ESPN

Through 40 games, David Wright is hitting .399 with four home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.099 OPS.

It is one of the best 40-game stretches in Mets history, though there are a few that surpass it. With the help of the Elias Sports Bureau and Mets historian Greg Prince, we remember a half-dozen of the other top 40s in Mets history:

Frank Thomas, 1962
The Mets were terrible but lovable in their early days, and thanks to playing in a Polo Ground ballpark where cheap home runs were commonplace, they had an immediate star with a hitter who tallied impressive numbers in his first 40 games of 1962.

Thomas hit .333 with 13 home runs and 31 RBIs in his inaugural 40 as a Met, setting a standard for others to follow.

Cleon Jones, 1969
Jones hit .378 with seven home runs, 32 RBIs, and 32 runs scored in his first 40 games. The start would launch Jones to set a Mets record with a .340 batting average, a mark that would last for multiple decades.

The year would end well for Jones as well. He would catch the final out of the World Series.

Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter, 1985
We list Hernandez and Carter together because they are forever linked by a championship in 1986. But a year earlier, the two closed the season with a pair of amazing runs.

Hernandez's final 40 games of 1985 were marked by a series of huge hits. He hit .354 and reached base 74 times via hit, walk or error as the Mets fell just shy of the NL East title.

The big moments included a game-winning, ninth-inning home run in San Francisco against the Giants and a walk-off hit on Sept.12 against the Cardinals that put the Mets in first place against their then archrivals.

Carter matched Hernandez for big hits and then some.

Over the 40 games he played from Aug. 23 to the next-to-last day of the regular season, he hit .325 with 15 home runs, 38 RBIs and a 1.048 OPS. He had 15 go-ahead RBIs in that stretch, four more than any other player in the majors over that time period.

Darryl Strawberry, 1990
Strawberry struggled to hit in the first 40 games of the 1990 season, and was hitting just .230 with five home runs coming into a May 26 matchup with the Padres.

A Strawberry eighth-inning home run against Calvin Schiraldi was the finishing touch for the Mets offense in an 11-0 win over the Padres and started arguably the best barrage in Mets history.

Over the 40-game stretch from May 26 to July 14, 1990, Strawberry hit .372, with 18 home runs and 42 RBIs. He had as many home runs in that stretch as he did strikeouts. No Met hit more in a 40-game span than this one.

John Olerud, 1998
On July 11, 1998, Olerud went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs in an 8-4 win over the Expos. This would begin his most torrid 40-game stretch as a Met, one in which he hit .408 with 10 home runs, 29 RBIs and a 1.148 OPS.

Olerud would carry his hot streak all the way through to the end of the season, as the Mets fell one game shy of the NL wild card. He'd finish the season with a Mets-record .354 batting average.

Mike Piazza, 2000
Piazza seemingly had a bunch of of these 40-game bursts in each of his first four seasons with the Mets. You can take your pick from a couple that look alike.

We'll look at one from the NL pennant-winning 2000 season.

On April 14, 2000, Piazza went 5-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI in a 12-inning win in Pittsburgh.

That started a tear that lasted beyond 40 contests, but at the point at which we cut it off, Piazza had a .383 batting average, 12 doubles, 14 home runs, 33 RBIs and a 1.254 OPS.

The most memorable of his hits would be a game-winning home run against Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman, though two days after this stretch concluded, he’d hit a grand slam against Roger Clemens.

Five days after Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell were traded from the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel, they returned to Shea Stadium as division rivals in 1989.

“I was excited to see them, but it obviously was a different mindset,” recalled Mets third base coach Tim Teufel, who started at second base for the Mets in Dykstra and McDowell’s reunion game. “It was all good hellos early, and then it was war after that. The reception was great for Lenny. Lenny especially got a big ovation. He’s a fan favorite here. And Roger, with the job he did with [Jesse] Orosco in the bullpen, both of them got great ovations. It was a little bit different, knowing it was so quick a turnaround. But the fans reacted well.”

Just has Dykstra stepped into the batter’s box as the leadoff hitter on June 23, 1989 for the opposition, so too will Jose Reyes do so for the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, facing Johan Santana -- albeit with Reyes having departed as a free agent rather than via a trade.

In fact, other than Darryl Strawberry and Reyes, most reunions occurred without the returnee willingly having chosen to leave New York. (And in Reyes’ case, it’s debatable if he actually had a choice, since the Mets never made an offer.)

“I’m sure Jose’s going to get a mixed reaction,” Teufel said.

Here’s a roundup of notable returns to Flushing by ex-Mets:

• Mike Piazza, Padres, Aug. 8, 2006: Piazza got royal treatment in his first game back in Flushing, after being forced to leave as a free agent. "Just from start to finish, it was one of those things that I didn't want to end," Piazza said that day, after going 1-for-4. "I just can't explain how honored I am, because you just don't see that a lot." Said manager Willie Randolph at the time: "That's how you treat heroes."

Piazza drew wild cheers the second he emerged for batting practice. He placed a finger to his lips, as if his "shhhh" would silence the Shea faithful. Later, when the crowd rhythmically chanted "Mike Pi-azz-zza," Piazza lifted his cap while shaking his head.

