July 3 -- MORE ON MYERS & HAPP

ATLANTA -- Since your July 4 newspaper will mostly be a Brett Myers-free zone, here's some more reaction from pitching coach Rich Dubee on Myers' start last night for triple-A Lehigh Valley: "It's a building block. I'd like to see him throw his fastball more, and the people down there are aware of that. But it sounded like he got some confidence going there for a while. He had a little better posture and tempo there on the mound. But again, he still relied on his curveball."

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Charlie Manuel said he noticed a more confident J.A. Happ during spring training. Dubee said the same thing. "He carried himself much better. His presence, his poise, was much improved. He had some elbow tenderness. Health is an important issue. If you've got something going on and you're not 100 percent, that plays into the game a lot."

Chances are, Happ will make two starts before the All-Star break (Friday night and next Wednesday night against the Cardinals). After that, Myers likely will return. But Manuel said Happ can keep his rotation spot by pitching well, just like Kyle Kendrick did last year.

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Manuel on new Mets manager Jerry Manuel: "I used to tell him all the time the best thing about him was his last name."

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Finally, as you may know, slugger Valentino Pascucci went to spring training with the Phillies and began the season at Lehigh Valley. But after batting .232 with one homer in 25 games, the Phillies released him. He signed with the Mets and has 15 homers in 61 games for triple-A New Orleans. Yet when it came time to call up an outfielder today, the Mets opted for Chris Aguila.

Good friend Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News passes this along from Jerry Manuel's pregame session with reporters today. Asked about why the Mets didn't recall Pascucci, Manuel said, "I'll be honest with you, who is he?"