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WHAT IT MEANS: The Mets have their longest losing streak of the season as dropped their fourth straight in a 5-4 loss to Arizona. The bullpen blew a two-run lead in the eighth.

IT STARTED WITH AN ERROR: An error by Ike Davis opened the door to Arizona's three-run rally in the eighth that put Arizona ahead for good. Manager Terry Collins tried mixing and matching relievers, but it didn't work. Jon Rauch had arguably his worst outing as a Met, although the box scored wouldn't show it, blowing the save while Arizona sharply hit balls all over the field. Rauch let both inherited runners score and then allowed the winning run.The Mets need their bullpen to be able to hold their leads and lately it hasn't done the job.

G IS FOR GOOD: Dillon Gee pitched six effective innings and left in line for the win, but he ended up with a no-decision as the bullpen imploded. He worked himself into a couple of jams, but was able to make the big pitch when he needed. His only blunder came when he served up a two-run homer to Cody Ransom in the second inning. Gee yielded just four hits, tied for his fewest allowed on the year. He's still 2-2 on the season.

FOUR IN THE THIRD: The Mets erupted for four runs in the third, but that was their offense on the night. After going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position the first two innings, Scott Hairston, Ike Davis and Andres Torres each drove in runs to give the team a 4-2 lead after three. The Mets put runners on base consistently throughout the night, but struggled outside that one frame to bring them home. One more big hit here or there would have allowed the Mets some separation from Arizona during the course of the contest.

SETTLED ROTATION: Before the game, Collins announced that Miguel Batista would take Mike Pelfrey's spot in the rotation. That spot has been previously filled by Chris Schwinden, but he was demoted to Triple-A Buffalo after two ineffective starts.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Mets will try and reward Johan Santana (0-2, 2.25 ERA) with his first win of the season when he takes on Patrick Corbin (1-0, 4.76) at 4:05 p.m. The Mets also will be looking to avoid a five-game losing streak.

An eventful trip to Colorado highlights our Mets week in review. As always, much of our assistance comes from the great work done at Baseball-Reference.com.

Stat of the Week
The Mets finished April with a 13-10 record despite being outscored by 20 runs for the month (111-91).

The last time the Mets finished a month with a winning record and were outscored by at least 20 runs was in June, 1997, when they went 15-12 despite being outscored 147-122.

That team, managed by Bobby Valentine, lost games in June by scores of 10-0, 10-1, 14-7, and 14-0, but was boosted by a 6-2 record in one-run games (same as the 2012 Mets had in April).

Turner’s Magic Moment
Justin Turner’s 13-pitch game-tying walk versus Heath Bell in the ninth inning of last Thursday’s win over the Marlins brought back memories of Shawon Dunston’s marathon at-bat in the 15th inning of Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS against the Braves. It also made for an easy choice for Moment of the Week.

Baseball-Reference.com has pitch-by-pitch data for most games back to 1990 and has no other instances of a game-tying walk in the ninth inning or later in a plate appearance that lasted at least 10 pitches.

It does have five instances of go-ahead walks of 10-plus pitches that late in a game (including one by Carlos Delgado for the 2007 Mets), but none lasting as long as Turner’s.

This was the longest plate appearance of Turner’s career, the first longer than 10 pitches. It matched the longest plate appearance of the season for the Mets, who got a 13-pitch appearance from Josh Thole against the Braves on April 17.

The longest recorded plate appearance by a Met is the 16-pitch battle that ended with a walk by Ruben Tejada against Antonio Bastardo and the Phillies on May 27, 2011.

Other notes from that game:
The Mets used an all homegrown lineup for the third time in team history and the first time since September 19, 1971.

This was the Mets third walk-off win of the month. It marked the fifth time that they won at least three games in April via walk-off, the first since 2008. The club record for walk-off wins in April is four, set in 1985.

This was the third time the Mets won a game via walk-off in which they drew at least four walks in the ninth inning against the losing reliever. The other such instances were in 1969 (against Joe Gibbon of the Giants) and 2002 (against Vic Darensbourg of the Marlins).

Metsiepalooza
Last weekend, a group of Mets fans gathered at Hofstra University for a three-day symposium on the 50th anniversary of the team.

One of the statistical highlights of the symposium was a presentation by Craig Glaser of Bloomberg Sports, who showed that the odds of the Mets having no no-hitters in their history were approximately the same as them having between 11 and 13 no-hitters in their history.

My favorite stat that I shared from the conference stemmed from a discussion on underrated Mets, at which point I cited John DeMerit.

DeMerit was 3-for-16 in 14 games with the 1962 Mets, but because of the manner in which he was used (pinch-hitter, defensive replacement), the team went 11-3 when he played. They went 29-117 when he didn’t.

Hairston’s bizarre cycle
Scott Hairston matched original Met Jim Hickman for the quickest cycle in Mets history in the loss to the Rockies last Friday.

Hickman and Hairston each got the four needed hits within the first six innings of the game, with Hickman doing so in 1963 against the Cardinals.

