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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.

Terry Collins said despite Matt Harvey being sent to minor league camp, the highly regarded pitching prospect still will appear in at least two more Grapefruit League games. Harvey is allowed to be borrowed from minor league camp because he is not on the 40-man roster. (Players such as Jeurys Familia on the 40 and optioned to minor league camp cannot be borrowed.)

Collins effusively praised Harvey's pitching arsenal as well as his makeup. The manager said veterans in the clubhouse were impressed when Harvey was visibly upset with a poor first Grapefruit League performance as opposed to taking the attitude that he's a first-round pick and entitled to a big league spot.

Collins insisted if Harvey is the best available starting pitcher at the time of a Mets rotation injury, he would not hesitate to call up the prospect. The manager did resolve not to carry Harvey in the bullpen if he were one of the 12 best pitchers in camp but the five incumbent starters were healthy.

The motivation, Collins said, for sending Harvey to minor league camp was to ensure regular innings to prepare for the season.

Collins said Harvey's 75th and final pitch in Wednesday's minor league intrasquad game still registered 96 mph.

"I think he's real close, but he's got to refine some stuff," Collins said.

The manager said in addition to control, he needs to do a better job holding runners. His time to the plate needs to be 1.3 seconds or less, according to the manager.

Collins added that with Harvey, Familia, Zack Wheeler, Jenrry Mejia and Darin Gorski, "the future's really bright."

• Ruben Tejada (groin) and Ronny Cedeno (knee) will be ready to play tomorrow, Collins said, but the manager suggested he likely would wait before reinserting them in the lineup.

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."

The Mets face the Miami Marlins in Jupiter, where Jose Reyes is expected to start at shortstop against his former squad. Reyes did not participate in either of the first two Grapefruit League games between the teams. R.A. Dickey starts for the Mets.

Thursday's news reports:

• David Wright returned to camp Wednesday and revealed he actually had torn an abdominal muscle. Wright received an ultrasound-guided cortisone shot Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He predicted he would begin easing into activity as soon as today. He noted his return is going to be a deliberate process, from hitting off a tee, to swinging at flipped balls, to actual batting practice. Regardless, Wright predicted his Opening Day availability was not in jeopardy. Read more in the Record, Newsday, Post, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• Barry Meier in the Times writes about the Mets' injury track record:

When combining injuries sustained in spring training and the regular season, the Mets led all other teams in both 2008 and 2009 in the number of player days lost to injury, according to data complied by Baseball Prospectus, a sports analysis and opinion Web site. Using those same measurements, the Mets ranked sixth in 2010 before dropping down to a more respectable 12th place last year, Baseball Prospectus found. ... Measuring injuries over the 162-game season, the team ranked second in 2008, third in 2009, sixth in 2010 and ninth in 2011 in days lost to player injures, Baseball Prospectus said.

• Judge Jed S. Rakoff caught legal experts off-guard Wednesday by ruling the burden of proof in the $386 million lawsuit falls on Fred Wilpon and family, not trustee Irving Picard, who filed the lawsuit. A week after expressing skepticism Picard could prove the Wilpons acted in bad faith and with "willful blindness" with respect to their investments in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, Rakoff on Wednesday ruled the burden doesn't rest with the trustee. Instead, the Wilpons' attorneys must convince the jury by a preponderance of the evidence that the family acted in good faith.

The ruling is a win for Picard. After all, it's more difficult for a defendant to have to prove he's not guilty than being assumed innocent at the start of the trial.

Perhaps Rakoff's ruling should not have been a surprise, given Rakoff wrote last week that the trustee would have to rebut the Wilpons demonstrating good faith.

Should the trial end adversely for the Wilpons, the judge's decision could be one area their attorneys try to appeal. Picard will have grounds for appeal as well, including the judge using a "willful blindness" as opposed to "inquiry notice" ("should-have-known") standard. Picard also believes he is entitled to recover money from the six years before Madoff's arrest, not the two years at which the judge capped the recovery period.

Read more in the Times, Post and Daily News.

• Dillon Gee allowed a two-run homer to Prince Fielder but no other damage in four innings. The Mets ultimately lost to the Detroit Tigers, 7-6, in 10 innings Wednesday.

• The Mets suspended bullpen catcher Eric Langill for a week without pay, three days after he was charged with driving under the influence.

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey looked sharp in a minor league intrasquad game, tossing 58 of 75 pitches for strikes and registering as high as 96 mph on a radar gun. Read more in the Post, Record, Daily News and Newsday.