When Piazza settled into the batter's box to lead off the second inning, the public-address system blared the familiar guitar riff he used during his Shea heyday. A 23-year-old David Wright turned to third base ump Chuck Meriwether and told him, "This is pretty cool."

"We both agreed," Wright said that day, adding: "All the former Mets that come back usually don't get too warm a reception."

The following day, Piazza homered twice, both off Pedro Martinez.

• Al Leiter, Marlins, April 16, 2005: Leiter had denied reports that he badmouthed New York while successfully courting Carlos Delgado to join him with the Marlins. He also differed with Omar Minaya and the new Mets regime about whose fault it was that he did not return. Then the southpaw, who was roughly treated by the crowd in his return, allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, but got a no-decision in the Mets’ 4-3 win while starting opposite Martinez.

"I don't know what they were booing at,” Leiter said that day. “One guy in the bullpen said, 'Al, we love you and I think you're great, but I'm still going to boo you.' You have fans that root for the marks and logos of their teams. You root for the fabric and I understand that. That's probably what it is."

Paul Lo Duca, Leiter’s batterymate with the Marlins that day, told Newsday after the game: "When I went back to L.A., it was emotional. I asked him yesterday. He didn't want to pitch. For him to do what he did, I don't think people realize how hard it is. You have that anxiety and you want to do too much. You want to hit a ball eight miles. You want to throw a ball 100 miles an hour, because there's part of you that sort of wants to shove it up you-know-what."

• John Franco, Astros, April 11, 2005: Yes, the Mets displayed a tribute video on the Shea scoreboard before the start of the second inning. And, yes, Franco was warmly cheered by the Flushing crowd pregame, after being forced to leave as a free agent the previous offseason.

Franco actually surrendered a key two-run single to Cliff Floyd that accounted for the final runs in the Mets’ 8-4 win. He was booed upon entering as a reliever. “The crowd treated me nice," Franco said after that game. "[The boos] don't bother me. That's just part of it. I played 15 years here and probably heard a lot of that. There are people who like you and people who don't like you."

• Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers, May 7, 1991: Unlike many of the other departures via trade or free agency, Strawberry left mostly of his own volition, to sign a five-year, $20.25 million deal with L.A. And he often has said of late he regretted the decision.

Strawberry, mired in a 1-for-23 slump and prolonged long ball drought, belted a two-run homer against Frank Viola in his return. But Straw also grounded out to end the game while facing Franco with the potential tying run on third base. The Mets won, 6-5.

Fans lustily jeered and chanted “Dary-llll, Dary-lll.” According to the Associated Press report, extra security was positioned in right field, but the only issue was some strawberrys being chucked at the slugger in the on-deck circle. Said Franco, according to the Times: "Everybody says they hate him. But then why do they come out to the ballpark? It's because they admire him. Hey, they got their money's worth."

• Gary Carter, Giants, May 8, 1990: The aging Carter hit .183 in 50 games with the Mets in 1989, so the organization decided to go with Barry Lyons and Mackey Sasser behind the plate the following season. The Mets also parted with Keith Hernandez that same offseason. That prompted Carter to sign with the Giants to platoon with Terry Kennedy. San Francisco manager Roger Craig sent Carter out to exchange lineup cards with Davey Johnson, and Kid was given a prolonged standing ovation by the Shea faithful. He started the game and went 1-for-2 with a single and walk in seven innings.

(Read full post)

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

Today is Jackie Robinson Day across MLB.

Sunday's news reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jon Niese has a new contract that guarantees him $25.5 million over five years. He has a new nose, courtesy of cosmetic surgery paid for by ex-teammate Carlos Beltran. And on Sunday, Niese had the franchise’s latest flirtation with the first no-hitter in Mets history, carrying the bid into the seventh inning before Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman singled.

The Easter performance came on what would have been Gary Carter’s 58th birthday. That may be fitting, given Carter’s modest role in Niese becoming a Met.

A post-draft recruiting call to Niese by Carter -- who had been inducted into the Hall of Fame only two years earlier -- helped sway the southpaw to sign with the Mets out of Defiance (Ohio) High School, despite Niese slipping all the way to the seventh round, recalled Toronto Blue Jays scout Russ Bove, who ran the draft in '05 for the Mets.

Niese, who happened to be born on the day Carter won the World Series with the Mets on Oct. 27, 1986, had committed to the University of Cincinnati and was viewed as unsignable by many organizations.

Niese had been holding out for early-round money.

“I go down to Port St. Lucie to meet all of the new signees,” Bove recalled. “And Gary Carter says to me, ‘How is Niese doing?’ It hit me like a lightning bolt. I said, ‘Gary, if I call the kid, will you talk to him?’ He said absolutely. So Gary Carter got on the phone and he said, ‘I was projected to be a first-round pick. I was taken in the third round. I took my disappointment right to the Hall of Fame.’ He said, ‘You come and play for me, you’ll have fun. You’ll work hard. And you’ll win.’ He really gave him a pep talk.”

Minutes later, Bove’s phone rang. Oscar Suarez, Niese’s agent at the time, had called.

“We want to get Jonathon Niese done,” Suarez told Bove.

Niese on Monday downplayed Carter’s influence, but said he certainly appreciated the call.

“I wanted to sign anyway, but that call was kind of neat,” Niese said. “It took me by surprise. It was really neat to get a call from a guy like that.”

