Steve Trachsel has waited six years to get to this moment. When he signed with the Mets as a free agent on Dec. 14, 2000, the team was two months removed from a World Series appearance. He thought he was joining a perennial contender. Instead he’s gone through five years of frustration.

Now, finally the Mets are back in the postseason and Trachsel is in the center of it tonight as the NLCS Game 3 starter for the Mets against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

“It’s kind of like, about time,” Trachsel said Thursday with a smile. “When I first came to New York, they had just been to the World Series in 2000 and that’s the main reason I wanted to come here, and I expected to be in the postseason a number of times already. You know, unfortunately it never happened, but that’s why I’m trying to really enjoy this one as much as possible.”

Trachsel will turn 36 on Halloween, but he had one of his most effective seasons. He went 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA. He benefited from strong run support this season, but Mets manager Willie Randolph said that does not take away from what he’s meant to the Mets this season. He was the starting pitcher in the Mets’ series-clinching Game 3 victory over the Dodgers in the NLDS.

“To me, it doesn’t matter that we score a lot of runs for him,” Randolph said. “I always talk about the fact that we score a lot of runs for him, but he kept us in a lot of games, too. That’s why when it’s time to give him the ball, I don’t hesitate.

“I’ve always admired the way he competes. When he goes out on the mound, he’s a little bit methodical but he gets the job done. And we respond to what he does on the field for us. So he’s been as consistent as anyone on our ballclub and even though he’s had ups and downs like a lot of our staff, he’s always willing to take the ball and go out there and give us what he’s got.”