Which brings me to this next piece I just found in the New York Daily News from last week, as John Harper asked Mets’ ace Santana what he thought of the guys who will follow him in said rotation.  Talk about glass half full.  For kicks, let’s compare what Santana said in the article to what I would say.

OLIVER PEREZ

Johan S: I saw a different Ollie (at minicamp three weeks ago). He’s hungry. He still needs to be Ollie Perez, the guy who has fun, but seeing him very positive, very challenging now, I’m expecting a lot from him. His knee is healthy, too. People don’t know there were times last year he wasn’t even able to walk on it.

Mikey J: If Omar Minaya backed up a Brinks truck to the East River and shoveled out $36 million into the water, we would say he was crazy, right?  Giving that amount to Ollie P over three years was stupid, so apparently Minaya would rather be stupid than crazy.

MIKE PELFREY

Johan S: He’s got the stuff to be great. Man, if I had his stuff, oh, my God. That sinker that he throws at 95, it’s unbelievable. It’s a matter of consistency and being more mature, and I really believe he’s a more mature pitcher after feeling like he had to step in for me (late) last season.

Mikey J: Um, Big Pelf had a very average season, and he didn’t step into anything.  And dude just couldn’t stop licking himself.  No guy who wants to aspire to even be the temporary #1 pitcher gets the “yips” and balks three times in an inning.  Oh wait, there’s Rick Ankiel.  Anyway, if Johan really did have Pelfrey’s stuff, he would be saying “oh my God!” for real.

JOHN MAINE

Johan S: Being pain-free makes all the difference. That thing in his shoulder, he couldn’t pitch with it. He’s got the stuff and he’s got the mentality, and now he’s healthy again.

Mikey J: Hearing John Maine is “healthy again” is like hearing that Brett Favre is “ready to retire” from the NFL.  But Maine will give us a quality 75 to 150 innings before spending August and September on the DL again.

Thanks, Johan.  We are glad you are optimistic and look forward to you being one of the team’s few bright spots.  And we thank you for not wanting to go back to Minnesota just yet.

Between his “we-don’t-have-an-edge” comments to Fox sports.com, which Minaya insists were misinterpreted, and Oliver Perez making him look silly for investing $36 million in the lefthander over the winter, the Mets’ GM has set himself up for some public grilling if his team doesn’t gets its act together.

Indeed, where last year the bull’s-eye was on Willie Randolph’s chest at the first sign of trouble, Minaya surely has to be held most responsible if this season goes bad for the Mets.

It would be interesting to see what would really happen if things fall apart for the Mets. It’s well known how much the Wilpons love Omar, but would that keep them from replacing him if the Mets fail to deliver again?

Minaya did recant the comments he made to Fox and said that Rosenthal misinterpreted him, but it rings hollow.

Harper also draws a comparison to the 1986 Mets and how much different their clubhouse was as compared to the current climate.

You hate to always go back to the ’86 Mets, but in this case it’s hard not to. Imagine if Carlos Beltran was on that ballclub and he essentially cost his team a win because he didn’t slide at home, as was the case in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago.

I’d put the over/under at five on the number of players on that team who would have told him he better not let it happen again, whether he’s leading the league in hitting or not.

On this team? I asked a Mets player privately over the weekend if anyone had said a word to Beltran about it, and he shook his head in a “what-are-you-gonna-do?” kind of way.

Harper nails it on the head. This is exactly what I’m talking about when I say the Mets need some leadership in the clubhouse. Some might say having a captain wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans, but I disagree.

Maybe if the Mets had a captain, it would lead to a circle of leadership where nobody would have felt out of place to confront Carlos Beltran about not sliding, or Jose Reyes for not laying down a sacrifice bunt.

Not only that, but when you’re a leader you usually try harder and make better decisions and improve your fundamentals simply because you don’t want to look bad. It can become contagious.

Having someone sport a “C” on their chest will not translate directly into more wins. What it would do is transform the current malaise into a wining attitude, better fundamentals and a renewed focus, and those are the things that can put more games into the win column.