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Chris Schwinden lasted only four innings and served up two homers in a game for the second time on the six-game road trip. Meanwhile, Manny Acosta, who combined with Schwinden to surrender an 11-run inning in Denver, also again struggled. As a result, the Mets lost to the Astros, 8-1, Wednesday and were swept in the three-game series. The Mets finished their trip 2-4. It marked the Mets' final visit to Houston before the Astros relocate to the American League West.

"I think that series in Colorado -- and it's not an excuse, because there's a lot of teams that have to play in Colorado -- but I think that series took a lot out of us," said David Wright, who went 4-for-10 with two walks in Houston. "And then, coming here, I don't want to say we weren't prepared, because we were prepared. We just didn't match the energy and the execution that we had in Colorado. You know, we knew we were going to have some ups and downs, especially with a lot of the young guys that we have on this roster playing right now. But this is what we need to fix if we want to become the team that we think we are capable of becoming. There are way too many inconsistencies right now. It seems like we play great for a series and then poorly for a series. And we're going to have to straighten that out."

Thursday's news report:

• Terry Collins offered no assurance Schwinden would remain in the rotation after a second straight underwhelming appearance in the spot vacated by Mike Pelfrey, who underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery Tuesday. Mets officials have an off-day Thursday to sort through the options. In Schwinden's two starts in Pelfrey's absence, the Rockies and Astros combined to score 26 runs in those games. Wright did say that Schwinden was sick.

Jeremy Hefner, who tossed three scoreless innings during the doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants on the last homestand, would be one logical alternative. Miguel Batista is in the bullpen as a long reliever/spot starter and could always take over the role, especially since the Mets are going to soon need to open a bullpen spot for D.J. Carrasco anyway. Heck, Carrasco did log three innings for Class A St. Lucie in one rehab appearance last week.

Read Wednesday game recaps in the Times, Journal, Newsday, Star-Ledger, Record, Post and Daily News.

• Chris Young may be ready in a month, but he is not scheduled to proceed to a minor league game for his next outing. Young threw a 75-pitch simulated game Monday. His fastball velocity was about 85 mph, according to one Mets official.

• Collins adamantly said last week that Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia are staying put at Triple-A for the majority of the season, not considerations to plug Pelfrey's rotation spot. And that's the proper call. Read my take here.

• Harvey's latest outing at Triple-A was cut short Wednesday because of a 23-minute rain delay. He tossed four innings, too short to qualify for the win in Buffalo's 5-2 victory against Syracuse. Harvey allowed two runs on three hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 68 pitches (36 strikes). Newly installed Mets rules prevent a minor league starter from returning to the mound after a rain delay if he already has logged two innings. Writes Mike Harrington in the Buffalo News about the hoopla surrounding Harvey:

Harvey said he's trying to keep an even keel in preparing for each outing but is aware there's a lot more external noise in Triple-A. "You really do everything you can to not pay attention to it," Harvey said. "It's there so I'm not going to completely try to avoid it. You can bring it in a little and use it as fire to succeed and do the best I can."

"Matt just needs to throw quality start after quality start," [Wally] Backman said. "If he goes out there and does that eight or nine times in a row, it's going to make people wonder and think. But I don't think [a callup] is going to happen right now. It's still a learning process."

Read Wednesday's full minor league recap here.

• Tim Byrdak and Astros slugger Carlos Lee jawed during Wednesday's game.

• Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Wade Miley topped Kirk Nieuwenhuis for NL Rookie of the Month. Miley faces the Mets on Friday at Citi Field.

• Lucas Duda was due to return for the series finale in Houston after a two-game absence because of the flu, but the right fielder was pulled from the starting lineup shortly before the first pitch. Duda was limited to a pair of pinch-hitting appearances in the series. He walked on Monday and struck out Tuesday. Read more in the Star-Ledger and Record.

• Before his ties to the Mets, Rusty Staub originally played in Houston. Actually, the Astros first were known as the Colt .45s when Staub arrived in the majors in 1963. Staub actually will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Friday's Astros home game, as Houston -- like the Mets -- celebrates 50 years of baseball existence.

Here's Staub's observation as the Astros move to the American League, severing the annual home-and-home series with the Mets: “In the early years the teams were always compared -- which city was going to be better in the long run,” Staub told Roger Rubin in the Daily News about the Astros and the Mets. “The Mets went for credibility with names, but Houston looked better with a group of young players like Joe Morgan, me, Sonny Jackson and Dave Giusti. We changed owners and all of us ended up getting traded. Then the Mets changed philosophies and went young with Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman, and it sent them to that incredible 1969 World Series.”

• Mark Winegardner in ESPN The Magazine tells the story of how Bobby Bonilla and the Mets came to strike that deal that now pays the former outfielder $1,193,248.20 per year for 25 years. He also discusses how Bonilla wondered about the security of future payments as Fred Wilpon and family went through the Bernard Madoff trials and tribulations. Writes Winegardner:

Last July, in her New York office, a financial planner by the exquisitely apt name of Jennifer Prosperino received her weekly call from a longtime client. He was a semiretired man in Florida who'd grown up evading gunfire in the South Bronx, where he'd lived in firetrap apartment buildings with junkies in the hallways. He slept with a baseball bat in his bed, dreaming of a better life. His first question for Prosperino was the one he always asked: "Am I going to be okay?" Days earlier, the client, employed part time by his former union, had received a check from the New York Mets for $1,193,248.20 -- the first of 25 annual, identical payments he is guaranteed from a club he last played for in 1999. That means Bobby Bonilla, 49, will make more money than 17 players on the Mets' Opening Day roster.

TRIVIA: Which player has the most homers in Citi Field's three seasons as a Diamondback?

Wednesday's answer: Art Howe's hitting coach with the Mets in 2003 was Denny Walling. Vern Ruhle served as the pitching coach.

David Wright went 3-for-5 with a homer in his return to the lineup with a fractured right pinkie, Jon Niese tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings and the Mets blanked the Phillies, 5-0, Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets already have clinched the series win. They had been 1-7-1 in their past nine series at Philly. Mike Pelfrey opposes Cole Hamels this afternoon, with the Mets aiming for their first sweep in Philly since June 13-15, 2006.

Today is Jackie Robinson Day across MLB.

Sunday's news reports:

• Terry Collins said that on Friday he believed Wright almost definitely would land on the disabled list this weekend. The Mets even flew in Josh Satin to be prepared for that seeming eventuality. Yet Wright returned to the lineup and blasted his 16th homer at Citizens Bank Park, the most by any visitor at the stadium since it opened in 2004. Read more in Newsday.

• Read game recaps in the Times, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Post, Daily News and Record.

• Steven Marcus in Newsday inquires about why the Mets have retired only one player's number -- 41, for Tom Seaver. Casey Stengel's 37 and Gil Hodges' 14 as well as the universally recognized Robinson's 42 also are retired. The Mets placed Gary Carter's No. 8 on the outfield wall for this season -- appearing as it does on the patch on the Mets' uniforms.

