It’s nice that manager Carlos Mendoza professed a belief in his players when I asked a couple of days ago whether he’s considered the possibility that this Mets team “just isn’t good enough.”

“I believe in those guys,” Mendoza said.

That’s exactly the right thing to say. But the reality is that this team, as expensive as it is — the $380 million pretax tab puts them behind only the Dodgers — isn’t good enough.

Two underperforming big-market teams — Red Sox and Phillies — are already banking on a tired, clichéd response by firing their managers. But while canning the skipper early may excite the perturbed Mets fanbase, that won’t help these guys. Team honcho David Stearns should be smart enough to know this is his mess, not Mendoza’s.