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Pat Misch cleared waivers Wednesday and decided to again stay with the organization and accept an assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. Misch pitched two innings in relief of D.J. Carrasco in Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader in Atlanta and then was designated for assignment.

Meanwhile, Blaine Boyer -- who had declared free agency rather than report to Buffalo -- has signed a minor league deal with Pittsburgh, according to Baseball America.

Chris Young's next start will be delayed two days because of biceps tendinitis, the team announced. Rather than pitch Friday in Atlanta, Young gets Sunday's start instead.

The Mets needed a spot starter in Atlanta anyway because they have six games in five days thanks to Tuesday's rainout. But using the spot starter Friday eliminates Dillon Gee as a candidate, since he started Tuesday for Buffalo. Boof Bonser is injured with a forearm strain, leaving Jenrry Mejia and Pat Misch as the other credible members of the Triple-A rotation.

The best route, however, may be to use already designated spot starter D.J. Carrasco.

Meanwhile, Blaine Boyer cleared waivers but chose free agency rather than report to Buffalo.

Jason Isringhausen -- who last threw a pitch for the Mets on July 31, 1999, after which he was traded to Oakland with Greg McMichael for Billy Taylor -- returns to Flushing on Monday. So does Ryota Igarashi, as the Mets temporarily go with 13 pitchers until Jason Bay is ready to return from the disabled list, likely next weekend in Atlanta. The NL West-leading Rockies, who took three of four games at Pittsburgh, are in town. Read the series preview here.

Monday's news reports:

• Sandy Alderson called the new additions "The Izzy and Iggy Show." Catchy name. But remember, these are the guys who were beaten out for bullpen spots in spring training. Actually, in the case of Isringhausen, he pitched fine in spring training. The concern was more about whether he would last a season. And the Mets did not want to place him on the Opening Day roster over Blaine Boyer, and risk losing Boyer, who had an out in his contract on the eve of the regular season. Isringhausen has spent the past 10 days in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training. Alderson mentioned one day that a back issue had cropped up, but Isringhausen quickly minimized it.

Lucas Duda was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo and Boyer was designated for assignment Sunday to make roster room.

Being designated for assignment buys the Mets up to a week to see if there is any trade interest before having to place Boyer on waivers. Because Boyer cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he can declare free agency rather than report to Triple-A Buffalo this time if he again goes unclaimed.

In Igarashi's case, he went unclaimed during the winter because of his $1.75 million salary when the Mets took him off the 40-man roster. This time, if the Mets want to keep him on the 40-man roster, they can simply option him to Buffalo when Bay is ready. Or, they can put him through waivers again with the hope of shedding the remainder of the salary -- either through a team claiming Igarashi (unlikely), or him declaring free agency if he clears and electing to walk away from the remaining amount owed.

"It’s unfortunate," Boyer said to the Record's J.P. Pelzman. “I’ve been in this position before and I’ve landed on my feet. I’ll be all right.”

The financial risk with Isringhausen actually is minimal. His salary only calls for him to make $500,000 if he is at the major league level the entire season. He receives only a prorated portion for the time he is with the major league team. That's because his contract includes a stipulation that he waives the right to refuse going to the minors (and his salary being diminished to minor league dollars). Of course, Isringhausen isn't going back to the minors, but the contract gets the Mets out of paying the full major league salary. The complication is that getting out of the salary is possible with ineffectiveness, not if Isringhausen were to land on the DL.

The Mets' bullpen has logged 34 1/3 innings -- which ranks second in the NL, only one out less than the Pirates' relief workload. So the Mets needed fresh arms.

Read more on the roster maneuvers in Newsday and the Post.

Of course, the Mets' bullpen -- with some help from Duda's inexperience in right field in misplaying Ivan Rodriguez's fly ball into a double -- wasted Chris Young's one-hit gem over seven innings Sunday and the Mets lost to the rubber game to the Washington Nationals, 7-3 in 11 innings. "It should have been an out," Duda told reporters afterward. "I just took a bad route and I got beat. I take full responsibility for that. I feel like it kind of cost us the game."

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

• After suggesting he used too many of his secondary pitches in a letdown in Philadelphia (7 R, 6 ER, 2 IP) his last start, Mike Pelfrey says he's going back to his bread-and-butter pitches against the Rockies on Monday night. "I know I need to be better, but I'm still going to do what's worked for me in the past," Pelfrey told the Post's Dan Martin. "I just have to rely on my fastball and splitter, which I didn't do the first two times out. ... I got away from my fastball for some reason and didn't throw the splitter enough. I got away from what has made me successful. I know I need to be better than I have been, and there's no better time than [tonight]."

• Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal looks at Jose Reyes' on-base percentage. While Reyes is hitting .333, he has only one walk, which translates into a .349 OBP. "Without a strong on-base percentage, he can't use the rest of his talents, which are so game-changing," Alderson tells Costa. "Whether he hits .350 with a .380 on-base percentage or he hits .280 with a .380 on-base percentage, it's all about getting on base." Says Reyes: "The thing that I have to do is try to swing at better pitches. Sometimes, don't get too excited about a ball outside of the strike zone. Just look for my pitch and if I get it, try to put a good swing on the ball. It's easy to say, but it's hard to do it."

