Met Mysteries

The Mets are about to start playing again Tuesday and Jeff Francoeur, Ollie Perez and Luis Castillo are still a part of the team, and Howard Johnson and Dan Warthen are still coaches. So much of that seemed unlikely after the Mets meekly limped off the field in Los Angeles Sunday, losers of 9 of 11 games on their post-All Star Break West Coast run (and deserving losers of 10 of them!).

 Supportive posts right here amid all the fan bloodlust took a lot out of me. When they finally won on Friday I'd convinced myself it was the start of the turnaround I'd been predicting all week. So when they threw up that awful dud on Saturday, I was just so unprepared. Unacceptable! And for the first time this year I felt myself moving to that realm of fandom where I want the Mets to get what they deserve and not what I want for them. It was a dark moment, for sure, and rewarded with another spiceless loss on Sunday.

So here we are back home again, and the Mets are apparently going out there by refusing to bow to fan bloodlust again: God bless 'em, I don't know how or why most times. And the only change appears to be Minor League Masher Mike Hessman recalled for the injured Rod Barajas. Unclear just now what number they outfit Hessman in; though he wore 66 this spring and for whatever reason it strikes me as appropriate now. Nothing wrong with a freaky right-handed masher on the bench.

 

A brief update on the Ike Davis situation: Yes he's been called up and may start this evening against the Cubs, while Tobi Stoner heads back to Buffalo with our thanks and a tough luck loss. Think Jerry's a little obsessed with creating eighth inning magic? Jeez.

As for why you're here: The mets.com roster lists Davis as wearing 29, which Stoner just surrendered. (Now I see the press release reportting same). Isn't it my fate to campaign for a guy to get Keith Hernandez' number only to see them give up Dave Magadan's instead. I don't much get into that number, 29. It's Steve Trachsel. It's Steve Bieser. It's some guy named Steve.

At any rate, tonight we really don't have to worry about it since Davis will be wearing No. 42, along with the rest of his Met teammates in Part II of Chuck Taylor Appreciation Night.

Well, as suspected below last night's marathon prompted the Mets to bring up another pitcher tonight -- and the offense just might get a jolt too.
Tobi Stoner, who made a few late-season appearances last season wearing No. 29, was recalled. The surprise was that rather than demoting a gassed arm, the Mets designated flailing first baseman Mike Jacobs for assignment in order to make room. That leads to speculation that an offensive player would be recalled once the Mets depart St. Louis, first base prospect Ike Davis being the most intriguing option.

Davis has been wearing No. 20 up in Buffalo but there's some speculation he could end up in No. 49, which his dad, reliever Ron Davis, wore for at least some of his career.(As pointed out below, Ron Davis wore 53, 39, 34, 55 and 33 in his career). No. 20 currently belongs to coach Howard Johnson. We've argued here before for No. 17, which would properly honor another terrific Met first baseman but require that Fernando Tatis changes his shirt. Stay tuned!

Hi, we're back with the new setup. I did this mainly because the latest upgrade of the content management system we use wouldn't support the old layout, but the upgrade also provided some small upgrades in capability that make the site better and easier to use. For one thing the lists of yearly numerical rosters now progress sequentially and not in that irritating 1, 11, 12. It also allowed me to bust out Superba Graphics' terrific alternate logo and provided an excuse to update the records, links, bios and archives through last year (they're much better organized, particularly the ancient history, though it's still a work in progress). Some of the comments on recent stories were cut-and-pasted into the new stories, but everything else is just how it used to be. Big thanks to David Moore at Crooked Number for all the web help.

Anyway while this work was going on I kind of  slowed down on on the posts right in the middle of what has to be the most interesting spring training, number-wise, we've had in a while. A lot of the numbers assigned back in February have gone back up for grabs (3, 22, 32, 36, 43) while guys wearing 76, 78, 79 and 94 have emerged as real threats to take jobs, if not right away then down the road. And more could arrive any minute.

Despite all appearances, I still think the Mets will ultimately send Jennry Mejia to the minors, but I'm not one of those pretend scouts threatening to riot if they don't. People tend to give way too much credit (or blame) to the manager; I think a man will become what he becomes no matter what his address is when he's 20. Would he keep No. 76? Unusual but so again is he, and the the temptation to subtly suggest he's one step beyond Francisco Rodriguez might be too powerful to resist.

