ESPN

BUFFALO 9, CHARLOTTE 3: Buffalo (22-16) put a close to their 10-game trip with a 9-3 triumph over Charlotte at a rain-soaked Knights Stadium on Monday night. Valentino Pascucci homered and drove in three. The Bisons made quick work of Monday's contest by scoring six runs in the first two innings. While the first two tallies came on hits by Fred Lewis and Pascucci, only one was scored conventionally. Pascucci hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season, but before that, Lewis raced home on a throwing error from Osvaldo Martinez after tripling to right field. Oswaldo Navarro closed out the three-run first by driving in Matt Tuiasosopo for his first RBI with the Bisons. Buffalo broke open the game with three more runs in the second inning on a Lewis RBI-double, a Vinny Rottino single and a run-scoring groundout from Pascucci. That was more than enough for Jeurys Familia to earn his third consecutive winning decision. The righty fanned seven in five innings of work and allowed just one run on five hits. Buffalo added single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings for insurance. Pascucci's single in fourth gave him three RBI on the night and a team-high 25 for the season. The final two Bisons runs scored on wild pitches. It wasn't all good news for the Bisons on Monday. Before the game, the club learned that infielder Zach Lutz had a broken left hamate. He was placed on the team's disabled list. Box

SAVANNAH 6, CHARLESTON 2: Savannah (23-13) scored four runs in the 10th to defeat Chalreston Monday night. Tied 2-2 with the bases loaded and two outs, an error by Charleston allowed Dustin Lawley to score the go-ahead run. Brandon Brown then drove in two with a single and Camden Maron made it 6-2 with another single. Jeffrey Walters pitched the ninth and the 10th to secure the win, his third of the year. He gave up just one hit and walked one batter. The game was a pitcher's duel between Rafael Montero and William Oliver. Charleston went up 1-0 in the first but Savannah answered with two in the third when Lawley (2-for- 5, two RBIs) drove in two. Charleston tied in the eighth. Montero gave up four hits and one unearned run over 5 2/3 innings while striking out five. Box

ST. LUCIE 4, BRADENTON 1: Jenrry Mejia pitched six effective innings and struck out seven in his second start of the season since returning from Tommy John Surgery and the Mets (29-8) pounded out 11 hits in a 4-1 victory over the Bradenton Marauders on Monday. Mejia allowed one run on three hits and did not walk a batter. He gave up a home run to former Mets farmhand Stefan Welch in the second.Mejia underwent Tommy John Surgery on May 16 of last year. He picked up his first victory and had excellent command. He threw 73 pitches and 53 for strikes.The Mets hit back-to-back home runs in a three-run third fourth inning to take the lead. Cesar Puello ripped a go-ahead solo homer to left with one out to give the Mets a 2-1 advantage. Francisco Pena followed with a solo blast to left-center. Danny Muno delivered a two-out, RBI single into right field to score Rafael Fernandez to make it 4-1. The Mets jumped out to the lead in the first inning. Muno drilled a leadoff double down the right field line and scored on an RBI groundout by Cory Vaughn. Yohan Almonte pitched three scoreless innings and struck out six to record his first save. Almonte struck out the side in the eighth inning and fanned five straight batters at one point. He did not allow a hit and walked just one. Richard Lucas went 3-for-4 and Wilfredo Tovar finished 2-for-3 at the plate for the Mets. Muno recorded two hits with a run scored and an RBI. The Mets host the Bradenton Marauders on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Chris Young is the scheduled starter for the Mets. Box

Compiled from team reports

BUFFALO 6, SYRACUSE 5: Buffalo (16-11) scored two runs in the sixth inning and two more in the eighth for its sixth win in the last seven games. Eleven of the Herd's wins have come in games in which it has trailed. On Thursday, Syracuse took a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth before the Herd rallied. Rob Johnson homered to lead off the frame and pinch hitter Michael Fisher scored all the way from first on Dustin Martin's double to tie the score. In the eighth, Bisons manager Wally Backman went to the bench three times to scratch across a pair of runs. A single from Brad Emaus and a double from Johnson had the Herd set up at second and third with no outs. Pinch hitter No. 1 Valentino Pascucci struck out and pinch hitter No. 2 Bobby Scales was intentionally walked. Pinch hitter No. 3 Lucas May then beat out a potential inning-ending double play to allow a run to score. Vinny Rottino added much-needed insurance with an RBI single. It proved to be the game-deciding run. Rottino had two hits, extending his hitting streak to a Bisons season-high 14 games. The win for Buffalo went to reliever Jack Egbert, who got the Herd out of a jam in the seventh. Fernando Cabrera pitched the ninth for his sixth save. Jeurys Familia started for the Bisons and allowed three runs (two earned) in five innings. He also had an RBI double in the second inning -- the sixth RBI by a Bisons pitcher this season, matching last year's total. In two games since being activated from the DL, Johnson is 5-for-7 with double, triple, homer and two RBIs. Mets right-hander D.J. Carrasco joined the Bisons on his rehab assignment and allowed a sixth-inning homer to Carlos Maldonado. He also picked up a strikeout in one inning. Box

BINGHAMTON 7, AKRON 3: Collin McHugh tossed 7 1/3 strong innings and Raul Reyes ripped a three-run homer as the B-Mets avoided getting swept in the four-game series. Facing spot starter Mason Radeke, the B-Mets took advantage of a rare Akron error in the first. A two-out walk to Reese Havens started the rally and shortstop Juan Diaz’s fielding error on Jefry Marte’s groundball set the table for Reyes. It was Akron’s 14th error as team, fewest in the Eastern League. Reyes cashed in by ripping his first long ball of the season. Binghamton doubled its lead in the fourth against former B-Met Jose De La Torre. Juan Lagares greeted the reliever by doubling. Travis Ozga brought him home by banging a double. Juan Centeno pushed Ozga to third my dribbling a single to the pitcher’s mound. Matt den Dekker plated Ozga with a sac fly. Josh Rodriguez gave Binghamton a six-run edge my lacing a double. Pedro Zapata and den Dekker laced back-to-back doubles to tack on another run in the sixth. It was all McHugh needed to rack up his team-leading fourth win. After side-stepping trouble in the first two innings, the righty cruised from the third onward. He retired 18 of 19 Aeros before Michel Hernandez doubled in the eighth. McHugh’s night was done after allowing run-scoring hits to Tim Fedroff and Juan Diaz. McHugh’s 7 1/3 innings were the most by any B-Met starter this year. He allowed three runs on six hits and struck out five while walking one. Erik Turgeon took over and allowed an RBI single to Jared Goedert before getting two outs to end the frame. Robert Carson tossed a perfect ninth to cap the victory. Box

JUPITER 6, ST. LUCIE 1: St. Lucie's seven-game winning streak was snapped despite Cory Vaughn delivering his team-leading seventh homer in the fourth inning. Vaughn drilled Matt Neil's offering over the left-center fence to cut the deficit to 3-1. Mets left-hander Angel Cuan (2-1) was dealt the loss, despite tossing six innings and allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Ryan Fraser allowed one run on three hits in two relief innings. John Church pitched the ninth and gave up two runs on one hit. Jupiter took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning on home runs by Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto. The Hammerheads picked up a run in the fifth after a balk was issued to Cuan to allow Yeison Hernandez to score from third. Hernandez delivered an RBI single in the seventh off Fraser to extend the lead to 4-1. Jupiter loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. Third baseman Wilmer Flores' throw toward second base on a potential double-play chance sailed into right field. The error allowed two runs to score. Box

