It’s always nice to say something that hasn’t been said before, but it’s getting tougher. I did say last time that things for the Mets could only get better and surely, not too many people were saying THAT, not after having been swept by the Dodgers, not after having lost a game to a dummy missing a bag, not after seeing a bunch of errors at shortstop, and not after deciding to play a bad left fielder at first base.

But I figured things could only get better. The shortstop would get more comfortable, the bad left fielder could be better at first base, and guys like Sheffield, if they were to heat up, could provide just enough scoring to beat Boston at least once before going out to Washington and Florida, especially if the pitching held up.

The pitching did hold up too, especially that first guy in the rotation, none other than Johan Santana. He was a monster in that series opener, and there was no better moment than seeing him stare down and then shout down the ugly brute Youkilis after hitting him with a pitch. That was the moment things started to turn around.

Everything seemed easier after that. After hitting Youkilis, Santana struck out dangerous Jason Bay swinging for the third out. In the sixth he endured still another throwing error by Martinez and in the seventh he was superb, striking out Ortiz once again and fanning Youkilis, just in case there was any doubt who was tougher that day.

And the toughness seemed to carry into Game 2 as well. Pelfrey matched zeroes with Beckett after navigating a tough first inning, and when Papelbon came out for the ninth, it appeared that this game would be lost, despite our local boys’ best efforts. Sheffield managed to draw a walk but then Papelbon struck out Wright and Reed, and it looked to be all over but the shoutin’.

But it was not to be. Omir Santos showed that he could hit a fastball, driving a 97-mile offering over the fence and the Mets incredibly had the lead. And J.J. Putz closed it out. No problem.

Even the third game could have gone the Metsies way, as Wakefield was terrible and Redding wasn’t too bad. But Mets reliever Stokes was awful and the game became a rout. But the Mets could be happy, relatively speaking, because things could have been so much worse.

The Mets had survived. Then they managed to take the first game from the Nationals behind Sheffield, who’s hitting about .400 since taking over at the cleanup spot for Delgado. This game went more or less according to plan, from a pitching standpoint anyway, as Maine and the Mets survived some shaky pitching from Parnell. Putz and the incredibly reliable Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.

Is it possible that this team plays better when it’s pressed? It sure would seem that way. And that’s a good thing, keeping in mind the failures from the past. Now they may have one more huge problem to overcome though, that being the possible problems Beltran may experience with his knee. He’s having an MRI done today.

Losing Beltran for any extended period of time would be a killer though, especially if nobody else is able to come back, especially Reyes. The Mets could do nicely without Church, very nicely actually, and without Schneider too. And Sheffield has so far at least been able to spell Delgado in the lineup while Daniel Murphy has been great so far spelling him in the field.

But the Mets are running out of bodies, and there is no body that will spell Beltran, for Beltran does everything for this team, big hitting from both sides of the plate, smooth fielding, opportune running….everything, including leadership.

Although the media types would have you believe this is Wright’s team, that’s arrant nonsense. The real leader, if this team needs a leader, is Beltran, not that he really tries to lead. He just does almost everything the right way, the complete baseball player. When Wright is striking out with runners on base, Beltran keeps hitting. When Wright throws another ball away, Beltran just keeps making all the plays.

Not that I want to pick on Wright, quite the opposite! Wright’s great, a great team guy, a guy who plays hard all the time. There’s nobody I’d rather have as my third baseman. But he’s no Beltran and that’s no knock. Nobody is. What Wright is is an Anglo, and everybody from their own management to the media wants desperately to believe that an Anglo is the leader. And if he’s not, they will work to make things look that way.

To David’s credit, he does nothing to perpetuate the nonsense. When questioned, he says all the right things, but I’ve never heard Wright say he’s the leader. I’ve heard the idiots on ESPN say it, even Jerry Manuel has said it, but none of the players has signed up for Wright’s team.

Without Beltran, all bets are off….even if Fernando Martinez, the Mets great minor-leaguer, performs like the future star he is likely to be, I have to believe that he won’t have the same impact as would a missing Beltran, number 3 on your lineup card and pencilled in as the centerfielder and stolen base leader, speaking from a percentage basis.

But anything’s possible when you have pitching. Look at San Diego. They’ve won something like 10 in a row with just about nobody to fear in their lineup. Yeah, they have Adrian Gonzales and Brian Giles and then mostly nothing. But they do have Peavy and Young at the top of their rotation, supplemented by three talented youngsters. And they do have Heath Bell and Cla Meredith and some other nice relievers.

So let’s root for Maine and Pelfrey, Livan and Redding. Let’s look forward to good outings from K-Rod and Putz, Green and Feliciano.

And hope for at least one Carlos.