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Tim Byrdak has appeared in each of the past five Mets games. And while he has been a savior, including stranding an inherited runner at third base in the eighth inning in three of four games of the trip, he also is on pace for 96 appearances.

His 19 relief appearances lead the majors. Lefty batters are 2-for-18 with 10 strikeouts and one walk against Byrdak this season.

The Mets' franchise record for appearances is owned by Pedro Feliciano, who set it three straight seasons -- with 86 with 2008, 88 in 2009 and 92 in 2010. Of course, Feliciano has not pitched since because of arm difficulty, despite signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Yankees.

So can Byrdak continue to pitch at this rate?

Yes, he conceivably could. But he probably will not, pitching coach Dan Warthen said.

Warthen said the Mets will look to use right-hander Ramon Ramirez in some of the situations in which Byrdak has been summoned going forward.

"The good thing is Tim is not spending a lot of pitches," Warthen added.

In fact, Byrdak has thrown only 156 pitches, an economical average of 8.2 per appearance.

Of course, Byrdak could use help from a second lefty in the bullpen, just as Feliciano could have used the assistance during his Mets years. But the Mets are unlikely to have a second southpaw added to the relief corps anytime soon. Prospect Josh Edgin, the best candidate, likely will spend much of the season in Triple-A. He has allowed 14 hits and six walks in 8 1/3 innings since a promotion from Double-A Binghamton to Triple-A Buffalo and needs more development time.

"Unless we go get [Cole] Hamels because they're having a fire sale," Warthen quipped, alluding to the Phillies' early season struggles. "Or [Antonio] Bastardo."

• Terry Collins said he originally intended to start Rob Johnson behind the plate Saturday, but Warthen preferred pairing R.A. Dickey with Mike Nickeas, since they are well acquainted. Johnson actually caught Dickey with Seattle.

• Nickeas said he spoke with Josh Thole, who reported improvement with his concussion symptoms. Thole is now able to go outdoors.

• Collins said he was enthused by Ronny Cedeno's approach Friday, in his first game back from the DL. Cedeno walked twice. He has been a free swinger in his career, but the Mets have impressed upon him to take pitches.

Mike O'Connor, Jason Isringhausen and Francisco Rodriguez backed R.A. Dickey with three scoreless relief innings as the Mets moved to .500 for the first time since April 9 with a 2-1 victory in the Bronx.

Saturday's news reports:

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

• Justin Turner has an RBI in six straight games, tying the rookie franchise record originally set by Ron Swoboda in August 1965. Turner, it turns out, was a 29th-round pick of the Yankees after his junior year of college at Cal State Fullerton. Read a full profile here.

The Post's Joel Sherman talks to the Yankees' Damon Oppenheimer about drafting Turner that year. Oppenheimer tells Sherman: "You know how he will play and prepare and you will know his determination. He will not beat himself on or off the field. He is a self-starter. You are not going to have to tell him to work. ... I really liked 'Red' Turner. He was a good baseball player. He did not have the standard tools you look for, but you always thought he was a kid who would find his way to the big leagues."

• Jose Reyes had the play of the game, diving up the middle to stop Alex Rodriguez's grounder and throwing to first base to strand two runners. "That's the difference in the game," Yankees skipper Joe Girardi said. Read more in the Star-Ledger and the Post.

• Pedro Feliciano, who signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Yankees, is trying blood-spinning -- where doctors remove blood, spin it to isolate the platelets, then reinject it into a troublesome spot -- rather than surgery for a partially torn capsule in his left shoulder. You may recall Feliciano vowed to strike out Ike Davis as revenge for Dan Warthen's defense of Brian Cashman's claim the Mets abused Feliciano. Now, Davis (ankle) and Feliciano are missing the series because of injuries. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• The Star-Ledger's Jeff Bradley catches up with Dave Mlicki, who shut out Andy Pettitte and the Yankees on June 16, 1997, in the inaugural interleague game between the teams. Writes Bradley:

From his home in Dublin, Ohio, Mlicki seemed surprised that the Subway Series is no longer such a big deal, “Back in 1997, the atmosphere was World Series-like. For me, I’d never even been in Yankee Stadium. We took a bus from Shea to the game, which was odd, and when we pulled up there was a huge crowd of people screaming at us.” Mlicki remembered strolling out to Monument Park before batting practice, reading the plaques, taking it all in.

• Idled David Wright (stress fracture in back) hopes to be out the minimum 15 days. He had an imaging test Thursday, and believes doctors are now prepared to map out a plan for his return. "It's tough watching the game in general," Wright told reporters pregame Friday. "I think you grow accustomed to getting up and going through a routine, preparing to play. And when you wake up and you just kind of have that void, it's not the same. It's definitely not enjoyable and not fun. It's frustrating. It's disappointing. I really enjoy the Subway Series. I enjoy participating in that. It's just disappointing waking up knowing that I'm going to watch from the bench." Read more in the Record and Newsday.

• Record columnist Bob Klapisch's take on the Mets reaching .500:

Since April 21, the Mets have the fourth-best record in the majors, behind only the Braves, Red Sox and Cardinals. This run won’t change the Mets’ 2011 profile – they’re not playoff-bound – but it’s nevertheless erased some of the pre-existing notions about Terry Collins and life without some of their stars. Remember, this is a team that doesn’t have David Wright and Ike Davis. There’s no Johan Santana, and is too poor to even contemplate a monster trade in July. Yet, after a 5-13 start, the Mets are back to .500, which says something about their manager and his fiery, non-corny brand of intensity.

• While Willie Harris may be struggling, hitting .205 for the season, David Waldstein of the Times offers one alibi. Since Jason Bay returned from the disabled list, Harris' starts have come against Livan Hernandez, Tim Lincecum, Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Johnson. He also was asked to pinch-hit against Roy Halladay. He went 1-for-14 in those five games. “It’s not an easy job, but I have to perform,” Harris tells Waldstein.

