MET NOTES

An industry source confirmed yesterday that the Mets are one of several teams pursuing Kevin Millwood, the Phillies’ free-agent righthander who is one of the top starters on the market.

Speculation has been that Millwood (14-12, 4.01 ERA) would be too costly for the Mets, but the market for him may be narrowing. In fact, two clubs that were prime suitors – the Phillies and Red Sox – may be moving in other directions. The Phillies traded for Minnesota’s Eric Milton yesterday, while Boston already has added Curt Schilling.

The Braves are still considered the favorites to land Millwood.

* Former Met manager Bobby Valentine addressed this year’s Mike Piazza-to-first-base fiasco yesterday and said Piazza should shoulder some of the blame.

“I think Mike has as much a part of that situation as anyone,” Valentine told WFAN. “There should not have been any surprise to Mike that somebody had a thought – whether it was [the media], the fans, the owners, the coaches or his teammates or all of the above – that Mike was eventually going to play first base. That should not have been a surprise.”