"I think the general point of view is we don't want to get to the point where it's somewhat gratuitous and you've got dozens and dozens of people whose numbers are retired,'' Mets executive VP Dave Howard told Marcus. "Historically, from a Mets perspective, this is a very high honor. Certainly from a player standpoint, it's only been Tom Seaver. He's in a class by himself.''

Added Keith Hernandez to Marcus: "Too many teams are retiring too many numbers. They lose their import. So I'm in the camp that it should be something that is special, it shouldn't be marginalized. Who wouldn't want to have their number retired? But it's not something that I think about.''

One obvious number to consider is Mike Piazza's No. 31. Newsday's David Lennon tweeted earlier this year that the Mets are expected to retire Piazza's number after he is inducted into Cooperstown.

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News discusses the ramifications of Wright's speedy return and Saturday's series-clinching win. Writes Harper:

Injuries are a delicate subject around the Mets, after all the problems they’ve had in recent years. In some cases they made matters worse by allowing the likes of Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and even Wright last season, with his broken back, to play hurt, so now they tend to proceed with extreme caution. That’s why it was a bit surprising, even for Collins, to hear him say on Wednesday that he had a “gut feeling” Wright would play with his broken finger here on Friday.

Even if it wasn’t the manager’s intent, that put a certain pressure on his star player. If Wright couldn’t play, he would look less than tough, at least in the eyes of many fans who took Collins’ gut feeling to heart. Perhaps that’s why Wright sounded a bit defensive when he couldn’t play on Friday, repeatedly saying he couldn’t “functionally” grip or swing a bat because of the swelling in his finger. But then it felt good enough on Saturday to try it, and in a way he made his manager look like a prophet with his big day that raised his batting average to .588.

• Columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post writes that Wright's leadership is clear:

David Wright sent a message to his teammates yesterday: Play hard, play through pain, or go home.

• Mike Kerwick in the Record says Citi Field spectators should not boo Jason Bay. Writes Kerwick:

Here's my advice to Mets fans: Shackle your venom. And give the guy some space. Was it just a coincidence that Bay hit no homers in six games at Citi Field, then blasted one during his first at-bat in a visiting park? Possibly. On Friday night, he said the first week of games was not enough to cause his shoulders to slump. But he has also admitted he hears the boos. Bay is a decent person. And most decent people sag when exposed to this degree of enmity. I can't help but think the booing, on some subconscious level, penetrates his psyche.

• Bobby Parnell recorded the ensuing four outs after Niese departed, including covering the eighth inning for a second straight day. Between the Grapefruit League and regular season, Parnell has not allowed a run in 17 1/3 innings. Read more in the Record.

• Niese has carried a scoreless effort into the seventh inning in both of his outings. Read more in Newsday and the Post.

• In the court filings made late Friday regarding the settlement of the lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family over Bernard Madoff accounts, one reason trustee Irving Picard cited for settling was the Mets owners' tight finances made getting more money via further litigation dicey. Writes Anthony M. Destefano in Newsday:

In federal court filings late Friday night, trustee Irving Picard said the "restrictive" cash flow, as well as the owners' obligations to banks that lent them money, contributed to doubts that further litigation against Fred Wilpon , Saul Katz and their partners in Sterling Equities would produce a bigger payout. "We have become satisfied that defendants' cash flow and lender covenants would not have enabled me to recover more for the [Madoff] customer fund in the foreseeable future by litigating to the point of judgment," Picard said in an affidavit. The settlement "is a practical and fair compromise" that avoided "a protracted and expensive trial and lengthy appeals," Picard explained in a statement.

Richard Sandomir in the Times also notes the trustee's language in expressing concern about collecting debt from the Wilpons.

• Domingo Tapia tossed seven scoreless innings as Savannah won via shutout for the second straight day. Read the full minor league recap here.

• On the club's 50th anniversary, there is an excerpt in the Daily News about the creation of the Mets from the book, "The Mets: A 50th Anniversary Celebration," written by Andy Martino and Anthony McCarron.

TRIVIA: Johan Santana and Niese started the Mets' two shutouts at Citizens Bank Park. Which Mets pitcher started the last shutout at Veterans Stadium, the home of the Phillies through 2003?

Saturday's answer: Jason Bay's homer Friday against Cliff Lee was the outfielder's 19th long ball as a Met.

R.A. Dickey delivered his 14th straight quality start, the longest active streak in the majors, and Jason Bay and Scott Hairston went deep against Cliff Lee as the Mets beat the Phillies, 5-2, Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. Washington rallied on an eighth-inning homer by Xavier Nady and eventually beat Cincinnati, 2-1, in 13 innings, so the Mets (5-2) remained a half-game out of first place.

Saturday's news reports:

• David Wright indicated Friday that his fractured right pinkie was too swollen to even curl around the bat. Unless there was dramatic overnight improvement, Wright appeared headed to the DL before today's 4:05 p.m. matchup between Jon Niese and Vance Worley. A team source told ESPNNewYork.com that Josh Satin would be expected to be activated for a bench role if Wright does, in fact, end up on the DL. Daniel Murphy, who had a difficult time on three double plays Wednesday, and who committed a game-prolonging ninth-inning error Friday, would shift to third base for the time being, with Ronny Cedeno and Justin Turner sharing second. Read more in Newsday, the Star-Ledger, Post, Times and Daily News.

• Josh Thole felt embarrassed by a baserunning gaffe during Friday's game. On what should have been a second-inning sacrifice bunt by Dickey, Thole -- approaching second -- inexplicably turned around and headed back to first base. He was tagged out for a double play. Read more in the Post and Record.

• Bay's two-run homer in the first inning was his first long ball since last Sept. 8, against Atlanta's Mike Minor. He had a total of one RBI entering the series between spring training and the first six games of the season. Bay had been 4-for-33 with no RBI in nine games at Citizens Bank Park as a Met. With Wright out, Bay is the Mets' best righty-hitting power threat. Writes columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post regarding Bay:

It’s now or never for Bay and he knows it. “It’s a big time for me,’’ Bay told The Post last night after the left fielder finally came up with a big at-bat in the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Bay crushed a two-run home run to right-center in the first inning off Cliff Lee.

• Read Friday's game recaps in the Record, Star-Ledger, Post, Times, Daily News, Newsday and Journal.

• Top prospect Zack Wheeler's second Double-A start proved a marked improvement from his Binghamton Mets debut. Wheeler allowed one run and five hits while striking out nine. He did not issue any walks, but hit three batters. In his first game as a B-Met, Wheeler had allowed two runs on four hits, three walks and a hit batter in three innings. Read the full minor league recap here.

• The trustee recovering funds for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme filed the official settlement paperwork with the U.S. District Court on Friday regarding the original $1 billion civil suit against Fred Wilpon, his family and their businesses and charities. Judge Jed S. Rakoff should approve the settlement at a May 15 hearing.

• Terry Collins said he may, in fact, start lefty-hitting Kirk Nieuwenhuis against Cole Hamels on Sunday, rather than have a straight platoon with Hairston in center field. Collins reasoned that he does not want to have a rookie not starting two of three games in the series. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Jenrry Mejia has started to face batters as he rehabs from May 16, 2011 Tommy John surgery, while D.J. Carrasco (ankle) has resumed lightly throwing off a mound. There has not been significant progress with Pedro Beato's shoulder. And Andres Torres (calf) is not yet running.

