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Sandy Alderson said he hoped to limit his comments in 2012 to his area of responsibility, but he stood behind comments made last month that Fred Wilpon and family should close on some minority investment sales in January. The Mets are selling $20 million blocks of the team to raise funds.

"There is nothing that I said in those other [non-player] areas at Christmas that has changed from my standpoint," Alderson said Thursday. "But what I expect to do as we go forward here is focus on the team, which I think is most important from my standpoint. That's my area of responsibility and I'm going to try to limit myself to that."

There is nothing really rich people like less than having an embarrassing story on the cover of the New York Times. This story, from Richard Sandomir, appeared on the front page of the Times today. So, another dark day in the crumbling Wilpon ownership. Let's get to some of the details, which would be hilarious if they didn't underline the disgrace this situation has become.

The story details how for $20 million, you can have a non-controlling interest in the Mets. What does this entail? Well, let's look at the highlights from the term sheet the Times obtained (with Sandomir's little slaps included below). For $20M, you get:

¶ Access to Mr. Met, the team mascot, although the degree of access is not entirely spelled out. It definitely means you, as a part-owner, can schmooze with Mr. Met at Citi Field. It’s less clear whether you could get him to come to your child’s birthday party without a fee.

¶ A formal business card, complete with the prominent designation: “Owner.”

¶ And if you are a wealthy doctor, commodities trader or real estate mogul who wants to try to swat the ball over the newly pulled-in outfield fences at Citi Field on a Mets day off, you are entitled to attend what appears to be an exclusive kind of fantasy camp: “Owners’ workout day.”

You also get discounted tickets, free parking and discounted team apparel. Yippee!

The stakes in the team are being sold off because, as you may have heard, the Wilpons are doing a new variation of the movie Trading Places.

So, step right up, readers of this blog, bail the Wilpons out and you, too, can see Mr. Met often and park for free!!!

We know this situation is dreadful for you, Mets fans, so let's lighten the mood a little here -- use the comments section below to suggest some additional perks the Mets could include with their ownership stakes.

What would it take for you to buy in, and how much are you willing to offer? (Keep it clean.)

Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said Monday that the sale of small blocks of the team to minority investors is “going very well,” but he declined to offer any specifics about the progress.

The Wilpons are seeking multiple small shareholders to offset the loss of the planned $200 million minority investment from David Einhorn, which fell through Sept. 1.

Team sources previously told ESPNNewYork.com the Mets were looking to sell shares in varying amounts in the neighborhood of $15 million to $20 million apiece with the hope of raising in the vicinity of what Einhorn planned to invest.

Wilpon declined to identify anybody who has followed through and invested at that level.

“Some of the people don’t want to be public,” Wilpon said. “Some of the people might never be public. I don’t think anybody knows all the minority shareholders in each of the other teams. Do you know all the minority shareholders in Atlanta or Kansas City or St. Louis, Cincinnati, the Yankees? It’s just not widely known.”

Wilpon went on to say that this would be a non-issue if the minority investors had come on board at the same time as his family bought in.

“If they were brought in Day 1, it would be just like any other [team’s] situation,” Wilpon said.

Of course, it is not like other teams’ situations because Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon has estimated during the season that the organization would lose roughly $75 million in 2011. The family also still faces a lawsuit from the trustee trying to recover funds for victims of convicted swindler Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Commissioner Bud Selig also acknowledged last week that the Mets had not repaid a $25 million loan from Major League Baseball, although Selig expressed confidence in the state of the team’s finances.

“We're doing fine with the Mets,” Selig said. “I don’t have any concerns about the Mets, as I think I've told you before. They're working on an alternative financing plan, and they seem to be very encouraged, and I'm encouraged. I do have a lot of worries today, but frankly I’m happy to say the Mets are not one of them.”

As for getting the minority investors all on board, Jeff Wilpon said: “There’s an internal timetable that we’re not going to share. There’s not a deadline … that everything has to be done.”

A 71-minute rain delay with the Mets holding a three-run lead knocked out Dillon Gee short of qualifying for the victory, but the Mets nonetheless moved to .500 for the first time since May 20 with a 4-0 win against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. D.J. Carrasco, Bobby Parnell and Francisco Rodriguez combined to toss five scoreless relief innings.

Thursday's news reports:

• Terry Collins said Jason Bay is his left fielder, despite having sat him three times since last Thursday. Bay went 2-for-4 with a steal and also ran to track down two balls in left field in the ninth to benefit K-Rod. "It’s the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Bay said. “I played the aggressor rather than being on the defensive up there.” Said Collins: “As I just told him at the end of the game, not only the two hits, I thought he swung the bat much better tonight. One of the best things about our game is you can help in so many ways. Those two plays in the ninth inning, those were good catches. He ran a long way, especially for the first one.” Read more in the Post and Newsday.

• Tim Byrdak expects to return at about game time Thursday after flying to Chicago on Wednesday morning to attend a funeral. With the extraordinary bullpen performances from Carrasco and Parnell, the Mets made Byrdak's one-game absence -- and the lack of a left-hander in the bullpen -- barely noticeable. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Record and Newsday.

• Scott Kazmir is being released by the Angels, who will eat $14.5 million. Like with the Mets and Ollie Perez, L.A. is picking up the tab. So essentially Kazmir would cost the major league minimum.

• Read game stories from the 4-0 win, which lifted the Mets to .500, in the Times, Record, Post, Star-Ledger, Daily News and Newsday.

