There are rumblings around baseball that Terry Collins is firmly in the not-Luis Castillo camp for second base, but there's still a chance he gets Castillo on his roster at second base anyway because Collins has bosses too.

Collins, according to one insider, is trying to limit the drama around the 2011 Mets. And not having Castillo around potentially helps that cause.

Brad Emaus clearly has a backer in J.P. Ricciardi despite the Rule 5 pick's underwhelming Grapefruit League performance so far, so stay tuned.

Scouts say Castillo is winning the job on merit, if only by default -- one member of the Mets' staff recently said that as well -- but that doesn't mean he's ultimately selected.

And one rival executive still believes Castillo won't see Opening Day in Miami. "I think he will be out before spring training ends," the person said.

Meanwhile, the Daily News reports Dan Warthen is the primary advocate for Oliver Perez, who still is likely to be released before Opening Day despite retiring the first batter he faced as a lefty specialist.