SAVANNAH 3, DELMARVA 1: Domingo Tapia was dominant over 7 1/3 innings, in the longest start this season by a Gnats pitcher. The Gnats (16-11) won their fourth straight. Tapia gave up a pair of singles in the first inning, but escaped trouble with the help of third baseman Aderlin Rodriguez, who threw out a runner at the plate for the inning’s second out. That began a stretch during which Tapia (2-1) set down 14 batters in a row through the end of the fifth. The Gnats opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Brandon Brown led off with a double and scored on DH Travis Taijeron’s single. Albert Cordero gave the Gnats a 2-0 advantage with a solo homer in the second. It was his first longball this season. Savannah made it 3-0 in the sixth. Taijeron reached on an infield single and scored on Charley Thurber’s triple. The Shorebirds (13-13) scored their only run in the eighth. After Tapia recorded the first out of the frame, a single and walk chased him. Reliever Estarlin Morel walked No. 9 hitter Mychal Givens to load the bases. He then gave up a sacrifice fly to Glynn Davis. With the tying run at first base, Gnats left fielder Gregory Pron made a diving catch to take a base hit away from the subsequent batter, Sammie Starr, to end the frame and preserve a two-run lead. Morel worked an uneventful ninth to wrap up his second save. The Gnats look for the sweep Friday when right-hander Tyler Pill (2-1, 2.11) opposes right-hander Tyler Wilson (3-1, 2.45). Box

Compiled from team reports

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

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

Friday's news reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highly regarded pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia headlined the first round of cuts at Mets camp.

Also reassigned to the minors Thursday morning: Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Matt den Dekker, Josh Stinson, Jenrry Mejia, Juan Lagares, Reese Havens, Wilmer Flores, Armando Rodriguez and Robert Carson.

The Mets now have 44 players in camp. More cuts will follow today's Grapefruit League game.

"It's not my call. I can't make the decision," Harvey said. "No matter how much I wanted to try and prove that I could, it's never going to be my call. So I can only do what I can do. ... You know, I'm not happy about it. But I can't make the decision, so I'm going to go out there wherever I'm throwing and do the best I can and keep working and try to get to the level I want to be at."

Harvey said he feels like he's ready for the majors.

"I'd like to think so," Harvey said. "Whenever they feel like I'm ready is when I'm ready."

Familia said he appreciated the experience, and especially the tutelage from 41-year-old Miguel Batista.

"I threw with him every day and did my stuff with him," Familia said. "He taught me how to finish my changeup, my slider, my fastball."

Today, Johan Santana is expected to throw a between-starts bullpen session, although there is no guarantee. Then Mike Pelfrey is due to take the mound for an afternoon Grapefruit League game against the Miami Marlins in Port St. Lucie. The Players Association also makes its annual visit to converse with Mets players today, so we may find out what union chief Michael Weiner thinks about the Mets' payroll level.

Also, please join me for a 12:30 p.m. online Mets chat. Click this link.

Meanwhile, live near Bellmore JFK High School on Long Island? You can hear alums Steve Levy and Adam Schefter of ESPN speak tonight at 7. I'm an alum of Mepham, one of the other two high schools in the district. Details on tonight's event here.

Thursday's news report:

• Not exactly a shocker, even though it was treated as such: Jose Reyes was looking for the most money as a free agent, just $1 more, Marlins team president David Samson reportedly told Miami businessmen. Reyes is not expected at today's Mets-Marlins game. He played the past two nights in exhibition games at the Marlins' new stadium in Miami against college teams -- the University of Miami and Florida International.

Andy Martino in the Daily News doesn't believe Samson. Writes Martino:

According to sources, Reyes would have strongly considered a somewhat smaller deal from the Mets, both in years and dollars, and was shocked when his longtime team did not make an offer.

My analysis: Reyes would not have defected from the Mets to Miami if the disparity in offers were $1, or probably even $1 million. But my information from reliable sources is that the Mets were willing to go to as much as five years guaranteed, with a vesting option for a sixth year that would have raised the value to $100 million if Reyes stayed healthy.

Don't get caught up in whether the Mets made a formal offer to Reyes. Sandy Alderson conveyed to agent Peter Greenberg the parameters the Mets could reach. And Reyes' side decided that would not be enough and went with the superior Marlins offer.

And, by the way, that's no crime. Players almost always go where the salary is highest. The union obviously encourages that, too. Tom Glavine never wanted to leave Atlanta for New York, for example. But the disparity in money offered was too much.

Furthermore, and I know this because I ended up on a plane with a Mets official after the winter meetings, who was candid: The Mets' strong suspicion is that the Marlins would not have been done bidding until they got Reyes. I don't want to minimize the Mets' economic woes as a factor in their tepid pursuit of Reyes, but the fact of the matter is the Mets likely would have just been increasing what Reyes would ultimately have received from Miami had they actively bid. At some point the Mets would have had to stop anyway because the contract would have reached what is beyond a prudent salary versus injury risk and expected decline in performance as Reyes ages.

• Richard Sandomir in the Times notes that Fred Wilpon and family may be at a disadvantage in front of a jury because a group of average folk is probably not inclined to be sympathetic to multimillionaires. The Wilpons' attorneys unsuccessfully had tried to have the $386 million lawsuit heard by Judge Jed S. Rakoff alone. Writes Sandomir:

Rakoff, regarded as a brilliant but unpredictable jurist, alone will question the jury pool. He is a Yankees fan and a partial season-ticket holder. So his neutrality is assured and seems unlikely to be affected by his rooting interests. Anyway, the role of the opposing lawyers in shaping the makeup of the jury will be somewhat limited. Experts suggest that both sides probably already know the sort of jury makeup they want, and that mock trials have likely yielded juror profiles. But neither side will get all it wants. "The real challenge is to ferret out latent prejudices, so it's extremely important for lawyers to suggest questions to the judge beyond those the judge would use to elicit obvious biases," said Mark Zauderer, a partner at Flemming Zulack Williamson Zauderer in Manhattan. Rakoff need not use their questions. According to several lawyers and a jury consultant, the trustee will want jurors who resent millionaires. But Wilpon and [brother-in-law Saul] Katz’s team, they said, probably want less class-conscious people who might be more inclined to feel the trustee's pursuit of the Mets’ owners was overzealous and unfair.

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger updates the progress of Jenrry Mejia, who is throwing off a mound -- albeit fastballs only. Pitching coach Dan Warthen estimated Mejia is already throwing in the low-90s mph. The Mets are targeting a May return to game action for Mejia, at the one-year anniversary of his Tommy John surgery, which is the standard rehab time. Warthen told McCullough that Mejia's delivery looks somewhat calmer now than pre-elbow injury, which should reduce his susceptibility to future injury. It was Warthen a year ago, going against the prevalent organization philosophy, who said Mejia projected to him as a reliever because of the violence of his delivery. Meanwhile, Mejia sought advice from Edinson Volquez while rehabbing, and has been consoled by friend/fellow prospect Jeurys Familia when dejected because of the long rehab process.

