A few years ago, right after another failed attempt the Mets to get Manny Ramirez, Yankee general manager Brain Cashman joked with reporters that he was willing to toss in a few prospects if it meant getting Ramirez out of the division.

Mets GM Omar Minaya should check with Cashman to see if the offer still stands.

With the Red Sox possibly looking to move the perennial All-Star, now is the time for Minaya to strike and bring the Washington Heights native back to the city to finish his career. It’s obvious the Mets need and outfielder – and some bullpen help as well – and the 36 year-old fills the bill nicely. He will slot right into the middle of the lineup, taking the pressure away from Carlos Delgado – who will cool down eventually – while allowing Carlos Beltran to assume the role he is better suited – a very talented secondary option, where the weight of the team is not his shoulders.

Ramirez will make the Mets a complete lineup which can go toe-to-toe with the Phillies nine on any given night and will give the team the extra runs, so the bullpen meltdowns are kept to a minimum. Even at this advanced age, the slugging outfielder becomes the most feared hitter the Mets have had in the lineup since Mike Piazza terrorized the Senior Circuit in 1999 and 2000.

More importantly, if Minaya is able to acquire Ramirez, New York not only becomes the favorite in the National League, but a serious World Series contender. No matter how well they are playing right now, the Mets are still a very flawed club, which will be lucky to play in October.

Sure there are a number of risks. Although he tried a number of winters ago, the Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein won’t just give Ramirez away and the Mets, after emptying the farm to get Johan Santana, don’t have a lot to offer. The Sox, though, might be happy just to get rid of Ramirez and may take top prospect outfielder Fernando Martinez, who the organization kept in the minors despite an outfield drought and a few lower ceiling players. Ramirez is a 5-and-10 man, so he can veto any trade, but it’s thought he will gladly accept a trade to his home town.

Minaya may also have to pick up his option for next season, but with Moises Alou coming off the books and if Delgado’s option get’s declined, Ramirez is already paid for in 2009 as the Mets open up Citi Field. Speaking of the new edifice, trotting out Ramirez everyday is a great way to get the fannies in the seats, even at the top dollar prices the Mets plan to charge.

Of course, there’s always the problem of Manny being Manny, which is why the Sox is trying to send him out of town. Over the years Boston seemed to ignore his eccentric behavior in favor of production at the plate. This could be a concern in 2009, but right after a trade, Ramirez, like most players, will be on his best behavior as he gets acclimated to his new surroundings. And if it doesn’t take, the Mets can part ways with the slugger after next season. And if it works out, the Mets still have a club option, keeping Ramirez in Flushing through 2010.

The clock is ticking though. A trade like this is tough to do at the deadline and it can easily fall though. Yet Minaya needs to pull the trigger is the gun is loaded. Fernando Tatis and Delgado won’t keep hitting like they have the rest of the season and a high quality left fielder is needed, especially with Ryan Church’s status still up in the air.

Ramirez fills the bill and then some. If he’s available, bring him to Queens.

Go get him, Omar.

Six games in a row will calm any clubhouse but this is not about the streak, it’s about how it happened. Manuel’s methods have transformed the Mets from an underachieving club to one with a sense of purpose and direction once again.

That was no easy task either. When Willie Randolph was in the manager’s office, the team seemed to become a 25 limo organization. Players weren’t tight with each other and as we saw in the last month of the Randolph regime, they started to turn on each other as well.

Billy Wagner criticized Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. David Wright went into a shell and Jose Reyes forgot how to play baseball. All the while Randolph sat there and did nothing to provide a spark to his team. Instead, the erstwhile manager acted like a baseball Nero and fiddled while Shea burned.

It got so bad the Mets couldn’t even fire Randolph the right way. Although the midnight massacre in Anaheim didn’t sit well with the media and the fans back in New York, the result from the Jun. 17 is shaping up as the best decision the organization has made in a very long time.

Manuel seems to be the right man for the job.

First, the 54 year-old won over the media. With his southern drawl and folksy demeanor, Manuel is able to defuse any situation tossed at him. Many times the tough questions are met with a quick joke, usually at his own expense and then his great laugh takes over, which makes everyone in the old Jet locker room just smile.

What he does with the scribes and the talking heads is only part of his job. Manuel has also won over the players, which seemed impossible with this group. Already having a relationship with them as bench coach, the new manager is took it to a different level. He’s approachable, out in the clubhouse and the players respond to his hands on approach. Much like Tom Renney is with the New York Rangers, Manuel treats the players like men and not like someone paid to be their boss.

And when things go wrong, Manuel is there to take care of the problems. The manager has called for stretching and fundamental drills twice during his first three weeks. First after a bad loss against the Mariners, he has the pitchers doing Spring Training exercises the next day and then last Tuesday, he had the team work on a few things after the Phillies came back the night before, even though the Mets held on to win.

Yet, Manuel does it in a professional way where it works.

When he took the job, Manuel was thought to be a Randolph clone, who was too laid back for the rigors of New York. That’s also been proven wrong. He was tossed twice from games in situations where Randolph would never have gotten the thumb and he seems to stick to his convictions, especially if his players are in the right. He defended Carlos Beltran when Brian Runge’s strike zone seemed to be a little too big and took a bump from the umpire, causing an apology – and Runge’s eventual one game suspension – the next day and then on Monday, Manuel got tossed again when Ryan Howard’s fan interfered ball was overruled as a home run.

It’s foolish for a manager to go out looking for the thumb, but there are times where an early shower is warranted, which is something Randolph never learned.

But Manuel seems to have benefitted from his past experiences. His six years as the manager of the White Sox seem to have prepared him for this job and he has gone on record saying he matured as a manager from that experience.

And as New York is seeing now, it’s paying off on the field in Queens.

Some things about the game, Carlos Beltran is back on his first day, Carlos Delgado is back and Johan Santana is pitching.

It will be interesting to see how they perform.

I will have more later when I get to talk to the players.

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To top it off, Carlos Beltran lofts a ball in from the outfield which gave Miguel Olivo a triple and ultimately scoring the tying run off Aaron Heilman.

Only a poor performance by the Marlins ‘pen gave the Mets this game.

More bad news: Shawn Green broke his foot fouling a ball off of it in the fifth. He will be on crutches and Carlos Gomez will play the rest of the series in right.

Good news: El Duque looked strong with six innings of two hit ball. It seemed like the month off actually helped. Pedro Martinez also addressed the media in Florida saying the rehab is going well and when starts throwing off the mound in June, his fastball will be in the mid-90s.