• At Yankee Stadium with the Los Angeles Angels, Jason Isringhausen expressed appreciation to the Mets for reviving his career, and suggested he wanted to re-sign with the organization for 2012. “I wanted to come back,” Isringhausen told Dan Martin in the Post. “We talked to Sandy [Alderson] and he said to call him before I went anywhere. But, by the time I got the deal here, they had already brought all those guys in. ... I’m still thankful they gave me the chance. And Sandy called to wish me luck. But I’m glad I wound up here and I think we have a chance to win.”

• Ken Belson and Mary Pilon in the Times look into the use of Toradol in sports. Mets pitchers Mike Pelfrey and Dickey repeatedly have used the drug before starts, and Johan Santana used it at least once late in spring training. Write Belson and Pilon:

Toradol, a brand name for ketorolac, is among a family of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Doctors put it in the same class as ibuprofen (like Advil) and Alevel. But unlike those drugs, Toradol can be injected, as well as taken orally, and can act more quickly. It is most commonly used in emergency rooms and post-operation wards to help patients manage short-term inflammation and pain, but athletes are turning to it to deal with inflammation and pain.

The use of Toradol, which is made by a number of drug manufacturers, was at the center of a lawsuit filed in December by a dozen retired N.F.L. players who said the league and its teams repeatedly and indiscriminately administered the drug before and during games, thus worsening injuries like concussions. (The league disputed the claims.) The suit claimed that the use of Toradol was rampant in the N.F.L., with players lining up in their locker rooms before games to receive injections, a process the players called a cattle call. According to the complaint, no warnings were given and there was “no distinguishing between different medical conditions of the players, and regardless of whether the player had an injury of any kind.”

TRIVIA: How many homers has Bay hit as a Met, through Friday?

Friday's answer: When Cole Hamels lost consecutive 1-0 starts to the Mets in August 2010, he opposed Santana and Dickey.

The trustee trying to recover funds on behalf of victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme filed his final paperwork Friday in U.S. District court related to the settlement of the lawsuit.

Essentially, Fred Wilpon and family agreed to repay $162 million in profits made in the six years before Madoff's arrest from certain funds. However, that amount will be reduced by money the Wilpons lost from other funds. The Wilpons will put in a claim for $178 million in losses, and should get a sizable percentage back from Picard like any other victim.

The settlement should be approved May 15.

Here's the press release from Irving Picard's camp:

Summary/highlights of the Settlement:

• The Settlement Agreement represents a good faith, complete and final settlement between the two parties. It is a practical and fair compromise of complex litigation issues and avoids a protracted and expensive trial and lengthy appeals. The settlement is in the best interests of the BLMIS Customer Fund and the BLMIS customers with allowed claims – who were defrauded by the Madoff Ponzi scheme – who will ultimately receive distributions of recovered monies from the Customer Fund.

• The Agreement enables the BLMIS Customer Fund to recoup six years (2002 through 2008) of fictitious profits of $162,000,000 and enables the SIPA Trustee to increase the fund of customer property (the Customer Fund) by $162 million.

• The settlement payment schedule – details of which are fully outlined in the Agreement – is structured to make the settlement fully collectable, and creates a way to work around the restrictive issues faced by the Defendants that include constricted cash flow and lender covenant issues. The Trustee believes that without a solution such as this settlement presents, he would not have been able to recover more for the BLMIS Customer Fund by litigating to the point of judgment.

• The Trustee’s financial due diligence confirmed the basis for the settlement and the representations made by the Katz et al. Defendants.

• The Defendants’ allowed claims of approximately $178 million (BLMIS accounts in which the Defendants had deposited more money than they had withdrawn – their “net loser” accounts) will be unconditionally assigned to the Trustee. Any payments against the allowed claims that the Defendants are assigning to the Trustee will reduce the amount owed by the Defendants and will be added to the Customer Fund. If the settlement has not been fully satisfied in three years, Katz et al. Defendants must each pay their respective remainder of the settlement amount. If any of the Defendants are unable to do so, Saul Katz and Fred Wilpon will be personally responsible for any shortfall up to $29 million.

• The Katz et al. Defendants agree to withdraw their petition for a writ of certiorari filed with the United States Supreme Court from the Second Circuit Net Equity Order and also agree not to pursue or join any other litigation involving the Trustee or SIPC arising out of or relating to the BLMIS liquidation. The termination of such litigation will help speed additional distributions to BLMIS customers with allowed claims.

A hearing for approval of the settlement before the District Court for the Southern District of New York has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 15, 2012, at 4:00 p.m.

R.A. Dickey talks extensively about his upbringing and life influences in his memoir, but he includes plenty of contemporary moments, too.

• Dickey recalls David Wright and Mike Pelfrey betting last spring training that Pelfrey could not kick a 50-yard field goal. Pelfrey and Dickey found a football field, with the aim of practicing for the challenge. The field was locked, so the duo hopped a fence. Pelfrey went on to nail a couple field goals from 50 yards, but his shin hurt so much from booting the football that Pelfrey could barely press the gas pedal on his vehicle during the ride home. Dickey convinced Pelfrey to call off the actual challenge with Wright to prevent really injuring himself.

• Dickey has a funny story about Alex Rodriguez. He is recalling a one-hit shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies while with the Mets, and flashes back to his previous career shutout -- with the Texas Rangers against Detroit. After that game, A-Rod congratulated Dickey and said, "You have me to thank for that. ... I called every pitch from shortstop" by relaying the signs to catcher Einar Diaz. The next game, Dickey recalled, he gave up six runs against the Royals and asked A-Rod afterward about his contribution. "No, I didn't call the pitches tonight," A-Rod replied.

• Dickey reveals that after being Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya's first cut in 2010 spring training from big league camp, he called David Lipscomb University to inquire about the process of completing his English degree, which he had started pursuing at the University of Tennessee before being drafted in the first round by the Texas Rangers. Dickey's thought was to finish his degree so he could become an English teacher. Dickey never followed through by submitting his UT transcript and application to Lipscomb. And after a quick start with Triple-A Buffalo, including retiring 27 straight outs in one game after a leadoff hit, he found himself in the big leagues by May.

• Dickey discusses relocating his family to the vacated house of Shawn Green after his call-up and a hotel stay. The power got cut off shortly thereafter, and Dickey and family decided to live by candlelight for five days.

• Reflecting on spring training 2011, when the then-$1 billion lawsuit against Mets owners originally came to full light related to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, Dickey said the players mostly were insulated from the storyline. Still, he notes, there was occasional gallows humor among the players, including punchlines such as: "Maybe we'll be staying at Motel 6s on the road this year. ... I hope they didn't have our per diem money with Bernie. ... Is it true David Wright's going to be piloting our charter?"