• Jon Niese tossed two scoreless innings and Justin Turner went 3-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs Wednesday as the Mets beat the Marlins, 7-0, in Jupiter.

• Niese is trying to improve his changeup, notes Mike Puma in the Post.

• Bobby Parnell -- who dined with his family at a Port St. Lucie pizza joint last night, according to an eyewitness -- had a perfect inning in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game, bouncing back from a woeful intrasquad appearance Sunday. He is the subject of a feature in the Daily News.

There are five bullpen locks -- Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, Ramon Ramirez, Tim Byrdak and Manny Acosta -- and Parnell is not one of them. He does have a minor league option remaining, but continued outings like Wednesday's should get him onto the major league staff, even if it's not the late-inning role he struggled with last season.

The Mets have not written off Parnell. They were credibly approached at the winter meetings by a team interested in acquiring him and were rebuffed. The Mets were leery of trading a pitcher who throws 100 mph and is under their control for four more seasons and not even eligible for arbitration until next winter in all likelihood. Parnell has only two years, 132 days of major league service time and would essentially need to spend the year in the minors not to qualify for arbitration next offseason for the first of three times.

If Parnell is on the Opening Day roster -- again, no given as of now -- that leaves one more spot. D.J. Carrasco has an existing $1.2 million deal, giving him a leg up, but one team insider said to watch Miguel Batista for one of those final two spots. Relievers facing a more uphill battle to sneak onto the Opening Day roster include younger pitchers Pedro Beato and Josh Stinson as well as left-handers Chuck James, Garrett Olson and Daniel Herrera.

• David Wright (left rib-cage discomfort) does not sound like he will be back for at least a week. Terry Collins said Thursday that Wright should start taking grounders this weekend, but not throw. And Wright may or may not start swinging a bat this weekend. Meanwhile, Beato was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday afternoon, a day after being pulled from a Grapefruit League appearance with right shoulder difficulty.

• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post uses ESPN's fantasy baseball rankings to note the declining state of third-base play in New York. Writes Sherman:

ESPN was displaying its top 12 fantasy third basemen, and I noticed Alex Rodriguez was ranked ninth and David Wright was not even among the 12 names shown. Now I do not want to confuse ESPN’s fantasy rankings with, say, The Dead Sea Scrolls for relevance. But it does provide a snapshot of third base right now in New York, which is to say the most uncertain since 2004. That was Rodriguez’s first season at his new position and Wright’s debut as a Met. Both are coming off injuries and their worst full years, so suddenly 2012 has a mandate-like feeling for the duo.

Wright told Sherman: "As far as I'm concerned it is a big motivator, not the doubt, but the fear of failure. I just don't like failing. But there is no doubt in me. I am very, very confident in what I am doing and what I need to do."

As for Wright's future with the club, Alderson said: "He is not trade bait. Is he part of the future? I hope the answer is yes. Let's see how he bounces back this season."

• Does Alderson have the autonomy -- there's that word again -- to guide the Mets properly? Columnist Bob Klaspich in the Record wonders if the GM will stand up to the Wilpons. Writes Klapisch:

Alderson has a track record to back up his promises. Then again, he’s never worked in an environment as toxic as this or for owners who are this unpopular. Fans are angry, they want the Wilpons out, many are vowing to stay away from Citi Field until regime change is complete. Alderson knows he’s about two years away from turning into a marked man, himself. It didn’t help matters last week when Fred Wilpon threw Alderson under the bus in explaining why Reyes signed with the Marlins. The owner had the audacity to say it was a "baseball decision" hatched entirely by Alderson. Don't blame me, blame him, is what Fred was saying. It was an outright lie and Alderson knows it. So does every discerning Mets fan who figured out long ago the Wilpons didn't have the resources to write a $100 million check.

• David Lennon in Newsday profiles Ruben Tejada. Writes Lennon:

Just as Reyes did in his early years with the Mets, Tejada is still getting a better feel for English, which makes him come across as a bit shy on camera. "He's a different person from what you see on TV as opposed to what you get behind closed doors," Wright said. "During interviews and stuff, he's very introverted, but he's very outgoing when he's around us. He's got a dry sense of humor."

Read more on Tejada succeeding Reyes at shortstop with the Mets from Andrew Keh in the Times.

• Santana is on track to start Sunday against the Marlins in Port St. Lucie, according to Collins. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Newsday, Times, Daily News and Post.

TRIVIA: Who played shortstop for the Mets the game before Reyes' major league debut?

(Wednesday's answer: The game before Wright made his major league debut with the Mets on July 21, 2004, Ty Wigginton started at third base for the Mets. Wigginton moved to first base for Wright's debut and was traded eight days after that to the Pittsburgh Pirates with now-slugger Jose Bautista and Matt Peterson for Kris Benson and Jeff Keppinger.)

Fans are rightfully excited about the potential of right-handed pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia (as well as Zack Wheeler, who is not in major league camp).

However, there is a reason why they are not being considered for the major league roster from Opening Day. (The Post's Joel Sherman said Harvey and Familia already have been told they're not making the club.)

That reason was on display the past two days -- consistency of execution.

Harvey and Familia likely have the stuff right now to pitch at the major league level. They have the maturity too. But they're still prone to make mistakes in hitting spots more often than will be the case with more development.

Harvey walked three and hit a batter in Monday's Grapefruit League opener against the Washington Nationals. Familia walked a pair the following afternoon before surrendering a grand slam to the St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Adams.

"The command of their pitches is the biggest difference right now," pitching coach Dan Warthen said. "Their age is not working against them now. Their maturity level, I think they can handle the anxiousness of New York. They just have to command their pitches better. That changeup that they threw when there was no pressure, they have to be able to throw it when there is pressure."

Mets staffers have told Harvey he needs to hit his spots with his secondary pitches more frequently.

Speaking generally about the rate a major leaguer hits the catcher's target, Warthen said: "You want to be seven of 10 with your fastball, and your three misses need to be off the plate, not on it. And when you make a mistake with a breaking ball, it has to be out of the zone. That's what separates the great ones -- when they hang a ball it's out of the zone. It's not hittable. So these guys have to be able to get somewhere in the six out of 10 on their off-speed pitches."

R.A. Dickey followed Johan Santana with two perfect innings and the Mets ultimately beat the defending-champion-yet-Albert Pujols-and-Tony LaRussa-less St. Louis Cardinals, 8-6, on Tuesday afternoon in Port St. Lucie.

The Mets also dropped a split-squad game to the Houston Astros, 4-1, in Kissimmee.

• Against the Cardinals, Andres Torres continued a favorable introduction to the organization, going 2-for-3 with a three-run triple. Another newcomer, Ronny Cedeno, went 1-for-2 with a walk and RBI while starting at shortstop. Cedeno drew praise from manager Terry Collins.

Collins said staff recently met with Cedeno and preached plate discipline. Cedeno, who has a .286 career on-base percentage in seven seasons, responded with a 10-pitch walk in Monday’s Grapefruit League opener, then Tuesday’s showing.

“He’s done exactly what we’ve asked him to do,” Collins said. “He’s had great at-bats.”

• Dickey retired all six batters he faced, including Skip Schumaker, Matt Holliday and David Freese consecutively in his second frame.