Niese’s rise has cemented that once-panned 2005 draft as a solid one for the organization. In fact, seven years later, the story of that draft has turned out quite differently from the early, negative reviews. Bove was reassigned after running the '05 draft -- a decision he felt was political, with new employees disparaging the holdovers.

Despite the Mets forfeiting their second- and third-round picks because they signed Pedro Martinez and Beltran the previous offseason as free agents, five players drafted and signed by the Mets in ’05 have appeared in the majors: Mike Pelfrey (first round), catcher Drew Butera (fifth), Niese (seventh), Bobby Parnell (ninth) and Josh Thole (13^th).

The Mets also took catcher Luis Martinez in the 11^th round and Pedro Beato in the 17^th round, but neither signed. Beato was drafted the following year in the first round by Baltimore and signed with the Orioles. He ended up back with the Mets in the Dec. 2010 Rule 5 draft.

Butera and Martinez, both catchers, made their major league debuts elsewhere, with the Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres.

Niese’s upside particularly has made that draft quietly successful. Carter, along with the other minor league managers at the time, had watched video of Niese in the draft-preparation room and were enamored.

“Gary loved Niese from the video,” Bove said. “He was a strong-bodied left-hander. I compared him to Jerry Koosman. He had that real thick, strong body, and we liked the way his arm worked. And, of course, we really liked the curveball. A left-hander with a good curveball.”

The recruiting call from Carter that Bove believes prompted the call from Suarez to get the deal done was not the only late hurdle. The commissioner’s office was adamant that teams not go over the recommended signing bonuses for the round in which the amateur was selected. Fred Wilpon and family, loyal to Bud Selig, were not going to be the first to go over the prescribed slot.

The Texas Rangers handed another seventh-round pick -- high school right-hander Jake Rasner -- $250,000, though. That gave Bove the ammunition to convince his bosses to hand Niese $175,000.

“We had to wait until somebody else went over. So the kid was holding out,” Bove said. “We were waiting to see when somebody else went over so we could up the ante. … As much as I’d like to, I won’t blame that one on the Wilpons. That was the commissioner’s office. Of course, the Wilpons would never have been the first ones to go over.

“After we took him, and we got him signed, I got calls from some of my buddies saying, ‘How the hell did you sign this guy? We have him as unsignable.’”

Niese, though, said Monday he really did want to turn pro rather than pitch in college.

Meanwhile, there was one other wrinkle to that ’05 draft, which nearly changed the complexion even further: Had one of the first eight teams to pick in the first round selected Pelfrey, the Mets already had agreed to a prearranged deal with the agent for Jay Bruce to take the outfielder ninth overall out of high school in Beaumont, Texas, according to Bove. But Pelfrey was still around when the Mets selected, and Bruce ultimately went 12^th overall to the Cincinnati Reds instead.

“You know what? He was the guy we wanted,” Bove said about Pelfrey. “I really, really liked him. But if we didn’t get Pelfrey, we were going to take Jay Bruce. We did have a deal cut with Bruce’s agent, if Pelfrey wasn’t there. We would have got Bruce signed right away.”

As for the recruiting call from Carter to Niese, here’s the kicker:

“The funny part of the story, when I called Jonathon and said, ‘Hey, a guy wants to talk with you, Gary Carter,’ he had no idea who Gary was,” Bove said. “But, of course, when he heard the Hall of Fame, then he came to life.”

Said Niese: “I got to thinking and looked him up and realized who it was and was like, ‘Wow.’ … I’m happy how it worked out.”

"In-depth" appears Tuesdays during the regular season.

David Wright has always been viewed as a classy ballplayer.

His latest gesture isn’t about to change that.

The Mets third baseman told reporters following Thursday’s 1-0 Opening Day victory over the Braves that he’s sending his game-used jersey to Gary Carter’s family.

Carter, the Mets Hall of Fame catcher who died on Feb. 16 following a 10-month battle with brain cancer, was honored prior to Thursday’s game.

The Mets are wearing patches to commemorate his legacy, and his No. 8 jersey was hanging in their dugout.

“You look at [the jersey], and it reminds you of the player he was, and what he meant to the city,” Wright said.

A sellout crowd of 42,080 -- the largest crowd in Citi Field history, according to the Mets -- was on-hand and chanted Carter’s name during the pregame ceremony.

"The crowd gave him the recognition he deserved," Wright said.

Wright provided all the offense the Mets needed, with a sixth-inning RBI single to left-center field. He went 2-for-3 and has hit in seven of eight openers since making his first Opening Day roster in 2005.

The Mets’ previous high for single-game home attendance was 42,042 against the Yankees on July 2, 2011.

“It was exciting,” Josh Thole said, “especially in the big situations, you could really feel it. You miss that a little bit last year when you’re not winning for them, and they want you to win, so to get the crowd back in the game really meant a lot to us.”

The Mets honored the memory of Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter -- who died Feb. 16 following a 10-month battle with brain cancer at the age of 57 -- prior to Thursday's Opening Day game against the Braves at Citi Field.

The Mets will wear "KID 8" home-plate logo patches on their right uniform sleeves throughout the season. That same logo was unveiled by Carter's family on the left-center field wall next to the 385-foot marker.