• Vicent M. Mallozzi of the Times profiles the creator of the site nonohitters.com, which chronicles 50 years of the Mets' failing to produce a no-hitter. Writes Mallozzi:

[Dirk] Lammers, who grew up in Manalapan, N.J., “rooting for players like Bruce Boisclair,” now lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., working as a reporter for The Associated Press. He created nonohitters.com at the suggestion of a friend who remembered that Lammers, a die-hard Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, ran a site in 2006 called Pointofnoreturns.com that discussed and lamented the fact that the Buccaneers had not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since their inaugural season in 1976. Eleven days after Lammers created the site, Tampa Bay’s Micheal Spurlock returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. “I thought a site like this would bring the Mets some luck,” he said.

• The Times' Waldstein also looks at the success of Saturday starter Chris Capuano in preventing steals. Writes Waldstein:

Capuano is by far the active leader in rate of stolen bases against, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In 821 career innings, Capuano has allowed only 15 stolen bases, one every 54.7 innings. The next closest is Mark Buehrle with 48 steals against in 2,331 innings, one every 48.6 innings.

• Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff contrasts Bobby Valentine and Terry Collins. Writes Davidoff:

They're really quite different. "I think they're totally different," said Jason Isringhausen , the only person at this Subway Series to play for both Bobby Valentine and Terry Collins. Bobby V. probably is the better strategist. Terry C., at least this incarnation of him, might be superior at communicating with his players. Valentine went to Japan with ambitions of elevating Pacific Rim baseball to new heights. "I just went there to manage," Collins said, smiling.

• Daily News columnist John Harper notes just how critical continued performances like Friday's from Dickey are for the Mets to succeed. Writes Harper:

On the big Yankee Stadium stage Friday night, Dickey found a way to make his signature pitch dance again, going six gutsy innings to pave the way for a 2-1 win in this first Subway Series game of 2011. For Dickey it was his first win since April 3 and he sounded perhaps more relieved than overjoyed in describing the return of an old friend. "Tonight," he said, "that's the [knuckler] I remember from last year."

• The Post's Fred Kerber reports Subway Series tickets can be had at a depressed price. Writes Kerber:

Using prices listed on StubHub, TicketNetwork, TicketsNow and eBay, the average price to see the Yankees and Mets at the Stadium this weekend is $112.22, down nearly 40 percent from last season’s Stadium cost of $186.04.

• A.J. Burnett once was a Mets farmhand. Read more in the Post.

BIRTHDAY: Hank Webb, father of current Florida Marlins reliever Ryan Webb, turns 61. Webb went 7-9 in parts of seasons with the team from 1972 to 1976. Webb’s most prominent season was '75, when he went 7-6 and pitched his only career shutout. He averaged only 2.97 strikeouts per nine innings that season, second-fewest in franchise history in a season for a Mets starter who threw at least 100 innings (Ed Lynch, 2.27 in 1983). -Mark Simon

Losers of five straight and eight of nine, the Mets limp into Atlanta for a weekend series with D.J. Carrasco due to get a spot start in the opener opposite Derek Lowe. "Depressing," Terry Collins told reporters about the 1-6 home stand. "We're better than this."

Friday's news reports:

• David Waldstein in the Times summarizes the atmosphere surrounding the Rockies completing a four-game sweep with Wednesday's victories:

The combined attendance for the doubleheader, which was made necessary by a rainout on Tuesday, was 25,758. But long before the end there was only a smattering of fans, and most of them were either extremely detached or very unhappy. A few wore bags on top of their heads, and by the end of the second game a handful attempted to generate a chant of “Sell The Team!” -- something the owners are currently pursuing, but only on a limited basis that would still give them control of the organization. Gone, in just one week, is the good feeling the Mets generated by winning three consecutive games on their opening trip. After starting 3-1, this team, the one that Collins swore would play the game the right way, has regressed to a new level of sloppiness.

• Post columnist George Willis suggests the Mets are becoming the Knicks, and Citi Field is becoming Madison Square Garden. Willis writes:

The Mets are fast becoming what the Knicks used to be in this town -- a team short on talent and low on expectations that can’t find a way to keep from losing. You remember what it was like going to the Garden in those days. You didn’t go there expecting to win. You just hoped it wouldn’t get ugly. And most of the time, those who filled the World’s Most Famous Arena came to watch the stars on the other team, because watching the Knicks had became too painful.

• The Post's Dan Martin also delivers zingers in his game recap of the doubleheader sweep by the Rockies. Writes Martin:

Turns out team meetings don’t make players catch fly balls. Or run the bases properly. Or field ground balls. Or hold on to leads. Despite manager Terry Collins’ fiery clubhouse meeting with his players after Wednesday night’s loss, the Mets dropped both ends of yesterday’s doubleheader to the Rockies at Citi Field, and now have lost five straight and eight of nine.

• Troy Tulowitzki went 10-for-16 with four homers and eight RBIs in the series. He becomes the first ballplayer in Citi Field's three-year history to homer in four straight games played there. The previous record was three straight by David Wright, Gary Sheffield and Mark Reynolds. “There’s big parks,” Tulowitzki said, according to Brett Cyrgalis in the Post, “but when I do get a ball, I will take my chances pretty much at any park.”

• Wright, who flied out with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth in Game 1 on Thursday, tells Newsday: "I feel like I'm having good at-bats and just picked the wrong part of the ballpark to hit that ball."

• Here are game stories from the Star-Ledger, Record, Daily News and Journal.

• The Mets struck out an unsightly 17 times in 11 innings against the Washington Nationals on Sunday, and Newsday's David Lennon speaks with hitting coach Dave Hudgens about the issue. Writes Lennon:

Hudgens understands there is a price tag that comes with being more patient at the plate, and that can mean a spike in strikeout totals. The trick is to create a more favorable balance in the frequency of walks -- another offshoot of deeper counts -- and make the Mets better at exploiting their particular piece of the strike zone. "We shouldn't strike out 17 times," Hudgens said. "The guys are trying to minimize that and it's something we work on. We want to put balls in play, but we want to do it the right way. You want to make sure you get good pitches to hit. ... My message wasn't really about just taking pitches. The plate is 17 inches wide. I asked them to shrink the plate down to 13 inches and take the corner pitches. That's the general idea, because in the middle of the plate, guys hit for a very high average. There are times you're going to get deep in counts. But if you get your pitch on the first pitch, you better be swinging."