The Elias Sports Bureau chimed in with a couple of statistical lowlights from this game:

The Mets four errors in the fifth inning were their most in an inning since making four in the eighth inning against the Cardinals on April 4, 1996. They allowed 11 runs in an inning for the first time since April 7, 2004 against the Braves.

Dillon’s Birthday earns a Gee Whiz
Dillon Gee beat the Rockies last Saturday night to earn the win on his 26th birthday. Gee became the first Mets starter to pitch on his birthday since Mark Clark in 1996, and the first to win on his birthday since Dave Mlicki in 1995.

The youngest Mets starter to earn a win on his birthday was SNY’s Ron Darling, who won on his 25th birthday in 1985. He’d win again on his 26th birthday the next year. The other two Mets starters to win on their birthday are Ray Burris (1980, 30th) and Wally Whitehurst (1991, 27th)

Mets starters are now 6-1 with two no-decisions in nine career starts on their birthday. Mets relievers are 4-2, with the most recent win coming from John Franco in 2001.

Extra, Extra
The Mets 11-inning win in the series finale at Coors Field last Sunday brought back memories of the ballpark’s opener in 1995, when the Mets blew repeated leads and lost to the Rockies in 14 innings on Dante Bichette’s walk-off home run.

Sunday’s win marked the first extra-inning victory for the Mets at Coors Field in the ballpark’s 18-year history. They’d lost in extra innings on each of the two previous bonus-baseball occasions.

The quirk of the week: The Mets are 3-0 this season when Johan Santana gets a no-decision. They were 3-10 in the previous 13 games in which he got a no-decision.

Since joining the Mets in 2008, Santana has six starts in which he allowed no runs and got a no-decision. No other Met has more than two such starts in that span.

Astro-doom
The losses in the last three games to the Astros were statistically-forgettable games.

The weirdest thing that happened was on Monday when the Astros had four different pitchers each record a single out.

It’s the fourth time in Mets history that the Mets dealt with a quartet of one-out pitchers, the first since 2004, and the second time against the Astros (it previously happened in 1974).

Wednesday's finale got off to a rough start when Ruben Tejada doubled to lead off the game, then was thrown out at third base trying to extend it to a triple. It was the second time in Mets history that that happened. The other would-be tripler nailed was Jose Reyes in 2008.

Chris Johnson closed the Mets out with a four-hit, six-RBI game on Wednesday, the 11th such game against the Mets in their history. He joins a list of players to do that that includes Hank Aaron, Tom Pagnozzi and Cody Ross.

Vintage Metric of the Week
Todd Helton’s game-tying grand slam in that Sunday win serves as the springboard for this week’s flashback.

It was the unlucky 13th pinch-hit grand slam allowed by a Mets pitcher, the first since Aaron Heilman yielded one to Mark Loretta in the eighth-inning of a tie game in 2008.

But what leads to our time-machine trip is this note:

The Mets had only given up one game-tying pinch-hit grand slam in their history prior to Sunday—on July 2, 1969 when Ron Taylor allowed one in the eighth inning to Vic Davalillo of the Cardinals, also in a game that the Mets were winning at the time, 4-0.

This was one of the more remarkable games of that miraculous season in that the Mets managed to win despite the Cardinals having multiple chances to close them out.

The Mets threw out the potential winning run at home in the ninth inning, and escaped subsequent bases-loaded jams in the 10th and 13th innings before prevailing in 14 frames, 6-4.

We’ll see if the 2012 Mets have that kind of perseverance.

Welcome to the second edition of "The Week in 'Met'rics," where we celebrate all that is amazin' and some of what is not about Mets statistical and historical accomplishments.

Our biggest resource in this search is the Baseball-Reference.com Play Index, a source of much entertainment and amusement.

Stat of the Week
It was a great week of accomplishments for David Wright, who matched Darryl Strawberry’s career RBI mark on Wednesday. The two each have 733 RBI.

Wright became the first player in franchise history to reach base twice (via hit or walk) in each of his first nine games of a season. The last player to do so for any team is former Met Mike Cameron, who had such a streak for the 2002 Mariners.

The Mets record for consecutive games reaching base at least twice at any point during the season is 12, set by John Stearns in 1977. Ron Hunt (1964), Derek Bell (2000) and Wright (2009) each had 11-game streaks.

First Things First
The Mets hit a first-inning home run in each of the three games in their series against the Phillies.

Wright had one of those on Saturday, in his first game back from his finger injury, and in hitting one tied an obscure Mets record in the process.

Wright now has 36 career first-inning home runs, tied with Strawberry for the most in Mets history.


Wright’s five first-inning home runs are the most by any Met at Citizens Bank Park. The only other Met with more than one is Jose Reyes, with two.

Also in that game, the Mets recorded their first stolen base of the season (Mike Baxter). The Elias Sports Bureau notes that the Mets' first steal coming in their eighth game was the third-longest drought to start a season in franchise history. It took 17 games to nab a steal in 1963 and 12 games in 1962.

