* Recipe for fixing the Mets: 1) In between starts, let Johan Santana play first base. He has a higher batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage than Carlos Delgado, and will surely play a better first base. Or use Santana as a pinch hitter. His batting stats are better than Marlon Anderson’s and Endy Chavez’s, and his SLG (.462) is exceeded only by David Wright (.603) and Ryan Church (.463). 2) Give Aaron Heilman his wish and let him become a starter – for the pitching-starved Yankees. 3) Secretly introduce HGH into the dugout watercooler. Players will improve without anyone knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs. 4) If you opt to keep Heilman (and Jorge Sosa), extend the outfield dimensions, at Citi Field as well as Shea Stadium, to 400 feet down the lines and 500 feet in center.

BOB McKENTY

Matawan, N.J.

* Carlos Delgado’s lines in the Mets’ box scores this season have more donuts than Dunkin. His bat is very slow and he leaves too many runners on base. In addition, he has made several mental errors, specifically being doubled off first base on a fly ball to center against Atlanta and not covering first base on a ground ball to second base against Chicago. If the Mets continue to play him, he will cost them many more games and Willie Randolph his job.

BRAD BERKOWITZ

Manhattan

Giam-ed up

* As a Yankees fan, I am concerned and disgusted with Jason Giambi’s performance. Why isn’t he getting called out for how poorly he’s playing? This is the same guy who complained about Alex Rodriguez’s slumps during 2006. Why does this guy keep getting a pass and $23 million? Except for his first two years, he has done nothing with the Yankees, but talked plenty. Why does he get away with it? Because he apologized for juicing? He didn’t even do that. He never admitted it for fear of Yankees trying to void his contract.

JOE BURGIO

Merrick, N.Y.

What a Devil!

* Devils goalie Martin Brodeur is one class act. First, he has an affair with his wife’s sister. Then, he plays an inordinate amount of regular season games in order to pad his individual statistics leaving him worn out in the playoffs at the expense of his team. Finally, he refuses to shake the hand of an opponent after his team loses in the playoffs. You are a true role model, Marty!

MICHAEL McGOVERN

Wantagh, N.Y.

* It seems one of the biggest problems that the Devils have is their fan base. With all the success they have had in recent years, and faced with a series against their biggest rival from across the river, it’s mind boggling that playoff tickets were being sold for individual games and that any tickets were actually available prior to the series. In your wildest imagination, can you see that happening with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden? Home ice became insignificant for the simple reason that the Prudential Center was just as loud for the Rangers as it was for the Devils.

STEVE BORRELLI

Raritan, N.J.

Playing ’21’

* I am a lifetime Yankees fan and this is an expression of disappointment in my fellow Yankees fans’ myopic disapproval of LaTroy Hawkins’ desire to wear number 21, which used to be Paul O’Neill’s. O’Neill’s contribution to the Yankees’ most recent dynasty and status as “The Warrior” are without question. However, before O’Neill, there was Roberto Clemente, a great player and perhaps a greater humanitarian. Hawkins’ desire to wear 21 to pay homage to Clemente is commendable. The recognition of the past athletes who paved the way for today’s athletes does not occur often enough. I wonder what counsel Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada provided Hawkins. Jeter and Posada profess an appreciation of their baseball forefathers. And Posada, like Clemente, is Puerto Rican. Tradition and history do not belong exclusively to our beloved Yankees. Perhaps now would be the time for MLB to retire Clemente’s No. 21, the same honor bestowed upon Jackie Robinson’s No. 42.

DEBORAH BROWN

Hamden, Conn.