• Borrowed from minor league camp, 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo made his first career Grapefruit League appearance and drew a walk and scored. Fifteenth-round pick Phillip Evans, who was handed an over-slot $650,000 signing bonus to keep him from playing college ball at San Diego State, also debuted. Left-hander Josh Edgin, whom Paul DePodesta has said could fly all the way to the majors this season despite not yet appearing above Class A, recorded the final two outs via strikeout for the save. Darrell Ceciliani had an RBI double to cap the scoring.

With this the only split-squad game of camp and Collins wanting to see backups such as Kevin Baxter, Adam Loewen, Omar Quintanilla, Lucas May and Rob Johnson get plenty of exhibition action, the manager does not foresee many other spring-training opportunities for the kids to come over from minor league camp and appear. That’s despite the Mets’ camp size -- 44 players -- being the lowest Collins can remember in any of his seasons on a major league staff.

Collins got a kick out of the 18-year-old Nimmo’s youthful enthusiasm, particularly when the teenager left the dugout to greet D.J. Carrasco by the foul line after the reliever finished an inning on the mound.

“I need to let him know that we let the players get to the dugout before you shake their hand,” Collins quipped. “You don’t have to go meet them at the foul line. He was al excited. He was very, very excited. I’ll tell you what, he got down that line good, boy.”

Nimmo, who turns 19 in three weeks, was in awe of Holliday’s 6-foot-4 frame.

“He’s the only guy that I think that I’ve seen that’s actually bigger in person than he is on the screen,” the prospect said. “Just being on the field with those guys is a blast.”

Said Collins: “We were sitting there in the ninth inning today. [Coach] Bobby Floyd said, ‘You know, Brandon Nimmo a year ago was playing American Legion baseball, because they don’t have a high school program in Wyoming, or he’s running track. And Phillip Evans was playing high school in San Diego. And today they’re playing in a major league exhibition game.’ That’s pretty impressive for two young kids.”

• Pitching prospect Jeurys Familia, who is in big league camp, did have a rough appearance. Familia surrendered a first-pitch grand slam to Matt Adams in the right-hander’s second inning on the mound and was pulled with two out.

“I thought he actually threw the ball great the first inning,” Collins said. “The second inning, actually the same thing Matt [Harvey] did last night, they start to get a little too fine, try to go to the corners instead of attacking the zone. And he got himself in trouble. Two bases on balls is what killed him.”

• First-year Cardinals manager Mike Matheny echoed the praises of Santana’s performance.

“He had a real effective changeup,” Matheny said. “The ball was looking good out of his hand. It doesn’t look like he was holding anything back. Nasty changeup. You’ve got to have arm speed for that changeup to work. And you can tell really on the swing that Yadi [Molina] took -- the swing and miss -- that thing disappears. He does a good job of hiding the ball. But you’ve got to have some kind of velocity in order to make that changeup work like that.”

Pitching coach Dan Warthen told reporters that the Mets’ radar gun had Santana sitting at 90 mph and topping out at 92 mph. But the stadium gun, which appeared to match scouts’ guns, had Santana sitting at 87-88 mph and topping out at 90 mph.

• At the other split-squad game, against the Astros, starter Chris Schwinden allowed three runs (one earned), including a homer. Second baseman Daniel Murphy had a throwing error on an attempted double play. Fernando Cabrera also allowed a solo homer in two innings. Jeremy Hefner, Armando Rodriguez and Josh Stinson combined for four scoreless relief innings. Josh Satin went 2-for-3 and drove in the Mets’ lone run.

• Ex-Met Fernando Martinez, who was claimed off waivers by the Astros during the offseason, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

Video from Sunday's bowling night, including Jason Bay and R.A. Dickey in action on the lanes.

Fitting of a Met, Tim Byrdak took a perfect game into the ninth (frame) before the feat eluded him. Still, Byrdak missed only one pin and finished with a 279 in his third and final game during the team's camaraderie-building bowling event Sunday night.

Today, the Mets open their Grapefruit League schedule with Dillon Gee getting the start at 6 p.m. opposite John Lannan of the Washington Nationals at Digital Domain Park. Matt Harvey, Miguel Batista, Daniel Herrera, Byrdak and Frank Francisco also are scheduled to appear for the Mets. (See upcoming pitching probables here.)

Shortly beforehand, all eyes will be on Judge Jed S. Rakoff's expected ruling. Rakoff is due to announce his decision whether to grant Fred Wilpon and family's request to toss the $386 million lawsuit brought by the trustee trying to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Alternatively, Rakoff could allow the March 19 trial to proceed. He also could award $83 million to trustee Irving Picard, which is the alleged profits withdrawn by the Wilpons from the Ponzi scheme in the two years before Madoff's arrest.

It will be an eventful week. Tuesday, Johan Santana is scheduled to appear in his first Grapefruit League game. Wednesday afternoon, the Mets visit the new-look Marlins in Jupiter, although Jose Reyes is not scheduled to play. The Marlins also have a game that night in their new stadium in Miami against Florida International University, and Reyes is expected to man shortstop in that exhibition game.

Monday's news reports:

• Ike Davis discussed on Sunday morning his apparent case of valley fever. He does not currently have any symptoms and blood tests did not reveal the presence of valley fever, but doctors still suspect he contracted it while in his native Arizona. (Watch video of Davis discussing his situation here.) Read more in Newsday, the Daily News, Post, Record and Star-Ledger.

• David Wright will not play at least in the first couple of Grapefruit League games due to a left rib-cage issue. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Post, Daily News, Record, Times and Newsday.

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News notes the Mets have to be conservative with injuries to their starters in order to safeguard against them missing significant time. The reason is the Mets' glaring lack of depth beyond the regular lineup and rotation arms. Writes Harper:

If ever there is a season when any significant injuries could be deadly, it’s this one. How can it be any other way when the Mets’ best left-handed bat off the bench may well be Adam Loewen, a converted pitcher with 39 major-league plate appearances, and their sixth starting pitcher apparently will be 41-year-old Miguel Batista? In an era when depth is seemingly more crucial to a team’s success than ever, as players pushing their bodies to the limit break down all too often, the Mets have never been so vulnerable. Depth? You want depth? The Mets are practically the Kardashians of baseball, they have such little depth.

One NL scout told Harper: "Their lack of depth might as well be a neon sign telling everyone they don't have any money. Their payroll is down something like $50 million and they still couldn't spend on a few veterans to give themselves a little margin for error? That can’t be going over too well in New York."

• Regarding Judge Rakoff's expected ruling today, Richard Sandomir in the Times reports that only the specific action -- whether a March 19 trial will proceed or not, and whether the trustee will be awarded $83 million without the need for going before a jury-- will be announced by the judge. A written opinion justifying the decision will not come until a later date, according to Sandomir. Read more in the Daily News.

• Brian Costa in the Journal profiles pitching prospect Jeurys Familia, who is part of the heralded group that also includes Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey and Jenrry Mejia. Familia did not start playing baseball in his native Dominican Republic until he was 15 years old. Writes Costa:

The conversation that changed the course of Jeurys Familia's life was not a pleasant one. It took place seven years ago, inside his family's cramped, two-bedroom house in Yaguate, Dominican Republic. And it made him abandon the game he loved. For years, his father, Jorge, had watched him shun the island's national pastime in favor of basketball. But now he was 15. It was time to consider his future. It was time, his father told him, to find a more plausible way out of poverty. It was time to try baseball. "I told him no," Familia said. "I said, 'I don't want to play baseball.'" And then, finally, he relented.

