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PITTSBURGH -- The Mets squeezed in both games against the Milwaukee Brewers last week while dodging raindrops at Citi Field. Yet wouldn’t it have been nice to have simply closed a retractable roof and allowed fans not to have to worry?

Of course, unlike the two most recent stadiums visited by the Mets -- new Marlins Park in Miami and Rogers Centre in Toronto -- the Mets’ four-season-old ballpark was constructed as an open-air stadium without that feature.

The bottom line: It cost too much.

Yankees president Randy Levine told Newsday last year, when Game 1 of the team’s American League Division Series was suspended, that incorporating a roof into the new Yankee Stadium would have cost roughly an additional $350 million. Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon years ago, before the Mets’ stadium had opened, had cited the figure for Citi Field as adding $200 million or more to the cost of what became an $850 million project anyway.

Levine also had cited George Steinbrenner’s preference for an open-air stadium in the Bronx in the Newsday article. In the Mets’ case, that objection may not have existed, but the numbers just did not make sense for these reasons:

The soft Flushing soil conditions near the bay did not support a roof without significant additional costs that made it prohibitive.

Fans residing 75 miles away may stay away with the threat of rain, but fans within closer proximity generally are not dissuaded from attending because they live close enough to the ballpark to make an informed choice closer to the first pitch. The lost business from the threat of inclement weather does not offset the significant additional costs of a roof.

The number of concerts and other dates events able to be booked as the result of a having roof -- say, during the winter -- is limited and does not offset the additional cost, either. A roofed baseball stadium works for major concerts that draw 40,000, but there are only a handful of entertainers who can fill that many seats.

More than a decade ago, in the waning days of Rudy Giuliani’s tenure as mayor, the original designs for the new New York stadiums included roofs and involved a sizable financial commitment from New York City. Priorities changed after 9/11, and so did the administration. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was not as inclined to chip in, and the real stadium designs lost the retractable-roof concepts.

The Mets are footing a large portion of the construction cost through interest payments on bonds. Those payments are now about $50 million annually.

The Mets ended up playing four home doubleheaders last year as a result of rainouts -- April 14 against the Rockies, Aug. 29 against the Marlins, Sept. 8 against the Braves and Sept. 24 against the Phillies. In previous years, those games would be made up as split, day-night doubleheaders that would provide the organization with gate receipts from two separate games. Now, with attendance lagging, the Mets simply do single-admission doubleheaders.

“In-depth” appears Tuesdays during the regular season

Brandon Morrow tossed a three-hit shutout and the Mets lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-0, Saturday at Rogers Centre. Dillon Gee starts Sunday's 1:07 p.m. game, trying to prevent the Amazin's from getting swept north of the border.

Regarding the Mets' offense, Terry Collins said, the Mets can't be patient to a fault in driving up pitch counts.

"We’ve got to start grinding out some at-bats," Collins said. "It goes back to exactly what we talked about a couple of weeks ago, and that's: It’s not about taking pitches. It’s about being patient, and when you get the pitch you want, hit it. Brandon was in the strike zone today. He was making good pitches early in the count. And we're down early, 0-1, 0-2. I don’t want these guys to think they've got to go up there and just take the good pitches they can hit."

Sunday's news reports:

• Miguel Batista was forced to leave Saturday's game after tossing two scoreless innings because of a pulled muscle in his lower back. Jeremy Hefner, promoted from Triple-A Buffalo, entered in relief and limited the Jays to two runs in five innings but was charged with the loss. Chris Schwinden will arrive Sunday in Toronto as a taxi-squad member, and presumably has a good chance of being activated as a hedge against Gee having a short outing, with Batista landing on the DL.

Jordany Valdespin had been demoted before Saturday's game to make room for Hefner. Valdespin will play second base with the Bisons. The Mets will promote a position player before Monday's game in Pittsburgh, Collins indicated. Collins said Hefner would start in Batista's place Thursday at Citi Field if the 41-year-old right-hander lands on the DL. Read more in Newsday, the Record, Star-Ledger and Post.

• Mike Baxter was ruled out at second base in the ninth inning on an apparent blown call. Had Baxter been credited with a double, the Mets would have had two runners in scoring position with one out in the ninth, trailing by two runs. Read more in the Post.

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

• There's no indication Ike Davis is in imminent danger of a demotion. But the number of notable names getting demoted is, well, notable. First, the Braves sent Jair Jurrjens to Triple-A Gwinnett. First baseman Adam Lind is reportedly on waivers for the purpose of being removed from the 40-man roster and demoted by the Blue Jays. And, now, first baseman Gaby Sanchez, who was hitting .197 with one homer with Miami, has been demoted too. “We don’t think he’s a .190 hitter,” Marlins GM Michael Hill told the Miami Herald about Sanchez, an All-Star last season. “We think he’s better than he’s showing here. We think he’s pressing. We want to take some of the pressure off him, get him down to Triple-A, and get him right.” Davis is hitting .160 after going 0-for-3 Saturday in Toronto.

• Pedro Beato began an official rehab assignment Saturday night with Class A St. Lucie, tossing two scoreless innings. He is on the 60-day DL because of a shoulder issue that arose during spring training. Jenrry Mejia, meanwhile, allowed one run on six hits while striking out three and walking none in three innings for Double-A Binghamton. He threw only 48 pitches in his first Double-A start since Tommy John surgery, but Sandy Alderson said that roughly was the prescribed length. Mejia had higher pitch counts in two previous starts for St. Lucie. Also Saturday, Vinny Rottino had three homers for Triple-A Buffalo. Read the Saturday's full minor league recap here.

• David Wright was sicker Saturday than the previous day and was unavailable. Still, he already has informed Collins he wants to play Sunday. Read more in the Daily News.

• Anthony McCarron pens a feature in the Daily News celebrating Wright's leadership by example. Regarding Wright bickering with Collins in the dugout because he wanted to remain in Tuesday's game against Milwaukee to get drilled as payback for D.J. Carrasco hitting Ryan Braun, Ron Darling said: “I think there were probably people on the bench who didn’t understand what the hullabaloo was about at all and were taught a valuable lesson. 'What? Get hit? Who wants to get hit?’ He basically said, 'I know how the game is played and I know what we have to do in certain situations and I’m willing to do that.' David is one of those rare current players who could’ve played in any generation. There is a real courage in the way he plays the game. Guy played three weeks with a back that was broken last year, hits a homer with a broken finger because he knows his team needs him. I watch him play, and it makes me proud that I was part of the fraternity.”

• Collins believes Ruben Tejada (quadriceps) could be in a minor league rehab game as soon as Monday. Jason Bay (fractured rib) may take batting practice that day in Pittsburgh. Chris Young, who took a brief break with his wife due to give birth, is expected to resume his comeback with Class A St. Lucie on Friday. It will be Young's third minor league start with the Florida State League club since May 16, 2011 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his right shoulder.