• Steve Cohen, the only known intended purchaser of a $20 million minority share of the Mets without some existing tie to the organization, may not be able to be a partner after all. Cohen has emerged as the top candidate to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers, USA Today reports. That would prevent Cohen from also having a stake in the Mets.

TRIVIA: Who has the most homers by a Mets shortstop in a single season in franchise history?

Wednesday's answer: Mets PR man Jay Horwitz is in the Fairleigh Dickinson University Hall of Fame. He served as the school's sports information director before Frank Cashen hired him with the Mets in 1980.

Dillon Gee mostly breezed through four innings, with the exception of surrendering a two-run homer to Prince Fielder in the right-hander’s final frame, but a skeleton Mets squad lost to the Detroit Tigers, 7-6, in 10 innings on Wednesday at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland.

Rutgers product Jack Egbert, borrowed from minor league camp, allowed a walk-off RBI single to Quintin Berry.

Gee allowed two runs on three hits while walking one and striking out five in four innings.

“I thought today was a really positive day for me,” Gee said. “The past couple of outings I haven’t really felt that great. Me and Dan [Warthen] did a lot of work this week and really got me feeling good. … We made it a point to throw more curveballs today. The other day against the Braves I think I only threw one curveball, maybe two at the most. Today I threw maybe almost 10 curveballs. Because the fastball command has been getting better, it was time to start the next step to really start getting the off-speed stuff going.”

“More curveballs, better changeup, more command,” Terry Collins said.

As for the location of the 0-2 pitch that Fielder pummeled, Gee said: “Not far enough in for that guy, I guess. He’s so strong.”

• Chuck James, primarily vying with Garrett Olson and Josh Edgin for the left specialist role in the bullpen in Tim Byrdak’s absence, walked three in a four-run fifth inning as the Tigers took a 6-4 lead. Still, Collins partly excused the control issue, noting James’ last outing was scrubbed because of rain, meaning he had not worked in a game in five days.

“One of the things we want to see is command of his pitches,” Collins said. “It’s been a while since he’s been out there. … We’ll run him out there again in a few days.”

• All four runs with James on the mound were unearned. That’s because third baseman Wilmer Flores committed two errors on a two-out grounder by Brandon Inge. Flores booted the ball, then threw late and wide to first baseman Zach Lutz, allowing a run to score and Inge to advance to second. James only allowed two hits in the messy inning, with one being an infield single by Fielder.

Flores, who has split time evenly between second and third base in winter ball in Venezuela the past few years, exclusively had played shortstop in the Mets organization since signing at 16 years old. He now is transitioning to primarily third-base duty, but also should see time at second base and shortstop. He also committed two errors in an inning at third base Monday against the Tigers.

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Dillon Gee was scheduled to pitch in a minor league game to allow Matt Harvey to log Grapefruit League innings against a credible offense in front of team personnel Wednesday. But the plan changed because the Mets did not have the MLB-stipulated minimum number of starting players making the two-and-a-half hour drive to Lakeland. So Gee now is on the bus and the starting pitcher as the Mets play at the Detroit Tigers for the second time in three days. Harvey will pitch in the minor league game.

Before media hit the road, David Wright is expected to speak about the "ultrasound-guided" cortisone shot he received to the left side of his rib cage Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York as well as update his status going forward.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Terry Collins got agitated when Ruben Tejada was scratched from Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Hours later, Collins said his frustration upon losing Tejada (groin) and Ronny Cedeno (knee tendinitis) in the same morning is that the absence of players from drills is inhibiting the team's ability to prepare to play fundamentally sound this season. D.J. Carrasco also is out for a limited period after twisting an ankle.

Columnist Kevin Kernan in the Post wonders what's going on here with the Mets' perpetual injuries.

Read more in the Journal, Star-Ledger, Daily News, Post, Record and Newsday.

• Carlos Beltran faced the Mets for the first time since last July's trade and went 1-for-4 Tuesday. Beltran was in a chipper mood as he reminisced with New York reporters about his six and a half seasons as a Met and the team's rebuilding plan. Beltran also kept the drama going about when he eventually will pay Jon Niese $10,000 -- the cost of Niese's offseason nose job, which Beltran asked the southpaw to get -- and offered to pay for -- shortly before being traded to the San Francisco Giants last summer. Niese playfully professed not to care about the delinquent payment. Watch video of Beltran's interview here. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Record, Newsday, Times and Daily News.

