One thing I will say. Citi Field did lack some energy on Monday. Maybe people were sightseeing, buying tacos or playing wiffle ball, but it could have been a little louder. I know there are 10,000 less seats in the new building, but does it make that much of a difference -- especially with the ballpark totally enclosed. We'll see what happens tonight.

As for tonight, Gary Sheffield is supposed to start in rightfield, and that is going to be an adventure. The Mets just lost two games on dropped fly balls -- Daniel Murphy on Sunday, Ryan Church on Monday -- and now they're sacrificing defense to get Sheffield's bat in the lineup. This just seems too forced for me.

Church is batting .423 (11-for-26) with six doubles and a .500 on-base percentage. Murphy is hitting .290 (9-for-31) with a home run and three RBI. Is it worth lifting one of these guys -- against a righthanded starter -- for Sheffield? He'll need a monster night at the plate to justify it. And if Sheffield struggles offensively, he won't be with the Mets for very long. They'll let him get his 500th homer in a Mets uniform and then release him.

Oliver Perez was really the only Met to get booed during Monday's pregame introductions -- even Luis Castillo got more of a mixed reaction. But Perez can switch those to cheers in a hurry with a solid performance tonight against the Padres. I have no idea what to predict here. Perez is impossible to read. Since he flopped last time out, maybe this winds up being a seven-inning, two run, eight strikeout night. Or maybe not.

One parting thought on the Lastings Milledge demotion. Back in spring training, Milledge complained that the Mets' veterans got on him too much for not showing up early. He claimed that he knew what it took to be prepared every night and he didn't need to be in the clubhouse as early as everyone else. Apparently he was wrong on that one.

Newstex ID: ND-2376-34157620