Anyway, that's just one thing worth keeping an eye on as camp winds down. We'll rap about more soon!

The Mets are hitting the leftovers like the day after Thanksgiving. Only hours after posting the numerical roster below, one number, 35, came available again when the Mets claimed outfielder Jason Pridie from Minnesota with a waiver claim and designated pitcher Jack Egbert for assignment. Egbert joined the Mets roster late last season when they claimed him off waivers from the White Sox, fulfilling the destiny of all baseball players on the downside of their careers from the tri-state area.

Anyway, Pridie, a potential challenger for innings in center field, is in and not yet assigned a number.

The Mets were hardly done, it turned out, signing former Met Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal and a chance to pressure incumbent Daniel Murphy at first base. There's been some speculation that Jacobs would take his old No. 27 and leave Nelson Figueroa to search for a new uni, but I doubt that comes to pass. Jacobs hasn't really earned any equity in 27 and I think he's a longshot to be anything more than a Buffalo Soldier this year, as attractive as ability to punish mistakes by righthanded pitchers is. He could really help his cause by taking up catching again, though. My guess is he takes Egbert's 35.

Also new to the NRIs is Tokyo Giants lefty Hisanori Takahashi (no relation to Ken as far as I know). This Takahashi could land in the vacant No. 21, that was his jersey back East. Ex-Rays catcher Shawn Riggans, like Jacobs a shaky defensive player with power, accepted an invite and looks to me destined for 73 or 76.

Meet Bob Miller and Bob Miller.

They weren't related but shared a name and a Polo Grounds locker room for the 1962 Mets, becoming one of the mildly amusing sidelights in that sadly comic debut season.

 

That's Robert Lane Miller on the left. He came to the Mets in the expansion draft from St. Louis, where he was a 1957 Bonus Baby and though unproven at the major league level, was just 23 with a promising right arm. Observers of the '62 squad would say Bob L. Miller (No. 24 in your scorecards) had some of the best "stuff" on staff, but they also felt he hadn't handled adversity well despite getting his share of it with a 1-12 record. He was traded after the season to the Dodgers and quietly began building a solid resume as a relief pitcher. Miller wound up pitching for 17 seasons for 11 different teams -- including the Mets again in 1973 and '74, when he suited up in No. 30. In retirement Miller became the first pitching coach in the history of the Toronto Blue Jays, and was a scout for the Giants when he was killed in an auto accident in 1993.

His roundfaced teammate to the right was Robert Gerald Miller, also a former Bonus Baby (Detroit, 1953) but a lefthanded minor-league journeyman when acquired by the '62 Mets in midseason.Bob G. pitched exclusively in relief for the '62 Mets, including five times in relief of Bob L. Miller, racking up a 2-2 record but a 7.08 earned-run average that year, wearing No. 36. He was released shortly after the season and never pitched in the majors again, but confessed to reporters he was often mistaken for his more accomplished teammate.

BIG thanks to longtime MBTN supporter Ed A. for providing the cards (he sent along even more cool stuff we'll get to). And stay tuned for ruminations on the Bobby Joneses, Pedro Martinezes and Mike Marshalls.

We recently got an inquiry from a reader who asked about the circumstances around Met coaches Bobby Valentine and Bill Robinson switching uniform numbers before the 1985 season.

You might recall that in 1984, Robinson, then in his first season as the Mets hitting and first-base coach, was wearing No. 26 while Valentine was issued No. 22 until the Mets traded for Ray Knight late in the season. Valentine at that point switched to 28 to allow Knight to wear his customary 22.

By the beginning of 1985, Valentine gave up 28 for No. 2 and Robinson moved into 28, a jersey he'd wear for the next five years. No. 26 wasn't issued agin until Terry Leach arrived in July.

A little bit of research explains Robinson's preference for 28: He'd worn that number as a player for the best years of his career with the Pirates. It was available with the Mets in '84 but not until Scott Holman was released at the end of spring training. Holman's subsequent re-signing as a minor leaguer may have kept the number in near-term mothballs.