• Newsday's Tom Rock contrasts the 38-year-old Jason Isringhausen to his first tour with the Mets in his early 20s. “I was that dumb young kid who didn’t listen to anybody,” Izzy tells Rock. “I thought I knew it all.”

• In addition to the 13th overall pick in the June draft, Major League Baseball announced the Mets will get the 44th overall pick as compensation for losing Pedro Feliciano to the Yankees.

Feliciano is likely to have surgery to repair a torn posterior capsule in his left shoulder. That's the procedure from which Chien-Ming Wang has yet to successfully return, Ben Shpigel notes in the Times. Meanwhile, regarding Yankees GM Brian Cashman's recent assertion the Mets abused Feliciano, Shpigel writes:

Before a free-agent signing can be completed, the player must pass a physical examination. The M.R.I. Feliciano took in December showed “no evidence of a capsular tear whatsoever,” Cashman said.

• Francisco Rodriguez picked up his third game finished of the season in Game 2, with the Mets trailing. (Two of K-Rod's three games finished have come with the Mets not leading.) The Times notes K-Rod would have been pulled had he not gotten out of the inning when he did, by retiring the last batter he faced, Ryan Spilborghs. The closer's contract vests at $17.5 million for 2012 with 55 games finished. The last player to throw a pitch for each team is credited with a game finished -- not just the person to throw the game's last pitch.

• Chris Young, whose start in Atlanta was pushed back two days to Sunday because of biceps tendinitis, threw a bullpen session Thursday at Citi Field and said he can proceed with his start. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• The Daily News reports Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz hope to select a new minority owner from four finalists within 30 days.

BIRTHDAY: Jeromy Burnitz turns 42. Burnitz had two stints with the Mets, the first from 1993 to 1994, and the second in 2002 and 2003. He hit 53 of his 315 career home runs for the Mets, but his .237 batting average is the lowest of any player (minimum 1,000 PA) whose stint with the team started since 1990. -Mark Simon

The Mets share first place in the NL East. We'll leave it at that.

On to Wednesday's news reports:

• Phillies manager Charlie Manuel paid the Mets a compliment. “I heard people talk about how many games they’re going to lose,” Manuel said, according to the Post's Kevin Kernan.“But they’ve got good players. They’ve got some speed, power. They had 13 hits tonight. They’re more than a second-division team, I’m telling you.” In the column, David Wright tells Kernan that Cole Hamels, who was battered by the Mets on Tuesday, apologized shortly after once labeling the Mets "choke artists" in a radio interview. Hamels is 1-6 against the Mets since that 2008 proclamation. “I remember he came up to me, soon after that, we were at some charity event and apologized to me about it, that was cool,” Wright tells Kernan. “I think he was doing one of those radio blasts, doing a bunch of interviews after the World Series, and it was just one of those things.”

• Newsday's Ken Davidoff, in the nicest way possible, puts a wet blanket on the Mets' 3-1 start. Davidoff writes:

The Mets -- more specifically, their ownership -- are counting on you to believe. And to go from believing to buying: tickets, concessions, Shack burgers -- or perhaps you'd like to purchase a non-controlling interest in the franchise? Our take: It's way too early to believe. It's up to you regarding the expenditure. But there's no reason not to enjoy it, for now, when your 3-1 Mets slap around their tormentors from down the New Jersey Turnpike.

• GM Sandy Alderson watched Chris Young handle the Phillies on the mound, and with his bat. And Alderson, who was the CEO of the Padres when Young worked there, told Newsday's David Lennon after Tuesday's win: "It was a good night for us, and a good night for him."

• Record columnist Bob Klapisch applauds Young's performance as well. Writes Klapisch:

Young is living, breathing proof that smart pitchers -- the ones who understand how to change speeds and change hitters’ eye levels -- usually enjoy long, successful lives in the majors. Young challenged no one, yet beat the Phillies time and again using a long, complicated windup that looks like a beach chair unfolding on a windy day. Hitters hate facing Young, and for good reason: He’s arms and legs in asymmetrical madness -- a Picasso painting that suddenly appears in your face, not from 60 feet, 6 inches, but more like 53 feet. That’s how tall he is and that’s long he strides. By the time the ball arrives, it’s created the illusion of traveling downhill, which is like asking a hitter to cope with vertigo.

• Here are game stories from the Philadelphia Daily News, Star-Ledger, Record, Post, Daily News and Journal.

• Alderson acknowledged Tuesday Jason Bay is "unlikely" to return from the disabled list Saturday when he's eligible. Terry Collins spoke with Bay by telephone and learned the left fielder, who is on the DL with a strained left rib-cage muscle, only first will start to swing a bat later this week. "The doctors thought he would be ready when his DL expired, but it's hard to predict," Alderson said. Ronny Paulino, who is dealing with an anemia-related stomach issue, also is eligible to be activated Saturday, after completing an eight-game suspension. While Paulino is progressing, according to the GM, Alderson suggested placing the backup catcher on the 15-day DL at that point is more likely. If his blood-count numbers continue to improve during a late-week test, Paulino can resume at least limited physical activity. Read more in Newsday, the Star-Ledger and Times.

• The Times reports Jason Isringhausen threw 23 pitches without complication Tuesday in an extended spring training game. Isringhausen was pulled from a weekend appearance with back stiffness, according to Alderson, but the reliever subsequently minimized the issue. Isringhausen has agreed to remain in Port St. Lucie up to two weeks.

• The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Barbarisi catches up with Mike Marshall, who made a record-setting 106 pitching appearances in 1974 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, to ask if Pedro Feliciano was abused. Writes Barbarisi:

Marshall now has a doctorate in philosophy from Michigan State University, and an expertise in exercise physiology. He consults pitchers and teams on how to alter their pitching motions to put less stress on their pitching arms. In Marshall's opinion, the number of games pitched is hardly relevant. "The Mets did not abuse Mr. Feliciano. Instead, the 'traditional' baseball pitching motion that Mr. Feliciano uses misused his pitching arm," Marshall said. "Misuse, not over-use, injures pitching arms."

