Such is the conflicting, confusing atmosphere that continues to surround the prized free agent.

The Beltran derby is likely winding down to its final 48 hours. Even Beltran's mother, Carmen, confirmed yesterday that she believes her son will "make a decision by the end of the week."

If the Astros are indeed the favorites, they are favorites of the oddest variety. If they don't sign Beltran by midnight tomorrow, they lose negotiating rights. And the Astros continue to insist privately that they have not met Scott Boras' publicly stated baseline of $112 million over seven years — and probably will not.

"The timetable is getting short for Houston," Astros president Tal Smith said yesterday.

But if a short timetable is bad for Houston, it's a positive for the Mets. Omar Minaya's club remains a strong player, and while Boras told the Post in yesterday's editions that five teams had met the agent's starting point of seven years and $112 million, the Mets remain the only known entity to have approached that financial stratosphere. An executive for an AL team believes the Mets have reached at least $112 million.

Meanwhile, participants in the negotiations continue to worry that George Steinbrenner is going to order an 11th-hour strike. However, there have still been no overt indications the Yankees are making offers.

One AL executive said that it would be the strongest sign yet that the Yankees have really hit their payroll limit if they stay out of bidding for an elite player who could go to the Mets. Of course, a long-held Yankee strategy has been to try to get their main competitors to overpay for players. So do not expect them to publicly back out of the Beltran stakes because to do so could lower the price for the Mets.

In another interesting revelation that could favor the Mets, Houston GM Tim Purpura said yesterday the Astros will not increase the bid.

"We've let Scott know that the offer you have on the table is the extent of our willingness to proceed," said Purpura, who plans to talk to Boras again today. Interestingly, Beltran's sister, Marie, came to the door of the family's house yesterday in Puerto Rico wearing an Astros T-shirt bearing her brother's name and number.

Could Houston owner Drayton McLane relent and go to $112 million? One source familiar with his thinking said: "They have a new TV contract in which they're going to start getting $25-million plus in '06. That will put him in a totally different situation than he's been in [financially]. And there is tremendous pressure on him in Houston to get this deal done. So he might jump outside his traditional box because this is a guy who really acquiesces to public pressure."

The Cubs, too, have interest in Beltran but are not sure if they can be a player financially.

Additional reporting by Brian Costello.