• The Madoff humor appears a few pages later, too, when Dickey is talking about applying a solvent called Tring to a broken fingernail during a game. He writes: "I can dab on Trind until Bernie Madoff gets out of jail and it's not going to address the central issue: the broken nail is too short to allow me to grip my knuckleball." The kicker is that Theresa Corderi, the team's popular cook -- after the nail severely splits a few days later -- takes Dickey to a nearby Korean nail salon to get acrylic applied. Cost: $7. The knuckleballer, in full uniform, returns 10 minutes before a game and ultimately is able to make his next start.

• When Dickey tears a band of tissue in the bottom of his foot last season at Wrigley Field, he intentionally minimized the pain to team doctor Jonathan Deland, then takes a shot of Toradol in the backside before all of his starts the remainder of the season. Dickey said he always advises young pitchers to avoid the DL at all costs, since your replacement can be your successor.

R.A. Dickey is scheduled to start for the Mets this afternoon against the Astros, followed by Fernando Cabrera, Jon Rauch, Chris Schwinden and Frank Francisco. Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers as well as Rhiner Cruz, the hard-throwing Rule 5 pick from the Mets, are due to pitch for Houston. Cruz, 25, has a 19.29 ERA in four Grapefruit League appearances in Astros camp and may be returned to the Mets before Opening Day, although he is coming off a scoreless inning against the Miami Marlins.

Thursdays, by the day, typically are cut days from major league camp. And Ike Davis celebrates his 25th birthday.

Thursday's news reports:

• Johan Santana took a scoreless effort into the sixth inning Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals and continued to suggest he will be ready to take the ball Opening Day at Citi Field, on April 5 against the Atlanta Braves. A scout said Santana was sitting at 88 mph with his fastball. Still, that proved enough. David Freese twice struck out on pitches -- one a slider, the other a changeup -- that prompted him to lose his bat into foul territory down the third-base line. "He's not throwing 95, but he's a guy who knows how to pitch," Freese told Anthony Rieber in Newsday. "When he makes pitches, he's going to be effective and he's going to win games for sure." Watch video of Santana discussing his 69-pitch outing here. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Daily News, Post and Times.

• Forbes valued the Mets at $719 million, a 4 percent decline from the previous year. Mets officials annually dispute the accuracy of the rankings.

• Top prospect Zack Wheeler suffered a sprained left ankle climbing stairs Sunday, a team official said. Wheeler minimized the injury, but he will miss a minor league start. Read more in Newsday.

• Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff expressed disappointment to author Diane Henriques that one-time close friend Fred Wilpon settled the lawsuit brought against the Mets owner by trustee Irving Picard.

• Jordany Valdespin had a ninth-inning homer to tie the game, but left-hander Garrett Olson allowed a runner inherited on third from Miguel Batista to score the following half-inning and the Mets lost to the Cardinals, 2-1.

• Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson in the Times report that the 12 minority shares totaling $240 million that were infused into the Mets came from a handful of sources. The newspaper reported that in addition to a $25 million repayment to Major League Baseball and $40 million repayment to satisfy a bridge loan from Bank of America, $75 million of the infusion was used to pay down other bank debt that had totaled about $400 million. Write Sandomir and Belson:

Ultimately, the Mets’ owners bought three of those shares -- the first two, Wilpon said recently, and a third more recently -- and Time Warner Cable and Comcast, who are partners in SNY, bought two shares each to help the team steady its finances. In exchange, they extended certain elements of their network deals. Another share was bought by Robert W. Pittman and Kenneth B. Lerer, two media moguls. A ninth share was purchased by the hedge-fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen, who is in the midst of trying to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. If he succeeds, he will have to sell his stake in the Mets. The identities of the remaining three new shareholders are not publicly known.

• Will this week's financial resolutions prompt the Mets to spend freely next offseason and beyond? Sandy Alderson was not making any such prediction when he spoke Tuesday. The GM merely said it would more so allow for the possibility to pursue a desired free agent. David Wright told Mark Cannizzaro in the Post: “What we have is what we’ve got, and that’s what we need not be worried about, not what could happen. Time will tell as far as that goes. There’s no sense in worrying about who’s not here and what could have been or what might happen. These are the guys we have and we need to make this work.’’

• Mike Puma in the Post reports Mike Pelfrey has dealt with a high-ankle sprain for much of camp. Pitching coach Dan Warthen suggested to Puma that the ankle was a significant reason why Pelfrey pitched out of the stretch exclusively in his first Grapefruit League start -- and why his velocity was hovering around 87 mph until the right-hander aired it out and gave up eight runs in his most recent start, against the Houston Astros. “The ankle sprain is why he was out of the stretch all this time and the velocity was what it was,” Warthen said. “This was the best he felt, over against Houston.” Said Pelfrey: "It's not bad."

TRIVIA: Which player currently in Mets major league camp represented Italy in the most-recent World Baseball Classic?

Wednesday's answer: Adam Loewen is the earliest-selected draft pick in Mets camp. He was taken fourth overall, as a pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles, in 2002 out of Fraser Valley Christian High School in British Columbia.

Diane Henriques, author of the Bernard Madoff book "The Wizard of Lies," told CBS News that Madoff was "desperately disappointed" that one-time good friend Fred Wilpon did not take the lawsuit against him to trial.

The Wilpons settled for $162 million, but will never have to pay a figure close to that sum.

"He wrote me last weekend that he was so looking forward to that trial," Henriques told the network. "He was hoping that the Mets' defense would make the case he was making to me that they had no reason to doubt Madoff."

Henriques said an email from Madoff to her called trustee Irving Picard, the man who sued Wilpon on behalf of net losers in the Ponzi scheme, derogatory terms.

"He calls Picard a fool, an amateur, says he doesn't understand the market, says he never understood the market, that he's just lost on Wall Street," Henriques told CBS.

Johan Santana will attempt to up his pitch count to 80 in his fourth Grapefruit League start as the Mets travel down I-95 to Jupiter to take on the Cardinals this afternoon. Also scheduled to pitch: Miguel Batista, Bobby Parnell and Manny Acosta. Jake Westbrook starts for St. Louis. Bullpen catcher Eric Langill, after serving a team-imposed seven-day suspension following a DUI arrest, is listed for the trip, according to the Record.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Jeff Wilpon golfed with Terry Collins on Monday and was visible at the Mets' spring training complex Tuesday, but Sandy Alderson spoke to the media on behalf of the organization. Alderson suggested the owners' settlement of the Bernard Madoff-related lawsuit resembled clouds parting over the organization. The GM said the Mets were on much firmer footing with the clawback lawsuit resolved and with a $240 million infusion of capital from minority investors. While Alderson said the Mets still primarily will focus on their farm system, the GM noted the positive financial developments will make it easier to have the option to pursue free agents. Alderson added that the developments do not materially change how the organization will deal with David Wright as free-agency eligibility approaches. Alderson also did not promise the payroll would rise next season from this year's roughly $91 million. Listen to a podcast of Alderson's comments here. Read more in the Post, Journal, Times, Record, Newsday, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• The Mets formally announced the sale of 12 ownership shares at $20 million apiece, although they did not identify the investors. Fred Wilpon previously has acknowledged SportsNet New York would buy four of the shares. Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz, who is Fred Wilpon's brother-in-law, purchased two others. The Times reported three of the shares are actually going to family members and that only five shares -- worth $100 million -- are from outside investors. The Wall Street Journal outed two investors who combined to purchase part of one 4 percent, $20 million block -- Bob Pittman and Kenneth Lerer. The infusion allowed the Mets to pay off a $25 million emergency loan from Major League Baseball as well as a $40 million bridge loan from Bank of America, the team announced.