Oh, So Niese … Again
Jonathon Niese pitched scoreless ball over 6 2/3 innings. The Elias Sports Bureau noted that Niese became only the second Mets pitcher in the last 30 seasons to start and win his first two appearances in a season, shutting out the opposition through six innings in each. The other was Frank Viola in 1990.

Manny Unhappy Returns
The bizarre pitching line of the week belonged to Manny Acosta, who allowed four runs and one hit in relief in the Mets loss to the Phillies on Sunday.

The Mets have had 19 instances of a pitcher allowing four or more runs on one hit or no hits. This was the third such occurrence in the last 12 months. Dillon Gee and Jason Isringhausen each had such a line last season, but prior to that, no Mets pitcher had such a line for nearly 10 years!

The last to do so was Armando Benitez against the Braves in June, 2001.

Bay (Doesn’t Just) Watch
Jason Bay hit a home run in his first game after missing time due to a finger injury. Bay also robbed Braves shortstop Jack Wilson of a home run, with a leaping catch. It was the second straight year he robbed a Braves shortstop of a home run. He snatched one from Alex Gonzalez last season.

Also of note was that for the first time in his Mets career, reliever Jon Rauch allowed a hit. Rauch’s streak of hitless appearances to start his Mets career ended at five. That matched Jaime Cerda (2002) and Roberto Hernandez (2005) for the best such Mets career-starting streaks.

Monday’s win raised the Mets record to 7-3. We noted that the Mets have started 7-3 on seven previous occasions, and on each of those, they’ve finished the season at least 10 games over .500.

Some other 10-game milestones:

• The Mets 2.33 ERA through 10 games was sixth-best in team history, the best since the team had a 2.12 ERA through 10 games in 2002. The franchise best was in 1968, the Year of the Pitcher, when the Mets staff posted a 1.67 ERA through 10 games.

• The 83 strikeouts by Mets pitchers tied the 2005 Mets for second-most strikeouts in the first 10 games of the season. The club mark is 88, set in the first 10 games in 1990.
• On the downside, the 85 whiffs by Mets hitters is the most the Mets have ever had in their first 10 games.

Johan gets Chopped
Johan Santana allowed six runs in 1 1/3 innings in a 9-3 loss to the Braves on Tuesday. It was the shortest start of Santana’s career.

Santana is the fourth starting pitcher in Mets history to give up at least six runs while recording four or fewer outs against the Braves. The other three are Mike Scott (1982), Bobby Jones (1997) and Pat Misch (2009).

Unhappy ending
The Mets gave up 14 runs to the Braves in their series-finale loss on Wednesday. It’s the fourth time in Mets history that they allowed that many runs in a game in Atlanta, the first since 2004, when they yielded 18.

Vintage Metric of the Week
The Mets beat the Braves four times in a row this season, prior to losing to them in the final two games of their series.

When was the first time the Mets beat a team four times in a row?

That would be the inaugural season of 1962. The Mets won the first four games the franchise ever played against the Cubs, with three of those games being decided by one run. They would finish 9-9 against the Cubs that season, 31-111 vs everyone else.

Dillon Gee, Matt Harvey, Chuck James, Josh Stinson and Garrett Olson are scheduled to take the mound as the Mets head to Disney today to face the Atlanta Braves for the first time this spring training. (See the full upcoming pitching probables here.)

Friday's news reports:

• Fred Wilpon was not present, but Sandy Koufax nonetheless visited Mets camp Thursday. Koufax offered advice to Bobby Parnell at Terry Collins' request. Koufax, who keeps close tabs on the Mets from a distance by watching on TV, particularly wanted to meet top pitching prospects Zack Wheeler and Harvey. The Hall of Fame pitcher got to see Wheeler pitch in a minor league intrasquad game and apparently came away impressed. Koufax plans to return to camp later this month.

Wrote Mike Puma in the Post:

Sandy Koufax talked mechanics, and Parnell mostly shut up and listened. Koufax had seen enough of the fireballing right-hander in recent years to know what kind of message to impart. The Hall of Fame left-hander said Parnell has an "exceptional" arm, but could benefit from small changes. "Where you hold [the ball], how you hold it and how you use it," Koufax told The Post when asked to summarize his chat with Parnell. "Times have changed in what people believe, and I just believe a little differently sometimes."

• Left-hander C.J. Nitkowski, who turns 39 today, auditioned for the Mets as J.P. Ricciardi and Dan Warthen watched, on the same mound where Johan Santana had just completed his bullpen session. Warthen was Nitkowski's pitching coach with the Detroit Tigers. Nitkowski, who has not appeared in the majors since 2005, had a procedure last year in which his own stem cells were injected into his left shoulder. He also was tutored on a Pedro Feliciano-like sidearm delivery by none other than former Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, who is now in his first year as Baltimore Orioles minor league pitching coordinator.

"Hopefully it gives me an opportunity to extend my career," Nitkowski, who pitched for the Mets in 2001, told reporters about the sidearm delivery. "Realistically, I knew after not playing in the States since 2006 and wanting to come back, I knew I was going to have to do something different. I was kind of hitting a wall even when I was here."

