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Ron Roenicke's nightmare, indeed: No Bay.

Pagan-CF Harris-2B Wright-3B Duda-1B Baxter-RF Pridie-LF Thole-C Tejada-SS Pelfrey-RHP

Lot of offense, not quite enough hitless pitching edition. 118: 1987 -- Mets converge on home plate harmonically and often 119: 1988 -- Mets pound Giants for nine runs, agree to play eight more innings 120: 1999 -- Octavio Dotel comes kind of close to history, Edgardo Alfonzo all over victory Also... 118: 1969 -- Juan Marichal pitches into the 14th. Did he win? No. 119: 2009 -- And the hits just keep on coming -- for one inning anyway 120: 1964 -- Dennis Ribant bursts onto the scene, Larry Doyle presumably wishes him well

Viva Los Metsies while the TransMonks tie the knot. Ron Roenicke's worst nightmare TK, though I think it's playing on the road.

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through 8/17/2011 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. JOSE REYES 1,263 3. DAVID WRIGHT 1,214

Gee 3.5 Wright 3.0 Pagan 2.0 Harris 1.0 Acosta 0.5

Listened intermittently to Bud Black's nightmarish late afternoon as night fell on Central Islip. Great night for the Ducks, too, in Mrs. F's and my maiden voyage to Whatever It's Called Now Park. Obviously we need to sign Mike Loree and have him here by September 1 if not sooner. We'll send the Ducks some warm body in exchange. Ryota Igarashi will love Suffolk County.

6:35 PM EDT start. Bud Black's daymare: Angel Pagan � CF Willie Harris � 2B David Wright � 3B Lucas Duda � 1B Jason Bay � LF Jason Pridie � RF Josh Thole � C Ruben Tejada � SS Dillon Gee � RHP

Mets are en route to a third consecutive losing season. Some traditions don't deserve continuity. Stars & Stripes Mets caps thus far, one fan's opinion: Smoky blue caps, 2008: ugly. Red caps, 2009: abomination. White caps, blue bill, 2010: liked them enough to buy one. Trucker caps, 2011: they obviously ran out of ideas.

If the Mets are going to wear a cap that isn't one of their three usual caps on September 11, they established the standard in the days after 9/11/01, for all the reasons CF stated. If I'd do anything to enhance the symbolism, I'd add a small orange Mets NY to one side or the back to illustrate solidarity -- it would explicitly state the Mets stand with the FDNY, the NYPD, the OEM, the PAPD and the other agencies the way their personnel stood with their fellow citizens in their city's darkest hour: we were all in this together and we're still all in this together. I recall Joe Torre being asked during the 2001 postseason why they weren't doing what the Mets had done during games and the MFY excuse was the MFY insignia meant so much to so many. Ack. The Mets' NY means plenty to me, but it meant plenty more that they saw themselves as a part of something bigger when circumstances away from the ballpark demanded it. The Stars & Stripes caps are a fine gesture from MLB on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, if not always executed beautifully. They've done four iterations thus far and, in Met terms, I've found three of them incredibly unattractive. I bought the one I didn't think was too bad -- the 2010 white dome/blue bill model, to support Welcome Home Veterans. I like that MLB draws attention to this cause, though I wish they'd figure out a way to do it that didn't do a number on team identities (the Mets in red caps was an abomination). I take making each player look like he plays for the same team as a subtle message that we can't be trusted to love our country unless we all conform to one view. I see Ceetar's point in the abstract -- slopes can be slippery and, to put it mildly, I've never felt comfortable being told to stand and remove whatever cap I'm wearing for "God Bless America" (I'm all for love of country; I can do without the religious pep rally aspect) -- but in New York, a decade out, for one home game in 81 I don't think it's an abstract situation.

