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10:10 EDT, 7:10 PDT, Jon Niese attempts to make it four Mets wins in a row versus Hiroki Kuroda, of whom any mention inevitably evokes for me ex-boxer Rookie Carroca from My Favorite Year. One hopes Niese does not evoke images of the first inning of his last start versus the MFYs, and that the Met offense effects a TKO of Mr. Carroca...uh, Kuroda.

Gwreck wrote: Stokes was with the Mets for 8 months and was reliever of the month 5 times. Wow. A smart agent would have used that at contract time.

The leading hitters in the Met organization through July 5, per Adam Rubin's Farm Report: Average: Cam Maron, Kingsport, .375; Greg Pron, Kingsport, .372; Juan Carlos Gamboa, GCL Mets, .371; Juan Lagares, St. Lucie, .348; Nick Evans, Buffalo, .323; Julio Concepcion, Kingsport, .322; Pedro Zapata, St. Lucie, .320; Josh Satin, Binghamton, .319; Chad Zurcher, Kingsport, .316; Ismael Tijerina, Brooklyn, .306. Also, per Adam Rubin's Farm Report, plant soy.

Wore no Dodger gear last night. Then again, he's got a movie to promote to all parts of the nation.

Edgy DC wrote: Stay tuned for Real Sex afterwards, followed by a marathon of Taxicab Confessions. Jeter makes all the shows on HBO around his better.

Fantastic pack of cards. Thanks BG. I'm glad to see Parnell using his apparent slight (though you can never tell with relievers' ERA) to motivate him to a great July. Dale Thayer will tell anyone who listens, "It's true -- I beat David Wright in Schaefer voting!"

In a conference call with bloggers last week, Paul DePodesta responded to an apparently "great question" about selling and teaching versatility to young players by citing Mr. Valdespin. Paul DePodesta: That's a great question, and it's something we talk an awful lot about in player development. The reality is a lot of players, maybe most players, when they first get to the big leagues are in a role that they are unaccustomed to, or at least largely unaccustomed to. They get there as a bench player, they get there as a utility player, maybe they get there as a long guy, even though they've been a starting pitcher their entire career. So one of the things we need to try to do in our player development system is to prepare guys for that. It makes them more attractive and more versatile for us, because they have a better chance of actually helping us at the major league level but also putting them in a position so that it's not the first time they've ever had to deal with playing different spots or experiencing different things. Take Jordany Valdespin for instance: he played primarily second base and this year he's playing almost exclusively shortstop. I think that's largely because most middle infielders, when they first get to the big leagues, they have to be able to play some shortstop. They have to be able to be a utility guy first, and it certainly gives them a lot of value to a club and gives them a much better chance of breaking with a team if they can go and play shortstop for 15 days at a time. Fortunately, Valdespin's played extremely well, and if he continues to do so may prove himself able to be an everyday shortstop. Those are things we try to explore. In Triple-A, we try to give guys days where, even if they're everyday players, we try to give them days where they're just going to pinch hit, so they understand what that's like and so they can create some sort of routine around those types of days. Because in many cases when they first get to the big leagues, that's the role they're going to be asked to play, to come off the bench in the seventh inning and face a reliever for one at-bat, usually in a spot with a guy on base or something like that. So, we're doing our best to try and expose those guys to those situations, in hopes that they'll be better prepared for them when they actually get there. Whole transcript, "great questions" and otherwise, available via Amazin' Avenue.

DH'ing against Elizabethton Tuesday night, Cam went deep for the first time this season -- a three-run jack -- and raised his batting average to .375 with a 2-for-3 performance.

BEST SINGLE-SEASON BATTING AVERAGE IN METS HISTORY Through 86 NYM Games 2011: REYES -- .354 1969: Jones -- .349 1998: Olerud -- .330 Ten-point leap for Oly, going 4-for-4 in the 86th game of the 1998 season, the same night Todd Hundley returned from the DL and mastered left field.

METS HITS IN A SEASON Through 86 NYM Games REYES 2011: 124 Johnson 1996: 119

Bay 3.0 Beltran 2.5 Pelfrey 2.5 Tejada 1.0 Beato 1.0

Box

Edgy DC wrote: I'm working with audio only. Any Hollywood MLBS's in attendance this eve? Tom Hanks -- Major League Big Shot, there the whole game. No outward affiliation.

Matthew Artus on Lance Johnson's 1996 night in the sun (so to speak). Johnson's performance gave baseball fans an opportunity to tip their cap at a Mets player rather than point their finger in derision.

Good ESPN piece here on longtime, relatively distinguished players who never made an All-Star team, including Mets Todd Zeile and Mike Torrez.

MLB.com hypes the paring. They'll make cameos in the SNY booth as well.

Mike Cameron a Florida Marlin.

Not to slug: Gwynn LF Furcal SS Miles 2B Kemp CF Loney 1B Uribe 3B Oeltjen RF Ellis C Lilly P

The buzz we�ve all seen during the buildup to this milestone is a clear indication of how Thome transcends the game on the field.

Mike Pelfrey takes on Ted Lilly, the Dodgers lineup and his own worst tendencies, not necessarily in that order.

We reach the halfway point of the best (albeit jury-rigged) year ever with games in which the Mets stand up to a couple of bullies. 079 -- 2004: Shane Spencer prevails, for us, in a 10-9 Subway Series thriller 080 -- 1969: Don Young can't handle a couple of fly balls, Mets handle Cubs 081 -- 1969: Tom Seaver can't be any more perfect, at least until Jimmy Qualls bats Also very great: 079 -- 2002: Mets score all afternoon at Yankee Stadium 080 -- 2004: Ty Wigginton wields the biggest broom in town 081 -- 1984: Five-game sweep of Reds sends cap-tossing Mets into ASB in first

BEST SINGLE-SEASON BATTING AVERAGE IN METS HISTORY Through 85 NYM Games 2011: REYES -- .354 1969: Jones -- .350 1998: Olerud -- .320

METS HITS IN A SEASON Through 85 NYM Games REYES 2011: 124 Johnson 1996: 116

Jamey Carroll is still a pain in the ass. [youtube:2i49zesy]lMP8fb60VPg[/youtube:2i49zesy]

Capuano 3.0 Parnell 1.0 Rodriguez 1.0 Bay 1.0 Pagan 1.0 Murphy 1.0 Beltran 1.0 Duda 0.5 Tejada 0.5