The Mets have Carter's No. 8 jersey hanging in their dugout. They all wore his blue No. 8 jersey during pregame workouts.

"In all trueness and fairness, I wish I could've lived like him," Darryl Strawberry said in a media conference before the game. "I really do. I really wish I could've lived my life like him as a player and as a person."

Carter played with the Mets from 1985-89, hitting .249 with 89 home runs and 349 RBIs. He was a vital cog on the 1986 World Series championship team, and is perhaps best known for starting the Mets' unfathomable 10th-inning rally in Game 6 with a two-out single.

Most of the Mets players hated Carter when they played against him, Mookie Wilson said. But Carter quickly endeared himself to his New York teammates both on and off the field.

"He really cared about his team," Wilson said. "Yes, he loved the camera, yes he did, but he was genuine."

Carter made an immediate impact in his first game as a Met, drilling a 10th-inning walk-off home run off Cardinals reliever Neil Allen on Opening Day in 1985.

"In your gut, you knew we had just turned the corner," Strawberry said.

Carter's nickname -- "Kid" -- was a fitting one.

"He was happy among a bunch of animals," Strawberry said. "He never said anything negative or bad about anybody. How do you do that?"

Carter's wife, Sandy, son D.J., and daughters Kimmy and Christy and their families were out in the outfield to help unveil the hope plate logo.

There was a moment of silence for Carter before the game.

Fans held signs that said "We will never forget" and "We love you Gary" and chanted "Ga-ry Car-ter!" during the ceremony.

Even though Carter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, his number hasn't been retired by the Mets.

Three things to watch for in Thursday’s opening-day game against the Braves:

Opening Day Magic
The Mets are 32-18 in season openers, and remember that they didn’t win any Opening Day games from 1962 to 1969.

They’ve won 18 of the last 20 season openers that were played in New York, including the last two, in 2006 and 2010.

They’ve also won the last eight times they’ve played an Opening Day game at home that was decided by one run. Among the wins was a 6-5 triumph over the Cardinals in 1985, a game won on Gary Carter’s walk-off home run.

Carter’s family will throw out the first pitch this afternoon.

Matt Diaz vs Johan Santana
Diaz is 16-for-32 in his career against the Mets lefty, though he was 0-for-4 in their last meeting.

Diaz is a lefty-shredder, a .329 career hitter against southpaws, which ranks ninth-best among active players. But over the last two seasons, he’s only hit .285, and has shown some statistical vulnerability against fastballs in the upper-third of the strike zone and above.

Hanson’s Hook
Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and Josh Thole will have to be mindful of Braves starter Tommy Hanson’s nasty curveball, one that he frequently uses to finish off left-handed hitters in two-strike counts.

Lefties have missed on 44 percent of their swings (mostly with two strikes) against the Hanson curveball over the last three seasons, the highest rate against any starter in the game.

After all the concern about the Mets' health, the team will start its planned lineup on Opening Day:

Andres Torres, cf
Daniel Murphy, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Ike Davis, 1b
Jason Bay, lf
Lucas Duda, rf
Josh Thole, c
Ruben Tejada, ss
Johan Santana, lhp

The Mets will all wear blue Gary Carter No. 8 jerseys during batting practice.

Johan Santana pitches in a major league game for the first time since Sept. 2, 2010 as the Mets open the regular season at Citi Field at 1:10 p.m. against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets will honor Gary Carter, who died Feb. 16 after a 10-month battle with brain cancer, during pregame ceremonies. Carter's widow Sandy and children D.J., Kimmy and Christy will participate in the remembrance.

The Mets are 32-18 all time on Opening Day, a .640 winning percentage that is the best in the majors. The Yankees are second at 65-46 (.586), followed by Baltimore at 63-47 (.573) and Seattle at 20-15 (.571), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Read the Mets-Braves series preview here.

Before the first pitch, join me for a noon ET chat here.

Thursday's news reports:

• Team doctor David Altchek, who performed Santana's surgery, believes the southpaw is out of the woods as he returns from Sept. 14, 2010 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder.

• Brian Costa in the Journal speaks with Santana about his signature changeup, while Michael Salfino also in the Journal notes pitchers who missed a season often struggle upon their return. Writes Salfino:

Pitchers who started the season for a team after sitting through a layoff of more than a season have combined to allow 4.22 runs per game while averaging just 137.8 innings. Excluding pitchers who missed time due to military service, Santana's absence from big league action that began on Sept. 2, 2010 will be the sixth longest since 1921, according to Stats LLC. The hurler with the longest gap between appearing in the majors and pitching on opening day, former Pirate and later Brooklyn Dodger Preacher Roe, pitched the best of this group. But Roe didn't miss all that time due to injury: He toiled in the minors for five years after pitching a couple innings in 1938.

• Read ESPNNewYork.com's breakdown of Mets pitchers here, including scout comment. There's a breakdown of the team's hitters here.

• Jon Niese has agreed to a five-year, $25.5 million contract, which can be worth as much as $46 million if the Mets exercise options for 2017 and 2018. The deal will not become official until Niese undergoes a physical. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Times, Newsday and Post.

• Ike Davis belted a three-run homer off Freddy Garcia, but the Yankees rallied to beat the Mets, 8-3, at George M. Steinbrenner Field. The Mets completed the Grapefruit League with a 9-20-2 record, one shy of matching the franchise's most losses in a spring training. Read more in Newsday.