• The Journal's Brian Costa speaks with Wednesday starter Mike Pelfrey about how he's progressing without Harvey Dorfman, the sports pyschologist who passed away during spring training. Pelfrey would call Dorfman after each start last season. Writes Costa:

Eight hours after he stepped off the mound, Mike Pelfrey was still awake. It was 5 a.m. Saturday, just after his disappointing Opening Day start against the Florida Marlins. All Pelfrey could do was lay in bed at the Mets' oceanfront hotel, eyes open, replaying each sequence of the Marlins' four-run fourth inning in his mind. These are the nights when Pelfrey used to call Harvey Dorfman, the noted sports psychologist who played a critical role in his breakthrough 2010 season. But now, after Dorfman's death last month at the age of 75, Pelfrey is on his own.

• The Post's Dan Martin chronicles Wright's 4-for-5 game. “The first thing I noticed about him when I got here was how focused he is,” teammate Scott Hairston tells Martin about Wright. “To take pitches the other way three times and get hits every time like he did, that can be hard to do in batting practice sometimes. But he has the mentality of a great hitter.”

• Philadelphia Daily News columnist Paul Hagen writes the former World Series MVP Hamels did not deserve to be booed after getting roughed up by the Mets. Writes Hagen:

Hamels had a tough day. It happens to the very best players in baseball. It's one game. No more, no less. These are verities that shouldn't even have to be mentioned anymore. So why in the name of Adam Eaton did a vocal segment of the 127th consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park lustily boo as Hamels trudged from the mound? In the end, that was probably the most disappointing thing of all that happened at Citizens Bank Park last night.

• For Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Penn graduate, talks about growing up a New York Giants fan and hating the Yankees. He then discusses how he became a Chicago White Sox fan (because they played the Yankees 11 times a year, and he hated the Yankees). And how he then adopted the Phillies in addition to the White Sox. Writes Rendell in the Philadelphia Daily News:

I grew up in New York and my father, brother Robert and I were devoted NY baseball Giants fans. From the age of 5 until my teenage years, the Giants' nucleus -- Monte Irvin, Whitey Lockman, Hank Thompson, Willie Mays, Al Dark, Sal Maglie and Larry Jansen -- stayed largely intact. They were my family. But even in today's "rent a player" era, the bond between fan and team, though challenged, has remained solid.

BIRTHDAYS: Third baseman Wayne Graham, who appeared in 20 games with the Mets in 1964, was born on this date in 1936.

The Mets open a three-game series on Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Read the series preview here.

On to the day's news reports:

• Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Brookover says the Mets and Phillies aren't the rivals they're portrayed to be. Writes Brookover:

In the 49 years since the Mets filled the New York void left by the California emigration of the Giants and Dodgers in 1962, they have had a heated competition with the Phillies for the National League East title exactly two times: 2007 and 2008. The Mets did rival the 1964 Phillies with their monumental collapse in 2007 when they allowed a seven-game lead to slip away with 17 to play, triggering the Phillies' current run of four straight division titles and nightly home sellouts. A year later, the teams staged another entertaining race to the wire with the Phillies erasing a 3 1/2-game deficit on Sept. 10 on their way to their second World Series title in franchise history. Since then, the Phillies have had more of a rivalry with the Yankees than the Mets.

• The Mets are having a tough time selling out Friday's home opener against the Washington Nationals, according to the Bergen Record. Write authors Jeff Roberts and Dave Sheingold:

The e-mail landed Monday morning in the inboxes of Mets' fans throughout North Jersey and beyond. The "Mets Ticket Guide" advertised seats that still are available for Friday afternoon's home opener at Citi Field against the Washington Nationals. And if the first home game -- normally a sellout -- isn't enough of a draw, the team is giving away a Mr. Met bobblehead to the first 25,000 fans who arrive. But that still doesn't appear to be enough. The franchise has resorted to using e-mail blasts as it struggles to sell seats, with several still available on its website and thousands more available on the secondary ticket market -- including websites such as stubhub.com and seatgeek.com.

The Times recently reported the Mets have sold only the equivalent of about 10,000 season tickets this year when partial plans are included as fractions.

• Pedro Feliciano accepts that he was not abused by the Mets while setting franchise records for appearances three straight seasons (86, 88 and 92). Still, the left-hander may be a little too stung by pitching coach Dan Warthen's comments. "I feel a little hurt by that," Feliciano said, as quoted by Newsday. "They said they didn't sign me because [they knew] I'm going to blow up this year. That hurts. But I will come out from this injury and I will be telling him there is still a lot of Feliciano to go."

Warthen didn't precisely say the Mets knew Feliciano would break down. The pitching coach did say Feliciano's usage, which increases risk of injury, prompted the Mets not to go to beyond one year on Feliciano, while the Yankees offered two years, $8 million with an option.

The direct quote: "That was part of the reason we decided to not re-sign him -- because we knew we had used him 270-some times in the last three years." (Read Warthen's entire comments here.)

Remember, the Mets did offer Feliciano arbitration (which netted them a draft pick as compensation). If Feliciano had accepted arbitration, he would have been back with the Mets, with a salary of potentially $4 million or more.

Read more in the Daily News, Times and Newsday.

• Jose Reyes tells the Record's Steve Popper the Phillies are, yes, the team to beat. Says Reyes: "They are the team to beat. But we still can compete with any team. We've got a very good team, too. Last year we played very good baseball against the Phillies. If you see our record I think we won the series [actually the two teams tied with nine wins each]. We still can play with them." ... The Star-Ledger also looks at the trip to Philly.

• Daniel Murphy should get Thursday's start at second base against Roy Halladay, Newsday's David Lennon reports. Lennon can foresee a platoon developing. The Mets, like every team, face more right-handers than left-handers, and it's unlikely the lefty-hitting Murphy will get the majority of the starts early on. Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus started two of the first three games, and Terry Collins indicated Murphy may not even get a third of the early starts. But if Murphy competently handles second base, like he did Sunday, he will begin chipping away there and Collins could find him other opportunities to get in the lineup.

