Heilman has been weak link in Mets' bullpen  —  Good cheer pervaded the Mets' clubhouse late last night, and why not?  They badly needed this victory, 4-3 in 12 innings over the Phillies, to establish further street cred in the National League East and even their record at 4-4.

HIGH'JINX' HITS YANKEES  —  CREW SABOTEUR  —  The new Yankee Stadium may be cursed!  —  A devilish Boston fan working on a concrete crew at the $1.3 billion stadium covertly buried a Red Sox T-shirt under what will become the visiting team's locker room to jinx the Yanks, two construction work ers told The Post yester day.

Harden lands on disabled list  —  Oft-injured righty sidelined by strained muscle in shoulder  —  TORONTO — For the sixth time in less than four seasons Athletics starting pitcher Rich Harden has landed on the disabled list.  —  Oakland placed the hard-throwing right-hander on the 15 …

ROLLINS OUT, KLINE IN  —  1. Jimmy Rollins is watching batting practice with hitting coach Milt Thompson.  After doing some early stretching, he determined his sprained left ankle still isn't feeling better enough for him to resume playing.  So, for a second straight game, Rollins will watch from the dugout.

Pettitte, revamped lineup power Yanks  —  New No. 2 hitter Cabrera leads offensive charge in Kansas City  —  KANSAS CITY — It wasn't necessarily going to make or break the Yankees' season, but with the hype and drama of their first Fenway Park visit looming straight ahead, it sure beat the alternative.

Win-win situation: Texas Rangers above .500 after DH sweep  —  twills@dallasnews.com  —  ARLINGTON - The Rangers are over .500 for the first time in the Ron Washington era.  —  But that was the last thing the second-year manager wanted to talk about after the Rangers swept Thursday's doubleheader …

Tulsa starts right  —  Dexter Fowler homers twice in home opener  —  Much-heralded Colorado Rockies' prospect Dexter Fowler began his first home game for the Tulsa Drillers with a bang.  —  Fowler homered in his first two at-bats and had three RBIs to help propel Tulsa past …

So many key players on the shelf … As far as we can tell, no team's superstar has gotten hurt in the last 30 seconds.  But never fear.  That'll probably change by the time you hit the pillow tonight.  —  The heck with Grady Sizemore's iron-man streak.  The 30 people in baseball …

Piniella hints Hill's on thin ice  —  Skipper implies rotation shuffle would be option  —  PITTSBURGH — Cubs starter Rich Hill's three poor innings and reliever Jon Lieber's 4 1/3 scoreless innings Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates might be raising ideas about how to fix what's wrong with the pitching staff.

Crime Dog: Baseball's Lost Man  —  I remember an announcer once explaining why Fred McGriff wasn't an elite player.  He claimed McGriff was never dominant, citing that he had never won a home run title as evidence.  —  Of course, the announcer was wrong.  Fred McGriff won two home run titles (1989, 1992).

Panic is too much, too soon for Mets  —  Events surrounding these early days of the Mets' 2008 season suggest cobwebs from the 2007 collapse have not cleared.  The memory lingers on.  It will continue to do so.  —  It's turning into a strange psychosis bordering on paranoia.

PAGAN ENJOYING AN AMAZIN' START  —  It isn't a fluke, according to David Wright.  Angel Pagan can play.  —  Last night, Pagan was terrific again, delivering one of the most clutch hits of the Mets' season, slamming a game-winning RBI single in the Mets' 4-3, 12-inning victory over the rival Phillies at Shea Stadium.

Ortiz maintains silence on, off field  —  There might have been some relief in his seventh-inning walk, or his eighth-inning walk.  They weren't strikeouts, after all.  They didn't negatively affect his average, unlike so many at-bats lately.  —  Because David Ortiz, right now, is not David Ortiz.

D-backs' Davis has surgery  —  PHOENIX—Left-hander Doug Davis had surgery for thyroid cancer Thursday, two days after pitching the Arizona Diamondbacks to a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.  —  Davis had insisted on making his two scheduled starts before the operation to remove his thyroid gland.

Defense and Pitch Classification  —  “With me, being a hard thrower ... no matter what, they're defending that heater, man.  So the more confidence I have to throw that [changeup] in any count, I'm going to throw it.  I'm just going to.  I don't care anymore.  It's going to help me and I realize that.”

Cora, Lowell being checked out  —  The phones are ringing in Pawtucket.  —  With Mike Lowell sustaining a thumb injury last night, and Alex Cora feeling a “twinge,” according to Terry Francona, the call has gone out to the PawSox to make sure a player is ready in case they need him.