• Andres Torres departed after two innings on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals after suffering a strained left calf muscle. With Scott Hairston (oblique) still sidelined, Collins resolved to take a look at left fielder Jason Bay and infielder Jordany Valdespin in center field. Torres hopes he is day-to-day and the injury is not longer term. Hairston started to work out with teammates Tuesday, but is not yet swinging a bat and is iffy for Opening Day. Read more in the Daily News, Record, Post and Newsday.

• Wright said he is purposefully taking "baby steps" in returning from his abdominal muscle tear. Collins hoped to have the third baseman in a game this weekend, or no later than early next week. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• The Mets snapped a nine-game winless streak in Grapefruit League play with a 2-0 victory against the Nats on Tuesday night at Digital Domain Park. Dillon Gee contributed 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Lucas Duda had an opposite-field solo homer against phenom Stephen Strasburg. Ruben Tejada played five innings in his first game action in nine days and turned a pair of double plays with Daniel Murphy. The Mets are now 4-11-1 in the Grapefruit League.

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey allowed three earned runs in six innings for Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. Jean Luc Blaquiere had a two-run homer in the Bisons' 4-4 tie with the Miami Marlins' top affiliate. Read the minor league recap here.

• A team official said the Mets do not intend to sign any of the left-handers on the market -- C.J. Nitkowski (who auditioned in Port St. Lucie), Hong-Chih Kuo, Scott Kazmir or Dontrelle Willis. Willis actually is headed to the Baltimore Orioles, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports.

• Ken Belson in the Times notes the trustee recovering funds for victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme and the Wilpons are now allies. That's because every dollar trustee Irving Picard collects on behalf of victims helps defray the $162 million settlement amount to which the Wilpons agreed. The Wilpons are entitled to apply to recover $178 million in losses, which will lessen their settlement burden. "In a sense, we’re now partners,” Picard's chief counsel, David Sheehan, said according to Belson. “They have an interest in us getting 100 percent recovery and they should be supportive, and we will be supportive by trying to collect all those funds.”

• Columnist Harvey Araton in the Times says there is no secret method to energize a fan base and give it hope: Just spend money. That will continue to be easier said than done with the Mets. Writes Araton:

Winning apparently clears the slate and cleanses the soul. Wilpon could spend the next few years climbing trees, saving cats and parking fans’ cars. They won’t stick with him if his team can’t play. Fans in the 21st century, often feeling like victims of another kind of Ponzi scheme, are just willfully blind that way.

TRIVIA: Which player in Mets major league camp was selected with the earliest pick in the draft?

Tuesday's answer: Bubba Bell led Triple-A Buffalo in stolen bases in 2011 with nine.

General manager Sandy Alderson told reporters Tuesday afternoon that a cloud has been lifted from the Mets' heads with Monday's settlement in the Bernard Madoff-related clawback lawsuit against Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon and family.

WHAT HAPPENED: The owners of the New York Mets have settled with trustee Irving Picard for $162 million, their alleged profit from certain Ponzi scheme funds in the six years before Bernard Madoff's arrest.

In reality, Fred Wilpon and family will be on the hook for only a fraction of that amount -- and will not be required to make any payments until 2016 and 2017.

That's because, as part of the settlement, the Wilpons will be able to apply to the trustee to be reimbursed for $178 million in losses from certain funds. Obviously, like any victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme, they won't recover every dollar. But they will get a certain percentage based on how much the trustee collects overall from net winners -- likely 50 percent or more.

As a result, the Wilpons' actual payment to Picard -- once the Wilpons' loser funds are reimbursed like other victims -- should be a fraction of the actual $162 million settlement.

Say if Picard pays to victims 50 cents on the dollars they lost. That means the Wilpons could be credited $89 million (half of $178 million) toward their $162 million owed as a result of the settlement. That's a net of only $73 million remaining to pay Picard to satisfy the settlement.

Any disbursements owed by Picard to Wilpon loser funds over the next three years will be deducted from the $162 million owed by the Wilpons to Picard in the settlement. The Wilpons then will owe the remaining amount in equal installments in four and five years.

The lawsuit sought to recover $386 million. Judge Jed S. Rakoff previously had decided that Picard likely was entitled to at least $83.3 million in profits from the two years before Madoff's arrest.

The original suit was for $1 billion, but it was reduced by Rakoff, who decided that Picard could only recover money from the Wilpons from the immediate two years before Madoff's arrest, not the six years Picard advocated. The settlement, while not overturning Rakoff's decision, does establish for the trustee six years as an acceptable period to recover profits.

The settlement talks were brokered by former New York governor Mario Cuomo.

WHAT IT MEANS: It's unlikely the Wilpons would have settled unless they felt they could withstand that financial obligation without jeopardizing their ownership of the team.

Still, the Wilpons are not out of the woods yet as owners.

Remember, the Mets still have a ton of debt unrelated to the lawsuit. Among the more immediate obligations are a $40 million bridge loan from Bank of America and $25 million emergency loan from Major League Baseball. UPDATE: The Mets have paid those immediate loan obligations thanks for a $240 million equity infusion from minority investors, many of which had existing ties to the ballclub.

You can read about the extent of the debt in Part 1 and Part 2 of the financial series from ESPNNewYork.com from late January.

WHAT'S NEXT: Back to baseball, hopefully.

Actually, it's going to still be the Mets on austerity for a while, because of the financial obligations mentioned above. That means the Wilpons will be utterly dependent upon fan attendance revenue in order to maintain ownership.

The Mets eventually hope to sell 10 to 12 minority shares of the team at $20 million apiece, although a good deal of that appears to be shifting around money among Mets-related entities. For instance, two of those shares are going to Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz, who is Fred Wilpon's brother-in-law and Mets president. Another four will go to SportsNet New York, the regional sports channel primarily owned by the Wilpons/Mets.

There is only one known minority buyer without direct connection to the Wilpons or Mets. And that's Steve Cohen, who reportedly is the front-runner for majority ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which would eliminate him as a Mets candidate.

Read the ESPNNewYork.com news story here.

The Mets' complex is closed today -- for major and minor leaguers -- allowing for a near-48-hour break before the big leaguers regroup for a Tuesday night game against the Washington Nationals at Digital Domain Park. So all of the action today should be in lower Manhattan, where jury selection and opening statements are expected to begin in the clawback lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family brought by the trustee trying to recover funds for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

Monday's news reports:

• Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson in the Times wonder if the Wilpons might settle soon, for some number between the $83 million for which the judge has indicated they likely already are on the hook and the maximum $386 million with the most adverse outcome from the district-court round of the trial. Write Sandomir and Belson:

Mario M. Cuomo, a former New York governor who is the mediator in the case, has attended hearings but there has been no palpable optimism about a deal. Asked Sunday if a settlement could come as early as Monday, he said by telephone, “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.” He said that his goal in meeting with the sides had been to reach a settlement which could theoretically come at any point during the trial. Any settlement would logically be between $83 million and $386 million. The Mets might think that they could afford to pay a potential settlement in the neighborhood of $165 million. Still, producing a lot of cash quickly might be difficult.

