 1B | |
| 30 | Josh Thole, C | |
| 31 | vacant | Limbo for Mike Piazza (and John Franco, kind of) |
| 32 | Jenrry Meija | Remember him? |
| 33 | Vinny Rottino*, of | |
| 34 | Mike Pelfrey, sp | |
| 35 | Dillon Gee, sp | |
| 36 | Chuck James*, rp | |
| 37 | retired (Casey Stengel) | |
| 38 | Garrett Olson*, rp | Was Capuano |
| 39 | Bobby Parnell, rp | |
| 40 | Tim Byrdak, rp | |
| 41 | retired (Tom Seaver) | |
| 42 | retired-MLB (Jackie Robinson) | |
| 43 | R.A. Dickey | |
| 44 | Jason Bay | He should really change this |
| 45 | vacant | Was Isringhausen |
| 46 | Manny Acosta, rp | |
| 47 | Miguel Batista, sp | |
| 48 | Frank Francisco, rp | Would be first closer in 48 since Randy Myers (or Heilman) |
| 49 | Jon Niese, sp | |
| 50 | vacant | "belongs to the fans" in 50th anniversary season |
| 51 | vacant | |
| 52 | Ramon Ramirez, rp | Mets roster also lists hitting coach Dave Hudgens in 52 (his 2011 uni). Ramirez was 52 for Giants last year |
| 53 | Jeremy Heffner, rp | Mets roster also lists bullpen catcher Eric Langill in 53 |
| 54 | Dave Racianello, bullpen coach | |
| 55 | vacant | Likely a coach |
| 56 | Andres Torres, of | Same number he wore with Giants last year |
| 57 | Johan Santana, sp | |
| 58 | Fernando Cabrera*, rp | |
| 59 | Dan Warthen, pitching coach | |
| 60 | Jon Rauch, rp | Same number with Diamondbacks, Twins last year |
| 61 | Jordanny Valdespin, inf | |
| 62 | Lucas May, C | |
| 63 | Chris Schwinden, sp | |
| 64 | Josh Stinson, rp | |
| 65 | Zach Lutz, inf | |
| 66 | Armando Rodriguez, rp | |
| 67 | Cesar Puello, of | |
| 68 | Matt den Decker*, of | Remarked on Twitter he prefers 17 (his college number) |
| 69 | vacant | |
| 70 | Matt Harvey*, sp | |
| 71 | Wilmer Flores, inf | |
| 72 | Kirk Niewenhuis, of | |
| 73 | Robert Carson, rp | |
| 74 | Reese Havens, inf | |
| 75 | Juerys Familia, sp | |
| 76 | Juan Lagares, of | |
| 77 | DJ Carrasco, rp | |
| 78+ | vacant |
That's what the current numerical roster looks like, see the notes column for further info.
Numbers Assigned
Just as we suspected, the Mets this morning posted new uni numbers:
73 Robert Carson
75 Juerys Familia
48 Frank Francisco
53 Jeremy Heffner
52 Ramon Ramirez
60 Jon Rauch
Mike Nickeas switches from 13 to 4 and Ronny Cedeno takes 13
71 Wilmer Flores
74 Reese Havens
61 Jordanny Valdespin
76 Juan Lagares
67 Cesar Puello
56 Andres Torres
72 Kirk Nieuwenhuis
Non-roster Invitees with new assignments:
58 Fernando Cabrera
70 Matt Harvey
36 Chuck James
38 Garrett Olson
16 Rob Johnson
62 Lucas May
6 Omar Quintanilla
68 Matt den Decker
20 Adam Loewen
33 Vinny Rottino
Worth noting: Still no 17. 6 back in circulation again, and belonging to a scrub who's likely to see at least a few innings on the big league roster this year. Top prospects occupying the 70s.
Coaches Tom Goodwin, Tim Teufel, Bob Geren and Ricky Bones still have not received assignments, although its kind of interesting to see Ramirez and Heffner occupying traditional coaching numbers. More on this soon!
Waiting on the Countdown
Still no news on the number front to report, although with just two weeks until pitchers and catchers report you'd expect the Mets begin to fill in the blanks any day now. As previously noted there are 13 players on the current 40-man roster who haven't received a number assignment. Even following the "buy Andres Torres gear" link from the Mets' official website doesn't generate a numbered jersey offer. Is there any doubt this organization is headed for Chapter 11? I've really begun to suspect that could be the biggest story of spring training...
In the meantime, I have some projects from friends of MBTN to pass along. Alex Giobbi writes about the Mets, amatuer baseball and other stuff over at Bleacher Report. Alex previously wrote about the Mets on his own "Bleeding Orange and Blue" blog and launched the MBTN Facebook page way back when. One of his recent pieces examines numbers the Mets could retire, in the event you haven't had enough of that debate yet lately.
There are lists and even more lists in Matthew Silverman's new book, Best Mets. Matthew worked on the book version of Mets by the Numbers with me and has penned a half-dozen other works on the team including last year's coffee-table anniversary. Best Mets is unique in that it highlights the lows just as brighly as the highs, so for every recounting of 1986 and 1969 glory, there's a reminder of 1993 and 1979 torture to accompany it; equal ink is given to the Keith Hernadez trade and the Tom Seaver trade, and so on. It's non-fiction after all. As with Matt's other works and his website, its jammed with interesting sidebars and asides that only a fan would know to include. Check it out!