Nitkowski played in Japan and South Korea from 2007 through 2010, then in winter ball in the Dominican Republic this past offseason. He is a product of Don Bosco Prep and St. John's. Read more in the Record, Journal, Newsday and Post.

• Union chief Michael Weiner visited the Mets on Thursday as part of his tour of spring-training camps. Weiner did not take the opportunity to chastise Wilpon and family for what likely will be the largest single-season payroll drop in major league history, currently projected at $52 million. Read more in the Times, Journal, Star-Ledger, Newsday and Daily News.

• After throwing a regular between-starts bullpen session, Santana pronounced himself ready to make his second Grapefruit League start, three innings Sunday against the Miami Marlins. "I'm not the doctor," catcher Mike Nickeas told Mike Kerwick in the Record. "I don't know how [the shoulder] feels. But I thought his stuff was A-plus today."

Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post notes you could tell from Santana's body language that his shoulder feels well. Writes Sherman:

A pitcher concealing pain will cut a session short. He will not motion for Mike Nickeas to stay in his squat. To take a few extra pitches to the catcher’s mitt. "What you saw is what Johan Santana always looks like, except for when he has not felt good," Warthen would say afterward, his lingering smile also proof that, well, Santana feels better than good.

Watch Santana discuss the session here. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Daily News and Newsday.

• The Mets lost Thursday's Grapefruit League game, 5-4, to the Marlins. Mike Pelfrey had a rough outing as he struggled to control his sinker, which is a point of emphasis this spring as he tries to reduce the career-high home run total he allowed last season. Pelfrey allowed four runs on six hits and two walks in 2 2/3 innings. Read more in the Times and Newsday.

• Pedro Beato has rotator cuff inflammation, according to a team spokesman. Beato, who underwent an MRI in Florida, may begin light tossing as soon as Sunday. Meanwhile, center fielder Andres Torres was scratched Thursday with a tight right glute. Collins said Torres may return to the lineup as soon as Saturday.

• Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record suggests Collins is putting on a brave front of confidence as impending doom looms. Writes Klapisch:

Terry Collins is standing on a back field at the Mets’ spring training facility, separated by 1,000 miles and the 90 or so losses that likely await him at Citi Field this summer. By all accounts, there should be an anvil floating over the manager's head, but Collins is to optimism what Saudi Arabia is to oil. It overflows. "Cinderella stories happen, so why can’t it be us?" he said. "I have to think good things are in store for us. It's my job to believe, and then get my players to believe it, too."

Collins also tells Klapisch: "People say we didn’t sign anyone, but hey, we’re getting Santana back. That's the same as adding a free agent -- an ace pitcher who looks like he’s healthy again. We’re getting a healthy David Wright. We've got Ike Davis fixed up. You put all three of those guys on the field at the same time, and you never know. That’s not a bad little team."

Of course, you can also rank the 25 starting pitchers in the National League East and see where the Mets' pitchers check in. Or, you can look at the paper-thin depth, where for every start not made by a member of the rotation, Miguel Batista or someone comparable gets one.

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News notes that Frank Francisco does not hold runners on well. That's often a problem for closers, but it is particularly bad in Francisco's case. Thirty-three of 36 attempts against him over the past four seasons have been successful, Harper notes. It's not so much a disregard for runners as a problem throwing to first -- as in consistent off-line throws. A scout told Harper teams would bunt on Francisco too while he closed for the Toronto Blue Jays because of his throwing issues. Warthen said the issue is more on throwing fielded balls to first base, rather than pickoff throws. Writes Harper:

In Frank Francisco's first spring training appearance for the Mets on Monday, he gave up a single and, on the next pitch, pinch-runner Eury Perez took off for second. In a conversation about his new closer a few days later, Terry Collins said he knew the runner would go on the first pitch. Why? "Because they know Frankie doesn't throw over," Collins said. Huh? "It's something we're working on," said the manager.

TRIVIA: Who is the only active major league pitcher to have a better winning percentage than Santana (minimum 125 decisions)?

(Thursday's answer: The game before Jose Reyes made his major league debut on June 10, 2003 at Texas, Joe McEwing started at shortstop for the Mets.)

If the Mets are going to surprise the NL East this year, then Johan Santana probably must lead them. As you know, Santana hasn't pitched in more than a year because of his shoulder surgery so to expect him to comeback and pick right where he left off -- a sub-three ERA -- seems a tad unrealistic.

Santana is a superior competitor, though, so he shouldn't be underestimated. He strikes me as a guy that even if he never regains his top notch stuff will still be successful. He may not be an All-Star, but he likely still could be a 13-15 win guy with an ERA a tad below four.

So here you go, your question of the day:

What do you think Johan Santana can produce in 2012?

Johan Santana will pitch either three innings or 45 pitches in his Friday night rehab start for Savannah in the South Atlantic League, according to Mets manager Terry Collins. It will be Santana's second rehab start since resuming throwing following shoulder discomfort.