Anyone with memories of this situation- - or even why Valentine seemed to prefer No. 2 -- is welcome to chime in. Thanks as always for the questions!

 

The Mets on Thursday signed chubby veteran defensive specialist Henry Blanco to further bolster a catching corps that earlier in the week landed Chris Coste and apparently isn't done shopping yet.

The Mets will become Blanco's 8th team in 12 years. His numerical history is just as busy, having worn 54 (Dodgers), 35 (Rockies), 12 (Twins), 20 (Braves), 21 (Twins), 9 and 24 (Cubs) and most recently, 28 with the Padres.Given that Blanco looks to inherit Omir Santos' old role as primary reserve, he could wind up in No. 9, but I think he takes what he gets. Surely he's a better bet for the 23 jersey Brian Schneider just gave away. Or they could salute themslves for being Blanco's newest employer and dust off the old No. 8 that's been in storage for years while they tentatively wrestle with the idea of honoring Gary Carter. But I wouldn't count on that.

Who Blanco caddies for remains a mystery. The Mets are said to admire Bengie Molina though I cannot understand why. As said before perhaps they look into a trade. Ryan Doumit of Pittsburgh? Dionner Navarro of the Rays? Who knows.

Thanks to Jack Looney's indespenable NOW BATTING NUMBER for the Blanco history.

Ouch. The Mets officially got their off-season work underway this week by re-signing veteran Alex Cora and giving free agent catcher Chris Coste a split contract and a shot at the 2010 Mets. In the meantime they saw their own catcher, Brian Schneider, sign with the Phillies, accepting the backup job he probably should have had here all this time.

Cora, it is to be assumed, will step right back into the same No. 3 jersey he wore last season, when unexpected and especially slow-healing injuries to starting shortstop Jose Reyes thrust Cora into a full-time role he was never physically up to. Playing with one and then two sprained thumbs was admirable and gritty, but it didn't do much to help the Mets win, which raises the question why the Mets would expect a different outcome should Reyes get hurt again. Is he even healed yet? Who knows.

Looks doubtful from here that Coste comes out of his Mets experience with fodder for another inspiring true-life bestseller, but with a decent right-handed bat and some experience playing first base, it's not out of the realm of possiblity he helps some in 2010. At worst he could be the 2010 Robinson Cancel; much may depend on who winds up with the starting assignment behind the dish: Henry Blanco? Bengie Molina? I'd prefer a trade.

Coste wore 27 with the Phillies (and 41 more recently in Houston) but with Schneider shedding 23, he might slide in there. I've always felt Schneider never got enough credit for playing as poorly as he did for the Mets -- his defense was less than advertised and his bat was nonexistent but for stretches of both his years here -- but news accompanying his signing with the Phillies that he grew up a Phillies fan I'm sure will bring the boo-birds out upon his next visit to CitiField.

The Mets today said that bitching about changes to the 2010 uniforms will begin in December, later than originally scheduled, but timed to coincide with the period during which fans will bitch about the players acquired to wear them, so it will all work out.

 

With that in mind, the following chart may help you navigate the upcoming shopping season, with a selection of free agents and potential tredees mentioned in recent rumors and speculation, their most recent uni number, and our analysis of the chances they maintain it with the Mets.

Apologies for the ugly chart. They don't pay me enough here to fix it.

 

Rumored Guy     Current Team    Uni No.     Available?     Notes

 

Joel Pineiro        St. Louis   35    Sorta     Technically belongs to Lance Broadway

Brandon Phillips Cincinnati   4     Yes       Wilson Valdez not on the 40

Aaron Harang     Cincinnati   39   No         Bobby Parnell could switch

Matt Holliday     St. Louis     5/15 Neither  Wright and Beltran won’t switch

Jason Bay         Boston       44   Sort of    Tim Redding cannot make demands

John Lackey     Anaheim     41    Nope     Don’t ask

Ryan Doumit     Pittsburgh   41   No         See Above

Randy Wolf       Los Angeles 21 Yes         Delgado won’t return

Jason Marquis  Colorado 21 Yes         See above

Roy Halladay     Toronto     32   Yes         Unissued in 2009

Benji Molina     San Francisco 1 No         For now; Castillo is rumored to go