-As the Mets are about to complete a sweep of the Cards and take their seventh in a row to go 30 over .500, newly acquired right fielder Shawn Green, who has an RBI in his Shea debut was very excited about coming to New York to play in front of a large Jewish contingent. Here were some of his thoughts at a conference call yesterday:

“I’m excited about it. It’s something that has always intrigued me. Playing in L.A., there’s obviously a large population there, but New York is head and shoulders the largest in the country…It’s definitely something that will be an interesting experience for me, a fun experience. I’m looking forward to being a part of the Jewish community there...I just talked about it a lot with my wife, and we both felt like there’s a lot of positives coming there. We both enjoyed coming to New York the times I’ve played there for a few days.“

For more on AP writer Ronald Blum’s article, it can be read in its entirety here:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-mets-green&prov=ap&type=lgns

On the topic, someone should send Green a giant matzah to welcome him. Well, the Mets magic number to clinch after their 6-2 victory is down to 22. Looks like Green joined just in time for the party.

-In other Amazin’s news, they cut loose veteran outfielder Ricky Ledee to make room for Green. They also moved backup catcher Ramon Castro to the 60-day DL and signed Kelly Stinnett. Castro was set to make a rehab start with the Cyclones a few nights prior but tore his medial meniscus of his left knee before it. Stinnett earlier this season was the Yankee backup catcher but was released. This will be his second tour of duty with the Mets. Hopefully for them, he’s a slight upgrade on Mike DiFelice.

-In even more Mets news, rookie starter Brian Bannister will be making his first start since April. He’ll be returning from a severe right hamstring injury. I always wonder how these guys wind up with such issues. It’s usually leg related. Whether it’s a hamstring or a groin or achilles, it always seems to be a troublesome area. You would think such athletes wouldn’t have as many problems with this. Are they stretching out properly? Are they strengthening and conditioning the way they should be? You just never know. In any event, Bannister will return and the Mets will also skip El Duque’s turn in the rotation to give him a rest. He’s been throwing a lot of pitches and has become a workhorse in their staff. It makes sense to give the savvy veteran a blow. Especially with bigger goals ahead. In the mean time, Olivier Perez will be recalled to start Saturday. If he rediscovers his stuff, they’ll soon be talking about the Xavier Nady deal the way they do the Kris Benson one.

-We haven’t done this in a while but here’s our photo of the day. It comes courtesy of SI.com, who featured a shot of 23 year-old LPGA star Natalie Gulbis:

So how many caddies will be lining up pronto to help Natalie with her driver?!?!?!?!?! Just asking.