• Post columnist Kevin Kernan takes a low blow. He writes:

Ollie Perez couldn't have done worse. The first real test for Sandy Alderson & Co. was to try to rebuild the middle of the Mets bullpen over the winter. So far, that reconstruction has been a complete disaster. The Chris Young signing looks like a stroke of genius, but the bullpen at Terry Collins' disposal is a lost cause right now.

Recap | Box score | Photos

Don't blame Mike Pelfrey. At least not technically.

After getting charged with seven runs in the second-shortest start of his career, Pelfrey was let off the hook when Daniel Murphy’s RBI single capped a five-run fifth and pulled the Mets even at 7.

However, a half-inning later, after a two-out double by Shane Victorino against Blaine Boyer, Placido Polanco sent an opposite-field, sinking liner toward Carlos Beltran in right field. The ball dropped under Beltran’s glove, Victorino scored and the Phillies ultimately retook the lead en route to a 10-7 win on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Boyer, who allowed three runs and five hits in two innings, including a solo homer to Ben Francisco in the sixth, was charged with the loss.

The Mets’ three-game winning streak and brief occupation of first place both ended.

Had the Mets (3-2) won, overcoming the seven-run deficit would have matched the second-largest comeback in franchise history. A 10-run eighth inning on June 30, 2000, capped by Mike Piazza’s three-run homer, lifted the Mets to an 11-8 win against the Atlanta Braves that day to overcome a seven-run deficit.

The largest comeback in franchise history was from an eight-run deficit on Sept. 2, 1972, in an 11-8 win at Houston.

Other details:

• K-ROD COUNTER: Francisco Rodriguez, who had not appeared since Saturday’s blown save, pitched the eighth with the Mets trailing by three runs. Because he was the last Mets pitcher used in the game, he was credited with his first game finished of 2011. Rodriguez now needs to finish 54 of the Mets’ final 157 games for his contract to vest at $17.5 million for 2012.

• TAYLOR TANKS: Pelfrey left the bases loaded and none out in the third, and Taylor Buchholz allowed all three inherited runners to score -- two on a single by opposing pitcher Joe Blanton.

Buchholz, who worked two innings, did strike out five batters. That was his highest K count since July 16, 2007 for the Colorado Rockies against Pittsburgh, before he required Tommy John surgery.

• JO-SE, JO-SE: Jose Reyes reached base to open the game for the third straight time. This time, Reyes bunted toward the first-base side of the mound. Blanton fielded it, but his rushed throw at Ryan Howard’s feet wasn’t handled and Reyes was credited with an infield hit.

Reyes then swiped second and reached third on a throwing error by ex-Met Brian Schneider. But for a second straight game, he was stranded on third in the first inning despite reaching there with none out. This time, Willie Harris and David Wright struck out and Beltran flied out to left field.

Reyes appeared to hurt his left hand on the headfirst slide into second base on the steal, but showed no ill effects later.

Wright ultimately struck out three times.

• CAREER NIGHT: Howard matched a career high with four hits. He homered off Pelfrey and also had a pair of doubles and a walk.

• IGNITION: Angel Pagan’s two-run homer in the fourth off Blanton, the center fielder’s first long ball of 2011, began the Mets’ rally from a 7-0 deficit.

• NEXT: Jon Niese opposes Roy Halladay in a 3:05 p.m. rubber game Thursday.

David Wright had no clue he was given a second chance for a clutch hit in the 10^th inning. He only learned about it after driving in Jose Reyes with the go-ahead run on a single off Marlins reliever Ryan Webb.

With Reyes at second base and Angel Pagan at first base and none out in the extra frame, Wright sent a foul ball down the right-field line. Marlins right fielder Scott Cousins confirmed after the game that he intentionally let it drop with the score tied, since catching it would have allowed the speedy Reyes and Pagan to tag and put two runners in scoring position with one out for Carlos Beltran (with first base open). With two strikes on Wright, Cousins was hoping the Mets’ third baseman would ultimately fan.

Wright didn’t know what had happened until he got to first base after driving in Reyes with a subsequent hit.

“It’s a pretty good play, I would imagine -- with Webb, with that kind of stuff, on the mound, to trust him to get an out,” Wright said. “You’ve got to give him credit for being heads up. Because there’s a good chance if he catches that ball it’s just like laying down a bunt. Angel on first, Reyes on second, that’s some pretty good speed.

“I guess I’m pretty grateful now, but at the time it was a pretty good play. To be honest with you, I didn’t even notice it. Actually, [first base coach] Mookie [Wilson] told me on first base, was complimenting him that it was a good play. We were talking during the pitching change.”

Wright earlier homered. He finished the game 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He tied Mike Piazza's franchise record for most game-winning RBIs with 89.

“When you watch him on the bench the whole night long, he’s into the game from the first to the last pitch,” Terry Collins said. “He walks in the dugout before the game starts with a look on his face that I haven’t seen in a long time on a player. … He’s the ultimate teammate as the game’s going on. He’s behind everybody. He’s patting guys on the back. He’s trying to lift guys up. That’s all you’re supposed to get out of the leader on your team.”

Said Wright about the 6-4, 10-inning victory: “A win’s a win, but at the same time, the way that we won it, I think is important -- to kind of lose it there late and then to come back the very next inning and get the momentum back on our side was impressive. And from what I’ve seen, being in the league, that’s what winning teams do. Even when things don’t go well late, they find a way to change the momentum around and get it back on their side.”

