DOWN THE LINE

Three Days in ...

Philadelphia

Ask us, baseball could use more like Lastings Milledge, who was talked into feeling shame for celebrating with fans midgame last Sunday.

Good for him, he’d changed his mind by the next time reporters talked to him, and declared he’d do things his way. So far, he’s saving the New York Mets from injuries and ailments that have touched fellow outfielders Xavier Nady and Cliff Floyd; he’s batting .300, getting big hits and showing everybody what fun looks like.

Said Manager Willie Randolph: “I’m not going to jump on the wagon and start calling him the next Willie Mays or anything, but yeah, I’m impressed.”

The Mets are getting healthier, Orlando Hernandez might save the bottom of their rotation, and there’s a good chance General Manager Omar Minaya will upgrade between now and July 31, the trading deadline.

The Phillies have their own issues in the starting rotation, where their earned-run average is worse than everyone’s but the Cubs’. The bullpen has the best ERA in baseball, however, and Ryan Howard is producing enough runs -- 22 homers, 54 runs batted in -- to cover some of the pitching frailties.

The probables:

Tuesday: Tom Glavine vs. Ryan Madson.

Wednesday: Hernandez vs. Brett Myers.

Thursday: Steve Trachsel vs. Cory Lidle.

A Few Minutes With ...

Todd Greene

Among the most celebrated prospects to come out of the Angels organization, Todd Greene turned 35 last month. Since being released hours before opening day in 2000, he has played for five teams in the big leagues, none for very long.

“I was supposed to be really good,” said Greene, who this year is with the San Francisco Giants. “To accept that sometimes is difficult, but when I was a kid, I wanted to be a major league baseball player. I didn’t have dreams to be a superstar.”

He has three children, a good job, and few regrets. Along the way, he also has become a pretty decent caller of games. As former Angels instructor Mick Billmeyer said, “He’s good with the fingers.”

Greene smiled at the irony.

“I learned that by watching, by not playing,” he said.

Mike Matheny’s concussion is cutting into his bench time, though, and Greene is hitting .375.

Use the Door ...

Luke

Luke Hochevar has a new front office with which to negotiate, if not yet a new team, having been drafted first overall by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday.

He has, however, lost a best friend, and maybe the extra million or so will be worth that.

Eli Iorg, the son of former big leaguer Garth Iorg, is an outfielder for the Class-A Lexington Legends and was a teammate of Hochevar at Tennessee, where they were co-captains.

Eli Iorg said last week that he resented Hochevar for orchestrating the on-again, off-again negotiations that eventually led to the Dodgers withdrawing their $2.98-million offer and sending him into the arms of the Royals.

Hochevar was in the Iorgs’ home when he switched agents for several hours in September and agreed to sign with the Dodgers. After rejoining agent Scott Boras, he disputed the Iorgs’

eyewitness accounts of that

evening.

“He dragged my family into it,” Iorg said. “I can’t forget that.”

Iorg has moved on to a new best buddy; he’s rooming with Roger Clemens’ son Koby.

Hochevar said he’d probably be happier in Kansas City anyway, telling the Kansas City Star, “I grew up on a farm. I’m not too up to date with all the fashion and stuff. I don’t know if I’d fit in too well in L.A.”

One More Thing From ...

Joe Torre

As the Yankees prepared to play host to the Red Sox for four games at Yankee Stadium last week, a series that began with a half game separating the longtime rivals: “It’s still going to be a nuthouse. But it’s our nuthouse.”

*

-- Tim Brown