• Bill Madden in the Daily News writes that Sandy Alderson apologized to Mets personnel for taking a detour and having to play in Tampa against the Yankees on the eve of the season. Madden faulted a profit motivation by the owners, who needed to send the team to George M. Steinbrenner Field in order to have the Yankees visit Port St. Lucie, which resulted Tuesday in the largest crowd ever at the Mets' complex for a spring-training game. Writes Madden:

According to MLB sources, when the Mets’ higher-ups learned the Yankees were scheduled to make a rare trip to the east coast of Florida at the end of spring training to open up the new Miami ballpark, they asked if they would consider extending their Sun Coast stay an extra day to play a game in Port St. Lucie. Sure, the Yankees said, as long as the Mets agreed to make it a home-and-home situation so that both teams could benefit from one additional spring training sellout.

It apparently mattered not to the Mets that the only available date left on their schedule was the last one. After all, what’s a little inconvenience to Terry Collins and his players compared to an extra million dollars in spring training revenue, derived from hiking the ticket prices for the Yankees game -- which, despite the fact the Yankees sent only three regulars, Brett Gardner, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones, still drew a record crowd of 7,644? And weren’t the Yankees doing them an extra favor by moving up the start of Wednesday’s game to noon?

As a result of Wednesday's game in Tampa, the Mets could not have a workout at Citi Field. So their outfielders will go into the first game with revised dimensions without a rehearsal at their stadium.

• Needing to clear 40-man roster spots for Mike Baxter and Miguel Batista, the Mets placed right-handers Josh Stinson and Armando Rodriguez on outright waivers. Stinson was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to Double-A Huntsville. Rodriguez cleared waivers and will remain with the organization as a non-40-man roster player.

• Andrew Keh in the Times profiles right fielder Lucas Duda. Writes Keh:

Duda’s four home runs in exhibition games and a batting average that hovered around .300 provided some additional reassurance for the Mets’ front office. “Obviously, he’s got that power, that raw power, which scares pitchers out of the strike zone,” said Dave Hudgens, the team’s hitting coach. “He reminds me a ton of Jason Giambi -- that strength, the plate discipline, he can use the whole field, make adjustments.” When told of Hudgens’s comment, Duda said: “It’s nice to be compared to good players. But I’m myself. I can’t really try to be Jason Giambi. I know that sounds bland and vanilla.”

• The Mets' minor league affiliates open their seasons as well today, with Matt Harvey on the mound for Triple-A Buffalo and Collin McHugh starting for Double-A Binghamton.

Lynn Worthy in the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin speaks with top prospect Zack Wheeler, who will pitch for the B-Mets on Friday. "My mom and dad always said me and my brothers, we get our arms from our mom, because she was always breaking people's fingers and stuff when she was throwing the softball," Wheeler told Worthy. "Everyone was always scared to play catch with her."

Mike Harrington's Triple-A Bisons preview in the Buffalo News looks at manager Wally Backman and the uncertain future of the affiliation agreement with the Mets, which expires after this season. Writes Harrington:

The teams' Player Development Contract is up after this season and there will be plenty of pressure on the Bisons to look elsewhere if the 2012 Herd, which opens its season tonight in Pawtucket, flames out again. The Bisons, who have not made the playoffs since 2005, have big expectations for the 25th anniversary season of Coca-Cola Field and they're not unfounded. The Mets have done a good job stocking the club with veteran free agents -- including the return of 2011 Buffalo MVP Valentino Pascucci -- and have put their two close-to-the-majors pitching prospects (6-foot-4 right-handers Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia) at the top of the Bisons' rotation. And to top it off, they've shuffled manager Wally Backman from Double-A Binghamton to Buffalo. Backman, the beloved second baseman from New York's 1986 World Series champions, is the rising star of the organization.

• Newsday's season preview package includes a look at the rotation, explanation of the difficult task of replacing Jose Reyes, a look at stadium grass maintenance, review of Citi Field dimension changes and a position-by-position look at the Mets.

• Andy Martino in the Daily News discusses Davis' left ankle (a nonissue, the first baseman says) as well as the suspected case of valley fever. Davis will get a follow-up exam of his lungs now that the team has arrived in New York. Writes Martino:

Although the ankle, which killed Davis’ sophomore year while he was batting .302, with seven home runs in 129 at-bats, has apparently healed (“The ankle is good,” Davis says. “I haven’t had a problem. Hopefully it never flares up.”), the Valley Fever lingers, and Davis cannot promise that it won’t be a problem. “I don’t know,” he said. “It could be, it couldn’t be. Obviously, it could have an effect. I feel tired, but so does everyone here.” The Mets, who issued a statement saying that Davis “likely” had Valley Fever, never went further than that, but Davis is operating under the assumption that he is indeed suffering from the desert-bred malady. “Oh yeah,” he says. “There is definitely something in there. The x-ray isn’t making stuff up.”

With spring training now over, it is difficult to say how much the condition affected Davis. He said this week that he “felt great,” ascribing his general weariness to the Grapefruit League’s unyielding schedule at the ballpark by 8 a.m., on the field for stretching and workouts by 9:30, play under sizzling sun at 1.

