MLB Trade Rumors reports that Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek was in the original lineup, but was scratched at the last minute.
…updated by Matthew Cerrone…
According to the Yankees broadcast, Grudzielanek did not start tonight because he experienced soreness in his knee during batting practice.

The Mets (57-43) beat the Pirates (41-58) tonight at Shea by the score of 6 to 3.
For a recap, and boxscore, read Yahoo! Sports.
…299 and counting…the shea crowd wanted the win for tommy…
…glavine, who was efficient in the first few innings, gets the win…he went six innings, gave up eight hits and three runs on [...]

The Game:
The
first-place Mets (56-43) continue their three-game set with the Pirates
(41-57) tonight at Shea Stadium, starting at 7:10 pm EDT.
The Lineup:
Jose
Reyes leads off, followed in order by Lastings Milledge, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Marlon Anderson, Damion Easley,
Shawn Green and starting pitcher Tom Glavine.The Pitchers:
LHP
Tom Glavine (8-6, 4.51 ERA) starts for the Mets. [...]

CF Carlos Beltran is out of the lineup tonight due to a strained left abdominal muscle.He is listed as day-to-day.
Lastings Milledge will start in center instead.
…yikes…stay away from Moises Alou everyone…

…just a quick note about ESPN’s Town Meeting: Beyond 756, about Barry Bonds:..the host, Bob Ley, just accidently slipped up, saying “guilty until proven innocent,” when talking about sports scandals in the media…the slip-up elicited a number of chuckles from the panel and those in the audience at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts……i thought [...]

The Associated Press
reports the Brewers have acquired RHP Scott Linebrink from the Padres
for three minor league pitchers, Will Inman, Steve Garrison and Joe
Thatcher.
Linebrink is 3-3 with a 3.80 ERA in 44 appearances this season.
…great deal for the brew crew…with Francisco Cordero, Derrick Turnbow, Carlos Villanueva and Matt Wise, the brewers have put together a quality [...]

Today, at 7 pm, Anthony and I will be talking with Tim Dierkes from MLB Trade Rumors for roughly 20 minutes during The MetsBlog Podcast.
Anthony, Tim and I will break down a variety of trade rumors and information as we move closer and closer to the MLB trade deadline.
To listen, click the icon below.

To subscribe to The MetsBlog Podcast, and [...]

On ESPN, Jerry Crasnick lists 9 deals that had a significant impact on the playoffs that year.
The July 28, 2000 deal, where the Mets sent Melvin Mora, Mike Kinkade, Lesli Brea and Pat Gorman to Baltimore for Mike Bordick is among those listed.

…yes, i overuse the term buzz…i am well aware…
…i have no choice, though…
…so, let me explain what i mean when i say it…
…forgive me if you have heard this before, but, i have no interest in breaking stories on this site, if for no other reason than i have absolutely nothing to gain, and everything [...]

To leave a voice mail message with a comment or question to air on Thursday’s MetsBlog Podcast, go here, or dial (641) 715-0101 and enter *4490751.
…by the way, the voice mail had been messed up for a week or so, but is now working again, so, please, feel free to call in with a question or [...]

At Hot Foot, Radie points to a petition that hopes to get Mr. Met’s entire family a bit more publicity.
Radie writes…
“Few people realize that he has a wife and three children. To keep them apart is a crime. Let them come out to Shea and excite the kiddies in attendance all the more so…I always [...]

Here’s John Maine’s home run from last night, recreated with MVP Baseball 2005…

…hat tip to Can’t Stop The Bleeding for the link…
…only thing missing is thrillage windmilling him home like a third base coach…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…the last video game system i owned was Super Nintendo in
1992…god bless super tecmo bowl…in other words, this [...]

…people like to ask me how i deal with the trade deadline, and i suspect it is not much different than from other bloggers, columnists, writers and the like…in a nutshell, my desk is sinking in small legal pads and post-it notes, covered in scribble, comments and questions, gathered from conversations being had on e-mail, instant messenger, [...]

Eric Simon of Amazin Avenue continues his countdown of the Top 50 Mets of All-Time today with Wally Backman ranking as number 37.
…eric pens a comprehensive piece on backman’s tenure as a met…for those of you too young to remember him on the field, you are bound to get a sense of why he is [...]

Today in New York City, David Wright portrayed a delivery man, while filming a commercial for Vitamin Water.
At Gothamist, Jen Chung provides pictures and details of the production.
By the way, despite hitting just .244 in April, with no home runs and six RBI, Wright is on pace to finish the season batting roughly .300 with [...]