Wisdom paying off for Amazin’s

WASHINGTON— Anyone can gain experience if you hang around long enough.

Gaining wisdom is a much different story. That means you’ve learned something along theway.

The Mets are different than in past years. There is some wisdom around the ballpark. They’ve learned something along theway.

They must keep learning as the grind begins. The Mets have games scheduled for each of the next 12 days, beginning with Wednesday’s matchup against the Nationals at Nationals Park when reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom goes against Jordan Zimmermann. Changing the culture was one of the goals this spring and that is why a veteran like Michael Cuddyer was signed. Here is the mission statement of the offense, delivered by Cuddyer: “Believe in your offense. Believe in your abilities. Comeup with big hits and we were able to do that in Game 1. It’s only one game, but it’s still nice to be able to go out there and win it. Wewere able to persevere.’’

As much as the Mets like to look for magic formulas to find success, it’s really about wisely persevering.

The same could be said for the bullpen, which already is undergoing a severe test one game into the season.

A year ago in the first series against the Nationals, the Mets lost all three games with the likes of Jose Valverde and Kyle Farnsworth pitching key innings out of the bullpen.

Thisyear, the Mets lost their closer Jenrry Mejia to elbow pain and stiffness but they had enough to get by with Carlos Torres, Jeurys Familia, Jerry Blevins and Buddy Carlyle. Mejia is on the disabled list so Familia and Rafael Montero will have evenmore important roles.

Despite the injuries, the Mets have too many good young arms to get caught short out of the bullpen again. They’ve gained some wisdom on that front. While they still need veteran arms like Torres and Carlyle, they added a key reliever in Blevins, one of three Mets relievers to earn a hold on Opening Day. Acquiring him from the Nationals just before the season was a wise move by general manager Sandy Alderson.

There was no panic when Mejia came up with the elbow issue. In years past, such a blow on Opening Day would have sent the Mets over the edge because they would have had to rely on dead arms like Valverde and Farnsworth. Alderson has done a much better job of building a bullpen this year.

As for the offense, don’t overlook the impact Lucas Duda continues to have. Itwas Duda who came up with the big hit, a tworun single, against Max Scherzer.

Cuddyer, who haswon a batting title, sees the special value in Duda.

“He’s a good hitter,’’ Cuddyer said. “He’s not just a guy who hit 30homeruns, he’s a good hitter. He knows how to get those runs in and has a knack for that.’’

Duda told The Post back in the first week of February that last season was not a fluke and he expected to have an even bigger year this year. He is off to a productive start.

By having Cuddyer hit behind Duda in the fourth spot, the Mets are trying to force other teams to pitch to Duda in those situations. It worked to perfection on Opening Day. Manager Terry Collins is grouping his best hitters at the top of the lineup, almost like a Little League team. That is why he had Curtis Granderson leading off, David Wright batting second, followed by Duda and Cuddyer.

Collins & Co. have gained some wisdom along theway.

The bullpen is the big test. Collins promised Montero, one of his young arms, will be used in a vital role. That’s a good move. It’s so much better to rely on a young pitcher who is on his way than turning the ball over to washedup veterans like years past.

Remember, it’s about wisdom, not experience.