• Collins closed the book on water-gate, with Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez denying any intent over over-wetting the field to try to slow down Jose Reyes. Read more in the Journal, Record and Newsday.

• Forbes reported the price for David Einhorn to up his stake from 33 to 60 percent ownership if Fred Wilpon and family don't block it by returning his $200 milllion is $1 extra. The Mets issued a statement talking in general about inaccuracies in reporting about the sale's financial terms. Read more in the Post.

BIRTHDAY: Calvin Schiraldi turns 49. Schiraldi’s career started with the Mets. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox prior to the 1986 season, in the deal that netted Bob Ojeda. Schiraldi had a chance for ultimate revenge in Game 6 of the World Series that year, but ended up the losing pitcher after the Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th to send the series to a winner-take-all seventh game. -Mark Simon

ESPNNewYork.com provided most of the substantive details of David Einhorn's confidential agreement to purchase one-third of the Mets for $200 million in late May. That includes that Einhorn will have the option to up his percentage to 60 percent in coming years, but can be blocked by Fred Wilpon and family if they return Einhorn's original investment and allow him to keep one-sixth of the team.

The cost to up the percentage from 33 percent to 60 percent if the Wilpons cannot block the option by returning the $200 million? Forbes reports it is a measly $1, citing a banker familiar with the deal. Writes author Mike Ozanian:

Though the deal is not final and is subject to the approval of MLB, its terms underscore the desperation of Wilpon and Katz, whose team is swimming in debt, bleeding cash and losing fans. The Mets could post a net loss of $70 million this year, $20 million more than 2010.

Forbes reports Einhorn's option to up his stake to 60 percent is in three years, which is originally what ESPNNewYork.com reported. However, sources now tell me it may be as many as five years away.

UPDATE: The Mets issued this statement: “Through the entire sale process, there has been and continues to be widespread misinformation and sometimes completely baseless and unfounded speculation about the terms of the potential agreement.”

Chris Capuano returns to Miller Park, where the Brewers are 21-7, to face his former club. Jason Bay returns to the lineup in the No. 6 slot, according to Terry Collins, after a mental break. And the severity of Carlos Beltran's right shin injury gets clearer. Read the series preview here.

Tuesday's news reports:

• The Mets selected 18-year-old high school outfielder Brandon Nimmo from Wyoming with the 13th overall pick. He received a congratulatory call from David Wright, who was hanging out in the Mets' draft room. Read Nimmo's story here. The Mets then took Oklahoma prep right-hander Michael Fulmer with the 44th overall pick, which they acquired for losing Pedro Feliciano as a free agent to the Yankees. Both players have committed to the University of Arkansas, but have not met on a recruiting visit or otherwise. "I heard a ton about him -- a great ballplayer, a great outfielder, I've heard," Fulmer said about Nimmo. "I was looking forward to playing with him at Arkansas. Even better now looking forward to playing with him with the Mets." Read additional draft coverage in Newsday, the Times, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• Newsday's Steve Marcus reports David Einhorn's arrangement to buy a minority share of the Mets is under review by Major League Baseball. Neither side has expressed any concern a deal will not be finalized.

• Einhorn moved from New Jersey to an affluent Milwaukee suburb as a 7-year-old, and converted to Brewers fan. The Times' Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson note Einhorn has had aspirations of owning a major league team for a while. He was late to the party when the Brewers were sold to New York businessman Mark Attanasio. And he met in 2009 with Bob DuPuy, then MLB president, trying to learn the mechanics of becoming a baseball owner, according to the newspaper.

• Wright says being shut down for three additional weeks, while not expected, should allow the stress fracture to heal and prevent the issue from lingering. "If they allowed me to do what I want to do, which is play right now, then it would affect me," Wright told the Post's Dan Martin. "But once it heals properly, it shouldn't hurt me. I think it will be behind me. ... The doctors told me there are two different aspects of core muscles: The ones you work on when you do sit-ups that look good at the beach and then there's an inner-layer that supports your spine and your organs. Those are the things I'm working on now and will have to continue to strengthen long term."

• Gary Carter begins radiation treatments Tuesday to combat brain cancer. 1986 manager Davey Johnson, who represented the Washington Nationals at the draft on Monday night, told the Post's Tim Bontemps that Carter has the disposition to combat the cancer. "He's a tough cookie," Johnson told Bontemps. "If you can handle catching all those years, you can probably beat a little thing like this. ... We had a good long chat. I told him, 'If anybody can beat this, it's you. You're a gamer, and you'll bring this thing to its knees.' And I'm sure he will."

• Lenny Dykstra was jailed Monday with accusations of grand theft auto.

• Newsday's David Lennon says Beltran may play Tuesday. Or maybe not. Writes Lennon:

The Mets expect to have Carlos Beltran back in the lineup for Tuesday night's series opener against the Brewers at Miller Park. Just as they planned for David Wright to return from a stress fracture of his lower back in two weeks. Just as they anticipated that Ike Davis would shake off a sprain and bone bruise of his right ankle with a 15-day DL stint.

• Bay is in an 0-for-17 rut and does not have any answers. He sat Sunday, even after Beltran left the game after fouling a ball off himself. Writes Brian Costa in The Wall Street Journal:

The old Jason Bay lives. He can be found at Citi Field in the early afternoons, when the sound of ball meeting bat echoes throughout an empty ballpark. He goes out for early batting practice, searching for answers. And every day, it appears he has found them. "He's putting balls in the second deck," Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens said. "It's unbelievable. Then during the game..." It is difficult for Hudgens to explain what happens next. When the sun sets over the left-field stands and the lights go on, the old Jason Bay vanishes. And the Mets' $66 million mystery emerges.