The Mets, by the way, play the Marlins on Thursday in Jupiter. So there is a decent chance Jose Reyes finally will play against his old team, too. Reyes did not face the Mets in either of the first two Grapefruit League meetings between his present and former teams. Beltran's Cardinals and Reyes' Marlins train at the same Jupiter, Fla., complex. And Beltran said Reyes looks as chipper as always.

"He's like Jose. He’s always happy, always smiling, always playing the game hard," Beltran said. "He’s going to be fine. It’s going to be a transition for him because of all these years playing for the Mets, all these years playing in New York, now going to a new team, [there are] new expectations. I think he’s going to be able to handle that situation well.”

• Mike Pelfrey allowed two homers while tossing 4 1/3 innings in the Mets' 7-1 loss to the Cardinals. Read more in Newsday.

• Johan Santana threw a between-starts bullpen session Tuesday and pronounced himself fit for his third Grapefruit League start, Friday against the Tigers in Port St. Lucie.

• A team official said the employment status of bullpen catcher Eric Langill, who was arrested Sunday night and charged with driving under the influence, remains unresolved.

• Left-hander Tim Byrdak underwent surgery to repair torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee Tuesday and is expected to miss six weeks.

• As ESPNNewYork.com reported late Monday, the trustee suing Fred Wilpon and family has asked a judge to bar Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax as well as former Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau from testifying. Writes Anthony M. Destefano in Newsday:

Judge Jed Rakoff is expected to decide Monday, when the trial is scheduled to begin, if he will allow the testimony over the trustee's opposition. If he testifies, Morgenthau would describe how he put the PAL money into a Madoff account after Wilpon said it was "safe," according to the court papers. Koufax would testify that he opened an account with Madoff at Wilpon's suggestion, court documents stated.

Read more on the witness list and legal wrangling in the Times, Post, Daily News and Star-Ledger.

• Barry Meier in the Times looks at the $2.4 million in improvements at the Mets' spring-training home, Digital Domain Park. The upgrades are designed to entice a second team to relocate to the complex. Meier quotes officials saying the Mets would hope to lure the Washington Nationals or Houston Astros to join them at the Port St. Lucie facility. Florida's Atlantic coast has lost teams of late, leaving the Mets constantly facing the same opponents -- the Marlins and Cardinals, who are the nearest at 33 miles away in Jupiter, and the Nats in Viera 72 miles away -- or facing long drives. After those three opponents, all the drives are two-hours-plus. The Dodgers used to be closest to Port St. Lucie, but they bolted Vero Beach for Arizona. And the Orioles left Fort Lauderdale for Sarasota.

TRIVIA: At which university is Mets PR man Jay Horwitz inducted into the Hall of Fame?

Tuesday's answer: Pedro Feliciano set the franchise record for relief appearances three straight seasons -- 86 in 2008, 88 in 2009, then 92 in 2010.

The Mets head north on I-95 to Viera to face the Washington Nationals on Saturday, with R.A. Dickey on the mound.

Saturday's news reports:

• Judge Jed S. Rakoff set the parameters for the March 19 civil trial against Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon, his family, businesses and charities. A nine-person jury will decide how much, if anything, to award trustee Irving Picard of the $303 million he seeks in principal the Wilpons invested with Bernard Madoff in the two years before the swindler's arrest. Picard must convince jurors the Wilpons were "willfully blind" to the fraud and acted in "bad faith" in order to collect that amount. The trustee already has been awarded as a matter of law as much as $83 million by Rakoff pre-trial -- the profits in the two years before Madoff's arrest. After a quick jury selection on Day 1, the trial is expected to last 10 days. Court is scheduled to be in session during business hours Monday through Thursday. Read more in the Times, Newsday and Daily News.

• Matt Harvey tossed a pair of perfect innings and Matt den Dekker delivered a tiebreaking two-run triple in the eighth as the Mets beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-3, Friday at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Read more in the Record.

• Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger notes that Harvey's control wasn't precise, but he got the job done. Writes McCullough:

The count ran full to the Atlanta Braves' Jason Heyward. Catcher Josh Thole called for a four-seamer inside to tie up Heyward’s hands. "I didn’t really mean to go up that high with Heyward," Harvey said, as his team wrapped up a 5-3 victory. "I was trying to go in. But ..." But Heyward still waved at the pitch, which popped on the stadium gun at 95 mph as it buzzed the upper region of the strike zone. And therein lies the rub: Harvey's stuff appears capable of getting out major-league hitters. In his first inning, he retired veteran slugger Chipper Jones on grounder , recorded a flyout from former Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske, then whiffed Heyward.