• David Lennon in Newsday reviews the early impact of the wall changes at Citi Field. He notes Gee's amusement at hearing during the trip to Miami's new ballpark about Marlins players already expressing discontent with the cavernous dimensions. As a result of the Citi Field changes, there have been 10 additional homers this season that would have remained in play under the old configuration -- six by opponents, four by the Mets (Kirk Nieuwenhuis 2, Lucas Duda, Wright). "I enjoy it," Wright told Lennon. "Obviously, it's smaller, so I enjoy that. But it's tough, I guess, to describe the effect that it has because it's still relatively early. A lot of how the ball carries has to do with the weather, and the weather has been chilly, rainy and windy."

Still, Citi Field has not become a homer haven. Writes Lennon:

Through the first 20 home games, there have been 26 home runs hit at Citi Field, and that frequency of 1.3 per game is tied (with Wrigley Field) for 13th-best in the National League . Only AT&T Park (0.84), PETCO Park (0.96) and Marlins Park (1.24) had produced fewer. Before Citi's changes are deemed inconsequential, however, consider this: According to ESPN Home Run Tracker, 10 home runs needed the new dimensions to clear the walls, and if there were only 16 home runs to this point, that drops the average rate to a minuscule 0.80 -- the lowest in either league. "It's only a small sample size," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said. "But at the same time, that's still a dramatic impact."

Jeff Wilpon told Lennon: "It doesn't look like a sore thumb sticking out, in the terms of the changes that we made. I think it's been very successful in that sense. We knew it wouldn't make a huge difference -- we wanted it to be a moderate difference. ... I wish we were hitting more home runs, either with the benefit of the changes or without the benefits."

• Tyler Kepner in the Times pays homage to Chipper Jones, who is due to retire at season's end. Writes Kepner:

In Chicago, the Cubs gave him a Braves flag that flew above the scoreboard at Wrigley Field. In Denver, the Rockies gave him a camera to mount on his hunting bow. The Houston Astros gave him a cowboy hat, and the St. Louis Cardinals presented a jersey signed by Stan Musial. “It was really cool in St. Louis when he came up to bat,” Braves reliever Craig Kimbrel said. “They kind of stopped the game. They were already losing in the first inning, but he came up to bat and got a standing ovation.”

Jones told Kepner about last year's Braves historic collapse relative to the team's current success (25-16, first place): "It’s really gratifying because the guys went home in the offseason and used what happened in September as a motivational tool. I’ve said this all along: If we end up winning an Eastern Division championship or a National League championship or a World Series in the next couple of years, I guarantee you all these players will look back at September and say we learned a lot.”

• Critic Bob Raissman in the Daily News praises Collins as a straight shooter. Writes Raissman:

While The Prince of Darkness, John Tortorella, continues perfecting his mummified style, Terry Collins is out in Queens shedding light. The Mets manager will never be cast as Mr. Sunshine. He illuminates by speaking the truth. That’s why the media rarely has a discouraging word about him. Of all the head mouths in town, Collins is the straightest shooter.

• Columnist Jeff Bradley in the Star-Ledger compares the 1993 Yankees to the 2012 Mets in terms of success despite low expectations. Warning: extensive Paul O'Neill quoting.

TRIVIA: Who was the last Pittsburgh Pirate to have a multi-homer game against the Mets?

Saturday's answer: Mike Jacobs was traded to Toronto for a player to be named or cash in the last swap between the Mets and Jays, on July 30, 2010.

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

Wednesday's news reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After an eventful off-day, much of the narrative about the Mets' looming financial ruin is due to take a backseat for the near future.

First, at the U.S. District Courthouse in lower Manhattan on Monday morning, the parties in the Bernard Madoff-related lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family announced they had settled the case for $162 million. In reality, the Wilpons ultimately will be responsible for repaying far less than that sum, since trustee Irving Picard will allow the family to claim losses of $178 million from other Madoff investments. The Wilpons won't be reimbursed that entire $178 million sum, but the fraction to which they are entitled to recoup after Picard collects money from net winners in the Ponzi scheme will be deducted from the $162 million they owe in the settlement. Also relevant: The Wilpons will not have to pay Picard whatever they ultimately owe until 2016 and 2017.

Secondly, word came that the Wilpons successfully had received a $240 million equity infusion from minority investors, allowing them to pay off a $25 million emergency loan from Major League Baseball and a $40 million bridge loan from Bank of America. The investment -- albeit with at least half coming from SportsNet New York, Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz -- should allow the Wilpons to withstand any 2012 operating losses and meet immediate debt obligations without jeopardizing their ownership of the team in the near term.

Still, this does not mean the days of payroll austerity have ended for the Mets.

More may come Tuesday when the Wilpons are expected to be at Mets camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Tuesday's news reports:

• Although the consensus is the Wilpons fared very well with the settlement, both sides had compelling reasons to reach a compromise, which was brokered by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. Even if the Wilpons felt they did not act in bad faith in their investments with Madoff, a jury could have found otherwise and awarded Picard an additional $303 million aside from the up to $83.3 million to which Judge Jed S. Rakoff already had decided the trustee would be entitled. On the other side, by settling for $162 million -- the Wilpons' profits from certain funds in the six years before Madoff's arrest -- Picard restored that six-year clawback period as the appropriate standard. Rakoff had ruled that Picard could only go back two years, which would have capped the amount Picard could have recovered at $83.3 million -- unless the trustee could have demonstrated to a jury that the Wilpons acted "willfully blind" to Madoff's Ponzi scheme. The Wilpons, as part of the settlement, are free and clear of any bad-faith accusations.

Wrote Anthony M. Destefano and Steven Marcus in Newsday regarding Cuomo's role as mediator:

About 10 days ago, he called Wilpon and Katz again into his office at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in Manhattan for a frank talk. "They came. I spoke to them, I simply made the pitch. 'This is your last chance,' " recalled Cuomo. Then, in the past week lawyers for Picard, Wilpon and [Saul] Katz started to hunker down for some serious deal making. Each knew a trial had risks. "Number one, they may lose. Number two, they may win and then face an appeal. Number three, in either case it's going to cost a fortune," Cuomo said. Lawyers for Picard and the Mets owners swapped proposals and counterproposals through Cuomo, his partner Brian E. O'Connor and firm associate Emma J. James. At times, opposing lawyers talked directly by phone. What solidified the deal for Wilpon and Katz was Picard's willingness to drop his claim they were willfully blind to Madoff's fraud, an allegation that stung them deeply -- and could have cost them $303 million in damages if it stuck.

Read more settlement coverage in the Journal, Times, Daily News, Post, Star-Ledger and Newsday.

• The $240 million equity infusion -- which comes in $20 million blocks each worth 4 percent of the team -- averts any short-term danger of the Wilpons being unable to meet their debt obligations. The only known investor without existing ties to the Mets is Steve Cohen, who is a finalist to purchase the majority share of the Los Angeles Dodgers, which would force him to divest his new share of the Mets.