• Frank Viola, who had the ceremonial role of representing the Mets at the draft in Secaucus, praised 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey, who has excelled at Class A St. Lucie. "The best thing about him is that he has a game-plan," Viola told the Post's Martin. "Kids do not have a routine. They don't follow through and repeat. He's so far ahead of the curve in knowing what he needs to do to get where he is going."

• Capuano is not expecting "Welcome Back" banners at Miller Park when he faces his former club on Tuesday. Capuano was drafted by the Diamondbacks out of Duke and traded to the Brewers in December 2003, in a deal that sent Richie Sexson to the desert. "Milwaukee was home to me for a while, but I’m not really thinking about it as any different type of a game,” Capuano told the Record's Art Stapleton. “For me, it doesn’t have any more significance. It’s another start for me and that’s it.”

• Steve Popper profiles Dillon Gee in the Record. "He’s proved that he can pitch here at this level with very good success," Collins said about the 6-0 rookie. "I guess I’m not surprised by it. He showed that in September. You’ve got to be careful what you see in March and what you see in September. This guy, all he’s done is build on what he did in September. Do we expect more from that? I don’t think you need more than what he’s doing."

BIRTHDAY: Esix Snead turns 35. An outfielder with amazing speed, Snead hit one home run in 14 career at-bats, but he made it count. It was a walk-off shot against the Expos on Sept. 21, 2002. -Mark Simon

Daniel Murphy had first-base difficulty in the top of the ninth, then grounded into a game-ending double play a half-inning later as the Mets lost to the Phillies, 7-4, on Friday night at Citi Field. Francisco Rodriguez's scoreless streak ended at 19 2/3 innings. "You don't get it done they're going to boo you," K-Rod said about receiving jeers from the fans despite his success. "It's as simple as that."

Saturday's news reports:

• David Einhorn has a path to majority ownership of the Mets in three years, a source tells ESPNNewYork.com. The source indicated Einhorn has an option at that point to up his share from 33 percent to 60 percent, but that Fred Wilpon and family can block that transaction by returning Einhorn's $200 million yet letting him keep one-third of the team.

• Sandy Alderson met with Einhorn two months ago, as he did with other ownership candidates. The GM described the hedge-fund guru as "enthusiastic" and "knowledgeable," according to Newsday. A source told ESPNNewYork.com that all things being equal bid-wise, Alderson's recommendation was for the McCann brothers of 1-800-FLOWERS.com to be the minority owner.

• David Wright's parents think he's a superstar, the third baseman said with a laugh. As for Wilpon's apology, Wright said: "He called to say that he misspoke, and that he appreciated the response and that he loves the team and the organization and he'd never do anything to try to embarrass us." Read more from Ian Begley at ESPNNewYork.com as well as in the Star-Ledger, Journal, Post, Daily News and Newsday.

• ESPNNewYork.com columnist Ian O'Connor says it's telling that Wright never referred to Wilpon by name during a lengthy interview Friday. Writes O'Connor:

Wright appeared more likely to play a $200-million game of poker with David Einhorn, minority owner-to-be, than to acknowledge that the Mets' majority owner was actually given a name at birth. It reminded of the time a war-weary President Johnson conceded, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America."

Post columnist Joel Sherman agrees with O'Connor's assessment, writing:

As of late yesterday afternoon -- the fifth day after the story was published -- Fred had left an apology on Wright's voice mail and Wright had volleyed back a message to Fred. Thus, in an age of 24-hour communications, Fred and Wright had managed to go at least 100 hours without speaking to each other, when supposedly that was an important issue for both men. It felt like purposeful dodge ball and, again, what was spoken between the lines was Wright's belief it was now incumbent upon the owner to make this connection.

• Post columnist Kevin Kernan writes Wright ought to go to the Phillies when his contract expires in two years (including the team option for 2013):

Consider this dooms day Mets scenario: David Wright leaves the Mets, becomes the Phillies third baseman after next season and he again finds his power stroke in Citizens Bank Park. He'll be 30 and in the prime of his career. Wright's contract is up after 2012. He gets $15 million next year. In 2013, the Mets own a $16 million option, not the kind of money you really want to spend on a "very good player. Not a superstar," as Fred Wilpon noted of Wright. Maybe the Phillies see Wright in a different light.

• Record columnist Tara Sullivan writes about Wright:

If you think Wright is tortured because his owner thinks he’s merely, a “very good player” but “not a superstar,” you’re wrong. The real torture is not being on the field for games like Friday’s 6-4 loss to the Phillies, which featured a long-dormant stadium turning alive with buzz. “No question, being on the DL is much worse,” said Wright, similarly pained by missing last weekend’s Subway Series. “I’m bored as hell and driving myself crazy. It stinks that I wake up in the morning and I know I won’t have an effect on the outcome of the game. But just to watch the team gets the adrenaline flowing.”

• Sadly, doctors at Duke believe Gary Carter's four tumors on his brain likely are malignant. ESPN's Mark Simon writes about what makes Carter special. Read more about Carter's medical situation in the Star-Ledger, Daily News and Record (via AP).

Teammate Keith Hernandez tells Newsday about Carter: "I was hoping it was going to be benign. It's my worst fears. What can you say? My prayers go out to him." Said Mookie Wilson: "We know that he's a competitor. I think that gives him an edge. I think the doctors are going to detail what kind of treatment. Knowing him, he's going to go in intent on beating it.''