• Ike Davis, who had two doubles, a walk and was robbed of another hit, suggested the Mets might not have won a similar game a year ago.

“Last year we had a lot of these games and didn’t come out on top,” Davis said. “It’s good for this year to build confidence going into the later innings that we can win these things when we’re behind or in front. It’s just going to help us in the long run.”

• Francisco Rodriguez really wanted to hit in the 10^th inning Saturday night, with the Mets already up three runs. Collins instead sent Scott Hairston to pinch-hit. The manager said he would have sent out Rodriguez for a six-out performance after the closer blew the save in the ninth if the pitcher’s turn at-bat had not come up.

“It was kind of strange, me getting a helmet and batting gloves and trying to figure out which bat I was going to use,” K-Rod said. “… I don’t want to make a fool out of myself up there.”

Would he have swung?

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Rodriguez said. “If I would have seen that thing coming up, I’m going to swing as hard as I can. If I hit it, I hit it. If I don’t, good luck. … I don’t even know whose bat I grabbed. I got [Chin-lung] Hu’s helmet because he struck out. He was walking in. I took it.”

This marked Rodriguez’s first official game since he was placed on the disqualified list in August as the result of the incident with his girlfriend’s father at Citi Field.

“I was more happy than nervous,” K-Rod said.

As for blowing the save, Rodriguez said the Marlins were sitting on his breaking call. He had not allowed a run in 10 2/3 Grapefruit League innings.

“It was a pretty disappointing outing for me today,” he said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it done. The good thing, my team was able to get back in the lead and [Blaine] Boyer did a great job in the pen to finish it.”

• Collins confirmed Carlos Beltran will not start Sunday after playing consecutive full games.

“I’ll tell you, he ran for two foul balls tonight,” Collins said. “He caught one. The other one just dropped in. And those were long runs. He scored from first base. Yeah, he’s going to get a day off tomorrow.”

Said Beltran: “I will get better every day when I play more in the field. So far I feel good. … Today I was able to do a little more than yesterday in the field. I don’t think about my knees anymore. I’m just trying to play the game right.”

• Jon Niese on the difference between the two-run first inning against him and his remaining six scoreless innings, during which he allowed only one hit: “Obviously the first inning was a little rocky -- some unfortunate luck. … I think the biggest key was we stuck with our plan and it worked.”

• Josh Thole (3-for-4) felt great after his two-out RBI in the ninth gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. After all, his previous at-bat, he had rounded first base too far on a single. Right fielder Emilio Bonifacio threw behind him, initially surprising Thole, who stumbled back and was thrown out at first base.

“I took about 25 steps to get back to first,” Thole quipped about his awkwardness retreating.

Said Collins: “You know, I pinch-hit for him [Friday] night against the lefty and he never said a word, and patted the guy who was going up to hit for him on the back.”

• Reyes had been 0-for-8 before his table-setting leadoff single in the 10^th.

“I know the hits are going to come, but I was a little bit upset I didn’t get on base yet,” Reyes said. “Especially in a game like this -- close -- I love to get on base and make something happen.”

• Boyer recalled his only other major league save, which came in Philadelphia on May 14, 2008 for the Atlanta Braves. This time, he allowed one run. Then, he also allowed a run, on three straight two-out singles, before Shane Victorino’s flyout to Jeff Francoeur ended it.

Chris Capuano delivered a three-run double off Jordan Zimmermann and tossed three scoreless innings and David Wright had an opposite-field, three-run homer off Drew Storen as the Mets beat the Nationals, 8-2, Tuesday in Viera.

Carlos Beltran went 1-for-3 and played right field for five innings in his first Grapefruit League appearance since March 6. Still, Terry Collins did not get to use his Opening Day lineup, as had been planned. Jason Bay was scratched after straining a left rib-cage muscle during batting practice.

GM Sandy Alderson said the Mets may wait until close to Thursday’s 11 a.m. deadline to set rosters to decide whether to place Bay on the disabled list, but Collins did not sound optimistic about Bay breaking camp with the Mets because rib-cage muscles are vital to swinging and can linger without rest.

“They can be extremely nagging,” Collins said. “They can take a long time. They can be short. But at this particular time we’ve got to be very, very cautious because I don’t want to lose this guy for a month. If we have to lose him for a week to 10 days, that’s a helluva lot better than losing him for two months.”

Because Bay sat out the weekend with lower-back stiffness and has not appeared in a Grapefruit League game since last Thursday, any DL stint can be backdated six days into spring training. That means Bay would be eligible to come off the DL on April 9 -- which is the eighth game of the season.

As for his plan to use his Opening Day lineup (Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, David Wright, Beltran, Bay, Ike Davis, Brad Emaus and Josh Thole), Collins said, alluding to Bay being scratched: “It didn’t get off to a very good start. That’s for sure. We’ll just wait until we get the doctor’s report, and then we’ll gather together. Hopefully he’s back and it’s just something that’s minor. If not, we’ll have to rework what we’re going to do to replace him.”