• The Marlins opened their season last night with Reyes at shortstop. And columnist Joel Sherman in the Post calls them the "IT" team. Writes Sherman:

There is glitz around the organization that begins with the vibrant colors and garish touches of this $634 million, retractable-roof facility, which could just as easily double as the largest disco in the world. They have a Jets-ian brash feel about them from the verbal jousts of manager Ozzie Guillen, the confident strut of owner Jeffrey Loria, the orange-dyed hair of Reyes and Hanley Ramirez, and the moon-shot abilities of Giancarlo Stanton. They will be the stars of the major leagues’ “Hard Knocks” ripoff, “The Franchise” on Showtime, and undoubtedly will end their six-year run of ranking last in NL attendance.

Jets coach Rex Ryan would look right amid the soap-opera potential and the unrestrained goal to win -- and win now. Look, it all could be ephemeral. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the stadium financing. There are questions if there is enough local passion to retain fans once the novelty of the stadium fades. But, for now, the Marlins are an “It” team.

• The Daily News has scouting reports on Mets players, while Mike Puma in the Post and Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger have general previews. Mike Kerwick in the Record says Mets players, despite the doubters, believe. "I understand the expectations," Mike Pelfrey told Kerwick. "We lost … I don't know how many games we lost. Eighty-five? We lost the National League batting champion. I understand. But we're going to be OK."

• Also read about Citi Field dimension changes in the Record and Journal.

• Bobby Valentine will do a weekly Boston Red Sox radio spot with Michael Kay on ESPN 1050 right here in New York. Read more in the Daily News.

• Columnist Mike Vaccaro says in the Post that 2012 might seem bleak, but it's been far worse. Writes Vaccaro:

If we can agree that the 1962 Mets were the gold standard (or the zinc standard, perhaps) for ineptitude, there are several candidates for which one comes next. The 103-loss Worst Team Money Could Buy team of 1993 makes a strong case, thanks to their bleach spraying and firecracker slinging. The 2003-04 versions, brightened by Art Howe’s personality lighting up the room, demand a spot in the team photo. As do just about any team from 1963-67, though ’63’s 111-loss team which finished 48 games out of first place (and 15th out of ninth) merits special consideration.

Still, as a representative of the franchise’s darkest, gloomiest period, it’s impossible to overlook 1979, when the team lost 99 games (and had to go on a heroic six-game winning streak to close the season), finished 35 games behind the first-place Pirates (and 17 behind the fifth-place Cubs) and drew 788,905 customers to Shea Stadium, including a nine-game homestand to close the home schedule that attracted a total of 48,960 die-hards -- 27,033 of whom came for Fan Appreciation Day.

• Jason Bay did not have an RBI during Grapefruit League play. Writes McCullough in the Star-Ledger:

He is sick of this conversation. Jason Bay has had some variation of it for more than two years now, with friends, family, teammates, coaches and reporters. He has fielded questions about his mechanics, his inconsistency and his disappointing résumé as a Met. His answers are never satisfactory because his performance has never satisfied. “But I understand,” Bay said yesterday inside the visitors clubhouse at George M. Steinbrenner Field for the Mets spring training finale. “Until you do something about it, that’s part of it.”

TRIVIA: Who was the winning pitcher in the Mets' first Opening Day victory as a franchise?

Wednesday's answer: Alex Cora is the only player to bat leadoff for the Mets other than Reyes since 2005. Cora started at shortstop and the No. 1 slot in the order two years ago, while Reyes was working back from a thyroid issue and opened the season on the disabled list.

Chris Schwinden will start against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, while R.A. Dickey instead will pitch on the minor league side to avoid the opponent he is due to face in Game 2 of the season, on April 7 at Citi Field. Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson will skip Tuesday's start and face minor leaguers for that reason as well. Terry Collins does expect to get Jason Bay back in the lineup, two days after the left fielder was drilled in the right forearm by a fastball from Washington's Stephen Strasburg.

Tuesday's news reports:

• David Wright went 1-for-2 and made a diving stop down the third-base line on a hard-hit grounder from Rafael Furcal in the third baseman's first Grapefruit League action this season. Wright, working back from an abdominal tear, should skip Tuesday's game and then play two to three straight days -- potentially with one of those a minor league game. Watch video of Wright discussing his return here. Read more in the Record, Times, Daily News and Post.

• Johan Santana's fifth exhibition start was not perfect. His velocity sagged to 86 mph in the first inning and 87 mph in the fifth. The game's first four Cardinals batters reached, three via walk. Yet when all was said and done, Santana still limited St. Louis to two runs on four hits while walking three, hitting a batter and striking out five in five innings. Santana's final start spring-training start should be an abbreviated outing Saturday in which his pitch count is scaled back. He threw 88 pitches (55 strikes) against the Cards. After Saturday's outing, the southpaw next should appear Opening Day at Citi Field. Watch video highlights and Santana's remarks here. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Journal, Post, Daily News, Record, Times and Newsday.

• Gary Carter's family will be on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch and the Mets will observe a moment of silence in memory of the Hall of Fame catcher before the April 5 opener against the Atlanta Braves. Read more in the Times and Newsday.