• Reports are starting to surface that the Mets' payroll is $118,847,309, based on a USA Today database that is being promoted, such as this one in Newsday. Even Sandy Alderson brought up over the weekend that's incorrect. The calculation only uses current players, so you won't find Oliver Perez's $12 million and Luis Castillo's $6 million counted. It also omits players in the minors such as Ryota Igarashi, who happens to be making $1.75 million this year. When you consider the bases salaries of Chris Young ($1.1 million) and Chris Capuano ($1.5 million) are a fraction of the $4.5 million they each can earn based on games started and innings, the Mets' payroll is more likely to settle in around $145 million -- unless Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran or another high-cost player is traded at the deadline.

If you wish to reward USA Today despite those factors, here's the link to the Mets' salaries.

• The Mets will face Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay in Philly, but miss Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. Newsday notes the Mets got a preview of what may be in store on Opening Day by facing Marlins ace Josh Johnson, who held them hitless through six innings. The day after Johnson's gem, hitting coach Dave Hudgens showed Collins the video of the right-hander's dominance. "We saw the film the next day, and in the first six innings, [Johnson] made like zero mistakes," Collins said, as quoted by Newsday. "He finally got a ball over the plate to Willie [Harris]. We know how tough it is. But you've got to stay within your game plan and stick with it. Even the best of the best once in a while give up some hits."

• Andy Martino of the Daily News says Collins is a better communicator than predecessor Jerry Manuel. Writes Martino:

Those wounded last year by Jerry Manuel's lapses in communication have appreciated Collins' clarity. Manuel had a habit of surprising players by first criticizing them to reporters. One incident came last April in Denver, after John Maine surrendered eight runs in a game against the Rockies. Before speaking with Maine, Manuel told reporters that the righty's rotation spot was in jeopardy. Maine has long since left in a huff, but others remain from last year's mess. "It got so weird in here by August," said one player. "It's so much better now."

• David Waldstein in the Times exposes Stanley, the mobile tool chest the Mets roll out to the bullpen every game. There are practical items such as binoculars and whimsical, such as a Magic 8 Ball. Writes Waldstein:

The purpose of the [Magic 8 Ball] game depends on the user and his belief in the supernatural. It could serve as a mere diversion, or a portent, as [bullpen coach Jon] Debus demonstrated recently by grabbing it out of the chest and asking it a question. “Debo, am I going to pitch tonight?” he asked it, pretending to be one of the Mets’ seven relief pitchers. Debus shook the ball and read the response as it popped into the small window: “It is decidedly so.” He looked at it again and asked, “Am I going to get fired for this interview?” The ball’s response: “My sources say no.”

• Brian Costa of The Wall Street Journal looks at how Chris Young makes his mid-80s mph fastball look so much faster. The short answer: One, Young does a great job of hiding the ball from the batter by shielding it with his left elbow, like Washington's Tyler Clippard does as well. And then there's Young's 6-foot-10 frame, which means he has a longer stride and is releasing the ball closer to the plate. Costa notes one study says an 84 .1 mph fastball from Young seems to the batter like 92.1 mph. Writes Costa:

There is only one active pitcher in baseball as tall as Young, a former Princeton basketball star. Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Jon Rauch is also listed at 6-foot-10. And while height and wingspan are not inherent advantages for a pitcher, they are for Young, perhaps more so than for anyone else. "When you're standing there on deck and you see the ball coming out of his hand, there's nothing special to it," said Florida Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison. "But when you get in the box, it gets on you quick. Even though he's throwing 85, you have to treat it like 90, 92." ... The length of most pitchers' stride -- the distance between the rubber and where they plant their front foot -- is about 80 percent of their height. That alone would give Young a longer stride than other pitchers. But he also lunges forward to a greater degree than most. Warthen estimated Young's stride to be about eight feet, about 115 percent of his height.

• Dan Martin of the Post speaks to Young's college coach, Princeton's Scott Bradley, about the right-hander making his Mets debut. “It’s a big start for him, but he’s so even-keeled, it’s not going to affect him,” said Bradley, a former Yankees catcher, who worked with Young in the offseason. “He finished strong last year and was pleased with spring training, so there’s no reason not to be optimistic.”

• Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick's World Series ring has been stolen from his Seattle-area home, the Seattle Times reportde.

BIRTHDAYS: Lastings Milledge turns 26.

Pedro Feliciano, on the DL with a rotator cuff strain, disagreed with GM Brian Cashman's opinion that the Mets "abused'" him by using him in 266 games over the past three seasons.

However, he said pitching coach Dan Warthen hurt his feelings by agreeing with Cashman, saying the Mets excessive use of Feliciano was the reason they chose not to re-sign the left-handed specialist after eight seasons. Feliciano pointed out that while he might have preferred to remain a Met, he chose the Yankees because they gave him a two-year deal worth $8 million, with a club option for a third year.

And he said he had a special brand of payback planned for when the Mets and Yankees meet in interleague play (May 20-22 at Yankee Stadium and July 1-3 in Flushing).

"I will show him in the Subway Series when I strike out Ike Davis," Feliciano said. "When I jump up and down on the mound I’ll be like, 'That’s for you.'''

R.A. Dickey opposes Javier Vazquez in the rubber game in Miami. The Mets will then fly to New York. A day later, they will bus to Philadelphia in advance of Tuesday's series opener at Citizens Bank Park.

Sunday's news reports:

• Dickey tells the Times' David Waldstein he plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January, when he will fly to Tanzania. The expedition also should include former Twins teammate Kevin Slowey, bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello and Mets physical therapist John Zajac. Dickey's contract prevents rock-climbing, but Kilimanjaro supposedly is more of a gradual ascent. Writes Waldstein:

Ever since Dickey read “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway as an 11th grader in Tennessee, the snow-capped mountain on the border of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa has captivated him. Now, with his recent success as a pitcher, he has the means and visibility to take on this latest challenge. The story by Hemingway, which depicts the agony of a failed writer suffering from gangrene as he and his wife await help at the foot of Kilimanjaro, is at the core of Dickey’s interest in the mountain. But he was also intrigued by documentaries about Mount Everest and the feature film “K2,” about climbing the second-highest peak in the world.