"I'm not looking for results, I'm not looking for velocity. He is who he is, he's not going to walk a lot of guys, we know that for sure. His command will be there," Collins said. "I'm looking to see how he comes out of this tomorrow because what we want to ultimately do here is be able to bring him back with four days rest and have him pitch again."

Santana, who underwent Sept. 14, 2010 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, last pitched Saturday St. Lucie in the Florida State League. He tossed two innings, giving up three hits and one run. With the minor league seasons coming to an end, it's unknown at this point where Santana would make his next start. A return to Flushing has not been ruled out for this season.

The Mets will open the second half of the season with a three-game set at home against the Phillies this weekend, starting on Friday night. They'll begin a crucial stretch of the season as it relates to the future of the team. If the Mets can stay in the race, there's a possibility that the team will stay largely intact after the break. If not, the front office is more likely to deal away more big contracts. The Mets are currently 11 games out of first place in the National League East and 7 1/2 games out of the NL wild card.

Here are Friday's news reports:

• Ike Davis is still feeling pain in his injured ankle. He received a cortisone shot earlier this week and will rest for the next three weeks with the hope of avoiding season-ending surgery. If he feels pain though, he will likely undergo a season-ending procedure to fix the ailment. David Wright will play a rehab game in St. Lucie on Friday. Jose Reyes has yet to start running due to an injured hamstring.

Read more about Davis and other injury updates in the Star-Ledger and the Post.

• Terry Collins decided against naming one closer to replace Francisco Rodriguez. Instead, he will go with a closer-by-committee of Bobby Parnell, Jason Isringhausen and Pedro Beato. All three said on Thursday that they were excited for the opportunity.

Read more in the Wall Street Journal and Star-Ledger.

• Mets players realize that the beginning of the second half is a crucial time in the season. They hope to show team execs that they have what it takes to compete for a playoff spot and, therefore, should remain intact after the July 31 trade deadline. Also, Post columnist Joel Sherman says the second half of the season is the last chance for Wright and Reyes to show they belong together as a tandem.

Read more about the second half in the Post, the Daily News and the Times.

• Sandy Alderson on Thursday confirmed a New York Times report stating that K-Rod's former agent never filed a no-trade list. K-Rod said in Milwaukee that he was confused by the lack of a list and that he thought the Brewers were on his list. But he is happy to be in Milwaukee.

For more on the agent snafu in the Daily News.

• The attorney for the woman involved in a civil suit and countersuit with Johan Santana is demanding that the pitcher's attorneys turn over documents that allegedly indicate Santana made pre-settlement offers to make the case go away.

Read more in the Daily News.

• The Mets announced Thursday that they signed outfielder Joe Tuschak (Northern York High School, Pa.), their sixth-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft. Also, Justin Turner reports that his injured thumb is feeling better after the break.

BIRTHDAYS: Big day for birthdays for former Mets: Don Bosch (69), Fernando Nieve (28), Wilson Delgado (38), James Baldwin (39).

Johan Santana has started throwing in Florida off of the top of the mound. The ace also is throwing on flat ground at distances up to 200 feet to improve his arm strength.

Santana, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, is eyeing a July return. He began throwing off the slope of the mound two weeks ago.

Johan Santana threw off the slope of a mound in Port St. Lucie, Fla., this week for the first time since undergoing Sept. 14 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder.

Santana attempted 15 throws from the incline without issue.

He has been throwing on flat ground at 150 feet.

The Mets have eyed July for Santana’s return to the major leagues. Still, Santana still has hurdles to clear. Chien-Ming Wang of the Washington Nationals is still trying to return to game action two seasons after undergoing a similar procedure.

Santana teammate Chris Young is due to undergo surgery Monday due repair an anterior capsule in his right shoulder.

Johan Santana is tossing a baseball on flat ground in Port St. Lucie, Fla., four times a week, with an eye toward stepping on a mound for the first time about May 1.

Still, Santana may not be back in a major league uniform until after the All-Star break.

And the Mets are getting no relief via insurance in the interim for the ace’s $22.5 million salary for this year.

As premiums have skyrocketed because of escalating salaries and past payouts -- such as the bailout when Mo Vaughn was owed $17 million and could not play for the Mets in 2004 -- the organization began more often “self-insuring” its larger contracts than seeking outside coverage. In essence, the Mets chose to create a rainy-day fund available so that the organization would not be crippled financially by the loss of a key player due to injury.

It saves potentially a $2 million insurance premium per year to protect a contract, although the amount annually paid to an insurance company naturally decreases as the years on the contract elapse -- like you’d pay less to an insurance company on a car as the years go by and the vehicle is worth less.

Across baseball, outside insurance has “declined tremendously,” according to one baseball official.

Santana was self-insured by the Mets, whereas the contracts for Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Jose Reyes were insured by an outside company. Tom Glavine and Mike Piazza’s contracts were insured externally during their Mets days as well.

Insurance generally covers the salary after a deductible period -- usually either after the player has missed 60 or 90 days of games.

Policies can exclude particular body parts if the player has been injured there in the past.