• Chris Young, who made four solid starts early last season before requiring surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder, is rejoining with the organization. Young should be at the Mets' complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla., on Wednesday. He is only removed 10 months from the serious shoulder surgery, from which Santana also is working back and had an eight-month head start. So Young's contribution this season, at least early on, is unclear. Read more in Newsday and the Post.

• As promised, Carlos Beltran has paid Jon Niese's $10,000 nose-job bill, the southpaw said.

• The Mets made progress on the injury front Monday. Tim Byrdak said he intended to throw off a mound Wednesday and potentially be in a minor league game Friday as he returns from surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee. Southpaw Garrett Olson said the left palm bruise he suffered Sunday in a Double-A game was a nonissue. Scott Hairston predicted he would be in a minor league game Tuesday. And Andres Torres (strained left calf) resumed swinging a bat and predicted he would run today.

• The mammoth -- legitimately mammoth -- home run by the Nats' Jayson Werth off Matt Harvey on Sunday in Viera traveled a whopping 492 feet before striking the bumper of Werth's pickup truck in a player parking lot, Tom Boswell determined in The Washington Post. Writes Nats beat writer Adam Kilgore:

A day later, Jayson Werth’s mammoth home run -- the one that flew clear out of Space Coast Stadium and may or may not have hit his large, white pick-up truck -- remained the talk of Nationals’ spring training. Davey Johnson again called it the hardest ball Werth has hit as a National. The effort to determine if Werth really did hit his own truck raged on. “It just left a hole in the Earth where my truck used to be,” Werth said. Then Werth relented and said the ball, according to a parking lot attendant, had actually hit the bumper.

• Ruben Tejada had a two-run single in a fifth-run seventh as the Mets rallied to beat the Cardinals, 6-3, Monday at Roger Dean Stadium.

• The Mets released nine minor leaguers Monday, including right-hander Tobi Stoner, who appeared in five games for the Mets in 2009 and '10.

TRIVIA: Against which reliever did Daniel Murphy hit a game-tying, pinch-hit homer last season?

Sunday's answer: The five most recent GMs of the Mets: Sandy Alderson (2010-present), Omar Minaya (2004-10), Jim Duquette (2003-04), Steve Phillips (1997-2003) and Joe McIlvane (1993-97).

Gary Carter's family will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field before the Mets' regular-season opener against the Atlanta Braves on April 5, the family announced.

Carter passed away Feb. 16 after battling brain cancer.

The Mets are wearing patches (right) this season to remember the Hall of Fame catcher.

UPDATE: The team issued this press release:

The New York Mets will honor the memory of Gary Carter on Opening Day, Thursday, April 5 at Citi Field with his family participating in a special pre-game ceremony prior to the season’s opener against the Atlanta Braves at 1:10 p.m. Carter passed away February 16 after a courageous 10-month battle with brain cancer.

Gary’s wife, Sandy, son, D.J., and daughters, Kimmy and Christy, and their families will be on the field during a moment of silence for their father and for the ceremonial first pitch.

“We are thrilled that the Carters will be with us,” said Mets COO Jeff Wilpon. “On Opening Day, Mets fans will have the chance to pay their respects and remember all of his accomplishments.”

Carter was acquired by the Mets from the Montreal Expos for four players in December, 1984. Two years later, he helped direct the team’s young pitching staff to a World Championship. Gary was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

“Our family is so honored to be part of the Mets’ Opening Day at Citi Field,” said Sandy Carter. “It will be an incredible experience for us to celebrate Gary’s legacy by having our family throw out the first pitch. The Mets and the fans of New York always had a special place in Gary’s heart and that admiration will live on in our hearts for years to come. Thanks to the Wilpon family and the entire Mets organization for making this possible.”

Mets players are wearing a patch on their right sleeve featuring a black home plate with “KID 8” in white lettering to honor Carter during the 2012 season.

Underneath their spring-training jerseys Monday night, the Mets wore blue T-shirts with an orange No. 8 and the words "Gary Carter, rest in peace."

Justin Turner had distributed them to teammates, and said the proceeds from the sale of the shirts -- which were created by a friend unaffiliated with the Mets -- are going to the Gary Carter Foundation.

Here's an explainer from Turner's friend, Darren Meenan of The 7 Line:

"Those shirts the team were wearing were made by me for the Gary Carter Foundation. All of the profits from the sale of the shirts go to them and so far the donation is at $5,265. Here is a link to purchase the shirt. I became friendly with Turner over the past few months and I dropped off a bunch of them for him to distribute to the players. He gets total credit for passing them out."

The Mets begin playing games shortly after noon today, with the first of as many as three straight days of intrasquad games. Dillon Gee, Jeurys Familia, Daniel Herrera, Tim Byrdak, Matt Harvey, Miguel Batista, Jeremy Hefner and Frank Francisco are scheduled to pitch. (For the pitching assignments for the next week, click here.)

Friday's news reports:

• Johan Santana tossed 40 pitches over two simulated innings while throwing batting practice to Mets hitters Thursday. It was his first time facing batters since the fall instructional league in Fort Myers, Fla. Santana will advance to a Grapefruit League game Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Digital Domain Park. Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Santana ideally will throw 25 to 35 pitches over two innings. Terry Collins reiterated the real test will be whether the southpaw can make starts on a regular five-day schedule throughout spring training. Read more in the Post, Star-Ledger, Record, Newsday and Daily News.

