Mets rookie Milledge shouldn't tone down his act

	Lastings Milledge has made a strong impression during his short stint with the Mets. AP
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Lastings Milledge had better not turn into Nuke LaLoosh.

The Mets took off on a three-city swing on Sunday, promising to win some games and bring their rookie back an official major leaguer. Which could be good. Or could be desperately sad.

Milledge was called up last week, when right-fielder Xavier Nady had an emergency appendectomy. Milledge boarded a twice-delayed flight to Queens, raced into Shea Stadium 75 minutes before what would be his major league debut and immediately injected some spice into an already flavorful clubhouse.

He was candid and talkative, and his uncensored streams of consciousness were appealing. He said he wanted the perfectly placed shortstop who caught his first line drive to drop it. He said he prayed he wouldn't fall down while he was legging out his first career hit. He said Tom Glavine congratulating him was "the greatest moment of my life," and he oozed charm the whole time.

Even the Mets got into it. Reliever Heath Bell, Milledge's teammate earlier in the year at Triple A Norfolk, told stories about Milledge's resourcefulness, like when he lit toilet paper in a coffee can to warm the Tides' dugout and subvert a space-heaters ban. Pedro Martinez, who the day before had held court on the unattractiveness of his buddy Manny Ramirez's latest hairstyle, approved of Milledge's tightly lined -- and unique -- braids.

The rookie had his own style, he wasn't trying to hide it, and nobody minded. Until Sunday, when he chose not to ignore the fans hugging the first base line. Milledge's solo home run had just tied up a game with the Giants in the bottom of 10th inning. When he jogged back onto the field for the top of the 11th, he figured all those hands leaning over the railing were meant to be slapped.

Manager Willie Randolph evenly told him that may not have been the greatest idea, but by the time the Giants had won the game in 12 innings, Milledge was officially in the midst of high-fivegate. "I just wanted to let the fans know they're the reason I keep going every day," he nervously explained. "I didn't try to show anybody up."

Veteran left fielder Cliff Floyd rolled his Louis Vuitton carry-on past Milledge -- who had, incidentally, used a cardboard box to carry his clothes into the clubhouse that morning -- and smirked. "Oh, we're going to have fun with him," the resident clubhouse warden said.