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through 8/16/2011 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. JOSE REYES 1,263 3. DAVID WRIGHT 1,213

Tejada 2.0 Niese 1.0 Paulino 0.5

A bit of a setback. Nearly two weeks after an MRI revealed Gary Carter�s malignant brain tumors had shrunk by 80 percent as the result of an initial round of chemotherapy, Carter had a mild step backward. His daughter, Kimmy Bloemers, indicated a doctor�s visit Monday revealed Carter�s white blood cell count is low, �which means his body will not be ready for the stronger chemo that was supposed to start tomorrow.� Writes Bloemers: �Since hearing the good news about dad's tumors, it actually has been a hard week on dad and the family. Dad has been more tired than any other week. Because of his lack of energy, the doctors have decided to raise the steroids (dekatron) again to 2mg in the morning and 2mg in the evening.� Carter requires a pair of two-hour naps each day. �This is not at all a typical day for dad,� Bloemers wrote. �Before his diagnosis in May, dad never sat still. He was traveling, coaching, golfing and doing anything else that could keep him from slowing down. He has always been very active and very goal-driven. I can't imagine how hard it has been for dad to drastically change his daily life and take these strong medicines that essentially control his body. � Carter has another doctor appointment next Monday. �We ask that you pray for dad's white blood cell count to be higher so he can begin taking his new chemo medication,� his daughter wrote. �You see, chemo is what brings the blood count down, but it is chemo that dad needs to continue to fight these tumors. This week will be the second week without chemo, but dad is so strong that he can go another week without it. He will continue to have his Avastin treatment every two weeks and of course, the radiation is still working in his body.�

Three wins, no waiting up 'til two in the morning. 115: 2000 -- Benny Agbayani's misplaced generosity 116: 1979 -- Lee Mazzilli livens up the dog days in Atlanta 117: 1969 -- By the time we got home from Woodstock, the Mets swept the Pads Oh, and three more: 115: 2010 -- That eloquent knuckleballer flirts with a no-hitter 116: 1993 -- Bobby Jones starts well, Tim Bogar finishes too early 117: 1985 -- Doc reacquaints himself with the K Korner

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through 8/15/2011 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. JOSE REYES 1,263 3. DAVID WRIGHT 1,212

Thole 3.0 Duda 2.5 Isringhausen 1.5 Pridie 1.0 Dickey 0.5 Pagan 0.5 Acosta 0.5 Tejada 0.5

Josh Thole discovers what Julio Franco once did -- not the Fountain of Youth, but that cheapie jury box. Nice placement.

HBO did record footage of Thome watching its Jeter special.

Duda to Petco: Yer not so big.

Nobody's pretending they didn't happen. Just having some fun with numbers.

Information on Hofstra's Dana Brand Memorial Scholarship Fund here.

June 4, 1968: The day of the California primary after which Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated. And the furthest back one can go to and still give the Mets a composite .500 record. They entered that fateful Tuesday with a 20-27 record and beat the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 5-0 (a whole other, innocuous meaning to "Now it's on to Chicago and let's win there."). From April 13, 1962 through June 2, 1968: 341-675-4 From June 4, 1968 through August 14, 2011: 3,451-3,451-4 That's 7,927 regular-season games played to date. Throw in the 73 postseason games and, per Grimm, the Mets have just played their 8,000th game that counted. The 31st game of 2012 will be (barring the reinstitution of ties that are played overly in their entirety) the 8,000th regular-season game in franchise history. BTW, the Mets entered 2011 13 games above .500 (regular season) from the beginning of the 1969 season. They are now nine over. Their base mission is to finish no worse than 75-87 this year so as to be a winning ballclub over the past 43 seasons, 2011 included.

METS ALL-TIME HIT LEADERS Through 8/14/2011 1. Ed Kranepool 1,418 2. JOSE REYES 1,263 3. DAVID WRIGHT 1,211

Pagan 2.5 Duda 2.0 Turner 1.5 Byrdak 0.5 Beato 0.5

Peter Richmond, who literally wrote the book on Camden Yards, doesn't care for Citi Field, MFYS III or whatever the New Meadowlands Stadium will eventually be called. It's not just that Citi Field looks backward; it looks backward through a fractured lens, as if it had been conjured by a freshman at RISD armed with some stadium-design software, a book of old-ballpark postcards, and 48 hours' worth of meth. The brick fa�ade pays homage to Jackie Robinson's Ebbets. The porch in right pays homage to long-gone Tiger Stadium. The seat color pays homage to the Polo Grounds and Willie's Giants, for christ's sake. Remember Mickey Rivers' assessment of Reggie Jackson? "No wonder you're all mixed up. You got a white man's first name, a Spanish man's second name and a black man's third name." That's Citi Field.