• Justin Turner worked out at first base for the first time this spring training Thursday. He is the primary backup to Ike Davis. Collins said even if there were a 15-day DL trip for Davis during the season, he would not juggle fielders and use either Lucas Duda or Daniel Murphy at first base. In fact, Collins suggested he would not move Duda from right field under virtually any circumstance, since it will be difficult enough for him to get acclimated to the outfield position without shuffling around. So if Davis were to miss an extended period, Collins said, Murphy likely would move over from second to first base. The Mets, in that scenario, have enough depth to cover second base. Read more in Newsday and the Post.

• The Mets began wearing the "KID 8" patches saluting the late Gary Carter on their right sleeves Thursday. David Wright supported retiring Carter's No. 8.

• Wright and teammates approve of the new playoff format that includes an extra National League wild-card team. The two wild-card teams meet for a one-game playoff, with the winner advancing to face the division winner with the best record. "It's about five years too late," Wright dryly said. In addition to increasing the number of playoff participants, it also places a premium on winning the division. Read more in the Star-Ledger and Post.

• Brian Costa in the Journal talks to Mets about the part-time jobs they held before they established themselves as major leaguers. Unless you're a high-round draft pick who gets a major signing bonus, your minor league salary is generally not enough to sustain you through the offseason. Byrdak, during an interuption in his major league career, worked the graveyard shift at a Target. "When I applied for the job, my boss asked me to write down my previous employers, so I wrote Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals," Byrdak told Costa. "He goes, 'Are you serious with this?' I said, 'Yeah, I don't have any money coming in. I got bills to pay.'" Even Wright had a real job once. Writes Costa:

David Wright, the Mets' first-round pick in 2001, signed for $960,000. But his parents wouldn't let him touch the money until he was older. So the following winter, he worked as a substitute teacher at his former high school in Virginia. "If they needed me, they'd call me in the morning and I'd come in," Wright said. "Mostly it was like if a gym teacher was out. They would never put me in a real class."

• The organization may have more conservative plans, but the 2010 first-round pick Harvey's goal is to reach the big leagues soon -- if not Opening Day, shortly after that. "The biggest goal is to get to the big leagues, whether it's when I want to, in April, or hopefully a month or two after that," Harvey told columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post. "That's my goal."

• The Mets underwent blood testing for HGH this week as part of MLB's upgraded drug prevention program, and Josh Thole -- the team's 2011 union rep, before passing the torch to Byrdak -- approves. "It's not an issue at all for me, whether they do it in spring training or during the season," Thole told Peter Botte in the Daily News about drug testing. "The one thing that's important for us as a unit is we should all want an even playing field. I can't speak for everybody, but I can speak for myself and I can tell you this: Most guys are just saying whenever we do [the testing], we do it, but let's just be sure there's no gray area. During the steroid years, it was definitely becoming an unfair playing field. For the guys that actually spend all the time in the gym and really bust their butt and work hard, there should be a little reward at the end of not being overtaken by guys sticking a needle in themselves."

• Andrew Keh in the Times catches up with Long Islander Steve Matz, the Mets' top pick in the 2009 draft, who had a slow recovery from May 18, 2010 Tommy John surgery. Matz was working his way back last season when he was shut down, although he and team officials say the integrity of the surgically repaired ligament was not an issue. Matz had microfiber tears in the area from ramping up activity. He arrived early to Port St. Lucie and should pitch this season for the first time in actual minor league ganes.

TRIVIA: Which pitchers have won the Cy Young while playing for the Mets?

(Thursday's answer: Wright ranked third on the Mets in steals last season with 13, trailing only the departed Jose Reyes' 39 and Angel Pagan's 32.)

David Wright praised the patch Mets players began wearing on their right sleeve Thursday as a tribute to Gary Carter. And Wright went so far as to suggest it may be appropriate for the Mets to retire Carter's No. 8.

“Sure, why not? It would make sense,” Wright replied when asked if Carter's number ought to be retired. “I don’t exactly know the numbers of his Mets career off the top of my head. He was obviously in Montreal quite a bit. But he was that missing piece when he got traded over. That’s for others to decide. As far as I’m concerned, it would be a little weird seeing somebody else wear No. 8 in a Mets uniform.”

The Mets actually have taken Carter's number out of circulation, even if it has not been formally retired. Coach Matt Galante in 2002 was the last to wear No. 8 with the Mets.

The Montreal Expos had retired Carter's No. 8 on July 31, 1993. The Washington Nationals honored that their inaugural season in 2005, but gave it to Marlon Anderson the following year. Danny Espinosa currently has the number with the Nats.

As for the Mets' patch, Wright said: “I think that it’s well-deserved, obviously. He is one of the faces. If there was a Mt. Rushmore of Mets, he’d be on it. I think it’s only fitting that we have a nice tribute for him this year and there’s some nice memories shared of Gary.”

Terry Collins was present when Carter's widow Sandy was presented the patch by Fred Wilpon at the memorial service last Friday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

"Fred came up to me before the memorial and said, 'We want to put these on the uniform,'” Collins said. “I thought it was terrific. We found Sandy when it was over and Fred and I told her we were going to put it on our uniforms. She was certainly thrilled.”