The AP reports that Steve Trachsel has left the team due to an undisclosed family issue. He has been scratched from his scheduled start tomorrow and his return is not immediately clear…Oliver Perez is expected to make the start tomorrow…
…stay tuned for more…all the best, steve…

ESPN.com reports that Pedro Martinez will have rotator cuff surgery next week
and be out eight months.  The injury is expected to sideline him
until at least June of next season…

The Game…

The Mets (95-65) continue their final series of the regular season with the second game of a three-game set with the Nationals (71-89) tonight, starting at 7:05 pm EDT…

The Pitchers…

LHP Tom Glavine (14-7, 3.94 ERA) gets his final tuneup before the post-season…He lost his last start vs. the Nationals, allowing four runs, three of [...]

In Newsday, David Lennon notes that a sign that read, “KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK!,” signed by, “YOUR TEAMMATES,” hung above Lastings Milledge’s locker following last night’s win…
Lennon goes on to write…
“Milledge, as usual, ate dinner alone seated at his locker, facing inward, as the rest of the Mets crowded the clubhouse cafeteria.  Someone had hidden [...]

In his most recent Under the Knife column at Baseball Prospectus, Will Carroll writes that a Willis Reed style return for Pedro Martinez during the playoffs is nothing more than a wish for Mets fans…
Among other notes, Carroll writes of Martinez’s injury…
“Martinez injured the leg in a classic compensation manner.  Not only was Martinez dropping his [...]

In the New York Times, Michael S. Schmidt writes of how players, such as Heath Bell, take the subway to the stadium…
…speaking of bell, i’ve heard from a few people that he and other players recieved letters from mets management telling them they will be billed for all damages done to the team’s clubhouse during their [...]

Though he did not play, Cliff Floyd rejoined the Mets last night after having traveled to New York for a cortisone shot to his ankle…
…the buzz from dc is that floyd will play today against the nationals…

During last night’s win, John Maine allowed just two earned runs over six innings while striking out three…
In his last six starts, dating back to late-August, Maine is 3–2 with a 3.63 ERA…
Meanwhile, during the same time frame, Steve Trachsel is 2–3 with a 4.81 ERA…
…by the way, though willie has yet to name a [...]

At NY Sports Day, Scoop Malinowski conducts a Q & A with Pedro Martinez about a variety of subjects, including his first job, his favorite music and the qualities he most admires in people…
By the way, according to Martinez, his nickname is Cobra…

Carlos Beltran, on his health, as quoted by Steve Popper of the Bergen Record…
“I feel like 80 percent.  Every day I just feel a little bit better, but not quite where I want to feel.  I want to be able to run 100 percent without feeling anything.  Some days I feel tightness, but no pain. [...]