• A reunion between Chris Young and the Mets is expected to materialize, Andy Martino reports in the Daily News. Young -- reportedly also considering the San Diego Padres -- supposedly is feeling strong. However, he underwent last May the same surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule that Johan Santana did the previous September. So there is no assurance of a 2012 contribution. Young made only four starts for the Mets last season before the shoulder woes ended his season. He received a base salary of $1.1 million despite the limited workload.

• Lucas Duda was pulled from Friday's trip to Disney, but Terry Collins said he expected the right fielder on the bus for Viera to face the Nats today. Similarly, Andres Torres, who was dealing with a tight right glute, is expected on the trip. Read more in the Post.

• Ex-Met Jason Pridie will be suspended 50 games for use of a recreation drug, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

• A day after now-sidearm-throwing southpaw C.J. Nitkowski auditioned for the Mets, a team official said the organization had "not ruled out" signing him. But, the official added, Nitkowski almost assuredly would go directly to minor league camp if he were signed.

• Santana returns to the mound Sunday, but he apparently will not face former teammate Jose Reyes.

• The Mets' Triple-A Buffalo affiliate will play at Fenway Park against Pawtucket on Aug. 18 as part of a minor league doubleheader.

• Neil Best in Newsday notes the April 18-29 Tribeca film festival not only includes the documentary "Knuckleball!" featuring R.A. Dickey, but also "Benji, about the ill-fated Chicago prep basketball star of the early 80s, Ben Wilson, and Broke, about the many sports figures who have gone astray financially."

• Jason Bay is trying to revert to his old Pittsburgh-era swing. So far he is 0-for-5 with three walks and two strikeouts in Grapefruit League play. "It's tough when you're trying to work on things and people are trying to get you out," Bay told David Lennon in Newsday. "It's not batting practice. I think for right now, it's just about getting used to game speed -- getting used to seeing 95 and getting your timing down. Trusting what you do in the cage and not trying to think too much out there."

Writes columnist Joel Sherman in the Post about Bay:

Let’s give Jason Bay this benefit of the doubt because -- if nothing else -- the Mets certainly believe his failure as a Met is about caring too much, not too little. It is about the left fielder falling into a hole instantly in 2010 and losing confidence while gaining advice. It is about a destructive cycle of wanting to please so much that too many voices got beyond the velvet rope in his brain, too much counsel was heeded to tinker here and readjust there. His ears became a meeting place for the well intentioned to feed a series of recommendations that worked as harmoniously with one another as oil and water. Executives around the Mets couldn’t remember an accomplished player who turned every at-bat into a mandate on the positioning of his hands, the angling of a foot.

• Adam Loewen discusses with Mike Puma in the Post making the switch from pitching to the outfield after suffering a second stress fracture in his left elbow. "Three years ago I made the switch, and it was actually an exciting time for me because I had a new life," the 6-foot-6 Loewen told Puma. "As much as it was heartbreaking not being able to pitch anymore, it was exciting to have that second chance and progress enough to think I could make it back to the big leagues."

Loewen and Mike Baxter currently are vying for a lefty-hitting backup outfield job, although the Mets very well also could pick someone else up near the end of spring training. At present, Loewen may have a leg up on Baxter in part because Loewen can play center field, whereas Baxter does not. Both play first base. Backing up in center field should not have been a requisite, but righty-hitting Scott Hairston (oblique) is starting to appear likely to open the season on the disabled list, leaving a void as a fill-in for Andres Torres.

• Brian Costa in the Journal looks at the Puerto Rican Torres' offseason spent partly in the Dominican Republic, where he worked with Yankee Robinson Cano and his father. Cano met Torres on the MLB All-Star Tour of Taiwan in November and invited him to work out with them. They worked on refraining from lunging at balls. With the San Francisco Giants last season, Carlos Beltran also offered Torres advice, telling him he was too close to the plate and using too heavy a bat. Now, hitting coach Dave Hudgens has advice for Torres as well. Torres, who is slated to be the Mets' leadoff hitter, had his on-base percentage plummet 31 points, to .312, last season. Writes Costa:

Hudgens saw two things that concerned him. The first was an inability to stay on top of the ball, which made him prone to weak pop-ups. The second issue was lapses in plate discipline. Torres swung at a career-high 31% of pitches outside the strike zone last season. The Mets want him to be more selective and work the count better, and they told him as much during an early spring meeting with Hudgens, manager Terry Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson. They'll find out soon enough whether he can heed all the advice. "I know people look at me like, 'I saw you last year, and you didn't have it,'" Torres said. "But I feel really good right now."

