MLB

Mets’ Dickey sharp in first start as rich man

JUPITER, Fla. — R.A. Dickey walked to the mound for the first time as a made man yesterday and discovered he still had the mentality of a two-bit gangster.

You mess with R.A. Dickey, you still get a knuckle sandwich.

“There was no sense of entitlement — which I was happy about,” the knuckleballer said after allowing one run over three innings against the Cardinals in his first spring appearance since signing a two-year contract worth $7.8 million with the Mets. “I didn’t take anything for granted. When I got out there, I was ready to compete, and it was fun.”

PROSPECTS COUNTDOWN

Dickey, who has both job and financial security for the first time in his career, admitted he had wondered in recent weeks if his competitive drive would suffer after getting the new contract. But yesterday, he retired the first seven batters he faced, struck out Albert Pujols twice, and resembled the same pitcher who finished 11-9 with a 2.84 ERA last season.

“I really didn’t know how the contract or the security of having a spot in the rotation would affect me between the lines,” Dickey said. “I guessed. But today I was pleasantly surprised that it was very competitive. I did anticipate that I would go out there and throw some backdoor cutters and slower knuckleballs to work on, but when I got out there, I just wanted to win.”

The Mets lost 3-2 at Roger Dean Stadium, but can feel comfortable about the performances they have received from their starting pitchers in this first week. Jenrry Mejia, Chris Young, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and Dickey all have been sharp, but the streak will be threatened today when Oliver Perez starts against the Cardinals.

For Dickey, yesterday also was about trying to get on the same page with manager Terry Collins.

“As much as Terry saw me in the minors, he didn’t see me consistently, and so to give him a presentation to what he can expect is a big deal,” Dickey said. “There is a relationship there I tried to build with Jerry [Manuel] when he was in place of how deep can I go in games? What’s the communication like?

“Today was a big step in that direction of [Collins] being able to trust me. That if I say I can keep going, I can. If I say I’m done, I’m done. Today was a step in that direction with him.”

But Collins, who saw Dickey pitch at Triple-A Buffalo over the first 11⁄2 months of last season, said he already knows what to expect from the right-hander.

“He showed me all I needed to see last year,” said Collins, who served as Mets minor league field coordinator in 2010. “I saw him one night, he pitched a nine-inning complete game, a four-hitter, and gave up one run. He didn’t have to show me anything, he just had to get his work done.”

Dickey struck out Pujols to end both the first and third innings, but wasn’t ready to say he owns the three-time NL MVP.

“I wouldn’t go that far — at least not on the record,” Dickey said. “Albert is Albert. You’ve just got to really lock down and try to really execute, and I was able to do it.”

mpuma@nypost.com