Now it is Beltran’s turn to back up his words

Jimmy Rollins called his shot last year. He proclaimed his Phillies as the team to beat, even though they had not won the division in 14 years. Talk about walking the walk: The Phillies won the NL East, and Rollins took home the MVP as a shortstop with 30 home runs, 20 triples, 38 doubles, 41 stolen bases and 212 hits.

For all that Rollins did -- and said -- the Phillies’ playoff berth would not have been possible without a historic collapse from the Mets, who became the first team in major league history to blow a lead of seven games with 17 to play. Yet, when the Mets opened camp this spring, the soft-spoken Carlos Beltran uttered this declaration: “To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat.”

If the Mets are the team to beat, Beltran had better be in the MVP race, because without him the Phillies and Braves have better lineups. Johan Santana doesn’t bat, David Wright can’t do it alone, Carlos Delgado is 35 with a bad hip and Moises Alou is 41 and on the disabled list already, so Beltran had better not have fewer extra-base hits than Rollins again.