Blame Bernie Madoff. Had it not been for him, maybe the Mets would have been less budget conscious and more like their recession-be-damned neighbors, the Yankees. Maybe they would have gone all-in and, in addition to building a gold-plated bullpen, added some pop to a lineup in dire need of something.

Maybe they would have signed Manny Ramirez.

The company that owns the Mets, Sterling Securities, was among Madoff's many victims. CNBC reported that Mets owner Fred Wilpon and his partner, Saul Katz, could have lost as much as $300 million.

The Mets never publicly said so, but those losses could have been the primary reason the team decided to spend whatever it took to fix the team's most glaring weakness - the bullpen - and nary a dime on Ramirez in an effort to address another flaw: the inability to get clutch hits.

There seemed to be a lot of sentiment in the dugout for signing the then free agent. manager Jerry Manuel called Ramirez a "historic" hitter and said he'd be "excited" to manage him every day.

Of course, that was mitigated by the undercurrent that follows Ramirez everywhere, the buzz that he's not a great teammate, that he's selfish, that Manny-being-Manny is not good for the locker room. Here's what Manuel said to that: "I don't have a problem with people that produce in the form and fashion that Manny Ramirez produces. We don't spend, shouldn't spend that much time in the locker room, anyway."

But it didn't happen, and right now (yes, it's amazingly early in the season), it looks as if it was a mistake.

Ramirez instead signed with the Dodgers and he's been all of Manny-being-Manny. He's hitting .340 with 10 RBIs and 13 runs scored. But more than numbers, he's been a major catalyst to L.A.'s 10-4 start, highlighted by a eight-game win streak.

The Mets, meanwhile, are 6-7. And their biggest flaw thus far has been their inability to get the key hit. They're fourth in the majors in on-base percentage, yet 21st in runs scored.

And they're batting .235 with runners in scoring position.

The Mets lineup is more than respectable, with Jose Reyes, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. On paper, it's almost down-right dangerous. But it has not produced when it matters most.

Imagine it with Ramirez in place of Murphy. The youngster is off to a soild start - .375 BA and 5 RBIs. But he's no Manny Ramirez. His bat strikes fear in no one.

Manny's does. He's a game-changer. His presence makes the hair stand up on the back of a pitcher's neck and brings outfielders to full attention.

With Bonds gone, Ramirez may now be the most feared hitter in baseball.

And the Mets could have had him. Should have. And probably would have.

Were it not for Bernie.

AP photographs