With the very slow start to the year, the blaming finger is already pointing towards Jerry Manuel.

Met fans seam to think that Manuel is on thin ice, if the club doesn’t turn things around he may be shown the door.

Last year Jerry Manuel was blamed for making a few very questionable calls. And this year, it seams like part of the club doesn’t have his back.

So how long should the Mets give Jerry?

I think the Mets should give him at least until the end of May, maybe he can get a shot to turn things around with Carlos Beltran in the lineup.

Lets face it, the Mets are not a great team. And if you want to beat the Phillies. Marlins and Braves for the NL East you need to have a good team.

You can’t blame Jerry Manuel for the lack of talent the Mets had to open the year. Even with Jose Reyes the Mets have a lot of holes in there team.

In the lineup the Mets have a very weak center fielder with Beltran out and first base has been really ugly to watch in the lineup as Mike Jacobs was hitting .208 before the Mets sent him away.

Now, if you give Jerry Manuel until the end of May, you may see him with a lot more talent as Ike Davis is coming up to the bigs smoking hot from AAA and spring training and Carlos Beltran may be back in a few weeks.

I am not trying to take all the blame off Jerry Manuel, if he does not have many friends on the roster then he is to blame. But we need to remember, this is baseball- not football or basketball. The manager does not make that much of a difference.

So lets give Jerry Manuel a little air, and not blame him for the Mets not playing 100%.

We all know the Mets need to make changes after a disporting 2009 season, and that is why we need to be open to all ideas of change.

That is why I look at the Tigers and see a possible answer for the Mets, how about this offer: Carlos Beltran for Curtis Granderson And Joel Zumaya.

Yes, I know it sounds crazy at first. But hear me out and read my article. It may change your mind.

I know what you are thinking, Carlos Beltran is one of the best players on our team. Why would you trade him for a player that is not as good as him?

Well, I have three reasons why I think this is a good idea.

1. Getting younger is always good. Carlos Beltran is 33 years old, that means he is past his prime and on his way to being another Carlos Delgado very soon. Curtis Granderson is 28 years old, on the right side of 30 and Joel Zumaya is 25 years old- still young.

2. I do not think getting one new free agent is going to make the team the best in the NL East, to get more free agents you need money $$$. Beltran is making $18,622,809 a year for the next two years.

Yes, the Mets will need to pay part of his salary, But not all of it. Let’s say the Mets need to pay $10,000,000 (and I am over doing it), $8,000,000is a lot of money that would help the Mets get players like John Lackey and Matt Holiday.

3. The Mets need bullpen help, Joel Zumaya may be a cheep, but good answer.

4. Carlos Beltran has had injury problems with the Mets, why take the risk with him this year?

Curtis Granderson is a great player whom the Tigers are looking to trade. This is the Mets’ shot at becoming a better team.

If the Mets do not want to be the same 92-loss team they will need to chnge a lot this offseason.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Carlos Beltran. He is the best center fielder of our time. But a new time is starting and the Mets need to adjust.

Another thing that is not helping Beltran’s case is that most people think about one play when they think off Carlos Beltran. And that was striking out looking in the 9th inning of game seven of the NLCS in 2006.

Please let me know what you think by commenting about this article.

Two excellent columnists just came out with seemingly opposite takes on Carlos Beltrans’ season.

Lupica: Beltran is New York baseball’s biggest offensive disappointment calls Beltran

“the biggest offensive disappointment in town, as much of an underproducer as any big name or big ticket or big player either New York team has.”

Tim Marchman’s Mets Have Problems, but Beltran Isn’t One of Them writes

“Beltran is having yet another superb season … Even on a bad day, Beltran doesn’t rate in the top 50 [of the Mets problems].”

And yet Lupica and Marchman seem to agree on most essential points. Lupica concedes that Beltran

“has a world of talent, hits from both sides of the plate, is a good teammate, runs down balls in the outfield with grace.”

Marchman concedes

“Beltran isn’t, true, having the kind of season he had two years ago.”

They agree on the most basic points:

1. Beltran is generally underrated, as he is far more valuable than his triple crown stats indicate
2. Beltran is not performing up to his previously established levels

Marchman makes a strong case that even guys like Lupica grossly underestimate Beltran’s contributions through defense, baserunning, etc.

But Marchman really understates Beltran’s underperformance this year. He compares Beltran’s stats to the average center fielder. His limited concession that Beltran’s stats are worse than his 2006 stats grossly understates the truth. Beltran had a 911 OPS his last full season in KC, then 901 in KC, 926 in Houston, and had an (obviously unmaintainable) 1591 postseason OPS. He’s at 818 this year. Other than his injured 2005 season, this is the 31 year old’s worst year, by far, since 2000.

So while you have to concede some of Marchman’s points, that even in his off year Beltran is a damn good player, he’s wrong for disagreeing with Lupica’s column. The Mets put a good chunk of their budget into Beltran’s contract. Beltran’s performance is far better than the average center fielder’s, but far worse than the expectations for Beltran. Yes, the Mets have plenty of problems, some of them bigger than Beltran. But Beltran is New York baseball’s biggest offensive disappointment, and if he can return to his career numbers he will greatly help the Mets’ pennant quest.