• In the final intrasquad tune-up for the Grapefruit League opener, Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese tossed two scoreless innings apiece. Pelfrey worked entirely from the stretch, trying to work to speed up his delivery and cut down on steals against him during the upcoming season. He was happy with the late bite on his sinker, which he primarily threw, and which will be important in reducing the number of homers he surrenders. Read more in Newsday and the Post.

• During spring training, the Mets are a lot more like average folk, Andrew Keh notes in the Times. It's early to bed, early to rise. In fact, many Mets players enter the clubhouse by 7:15 a.m., or earlier. Terry Collins clocks in at 4:30 a.m.

• Single-game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. today at Mets.com or by calling 718-507-TIXX.

TRIVIA: Who started on Opening Day in 2006, the season the Mets came within a game of reaching the World Series?

(Sunday's answer: After being fired by the Mets, Willie Randolph worked as a coach on Ken Macha's staff with the Milwaukee Brewers, then on Buck Showalter's staff with the Baltimore Orioles.)

The Mets play their second straight day of intrasquad games, this time with the regulars, on Saturday. Terry Collins plans to have the infield play together on one side, meaning Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy get to work together in the middle infield. The starting outfield -- Jason Bay, Andres Torres and Lucas Duda -- as well as Josh Thole are scheduled to play for the other intrasquad team.

Today's scheduled pitchers: R.A. Dickey, Pedro Beato, D.J. Carrasco, Fernando Cabrera, Chris Schwinden, Josh Stinson, Armando Rodriguez and Jon Rauch.

Saturday's news reports:

• The Mets' future was on display during Friday's intrasquad game, with Kirk Nieuwenhuis belting a two-run homer off Daniel Herrera and Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia each logging a pair of innings. Actually, Harvey's outing was cut short one out shy of its intended length because skin tore off his right thumb when he delivered a pitch. Harvey still plans to pitch in Monday night's Grapefruit League opener against the Washington Nationals, piggybacking after Dillon Gee starts the exhibition opener. Gee also logged two innings in Friday's intrasquad game.

"I love him," Wally Backman, who managed Double-A Binghamton last season, said about Familia to Mike Puma in the Post. "He's a power pitcher that has now developed three quality pitches. His changeup was a work in progress last year, and it will be a work in progress this year. But he's a power guy that sits at 94-95 [mph] and when he gets in trouble he's got 97-98."

Backman similarly had high praises for the pitching prospects in major league camp -- Jenrry Mejia, Familia and Harvey -- plus Zack Wheeler, who is on the minor league side, to columnist John Harper in the Daily News. "You put them together with Wheeler and a couple of more young guys who are coming fast and it reminds me of the '80s when Doc [Gooden], [Ron] Darling and [Sid] Fernandez all came up together," Backman said. "If these guys stay healthy, I think they could have the same kind of impact."

Read more in the Star-Ledger, Record and Newsday.

• The Fielding Bible projects the Mets to have the third-worst fielding in the majors this season. Former hitting coach Howard Johnson took a harmless jab after seeing that stat. Johnson tweeted from his account @20HoJo: "live by stats die by stats."

• To combat the defensive shortcomings, Terry Collins plans on the Mets taking plenty of infield practice during camp, as teams did on a regular basis before regular-season games until a couple of decades ago. During Friday morning's infield work, Ike Davis tried to keep the mood light, shouting nicknames at players. Writes David Lennon in Newsday:

"Rabbit" is shortstop Ruben Tejada, also referred to as "Nio." Ronny Cedeno is "Captain Ron," derived from Kurt Russell's title character in the movie. "Forrest," his nickname for Daniel Murphy, well, that's one in which Davis seems particularly proud. "Remember when Forrest Gump had those two things on his knees?" Davis said. "Murph was almost going to have to wear two braces this year." When Davis first yelled out the nickname on Field 4, his teammates began cracking up. Even Murphy -- in the middle of scooping a ground ball -- couldn't help but smile. He made the play, too.

• Left-handed prospect Robert Carson, who was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason, is out with a strained intercostal muscle on his left side. Side-muscle strains typically take a while to heal, meaning Carson's limited time in big league camp probably will include only rehab before he is dispatched to the minors. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Frank Viola, who will serve as Savannah's pitching coach this season after serving in that capacity with Brooklyn last year, is not the only athlete in his family. Writes Peter Botte in the Daily News:

Viola said he might have to take a few personal days in August because he hopes to be in London to watch his 24-year-old daughter Brittany in the Olympics. Brittany Viola was a two-time NCAA champion in platform diving at Miami and she will compete in the Olympic trials in Washington in June. She was an alternate on the U.S. diving team in 2008.

• Torres discusses his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and upcoming movie about the subject in the Daily News. The documentary is titled "Gigante." Said Torres to the newspaper: "I'm excited about the movie, proud to be a part of it. A lot of kids, people need to understand that we have to try to help them with this. It's a tough condition. You struggle and you have trouble with focus. And it was the same thing for me, and a big reason why it took me so long to get to the big leagues. It's not easy, especially playing this game every day. But I finally learned this was something that could be corrected. Now, people come up to me -- kids, too -- and thank me for talking about this. I always say I'm happy to do it. Because it's very important. And because it's made me who I am."

TRIVIA: Who has the worst single-season batting average in franchise history while also having at least 500 plate appearances?

(Friday's answer: Tom Seaver and Dwight Gooden won the Cy Young while representing the Mets. Seaver actually won it three times while in Flushing.)

Friday’s opening intrasquad game proved the prospect showcase, with center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis delivering a two-run homer on a curveball from Daniel Herrera, third baseman Zach Lutz’s double setting up the victorious team’s other run and highly regarded pitching prospects Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia getting in two innings apiece.

Saturday, the ‘A’ team will take center stage shortly after noon, when the starting infielders play together on one intrasquad team, including Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy. The starting outfielders as well as catcher Josh Thole will play on the other side.

As for Friday, Nieuwenhuis’ two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth of the seven-inning game provided a 3-2 win after Frank Francisco notched the save. Dillon Gee pitched two innings for the losing side and allowed one run, when he walked Nieuwenhuis, surrendered a double off the left-field wall to Lutz and then an RBI groundout by Valentino Pascucci with the infield playing back.

Nieuwenhuis, 24, likely is ticketed for Triple-A Buffalo to open the season. That move became cemented when Nieuwenhuis missed the second half of last season with the Bisons. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left, non-throwing shoulder. That stunted his development, and the Mets obtained Andres Torres from San Francisco to play center field in 2012.

One American League team tried to acquire the lefty-hitting Nieuwenhuis during the offseason. The Mets were uninterested in discussing moving him.

The decision with Nieuwenhuis -- who may be a midseason call-up, especially if Torres falters -- ultimately will be whether he is too big to play center field at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds. Nieuwenhuis, who moves well for his size, firmly believes he can remain at the position rather than shift to a corner outfield spot. Terry Collins dropped a Jim Edmonds comparison in discussing Nieuwenhuis.