In addition to paying back the $25 million to MLB and $40 million to Bank of America with the newly infused funds, Josh Kosman in the Post reports, $100 million of the money immediately went to pay down roughly $430 million in team debt. Kosman wrote:

The Mets have not refinanced their remaining loans, but have bought the team goodwill. Last year, team lender JPMorgan wrote a letter warning that the team had breached its debt covenants. The owners first must prove they can come close to hitting their budget after missing it badly the last two years, one source said. In 2011, the Mets lost roughly $70 million. After big payroll cuts in the off-season, the team could break even this year.

Marc Ganis, the president of a prominent sports consulting firm, told Newsday: "This is a good day for the Wilpons, but their financial troubles with the Mets are still very significant. It's really a situation that needs a lot of work before Mets fans can start feeling like a corner has turned."

Read more on the minority ownership sale in the Journal and Daily News.

• Columnist Bob Klapsich believes Mets fans are losers in the settlement. Writes Klapisch:

So it’s fair for Mets fans to ask the Wilpons what’s in store, other than years and years of debt pay-down. The family owes $430 million in principal of a loan against the team, due in 2014. They owe $450 million in principal of a loan against SNY, back in 2015. They owe an estimated $600 million, due in $25 million increments every six months, on the ballpark. These are the fiscal realities that figure to keep the Mets locked in a nasty catch-22. They haven’t had enough extra cash to upgrade the roster, but without enough on-field talent to compete with, say, the Phillies and Marlins, let alone the Braves and Nationals, how are the Wilpons going to generate ticket-sales that would fund a renaissance?

ESPNNewYork.com columnist Ian O'Connor has similar concerns about the Wilpons as owners. Writes O'Connor:

The Mets are a big-market joke with small-market bottom lines, and Wilpon's dreadful decisions in business and baseball are to blame. His fan base wants him out, and even the Mets' loyal, good-natured customers were hoping for some outcome before a judge and jury that left them with a new rich guy in charge. So when Mario Cuomo, the Kissinger of this case, told reporters outside federal court in Manhattan that this resolution would allow Mets owners to "return to normalcy," no season-ticket holder was seen popping open a bottle of chilled champagne. For Mets fans, normalcy is a team in the world's biggest, noisiest marketplace that slashes payroll by more than $50 million.

• Anthony McCarron in the Daily News got brief reaction to the settlement. "As players, we’ve never been preoccupied with Madoff, but we understand it’s a huge burden lifted off the shoulders of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz,” R. A. Dickey told McCarron. Said Terry Collins: "I’m glad this episode is in the past now."

• The Mets return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. against the Washington Nationals after a team day off. They are winless in their past nine Grapefruit League games and have the worst exhibition record in baseball at 3-11-1. On a positive note, Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada are expected to start against the Nats in the middle infield. The two have logged only six innings together in Grapefruit League play because Tejada has nursed a groin injury for the past week. Read more in Newsday.

• Andrew Keh in the Times wonders what the settlement means for the future of David Wright. Writes Keh:

The theory was that the Mets, if they found themselves buried in the standings this summer, would be tempted to trade Wright to a contender before the July 31 trading deadline and receive prospects in exchange. But that was before Monday’s settlement did away with the financial threat the trustee posed. Whether Wilpon might now feel more tempted to try to keep Wright for the long term remains to be seen. But he might, if for no other reason than to send a signal to the team’s discontented fan base that he is willing to make at least one investment in the team’s future at some point this season. Jose Reyes was let go this winter without a fight; letting fans know that Wright might be staying put might soothe some wounds.

TRIVIA: Who led the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in steals last season?

(Monday's answer: The trial was due to begin Monday in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse on Pearl Street in lower Manhattan, which was named for the late U.S. Senator from New York.)

Jury selection begins Monday in lower Manhattan as Fred Wilpon and his family try to stave off a "clawback" lawsuit in U.S. District Court by the trustee charged with unraveling jailed financier Bernard L. Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff has already determined that the Wilpons will need to return as much as $83.3 million -- representing profits from the final two years of their investments with Madoff. At stake is an additional $303 million, representing the alleged principal from the family's investing with Madoff during that period.

Wilpon family members and fellow investors will have to prove that they were not willfully blind to the fraudulent nature of the Madoff investment scheme. The Wilpons reject all assertions that they acted improperly.

The trustee charged with liquidating assets from the Madoff business is Irving H. Picard, who is setting out to show that the group of investors affiliated with the defendants were sophisticated enough to spot potential fraud. Picard contends that the Wilpons were so motivated by the Madoff money that they were not more diligent in verifying the fund.

Security will be tight, and reporters will have to jockey for a limited number of seats in the courtroom.

Once the jury is selected, the Wilpons have asked to call Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax as a witness, as well as former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morganthau. The judge has yet to rule on several contested issues, notably the appearance of Koufax, a Wilpon friend and Madoff investor. Picard has asked Rakoff not to allow the former pitcher to testify, claiming his celebrity could sway the jury.

Picard's most interesting witness could be Noreen Harrington, a former Wall Street whistle-blower who is expected to testify that she told Wilpon and Saul Katz -- Wilpon's brother-in-law -- that Madoff's returns were too good to be true.

Ultimately, the outcome of the trial could affect the ability of the cash-strapped Wilpons to keep the Mets, who are seeking investors and operating under an austerity budget this season.

Wilpon addressed the media at spring training, saying fans didn't have to worry about the outcome of the case. "They shouldn't be concerned about us owning the franchise, because we intend to own the franchise for a very long time," Wilpon said.

The Mets head to Jupiter on Wednesday to see the new-look Miami Marlins. However, Jose Reyes will not be there. He played Tuesday night at the Marlins' new ballpark in Miami, against the University of Miami. And he's staying down there for another game tonight, against Florida International University.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Johan Santana had a solid 2012 Grapefruit League debut, limiting the St. Louis Cardinals to one hit and one walk in two scoreless innings. Santana's fastball mostly sat at 87-88 mph, and he threw a devastating changeup to Yadier Molina. The big question will be whether Santana can now pitch on a regular five-day schedule. The next test: Can Santana throws a between-starts bullpen session on Thursday (or maybe Friday) to set up his second exhibition start, against the Marlins on Sunday in Port St. Lucie?

Watch video of Santana discussing his outing here.

ESPN Stats & Information evaluated Santana's performance based on video-review data from Inside Edge. They wrote in part:

Santana threw 23 fastballs, ranging from 86 to 89 mph, and averaging 87. In 2010, Santana’s fastball averaged just more than 89 mph. Santana threw 15 of those 23 fastballs for strikes, including eight of nine to left-handed hitters. Santana's other six pitches were four changeups and two sliders. He threw two of his six offspeed pitches for strikes. He typically threw those pitches for strikes about two-thirds of the time in 2009 and '10.

Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post provides this caveat to Santana's positive day:

Now the public service in which we offer context. Where we note that within the euphoria, even the Mets know this was merely a hurdle in a long race of hurdles. Before a pitch was delivered yesterday, Collins had said the bigger deal would come tomorrow when Santana is slated for a normal between-starts bullpen. And Santana himself acknowledged, "That will be the key -- the next couple of days, trying to throw my bullpen and see if I'll be ready for my next start." The simple acts cannot be downplayed. After all, Santana was a calling card all last summer that never arrived. Twice he was shut down after minor-league rehab starts because his surgically repaired left shoulder did not respond.

Terry Collins has noted that five of Santana's first six regular-season starts would be on an extra day of rest without juggling the rotation, since the Mets have team off-days in April. However, Collins told Sherman, the manager already has discussed with pitching coach Dan Warthen using a spot starter at Colorado on April 28 and holding back the southpaw a day, to make sure every early start comes with an extra day of rest.

Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record offers a similar reminder in noting that Santana's ability to throw a between-starts bullpen session Thursday is the next hurdle. Writes Klapisch:

That's the window the Mets are monitoring: the 48 hours during which lactic acid builds up in the muscles. Even perfectly healthy pitchers pay the surcharge, experiencing stiffness behind the throwing shoulder and on the fleshy side of the elbow. That's why bullpen sessions always are scheduled for exactly two days after the last start, three days before the next one, to break down the lactic acid and rebuild muscle tissue. In Santana's case, the Mets will want to know if his shoulder capsule, which was cut into deeply by surgeons 18 months ago, experiences even the slightest twinge. Santana himself said, "The key will be the next couple of days." A setback doesn't necessarily have to manifest as a searing line of pain, either. It could be as subtle as the ball feeling heavier while Santana plays long-toss, the sensation that his arm is a little slower or an overall fatigue that would be enough of a red flag for the Mets to push back his next start.

Columnist John Harper in the Daily News notes that the differential in speed between Santana's fastball (87-88 mph on Tuesday) and changeup (79-81 mph) should be enough during the regular season, assuming Santana can add an extra 1 or 2 mph of oomph to his fastball during spring training, as most pitchers do. Writes Harper:

The velocity matters for Santana, largely because he needs separation from his signature changeup, which ranged from 78 to 81 mph. "As long as he locates his changeup, and keeps it down," said one scout in attendance, "he can win with the stuff he had today. He just can't get away with hanging the change, the way he could when he was throwing 94." Those days were gone long before Santana hurt his shoulder in 2010. He hasn't thrown 94 since he was pitching for the Twins five or six years ago, and, in truth, his velocity on Tuesday wasn't far at all from where he had been in 2009 and '10 for the Mets. Still, adding a little velocity as he continues his comeback, and pitching closer to 89-90 than 87-88, likely would make a significant difference. We'll see if that happens.

Read more on Santana's outing in the Journal, Post, Star-Ledger, Record, Daily News and Newsday.

• Agent Scott Boras texted Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon to clarify remarks from the agent that appeared in the Times. Boras told ESPNNewYork.com as well as Wilpon that when he said it was the ethical mandate of a large-market team to spend money or the owner should forfeit the team, he was speaking generally and not specifically about the Mets.

Earlier in the day, Sandy Alderson had responded to Boras' remarks, saying the Mets lost money and their primary obligation is to financially stabilize their franchise.

• Pedro Beato was pulled from Tuesday's home Grapefruit League game with shoulder stiffness and tightness.

• David Wright will not appear in an exhibition game until at least next week, Collins said. Still, the manager added, Wright had a good day in the weight room Tuesday. Read more in Newsday and the Star-Ledger.

• The Mets won one and lost one in split-squad games Tuesday. R.A. Dickey retired all six batters he faced while working after Santana. 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo, borrowed from minor league camp for the game against the St. Louis Cardinals, walked in his first career Grapefruit League at-bat. The 18-year-old outfielder was so enthusiastic, Collins said Nimmo raced to the third-base line to greet D.J. Carrasco after the reliever completed an inning. Nimmo also marveled at the size of Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday after seeing him in person for the first time.

Nimmo overall had an eye-opening experience, according to Andrew Keh in the Times. Writes Keh:

He seemed particularly impressed by one item in the major league spread, a dish of baked bell peppers stuffed with beef and rice. "I never saw those in the minor league side," Nimmo said, laughing. "There was more variety. I definitely enjoyed that."

• Anthony Destefano in Newsday underscores that the eventual judgment of as much as $83 million that U.S. District Court Judge Jed S. Rakoff plans to give the trustee trying to recover funds for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme is spread among many of Fred Wilpon's family members, businesses and charities. The Mets are only on the hook for a maximum of $1.6 million to $1.7 million of that amount.

• Scott Hairston (strained left oblique), who received a cortisone shot on Monday, told the Record's Mike Kerwick he will be idle for two weeks and is aiming to play in Grapefruit League games the final week of spring training. That leaves little wiggle room, and suggests Hairston very well could open the season on the disabled list. Hairston landed on the DL on Aug. 26 with a strain of the same muscle and did not return last season. Unless the Mets look for outside help late in camp, Vinny Rottino might be the best righty-hitting alternative for backup outfielder. Adam Loewen and Mike Baxter are currently the candidates for backup lefty-hitting outfielder, although the organization could look to upgrade there as well. If Hairston cannot open the season, the Mets would need a backup center fielder for Andres Torres. Of the players mentioned above, only Loewen is capable of playing there.

TRIVIA: Who started at third base for the Mets the game before Wright made his major league debut?

(Tuesday's answer: Mike Nickeas' father Mark played professional soccer in the North American Soccer League for the Vancouver Whitecaps and San Jose Earthquakes.)

In trying to clarify comments he felt were misconstrued in an article in the New York Times, agent Scott Boras texted Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, Boras said Tuesday.

Boras, as he had earlier in the day to Adam Rubin, insisted he was not specifically talking about the Mets when he made comments on a panel Monday.

"When you're seeing franchises in major markets not pursuing to the levels that the revenues and the fan base and the market provide, then I think you have an ethical violation of the game," Boras said, as quoted by the Times.

Boras did not deny the accuracy of the quote, but said he never mentioned the Mets and was not talking about them specifically. That is the message he relayed to Wilpon.

Terry Collins addressed his players and the first full-squad workout is in the books. Now, the countdown to Grapefruit League games begins. The Mets' opener is Monday night, with Dillon Gee getting the start against the Washington Nationals at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie.

Tuesday's news reports:

• Principal owner Fred Wilpon gave a 22-minute interview to reporters Monday morning, as the Mets took the field for the first full-squad workout. Wilpon said the Mets will, in fact, sell as many as 12 minority shares in the team, each at $20 million for 4 percent. He acknowledged, however, that two have been bought by immediate family, Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz. He also said another four are being purchased by SportsNet New York. Seven of the up to 12 blocks already have been approved by Major League Baseball and the money is in escrow. He also stated his family will remain majority owners for the long haul.