Other Tuesday details:

• Capuano finished the Grapefruit League with a 1.93 ERA. Because the Mets do not need a fifth starter until the season’s eighth game, April 9 against the Nationals at Citi Field, Capuano will work out of the bullpen during the season-opening series in Miami.

Collins sounded like Capuano would be more suited for a long-relief type role if needed than to be a second left-hander with Tim Byrdak to match up against a lefty hitter. Capuano said he probably could pitch as late as Game No. 5 in Philly next Wednesday in relief, but his manager suggested that’s not likely -- that it’s more important that Capuano throws a bullpen session with pitching coach Dan Warthen to have the proper preparation for his first regular-season start. So Capuano may be used once in relief against the Marlins and that’s it for bullpen work.

“We’re going to have him that first series and that will probably be it,” Collins said.

Capuano did make 15 of his 24 appearances in relief last season with the Milwaukee Brewers after returning from Tommy John surgery, and said: “I don’t need any special treatment in terms of time getting ready. I’d imagine I’d be maybe in a longer role, maybe if the starter gets in trouble early.”

• Jason Isringhausen plans to give the Mets an answer Wednesday about whether he will agree to remain in extended spring training in Port St. Lucie after he was passed over for the final bullpen spot in favor of Blaine Boyer.

Collins sounded optimistic Isringhausen would accept.

Since the Mets will not force Izzy to remain a Met if, say, another major league team wants to add him to its 25-man roster in a week, there’s really no incentive to not continue to work out at the Port St. Lucie complex.

“I still think that as we look down the road, you’ll end up seeing him pitch for us,” Collins said. “… As I told Izzy before the game: ‘Make no mistake about it, if you’re willing to be patient a little bit and condition your arm a little bit, we’re going to need help. There’s no doubt about it.’ I don’t know of anybody who has ever gone through [the season] with the same bullpen. We’ll just see what happens tomorrow.”

• Collins was pleased with how Beltran looked. “I thought he worked the count, laid off some pitches in the dirt, which tells me he’s seeing the ball good, which is a good sign,” the manager said.

• Francisco Rodriguez continued his run-free spring. K-Rod tossed a scoreless ninth inning -- that’s a game finished if you’re paying attention to that stuff -- while allowing a hit and a walk. Rodriguez has tossed 10 2/3 scoreless Grapefruit League innings.

• Collins explained the decision to select Boyer over Isringhausen was partly because of Boyer’s ability to coax groundballs. (Izzy's durability was a major, major issue.)

“I’m a big groundball guy,” the manager said. “His numbers state that he doesn’t really give up big innings, and he makes them hit the ball on the ground. We’re going to need that.”

Boyer tossed a scoreless inning Tuesday. He was informed by Collins in the outfield before the game that he had made the team. Boyer had an out in his contract on Thursday and could have otherwise declared free agency.

He complimented the way the Mets handled the roster decision.

“When he comes up and shakes your hand and says, ‘Congratulations, we’re going to go with you,’ it’s a great feeling,” Boyer said about Collins. “I’m just thankful to be a Met. … The thing with Terry, what I really appreciate -- any player would appreciate -- is he’s extremely open. You’re around some people who, they keep the door shut. His door was always open. He’s just not keeping anything from you. He’ll tell you what he knows. From a player’s standpoint, that’s just real refreshing. That’s what he’s been doing this whole time with all of us. He’s been very open. That’s a breath of fresh air.”

Boyer, 29, went 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 54 relief appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.

• The feel-good story of Tuesday may have been right-hander Pedro Beato officially making the team. Beato -- like Emaus a Rule 5 pick -- originally was drafted by the Mets in the 17^th round in 2005 out of Brooklyn’s Xaverian High School. Beato wanted a $1 million signing bonus, the Mets only offered $750,000, and he did not sign.

A year later, Beato was selected 32^nd overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the draft. The Mets selected him in the Rule 5 draft in December after Beato went 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 43 relief appearances last season with Double-A Bowie.

“It’s special. There’s no other way to explain it,” said Beato, who still lives in Ozone Park. “I grew up a Met fan. I grew up around it. Just to be home, and playing for my home team, is really exciting.”

Beato gave up a homer to Adam LaRoche, the first batter he faced, Tuesday and has a 3.55 Grapefruit League ERA.

His parents, who raised him in Woodside and then in Ridgewood in Queens during high school, moved to Florida two years ago. Beato said he only attended a couple of games a year at Shea Stadium growing up because he was playing sandlot baseball from January through October.

“Probably half the fans are going to be friends and family,” Beato said about Citi Field’s attendance. “I already told them the tickets are not free.” (Players have to pay taxes on the value of their free tickets.)

Beato pitched in the Dominican winter league and came ready for camp.

“I made sure I came ready,” he said. “I hit the ground running. I wasn’t going to be coming here to get ready. I knew I had to make a team.”

• R.A. Dickey allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven in a 92-pitch effort over six innings for Class A St. Lucie. Dickey is scheduled to pitch opposite Javier Vazquez in the series finale in Miami.

• The Mets conclude their Grapefruit League schedule with a 12:10 p.m. game Wednesday against the Marlins in Port St. Lucie. Chris Young opposes Anibal Sanchez. The Mets, who are 16-15-2 in Grapefruit League play, then will have a late-afternoon workout Thursday at the Marlins’ stadium in Miami.

