Whatever. It took 80 pitches and seven relievers to record the final twelve outs of the game. It certainly wasn't pretty, but with the Mets having dropped three in a row and the Phillies and Brewers also winning tonight, the beggars can't be choosers at this point in the season.

Hat tip to Brandon Knight for picking up his first big league win. He had basically given up on baseball before this season, but gave it one last crack and now has an Olympic bronze medal and a tick in the "W" category at Baseball-Reference.com, which is more than most of us can say.

Laughable moment of the night: I'm not going to name names (a tiny bit of research will turn it up), but someone in the game thread actually went so far as to accuse Carlos Beltran of compiling stats (however that became a pejorative is beyond me) in a "blowout" when he hit a two-run homer when the Mets were up 4-1. Some prescient person suggested that 4-1 could hardly be considered a blowout given the state of the Mets' bullpen.

Johan Santana goes tomorrow, so the Mets could salvage this series yet.

Big winners: Jose Reyes, +16.6% WPA, Carlos Beltran, +14.1% WPA
Big losers: Aaron Heilman, -10.4% WPA, David Wright, -6.4% WPA
Teh aw3s0mest play: Murphy RBI triple in 3rd, +11.4% WPA
Teh sux0rest play: Casto RBI double in 2nd, -11.7% WPA
Total pitcher WPA: +7.8%
Total batter WPA: +42.2%
GWRBI: Nobody (Marlon Anderson drove in the eighth run on a GIDP)

Game Thread Roll Call

Nice job by LOUtheMETSfan; his effort in the game thread embiggens us all.

I mentioned it yesterday, but Brandon Knight is making his first big league start tonight against the Cardinals in place of Pedro Martinez, who is on the bereavement list after the death of his father. Knight was out of baseball last season before his wife convinced him to take a spot pitching in the Independent League. The Mets signed him to a minor league deal in May and he has been dominant in five starts (eleven appearances overall), striking out 49 and walking just ten in 39.1 innings, notching a 1.60 ERA. Now, Triple-A isn't quite Quadruple-A (read: Tampa Bay pre-2008), which isn't quite the major leagues, but it's a good story and we all love good stories, right?

Ryan Church has begun light conditioning, but could still be a week or two away from returning. Jerry Manuel says Church will need upwards of seven rehab starts once he's ready to go, though Church is taking "the under" on that one. With the trade market thin and pricey, a Church return would be a huge addition to the Mets' offense. Names like Raul Ibanez and Casey Blake are out there and they'd definitely be upgrades over Chavez and Tatis, but would like cost at least a B-level prospect and the Mets don't have too many of those lying around. Larry Brooks at The Post has more on this.

Mark Hale on Mike Pelfrey's awesomeness.

Newsday's Jim Baumbach caught up with Dwight Gooden after an autograph show yesterday and god an update on where Doc is at right now. Something you may not have known: Gooden has six kids between the ages of 3 and 21.

Steve Popper at The Record takes a look at the Mets' Double-A team in Binghamton, where the Mets have started to stockpile a decent set of players. An interesting tidbit in the middle of the article: "GM Omar Minaya said Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro told him that he had the pieces to get C.C. Sabathia."

In case you missed it last night, the Yankees acquired Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from the Pirates for four "prospects": Jose Tabata, George Kontos, Russ Ross Ohlendorf and Phil Coke. More coverage at Bucs Dugout and Pinstripe Alley.

As with any link dump, I encourage you to add your own links in the comments.

With Pedro Martinez unavailable while he attends his father's funeral in DR, the Mets may call up Brandon Knight from New Orleans to start against the Cardinals on Saturday. Knight made eleven appearances with the Yankees in 2001 and 2002, posting an aggregate ERA of 10.71. In five starts and eleven total appearances with the Zephyrs this year he has a 1.60 ERA and a 49-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 39.1 innings.

Also in the afore-linked article, Angel Pagan will have the torn labrum in his left shoulder repaired surgically any day now. Don't expect to see him anytime before spring training 2009.

Interesting little profile of Aaron Heilman in today's New York Sun. The piece is long on observation and short on actual quotes from Heilman, but it's a neat window into the most "cerebral" Met.

Recent draftee Brad Holt lit it up for Brooklyn yesterday, fanning 14 Vermont Lake Monsters in six innings, dropping his ERA to 1.57 in the process. The Mets grabbed Holt as a sandwich pick -- 33rd overall -- between this past draft's first and second rounds. Definitely keep an eye on him.

Turns out that Jimmy Rollins was benched yesterday for arriving late for the team's 10am reporting time. Rollins says he was stuck in traffic, but that Charlie Manuel is a stickler for the rules.

Apparently there was an imaginary clash between Carlos Delgado and Jamie Moyer yesterday after the latter lost control of his bat and the former tossed it back to him. Kevin Burkhardt was the only one who noticed.

And we'll wrap things up with a write-up of Ollie Perez in Newsday. I wrote more about him earlier today.