• R.A. Dickey has a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot, the Mets announced Friday. Dickey will try to throw a bullpen session Sunday, and is hopeful he can make his regular start two days later. The Mets made a flurry of roster moves before Friday's game, activating Angel Pagan from the disabled list and adding ex-Rays reliever reliever Dale Thayer from Triple-A Buffalo, while demoting Fernando Martinez and designating Pat Misch for assignment. Pagan actually had a stress fracture in a rib. Read more in Newsday, the Post, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey tossed seven scoreless innings in what might be his final Florida State League outing before rising to Double-A Binghamton, while top second-base prospect Reese Havens has moved to the B-Mets after overcoming oblique/rib issues.

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

• Star-Ledger columnist Jeff Bradley said the Mets are out-armed in the rotation against the Phillies, especially minus Johan Santana. Writes Bradley:

But battling without Santana, especially against the Phillies and their Four Aces, the Mets are fighting out of their weight class. The Mets current rotation — Chris Capuano, R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathon Niese and Dillon Gee — entered Friday night’s game with 150 career wins. That’s 25 fewer than Phillies ace Roy Halladay. To think of how hard Terry Collins’ call-ups and fill-ins have battled to hang near .500, it’s hard not to look at Santana’s empty locker and think about how much that one injury is hurting this club.

• Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff says Mets fans still feel compelled to show up, despite all the adversity.

• Newsday's Mark Herrmann profiles Rich Donnelly, the first-year Brooklyn Cyclones manager. Specifically, Herrmann discusses with Donnelly the death of the manager's daughter Amy at age 18 in January 1993 from a brain tumor, the season after Donnelly was third base coach on the 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates. Writes Hermann:

Donnelly always had been considered a good baseball man, but since Amy's death, he has focused on being a good man, period. He rekindled his Catholic faith. He began giving motivational speeches. He became involved in charitable causes such as a buddy's road race in Haddonfield, N.J., for young cancer patients. It is held under the stars and is called "The Chicken Run at Midnight." "She has touched so many lives since then. I've made so many connections with people," Donnelly said on the phone from Port St. Lucie, where he is running the Mets' extended spring training team and preparing for the Cyclones' opener in June.

BIRTHDAYS: Former Mets catcher Mike DiFelice turns 42. He hit .171 in 42 games as a Met (82 at-bats) from 2005 to 2007. DiFelice managed Kingsport for the Mets last season, but departed when the new front office arrived. There are actually six Mets position players with at least 75 plate appearances whose Mets batting average is worse than DiFelice's. Norm Sherry’s .136 rates worst. ... Reliever Ryota Igarashi, who is with Triple-A Buffalo, turns 32. -Mark Simon

David Einhorn, who has been selected to join the New York Mets ownership group as a minority partner, has a path to majority ownership, a source familiar with the still-not-finalized terms told ESPNNewYork.com. Einhorn has agreed in principal to purchase roughly 33 percent of the team for $200 million, which will infuse cash and keep the organization solvent in the immediate future. He can try to become majority owner in three years.

Read the full story here

The Mets lost to the Cubs, 9-3, in the rubber game at frigid Wrigley Field. And they lost R.A. Dickey in the third inning to pain in his right heel. But Fred Wilpon and family did get a pledge of $200 million from David Einhorn to purchase a minority, non-controlling share of the team.

Friday's news reports:

• Record columnist Bob Klapisch believes Einhorn has bigger ambitions than a silent 30 percent share. He notes how Einhorn this week called for the ouster of Microsoft's top executive. Writes Klapisch:

Ask yourself: If Einhorn, a human shark, is ready to take down one of the nation’s foremost executives, what chance do the Wilpons have of surviving? Einhorn already knows how badly the Wilpons, along with brother-in-law Saul Katz, have ruined the franchise. Despite a beautiful, still-new ballpark, a highly successful regional sports network and a stage in the country’s biggest market, the Mets are nearly $600 million in debt, on their way to losing $70 million in 2011 alone. Einhorn knows Irving Picard, the Madoff bankruptcy attorney, is moving relentlessly toward a $1 billion judgment against Sterling Equities. Even if he doesn’t get that amount and chooses to settle, the cost of making the case go away is more than the Wilpons can withstand.

• The Times' Richard Sandomir and Andrew Ross Sorkin suggest the Wilpons erred in announcing the deal before it is officially signed and completed. They write:

Though announcing that a buyer has entered an exclusive negotiating period to buy all or part of a sports team is not rare, it carries some risk. Several sports bankers said that by identifying a single investor, the Mets had given Einhorn leverage to demand a better deal before it is completed. And if the talks fall through, the Mets risk embarrassment — and will again be in dire need of cash. “Rule No. 1 is you never have a press conference unless you have a deal signed,” said a banker who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to affect the business he does with the Mets. “Now Einhorn owns them because they have to do the deal.”

• Newsday's Michael Amon and Neil Best suggest the $200 million infusion from Einhorn may not be enough to salvage the organization's finances. That's primarily because the Wilpons still face a $1 billion-plus lawsuit from Irving Picard. The reporters quote Robert Boland, an NYU sports business professor, saying: "I think, sadly, the Picard situation is the greatest threat to the Wilpons' continued ownership of the Mets." Write Amon and Best:

In an interview in Sports Illustrated before the agreement was announced, Wilpon said $25 million from an investor would go to pay off an emergency loan last fall from Major League Baseball , $75 million to reduce other debt and $100 million to cover operating costs. Still, should Wilpon and Katz fail in the showdown with Picard, they may be forced to sell the team -- and Einhorn would have a good shot to take over, said the source familiar with the deal.