“I feel good out there. I feel comfortable,” Nieuwenhuis said about center field. “I love playing it. I love tracking balls down and running in gaps and stuff like that. It’s something I love.”

A scout recently agreed about Nieuwenhuis’ potential to remain in center field.

“He’ll fool you,” the scout said. “He can cover some ground for a big boy.”

Said Collins: “He’s got great skills. And, of course, he plays the game the way you want it played. He plays really hard. He’s one of those guys, boy, it gets close to 7 o’clock and his mood changes. So I think he’s got to go get some Triple-A at-bats, for sure.

“Is he a prototypical center fielder, one of those guys who can really run like mad? Probably not like that. But he’s such a workaholic that he reminds me a little bit, although Jim Edmonds was left-handed [throwing], of Jim Edmonds -- a guy who was a little click above average runner, but yet no fear, great angles, can go after any ball. If he gets to be like that, yeah, he can play center field in the big leagues.”

Harvey’s outing was cut short one out shy of his two-inning allotment. The 2010 first-round pick ripped skin off the lower portion of his thumb delivering a pitch. Harvey said the issue arises from time to time. Both Harvey and Collins said pitching Monday night as previously scheduled in the Grapefruit League opener following Gee will be no issue.

Harvey allowed three hits and one walk while striking out one in 1 2/3 scoreless innings Friday.

“I just couldn’t quite get into a rhythm and didn’t locate as well as I wanted to,” Harvey said. “I’m happy with the way my body felt. My arm felt good.”

As for the thumb, Harvey said: “My fingernail kind of slips off the ball a little bit and comes off, and [the index finger nail] ends up cutting my thumb a little bit. … It’s happened before. It’s something I can work on, put some glue on. It’s fine.”

Familia, who has an electric fastball, breezed through two innings, allowing no hits, one walk and striking out two. The right-hander was pleased with his fastball and slider, but noted his changeup is a work-in-progress. He was getting tips from Miguel Batista in the bullpen.

Scouts believe Familia may ultimately be a reliever. And Familia has even told Harvey he would love to close his games in the majors. But Familia isn’t giving up on starting just yet.

“I was just kidding,” Familia said about his conversation with Harvey regarding closing. “When he asked me, I said, ‘I want to be your closer. I want to close your games.’”

“He really threw the ball good,” Collins said about Familia. “So did Matt. Matt threw the ball good. He’s just got to get more balls in the strike zone. But I thought his breaking ball was good. And Familia, boy, he’s got one of those really short strokes that the ball really jumps on you.”

Mets position players undergo physicals Sunday, with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Monday. Ruben Tejada, who was due to land in Miami yesterday afternoon, has a meeting scheduled with Terry Collins for 8 a.m. today. Collins was disappointed his new first-string shortstop did not arrive to camp early.

Sunday's news reports:

• The Mets will wear a "KID 8" patch on their uniforms as a tribute to Gary Carter. Fred Wilpon presented the patch to Carter's widow Sandy after Friday's memorial service. Read more in the Daily News and Newsday.

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger does a Q&A with Jason Bay, and gets to the bottom of why he routinely exchanges text messages with Eddie Vedder. "I was a huge Pearl Jam fan … Eddie’s a huge baseball fan," Bay told McCullough. "Huge Cubs fan. There’s a lot of guys who have met him. Sean Casey, who’s a diehard Pearl Jam fan, he’s hung out with Eddie numerous times. When I got traded to Boston, we played a game and that night Eddie was playing somewhere in Boston on his solo tour. And he signed this poster, 'Hey, Jason, welcome to the Red Sox.' And then Casey gave me his number. So we text back and forth. ... I’ve never met him. I’ve never actually technically met him. And that’s the funny part. Casey was like, 'Hey, here’s his number, he said text him.' So he was like 'Hey, sounds good, man. If I’m ever up in Seattle recording …' He’s never up there. He’s got a lot going on. I’m probably the last person [on his mind]. 'Oh, I've got to call Jason Bay!'"

• Mike Pelfrey knows he needs to perform in 2012 or it may be his final season in Flushing. Pelfrey actually is under the Mets' control through the '13 season. But he settled for $5.6875 million this year and is arbitration-eligible again next winter, so he likely would be entitled to another raise. The Mets won't agree to that unless Pelfrey succeeds this season. "I want to play this game for as long as I can, and I can't do that with having the kind of year I had last year," Pelfrey told David Lennon in Newsday. "Going into the offseason, it kind of hits you like, 'Man, what happened?' So you go through it, you learn from it and you try to get better. I'm more determined not to let that happen again. Obviously, I need to have a good year or ... I might not be back." Pelfrey also tells Lennon he is far more serious now, not joking or accepting being the brunt of jokes from teammates about his palm-licking or balks. Pelfrey said he has now reincorporated a circle change, which he threw at Wichita State, instead of a split-finger fastball.

David Wright tells Mike Kerwick in the Record about Pelfrey: "He was coming off a good year, and then all of a sudden just because he's named the Opening Day starter … a lot of times he got matched up with [Roy] Halladay and Josh Johnson. There was numerous times where he pitched well and should have gotten a win. There were a couple times where we blew leads for him late. There were a couple times where he just had some bad luck because he's going up against other team's No. 1." Wright, Kerwick also notes, edged Pelfrey for the final playoff spot in the Mets' fantasy football league on the final day of their league's regular season. Pelfrey just needed to win his game to beat Wright, but lost his game by a half-point.

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey drew positive reviews from the major leaguers who hit against him, including Ike Davis and Josh Thole, during a live batting practice session Saturday. Despite his goal to make the Opening Day roster, Harvey most likely is ticketed to open 2012 at Double-A Binghamton. Read more in the Star-Ledger and Newsday.

Andy Martino in the Daily News looks at Harvey and highly regarded pitching prospect Jeurys Familia, who pitched together last season in the minors. Writes Martino:

Neither is quite ready for the Mets. Harvey struggled upon rising to Double-A last year, and while he later stabilized, his secondary pitches need refining. Familia’s ultimate role is unclear, although when he and Harvey talk, they imagine him as a dominant reliever."We always laugh about it," says Harvey. "He says, 'I'll close your games!' "

• Former Mets reliever Taylor Buchholz, who is skipping this season, continues to be open about his battle with depression and anxiety. Buchholz is serving as the pitching coach at his former high school in Springfield, Pa. He told Wayne Coffey in the Daily News about not being at spring training for the first time in more than a decade: "It definitely feels weird. There's a strange void, and a little jealousy. ... I’m in a good place. I'm excited about getting my feet wet with coaching."

• Mike Puma in the Post looks at the Mets' outfield defense, with Andres Torres in center field now joining Bay in left field and Lucas Duda in right field. "We know that Andres Torres is an outstanding defender," Collins said. "[San Francisco Giants manager] Bruce Bochy told me, 'If this guy stays healthy, he is an outstanding center fielder.'" Puma notes the Mets have no interest in using Duda in left field and switching Bay to right field. The elimination of the "Mo's Zone" nook in right field at Citi Field should make it easier for Duda anyway, lessening the difference in ground to cover between the corner outfield spots.

