Mets trying to turn a double play

The Mets enjoyed an extra day off Thursday, while other teams (such as the Yankees) resumed action that night, and Terry Collins capitalized. It gave him a day to work out his team and -- with Francisco Rodriguez just having been jettisoned to Milwaukee -- impart a message to those who remained.

In a team meeting, Collins offered a simple assignment, yet one easier issued than accomplished: Don't worry about the things you can't control.

"When it comes to trades, when it comes to player movement, that's not our jobs," Collins told Newsday.

Saturday at Citi Field, the Mets brilliantly carried out that mission, pounding Cole Hamels and the Phillies, 11-2, despite missing Carlos Beltran with flu-like symptoms.

Beltran figures to be missing long-term by the end of July, what with the non-waivers trade deadline arriving two weeks from Sunday and a clear market existing for the switch-hitting rightfielder. Jose Reyes (left hamstring) and David Wright (back) will both be back by the end of the month, the Mets hope, ideally keeping the club on the periphery of contention regardless of Beltran's whereabouts.

In their quest to regain credibility among their fan base, the Mets must attain a duality that they have failed to do in recent years. On the ground, Collins has to keep his players focus and maximize his resources. And in the front office, Sandy Alderson has to operate without getting handcuffed by the daily yakosphere chatter.

Alderson and his lieutenants are trying to maintain an optimistic front, but they're not fools. The Mets (47-46) need to gain, let's say, five games on National League wild-card leader Atlanta by July 31 to seriously consider keeping Beltran. That's a tough assignment for a team constantly flirting with .500.

So discussions go forward with interested clubs; San Francisco appears the lead dog in the Beltran race, with Atlanta, Philadelphia and possibly Boston also looking for offensive assistance. Relievers Tim Byrdak and Jason Isringhausen also could go.

The 2009 and 2010 Mets also unloaded players, so this will not surprise veterans of the scene. Yet you could argue that Jerry Manuel's final two Mets clubs -- 28-47 and 31-43 after the break in '09 and '10 -- got caught up in the maneuverings above them.

"Even when it's not about you, it becomes this entity that kind of takes over," Jason Bay said.

"You can't worry about what Sandy does, or any of that other stuff," Collins said. "We have jobs to do here. and it's hard -- it's human nature -- when you can't separate your job from the general manager's job, from the manager's job, from the ownership's job, you're going to struggle. You're going to let all of that outside stuff [affect] you."

The Mets' Beltran-less, Reyes-less, Wright-less, Ike Davis-less lineup looked particularly unimposing early Saturday, and when the Script song "Breakeven" (featuring the lyrics "I'm falling to pieces") played during the Mets' batting practice, it seemed apt.

Yet the tide changed when Scott Hairston, inserted because of his strong numbers against Hamels (6-for-17, three homers entering the game), sprinted from second base on a two-out infield pop-up by Daniel Murphy and scored when Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard let the ball drop beside him.

By the time the Mets knocked Hamels out in the fifth, Mets fans were chanting, "Choke! Choke! Choke!" at Philadelphia's decorated lefthander.

The ultra-intense Collins spoke of a desire to see his team compete, so that fans "want to come back to see us play." That task will get increasingly tougher as the front office moves on its mandate.

Good organizations reach this duality, however. Consider it the next goal for these rebuilding, re-energizing Mets.