• Mike Kerwick in the Record checks in on the acclimation progress of new double-play tandem Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy. Writes Kerwick:

Their color choices were strikingly different, separate hues for separate personalities. Tejada leans on Spanish; Murphy speaks English. Tejada spent his life studying to be a middle infielder; Murphy is taking his first serious stab at it. But the chemistry between these two middle infielders -- Tejada at shortstop, Murphy at second -- will help define the Mets’ defense this season. "It's almost a courtship kind of thing," joked Mets third base coach Tim Teufel. "They're getting to know each other, their likes and dislikes."

• Ken Belson in the Times notes today is the 50th anniversary of the franchise's first spring-training game. And Belson writes about the radio recording that captures it:

But what is somewhat intriguing is the identity of the first announcer to greet listeners of the game’s radio broadcast. It wasn’t Ralph Kiner or Bob Murphy or Lindsey Nelson, all of whom were on hand for the start of what would be their long collaboration chronicling the team’s fortunes. Instead, the first voice coming out of the radio belonged to none other than Howard Cosell, still emerging at that point as a larger-than-life personality in American sports.

• Andrew Keh in the Times notes that Pedro Beato cuts his teammates' hair, even though a professional barber also visits the Mets periodically. Writes Keh:

On Friday morning, a New York Times reporter in need of a haircut became Beato’s latest customer. It was 6:45, the sun was just coming up, and Beato set up shop near the Mets’ dugout, his clubhouse stool transformed into a barber’s chair. "Tell me what you want on the sides," Beato said as he went through his accessory bag, looking for the proper comb attachment for his electric clippers. "You look like you need a four." Like any experienced barber, he mixed stern commands -- "Keep your head down for a second" -- with just the right amount of small talk. The customer’s interests were paramount, but he was quick to offer his own insight.

(Hopefully this won't be "Barber of Sheaville, Part II." Google Rey Sanchez and "haircut during game" if you don't understand the reference.)

TRIVIA: Eight players have produced a three-homer game in franchise history. Can you name at least one Met from each decade who accomplished the feat?

(Friday's answer: Roy Halladay is the lone active major league pitcher who has at least 125 decisions and also a better winning percentage than Santana. Halladay has a .671 winning percentage (188-92), to Santana's .658 (133-69). Justin Verlander (.652), Tim Hudson (.651) and CC Sabathia (.647) round out the top five.)

Matt Harvey breezed through two perfect innings in relief of Dillon Gee and Matt den Dekker delivered a tiebreaking two-run triple in the eighth as the Mets beat the Braves, 5-3, on Friday at ESPN Wide World of Sports.

The Mets produced three second-inning runs against Randall Delgado, who is the frontrunner over Julio Teheran for the fifth-starter’s spot, with Tim Hudson slated to be sidelined into May following offseason back surgery.

• Harvey retired all six batters he faced -- a sharp contrast from his first Grapefruit League appearance, when he walked three and plunked another among the eight batters he faced.

Teammate Tim Byrdak had advised Harvey recently to tune out opponents’ names and their résumés and just concentrate on making quality pitches, as cliché as that sounds. Harvey nonetheless took that to heart as he faced formidable Braves hitters.

Harvey began his outing by retiring Chipper Jones on a groundout and Eric Hinske on a flare to left field. He then struck out Jason Heyward on a 95 mph fastball above the strike zone in a flawless first frame.

Harvey said earlier in camp that he hoped to use a two-seam fastball (sinker) more this season, and use the four-seam (straight) fastball to go up the ladder and strike out batters, which seemed like the method of attack with Heyward.

“I threw a couple of two-seamers down,” Harvey said. “The last time it was running a little bit too much. Today I was locating well down. I didn’t really mean to go up that high with Heyward. I was trying to go in.”

When Sandy Koufax visited Mets camp Thursday, the Hall of Famer wanted to meet Harvey and fellow top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. Koufax got a chance to watch Wheeler pitch in a minor league intrasquad game.

He also chatted with Harvey, who was in “disbelief” that Koufax asked for an introduction.