• Collins does a Q&A with Steve Serby in the Post. The skipper says R.A. Dickey would be his Opening Day starter if, for some reason, Johan Santana was unable. As for his expectations for Santana, Collins said: "What our expectations are and what our hopes are, are two different things. What our expectations are, is we don’t have any. If he’s healthy, he’ll be successful. We have hopes we can run him out there 28 times, and if it’s more than that, we’re gonna be really good. If it’s a little less than that, we’re still gonna be better. Is he gonna throw 95? Probably not. He has great command and still has that presence."

• Post columnist Mike Vaccaro compares Collins to New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. Writes Vaccaro:

In a very real way, Collins is like that other sporting skipper in town with the initials T.C. In Tom Coughlin’s early days with the Giants, much was made of "Coughlin Time," which meant if you were on time you were really five minutes late. “Collins Time” is less formal and it doesn’t really have a name. Players just understand that whatever the official reporting date is, you can alter that as early as you like. And every other important Met did that.

• McCullough in the Star-Ledger writes about Adam Loewen's conversion from pitcher to outfielder. Loewen and Mike Baxter currently are competing for a lefty-hitting outfield spot, although the Mets just as likely could bring in someone from outside the organization late in camp. Writes McCullough:

The Rick Ankiel you’ve never heard about treats his tale with a blend of humility and simplicity. Nearly a decade ago, the Baltimore Orioles selected Loewen with the fourth pick in the MLB Draft. Half a decade ago, after breaking into the majors, the bones in Loewen’s left elbow separated and refused to reunite. He opted for another line of work -- converting into a position player after six years as a pitcher and a career mark of 8-8 with a 5.38 ERA.

• Andrew Keh in the Times profiles center-field prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who is returning after missing the latter part of last season at Triple-A Buffalo following shoulder surgery. "There's no doubt this is an important spring for him because of the situation we’re looking at, with us in desperate need of guys who can play outfield," Collins told Keh. "We're going to give him a lot of playing time. He's going to get plenty of chances to prove himself."

TRIVIA: Which player in Mets big league camp has a father who coaches a college baseball team?

(Saturday's answer: Valentino Pascucci had the most RBIs by a Buffalo Bison in 2011, with 91.)

GM Sandy Alderson spoke with media Saturday morning at Digital Domain Park in Port St. Lucie. Here's a summary:

• Alderson said David Wright's future will not be tied to the team's record, contrasting it with, say, Carlos Beltran's situation last year. Beltran was in the final season of a contract and was not going to be re-signed, so it made sense for him to be traded in July once the Mets faded from contention. In Wright's case, the team holds a 2013 option, so he's not a free agent next offseason if the Mets choose to keep him. Then there are the face-of-the-franchise issues too that make it more complicated.

"I think that his future is independent of club performance," Alderson said. "There are certain decisions that one takes that are a function of where a team is at a particular time and so forth. But if there's anybody on the team whose performance and future is independent of the club's performance, I think it's David's. ... I think it was presumed going into the [2011] season that depending on what we did and how well Carlos performed and given the fact he was in the last year of his contract that he might be traded at the deadline. David's case is little bit different. No. 1, there isn't that presumption. No. 2, he has an option for next year. So I think his situation is somewhat different."

Asked if it was similar to Jose Reyes' situation last year, Alderson did not want to make that comparison (since it probably would lend to the appearance Wright could be gone at some point too).

"Well, I hate to make comparisons to Jose, because he's not here right now," Alderson said. "So I'm not sure that would be a good basis for comparison. But David's future is a function of a lot of different things, and only one of those is team performance. And I'm not sure that that's very high on the list."

Alderson acknowledged the new collective bargaining agreement should reduce the amount a team can get for trading a rental player in the sense that the acquiring team will no longer get draft picks if a player acquired in-season walks after the year as a free agent. But, Alderson said, the addition of a second wild card in each league should mean fewer out-of-contention sellers and possibly more than offset that by shrinking supply of players on the trade market.

"I think the bigger impact on the seller/buyer dynamic will be the second wild card," Alderson said. "I think that if you have a second wild card, you're inevitably going to have more buyers than previously. And if you have more buyers and fewer sellers, then that really impacts the market as well."

• On Johan Santana, Alderson said: "We're hopeful that at the end of the day, at the end of spring, that he's ready to go, or very close to being to ready to go. Right now, as he says, it's one day at a time. I think that's absolutely true in his case. ... This is something we have to monitor literally on a daily basis. But yesterday was a very good start. But it's where he finishes that will be important."

• Alderson said he is not tempted to consider having Matt Harvey or Jeurys Familia make the rotation if one of the incumbents is injured as the team breaks camp. (Zack Wheeler, the highly regarded prospect acquired in the Beltran trade, has not pitched above Class A ball and is not even in major league camp, while Jenrry Mejia still is rebounding from Tommy John surgery.)

"I don't think it's a problem waiting as we sit here today," Alderson said about patience with his big-four pitching prospects. "The problem arises when one of your starting five goes down and you're tempted to bring somebody up at an earlier time. ... Let's face it, some of the guys in that rotation would like to have better years than they had last year. But, at the same time, the real problem is depth in the event somebody goes down. So the temptation with those three guys [excluding the rehabbing Mejia] doesn't really exist at the moment. ... I'd be very surprised if we broke from some sort of timetable. Now that's not to say that somebody doesn't get off to a great start at Triple-A and is doing this and that and we have an injury. But right now, when I look at our rotation, and the depth for our rotation, none of those guys are in there. So of the five guys we have, and then the three to five guys we have backing them up, they're not in that three to five category."

Asked when the farm system will achieve the level he would like it to be at, and at that point how many players it would produce in any given year, Alderson said: "I think the farm system is improving. I say that because the overall quality of our players up and down the system I think is improving. I also think that, once again, we have some players that are close to having an impact on the major league club. I don't think there's any hard and fast rule about how many join the club each year. But it would be nice if we had two or three that were pushing, even if it were in a minor bullpen role or something of that sort. What's most important is that we have the players both coming up at the major league level and also effectively as currency for trades and other transactions. So the farm system is critically important."

• The Mets emphasized the back end of the bullpen, signing Frank Francisco to a two-year, $12 million deal, Jon Rauch to a one-year, $3.5 million deal and acquiring Ramon Ramirez in the Angel Pagan trade. Team officials knew there were more closers on the market than closing jobs available, so they tried to time the market at a point where they would be getting a bargain. In retrospect, several capable arms signed modest deals late, such as Ryan Madson on a one-year, $8.5 million deal with Cincinnati and Brad Lidge for one year and $1 million with Washington.

So how does Alderson feel he did in terms of timing the market?

"Given our need, I think we timed it about as well as we could," Alderson said. "I'm not suggesting that, gee, if we had waited up until the last couple of weeks of January we could have maybe done better from a financial standpoint. But we weren't in a situation to wait that long. We wanted some certainty there. And I think with the fact that we signed or traded for three guys, that we've provided some depth and hopefully are not relying on any one individual to perform well. We should have plenty of options."

• Alderson said he will address players at the start of camp, and the message probably would be comparable to last year, since the team again faces outside expectations that are not lofty. "As I recall last year, there weren't high expectations for the Mets," he said. "There are apparently are not this year on the part of most people. So my talk may be similar to the one I had last year."