John Scotti, whose Pittsburgh-based Team Scotti handles the majority of the insurance coverage for major league teams, explained: “Clubs who benefit the most from this type of coverage establish a risk philosophy which spells out what contracts they would or would not insure. Generally the main components setting the philosophy parameters are whether the player is a position player or pitcher along with the monetary size on the contract and length of contract.”

As for how escalating salaries have affected insurance, Scotti said typically a policy only pays out if the incapacitation occurs in the first three years of the contract now, whereas it used to be five years.

Said Scott: “What this means is a club can insure a five- or 10-year contract, but the injury or illness must occur within the first 36 months in order to receive benefits in years four, five, six, seven, eight, nine or 10 as long as the disability has continued to be the cause of his inability to perform.”

• TOOK A SHOT: Mike Pelfrey pitched in so much discomfort last season because of a strained rotator cuff and posterior capsule in his right shoulder, the team’s medical staff injected Toradol, a non-steroid anti-inflammatory drug, before each start for most of the year.

“They inject it in your butt instead of putting it in your arm,” Pelfrey explained. “I think it’s a pretty common shot. I think a lot of guys do it on other teams. A lot of guys do it on other teams even if nothing’s wrong because I think it helps with recovery and it eliminates inflammation and stuff.”

Before proceeding with that between-starts treatment, Pelfrey inquired if it could be harmful.

“I asked the doctor and he said no,” Pelfrey said. “It would knock out the pain, so it would feel good.”

Still, Philip Wenger, an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at St. Louis College of Pharmacy, said it is not recommended to use Toradol for more than five days. And Pelfrey used it regularly for the entire season.

The generic name for the drug is Ketorolac, with Toradol a brand name.

“It’s often used for pain and inflammation, and especially pain from inflammation. But this one specifically has a warning on it that it shouldn’t be used for more than five days just because of the potential adverse reactions from it,” Wenger said. “The longer you use it, the higher the risk of problems happening. The serious problems can be serious stomach problems, serious kidney problems and the potential for bleeding and heart problems.”

As for Pelfrey, he believes the shoulder woes are behind him.

“No surgery or anything like that. I took the shot. I continued to pitch,” Pelfrey said. “And the doctor said at the time it wasn’t going to get worse. So I kept pitching. And I wanted to pitch. At the end of the season I rested it and it went away. I feel good now.”

• METS DIVERSITY: Under former GM Omar Minaya, the Mets annually ranked first in the majors -- with the exception of one year -- in players born internationally on the Opening Day roster. This year, Major League Baseball’s report ranked the organization tied for sixth with 10 players born outside the United States, and that includes Canadian-born Jason Bay and Mike Nickeas.

Still, GM Sandy Alderson notes: “Half the players that we brought in are either minority or international players.”

In-depth appears selected Tuesday's during the regular season

The Mets completed their Grapefruit League schedule with a 17-15-2 mark Wednesday. This morning, they depart Port St. Lucie for Miami, with a 4 p.m. workout scheduled at Sun Life Stadium, home of the Marlins. Read the full series preview here.

On to Thursday's news reports:

• The New York Times elaborates on previous reports that Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz are not looking specifically to sell 20 to 25 percent of the team. Rather, they seek $200 million for a minority share, to be determined based on the overall valuation of the club. That's a total that could place the ownership stake at 40 percent, according to the report, but would not include a path to majority ownership. Furthermore, the newspaper states the Mets ownership family might sell a portion of SportsNet New York, but that would be a separate transaction.

Via the Associated Press, the Times lists these Mets minority ownership candidates:

- Jason Reese, the chairman of Imperial Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment bank.

- David Heller, a Goldman Sachs executive, along with Marc Spilker, the president of Apollo Global Management, a private equity fund.

- Steven Starker, a co-founder of BTIG, a global trading firm, with Kenny Dichter, a co-founder of Marquis Jets; Doug Ellin, creator of HBO's "Entourage"; and Randy Frankel, a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Rays.

- James McCann, the founder of 1-800-Flowers.com, with Anthony Scaramucci, who runs the hedge firm SkyBridge Capital.

- Marc A. Utay, managing partner of Clarion Capital, a private equity firm, and Leo Hindery, the first chief executive of the YES Network and a veteran media investor.

• SNY, meanwhile, could be dropped from the Dish Network at midnight. Writes Phil Mushnick in the Post:

Apparently, rights fee money is not an issue as much as whether Colorado-based Dish wishes to remain a deliverer of New York’s regional sports networks. It has carried SNY since its birth five years ago, but several months ago dropped MSG’s networks, and it never has provided YES.

• Jason Bay will be placed on the disabled list before the 11 a.m. deadline to set Opening Day rosters. He has a strained intercostal muscle in his left rib cage. Bay, of course, ended last season on the disabled list with a concussion, so he has not appeared in a major league game since July 25. He is eligible to return April 9, for the eighth game of the season, because of the DL backdating rule.

A source tells Newsday's David Lennon the strain is "not serious." Of course, rib-cage muscles can be tricky injuries because of the torque while swinging, so the absence could be weeks longer. Jose Reyes' oblique injury lingered for much of the summer last season because he was not shut down for a proper period of time.