• Tim Byrdak returned to camp five days after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and said that while Opening Day is a "long shot," the team's projected six-week absence is way too conservative. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Mike Pelfrey allowed eight runs in 2 2/3 innings Sunday against the Houston Astros, as the Mets' Grapefruit League winless streak increased to nine games. Pelfrey said he was trying to overthrow to get his arm strength up for fastballs during the season, and his sinker control suffered as a result. Read more in the Post, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Daily News, Journal and Record.

• David Wright, working his way back from an abdominal tear, hit off a tee and swung at soft flips Sunday. Meanwhile, Terry Collins said Ruben Tejada (groin) should be in the lineup Tuesday night. The manager hopes to see D.J. Carrasco (ankle) and Pedro Beato (shoulder) on a mound soon.

Wright told columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post that he's certain he will be ready for Opening Day on April 5 at Citi Field. "Each day I get better and better and I’m doing more and more,’’ Wright told Kernan. “I think I got lucky where I did it so early in camp [so] I had the luxury of waiting and being patient, and I haven’t had any setbacks. I’m at the point now where I’m feeling good, but I can’t go out there and overextend myself and set me back."

• Fernando Martinez struck out three times and walked in four plate appearances against his former club. F-Mart said he was surprised by being placed on waivers by the Mets during the offseason, but insisted he had no bitterness toward his former employer. Read more in Newsday, the Daily News and Post.

• Outfielder Cesar Puello and right-hander Jeremy Hefner were optioned to minor league camp after Sunday's game, reducing the number of players in camp to 40. Puello, who turns 21 on April 1, hit .259 with 10 homers last season at Class A St. Lucie. Hefner was claimed off waivers by the Mets during the offseason after going 9-7 with a 4.98 ERA for San Diego's Triple-A affiliate last season. Hefner could be exposed to waivers again in the next two weeks with the Mets needing to clear as many as three 40-man roster spots, for backup outfielders and a lefty relief specialist in Byrdak's absence.

• The Mets' top two minor league affiliates lost exhibition games to Marlins farmhands Sunday.

• Mike Kerwick in the Record looks at the range of Mets on Twitter. Josh Thole had a bad experience last season and dropped it, but the list of participants is growing. The latest addition: Byrdak (@Givemethelefty). Sandy Alderson (@MetsGM), by the way, has been idle since a Feb. 28 tweet about his dog, Buddy Alderson.

TRIVIA: For which former public official is the lower Manhattan courthouse where the Wilpon-Madoff trial is due to take place named?

Sunday's answer: The eight players to start for the Mets in right field last season were Carlos Beltran (91 games), Lucas Duda (38), Scott Hairston (11), Mike Baxter (7), Jason Pridie (6), Nick Evans (4), Willie Harris (3) and Martinez (2).

Mike Pelfrey takes the mound as the Mets make a two-plus-hour drive to Kissimmee to take on the Houston Astros. The Mets then will have Monday off, with the complex closed until a Tuesday night game. Monday will not be quiet, however. Inside U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff's courtroom in lower Manhattan, jury selection and opening statements are expected to occur Monday in the $386 million lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family regarding Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The trial is scheduled to last 10 additional days.

Sunday's news reports:

• Jon Niese tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings despite allowing all six leadoff batters he faced to reach. Still, the Mets lost to a split-squad Atlanta Braves team, 3-2, on Saturday at Digital Domain Park. Daniel Murphy had a two-run single for the Mets, but Chuck James and Ramon Ramirez combined to allow three eighth-inning runs. The Mets are 0-7-1 in their past eight games and have the worst record either in the Grapefruit or Cactus League. Read more in Newsday and the Daily News.

• Zack Wheeler allowed an unearned run while tossing three innings for the Double-A squad in the first day of minor league exhibition games. Read the full Buffalo and Binghamton recaps here. Watch video of Wheeler facing Cardinals farmhand Raniel Rosario here. Read more on Wheeler's outing in the Daily News, Star-Ledger and Newsday.

• The Mets signed infielder Oswaldo Navarro to a minor league contract.

• Anthony Destefano in Newsday previews the Madoff-related civil trial that opens Monday. Writes Destefano:

[Trustee Irving] Picard's case, Rakoff has said a number of times, is far from rock solid. The trustee has to prove that the Wilpon defendants were willfully blind and ignored warnings about Madoff. Noted white-collar defense attorney and author Stanley Arkin describes the concept of willful blindness this way: "You turn your head away from facts that cry out for inquiry and you take no steps to make inquiry." Rakoff said it will be up to the Wilpons and partners to demonstrate that they weren't willfully blind to the fraud.

Barry Meier in the Times suggests Mets fans may want the Wilpons to lose the entire $386 million at stake. Of that amount, Rakoff already has declared the trustee is entitled to the profits made in the two years before Madoff's arrest -- as much as $83 million. Writes Meier:

The proceeding took place in the people’s food court (technically, the bar and snack stands along the right-field line) at Digital Domain Park before Friday’s game, in which a Mets squad was demolished by the Detroit Tigers, 9-0. The verdict of fans polled, while not unanimous, was clear. Put simply, they would like to see Wilpon and Katz have their financial clocks cleaned so the only option will be selling the team. “That is the biggest hope that I have for the Mets this year,” said Judy Sromovsky, a longtime fan who lives in Bridgewater, N. J.

The Daily News also outlines what's at stake in the case.

• Jeff Bradley in the Star-Ledger has a Q&A with Justin Turner. Turner credits former Cincinnati Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, also a former special assistant with the Mets, for his opportunities at the major league level. "He was the GM of the Reds and drafted me in 2006," Turner told Bradley. "He got let go by the Reds and went to the Orioles and traded for me there. And then he came over to the Mets and picked me up when the Orioles put me on waivers. I owe a lot to him. He believed in me. He’s the reason I got this chance." Krivsky now has landed with the Minnesota Twins, where his career first ascended.

• Bench coach Bob Geren, a former major league catcher, tells the Star-Ledger Josh Thole is going to be prepared for games. Writes Bradley:

“He’s going to come to the field at a certain time at the start of the series to do his preparation from the video,” Geren begins. “Then, at a certain time, he’s going to meet with the pitching coach to go over it. He’s going to be heavily involved in the pitchers’ meeting, passing on what he’s observed. He’ll talk to the pitchers in between innings about how that inning went and who’s coming up next. That’s just the beginning.” Geren says when other players are playing cards on team flights, he expects to see Thole with his iPad, watching video of the next opponent. Not only does Geren want to see Thole putting in extra time, he wants the pitchers to see it.

