MLB

Capuano gamble may bail out Mets

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PORT ST. LUCIE — When all bets are off, every roll of the dice is vital.

That is why a bullpen session yesterday by lefty Chris Capuano, a week before pitchers and catchers are officially due to set up shop for the Mets, was important.

If the Mets have any chance of being relevant, they will need Capuano, 32, to be a successful starter again, the kind of starter who won 18 games for the Brewers back in 2005.

With each pitch to catcher Josh Thole it was clear why the Mets’ dumpster-diving, new management team took a chance on Capuano. His pitches were exact. There was thought and execution behind them.

You could say Capuano is the anti-Ollie Perez. He’s a step ahead of Perez, who opted not to come to voluntary camp this week.

“Chris has great action on his changeup; I just love how he moves the ball around,” said Thole, who arrived yesterday. “He uses his sinker to both sides of the plate. He’s a very precise guy; that helps. And I feel Citi Field is going to play to his advantage. He’s a fly-ball pitcher. He’s a guy that’s been there.”

Watching the session was Capuano’s dad, Frank, who came down from Springfield, Mass., to spend a week in the sun with his son. Chris has a degree in economics from Duke. Frank is a financial planner who was a one-time college shortstop coached by Art Ditmar, who pitched in three World Series for the Yankees.

Frank filmed the session on his smart phone so Chris could later check out his delivery. That tells you something about Capuano’s sense of preparation.

“The power to analyze the game and the situation is, I think, an asset, intelligence is an asset,” the lefty said, noting that Chris Young and R.A. Dickey bring a similar approach to pitching.

With a degree in economics, Capuano can offer insight on a variety of subjects, everything from where the country is headed to the Madoff Ponzi scheme that has the Mets owners in such a bind.

As for the country, he said, “You can’t argue with the comeback right now. People are worried about the fallout from the [financial] bailout and the debt we are in as a country, but so far so good. We’re almost two years into this bear market and we can expect to see it go another six months to a year and a half. I’m cautiously optimistic, I guess.”

Regarding the Madoff mess, he said, “It’s hard to believe it went on as long as it did. It’s tough. A lot of smart people didn’t know what was going on for a long time.”

Capuano, who has a one-year deal worth $1.5 million with incentives, is a conservative investor.

“As baseball players, it’s kind of a burst-earnings type of profession; the average big-league career is four years,” he said. “You have to plan on any money you make now has to last you.”

Capuano said he is healthy again and that makes him confident. His first Tommy John surgery was in 2002; his second in 2008.

“I’m three years removed from that surgery, I feel really good,” said Capuano, who pitched 105 2/3 innings in the majors and minors in 2010. “This is my first spring training in Florida, so I wanted to come early and put my best foot forward.”

Said Mets manager Terry Collins, “I love the way he’s throwing the ball. Everything is down.”

Capuano always has been a confident pitcher. The Diamondbacks wanted him to skip his senior year at Duke, but Capuano wanted the full college experience and graduated with his class.

“Duke is such a pretty campus,” he said. “My best memory is being on that west campus where Cameron [Indoor Stadium] is and the Duke Chapel. They have a lot of really beautiful gothic architecture, beautiful quads and stuff. Just being on the campus made you want to learn. It almost made you feel smarter.”

The Mets will need to see the best and brightest of Capuano to have a chance.

kevin.kernan@nypost.com