• Newsday's David Lennon focuses his game recap on David Wright. Writes Lennon:

For better or worse, the fortunes of David Wright and the Mets are intertwined. There is no separating the two, even as the names change around him. Jose Reyes has one foot out the door. Carlos Beltran is playing on two bad knees. Jason Bay is on the disabled list. That leaves Wright with the Mets mostly on his shoulders, and last night at Sun Life Stadium, he proved capable of leading them to a tumultuous 6-4 victory over the Marlins in 10 innings.

• Post columnist Mike Vaccaro also looks at Wright's role, noting: It isn't easy being the face of a franchise that's the butt of so much derision.

• Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger notes Francisco Rodriguez threw a lot of curveballs when the pitch called for a fastball during his blown save Saturday. “Surprising?” pitching coach Dan Warthen tells McCullough. “It was, a little bit. But I’m not worried.”

• Read other game recaps in the Record, Post and Daily News.

• Lennon notes how a simple decision like pinch-hitting for Francisco Rodriguez after his blown save and using Blaine Boyer in the 10th inning has ramifications as far as K-Rods $17.5 million vesting option for 2012 that is based on games finished.

• The Post's Steve Serby does a Q&A with the '86 Mets in broadcasting -- Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Bob Ojeda.

Q: Terry Collins? Ojeda: He let his players know, “I’m the firewall between you and the GM. I’m the firewall between you and a lot of the ire of the fans if that’s gonna come our way.” He went out of his way to talk to each and every guy. . . . Terry’s door is open and his mind is open and his thought process is open. He’s invested in each guy. It would make me feel like, “This manager’s got my back.” . . . I’m a Terry Collins fan. He just seems very legitimate to me. It’s not an act. “Here’s what I think, here’s what I feel, you deal with it.” I like that.

• Newsday takes a look at Brad Emaus winning the second-base job. "He's not going to be Orlando Hudson when it comes to range," infield coach Chip Hale tells the newspaper. "He's average. But he turns a double play as well as anybody."

• Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff offers this about Saturday's win: Technically, the Mets endured only a two-game losing streak; they lost the final game of 2010 and the 2011 opener. But the organization endured so much pain in that time span -- and that's even counting the hiring of general manager Sandy Alderson on the positive side of the ledger -- that it might as well have been a 200-game slide.

• The Times has the relevant exchange between Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Warthen about Pedro Feliciano's overuse/abuse:

“He was abused,” Cashman said. “It’s a thin market when you’re looking for lefties, and he’s one of the better ones out there. But you don’t typically go after a guy who’s been used like that. The use pattern was abusive.” Dan Warthen, the Mets’ pitching coach, had a simple question when he learned of Cashman’s remarks: “They didn’t know that when they signed him?”

• Daily News columnist Filip Bondy writes the joke's on the Yankees in signing Feliciano, and for a change the Mets come out looking good at the expense of their crosstown rivals.

• As for Feliciano's actual injury, it's behind his left shoulder. "The concern is based on the MRI," Cashman said, according to the Post's Brian Costello. "The [Mets'] use pattern was abusive, but the MRI itself shows what he's got. That leads us to believe all of this is resolvable and it's not a major issue. It's just a timing issue."

• Carlos Beltran is due to sit Sunday. Terry Collins explains, via the Daily News: "What I want to do is, when I put him out there I want to make sure he can give me what I saw [Friday] night. I don't want to put him in a situation where he has trouble going after a ball because his knees were bothering him, or overdo it so that I lose him for a month. If I lose him for a couple of days, I'll buy that. I can handle that. But I want to make sure I pace myself to the point where I know that on a given day he's out there four days a week ... or five days a week. The one thing I don't want to do is push the envelope too early."

• Wright gave Collins two cigars to celebrate his first managerial victory since 1999, according to the Post's Mike Puma. That reminds me of the story of Willie Randolph having to wait until Game No. 6 for his first victory as Mets manager and to smoke a cigar he had to carry out each day for nearly a week. You may recall Pedro Martinez's gem on Opening Day in 2005 was spoiled when Braden Looper allowed two homers in the ninth. The Mets came back to Shea Stadium 1-5, and only because Beltran had a late two-run homer off John Smoltz and Pedro had a gem in a 2-1 win in the opening trip's finale.

BIRTHDAYS: Catcher/outfielder Hawk Taylor, who played four season for the Mets in the 1960s, was born on this date in 1939.

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen reacts with amusement to the Yankees' claims the Mets "abused" Pedro Feliciano.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen says he is not an abuser.

On a day Yankees GM Brian Cashman said the Mets "abused" left-hander Pedro Feliciano and caused him to be injured after signing in the Bronx for two years, $8 million, Warthen said Feliciano setting franchise records for appearances three straight years (86, 88 and 92 games) was done willingly by the southpaw.

As for the Yankees committing -- and perhaps wasting -- their money if Feliciano is injured, Warthen said about the left-hander's heavy workload: "They didn't know that when they signed him? ... He volunteered for the baseball every day. He was asked whether he was able to pitch. He said 'yes' every day -- every day -- and wanted to pitch more than we even pitched him."

Regarding Cashman's comments, Warthen said: "I feel badly that someone feels that way. That was part of the reason we decided to not re-sign him -- because we knew we had used him 270-some times in the last three years."

Asked if was an appropriate remark coming from the Yankees, an amused Warthen said: "As you guys well know, this is the free world. You can say whatever you want."

Read Cashman's full comments in the story here.

Carlos Beltran hopes to play another five innings in a minor league game Sunday while the Mets send Jon Niese to the mound in Jupiter against the Cardinals.

On to Sunday's news reports:

• Steve Serby's Sunday Q&A in the Post is with David Wright. Here are a pair of exchanges:

Q: If you could pick one woman to feed you popcorn at the Super Bowl, who would it be?
A: (Laughs) I like watching the Super Bowl at home, and I don't really like popcorn.

Q: The Jeter contract negotiations?
A: I think, as always, Derek is a pro. . . . I think he's a model of what young baseball players in New York should strive for. I don't think that anybody wants their contract to be negotiated through the media, so I understand why he was upset, but I think he handled it perfectly, the way that he normally does.

