MET NOTES

With Rickey Henderson given his unconditional release, the first Met to get a crack at replacing him in left and leading off is Joe McEwing, and you’d be hard-pressed to find two more different players and personalities.

In fact, you could call McEwing the anti-Rickey.

Henderson is baseball’s all-time steals leader and earmarked for the Hall of Fame after 21 big-league seasons. The 27-year-old McEwing was a rookie last year for St. Louis. And while Henderson’s prodigious talent was often overshadowed by his lack of hustle, McEwing has earned his way into the big leagues by going all-out, all the time, a trait manager Bobby Valentine hopes to see more of.

“He gives you [hustle]. He has a nice look about him. It could possibly be contagious,” Valentine said. “He really charged [Kevin Millar’s] ball in the first inning to keep a runner from scoring. It was a big play that inning. He plays hard the whole game.”

With two on and nobody out in the first, McEwing charged Millar’s single to left and came up throwing to hold Mark Kotsay at third; starter Mike Hampton then pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam. And in the sixth, McEwing stroked an RBI double down the left-field line for the game’s first run.

“I just want to be a piece of the puzzle. I want to be prepared for whatever they want me to do,” McEwing said. “I just enjoy putting on a major-league uniform. I love to play this game and compete against the best players in the world. Whatever the situation I’m in, I want to be the best professional I can be.”

The Mets replaced Henderson on the roster by calling up first baseman Mark Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .303 with seven homers, 17 runs scored and 25 RBIs.

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Bobby Jones, who has been on the disabled list since April 17 with a strained right calf, is expected to make his return to the rotation against the Rockies Thursday night. After an off-day today, Rick Reed (3-1, 3.49 ERA) opens the Colorado series against ex-Met Masato Yoshii (1-4, 5.40) tomorrow night. Al Leiter (4-0, 3.40) starts against Rolando Arrojo (1-3, 8.63) Wednesday night.