“After I said, ‘It’s an honor to meet you,’ he was like, ‘It’s an honor to meet you,’” Harvey recalled. “He was like, ‘I told Terry [Collins] I wanted to meet you.’ It’s kind of surreal, I guess.”

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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.)

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."

All eyes will be on Johan Santana on Tuesday. The southpaw makes his first 2012 Grapefruit League appearance -- and pitches in his first game since the fall instructional league. Santana will face the St. Louis Cardinals in Port St. Lucie. The Mets also will send a split squad to Kissimmee to face the Houston Astros.

Tuesday's news stories:

• Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Monday awarded trustee Irving Picard as much as $83.3 million and will allow him to attempt to collect another $303 million from Fred Wilpon, his family, businesses and charities at a March 19 civil trial. Still, Rakoff wrote, he did not believe Picard had the evidence/testimony to prove the Wilpons acted in bad faith while investing in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, meaning the judge does not expect a jury to award the additional sum at trial.

Read the ESPNNewYork.com news story recapping Monday's ruling here.

Read my analysis of what the ruling means for the future of the Wilpons as Mets owners here.

Read ESPNNewYork.com columnist Ian O'Connor's take here.

Read more in the Journal, Times, Newsday, Post, Daily News, Capital New York and Star-Ledger.

• At the winter meetings, Scott Boras pointedly said that the suddenly frugal Mets and Dodgers used to shop in the steak aisle of the supermarket, and now they're shopping in the fruits and nuts section. Still, at that time, Boras expressed confidence the Wilpons would right the ship with the Mets.

But in comments Monday reported by Vincent M. Mallozzi in the Times, Boras was far less diplomatic.

"When they are not providing fans with the highest quality of play, and they take an attitude of 'we're going to take on a development role,' knowing that the TV contracts, the market size and such allow them revenues that far exceed many of the clubs that have to pursue those development policies, that impacts the game," Boras said, according to the report. "The major franchises who are getting the majority of revenues should provide a product, or an attempt at a product, that has the near-highest payrolls commensurate with the markets they are in. ... If a player does not perform for the betterment of their team, then teams bring in other players. On the other side, there has to be an equation where there are requirements for ownership to perform at certain levels, and if they don't, they would lose their right to own a club and be replaced. I believe if we do that, we’re going to have a better game. ... When you're seeing franchises in major markets not pursuing to the levels that the revenues and the fan base and the market provide, then I think you have an ethical violation of the game."

• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post suggests the honeymoon for Sandy Alderson should soon be over. Writes Sherman:

Sandy Alderson enjoyed the twin blessings upon his arrival with the Mets. He wasn't Omar Minaya and he wasn't a Wilpon. That has given him a grace period to do what traditionally brings wrath upon a general manager: Cut payroll and expectations simultaneously. But, fair or not, the honeymoon has an expiration date. Soon it will not matter whom he replaced or who signs his paychecks.

• Columnist Bob Klapisch in the Record says the Mets would be kind to repay David Wright for his loyalty to the organization by trading him. Writes Klapisch:

If the money is this tight, and the team is headed toward the basement in the East, trading Wright wouldn't just be a financial necessity, it would also be an act of mercy. Consider it payback for Wright's willingness to act as the Mets' spokesman as they hurtled toward irrelevance. For the way he played hurt in 2011, taking the field with a broken back. For the way he stood by the Wilpons. Sooner or later, it'll be time to repay the favor.

• Mets players told Andrew Keh in the Times they were unfazed by Monday's legal developments. "Honestly, the only way it affects guys is the attention that we get and the questions we get asked, which we don't really know how to answer," Jason Bay told Keh. "If we had a huge presentation on it and everybody was trying to be abreast of what was going on, it might make things way worse. Honestly, I think not knowing, in this situation, for what we have to do, is huge."

• Columnist John Harper in the Daily News reached out to Conor Jackson, who had a debilitating case of valley fever while with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009. "I know how bad it was for me and I just hope that's not the case for him," Jackson, who is in Texas Rangers camp, told Harper about Ike Davis. "It's something I wouldn't wish on anybody. ... I feel like a doctor on this subject. A lot of people get it and they react to it differently. It sounds like they caught it early with him, and that's the key, to get it diagnosed. It's a spore, a fungus. If you let it sit, that's when it gets bad, and people -- usually older people -- have died from it. It sounds like they got it early with Ike.