• Jason Isringhausen repeats to the Post's Mike Puma that he is not interested in accepting a minor league assignment. "I came here to make the team," he tells Puma. It certainly seems like Blaine Boyer and Izzy are battling for the last spot, and the organization has appeared strongly leaning toward Boyer in recent days, in part because he has a Thursday out in his contract. Of course, Isringhausen doesn't have to formally go to a minor league team. He simply could be asked to stay in Port St. Lucie for an extra week or two while things get sorted out.

• If Beltran's knees get through another five innings in right field on Sunday, Terry Collins says he could be in Grapefruit League games Monday and Wednesday. Beltran suggests it may be Tuesday and Wednesday. Either way, once that happens, the Mets appear committed to putting him on the Opening Day roster, since they will largely lose the ability to backdate his disabled list stint. If Beltran stays in minor league games -- heck, he faced a guy with major league experience Saturday in Marlins left-hander Sean West -- then if he landed on the DL, he could miss as few as three regular-season games because of the backdating rule.

David Lennon in Newsday advocates keeping Beltran out of Grapefruit League games. Writes Lennon:

During the past couple of days, the Mets have flirted with the idea of using Beltran in Grapefruit League games as a lead-in to putting him on the Opening Day roster. But the risk is not worth that gamble. It's the difference between losing Beltran for only the first three games and losing him for two weeks if the Mets blow the chance to backdate him for the disabled list. It's the type of mistake the Mets often made under the former regime. Rather than acting decisively, the front office would waffle on DL situations, delaying the inevitable and hurting the player's recovery in the process.

Read more about Beltran in the Post, Star-Ledger, Record and Daily News.

• R.A. Dickey's wife Anne gave birth to the couple's fourth child, Van Allen Dickey, on Friday at 9 a.m. in Nashville. ... Jason Bay plans to sit out until Monday with back tightness, although he reported feeling better by Saturday afternoon. ... Ronny Paulino will be out for a few more days at least while doctors check bloodwork.

• David Waldstein in the Times looks at Angel Pagan's remarkable eyesight, which aids him in hitting. Writes Waldstein:

Pagan’s eyesight is remarkably good. Measured by the Mets’ physicians at 20/13, Pagan can see at 20 feet what a person with 20/20 vision can see at 13 feet. That is the same vision Jason Giambi, known for his uncanny eyesight, had when he played for the Yankees. Of all the positions in the major sports, perhaps only a hockey goalie requires the eyesight that a batter needs to track a ball at such high velocity.

• Newsday notes the Mets scrapped their NCAA bracket at the last moment just to steer clear of even minor gambling in light of the investigation into former clubhouse manager Charlie Samuels' alleged gambling ties.

• At Yankees camp, Pedro Feliciano may open his pinstriped career on the disabled list. Writes Ben Shpigel in the Times:

It sounds almost hard to believe, but Pedro Feliciano swears it is the truth. The last time he visited a training room -- for anything more than an ice pack, a heat wrap or the occasional anti-inflammatory medicine -- came in 1999, which he sat out with a shoulder injury.

• Steve Popper of the Bergen Record gives you a Mets season preview primer.

BIRTHDAY: Bill Sudakis, who appeared in 18 games with the Mets in 1972 between first base and catcher, was born in 1946. He was traded to the Texas Rangers on March 28, 1973 for Bill McNulty.

Pedro Feliciano is no Cliff Lee, but he should be a valuable commodity for Joe Girardi now that he's signed to pitch the next two seasons with the Yankees.

The key to Feliciano is in his usage. Use him in the right time, against the right combination of hitters, and the results are usually positive. We’ve gleaned that from watching him pitch more frequently than anyone else in the major leagues. Use him improperly and it can be painful to watch.

With that in mind, and with the help of the tools available from Baseball-Reference.com, Stats LLC, and the National Pastime Almanac, it seems appropriate to offer up a scouting report on the newest Yankees lefty, likely the 110th player to appear for both the Mets and Yankees.

You’ll see him quite a bit
Over the last three seasons, Feliciano has pitched 266 games, the most in the NL in each of those years and the most in the majors combined by a significant margin. (Carlos Marmol ranks second with 238.)

Feliciano has pitched in at least 86 games in each of the last three seasons. The only other reliever to do that in major league history is Paul Quantrill . (The only other ones to do it in consecutive seasons are the more well-known Kent Tekulve and Mike Marshall.)

There have been some seasons in which there is a consequence for this. Last year, Feliciano pitched well when asked to pitch in consecutive days (or in both ends of a doubleheader) –- hitters batted only .217 against him with 27 strikeouts, eight walks, and one home run allowed in 29 1/3 innings over an MLB-leading 44 games.

From 2006 to 2009, there were some issues in making Feliciano an everyday pitcher, most notably the 12 home runs allowed in 86 innings. So that bears watching carefully, especially if you ask him to pitch consecutive days in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium.

Left is right
Move over Boone Logan, there’s a new LOOGY (lefty, one-out guy) in town. Feliciano’s stuff is very tough on left-handed hitters, specifically those with significant power.

Feliciano’s specialty is the left-handed power hitter, a good thing since he'll see plenty of them with the Red Sox. The 14 active left-handed hitters with a slugging percentage of .500 or better (min. 2,000 PA) –- a group that includes Ryan Howard, Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder -- are hitting a combined .201 against him with three home runs and 58 strikeouts in 154 at-bats.

The key to this is all in his breaking ball. It looks irresistible, but proves to be quite difficult to hit.

Last season, Inside Edge’s video scouting noted that when Feliciano threw a two-strike breaking pitch to a lefty, he was able to finish him with a strikeout on 32 percent of his pitches. That putaway rate is much higher than the major league average for lefties vs lefties, 24 percent.

In the last four seasons, all left-handed hitters have a slashline of .203/.273/.290 against Feliciano. Those aren’t the best numbers in baseball, but he’s among the top 20 percent of left-handed pitchers in all three categories in that span.

Right is wrong
Feliciano has said in the past that he likes to think of himself as more than just a lefty specialist. That’s nice. But just because he thinks it, doesn’t mean it’s so.

There was one season in Feliciano’s career in which he put up good numbers against right-handed hitters. That was 2007.

In the three years since, righties are hitting .325 and slugging .474 against him.