• Read more coverage of the sale in the Journal, Star-Ledger, Daily News, Post and Record.

• Read more on Dickey's injury in the Record, Post, Star-Ledger, Times, Daily News and Newsday.

• Angel Pagan probably will be activated Friday, even if his one-game rehab relocation to Triple-A Buffalo was rained out. Terry Collins indicated Fernando Martinez is the likely demotee. Also injury-related, Ike Davis' sprained left ankle is not progressing. Read more on the injury updates in Newsday and the Star-Ledger.

• The Wilpons are trying to move the $1 billion lawsuit against them from U.S. Bankruptcy Court to Federal District Court, Newsday reports. The article speculates the request buys time because it needs to be heard, and also attempts to move the case out of Picard's bankruptcy court turf. One expert, Howard Kleinhendler, was skeptical the maneuver would actually result in a shift of courts because "the trustee is doing garden variety bankruptcy work."

• The Wall Street Journal looks at the trend of Wall Street financiers becoming sports owners, writing:

So far, three people with ties to the region's financial industry have taken the full plunge and become majority and managing owners of Major League teams. They are Bronx-bred Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, Boston's John Henry and Brooklyn native and Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.

BIRTHDAY: Former Mets catcher Todd Hundley turns 41. Hundley hit 124 home runs for the Mets from 1990 to 1998. He shares the club record for long balls in a season with 41, a mark matched by Carlos Beltran in 2006. -Mark Simon

Hedge fund guru Steve Cohen, declared the frontrunner for a minority share in the Mets by the Post, has now lost interest in buying into the team, the newspaper reported. The Post added that Fred Wilpon and partners are now reapproaching bidders whose inquiries were originally rejected. The report also suggested it's now impractical for the minority partner to be identified by the upcoming ownership meetings.

The reports states:

Cohen may be falling from his leadership position because MLB, which must approve his investment, has some questions about the reported federal probe into trading activity at Cohen's SAC Capital, a source close to the situation said. The Wall Street Journal last week reported that prosecutors are investigating trades in Cohen's personal account at SAC Capital since he made trades recommended by former associates who have pleaded guilty to insider trading.

While appearing on the premiere of Mike Lupica's 2 p.m. radio show on ESPN New York 1050, commissioner Bud Selig maintained comparing the Mets' and Dodgers' financial messes is inappropriate:

"There are enormous complexities in both deals," Selig said. "I've read all these stories that say 'Well, they're really the same.' They're far from the same. Without going into details that haven't been announced, Fred Wilpon and I have been friends for a long time, and I have enormous respect and affection for him. But Fred Wilpon is doing what he should do. He's looking for an economic mechanism that will bring equity into the club -- sheer raw cash to put it in the most candid way. That alone is a huge difference.

"To compare one situation to the other is factually incorrect. I've talked to Fred a lot about it, and I feel very comfortable that we're gonna have a very reasoned economic solution to that problem as opposed to another.

"They're approaching it the way I would've approached it. They're looking to add equity and I don't doubt that's gonna work out. The Madoff situation? That's well in the future. But in this case, to solve the immediate problem, they're doing it."

Read more of Selig's comments here.

Andre Ethier extended his hitting streak to 30 games, and can match the Dodgers franchise record on Saturday. But the Mets got the victory, topping Los Angeles in the series opener, 6-3, behind a three-run homer from Jason Pridie and Ike Davis' solo shot.

On walking Davis ahead of Pridie's game-tilting long ball, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters: “Your last thought is a three-run homer there, especially in this ballpark. There were some balls that were crushed that didn’t go out tonight.”

Saturday's news reports:

• Steve Cohen, who is named in reports as the frontrunner to buy a minority share of the Mets, likely would be scrutinized by Major League Baseball, the Times reports. Writes Richard Sandomir:

Cohen, who used to shun the spotlight, is a hedge fund manager whose profits have been consistently lucrative and whose trading records are now being examined as part of a discovery request by federal prosecutors in an insider-trading investigation. ... Cohen’s background, which includes a nasty divorce from his first wife, and financial wherewithal have been vetted by baseball. But if he advances to a deal with the Mets, he will face a final level of approval, from Commissioner Bud Selig. Selig alone rules on the sale of minority interests in teams. ...

Selig’s recent experience with another hedge fund manager, Andrew Herenstein, led to a change in policy. Herenstein became involved in the tangled and troubled finances of the Texas Rangers a year ago when he acquired more than $100 million in team debt. That led baseball, concerned about the lack of transparency that prevails in the hedge fund world, to require hedge funds to seek approval before doing things like buy debt.

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

• Angel Pagan reinjured his troublesome left oblique and will not return to the Mets on Saturday as planned, or in the near future. Read more in Newsday, the Record and Star-Ledger.

• Dillon Gee may -- may -- get Sunday's start.

• Record columnist Bob Klapisch says Mattingly, who worked under Joe Torre, is handling the Dodgers' ownership saga well. Writes Klapisch:

Mattingly is embarrassed -- what Dodger employee wouldn’t be? -- but here’s where the years of mentoring from Joe Torre come in handy. Mattingly is acting as the buffer between McCourt and his players, reminding them that the franchise’s Enron-like crisis has nothing to do with the wins and losses, even if the Dodgers are struggling to reach .500. “Don’t let this become an excuse,” is the line Mattingly has repeated to his players, a message delivered without a gimmick or agenda.