GM Sandy Alderson discusses Jason Bay’s left rib-cage muscle injury, Ronny Paulino’s stomach/colon ailment and Blaine Boyer making the Mets’ bullpen over Jason Isringhausen and Manny Acosta.

Blaine Boyer has been informed he has made the Mets' bullpen. Jason Isringhausen has been asked to stay back in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training for two weeks. Manny Acosta has been designated for assignment.

Rule 5 pick Pedro Beato also rounds out the bullpen, with Francisco Rodriguez, Bobby Parnell, Tim Byrdak, D.J. Carrasco and Taylor Buchholz.

Isringhausen has yet to give an official answer. GM Sandy Alderson said he would let Isringhausen walk in a week if a team came and had a major league spot for Isringhausen. Then again, there's no guaranteed spot for Isringhausen in two weeks.,

"We talked to Jason and have asked him to remain in Port St. Lucie for a period of time to continue to pitch, develop arm strength, etc.," Alderson said. "We won't know what he decides until probably tomorrow."

Alderson said the deciding factor was "durability ... in the sense of being able to pitch back-to-back and frequently over periods of days."

Added Alderson: "There's always going to be some injury risk associated with Jason. The next two weeks will tell us a little more about his velocity, a little bit more about how he bounces back from day to day, and it will tell us a little bit more about our own situation in New York with the bullpen."

Going into last weekend, it sounded like Blaine Boyer was the preferred choice for the final slot, if only because of concern for Jason Isringhausen's durability.

While there has been no official announcement, that still sounds like the direction it's headed. It's entirely conceivable Isringhausen stays in Port St. Lucie for a short period of time after the Mets break camp.

Blaine Boyer acknowledges the idea of starting the season in the minors was raised to him, but the right-hander -- who has a Thursday out -- understandably wants to open the season in the majors with the Mets or elsewhere and does not find that appealing.

Similarly, Jason Isringhausen says there has been no formal request to open the season in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training. (The topic was raised, though, a source confirms.)

"All we've done is talked," Izzy said. "No one has asked me to do anything."

The Mets could keep all three bubble relievers -- Manny Acosta, Boyer and Izzy -- if the latter two agree not to break camp with the Mets. But that sounds like wishful thinking on the organization's part.

Carlos Beltran makes his second Grapefruit League appearance of the spring as Terry Collins starts his Opening Day lineup in Viera against the Nationals. The Mets will lose the ability to backdate any ensuing disabled list stint once Beltran appears in a major league exhibition game, signaling a high degree of confidence he will break camp with the team. Perhaps there will be an Oliver Perez sighting as well in Viera. Chris Capuano is scheduled to pitch three innings against Washington, with R.A. Dickey staying back in Port St. Lucie and facing minor leaguers.

On to Tuesday's news reports:

• ESPNNewYork.com has learned Nick Evans, Luis Hernandez and Pat Misch are on waivers.

• With fewer and fewer teams on the Atlantic side of Florida for spring training, Laurel Pfahler talks to St. Lucie officials about their concerns about the Mets eventually jumping ship too. Pfahler notes that while the Mets' lease runs through 2018, the buyout is only $500,000 next year and $400,000 in 2013. Local officials would like to lure a second team to Port St. Lucie, to share the facility with the Mets, like the arrangement the Marlins and Cardinals have in Jupiter. The tipping point could come if the Nationals leave Viera, an hour north of Port St. Lucie, which is the rumbling.

• Frank Robinson, who managed the Montreal Expos while Major League Baseball controlled the club and contraction appeared a possibility, told the Post's Dan Martin the Mets might be in for a rougher time than he had with the now-defunct club. "It's a much larger problem than we had in Montreal because it's ongoing and it deals personally with their ownership, since a lot of them know the Wilpon family," Robinson tells Martin. "My players were jaded by the time I got there, because they had been hearing rumors about the team for a few years. ... For the Mets, it's all new. It's going to be a distraction ... They're going to have to deal with questions they can't answer and don't even know about."

• With the Mets poised to keep a pair of Rule 5 picks, second baseman Brad Emaus and right-hander Pedro Beato, Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal looks at that draft process, which takes place on the final day of the winter meetings in December. For a large-market club to carry two Rule 5 players is highly unusual. "It's rare to carry one, much less two, out of the Rule 5 draft," GM Sandy Alderson tells Costa. "You can interpret carrying two Rule 5 guys two different ways. One, great selections. Or two, not a lot of competition. But I actually think it's more the former than the latter." The picks cost the Mets $50,000 apiece. Writes Costa:

Since 1993, only six teams have had more than one Rule 5 draft pick make the Opening Day roster, according to Stats Inc. And only one of those teams finished with a winning record. "Usually it's a team like the Mets that doesn't have many up and coming prospects for the upcoming season and has some holes on their roster," said Jim Callis, executive editor of Baseball America.

The last Rule 5 selection to last a whole season with the Mets, the requirement to become the organization's official property, was catcher Kelly Stinnett in 1993. One Mets notable loss in recent years was catcher Jesus Flores to the Washington Nationals, although his promising career has been slowed by shoulder injuries. (Flores had been with St. Lucie the season before he was selected, and the Mets did a pre-draft study suggesting no catcher from Class A had ever stuck with his new team at the major league level for a full year. So they left Flores unprotected.)

