"Of course we're going to be the frontrunner," he told reporters. "Of course we're going to be the team to beat.

"I don't want there to be a controversy. I don't want the other team to take it personally, or take it in a bad way. But I'm a really competitive guy. I like to win.

"If they ask me, 'Who's going to be the ballclub that will win the National League East?' it'll be the Mets."

"Team to beat" has become a well-known phrase in the Mets-Phillies rivalry. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins first used the words to describe his team before the 2007 season, and Rollins proceeded to win the National League Most Valuable Player award as his team lived up to that proclamation on the final day of the season.

During 2008 spring training, the Mets' Carlos Beltran, usually soft-spoken, declared his club the team to beat. The Mets couldn't quite make Beltran look good, giving up a mid-September divisional lead for the second straight season.

Then Phillies ace Cole Hamels raised the heat during an interview with WFAN on Thursday, referring to the Mets as "choke artists."

Rodriguez's animated mound persona won't differ, he said, even if that contributes to even more tension with the Phillies and other clubs.

"I'm not going to change the way I do my job," he said. "It might give me more adrenaline. In New York, the atmosphere is totally different. In Anaheim, they're more calm. They're really relaxed when they're watching the game.

"The Mets fans, when I was out there three years ago, they made a lot of noise. I tried to draw energy from the crowd. With the energy and all the noise they make, it's going to be a lot more exciting for me on the mound."

That - and the $37 million over three years, of course - explains why New York intrigued him so much.

The 26-year-old gladly discussed the widely held observation that his velocity dropped in 2008. His fastball generally topped out at about 92 mph, one official from a competing club noted, as opposed to 95 or 96.

That velocity will climb back in 2009, Rodriguez vowed. He explained that in order to perfect a changeup that now is widely regarded as a plus pitch, he slowed down his arm speed. Now that he has the changeup mastered, he said, he can amp his arm speed back up on all of his pitches. And with that, he contended, will come the increased velocity.

"It will, no question about it," K-Rod said. "No question at all. This year, I'll work a lot harder and it'll come back a lot stronger than it's been. It's not a problem at all."

Nor will having a former opposing closer, J.J. Putz, set up for him.

"He's a tremendous guy and a tremendous professional," Rodriguez said of Putz. "We'll get our chemistry going. He's going to set up. He's going to be the one to get the ball to me in the ninth inning. They've got to go through him first. That's a one-two punch that I really like.

"When we get to spring training, we'll sit together and establish communication and work together. That's going to be the best for the team. Myself and him, we're not selfish guys. We'll think about what's best for the ballclub. We have one goal: Get to the promised land. That's what we've got."