New York ? Cliff Floyd is chatting on a cell phone as he cruises through the New York Mets’ clubhouse. He plops down at his locker, a massive man in a meager chair, and stares straight ahead at a stack of bats.

Moments later, he snaps the phone shut – no more time for distractions. For the first time in years, he can focus on baseball, just baseball, and that’s a relief.

“I think the most important thing for me is to stay mellow,” Floyd said. “It’s all coming around for me.”

With a healthy body and a level swing, the oft-injured outfielder finally sounds satisfied these days, though never complacent. The subject of trade rumors all winter, he’s been the best everyday player on a much-improved team, and his easy smile shows just how much he’s enjoying it.

With 21 homers and 53 RBIs, Floyd has carried the Mets at times this season with clutch hits and hustling defense.

He homered twice in a 2-0 victory over St. Louis. He hit two more in a rout of the Yankees. And he robbed Jason Michaels of a two-run shot in a 3-2 win against Philadelphia.

“He certainly has been putting on some kind of show this year,” Marlins manager Jack McKeon said.

Still, Floyd was deprived of an All-Star spot Sunday (costing him a $50,000 bonus) because the National League is loaded with power-hitting outfielders. Never one to hide his feelings, he didn’t protest, didn’t blame anyone, just handled the oversight with grace.

New York mets' Cliff Floyd hits a solo home run against the Washington Nationals in this April file photo. Floyd didn't land a spot on the All-Star team this season, despite 21 home runs and 53 RBIs through Monday.

“Players with better stats than mine have been left off the All-Star team,” he said.

He wasn’t always so modest. In 2001, he had a huge first half for Florida and was outraged when then-Mets manager Bobby Valentine left him off the NL roster.

Floyd claimed Valentine had told him he would make the team, prompting the slugger to buy $16,000 worth of plane tickets for family and friends.

Valentine eventually selected Floyd as an injury replacement, leading to a reconciliation. But maybe the feud made an impact, because this time the left fielder was all class.

That’s been the case all year in the Mets’ clubhouse, where the 32-year-old Floyd clowns around with buddy Mike Cameron and still draws plenty of respect from teammates young and old.

“I think he feels good about being responsible, being the guy in the middle of our lineup that we depend on,” manager Willie Randolph said.

That’s what the Mets were looking for when they signed Floyd to a $26 million, four-year contract in 2002. But his first two seasons in New York were cut short by injury, a common theme throughout his career.

He’s been healthy this year, though. And, by the way, there’s no secret formula behind his first half.

“You just play smart, you know when to bust it,” Floyd said. “I’m happy that my body is coming around for me.”

His bat has come around, too. After hitting only 18 homers in each of his first two seasons with the Mets, Floyd has been so dangerous at the plate that pitchers are routinely brushing him back or working around him to face Mike Piazza.

“Hitting after him, I’m starting to get an inferiority complex,” Piazza said recently. “He’s just a monster right now.”

New general manager Omar Minaya lured Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran to the new-look Mets, but right now it appears one of his best moves was simply keeping Floyd.

“I knew going in that if we were going to win some games and be somewhat successful,” Randolph said, “we needed him to really be a step-up guy.”