Carlos Beltran tells The Times' David Waldstein about the type of injury Bay has: “That is something you have to be very careful with. It can be the type of thing that can stay with you and bother you for a long time.” Waldstein goes on to note that Beltran and Bay have only played nine games together, because Beltran missed the first half of last season following knee surgery and Bay went down at Dodger Stadium during the opening road trip after the Mets reassembled following the All-Star break.

Lucas Duda should get the bulk of the starts in left field in Bay's absence, although Terry Collins reportedly prefers using Willie Harris on Opening Day.

Read more about Bay and Duda in the Star-Ledger, Daily News, Journal and Post.

• Luis Castillo was released by the Phillies. Fellow ex-Met Wilson Valdez will start at second base, with Rule 5 pick Michael Martinez also getting time at the position. Write David Murphy and Marcus Hayes in the Philadelphia Daily News regarding Castillo:

During his six games with the Phillies, he displayed the plate discipline and ability to reach base that have been his calling card throughout his career. But when the Phillies signed him to a minor league deal last weekend, there were serious questions about his defensive ability. Manager Charlie Manuel has routinely stressed defense this spring, something the team believes it has in utility man Wilson Valdez. When asked what Castillo could have done to make the team, [GM Ruben] Amaro responded, "I'm not going to get into that."

• Jason Isringhausen has elected to remain in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training for up to two weeks. If another team has a major league opportunity in the interim, the Mets must promote Izzy or let him walk. Collins predicts a spot will open up in the Mets bullpen somehow. The decision allowed the Mets to hold onto two of three relievers battling for the final spot, at least temporarily. Blaine Boyer, who had a Thursday out in his minor league contract, claimed the final spot. Manny Acosta was designated for assignment. He will have to go through waivers if he is not traded beforehand. Read more in Newsday and the Star-Ledger.

• Johan Santana never had been left behind in camp, either with the Twins or Mets. Santana will work out at the Mets' Florida complex with an eye toward a late June or early July return. He is currently throwing on flat ground at 75 feet four times a week. More on Santana in Newsday.

• Newsday's Neil Best looks at the secondary market for Mets tickets. Writes Best:

Asking prices on the secondary market are up nearly 10 percent compared to this time last season. So says data compiled by TiqIQ, a ticket search engine, which shows the average for 2011 is $91.97, up from $84.13 at this time last year. Why? One factor presumably is a diminished supply because of a shrinking season ticket base. On average, 3,383 tickets per Mets game are on the market compared to 10,203 for the Yankees. ... The average price for the Mets home opener April 8 was $155.66 as of early this week, down 21 percent from last year. ... The most costly Mets game was the average of $235.09 for the July 3 game against the Yankees; the least expensive was the $38 for April 20 against the Astros.

• Sandy Alderson tells the Daily News' Andy Martino the Bernard Madoff mess had no impact on last offseason. "The only external reality that had had an impact this offseason is the pre-existing payroll," Alderson tells Martino. "The fact that we had about $135 million this year when I came on board, realistically that didn't leave us much to spend."

• Martino also has a position-by-position review of the Mets.

BIRTHDAYS: Tom Hausman, who went 12-17 with a 3.66 ERA in 125 appearances (24 starts) for the Mets between 1978 and '82, was born on this day in 1953. ... Right-hander Bill Denehy, a Middletown, Conn., native who went 1-7 for the '67 Mets, was born in 1946.

Editor's Note: Mets morning briefing will move slightly later during the regular season, since the author needs to be noctural from April-September.

For the first time in his major league career, Johan Santana will stay behind when his team breaks camp following spring training.

The plan outlined by Sandy Alderson at the start of camp called for Santana to be on a mound about May 1, with an eye toward returning to the majors in late June or in July. Santana is currently throwing on flat ground at 75 feet four times a week as he recovers from Sept. 14 shoulder surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule.

Asked if being on a mound in about a month is realistic, Santana said: “I have no clue. What I know as of right now is they want me to go all the way to 180 feet and then get on the mound. But getting on the mound doesn’t mean that you’re going to be throwing all of your stuff or facing hitters or anything. It’s just to get the feeling for it. And then you go back and long-toss. And then later you get into that, I would say, spring-training mode where you are building everything up and you start pitching.”

During his sessions on flat ground, Santana is tossing with a fair amount of zip.

“I’m looking for how I feel after I throw more than if I’m throwing hard or not,” Santana said. “I’m very pleased with how I feel. It feels like everything is getting looser, looser and looser as I throw -- and better. I get the ball there with no problem. I think that’s a good sign. Again, I’m not trying to put a lot into it because I can’t. I have to wait until you rebuild everything and until you get into those bullpen sessions and see how it feels. So far it’s been good. I’ve been able to play catch with no problem.”

Santana will be based in Port St. Lucie “for weeks to come” during his rehab, working with Randy Niemann on the minor league side of the complex. He plans to arrive about noon each day. He plans to be home in Fort Myers this weekend, and will not head down to Miami for Opening Day.