Daily News columnist Filip Bondy also opines about Mattingly. Writes Bondy:

Mattingly has been receiving his paychecks. "Direct deposit," he said.

• Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal speaks with Doug Mirabelli, the former personal catcher of Tim Wakefield, to discuss catching the knuckleball in the wake of Josh Thole's recent issues. Mirabelli even told Costa to pass along the message that Ronny Paulino should feel free to call him if he needs any tips. Writes Costa:

Doug Mirabelli ... twice led the majors in passed balls. And he is regarded as the best knuckleball-specialist catcher of all-time. When he was first traded to Boston in 2001, Mirabelli said he was so nervous about catching Wakefield, he would lose sleep the nights before games. But he became adept at catching him in two ways. The first had to do with technique. Rather than holding his glove out like a target, Mirabelli would start with it between his knees, keeping his hand loose. He would also tilt his body toward first base, making it easier for him to reach over to his right with his glove, which he wore on his left hand. The second part was mental. "You just have to be able to free your mind," Mirabelli said by phone from Traverse City, Mich., where he works as a real estate agent. "Once I was able to let go of the fact that passed balls were going to be part of my game and I wasn't going to be able to catch all of them, it allowed me to relax a little bit, which in turn lessened my amount of passed balls."

• Lenny Dykstra has been indicted on charges that could keep him in prison for as long as 60 years if fully convicted. Read more in the Daily News.

BIRTHDAYS: A pair of cup-of-coffee Mets celebrate birthdays. Catcher Brook Fordyce (three games in 1995) turns 41. Reliever Manny Hernandez (one perfect inning in 1989) turns 50. ... Dick Williams, the Hall of Fame manager of the 1973 Athletics, who beat the Mets in the World Series, turns 82. -Mark Simon

After salvaging the series finale against the San Francisco Giants behind Mike Pelfrey's season-high 7 2/3-inning performance, the Mets welcome Don Mattingly, Andre Ethier and Ethier's 29-game hitting streak to Citi Field.

Friday's news reports:

• The Post anoints hedge-fund guru Steve Cohen the frontrunner to buy a minority share of the Mets. The newspaper reported he had a dinner meeting scheduled with Mets owners for last night. The report states:

While Cohen's investment, if he is selected and chooses to invest in the team, could solve many Mets' off-field problems, the reclusive Long Island native comes with some baggage. The investor's $12 billion SAC Capital hedge fund operation said in a letter to investors last November that it had received an "extraordinarily broad" subpoena from federal prosecutors probing insider trading on Wall Street. In a Dec. 31 letter, the Post has reported, Cohen promised those investors that he would pick up the tab for SAC's costs in cooperating with the feds. SAC has not been charged or named in any action.

• Mike Sielski of The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the newly instituted paternity-leave policy in Major League Baseball. The new policy allows a team to replace a player on the roster for two games while the player leaves the team for the birth of a child. Jason Bay became the fourth player in the majors to take advantage of the new policy. By allowing the Mets to replace Bay with Lucas Duda for two games, it avoided Bay having to make a tough choice between missing his child's birth and leaving his team shorthanded. Kurt Suzuki, Colby Lewis and Ian Desmond also have taken advantage of the new policy.

• Newsday's Jim Baumbach reviews the bumpy beginning to Mattingly's tenure as Dodgers manager -- from MLB stepping in to oversee the team, to trying to succeed Joe Torre, to having an ineffective and now injured closer in Jonathan Broxton, to other injuries including to Casey Blake.

• Despite repeatedly allowing baserunners, Francisco Rodriguez actually is seven for eight in save conversions. Newsday's David Lennon looks at how K-Rod is trying to stay sharp with a slow pace of usage, far off the rate when he amassed 63 saves with the Angels."I have to find a way -- one way or the other," Rodriguez tells Lennon about his sharpness. "It's been a battle the past three years here. I used to pitch day-in and day-out. But one thing I've learned is that's something I cannot control. I've just got to be ready when the time comes and not blow it."

By the way, in K-Rod's 13 relief appearances, he has allowed a baserunner all but one time. The only exception: a two-pitch effort on April 10 in a 7-3, 11-inning win against the Washington Nationals. That day, Rodriguez entered with two out in the ninth and Danny Espinosa on second base. K-Rod retired Jerry Hairston on a fly ball and departed for pinch-hitter Carlos Beltran the following half-inning.

• Read game stories from Thursday's 5-2 matinee win against the Giants in Newsday, the Times, Record, Post and Star-Ledger.

• Newsday's Anthony Rieber said Beltran, who has played in 19 straight games, is making himself a trade commodity too. Beltran does have a no-trade clause, but you would hope that would not be much of an impediment. He is making $18.5 million this season. Salaries are calculated based on a 183-day major league schedule, so each day of the season, Beltran makes $101,092.90.

If Beltran is traded at the July 31 deadline, there still would be 59 days left in the season. So Beltran's new team would owe him $5.96 million, unless the Mets decided to subsidize it. One fascinating potential tug-of-war could be among the Mets' front office and ownership at that point. Generally, the more money the Mets ask an acquiring team to eat, the lesser the prospect package they would get in return. Eat the whole sum and the trade haul gets a lot better.