Read a 20-year history of Mets selections in the Rule 5 draft that I produced on Feb. 23 here.

• Newsday's Neil Best takes a look at Bobby Valentine's new role as ESPN Sunday Night Baseball analyst. Writes Best:

He interviewed for managerial jobs. He was named director of public safety and health in Stamford, Conn. He admitted to speaking to people exploring partial ownership of the Mets. He planned a fund to aid victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, where he managed in 1995 and from 2004-09. Oh, and in December, he was given one of the most prestigious, high-profile assignments in televised baseball: as an analyst on ESPN's retooled "Sunday Night Baseball." "I was honored," he said. "I've been a lucky guy all of my life. To think a job that hadn't been open in so long all of a sudden came open and it happened to be a year after I got my wings back doing TV work, I counted my blessings."

• The Post's Mike Puma checks in with Angel Pagan about working with Beltran, since Tuesday marks the first time they will actually play alongside each other in a Grapefruit League game this spring -- and first time ever they'll do it with Pagan in center and Beltran in right. "I have to try and get used to [Beltran's] voice and how loud he calls for the ball," Pagan tells Puma. "... Whenever I call it, he'll get out of the way. But he's a very smart outfielder, and I'm sure he'll understand his role now."

Fore more on Beltran, read Newsday, Star-Ledger, Daily News and Record.

• The Times reported Jason Isringhausen has been asked to stay behind in Florida when the Mets break camp, at least for a week or two in extended spring training. That would make it easier for the Mets to get Blaine Boyer on the roster. Of course, if Boyer would go to Buffalo, Manny Acosta could get on too and the Mets could hold onto all three.

BIRTHDAYS: Ex-Mets prospect/Oakland GM Billy Beane turns 49. ... Former highly touted outfielder Alex Ochoa turns 39.

The Mets have asked Jason Isringhausen to remain in Florida for extended spring training when the Mets break camp Thursday, The New York Times reported.

Multiple sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that while impressed with Isringhausen's pitching in the Grapefruit League, the team is concerned about putting him on the roster and losing another capable reliever as a result, then having Isringhausen potentialy break down.

Blaine Boyer has been the frontrunner for the final spot in the bullpen, but the Times report suggests the Mets may want Boyer to consider beginning the year in the minors, so that Manny Acosta does not have to be exposed to waivers. The decision belongs to Boyer, however, because he has an out Thursday in his minor league contract.

Terry Collins plans to trot out his Opening Day lineup for Monday's Grapefruit League game -- at least his Carlos Beltran-less Opening Day lineup, which may be his Opening Day lineup, if that makes sense. Beltran, meanwhile, intends to take a day off and plans to play in a major league exhibition game Tuesday, which largely eliminates the ability to backdate a disabled list stint and would mean he is likely breaking camp with the team.

On to Monday's news reports:

• Newsday's David Lennon profiles 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey, the Connecticut native and right-handed pitcher from the University of North Carolina, who pitched on a back field in Jupiter in a minor league game Monday. Harvey limited the Cardinals' Class A team to one hit while issuing no walks in four scoreless innings, with a fastball that ranged from 94-96 mph and an 86 mph slider. "I feel great," Harvey tells Lennon. "I actually enjoy throwing every fifth day a lot better than once a week [in college]. I feel a lot more active and strong, and to be honest, as soon as we got on that five-day rotation, I felt a lot more comfortable. My arm felt a lot better."

• David Waldstein of the Times, in a review of Jason Isringhausen's solid Grapefruit League work, floats the idea that Bobby Parnell could be optioned to the minors to make room for Isringhausen and Blaine Boyer on the major league roster. My take: Parnell cannot go from set-up man to Triple-A Buffalo closer to preserve depth, and I don't believe the organization would actually do it. Collins is on the record saying 2010 performance, not spring training, must be the dominant factor in making decisions.

As I've mentioned, heading into the weekend, I've heard Boyer was a more likely selection because of the fear of losing him and then having Isringhausen break down. But we'll see, because Isringhausen hit 91 mph Sunday against the Cardinals, in his first Grapefruit League game since getting shut down with elbow inflammation.

• Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger sums up Isringhausen versus Boyer this way:

How to separate them? Boyer has a 0.90 ERA this spring; Isringhausen has a 1.29 ERA. Boyer threw 57 serviceable innings in 2010; Isringhausen’s right elbow has undergone three Tommy John surgeries. But Isringhausen has this: 293 career saves and a bevy of knowledge to bestow upon younger players like [Pedro] Beato and Parnell. Collins believes that provides value. He knows Rodriguez developed his on-field mentality thanks to the tutelage of Troy Percival, his former Angels teammate. Isringhausen could fill a similar role for this team.

• Pitching coach Dan Warthen tells Steve Popper of the Record about Isringhausen: "He’s had a great spring, a lot more than I expected or anticipated. I’m very happy with everything he’s throwing. He’s still got the special curveball. He’s cutting [his fastball], sinking it. He has all the pitches. By all means he can pitch in the major leagues. His stuff is there. I still don’t know what resilience there is to be able to pitch three and four times a week. That’s the only question we have.”

• Read more on Isringhausen in the Post, Daily News and Journal.