He said David Wright's future will be a front-office decision, and that Jose Reyes' departure was a prudent move based on the perils of long-term contracts. He tried to put the onus for the payroll dive on that being Sandy Alderson's preference before allowing that he sets the parameters. He also said he remains "optimistic" the 2013 All-Star Game will be held at Citi Field as planned, and that the delay in a formal announcement is because New York City officials and MLB are negotiating over picking up expenses.

Read the transcript of Fred Wilpon's interview here.

Column Mike Vaccaro in the Post was turned off by Fred Wilpon pulling out the roll of bills with $5 on the outside. Writes Vaccaro:

If nothing else, the Mets should have the common sense and the common decency to realize their fans are not idiots, that if there are real financial concerns hanging like a millstone around the Wilpons’ necks -- and no matter how much Fifth Avenue Freddie tries to spin it, every few minutes, it seems, another bill for another few million comes due -- then it is particularly stupid to taunt their customers so blithely, and so blindly. Alderson can get away with it. For one thing, he has a better sense of humor and a better sense of timing. His Tweets land and they get retweeted by thousands of anxious Mets fans who think they’ve got an ally, who think Alderson’s voice represents their own, and it’s one that says: Yes, we have cash issues. And you know what? Either we laugh about it or we cry about it.

Writes columnist Ken Davidoff in Newsday:

Even if the Mets' owners prevail in the Madoff mess, however, they still face an uphill climb. They have not yet closed on the 10 to 12 shares (4 percent each, at $20 million a pop) they need for a cash infusion, which will allow them to pay back loans to MLB ($25 million) and Bank of America ($40 million). And there's the issue of so little money coming in from the actual team. "We've got to win the fans back," Wilpon said. "No, strike that: Win the fans and the customers back. ... The only way we're going to get that revenue is if we have a competitive, interesting team on the field." The problem lies deeper than that, though, as Wilpon joked. According to Michael Weinstat, an investment adviser / portfolio manager from Woodbury who owned Mets season tickets from 1987 through 2009, about 25 percent of Mets fans are rooting for the team to lose to expedite the Wilpons' departure.

Writes columnist Bill Madden in the Daily News:

Listening to Fred Wilpon delivering his impromptu State of the Mets address Monday, he sounded far less concerned about becoming one poor owner than he did about assuming the dubious distinction of being one dumb owner. For obvious legal reasons, Wilpon could not discuss the court case looming in the wake of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme -- which reportedly could cost his family from $83 million to $386 million in clawbacks -- other than to say he was "optimistic -- I'm always optimistic." But when it came to the significantly shrunken Mets payroll, a hot button topic of conversation ever since Jose Reyes split for Miami for $105 million, Wilpon reiterated the company line that the estimated $50 million reduction from $140 million was mostly a subtraction "of people who weren’t producing" and in no way related to the Madoff situation, but rather the hundreds of thousands of empty seats at Citi Field.

Fred Wilpon tried to put the onus on a fiscally conservative Alderson for a $91 million payroll, but it seems pretty clear the GM would have spent somewhat more if it were available. Tyler Kepner in the Times quotes Alderson saying: "There's no question success is a function of two things: good management and resources. If you have both, you can have a pretty long and successful run. If you don't have both, your run is going to be short or it's never going to happen. But if you have resources and you have good management and execution, then we've got a shot. Resources are always going to be important, but they don’t need to be determinative."

Here are Jon Heyman's take at CBSSports.com and Howard Megdal's take at Capital New York.

Read recaps of the principal owner's comments in the Star-Ledger, Times, Record, Journal, Post, Daily News and Newsday.

• The Mets distributed orange T-shirts to the players with the "Underdog" logo. The idea was Jeff Wilpon's, according to Collins. Read more in the Post, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Daily News and Record.

• Right fielder Lucas Duda's power is on display in camp ... and he's becoming slightly less introverted, according to teammates. Collins, by the way, said he is not entertaining flipping No. 6 Duda and cleanup hitter Ike Davis in the order at this point. Read more in Newsday.

• Wright donned a University of Michigan football jersey for Monday's workout after losing a Sugar Bowl bet with Jeff Wilpon.

• Neil Best in Newsday chats with Josh Lewin, the new sidekick to Howie Rose on Mets radio broadcasts. Lewin, 43, called games on TV for the Texas Rangers in 2004, after the departure of Alex Rodriguez and what was the largest single-season payroll slashing in MLB history until the Mets decided to drop $52 million this offseason. "There were zero expectations that year, everyone crying about the payroll and kind of negative," Lewin told Best. "I'm not going to make any wacky predictions, but I've seen this movie before and it came really, really close to a happy ending. ... At the risk of being Pollyanna, I don't think it will be terrible." Writes Best:

Josh Lewin feels your pain, Mets fans. It is an emotion earned the hard way, as a youngster in Rochester who in 1978 favored the last-place Mets over the two-time World Series champion Yankees. "For whatever reason, the Mets seemed to resonate more," said Lewin, the team's new radio voice opposite Howie Rose. "Reggie [Jackson] was hitting three home runs and all that, but I was a Willie Montaez guy. And I loved Nino Espinosa's hair. There was something about the Mets and the underdog-ness. They were the Jan Brady to the Yankees' Marcia. I always was a Jan guy when I got a little older."

TRIVIA: Who has surrendered the most homers to the Mets among active pitchers? (Hint: He once was a Met.)

(Monday's answer: Before Ruben Tejada and Manny Acosta, left-hander Bruce Chen was the last Panamian-born player to appear with the Mets, in 2001 and '02. The lone other play born in that country to play for the Amazin's: Juan Berenguer, from 1978 to '80.)

Inside the Mets clubhouse, Justin Turner showed off one of the orange T-shirts that were the brainchild of chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.

The “U” logo from the old “Underdog” cartoon was printed on the T-shirts and sitting in each locker.

“The capes are coming next week,” Turner kidded.

“I thought Jeff had a great idea. He made some T-shirts up -- ‘Underdog’ stuff,” said Terry Collins, who rallied his team before Monday’s first full-squad workout by telling them 29 teams think they’re better than the Mets. “You know what? If it ticks you off, then we’re doing our job. You’ve got to know how you’re being felt out there.

“I remember in 1993 in Pittsburgh, after we lost [Barry] Bonds and [Doug] Drabek and those guys. Guys came into spring training, and you could just tell there was that [feeling], ‘Hey, we don’t have Barry anymore, we’re not going to be any good.’ And we didn’t play very good. And I don’t want that to happen here. These guys have got to understand, we are in a situation, we are in a market, we have a fan base that expects people to play the game right and play the game well. I have expectations of how this game is played. And I don’t care who is sitting in those seats, it’s got to be played that way.”

David Wright, for his part, seemed lukewarm about an underdog tag on the Mets.

“I don’t really like using the whole underdog thing,” he said. “I don’t like really playing that card. I think it’s just a way to remind everybody in here that the outside expectations aren’t the expectations that we have for ourselves. And I think Terry did a good job of kind of conveying it today, because obviously the expectations from the outside are low, and understandably so.

