Multiple sources with knowledge of the process told The Post yesterday that indications are the Mets have begun -— or will soon begin —- secret talks with the Reyes camp in hopes of reaching agreement in the coming weeks on a new contract with the All-Star shortstop.

– Mike Puma, N.Y. Post.

OK first of all, how much knowledge of the process could these multiple sources possibly have if they don’t know if the secret talks have even begun? I mean, I suppose it’s pretty impressive that they’re aware of the clandestine conversations at all, though.

But seriously, some secret.

I take it that in this context, “secret” actually means “something none of us is all that eager to blab to the media about because none of us feels like suffering a whole lot of nonsense while we endeavor a complicated contract negotiation in which we may not ultimately come to an agreement.”

Or maybe they’re legit secret meetings conducted in some musty underground hideaway, Skull-and-Bones style, and Sandy Alderson and the Greenbergs wear purple cloaks and paddle each other while reciting lines from Moneyball in Latin. In that case, good job by Puma for infiltrating.

Anyway, it certainly makes sense for the Mets to try to negotiate with Reyes before he hits the open market. It makes less sense for Reyes and his camp, but presumably his agents won’t accept much less than what they believe to be fair market value for the player. Plus there’s something to be said for capitalizing on Reyes’ outstanding first half while they can.

I mentioned Baseball Prospectus’ playoff odds yesterday. They’re a fun way to keep the season in perspective, and they seem particularly valuable this time of year when assessing a team’s best approach to the trade deadline.

Anyway, the cool thing about the Mets’ playoff odds is they’ve slowly been going up over the past month or so. The not-as-cool thing is they’re still pretty long: 2.8 percent as of this morning.

What struck me today is that, if you’re looking to contextualize what a 2.8 percent chance looks like, it’s not terribly far off the chances of hitting any one number on an American roulette wheel. Technically 2.8 percent is about a 1 in 36 chance and hitting a 7 on a roulette wheel would be 1 in 38, but, well, close enough for jazz.

Of course, a roulette wheel is (in theory, at least) entirely random and the remainder of the baseball season is not, so it’s not a perfect comp.

Sandy Alderson was pigeonholed early in his administration as a risk-averse executive who would strongly reject the idea of a mega-contract for any player, but specifically an injury-prone one such as Jose Reyes, who did not have the Mets’ general manager’s favorite asset: elite on-base percentage.

Alderson warned not to stereotype him, and that decisions would be based on information absorbed during the season.

We should have listened….

Translation: Alderson has learned to admire what Reyes does to such a degree that neither a minor hamstring injury nor the lack of elite on-base skills is dimming his ardor to keep the shortstop.

– Joel Sherman, N.Y. Post.

Oh what a story! Heartless, robotic, spreadsheet-crunching GM comes to town hellbent on trading a team’s lovable homegrown star shortstop, only to be won over by all the player’s intangibles in an effervescent, MVP-caliber first half. It reads like the treatment for Moneyball 2: Revenge of the Guys Without Manboobs.

Unless… unless… What if Sandy Alderson knew from the beginning of his tenure with the Mets that there is more than one tool with which to assess a baseball player? And what if talk of the Mets’ inevitable fire sale was overblown from the beginning?

Crazy. What kind of story is that?

Jose Reyes tweaked something in his left hamstring yesterday, which you probably know. From the very early reports, it doesn’t sound like it’s terribly severe, but then it almost never does from the early reports. So we’ll all sit here holding our breath and crossing our fingers until we know more, or until we see Reyes back on the field and healthy. Ruben Tejada is starting at shortstop today, with Angel Pagan leading off.

In less important and lighter news, Reyes was elected to start at shortstop for the National League All-Star Team, and Carlos Beltran made the squad as a reserve. The All-Star Game is a silly pageant, and though I’ve taken to blustering over individual selections in the past, it’s a bit of a fool’s errand. Due to the whims of the selection process, every year there are going to be several players left off the rosters better than several players included on them. It’s an exhibition.

The good news is that those of us who begrudgingly watch the All-Star Game will get to see that much more of Reyes and Beltran playing baseball this year (assuming they play). Plus it’s nice for them to get recognition — and bonuses — for the seasons they’re having.

On a completely unrelated note, the SNY Why Guys make the case that Bobby Parnell should take over as closer if the Mets deal Francisco Rodriguez before the deadline. I have maintained that the Mets should shop Rodriguez regardless of their situation in the standings to try to avoid getting saddled with his vesting option in 2012, but I’m not sure I’ve ever considered whom they should choose to close out games in his stead.

I think a case could be made for a couple different guys currently pitching in the Mets’ bullpen, but I won’t make any of them because I’m interested to see what you think. I only included active pitchers here, though if and when Taylor Buchholz returns he deserves consideration as well:

[poll id=”27″]