MLB

Serby’s Sunday Q & A with … Keith, Ron & Bobby O

(
)

The Post’s Steve Serby conducted a four-way chat with 1986 champion Mets and SNY analysts Keith Hernandez, Ron Darling and Bob Ojeda on the eve of the 2011 season.

Q: If there were a Madoff cloud when you played, what would you have said at a players-only team meeting?

Hernandez: I don’t know the pulse of what’s going on in that clubhouse. I don’t even know if it merits a team meeting. Everybody knows what they’ve gotta do — go out there and play. It’s entirely out of their control.

Q: Do you envision the Wilpons having to sell the team?

Hernandez: I don’t have a crystal ball. I’m not a lawyer. I just don’t know how this is all gonna end up. I’m not gonna speculate on anything. I hope things work out for the Wilpons. I’ve known Fred for a long time. I want it to have a happy ending for them.

Darling: I know intellectually it could definitely happen. There’s a part of me that feels as though the Mets and Wilpons will always be together.

Q: Tim McCarver’s opinion that the Madoff mess will affect the broadcasters?

Darling: He’s thrown down the mantel for us. I think that it’s a very delicate situation if you’re talking about anyone’s finances, or anyone’s kids. It’s a very difficult thing. I think what we’ve always done is we’ve handled these situations well.

Hernandez: I don’t understand what he meant by that. We’re gonna call it as we see it. I don’t feel any need to do anything different. Our job is to call the nine innings as we have in the past. To me, it’s totally unrelated.

Q: Do you ever remember expectations being so low?

Hernandez: (Laughs) God . . . shoot . . . there were some teams there in the middle ’90s. . . . It’s been a pretty good run for the Mets since the Valentine Era.

Ojeda: We had some low expectations in Boston that were put on us externally. Internally, we always felt pretty good about ourselves. We had front office/ownership conflict going on in Boston in the early ’80s. From a player’s standpoint, I could care less. I had a job to do. As long as the check showed up on the 15th, I could care less who signed it. With the front office turmoil and low expectations, we still went out there and played pretty good baseball.

Q: Terry Collins?

Ojeda: He let his players know, “I’m the firewall between you and the GM. I’m the firewall between you and a lot of the ire of the fans if that’s gonna come our way.” He went out of his way to talk to each and every guy. . . . Terry’s door is open and his mind is open and his thought process is open. He’s invested in each guy. It would make me feel like, “This manager’s got my back.” . . . I’m a Terry Collins fan. He just seems very legitimate to me. It’s not an act. “Here’s what I think, here’s what I feel, you deal with it.” I like that.

Hernandez: He saw the young players, much like Davey Johnson when he took over, so he had a feel for the talent down there.

. . . He’s been so positive and so energetic, and it’s very apparent he is very focused. He told his players what’s expected of them and they’ve taken to him. I’m thrilled. I’m not just blowing smoke.

. . . I think he’s the right choice. He’s a baseball guy. He lives it. He sleeps it. He breathes it. The negative vibes coming in, I think he overcame it and gave this team a lot of optimism.

Darling: Terry Collins brings an energy I haven’t seen in a manager in a long, long time. His energy has been infectious. He is such a positive person. Maybe in the past there was a little of a dark cloud around occasionally. He really lives in the moment. The clubhouse is always filled with laughter and joking and needling.

Q: Was that the way it was when you broke camp in ’86?

Darling: I think it was there from ’84 and on . . . the players, the coaches, the manager, the writers — everyone was in on the joke. This team, they’re as close as I’ve seen any team I’ve played on.

Q: You’ve noticed a different culture now?

Ojeda: I think there was a lot of entitlement in years past. I think they changed that mentality.

Q: Jose Reyes?

Ojeda: I think he’s gonna have a tremendous year. I’ve never seen him run that hard to first base on routine groundballs in August, never mind in March.

Darling: He’s taken the brakes off. He looks like a 21-year-old wreaking havoc.

Q: Ike Davis: Sophomore slump?

Hernandez: Ike’s a pretty confident kid. I think he’s going to be fine. . . . He’s a dangerous hitter. You make a mistake over the plate and down, he’s going to put a hurt on you. I expect him to hit over 20 home runs.

Darling: I don’t think he’s going to have a sophomore slump. He’s a kid who has an easy, chill kind of personality.

Q: With Johan Santana down and possibly out, what does Mike Pelfrey need to do to become an ace?

Ojeda: If Mike can throw the high fastball by somebody, that’s invigorating. It complements his stuff. It also will be like a shot of adrenaline. High cheese past somebody might take him to the next level.