• David Waldstein of the Times wonders if the Mets might consider sending Josh Thole briefly to the minors to regroup. Thole should be back in the starting lineup Friday night after a two-game absence. Even if the Mets were considering sending Thole down, it would have to wait until after the weekend. Mike Nickeas was demoted for Ronny Paulino's activation last Friday. By rule, he is required to spend 10 days in the minors before returning to the majors, unless a player lands on the disabled list in the interim. Waldstein broached the subject because Mike Pelfrey, when asked, praised Paulino's work with him Thursday. Writes Waldstein:

[Pelfrey] credited Paulino for his leadership and game-calling. “There were times I would have the slider grip already in my glove and he would put it down,” Pelfrey said, “and I’d be like, ‘O.K., let’s do it.’” Pelfrey also noted how Paulino came out to the mound in the top of the third after Pelfrey had just scored from first base on Jose Reyes’s triple in the bottom of the second. Pelfrey said he was exhausted from the 270-foot sprint, so Paulino shrewdly made a visit to the mound before the first batter to give him extra time to rest.

Meanwhile, in addition to the problems Thole, a converted catcher, has had throwing out runners and allowing some passed balls, the Mets have been unhappy at times with some of his pitch calling. On April 6, they were dismayed when Pelfrey admitted to getting away from his two-seam fastball. ... Then last Friday against the Phillies, with Ryan Howard at the plate, Thole called for a fastball from Dillon Gee, instead of his best pitch, the changeup.

Pelfrey's ERA by catcher this year: Paulino, 1.17; Nickeas, 3.75; Thole, 9.56.

In a larger sample size last season, it was: Henry Blanco, 2.81; Thole, 3.27; Rod Barajas, 4.80.

• Daily News columnist Bill Madden notes Pelfrey did not exactly mow down Murderers Row on Thursday. Writes Madden:

Not to disparage Pelfrey's 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball, which lowered his ERA from 7.39 to 6.06 and brought a welcome smile to [Terry] Collins. It's just that, well, when four of the eight position players in the lineup are hitting .211 or worse, the Giants don't exactly have the look of world champions right now. Before the game, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was shaking his head in handing over the lineup to his bench coach Ron Wotus -- a lineup that had .298-lifetime hitting second baseman Freddy Sanchez scratched with a sore right thumb, last year's Rookie of the Year catcher Buster Posey given the day off and two of their most productive players, third baseman Pablo Sandoval and center fielder Andres Torres, on the disabled list.

"You're .500 now," someone told Bochy.

"We are?" the manager said, incredulously. "Well, considering the way we've played I guess I should be very happy with that at this point."

• The Post's Justin Terranova has a Q&A with Ron Darling. One exchange:

Q: Is it weird to see these proud franchises [the Dodgers and Mets] in such desperate situations when it comes to ownership?

A: If you are a fan of both organizations, this is not the rosiest of times. As a Mets fan, you don't know what is going to happen and Dodgers fans have to wonder what the heck is going on. But if you are in the Mets clubhouse every day, I don't think there is ever a discussion about the Bernie Madoff situation. It's a real serious story for both franchises, but it does not affect the players one iota.

BIRTHDAY: Willie Mays celebrates his 80^th birthday. Mays hit the final 14 of his 660 career home runs with the Mets after being traded to the team in 1972. He also had the game-winning hit in the 12^th inning of Game 2 of the 1973 World Series. -Mark Simon

The sale of a minority stake in the New York Mets likely will be completed by the end of this month, a source with knowledge of the process tells ESPNNewYork.com. The announcement could come before June 1.

“It’s not imminent,” a source said. “A lot of people have been speculating this week, or the next few days. That’s just not the case.”

Four groups are believed to have made the final cut, from among the eight who originally submitted non-binding bids. The Post identifies those groups as headed by hedge fund guru Steve Cohen; former Glencore commodity trader Ray Bartoszek and Anthony Lanza; hedge-fund manager Anthony Scaramucci; and 1-800-Flowers.com founder James McCann.

“It’s really just negotiating a deal,” said the person, who did not want to be identified.

The final four were selected based on financial criteria as well as those who are believed to be most compatible with Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz.

The ownership family believes it will raise $200 million from the sale of the minority share, which would go toward items such as paying off a $25 million loan from Major League Baseball received in October as well as, reportedly, a $22 million stadium bond payment due in June. (There are two payments of that figure due per year on the bonds that financed Citi Field’s construction.)

The percentage of ownership, up to 49 percent, is variable -- with the Wilpons seeking the $200 million amount and leaving what stake of the team that buys to the ultimately agreed-upon valuation of the club.

One presumption had been that the $1 billion-plus lawsuit against the Mets ownership family brought by Bernard Madoff-trustee Irving Picard would need to be resolved before the sale could be completed. That’s not the case, apparently. There will be protections in case something adverse were to happen in the lawsuit and the team somehow ended up getting dragged toward bankruptcy because the principal owners were further destabilized financially.

One person familiar with the sale said the winning bidder will be “comfortable on a whole number of issues. That’s one of them.”

Still, that does not mean the Wilpons intend to bring on a partner who will oust them some day as majority owners without the Wilpons’ consent.

“Non-controlling means non-controlling,” a person familiar with the matter said. “Nothing has changed on that.”

