This should not be read by Gretchen Randolph. The wife of the Mets manager need not know her husband's regard for Shea Stadium. She would do well to remain unaware that her husband doesn't "get all gushy" when he thinks about the end of the ballpark, that he has no fuzzy feelings about the place he works, the place he played as a member of the Mets in 1992.

The place Willie Randolph took Gretchen on their first "legitimate" date.

But that's how the manager feels. He was a Mets fan before he was a Pittsburgh Pirate and then a pivotal figure in all that Yankees winning in the second half of the 1970s and into the '80s. He wears No. 12 as the Mets manager, partially because Kenny Bowell wore 12 as member of the Mets in the late '60s and into the '70s when Randolph was a Brooklyn kid going to games at Shea with his uncle.

Clearly, a place in Randolph's heart exists for the Mets, but, evidently, not for their soon-to-be-replaced place of business. So you'll understand Tuesday when the manager doesn't get all teary during the pregame ceremonies -- the final opening home-game ceremonies for Shea -- his mind will be on the Phillies and Oliver Perez and, no doubt, some payback, too. The arena will be quite secondary.

"I know great things have happened there, and I'm proud to be the Mets manager and I hope we play one more World Series there," Randolph said last month. "But it's just a building. It's the people and what they did there that are important."

Perhaps, had Randolph's teams found greater success at Shea, his feelings would have some fuzz on them. But the Mets' shortfall last year can be attributed to their ordinary performance -- a 41-40 record -- at Shea. And two of the more vexing losses they suffered in the 2006 playoffs, Games 2 and 7, happened at home as well.

"It's not like the place has been my best friend," Randolph said. "Maybe I should be happy we're getting a replacement. That's what everybody wants, right? A new ballpark. You can't be sad about losing one if you're looking to the new one."

He's got a point.

Pitching matchup
NYM: LHP Oliver Perez (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
The Mets seemingly would have been better off had their original plan held and Pedro Martinez was to oppose the Phillies. Perez lost two decisions, won none and produced a 5.40 ERA in three starts against Philadelphia last season. Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins have combined for six home runs in merely 36 combined career at-bats against him. Perez has beaten the Phillies once in eight career starts.

PHI: LHP Jamie Moyer (0-0, 7.36 ERA)
The Mets missed Tom Glavine over the weekend, but now they will be confronted by the same kind of pitching from Moyer, who produced a 1-1 record and a 3.12 ERA in four starts against them last season. Statistics can deceive. Carlos Delgado has a .431 average and seven home runs in 65 career at-bats against Moyer. But he had two singles in 10 at-bats against him last year.

Tidbits
Matt Wise, the losing pitcher Tuesday in his second and most recent appearance, has been unavailable to pitch since then, Randolph said, because of soreness on the top of his right forearm. Randolph said the veteran reliever had been sent to New York on Thursday to have the arm examined via an MRI. The results were negative. ... Randolph also announced that, as expected, Nelson Figueroa will fill the void created by Martinez's absence and start Friday night against the Brewers at Shea. The club had considered using Jorge Sosa and even Tony Armas, currently assigned to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, but Randolph didn't want to use Sosa and thereby upset the bullpen. ... Duaner Sanchez pitched one scoreless inning Sunday for St. Lucie against the Jupiter Hammerheads in Jupiter, Fla. He allowed one hit (a double) with no walks and struck out two. ... The Elias Sports Bureau determined that Angel Pagan had at least one run scored and at least one RBI in each of his first four games for the Mets. He's the first Mets player to score and drive in a run in each of his first four games for the team. The only Mets to do so in three games was Bernard Gilkey in 1996. The last Major League player to score and drive in a run in each of his first four games for a team was Tony Gonzalez, a midseason acquisition for the 1969 Braves.

On the Internet
 MLB.TV
 Gameday Audio
•  Gameday
•  Official game notes

On television
• SNY

On radio
• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español)

Up next
• Wednesday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 3-8, 5.57 in 2007) vs. Phillies (Kyle Kendrick, 1-0, 7.20), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Mets (John Maine, 0-1, 9.00) vs. Phillies (Adam Eaton, 0-0, 3.52), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Mets (John Maine, 0-1, 9.00) vs. Brewers (Manny Parra, 1-0, 3.38), 7:10 p.m. ET