Darling: He’s going to have to have help. Just because you pencil someone in to hit cleanup doesn’t mean he’s going to be a cleanup hitter. He’s gone through periods where he’s almost unhittable. Can he really bunker down and do it for six months?

Q: Can R.A. Dickey be successful in Year 2 of his renaissance?

Darling: I absolutely think he can. Not only because his stuff is good enough, but his competitive juices are as good as you’ll ever see. He’s going to be a winner the rest of his career. Do I think he’s a 12-to-15 game winner? Absolutely.

Q: Jonathan Niese?

Ojeda: I think he’s got to do some growing up. He needs to really believe in his stuff . . . pitch a little bit angry and worry about getting people out rather than what he’s gonna throw in any situation.

Q: Jason Bay?

Ojeda: I’m expecting a complete bounce-back year. I think the ballpark got in his head. I think he clearly was a little bit lost coming back to the National League.

Darling: You hope he plays 140, 145 games for you. Mentally he’s in a great place. I think he’s going to have a huge (30-HR, 100- RBI) year.

Q: A bounce-back year for Bay helps David Wright immeasurably.

Ojeda: He did it alone last year. He didn’t have protection in that lineup. That’s why his strikeouts went to the moon, because he didn’t want to take those walks. You might see that RBI total go way up. You can’t pitch around him now. . . . I can see from the mound if guys are pressing. I use that against them. That’s what the league did against David last year.

Darling: He’s going to retire as the best offensive player to ever wear a Mets uniform. One thing he’s missing — and he knows it — the back of his baseball card; at some point, he’s got to have a championship. He knows it. The fans know it. He feels the pressure of it.

Q: Citi Field got in Wright’s head in 2009.

Ojeda: It’s an intimidating ballpark when you first see it. He overcame it and then some.

Q: Carlos Beltran in right?

Darling: Right field is the right place for him. Having said that, the most difficult place to play in Citi Field is right field. It’s not like Carlos is getting a break.

Q: Angel Pagan?

Darling: He’s got speed right now that Beltran doesn’t have. And also, Pagan’s ready to take charge.

Q: If things go south, could Reyes or Wright be traded?

Darling: It would be hard for me to see Wright being traded. Reyes is going to be a free agent. If the Mets aren’t an 85-win team, or at least in contention, I can definitely see them restocking the organization with a trade with . . . the Red Sox or Giants . . . teams that can use a dynamic shortstop. People are always talking about getting rid of Reyes — he hasn’t won, Wright hasn’t won — (but) who are you going to replace them with?

Q: The lineup?

Hernandez: It’s a nice, balanced lineup. It’s a lineup that can score and should score a lot of runs. If I’m managing this team, I’d be very happy going forward with this lineup.

Darling: I love the lineup. I think they’re gonna score a ton of runs.

Q: The bullpen?

Darling: One of the most competitive parts of camp was the bullpen. (Francisco) Rodriguez, coming off his thumb injury, is throwing better than I’ve ever seen him throw since coming over from the Angels. The biggest key is who’s gonna replace the games, the innings, the outs of (Pedro) Feliciano?

Q: Biggest concern?

Ojeda: The uncertainty of the guys coming back from injuries. Two-fifths of that rotation (Chris Young and Chris Capuano) are coming back from pretty major surgery.

Hernandez: I’ve always believed pitching is the name of the game. You’ve got some questions in the bullpen, too.

Darling: The health of their best players because the depth is not there.

Q: What intangible trait did the ’86 team have you’d like to see in this one?

Darling: I’d like to see this team develop swagger. I think they have a chip on their shoulder — Terry Collins put it there. There’s a meanness I haven’t seen in a while. They’ve taken some abuse, and they want to deliver some for a change.

Q: Is that something you see?

Darling: I can feel it, just being around them, you can sense that. They want to start answering some good questions, not some bad ones.

Q: What would you say to Mets fans about this team?

Ojeda: I would say expect these guys to play hard, expect these guys to play good baseball, sound baseball — hit cutoff men, not let people take the extra base on them. You’re going to win 54 no matter what, you’re gonna lose 54 no matter what, what you do in the other 54 is going to make or break your season. That’s the reason you play the game. I think they’re going to be a fun ballclub to watch.

Q: If — big if — health is not an overriding issue and the Reyeses and the Bays and the Beltrans, etc. have bounce-back years?

Hernandez: I think this team is going to surprise a lot of people.

Q: Can the Mets be a playoff team?

Darling: I don’t see why they can’t. Eighteen of their first 28 games are against the National League East . . . six against the Phillies. A great first month will put them in great position.