PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : Gooden, Sheffield Finally Get the Meeting They’ve Awaited

They would lay awake at night in the bedroom they shared, talking of this day.

Now, all of Tampa Bay, Fla., is talking about it.

This is the series that Padre third baseman Gary Sheffield and his uncle, New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden, have anticipated. For the first time in their professional baseball careers, their teams will meet.

Most importantly, they’ll be facing one another Tuesday night at Shea Stadium when Gooden is scheduled to start the second game of a three-game series.

“We’ve been looking forward to this day for a long, long time,” Sheffield said. “Ever since we were kids, we talked about this. Our parents talked about it. Our relatives talked about this. Even our grandparents.

“Everybody wants to see who’ll get the better of the other.

“It’s going to be special.”

They’ve met once before, in 1985, when Sheffield was a junior at Hillsborough High and Gooden already was an established star. It was an alumni game. Sheffield, who also pitched for Hillsborough, gave up a homer to his famous uncle. Gooden gave up a single to Sheffield.

“That’s the last time we faced each other,” Gooden said. “I don’t even throw batting practice to him over the winter. That game didn’t count anyway.

“This is for bragging rights.”

Said Sheffield: “You better believe it. This is the real thing. We’ll probably face each other a lot during our careers now, but the first time will always be remembered. This is the big one.”

For the occasion, Sheffield’s parents, grandparents and two daughters will be at the game. Sheffield’s children, ages 6 and 5, might be young, but he says they already understand the significance of the occasion.

“The whole family wants Dwight to win the game,” Sheffield said, “but I think they’d like me to get a hit off him, too. I know they don’t want to see me striking out, and they don’t want him losing either.”

Any idea what pitching repertoire he expects to see from Gooden?

“He just says he’s going to come inside with the fastball,” Sheffield said. “I told him I don’t believe him. I said, ‘A lot of guys try to get in there, but few do.’

“I’m going to try to go deep.

“Man, would that be something.”

Padre reliever Larry Andersen, who actually is digressing in his recovery, will have his bruised right forearm examined today by a hand specialist in New York City to determine if the injury is worse than feared.

“It’s getting worse,” said Andersen, who awoke with swelling Sunday. “I think maybe there’s nerve damage or something in there. It shouldn’t feel like this.”

Andersen, who has not pitched since April 27, tried to pitch on the side Saturday night before the game but was unable to throw his fastball without severe pain.

Padre first baseman Fred McGriff, who owns a .600 batting average (nine for 15) with three homers and seven RBIs against Phillies starter Terry Mulholland, nearly found himself in the Padre record book Sunday.

He hit a two-run homer and went three for three in his first three at-bats against Mulholland, extending his streak to seven consecutive hits while reaching base eight consecutive times. But McGriff struck out in the eighth inning, ending his chance at tying Dave Winfield’s 1979 club record of eight consecutive hits, and failing to share the record of reaching base nine times in a row by Tony Gwynn and Bip Roberts in 1989.