“But we in here kind of have to rally around that and get it going. I guess, at the end of the day, that is kind of an underdog theme. But we shouldn’t view ourselves as that. We’ll let everybody else view ourselves as that, because I think we kind of know what we’re capable of doing.”

For those unfamiliar, Wikipedia gives this write-up about the TV series "Underdog" ...

Underdog is an American animated television series that debuted October 3, 1964, on the NBC network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, and continued in syndication until 1973, for a run of 124 episodes.

Underdog, Shoeshine Boy’s heroic alter-ego, appeared whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Underdog always speaks in rhymes, such as, “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!” His voice was supplied by Wally Cox.

As players streamed out of the clubhouse after a 45-minute address from Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson on Monday morning for the first full-squad workout, David Wright had on a different uniform. Wright was wearing University of Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson’s No. 16 jersey. It was the result of losing a Sugar Bowl bet with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.

Fred Wilpon’s alma mater is Michigan. Wright roots for Virginia Tech. The Wolverines beat the Hokies, 23-20 in overtime, in the bowl game.

“It was just a bet,” Wright said. “I got a phone call from Jeff and his son the day of the Sugar Bowl game. I had a couple of brothers who went to Virginia Tech, and grew up rooting for Virginia Tech. You can’t really say no to the owner -- especially you could expect a phone call when they’re 3-, 3½-point favorites. I doubt they would have made that phone call if they were 3-, 3½-point dogs. Michigan ended up winning. The bet was the loser had to wear the other team’s jersey out on the field for the first day. That’s about it.”

As for wearing Robinson’s jersey, Wright added: “Well, it didn’t make me any faster. It didn’t help my spiral any. I know Jon Niese is a big Ohio State fan. Fortunately I didn’t have to face him in live BP today. But it was all in good fun. And then during the meeting today they broke out the jersey. Hopefully they get a rematch next year.”

The Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation donated $12 million to the University of Michigan five years ago, which led to renovations of the baseball and softball facilities, which now bear the family’s name. The Michigan baseball team played a baseball series against Iona at the Mets’ complex this past weekend.

After another pitchers and catchers workout day, a large Mets contingent will travel down I-95 to Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for the 7 p.m. memorial service for Gary Carter. ESPN.com/ESPNNewYork.com should have details later today about how to watch the service on our site. It will be streamed online. The Mets also plan to watch free-agent left-hander Scott Kazmir throw today.

Friday's news reports:

• A helicopter landed on a field at the Mets' spring-training complex late Thursday afternoon and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, GM Sandy Alderson, manager Terry Collins and other front-office staff boarded for a chartered trip to Miami to watch Jeremy Lin and the Knicks lose to the Heat. A Miami aviation expert estimated the cost of the charter to be $3,000 per hour. Read more in Newsday and the Post.

• At a hearing inside U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff's courtroom in Manhattan on Thursday, the judge decided to ban three expert witnesses -- two for the trustee suing Fred Wilpon and family, and one for the defense (coincidentally named John Maine). Rakoff also pledged to rule by March 5 whether to toss the case, whether to award $83 million pre-trial to trustee Irving Picard, or whether to allow the March 19 jury trial to proceed without any pretrial motions for summary judgment being granted.

Wrote Anthony M. Destefano in Newsday:

In a three-hour hearing, Judge Jed Rakoff asked attorneys about the deposition given last year by financial expert Noreen Harrington, who at one time worked as a financial executive for Sterling Stamos, the investment arm of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz's Sterling Equities business. ... In a deposition, Harrington stated that Katz became angered when she said in a 2004 meeting that Madoff's investment returns seemed too good to be true and might represent fictional numbers or the illegal stock market practice of "front running," an illegal trading strategy. ... While Rakoff didn't tip his hand on how he would rule on the summary judgment issues, he raised the possibility through questioning of the attorneys, particularly trustee counsel David Sheehan, that Harrington's testimony might signal to a jury willful blindness by the Sterling defendants to Madoff's fraud. Rakoff particularly asked about Harrington's claim that Katz became very angry with her when she raised questions about illegalities in Madoff's business.

Richard Sandomir in the Times picked up on the same exchange in court. Writes Sandomir:

Rakoff, who read aloud portions of Harrington’s testimony, was curious about Katz’s reaction when she cast doubt on Sterling Stamos investing in a fund that fed its clients’ money to Madoff to invest. "Why get angry at that?" he asked Karen Wagner, the Mets' lead lawyer. He said Katz’s reaction would have made more sense if he had asked her to come up with evidence to back her claims and she did not. "A reasonable juror could say that he got angry before he even asks for an explanation," Rakoff added. Katz said in his deposition that he did not remember the meeting. Harrington testified that when she asked to meet with Madoff, Katz said no. She did not follow up on her request and left Sterling Stamos soon after. “It’s hard to see that the failure to give her that meeting can be taken as evidence of willful blindness,” Rakoff said.

Read more in the Journal.

• Jose Reyes arrived at Marlins camp Thursday. As for bench coach Bob Geren getting his No. 7 with the Mets, Reyes initially was unsure who Geren was. The shortstop then told Ken Davidoff in Newsday: "I'm not there. They can do whatever they want to with number 7." Read more in the Daily News and Post.

• Upon returning to Mets camp, Ike Davis revealed that doctors had sent him to New York for more testing because they discovered an infection in his lungs. Davis was cleared to resume working out and does not need to take medication. He never noticed any symptoms from the medical issue.

• Jason Bay reported to Mets camp Thursday, two days ahead of the official position-player report date. Bay pledged to stop tinkering with his swing every time he does not have success, and said New Yorkers have not yet seen the real Bay. (Watch Bay video here.) Bay's contract vests at $17 million for 2014 if he has 600 plate appearances in 2013, or 500 apiece each of the next two seasons, perhaps setting up an awkward situation, as was the case with Francisco Rodriguez's 55-games-finished vesting option. On Bay trying to rediscover the swing from his Pirates day, Andy McCullough writes in the Star-Ledger:

The 2011 season was, by most statistical measurements, the worst of Bay’s nine-year career. He finished with career-lows in batting average (.245) and on-base plus slugging percentage (.703). In 212 games with the Mets, Bay’s slugging percentage is .386. In 200 games with Boston, he slugged .534. ... Last August, hitting coach Dave Hudgens played dueling sets of video for Bay, a split-screen view of the 45 homers he hit with Boston and the 15 he had hit to that point with the Mets. Hudgens then ... forced the outfielder to relearn his old approach. So Bay did. He geared his entire approach to pull baseballs to left field. He straightened his back. He opened his stance. His hands rotated as a timing gesture before each pitch. The results were eye-opening. From April to August, Bay floundered along with a .660 OPS. After reverting to his old form, he scorched through the final month with a .954 OPS.

Read more in the Journal, Post, Record and Newsday.

