By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com

Infielder Craig Brazell was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday night. (Richard Drew/AP)

His case of the jitters subsided, though, by the time New York had dropped a 6-4 decision to Colorado. Brazell got into the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and struck out swinging. But he negotiated a walk in the ninth and played two innings in the field, all of which provided enough salve for his nerves.

"I was definitely nervous in my first at-bat," Brazell said. "But you're supposed to be. But I got in there and that settled me down for my next at-bat. And getting on the field helped. It got me loose. Getting in the game was fun."

Brazell was called up from Triple-A Norfolk Saturday night when the Mets decided to put Kaz Matsui on the disabled list. But he didn't play Sunday against Arizona. He simply watched Randy Johnson dominate from the bench.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," Brazell said before the game. "It's like I'm still daydreaming. It caught me off guard. I had to catch my breath for a second because I wasn't expecting it. I just put it [a callup] out of my head when I was down there. I was really just concerned with the job I had to do there.

"It was in my mind and I did think about the day that it would happen. But I tried to put it out of there until that day came. I can just say I'm happy to be here. If I don't play a day, at least I'm here. That's all that matters."

A new addition: John Franco and his wife, Rose, celebrated the birth of their third child Monday night in New York. Ella Franco was born at 7 p.m. and checked in at seven pounds, 10 ounces. Franco will rejoin the team on Friday in San Francisco.

Whether he will see more time on the mound remains to be seen. Earlier this week, Franco expressed concern over his lack of work in a published report. The story prompted Howe to have pitching coach Rick Peterson speak to Franco. The Mets captain has appeared in one game since July 26.

"He has struggled some since the break and because of our situation, we've had a some one-sided games and I didn't want to pitch him in those," Howe said. "I didn't want to show a lack of respect for what he's done. I haven't pitched him enough to be sharp, though."

Minor musings: The Binghamton Mets dropped their fifth consecutive game Monday night to fall into a first-place tie with New Hampshire of the Eastern League's Northern Division. The last time the B-Mets were out of first place was May 15. The club had a closed-door meeting following Monday's loss to air out its concerns.

Arizona Fall League: The Arizona Fall League teams filled out part of their rosters and four position players in the Mets system were tabbed to play for the Peoria Saguaros. Infielders Brett Harper and Jeff Keppinger along with outfielder Wayne Lydon and catcher Joe Hietpas will play for Peoria. Norfolk pitching coach Randy Niemann will serve as the pitching coach with four pitchers to be named at a later date coming from the New York system.

This and that: Since Matsui and Mike Piazza have been sidelined, the Mets have committed just two errors: throwing miscues by Jose Reyes and Victor Zambrano. New York has gone errorless in its last 33 innings heading into Tuesday. ... Tom Glavine threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Sunday at Shea Stadium and is expected to join the Mets Thursday night in San Francisco. He had two temporary top front teeth put in on Tuesday in New York. He also had his stitches removed from his lower lip before returning to Atlanta, where he will work out and throw another side session. He is scheduled to start Saturday against the Giants. ... Jose Parra, on the disabled list with a broken right pinky, had surgery on the digit to have it set. ... Scott Kazmir took the loss Tuesday night for the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League but allowed only one earned runs in seven innings against Mobile. He struck out seven, allowed only two hits and has a 1.44 ERA since being dealt. ... Cliff Floyd entered the game having gone 4-for-6 in his career against Jason Jennings but struck out four times in four at-bats. ... The Mets traded catcher Tom Wilson, who was playing for Norfolk, to the Dodgers on Monday for catcher Tony Socarras of Double-A Jacksonville where he was hitting .205 in 49 games.

Kevin Czerwinski is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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