The ace said it’s “too far away” to start envisioning himself back in a major league game.

“I go one day at a time,” he said. “I’ve just got to make sure every time that I go through my routine it’s steady, it’s solid. You cannot think ahead.”

Johan Santana plans to slightly ramp up his throwing activity. The pitcher indicates he will go from three sets of throws on flat ground at 60 feet to four sets beginning Thursday.

The projection remains that Santana will step on a mound for the first time since shoulder surgery about May 1. The Mets continue to eye a late-June or July return.

Johan Santana tossed a baseball with rehab coordinator Randy Niemann late Wednesday morning inside the main stadium in Port St. Lucie. It marked the second of back-to-back days for that activity.

Santana, cognizant of media watching him, said aloud: "I feel like a million bucks right now."

Santana actually kept backing up to increase the distance, and Niemann would counter by stepping closer to the ace to shorten the distance slightly.

Santana purposely threw the last toss into the ground "for media purposes."

The Mets depart Port St. Lucie at 7:15 a.m. for a cross-state trip to Fort Myers, to take on the Twins today and the Red Sox on Thursday. Mike Pelfrey faces Minnesota, along with Manny Acosta, Taylor Buchholz, Ryota Igarashi, Mike O'Connor and Bobby Parnell. The Twins start Brian Duensing. Jon Niese starts opposite Boston's John Lackey on Thursday.

D.J. Carrasco continues to get stretched out on Friday as the starter, when the Mets return home to face the Braves. R.A. Dickey instead pitches on a back field to avoid seeing the division rival again. It also allows Carrasco to remain an option to serve as the long man/spot starter in the event Pat Misch is not selected for that role because, say, the Mets need to fit two pitchers from Pedro Beato, Acosta and Jason Isringhausen on the roster.

ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand provides the coverage from Fort Myers for two days.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Post columnist Kevin Kernan believes Jose Reyes' days in a Mets uniform are numbered. Reyes pledges to improve his on-base percentage, which would make him more attractive to the Mets' front office. The paradox: the better the year he has, the more costly he will get, making it less likely the Mets will sign him. Writes Kernan:

Here's one nightmare scenario for Team Nightmare: Reyes jumps to the Phillies after the season. Jimmy Rollins is also a free agent after the season. Or maybe the Yankees sign him and make Derek Jeter the DH. It's all up in the air right now, but he's likely to be a summer rental. One thing is certain: Some team will make the most of the situation by acquiring Reyes. "I still have one more year here," Reyes said. "I have to focus and do my job this year. I'm healthy and ready to go. Whatever happens after this year happens. There's no doubt I can put it all together again."

Three teams that could possibly acquire Reyes at the trade deadline and/or sign him next offseason, I'm told: Boston, San Francisco and Milwaukee.

• Terry Collins believes it's his call on who will be the second baseman, and the Post's Mike Puma continues to maintain the manager's personal pick will be Luis Hernandez. "Sandy has never put restrictions on anything we're doing here," Collins told reporters before Tuesday night's 5-2 win against the Nationals. "We discuss things every day and know exactly where we stand. I know where he is on every player and he knows where I am."

The information I have suggests Hernandez is only an "outside" candidate to emerge as the second baseman. I've consistently heard, despite Collins' public praise of Luis Castillo, that he would like someone else to be the second baseman. And I still hear while it's not a foregone conclusion Castillo is released, Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus very well may be the selection.

• Castillo tells the Bergen Record's Steve Popper about a potential release: "I don’t want to think about it, what people say right now. I try to focus on playing. I want to play. I want a chance, I want an opportunity. So I’m ready. And if something happens, it happens. I want to be on the team. I want to be playing. That’s all I want."

Read more in the Daily News, Newsday, Star-Ledger and Times.

• The Daily News says the police report from Ike Davis' minor auto accident -- he was rear-ended -- notes he was "very nice and pleasant."

• Sandy Alderson was in the Dominican Republic this week as part of a symposium on continuing efforts to clean up baseball in that country, including age/identity misrepresentation of prospects. Alderson was in charge of that effort before becoming Mets GM.

• Pitching coach Dan Warthen told Newsday's David Lennon that Johan Santana's flat-ground throwing session Tuesday was the left-hander's "best day yet."

• Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff writes the Mets making the playoffs is a pipe dream:



• Newsday went to Citi Field to see how gangbusters ticket sales were going on Day 1 of box-office sales for individual games. Writes Cody Derespina:

Two ticket windows were open, and that might have been overkill considering the line never reached double digits. At times, reporters and photographers outnumbered the customers. The difference from years past? It could be that single-game tickets were available via the Internet on Monday. It could be Mets fans went to other venues. [Fan Bill] Tousius has his own suspicion. "What's going on with the Wilpons, a lot of us fans are disappointed," he said of the team's owners. "You should keep financial messes out of baseball."

BIRTHDAYS: Abraham Nunez, who appeared in two games for the Mets in 2008 before being replaced on the roster by Chris Aguila, turns 35.