“I know the situation. I’ve seen my name in the paper.”DENNIS COOK

PORT ST. LUCIE — Dennis Cook’s wife, Tammy, waited at the doctor’s office in Austin, Texas, Thursday morning with one of her triplets, Makenzie, when her cell phone rang. On the other end of the line was her husband.

“Oh, my God, have you been traded?” she said.

Now, Dennis Cook is a polite man, raised down near Galveston, in good ol’ Dickinson, Texas. So his reaction was, “Not even a hello.”

The Cooks have not been traded yet. That day, Dennis had gotten out of practice early due to rain and was calling to check in on his family.

But Tammy’s reaction was understandable. If the 37-year-old Cook is dealt, while only his name will appear in the “Transactions” section of the agate pages, don’t be fooled. A whole family will be on the move.

A family made up of triplets — Asher Cade, Dawson and Makenzie — who all turned two yesterday. In the paper it might look as easy as a Fantasy League deal. But for the Cooks, it’s a fantasy along the lines of a nightmare.

“It’s definitely disappointing because they don’t see him in the plans,” Tammy said.

GM Steve Phillips — not one to divulge trade information — said yesterday, “I’m not motivated to move Dennis.”

Phillips did add that if the right deal comes along he would listen.

Tammy has a baseball mind too, though. She sounded like Peter Gammons the other day on the phone, saying, “Johnny [Franco] is going to be the set-up guy now.”

Plus, the Mets picked up cheaper left-handed relievers, Jesse Orosco and Rich Rodriguez. Cook at $2.45 million this year and $2.1 million next is the one who is most likely to exit.

So Cook is resigned to knowing that he could be someplace else soon.

“I know the situation,” Dennis said. “I’ve seen my name in the paper.”

The Cooks don’t want to go. They like spending the season in New York, but if Phillips is going to make a trade, sooner is better.

“Most definitely,” said Tammy, who has been married to Dennis for eight years.

Dennis, like his wife, understands the business. He knows Phillips is only going to make a trade when he can receive maximum value. Cook respects that.

“I hope they do it in a timely fashion, though,” said Dennis, who this season plans to throw a split-finger again to go along with his slider and fastball, as he did when he started games.

The logistical problem the Cooks have is that Tammy, the triplets and their nanny, Terri King, are scheduled to arrive here in camp Friday.

Now, if you have a child or if you’ve ever been on a plane with a child, remember how hard that was. Then times it by three.

So if Dennis is traded in that time, Tammy, Asher Cade, Dawson, Makenzie and King will go back to Austin.

So the Cooks wait, and they wait, and then they wait some more.

“I think the later in camp it goes the more uncertainty there is,” Dennis said.

Cook knows about moving around as he has played major-league ball in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Cleveland (twice), the White Sox, Texas and Florida.

“Dennis has been traded so many times, I definitely expect it,” said Tammy, who added she is happy she became “a baseball wife” instead of a physical therapist, which is what she was headed to do upon graduating from the University of Texas in ’92.

Her husband is a durable Texan. In a 14-season career, he has never been on the disabled list. He finished last season at 10-5 with a 3.86 ERA and three saves.

In the playoffs, he has pitched six innings and not allowed a run. With his Game 3 victory, he helped the Marlins win the World Series in ’97. That is one of the reasons the Cooks want to stay in the New York: They enjoy winning.

“I’d like to stay in New York,” said Tammy. “The team’s going to be fabulous.”

At worst, Tammy would like a trade to go down before late April or early May, that is when the triplettes, the nanny, and she are planning to go up to Manhattan.

Cook doesn’t plan on speaking with Phillips because he doesn’t want to leave the wrong impression.

“I’m not going to be pestering him and have him think I want him to trade me,” Dennis said.

So do his teammates. Reliever Turk Wendell walked by the other day as Cook was being interviewed and said, “You’re still here?”

A little humor during a situation most, if not all, players’ families go through. For Dennis and Tammy, it’s times three.