"For me it started out feeling like I had a cold, then maybe the flu," Jackson also told Harper. "It was early in the season and you're not going to ask out of the lineup just because you’re sick. So I played, I thought I could fight through it. I played about five weeks with it, and it kept getting worse and worse. I was sleeping longer and longer every day. One day I slept for 13 or 14 hours. I just felt weak and tired. Finally, I got it diagnosed with a blood test and went on the disabled list. I was taking an anti-fungus medication but I wasn't getting better. By about July I was moving around and feeling a little better, but then I'd go out and hit and I'd have to chill for a day or two because I was so tired. Finally I thought I was OK to go out on a rehab assignment and that made it worse again. It was just a nightmare."

• The Mets lost to the Washington Nationals, 3-1, in Monday's Grapefruit League opener. Andres Torres reached base in both of his plate appearances, while highly regarded pitching prospect Matt Harvey walked three and plunked another while facing only eight Nats batters. Harvey nonetheless tossed two scoreless innings. For the box score, click here. Dillon Gee, who allowed an opposite-field homer to Rick Ankiel, but no other damage in two innings, was particularly satisifed with his changeup, notes Mike Kerwick in the Record. Read more in the Star-Ledger, Newsday and Daily News.

• Lenny Dykstra was sentenced to three years in California state prison. Federal charges are still pending. Read more in Newsday, the Daily News and Post.

• David Lennon in Newsday looks at all the questions swirling around the Mets, from the health of Santana, Wright and Davis to the financial issues hovering over the club. Wright told Mike Puma in the Post the left rib-cage issue is "more discomfort and tightness than pain."

• Santana plans to throw two innings and likely no more than 35 pitches. Read more in the Post.

• Columnist Jeff Bradley in the Star-Ledger calls the current time "the darkest days in the history of the franchise."

• Here are the Mets' minor league managing and coaching assignments.

TRIVIA: For which North American Soccer League team(s) did Mike Nickeas' father play?

(Monday's answer: Tom Glavine started on Opening Day in 2006. He allowed one run in six innings in a 3-2 win against the Nationals. Billy Wagner notched the save.)

Former San Francisco Giant Andres Torres got off to a quick start in the leadoff spot as a Met, reaching in each of his two plate appearances, although the Mets lost their Grapefruit League opener, 3-1, to the Washington Nationals on Monday night at Digital Domain Park.

Torres walked and stole second base in the first inning -- one of the Mets’ five steals in six attempts in the game -- and scored when No. 2 hitter Daniel Murphy delivered an RBI single.

“Andres got on twice tonight. And, as I said before, when he gets on, he scores runs,” Terry Collins said. “And he showed that in the first inning tonight.”

• New closer Frank Francisco allowed a run in one inning and was tagged with the loss.

• Starter Dillon Gee allowed an opposite-field solo homer to Rick Ankiel in the second inning but no other damage. The Nats later loaded the bases that inning, in part because a grounder rolled through Justin Turner’s legs while he subbed at third base for injured David Wright. But Gee stranded three Nats when he retired Andres Blanco with a changeup for a 1-2-3 double play.

“At this point it’s just about getting a feel and repeating your mechanics, and just making sure everything is in line,” Gee said. “I feel like every week something else has progressed a little bit better. I had decent control tonight. I thought I made some good pitches. That’s all you’re looking for at this point. The changeup felt good tonight. That’s what I’m looking for, is the feel.”

• Highly regarded pitching prospect Matt Harvey, who replaced Gee for the third inning, walked three batters and plunked another among the eight Nats he faced. Harvey nonetheless did not allow any damage. Josh Thole caught Roger Bernardina stealing in the third inning. And, after Harvey consecutively walked Ankiel and phenom Bryce Harper and hit ex-Met farmhand Jesus Flores with a pitch in the fourth, Harvey got Xavier Paul to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play with a sinker.

“I had a good first inning, and I just got behind and tried to nitpick in the second inning,” Harvey said. “But it was good. I got out of the inning. I had some good defense behind me.

“I felt pretty good. I didn’t feel nervous at all. I think warming up, a little bit maybe some jitters. But it was more excitement, though. Like I’ve said last time, I just try to bring that in and use it toward energy. I was able to do that tonight.”

Said Collins: “I think as we get into this, and he gets more comfortable, you’ll see better. I just think he was nervous. You worry about being in the middle of the plate. I’m sure he’s trying to keep the ball down. But he’s still got that good breaking ball. He’s just got to get a little better command of it.”

Harvey and Harper met once last season in Double-A. Harper went 0-for-3 against Harvey in the Eastern League matchup, including two strikeouts.