In-depth appears Tuesdays during the regular season

R.A. Dickey tries to extend the Mets' winning streak to six games when he opposes Nats left-hander Tom Gorzelanny in the middle game of the series.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Newsday's Steve Marcus reports Fred Wilpon expects to select a new minority owner in May, with the sale closing in June and raising $200 million to pay off debt, including a $25 million loan from Major League Baseball. Among the four reported finalists, it is "too close to call" who will be selected, a source tells Marcus. The Post previous identified the finalists as one-time commodity trader Ray Bartoszek, hedge fund operator Steve Cohen, BTIG co-founder Steve Starker and hedge fund manager Anthony Scaramucci.

• The Mets had an uneventful voluntary visit Tuesday morning to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Last year, when Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez did not attend, it caused drama inside the organization that spilled into the media. ("I said I had feelings about [the missing players]. I just didn’t want to talk about it," Dickey tells the Record's Steve Popper about the 2010 situation.) This time, Taylor Buchholz and Francisco Rodriguez did not attend, but both had been permitted to travel to Washington on Tuesday so they could spend the Monday off-day with their families. Read more in the Record, Times, Newsday and Daily News.

• In Newsday's game story, David Lennon asks Jon Niese about a report that the southpaw might have been assigned to the bullpen had he had a poor outing Sunday, with Dillon Gee remaining in the rotation. "With a big-market team, if you don't do your job, they'll find somebody who will," Niese told Lennon. An organization source told ESPNNewYork.com that while the potential move was discussed, it was not overly likely to occur Sunday.

• Brian Costa in The Wall Street Journal identifies two benefits of Beltran's ability to play every day and produce. In the short term, it gives the Mets a bona fide No. 4 hitter. Secondly, if the Mets drift out of contention, it gives the organization a viable trade piece. At the July 31 deadline, Beltran still would be owed $5,964,480.87 -- 32.3 percent of his $18.5 million salary. So the Mets may need to pick up a portion. But Beltran has been producing. Even his outs Tuesday were mostly hard-hit, including a shot deep to right-center that Nats center fielder Rick Ankiel needed an extraordinary effort to corral in the first inning. Beltran also had a rocket to right field in the sixth that was caught.

After sitting matinee games in the first four series of the season, Beltran has now started 11 straight games in right field. Of course, there's always the concern that the cumulative pounding of a season will begin to catch up with Beltran's arthritic right knee. Beltran tells Costa: "I've been feeling good, so there's no reason not to play right now. I don't even ice my right knee. I don't think about it. I put my brace on there, but it's kind of like a habit now. I come to the ballpark and put my brace on, but I don't feel anything."

Costa also notes Beltran received a no-trade clause in his original seven-year, $119 million deal. Beltran tells Costa about a potential trade: "I would listen to my agent, because they're going to approach my agent first and then me. There's a possibility that can happen if we're not in contention. I might not be the only one [traded]. There's a lot of players kind of in the same situation."

• Chris Young said he felt no discomfort in his shoulder in his first outing back from the disabled list (watch video here). He allowed three solo homers and departed after 4 2/3 innings. Read more in the Record, Daily News, Post and Star-Ledger.

• Ryota Igarashi stranded two runners in scoring position inherited from Young by striking out Jayson Werth. David Waldstein in the Times takes you through the Igarashi vs. Werth at-bat.

• Johan Santana is throwing at a distance on flat ground up to 120 feet and should be atop a mound within days. The Star-Ledger identifies the potential date as Sunday, which happens to be the precise May 1 date the Mets had targeted when Sandy Alderson outlined a plan at the start of spring training. Other reports said Santana will be on a mound within two weeks.

• Andy McCullough delves into Josh Thole's slump, which the catcher may have freed himself from by producing a tiebreaking two-run double and career-high three RBIs in the series opener. Writes McCullough:

Before last night, Thole languished behind the rest of the regulars, burrowing deeper into a slump. His frustration mounted with each swing-and-miss. In the past, Thole avoided strikeouts. Hitting coach Dave Hudgens believes Thole possesses the best plate coverage on the team. In 2010, Thole made contact with 97.5 percent of the pitches he swung at inside the strike zone, according to FanGraphs. In the spring, Thole vowed to change. He tired of tapping two-strike pitches for easy outs. He hoped to add power and stop reaching outside the zone. Through 22 games, the results were unseemly. He entered last night striking out 25.8 percent of the time, more than twice his rate from 2010. “I’ve never struck out this much,” Thole said. “Makes it tough.”

• Daily News columnist (and Dickey co-biographer) Wayne Coffey speaks with new set-up man Jason Isringhausen, who did allow an eighth-inning run Tuesday. Writes Coffey:

Go ahead and ask Jason Isringhausen how his body feels. Watch as he points to a right elbow that has had six operations (including three Tommy Johns), to a shoulder that has had three operations and a hip that has had two. "It's as good as it's going to get," he said. "I'm an old man. It's worn out. I'll keep going until it pops."

• The Mets are 5-0 since Jason Bay returned to the lineup. Bay's wife Kristen is soon due with the couple's third child, although the birth is expected during the Mets' home stand next week, which would not disrupt Bay's play, the Post writes. As for being unbeaten since his return, Bay tells Dan Martin: "I'd like to take all the credit, but it's obviously more complicated than me coming back and everyone all of a sudden hitting. We've got a lot of good hitters, and it was only a matter of time before a few of them started clicking."

BIRTHDAY: Co-tallest Met Eric Hillman turns 46. Hillman, a lefty, measures 6-foot-10, the same height as Young. Hillman was 4-14 in his Mets career from 1992 to 1994. Amazingly, there are six pitchers with worse career winning percentages for the Mets than his .222 (minimum 10 decisions). -Mark Simon