Somehow, I doubt Paul Lo Duca is losing any sleep over being edged out of the voting race for the starting catcher position for next week’s All-Star Game by Russell Martin. I get the feeling the Met’s backstop (both on and off the field) could use the day off.

 Besides taking more than his share of foul balls off the foot, bruised fingers off curveballs in the dirt, and slumps at the plate, the Mets catcher never seems to escape the brunt of the New York sports media-frenzy.

Last year it was a disgusting tabloid peak into Paul’s personal life, thrusting his off-the-field relationships in the public eye and provoking many to snuff their nose at Lo Duca.

This year, in addition to a few altercations with opponents and umpires, Lo Duca is stuck having to explain himself again, this time for almost being categorized as a racist as a result of a poor choice of words about his teammates’ proficiency to speak english.

Yikes. I think it’s time to give the man some space.

It’s true that Lo Duca puts himself into many of these situations by being the unabashed, hard nosed, inconspicuous leader in the clubhouse. Lo Duca will never duck as few questions as he does inside fastballs, and is always accessible and congenial to the media. For that he should be rewarded, not chastised.

If the rest of the Mets clubhouse, who know Lo Duca as well as anyone, knew Paul’s intentions well enough to not have a problem with the catcher’s comments, then maybe it’s time to drop this non-story.

Perhaps Lo Duca proved his point with his media boycott, even if he doesn’t hold out for the rest of the season. When Paulie doesn’t speak, the off the field stories become a lot more mundane.

Let’s celebrate the Mets catcher for what he is, not make a caricature out of him. The gritty, personable backstop of the Mets has been nothing but the backbone of this team since his arrival. Maybe the fact that his words could be misinterpreted is more of a red flag to the subject of the questions.

Paulie, enjoy your All-Star break. I hope we are back on speaking terms again soon.