• Mike Kerwick in the Record looks at the competitors to take the lefty specialist role in the bullpen while Tim Byrdak takes approximately another five weeks to recover from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Garrett Olson likely is the frontrunner. The Mets have pulled Josh Edgin into major league camp, even though he has not pitched above Class A. James appears the primary consideration beyond Olson. Daniel Herrera is the fourth competitor. Writes Kerwick:

On road trips, the left-handed reliever likes to sneak away, stealing a moment for himself in the cheap seats. Accompanied by his Nikon D700, he sets up shop high above home plate. Garrett Olson chooses a lens. He snaps a photo. Then he quietly returns to the clubhouse. These are his butterflies, the camera his net. Olson has attempted to capture a portrait of every major league stadium. During his six seasons in the majors, he has compiled a modest collection. "Not all 30," Olson said before the Mets' 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday at Digital Domain Park. "Maybe half. Just a guess." There is one important stadium missing – the leopard absent from his safari. "This one," he said. "Citi Field. Certainly this and a lot of National League teams."

Mike Puma in the Post quotes pitching coach Dan Warthen regarding Edgin as saying: "I’m not going to talk about major leagues right now for him. But I wouldn’t be surprised if some time this year we saw him.”

• The Post quotes a Mets official as saying it's "50-50" whether the Mets sign left-hander C.J. Nitkowski. Newsday reported last week a deal was likely and seemed imminent.

• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post wonders whether Johan Santana or Andy Pettitte will contribute more this season. Writes Sherman:

Both lefties missed all of last season, albeit for different reasons. Santana was recovering from shoulder surgery while Pettitte took what now amounts to a one-year sabbatical. Santana is close to a necessity for the 2012 rotation-thin Mets. Pettitte appears a luxury for the rotation-deep Yankees. Santana is seven years younger than Pettitte, but the shoulder ailment he is trying to return from does not come with a high success rate, and certainly not a speedy one.

• Sherman also says there really are only four positives for the Mets -- Santana, the middle of the order, the bullpen and their pitching prospects.

• Infield coach Tim Teufel tells columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post that he is using Chase Utley as an example to Murphy of how to turn double plays, because Utley also has a larger frame. Teufel also is repositioning his middle infielders. “The goal for us is to become better at double-play turns, and that means being more aggressive on groundballs, getting the transfer a little bit quicker,’’ Teufel told Kernan. “So I’m moving the guys in a step and one step closer to the bag. We’re going to give up a little bit in the hole, but it’s more important that we are on time and under control, a little less lateral and back movements and a little more angle direct to the ball movements as an infield.’’

TRIVIA: Eight players started in right field for the Mets last season. Can you name them?

Saturday's answer: Jose Valentin started for the Mets at second base on Opening Day in 2007. Luis Castillo had the Game 1 nod at the position the next three seasons, followed by shortlived Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus in 2011.

Johan Santana, who threw 44 pitches over 2 2/3 innings Sunday, is scheduled to make his third Grapefruit League start today, against the Detroit Tigers in Port St. Lucie. Santana now will get into more serious pitch counts -- potentially four innings and roughly 60-65 pitches this time -- as he tries to continue to demonstrate he can handle an every-five-days pitching assignment.

Also scheduled to work Friday: Bobby Parnell (who has logged four scoreless Grapefruit League innings and will be pitching on a second straight day), Jeremy Hefner, Frank Francisco, Ramon Ramirez and Jon Rauch. Rick Porcello starts for the Tigers.

Friday's news reports:

• Jose Reyes faced his former employer for the first time Thursday, although it wasn't much of a reunion. Reyes hit a comebacker to R.A. Dickey on the second pitch he saw, leading off the bottom of the first, and ended up departing following a 54-minute rain delay in the middle of the third. Reyes spoke with New York reporters afterward and suggested there was no real emotion involved in the Grapefruit League matchup. Reyes said he figures the real first matchup will be when the Miami Marlins visit Citi Field for a three-game series beginning April 24. Reyes seemed particularly concerned about David Wright's abdominal issue. He quizzed reporters about Wright's status and separately asked Terry Collins about the shortstop's longtime teammate. Read more in the Journal, Post, Star-Ledger, Record, Daily News, Times and Newsday.

Reyes tells columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post: "I think this year I'm going to play a full season. I've prepared myself to do that. Right now there is nothing to worry about and all my focus is on the field." Said new teammate Logan Morrison: "When I'm tired, I just look at him. He's like a cup of coffee for the eyes."

• Dickey retired all six batters he faced, but the Mets lost to the Marlins, 3-1. Adam Loewen's two-out dropped fly ball in left field allowed two unearned runs to score. Jason Bay went 2-for-2 against Josh Johnson. Ike Davis drove in the Mets' lone run with a ground-rule double. Collins was ejected for arguing a batter interference call against Jordany Valdespin following a bunt by the prospect.

• Top pitching prospects Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia were among 13 players dispatched to minor league camp Thursday, although Collins said Harvey still would be borrowed for Grapefruit League duty. The Mets now have 42 players in camp. The other cuts, which officially came in morning and afternoon waves: center-field prospects Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt den Dekker, reliever Josh Stinson, as well as Robert Carson, Wilmer Flores, Reese Havens, Juan Lagares, Zach Lutz, Valentino Pascucci and Armando Rodriguez. Read more in Newsday, the Star-Ledger, Daily News, Post and Record.

• The final witness trustee Irving Picard plans to call in the $386 million lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family that goes to trial next week is Noreen Harrington. She was the person overseeing due diligence for Sterling Stamos, the Wilpon-owned investment company set up to try to match Bernard Madoff's returns. Harrington allegedly raised concerns about Madoff to Wilpon's brother-in-law, Saul Katz. Harrington's skepticism about Madoff allegedly angered Katz and money was invested with Madoff anyway over her objections, leading her to quit. In courtroom filings, the Wilpons' lawyers have said Katz does not recall receiving any stern warning from Harrington, and certainly there was nothing presented to the family by her concretely demonstrating Madoff was a fraud.

Harrington has a track record of being a whistleblower, Richard Sandomir notes in the Times. Sandomir discusses how she alerted then-New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer to irregular trading by a Secaucus, N.J., hedge fund in 2003. Writes Sandomir:

When Harrington first called the New York attorney general's office in 2003, she said that she had heard traders bragging about the practice of “late trading” and that she had tried to alert executives at the firm to the practice. Investigators rely heavily on whistle-blowers, Spitzer said, calling tips like Harrington's the lifeblood of his office. Harrington, he said, was a striking truth-teller. "She not only had a level of credibility in her résumé," Spitzer said. "Everything she said came back with precise corroboration."

• Jared Diamond in the Journal visits the Mets' weekly bowling night, which Collins started in his first spring training as manager and continued this year. Wrote Diamond:

One team that included Bay and Dillon Gee came in matching Molson Canadian T-shirts. Bench coach Bob Geren brought two of his own bowling balls, including one decorated to look like a giant baseball. Daniel Herrera, sidelined at the time with a back injury, bought a child-sized Razor scooter at a local Walmart and rode it throughout the evening. The next morning, he cruised into the clubhouse on the scooter, still reveling in his team's success. "Our team is called the Scooters, and I'm the mascot," said Herrera, who stands 5 feet 6. "I have to bring something to the table."