The walk was Harper's lone plate appearance against Harvey on Monday night.

"He struck me out twice, made me look stupid," Harper recalled about 2011. "I knew he was going to come at me a little bit, and I knew he had that breaker in his back pocket. I just tried to stay back as best as I could and not try to get too out in front of it. It was good to get that under my belt."

Asked if their meetings this year might be at Citi Field or Nationals Park rather than Triple-A Buffalo or Syracuse, Harvey said: “Who knows? Not my call.”

Overall, Harper finished 2-for-2 with a walk Monday night. That included hustling to beat out an infield single on a seemingly routine grounder to third baseman Vinny Rottino.

“When he was in college, they asked me to go out and see him play. And, shoot, he plays hard,” Collins said. “He runs every ball out. He runs the bases hard and slides hard. It was pretty impressive.”

Said Harper: "[Daniel] Herrera, he threw me a loopy curveball. It's pretty hard to stay back on that. So you try to do what you can do with it. So you try to put it on the ground or put it into left field or something like that. I just tried to 'Ichiro' it. That didn't happen. I just tried to put the bat on the ball. And it happened. And I started running."

• The Mets had some solid fielding efforts. Prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who replaced Torres in center, lunged forward and made a diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Blanco to open the fifth inning. (Nieuwenhuis also dropped a routine fly ball in shallow center field on a one-handed attempt in the eighth after calling off second baseman Jordany Valdespin, which led to an unearned run with Miguel Batista pitching.)

In the sixth, Mike Baxter made a strong throw from left field to retire Brett Carroll trying to stretch a hit into a double. Baxter, during the weekend intrasquad games, had made a similarly strong throw to the plate while manning right field.

“It’s better than people are aware of, for sure,” Collins said about Baxter’s arm. “He’s been mostly in right field. And one of the reasons is he’s got some arm strength.”

• The middle-infield combo of Ruben Tejada and Murphy combined on a double play, and Murphy also ranged nicely to his right and retired Chad Tracy on a second-inning grounder.

• The Mets were running on the basepaths, although Collins said that was not a concerted effort. Even Josh Satin stole a base. He has stolen only five times over four seasons in the minors. As Robert Carson saw Satin reach second while watching on a TV in the clubhouse, the southpaw blurted aloud in amazement: “Satin stole a base.”

• The Mets have split-squad games Tuesday. Johan Santana takes the home game in Port St. Lucie against the St. Louis Cardinals. On the bus to Kissimmee to face the Houston Astros include Lucas Duda, Murphy, Tejada and Chris Schwinden.

Johan Santana is good to go for Tuesday's home split-squad game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Terry Collins said Monday afternoon.

Santana is scheduled to pitch two innings and no more than 35 pitches, according to pitching coach Dan Warthen.

"I'm really excited to see him out there," Collins said. "Obviously two days after tomorrow is when I want to really see how he's doing, because that will be a test on how he's going to bounce back. I just said to him the other day, 'Look, all I want you to do is approach this like you've been approaching your side [bullpen session]s.' He's going to have his adrenaline flowing and we've got to realize that. And I certainly will. But he's smart enough to know that it's all a process."

As for Santana facing the Cardinals, Collins added: "I don't care about the results. All I want him to do is come back in two days, throw a side and be ready for his next start. If we've got that, we're going to be fine."

• 2011 first-round pick Brandon Nimmo will play in Tuesday's home split-squad game. "I like to play those guys," Collins said. "I want those minor league players, when they walk out of this camp, to walk back over there and say, 'That was fun. That was really fun. How do I get back over there to stay?'"

• Collins went and saw top prospect Zack Wheeler, who is in minor league camp, throw on the minor league side. Asked what he liked, Collins whistled and said: "Everything."

• 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey is the first pitcher due in after starter Dillon Gee tonight. Collins said he is looking for command. "If he throws the ball over the plate," the manager said, "he'll get people out. He's got that kind of stuff."

• Ike Davis is slated for three innings at first base tonight, and three more tomorrow, Collins said.

• Collins said he is not very concerned about seeing how his starters look together tonight, such as Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy working as a tag team in the middle infield.

"Not tonight," Collins said. "It's our first game. I think it's nice to have the fans see who we've got. Obviously David [Wright] is not going to be in the lineup, but Jason [Bay] is and Ike is and [Lucas] Duda and everybody else. And Justin Turner had as big a part last year in us playing well as anybody. So I feel real comfortable with him in there."

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.)