Alderson added: "There are very few players who don't have something to prove, and that runs the gamut from the veteran players to the younger guys. Some are trying to make the club. Some are try to reestablish themselves. Some are trying to rebound from an 'off' season. Some are coming back from an injury. There's not a player in this camp who doesn't have something to prove and something to improve. I think that can be as much of a driving force as anything and I hope the Mets, as a team, benefit from that collectively."

• Alderson suggested any improvement in Terry Collins' performance might be the result of having gone through the National League for a year now, after not having been a major league manager since 1999. As for picking up Collins' 2013 option well before required, Alderson said it was partly based on performance and partly based on the perception in New York of having a manager in the last guaranteed year of his deal otherwise. "Look, always in New York you're looking to avoid certain storylines," the GM said. "But far more importantly it was a reward for the job that he had done last year, and also the confidence we have in the job that he'll do this year and going forward."

• On the ceiling for the 2012 Mets, Alderson said: "I've been around baseball for a long time, and I've never been able to accurately predict a ceiling. I've never been able to predict a floor either. I'll leave that to the way the season unfolds. But, look, if things break right for us, I think realistically we can be a much better team than we were last year. If we're a much better team than we were last year, and that's reflected in the won-loss record, then we've got a shot."

• If the Mets are in contention (and hence have fans attending games and additional revenue), Alderson said he could see the payroll growing in-season. How much? "No. I don't know what will be out there, what might be necessary. The nice thing about the trade deadline is you're only paying half the salary or less -- maybe a third of the salary. So a lot of good players can become available during that time frame. But certainly I believe that if we're in contention for a wild card or what have you, we definitely could be looking to add to our club."

• Bobby Parnell has an option remaining, while Pedro Beato has three options and Manny Acosta is out of options. Acosta, as a result, is a solid bet to join a bullpen that also includes Francisco, Rauch, Ramirez and Tim Byrdak. Parnell and Beato have little assurance, although Parnell probably has a better shot. It may be partly contingent upon whether the Mets carry a second left-hander such as Daniel Herrera and/or long reliever such as Miguel Batista, Alderson added.

"I think Bobby has got an outstanding future, and it's just a question of where he'll pitch and to what extent it clicks this year," Alderson said. "But, at the same time, we've got fewer spots available than we have quality arms at this point."

Three days until Mets pitchers and catchers officially report.

Friday's news reports:

• Hall of Famer Gary Carter's battle with brain cancer ended Thursday when he passed away at 4:10 p.m., his daughter Kimmy Bloemers indicated, leaving former teammates, other friends, family and the entire baseball community in mourning. He was 57.

Tim Kurkjian's tribute at ESPNNewYork.com included this great anecdote, as told by former teammate Ron Darling, about the 10th inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series:

"Kid never swore, never. He'd say 'Gosh darn' and 'Jeez.' Because of his religious beliefs, he never swore -- and that was rare on that team," Darling said. "But when he got to first base in the 10th inning, the late Bill Robinson, who was our first-base coach, told me that Kid told him, 'There's no way I'm making the last f------ out.' That's the competitor he was."

Columnist Bob Klapisch, who covered the '86 Mets, wrote in the Record:

Watching him go to work on a misplaced fastball was artistry. But mostly, Kid stood out because his moral scaffolding kept him drug and alcohol free. The Mets used to joke they’d be “on the pavement” 45 minutes after the last out. That was their rallying cry in ’86: in the bars, deep into the other side of midnight. But you never found Carter exploring his darker angels. He was faithful to his wife, Sandy, and unlike some of the other married Mets, didn’t have girlfriends on the side. Carter knew that he was being mocked for his lifestyle, but that never bothered him enough to seek revenge. He chose to turn the other cheek, although that’s not to say Kid was a coward.

Marty Noble, who covered Carter for Newsday, wrote at MLB.com:

The Boy Scout in him never faded. A one-time colleague who liked him acknowledged that he seemed to be auditioning for a Wheaties-box appearance at every turn. And after Carter died Thursday, the same man suggested a likeness of his former comrade on the cereal box would be a fitting testament. "A decent, decent man," he called Carter.

Check out the ESPNNewYork.com photo gallery here. Listen to Dwight Gooden on ESPN New York 1050 here. And read tributes and remembrances from Ian O'Connor at ESPNNewYork.com here as well as in the Montreal Gazette, Times, Daily News, Post, Star-Ledger, Journal and Newsday.

• Johan Santana will step on a mound for the first time since the end of September on Friday at the Mets' complex. It's not quite momentous, since the test of his surgically repaired shoulder will be whether Santana can withstand pitching in games every fifth or sixth day. Pitching coach Dan Warthen hopes to place Santana on that every-five-days schedule throughout Grapefruit League play. Read more in the Record, Newsday, Star-Ledger and Daily News.

• Jose Reyes, participating in a Marlins caravan tour of South Florida, expressed sympathy for the Mets' plight."I understand it's a tough situation for the organization," Reyes told the Post's Dan Martin. "What they're going through isn't easy and that's why I was hurt at the beginning. But with the problems they have, I get it. I feel bad for them."

Still, Reyes would have liked an offer. "At least come to me and say, 'This is what we have,'" Reyes told Martin. "Make a push. Even if it's not what I'm looking for, show me you still want me. ... When I get to spring training next week, it's probably going to feel a little bit different. Every year I saw the same guys, like David Wright. Now I have a new team to learn."

• Wally Backman officially was introduced as Bisons skipper in Buffalo on Thursday. Backman, who is being promoted from Double-A Binghamton, announced he would wear No. 8 as a tribute to Carter, Mike Harrington reported in the Buffalo News. Mark Brewer will serve as pitching coach and George Greer will serve as hitting coach for the Bisons, who host this year's Triple-A All-Star Game.

• More legal papers were filed/unsealed Thursday in trustee Irving Picard's $386 million lawsuit against Fred Wilpon and family. Writes Anthony M. Destefano in Newsday:

According to Picard's unredacted court papers filed in federal district court, co-owner Saul Katz at one point invested with Madoff to take advantage of the investment earnings rather than taking out key disability insurance on certain Mets players. The account used became known as "Saul's cookie jar," according to Picard's filing. Picard has alleged that the Sterling partners and related defendants had more than 59 percent to 87 percent of their liquid assets tied up with Madoff, an amount that reached $432 million in 2007, court papers stated.

The Wilpons' attorneys also filed a bevy of paperwork late, late last night, including trying to strike some of Picard's witnesses.

• Mets outfield prospect Sean Ratliff is making a comeback bid after getting struck late last spring training in the right eye.

• 2010 first-round pick/devout New England Patriots fan Matt Harvey arrived at camp Thursday and spoke about his need to keep the ball down in the zone if he is to have success at higher levels of the minors. Backman told Bisons fans he expected both Harvey and Jeurys Familia to begin the season with Double-A Binghamton. Read more on Harvey in the Post, Times, Star-Ledger and Newsday.

TRIVIA: Carter was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Which player(s) were enshrined with him in that class?

(Thursday's answer: Willie Stargell is the leader in career RBIs against the Mets franchise with 182. Mike Schmidt is next with 162, followed by active-leader Chipper Jones with 154.)