• Meanwhile, Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal notes Parnell's slider will be the key to his success. Writes Costa:

If Parnell can throw the slider for strikes, throw it in all counts and, in doing so, learn to trust it, he could well be the team's closer of the future. He would be a homegrown, low-budget successor to Francisco Rodriguez, who will earn $17.5 million in 2012 if his option vests. But if his only viable off-speed pitch fails him, if he cannot continue to evolve as a pitcher, then a middle reliever is all he will likely be. "The league knows who he is now, so they're all cheating on fastballs," Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said. "He could throw his slider for a strike, get strike one and even put people away with it, because they're all going to be geared up."

• Andy Martino in the Daily News notes Nick Evans' days with the Mets may be numbered. The only way Evans can make the Opening Day roster appears to be if Beltran is on the DL, and that's only temporary anyway. At some point, Evans has to be exposed to waivers before being sent to Buffalo, where any team can select him. Will Evans get through waivers? I've heard mixed things, although more industry sources believe he will clear than be claimed -- especially if the Mets wait until in-season to place Evans on waivers, because other teams' 25- and 40-man rosters are largely full at that point.

"I'm completely unsure of what's going on, and where I'm going to be a week from now," Evans tells Martino. "I'm really trying hard not to think about it. It sounds stupid, but I'm trying not to wonder about it -- although I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't curious."

Also out of options and unlikely to make the club are Manny Acosta, Pat Misch and Luis Hernandez. Because of a lack of sound backup middle infielders around baseball, Hernandez may very well get traded in the next few days, since he would be fairly likely to get claimed. Misch actually can declare himself a free agent if he cleared waivers, although he would be expected to stay with the organization because his 2011 minor league salary with the Mets would be better than he could get elsewhere, and it's often better to be where they know and think highly of you. Under that scenario, Misch might form a quality Triple-A rotation with Dillon Gee, Jenrry Mejia, Boof Bonser and Josh Stinson.

• Post columnist Kevin Kernan remained back in Port St. Lucie to watch Beltran go 2-for-5 in a Triple-A game Sunday. Writes Kernan:

Beltran had his most positive day of spring training yesterday, playing right field for five innings in a minor-league game against the Cardinals, batting left-handed, going 2-for-5 with three RBIs, scoring a run and testing his left knee in a variety of ways, including ranging to his right to catch a line drive. He looked so much better than he did Saturday. He smiled and joked with teammates. And after a slow start, popping up and striking out, he seemed to find his swing by the end of the hot, sunny day. When it was over, a confident Beltran sat at his locker and said he is on target for Opening Day.

BIRTHDAYS: Paul Wilson, part of Generation K with Isringhausen and Bill Pulsipher, turns 38.

Jon Niese surrendered a two-run homer to Allen Craig and was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three in five innings of a breezy, one-hour, 51-minute loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in Jupiter. Blaine Boyer, Jason Isringhausen and Taylor Buchholz each contributed scoreless relief innings in the 3-1 defeat.

The details:

• With six bullpen spots seemingly decided (Francisco Rodriguez, Bobby Parnell, Tim Byrdak, Buchholz, D.J. Carrasco and Pedro Beato), Isringhausen and Boyer realize they may be competing for one spot -- technically with out-of-options Manny Acosta and Pat Misch as the other contenders.

“Me and Boyer hate each other,” Izzy joked inside the visitors’ clubhouse in Jupiter after they each tossed a scoreless inning.

Replied Boyer: “We argued yesterday and wrestled.”

In the sixth, Boyer allowed a leadoff single to Craig. He then retired Jon Jay on a flyout to center and completed a scoreless frame by coaxing Nick Stavinoha into a 1-6-3 double play.

The following inning, in his first Grapefruit League appearance since elbow inflammation briefly shut him down, Isringhausen fielded David Freese’s swinging bunt down the third-base line and fired to first base for the first out. He then retired Gerald Laird on a foul pop-up to catcher Mike Nickeas and Daniel Descalso on a foul fly ball to left field to complete a seven-pitch frame.

“Anytime you put up a zero, that’s what people want,” said Boyer, who is on a minor league deal, but who has a Thursday out in his contract. “As far as a reliever, four pitches [in that inning], that’s what we’re called to do. It doesn’t matter how it happens as long as you get a zero up there. … I’ve shown everybody I’m able to work the two-seamer. It’s still here. Everything is working good. Velocity is good. I’m getting lefties out. My slider is fantastic now, I think, at least as far as I’m concerned. I like what I’m doing.”

Said Isringhausen: “If he makes the team, I want him to do well, because I want the Mets to win. They’re still my first team ever, and I still root for them every day. And I’ll still root for the Cardinals [another former employer] -- just not when I play against one or the other. I’ve said all along I want to make the decision tough for them. And if I’ve done that, I’ve done my job coming into spring. I’ve proven to myself I can pitch again. That’s all I care about.”

Going into front-office meetings Sunday, it sounded like Boyer had the advantage, in part because the Mets are leery of losing him and then having an injury-susceptible pitcher such as Isringhausen potentially break down.

“There’s always going to be questions about my health. That’s just always going to be there,” Isringhausen said. “… If my arm is healthy, I’m going to get people out. I know that.”

