"As a way of greeting a group of reporters, Johan Santana, the Mets' rehabbing ace, showed off the underside of his baseball cap. Blotches of white residue, the product of sweat stains, filled the brim.

"Believe it or not," Santana said before tonight's game against the Florida Marlins, "it's been used."

His rehabilitation from shoulder surgery has occurred mostly out of the public eye, but Santana returned to the picture today, offering a window into the tentative, day-to-day nature of his schedule. He will throw a bullpen session Tuesday. If that goes well, he will pitch in a minor-league game on Friday. The location will be determined as the minor-league playoff schedule becomes clearer this week. "