• Tony La Russa says Carlos Beltran is getting a raw deal for taking that infamous curveball from Adam Wainwright that ended the Mets' 2006 season in Game 7 of the NLCS.

"The pitch that he took from Wainwright, you talk about the greatest hitters in our game, they all would have," La Russa said, according to the Post. "That ball was way up here and everyone that ever comes to bat would have seen that pitch and taken it. All of a sudden it drops in the strike zone, and this guy's gotten criticized for taking strike three.

"There isn’t anybody who is going to swing at that pitch. Except for Yogi Berra, who swings at everything."

TRIVIA: Which player(s) did the Mets receive in their most-recent trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Thursday's answer: Reyes has the franchise record for homers in a single season by a Mets shortstop. He hit 19 in 2006.

In a major ruling Wednesday heading into next week's trial, U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff threw a curveball to the defense team in the $386 million lawsuit against Fred Wilpon, his family, businesses and charities.

Five days before jury selection is set to begin in the civil trial in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan, Rakoff ruled the burden is on the Wilpons to convince a jury they did not act in “bad faith” when they profited from convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

The burden will not be on trustee Irving Picard, who brought the lawsuit, to prove the Wilpons were “willfully blind” to the Ponzi scheme.

Read the full news story here.

David Wright is due to return to camp today after receiving an "ultrasound-guided" cortisone shot in his troublesome left rib cage Monday in New York at his request. Meanwhile, teammate Tim Byrdak remains at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, where he will undergo surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee. He is due to miss six weeks. On the field, Carlos Beltran visits in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform to face Mike Pelfrey at 1:10 p.m. at Digital Domain Park. Johan Santana, who turns 33 today, should throw a between-starts bullpen session, too.

Tuesday's news reports:

• Terry Collins said he believes/hopes Wright will resume baseball activities in the middle to end of the week. Wright was treading water with his left-rib cage issue -- experiencing soreness while neither improving nor worsening. A team official said an MRI revealed no structural damage. A frustrated Wright asked for the cortisone injection.

Sandy Alderson and Collins both said they expect to carry a left-handed reliever on the Opening Day roster, even minus Byrdak. Garrett Olson and Chuck James likely are the front runners. Daniel Herrera and Robert Carson also are in camp, but appear secondary considerations. Then there was this development Monday ...

Late last season, Paul DePodesta advised to watch left-handed reliever Josh Edgin as a rapid riser, despite Edgin not having pitched above Class A. Well, with Byrdak's surgery looming today, Edgin has been moved to major league camp. He blew a save chance in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Detroit Tigers at Lakeland, but that was after his defense betrayed him on a would-be third out. Edgin then rallied nicely the following inning against Tigers left-handed batters. He previously had recorded a pair of Grapefruit League saves while being borrowed from minor league camp, before the official transfer.

Read more on Byrdak's scheduled surgery as well as Wright's injury in the Daily News, Star-Ledger, Journal, Post, Newsday, Times and Record.

• Bullpen catcher Eric Langill was arrested and charged with driving under the influence with property damage, a misdemeanor, according to a St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office arrest affidavit. Langill allegedly drove into a concrete fountain in the middle of a traffic circle, flipping the vehicle at approximately 11:25 p.m. Sunday. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Post, Record, Daily News and Newsday.

• With jury selection slated to take place Monday and a 10-day civil trial to follow, several motions were filed last night in the $386 million lawsuit against Mets owner Fred Wilpon, his family and businesses. Among the more headline-grabbing items: Trustee Irving Picard's lawyers asked U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff to bar Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax from testifying on the Wilpons' behalf. Picard's legal team argued that the purpose of Koufax testifying is to influence a jury with star power rather than substance. On the Wilpons' side, Howard Megdal at Capital New York notes defense attorneys have asked the judge to bar the plaintiffs from using the term "other people's money" to describe the Wilpons' gains in the Ponzi scheme, saying that is a loaded term that could improperly influence a jury.

• Lucas Duda belted a grand slam in his first game in five days and the Mets and Tigers played to a 7-7 tie in 10 innings.

• Columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News writes that Collins is trying to keep the faith:

No sooner had Collins arrived at Joker Marchant Stadium Monday than he was greeted by his old baseball buddy, Jim Leyland, who put out the welcome mat for him by fielding his "A" lineup featuring all his regulars and especially the Detroit Tigers' new twin pillars of power, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. "Geez," Collins exclaimed to Leyland in mock protest, "I thought we were friends!" In truth, Collins could probably use a good friend like Leyland right about now to unload his troubles on. For, aside from Santana’s steady progress from his career-threatening shoulder injury, most of the news coming out of the Mets camp this spring has been either bad, concerning or downright embarrassing -- and Monday was no different.

• Ike Davis tells Dan Martin in the Post that he is having no ill effects from last year's ankle injury or the suspected valley fever. "I can't plan for something I don't know is going to happen," Davis told Martin. "If something happens, I'll talk to Terry, but until then, there's nothing to talk about and I'd like for there to never be a reason to."

• Left-handed pitcher John Mincone, a Huntington, Long Island, native and Half Hollow Hills East High School product, has signed a minor league deal with the Mets. Mincone, 22, was drafted in the 11th round by the Chicago Cubs in 2009 out of Suffolk Community College after an injury-plagued college career. He went 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA in six games (three starts) for Windy City in the independent Frontier League last season.

"I’ve had many high school highlights," Mincone said in this April 2010 interview. "I'd have to say that winning our league championship my senior year and winning the Paul Gibson award are up there on the list, but my best memory is from the summer after my junior year. I made the Long Island baseball team going to compete in the Empire State Games, sort of an 'Olympics' for the state of New York. Our team won the gold medal, going undefeated in the process, marking the first time in 13 years that the Long Island team won a gold medal in baseball.

"As for college, I have two major baseball highlights. When I was at James Madison University my freshman year, we won the Colonial Athletic Association Conference tournament and continued on to play in the NCAA Regionals at NC State. My best college highlight is definitely winning Region XV while at Suffolk County Community College ... and then playing in the NJCAA College World Series in Tyler, Texas. I was named Region XV player of the year (2009) and was a named to the First Team NJCAA All-American, leading the nation with 107 strikeouts in 62 innings pitched, and an ERA of 0.98."

• Ex-Met Jason Pridie, who signed a minor league contract with the Oakland A's during the offseason, officially was suspended 50 games after a second positive test for a drug of abuse, Major League Baseball announced.

• Left-hander C.J. Nitkowski's agent, Tom O'Connell, tells Tyler Kepner in the Times he believes the southpaw will join the Mets organization. "I feel pretty optimistic that we can come to an agreement," O’Connell told Kepner. "Hopefully this will play out in the next couple of days." Newsday previously has reported that an eventual signing is expected.

TRIVIA: What is the Mets' record for relief appearances in a season?

Monday's answer: Mike Jacobs homered in his first at-bat as a Met, which also was his first major league at-bat. He went deep on Aug. 21, 2005 off Washington's Esteban Loaiza as a pinch hitter. That staved off a demotion, and Jacobs went on to belt three more homers within three days.