Only two left-handers have a higher opponents batting average against right-handed hitters in that span. Coincidentally, one of them is Logan, against whom righties are hitting .325. (The other is Reds lefty Daniel Herrera.)

Last season, right-handed hitters had a .436 opponents on-base percentage against Feliciano (padded by six intentional walks). He's been worse -- in 2008, that number was .453.

Feliciano’s 87 mph fastball does not fool right-handed hitters. In fact, they feast on it. Last season, right-handers hit .483 against Felicano (29-for-60) when an at-bat against him ended with a fastball. Not surprisingly, that was the worst in baseball and the ultimate message regarding how Feliciano should best be used.

Pedro Feliciano, who had been the longest-tenured Mets, unless you disqualify him for spending the 2005 season in Japan, is remaining in New York and has agreed to terms with the Yankees.

The deal is worth two years, $8 million, and includes a club option for 2013, according to Foxsports.com. The Mets never showed an inclination to sign Feliciano to a multi-year deal, which basically left him with no realistic option of returning.

The 34-year-old Feliciano set Mets franchise records for relief appearances each of the past three seasons, with 86, 88 and 92. His highlight as a Met was the run through the postseason four years ago, though.

“When we went to the playoffs in ’06, that was the first time going to the playoffs, and we almost went to the World Series,” Feliciano said. “And we lost the last game to St. Louis. But I think that was the most emotional time.”

It was then-pitching coach Rick Peterson who had Feliciano drop down to a low three-quarters arm slot in ’04, which dramatically increased his effectiveness against left-handers and set him up for the career that now includes the lucrative deal in the Bronx. Feliciano said he already had been considering it.

“I had that in my mind,” he said. “Before I dropped down, I was thinking, ‘Next year I’m going to come a little more sidearm.’ All of a sudden, they said, ‘Let’s drop you down.’ They put in my mind that Buddy Groom and all those guys, they were average lefties, and then they dropped down and changed from average to one of the best. I started working out.”

As for his intense workload, Feliciano said he does not feel as though he is wearing down.

“Not at all. I work hard for every year,” Feliciano said. “I don’t let down and just do what I did last year. I want to keep proving I can do more than what I did last year.”

He took a lot of pride in pitching in so many games as a Met over the past three seasons.

“After I broke the record the first time, I just tried to put in my mind that I tried to break it again, and I did it,” Feliciano said. “This past year I just put in my mind that if I could break it again I would do it. And I did it.”

Read the full news story here.

Pedro Feliciano's agent told ESPNNewYork.com's Andrew Marchand that the Yankees are making progress toward landing the free-agent left-hander. Feliciano had set Mets franchise records for relief appearances each of the past three seasons, with 86, 88 and then 92.

Terry Collins suggested Wednesday that GM Sandy Alderson definitely would land a left-handed relief replacement for Feliciano this offseason.

"He's going to get us some left-handed relieving," Collins said. "There's no doubt in my mind."

Read more here on the Yankees' courtship of Feliciano.

Pedro Feliciano has declined the Mets' arbitration offer and will continue to pursue free agency. Read the full news story here.

Here is a look at the week ahead for the Mets:

Tuesday: The deadline for Pedro Feliciano to accept or reject the Mets’ arbitration offer. Agent Melvin Roman told Newsday the durable left-handed reliever is considering accepting, but that may be mostly designed to entice other teams to put in bids. If Feliciano accepts, he returns on a one-year deal. An arbitrator could award him as much as $4 million if Feliciano accepts and the team and Roman cannot agree on a number before the hearing.

But how bad would the market have to be for Feliciano to accept? If there’s likely to be even a two-year, $7 million deal out there at some point this offseason, the extra guaranteed year is probably worth making an average salary of $3.5 million a year over the potential to earn $4 million in one year with the Mets.

If Feliciano declines, it does not preclude the Mets from re-signing him this offseason, which differentiates this from the situation with Hisanori Takahashi, who is definitely headed elsewhere. By offering Feliciano arbitration, the Mets will pick up a supplemental draft pick between the first and second rounds if Feliciano ultimately signs elsewhere.

The problem is that if Feliciano does go elsewhere, the Mets must bring in a couple of left-handed relievers anyway. That’s because Pat Misch is probably the best major league-ready bullpen option from the left side right now, with prospect Eric Niesen (4-6, 5.14 ERA at Double-A Binghamton last season) probably needing to develop more consistency in the minors after walking 60 batters and hitting 10 batters in 77 innings with the B-Mets.

The Mets’ bullpen in general needs an overhaul, with not much to count on besides Francisco Rodriguez and Bobby Parnell.

You can view the list of available relievers on ESPN’s Free Agent Tracker here.

Thursday: Two days after Feliciano’s decision is the nontender deadline. That’s when teams cut loose some arbitration-eligible players (who have between three and six years of major league service time).

Since an arbitration-eligible player needs to make at least 80 percent of his previous year’s salary -- and players rarely receive salary cuts in the arbitration process -- the Mets have to cut loose John Maine by Thursday.

Maine made $3.3 million last season, so even the lowball 80 percent figure -- $2.64 million -- is too much to guarantee.

Maine has indicated he is recovering well from July 24 shoulder surgery performed in Philadelphia by Dr. Michael Ciocotti, who is not affiliated with the Mets, to repair a tear in the capsule.

The more interesting decision will come with right-handed reliever Sean Green. The lone remaining piece from the three-team, 12-player trade that also brought in J.J. Putz and Jeremy Reed on Dec. 11, 2008, the Mets made Green a Chad Bradford-style dropdown reliever last spring training. Green believes the unfamiliar delivery of the submarine motion caused the stress fracture in a rib that landed him on the disabled list into August after one April appearance.

Under the old regime, Green -- who has returned to his customary three-quarters arm slot -- appeared headed out. But given the fact that he made $975,000 last season, and with the lack of bullpen arms under control, perhaps the new front office will make a different evaluation.

It’s unlikely Green would warrant a raise. So if evaluators do not like what they see in spring training, they could just cut him a check for 30 days’ pay in March -- roughly $160,000 -- and bid farewell then.

Next week: The winter meetings will be held Dec. 6-9 at Disney’s Dolphin & Swan hotels.