• At Cardinals camp in Jupiter, Fla., Carlos Beltran told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he would follow through and pay the roughly $10,000 for Jon Niese's nose job, as Beltran had pledged to do in July before being traded from the Mets to the San Francisco Giants. Read more in Newsday.

• Johan Santana threw his third bullpen session of spring training -- 32 pitches. Afterward, Collins and the southpaw indicated he should be ready to throw batting practice toward the middle of next week, setting the southpaw up to pitch in the Mets' March 5 Grapefruit League opener against the Washington Nationals. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Andy Martino in the Daily News talks to Santana about ailing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who requires cancer treatments. "I hope he gets better,” Santana told Martino. "He is a human being just like any one of us. I hope the best for him."

• After signing a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels, two-time ex-Met Jason Isringhausen reported to camp much lighter than a year ago, when he ended a season with the Amazin's inactive because of a herniated disc.

• Andrew Keh in the Times profiles Mike Nickeas, who will be the backup catcher because of his defensive prowess if he proves he can hit at a minimally competent level. Writes Keh:

Nickeas spent the winter working out at Georgia Tech and e-mailing video of his swing to Dave Hudgens, the Mets' hitting coach. The two also had a continuing dialogue over the phone, with the aim of revamping Nickeas’s swing and plate approach in time for spring training. "I'm removing all the inefficiencies from my swing, so I have more time to recognize pitches and see the ball,” Nickeas said. "My goal is to be an extremely tough out. I don’t want to be the guy they get to, put a couple of pitches in, and be done."

• Left-handed reliever Tim Byrdak, who began his Thursday by arriving at work with a platinum-blond-dyed goatee, worked with a drop-down delivery during a subsequent bullpen session. Byrdak told Anthony DiComo at MLB.com that his arm slot typically rises as he gets closer to the season. He's starting lower this season than in the past before drifting upward, because he does not want his arm to be too high once Opening Day arrives. Byrdak last pitched sidearm in 1999. "I know it's going to go up," Byrdak told DiComo. "So if I go a little bit lower and I come up, I'm right where I want to be."

• Mets statistical analyst Ben Baumer reached the finals before losing to Angels assistant equipment manager Shane Demmitt in MLB Network's "Baseball IQ" baseball history/trivia show.

• Jenrry Mejia threw off a mound for the first time since Tommy John surgery in May. Without revealing Mejia's future role, Paul DePodesta noted to ESPNNewYork.com the success the Texas Rangers have experienced by beginning pitchers' careers in the bullpen before moving them to the rotation -- at least suggesting the possibility Mejia works in relief for the Mets during the second half of the 2012 season, then potentially revisits starting in future seasons.

TRIVIA: Reyes last season won the Mets' only National League batting title, but who had the best average for a season in franchise history among qualifiers?

(Thursday's answer: Benny Agbayani has appeared in the most games as a Met among Hawaiian-born players at 322. Ron Darling ranks second with 272 games as a Met, followed by Sid Fernandez at 255, Carlos Diaz at 58 and Tyler Yates at 21.)

Mets hitters including David Wright, Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda got a preview of Citi Field’s new dimensions Wednesday, when they hit on a back field in Port St. Lucie that has been reconfigured to match the Flushing ballpark’s new look.

“You could tell. And if you couldn’t tell, Jeff was there to remind you,” Wright quipped, referring to chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, who planned to join Wright for a round of golf after the optional position-player workout. “It was fun. It’s a little different down here in Florida. You’ve got the wind. You’ve got the humidity. So the ball doesn’t probably carry as much as it will in different conditions. But obviously if you ask a hitter if they enjoy hitting in a more-hitter-friendly park, they’re going to say yes. And I’m no different than that.”

Said Murphy: “The wind was blowing out to left pretty good, so that felt pretty good. I saw David hit some balls out. I think he hit one out to right-center. I think Jeff came up and said something to him. He was like, ‘See, I told you we brought them in.’ And then Duda hit a couple out to left. And there was one ball, the last swing I took, to 358 in left-center that ran out of real estate that I was like, ‘All right, I kind of like that a little bit.’”

An ESPNNewYork.com study determined 13 shot Wright hit that stayed in the ballpark over the past three seasons would have been homers had the new dimensions been in place since Citi Field debuted in 2009. Manager Terry Collins sees an additional psychological benefit, too.

The old fence on the back field in Port St. Lucie remained intact, with the new fence built in front of it, allowing players to survey the precise changes.

“Today shows you there’s a big difference,” Collins said. “When you walk out there and looked at the actual dimension changes, how many balls were laying behind that first fence? It’s going to be a difference. It’s going to change the way these guys think when they’re at home plate. … I just think this is going to ease some minds. When they walk up there, David Wright is going to say, ‘You know what? I’m going to put a good swing on this ball and hit it hard. And if I hit it to right-center field I have a chance to do some damage,’ where this past year I saw many guys thinking they have to pull the baseball to hit a homer. And therefore we came off some balls or we hit some routine fly balls, or we swung and missed a bad pitch because we’re coming off a little bit.”

Collins predicted lefty hitters will benefit, too.

“Lucas Duda became a very good hitter because he drove the ball to left-center field as a minor leaguer -- which is something you try to teach every minor league player,” Collins said. “Most players, at a certain level at professional baseball, they want to try to pull. They want to try to hit homers. And you work and work and work to try to get them to understand they can drive the ball the other way. Lucas Duda, that’s what he did. And when he got to the big leagues, he said, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to start pulling the ball to hit a homer.’ So I think it’s going to make a big difference. The same with Ike [Davis].”

Four days until Mets pitchers and catchers officially report.

Thursday's news reports:

• Pitching coach Dan Warthen arrived at the complex for the first time this spring training on Wednesday afternoon and told Dan Martin in the Post that Johan Santana is making progress. "I've been looking at video from when he's been down here recently and comparing it to video from 2008, before he got hurt," Warthen told Martin. "It's no different. Not even one percent. That's extremely important. ... I think he is more anxious than anyone. We'll probably have to pull the reins in on him again because he’ll want to do too much. ... If he's even 90 percent of what he's supposed to be, we have a legitimate chance. But he has to go out and throw, no matter what we do for him."

• David Wright took batting practice and worked out with fellow infielders Ike Davis and Daniel Murphy as well as others Wednesday. Wright talked exclusively with ESPNNewYork.com about his future with the Mets, saying there's certainly a value in spending your entire career with one organization, as his favorite player Cal Ripken did with the Baltimore Orioles.

In a group session with reporters, Wright said his back is no longer a concern. Wright also pretty much indicated that he became too pull-happy with the former dimensions at Citi Field because there was such a long distance to the wall in right-center. He hopes to now be more conscious of using the whole field, and just going with a pitch no matter where it's delivered. Read more in the Post.

