PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Beltran did his part to add fuel to the ongoing Mets-Phillies war of words today by saying he hopes the Amazin’s “kill” Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels every time the teams play this summer. Beltran, who famously (and wrongly) declared the Mets the team to beat in the NL East last spring, was reacting to Hamels’ recent description of the Mets as “choke artists” after their consecutive September collapses.

“Well, you know, he made a comment,” Beltran said of Hamels upon arriving in camp this morning. “The only thing that I know is that he will be watched every time he faces us and hopefully we kill him. And then he’ll have to deal with the situation.”

Never ends, does it?