Said Terry Collins: “They both have had very, very good springs. They’ve both thrown the ball well. So we just have to sit down and look at all the options we have and make a decision. … It’s going to be a very, very tough decision. And somebody is going to be disappointed, for sure. That’s the nature of the game.”

The Mets may start trimming the field Monday by placing players such as Acosta and Misch on waivers, although that 48-hour process is supposed to be a secret.

Isringhausen repeated he’s not interested in going to the minors, although he didn’t outright rule out staying in extended spring training.

“I won’t go to the minor leagues,” he said. “I don’t know what their plans are, or what they’re going to talk to me about. We’ll just see what happens. I’ll make that decision then. As of right now, my decision is not to go to the minor leagues. We’ll just leave it at that right now.”

Asked specifically about just staying at the Mets’ Florida complex for extended spring training, he added: “We’ll address all that when it comes about. I don’t know. I’ve got to talk to a lot of people before I make a decision. We’ll figure it out.”

Boyer summed up the circumstance by saying a murky status isn’t something he thinks about on the mound “but when you go home and try to plan for the season, you can’t help but wonder, ‘All right, is it going to be in New York? Is it going to be somewhere else?’”

• Niese had his final tune-up for Saturday’s start in Miami against the Marlins opposite Ricky Nolasco, after Mike Pelfrey handles Opening Day against Josh Johnson. Niese finished with a 4.62 Grapefruit League ERA.

He walked opposing pitcher Kyle McClellan ahead of Craig’s two-run homer. Niese threw 64 pitches (45 strikes).

“It went a lot easier today. I was able to get quick outs,” Niese said. “Obviously the mistakes I made I paid for them. That goes along with pitching, and it’s a learning experience.”

• Carlos Beltran went 2-for-5 with three RBIs against the Cardinals’ Triple-A Springfield affiliate in Port St. Lucie. It marked his second straight day playing five innings in right field. Afterward, Beltran predicted he would appear in a Grapefruit League game Tuesday.

“I’m happy the way I’ve been feeling,” Beltran told Rich Coutinho. “I’m just looking forward to continuing to get better. … There are going to be days where you feel better than others. Yesterday I didn’t have a good day. Today I was able to get two hits out of five at-bats. Basically we gain confidence by results. That’s how this game works.”

Collins would prefer Beltran play Grapefruit League games Monday and Wednesday, but said he will defer to Beltran, in case the right fielder wants to try Tuesday and Wednesday instead.

Beltran indicated he wants to sit out Monday.

“Tomorrow’s going to be kind of like a day off rehabbing,” he said, “and then Tuesday being able to play with the team.”

Actually, Alderson said, there has not been a formal decision yet to use Beltran in a major league exhibition game. Once Beltran appears in the Grapefruit League, the Mets largely lose the ability to backdate any ensuing DL stint.

Collins did allow Sunday afternoon that he might use a defensive replacement such as Willie Harris for Beltran late in early season games assuming Beltran is on the Opening Day roster.

“As we try to keep him healthy and keep him going on a daily basis, I haven’t talked to him, but he’s done so far what’s best for the club,” Collins said. “That’s the only way he’s gone about things so far. And I don’t think that will change.”

Regardless, Beltran sounded like he planned to be active with the Mets on Friday in Miami, even if he has a tall order in the Marlins' Opening Day starter.

"I don't think there are going to be a lot of people ready for Josh Johnson, honestly," Beltran said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the game."

• Daniel Murphy played a full nine innings in right field in the Double-A game, going 1-for-5. The Mets want to increase Murphy's versatility for a utility role, even if he's unlikely to start a regular-season game in the outfield.

• R.A. Dickey, whose wife Anne gave birth to son Van Allen on Friday in Nashville with the knuckleballer by her side, is expected to pitch in a minor league game Monday to avoid facing the Marlins. Dickey is scheduled to face Florida in Game 3 of the regular season opposite Javier Vazquez. Boof Bonser instead is scheduled to start Monday’s Grapefruit League game.

• The Mets’ Twitter following may take a hit after an MLB security meeting Monday morning with players. A similar meeting in Cardinals camp prompted prolific tweeter Ryan Franklin to halt his activities.

• Scott Hairston accounted for the Mets’ lone run, with a first-inning homer off McClellan.

As it turns out, right-handed reliever Blaine Boyer has a March 31 out in his minor league contract, which was not widely known. That puts him on a far more level playing field against the relievers he is competing with who are out of options, and may very well put Boyer atop the field to claim the final bullpen spot.

There are five apparent no-brainers for the bullpen: Francisco Rodriguez, Bobby Parnell, D.J. Carrasco, Taylor Buchholz and Tim Byrdak. Rule 5 pick Pedro Beato appears in good shape for a sixth spot.

And Boyer just may be chosen over Jason Isringhausen, Manny Acosta, Pat Misch and Mike O'Connor for the final spot -- even if that means exposing Acosta and Misch to waivers. One Mets official and one person in the clubhouse have been maintaing for a while that Boyer had a very good chance.

The Mets have been down the road of having veteran players break down during a season because of injury, which may give serious pause to placing Isringhausen on the roster. O'Connor is on a minor league contract.

Boyer, 29, has a 1.13 ERA with seven strikeouts and two walks in eight Grapefruit League innings. He went 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 54 relief appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season.