• Jeff Wilpon and Dave Howard gave a private tour of the Citi Field wall changes to Wayne Coffey for the Daily News. "I think fans are going to like [the new dimensions]," Wilpon told Coffey. "People would rather see a 9-7 game than a 2-1 game, for one thing. And I think players are going to perform better, and they're going to like that, too."

ESPNNewYork.com's offseason study of the impact of the wall changes can be found here. Among its findings: Wright would have hit 13 additional homers -- nearly five per season -- had the revised dimensions been in place from Citi Field's 2009 opening. Jason Bay would have hit nine additional homers over two seasons. And that's merely plotting balls; it does not account for the psychological benefit of being less intimidated by the dimensions.

• Andrew Keh in the Times notes that a back field at the Port St. Lucie complex, which formerly had the original Citi Field dimensions, has been altered to conform to the new dimensions.

• Archbishop Molloy product Mike Baxter, who has lived in Nashville since his days at Vanderbilt, tells Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger that he did not consider signing elsewhere after clearing waivers and becoming a free agent when he was removed from the 40-man roster. "They were the front-runner immediately," Baxter told McCullough. "And that was it. Because I want to be here." Right now, Adam Loewen and Baxter are the primary lefty-hitting backup outfielder options. But GM Sandy Alderson has made it clear that is definitely a position where the team can acquire someone cut loose from another camp late in spring training.

• Ken Davidoff in Newsday looks at salary commitments by organization for 2015, to see how flexible they are. The good news? By then, the Mets are down to $0, along with eight other teams. In fact, unless some options kick in, the Mets do not even have any commitments for 2014 right now. But the two options are pretty onerous. Bay has a $17 million vesting option for '14 that kicks in at 600 plate appearances in '13, or at 500 apiece this season and in '13. Santana's $25 million option for '14 will be much harder to achieve because it requires 215 innings in '13, or 420 over the next two seasons. The bad news: If Santana does not vest, he still gets a $5.5 million buyout in addition to his $25.5 million 2013 salary -- making his earnings that year $31 million.

• The Mets planned to send a scout to watch former first-round pick Scott Kazmir throw in his native Houston on Wednesday, the Daily News reported. Kazmir, 28, made only one start for the Los Angeles Angels last season. He had a 17.02 ERA in five Triple-A starts. He also was roughed up in his lone Dominican winter league appearance.

• Terry Collins tells McCullough that Lucas Duda is a monster.

TRIVIA: Who is the career leader in RBIs against the Mets franchise?

(Wednesday's answer: The Mets have had six Canadian-born players, led by Ron Taylor with 269 games played from 1967 through 1971. The rest: Bay 218, Tim Harkness 162, Ken MacKenzie 76, Ray Daviault 36, Mike Nickeas 26 and Brian Ostrosser 4.)

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.”

The Mets lost to the Washington Nationals, 3-2, on Monday night. Afterward, Terry Collins suggested the first-responder hat saga had put the players on pins and needles and affected their play.

Tuesday's news reports:

• Player rep Josh Thole said he already has asked the union to try to get guidelines in place that would allow for the first-responder hats to be worn on Sept. 11, 2012 -- no matter if the Mets are at home or on the road.

Major League Baseball disputed the allegation heavy fines would have been levied, and even players said no first-responder hats were confiscated by MLB. An authenticator from MLB collected hats from players who decided to turn those over, without any strong-arm tactics. The authenticator is there seemingly every game to document game-used items that can later be sold (for charity of profit, depending on the situation). David Wright wore a first-responder cap on the bench in-game and said it was not confiscated from him.

Jeff Wilpon was on the phone with MLB even Sunday imploring them to allow the Mets to wear the hats, but the policy was reiterated to the chief operating officer. Still, the Mets could have elected to violate the policy -- likely without consequence -- and did not. There were strong rumblings the Mets' desire to stay in MLB's good graces (for obvious reasons) was a factor. Read more in Newsday, the Post, Record, Star-Ledger and Daily News.

• Jose Reyes' hitting streak ended at 14 games with an 0-for-4 performance. His average dipped to .329, two points behind now-NL batting leader Ryan Braun of Milwaukee.

Brian Costa in The Wall Street Journal looks at Reyes' career-high .372 on-base percentage, which is at least 14 points better than any other season. Writes Costa:

At the heart of Reyes' season is an almost unparalleled ability to make contact with the ball. He has connected on 90.2% of the pitches he has swung at, according to the baseball statistics site FanGraphs.com, the third-highest rate among NL hitters with at least 500 plate appearances. "There are certain guys, when they swing the bat, they hit the baseball," manager Terry Collins said. ... That has helped him cut his strikeout rate to a career-low 7%. But more importantly, it has enabled him to more fully utilize his speed. When he puts the ball in play, he has reached base 35% of the time, the ninth-highest rate in the league. Some of that may be attributable to luck, but much of it is no doubt attributable to his speed.

Read more on Reyes in the Star-Ledger.

• Yankees catching phenom Jesus Montero could have been a Met, but the Amazin's opted for a cheaper option in Tony Pena's son Francisco Pena out of the Dominican Republic that winter, while the Yankees handed Montero a $1.7 million signing bonus.

David Waldstein in the Times recalls Montero trying out for Mets brass in Port St. Lucie, Fla., as a 16-year-old. Montero was trying to throw out a stealing then-Mets farmhand Carlos Gomez at second base, but jumped out too quickly, and when a bat shattered, there was a fear Montero had broken his hand. X-rays turned out negative. “A lot of pain,” Montero recalled to Waldstein about the incident. “The bat broke in pieces, and I thought I broke my hand, too. I was scared. I thought I would be out for a long time and I wanted to show everyone what I could do.”

The 21-year-old Pena, by the way, hit .223 in 95 games for Class A St. Lucie this season.

• Savannah, the lone remaining Mets minor league affiliate still alive, was one out away from a Game 1 win in the South Atlantic League playoffs. Instead, the Sand Gnats squandered two homers from University of Tennessee product Blake Forsythe and suffered a walk-off loss to Greensboro.

• Chris Schwinden, despite a high innings count this season, will get starts in place of Miguel Batista as a way to gauge his readiness for a 2012 contribution. "He's had a long season, but we ultimately have to take another look at him," Collins said about Schwinden.

• R.A. Dickey tossed his 10th straight quality start in the loss. It's the longest streak by a Met since Johan Santana finished the 2008 season with 14 straight. Read game recaps in Newsday and the Daily News.

• Jason Bay was named National League Player of the Week. Wright received the honor the previous week. The last time the Mets earned the award consecutive weeks was in June 2006, when Reyes and Wright shared one award, then Reyes won the following week.

• Andrew Keh in the Times looks at bullpen newcomers Josh Stinson and Daniel Herrera. “Terry’s put me in some decent spots, and I’ve been doing the job pretty well,” Herrera told Keh. “But it’s only been a handful of outings.”

BIRTHDAY: Former reliever Grant Roberts turns 34. He has been an assistant coach for fellow ex-Met Mackey Sasser at Wallace Community College in Dothan-Eufala, Ala.