That moment is fast approaching, as tonight the Mets are set to play their 50th game of the season. It will be the final game in the 50-game ban imposed on Guillermo Mota for violating baseball’s steroids policy at the end of last season.

Mota won’t be the only cheat returning to the Shea on Wednesday, as Barry Bonds is expected to get the day off when the Mets host the Giants tonight, but will be back in the lineup tomorrow night.

In The Post today, Mike Vaccaro speculates on the reception that Mota will receive from the Shea Faithful, and examines the hypocrisy of the whole situation. Says Vaccaro:

Now, if Mota comes back to the Mets and he’s missing a yard or two off his fastball, Shea Stadium is going to greet him the same way they did last October, when he surrendered the Game 2 Scott Spiezio blast that turned the NLCS with the Cardinals completely around: they will boo him off the mound, and they’ll do it on merit.

But if it turns out the illicit juice he injected in himself wasn’t a magic potion, if it turns out that he really is the pitcher he was with the Dodgers a few years ago, or the one who thrilled the Mets in small swatches last year, then never will be heard a discouraging word. And the skies won’t be cloudy all day.

Again, there are no rules banning hypocrisy on the back of your game ticket, alongside the rain-check policy. You can do what you want. Just think about all of that when you stand up to boo Bonds.