MET NOTES

ST. LOUIS – Tomorrow night the Mets and Yankees will open the Subway Series at Shea Stadium. Willie Randolph would rather be opening something else.

“To be honest, we’d rather not play these games really, to tell you the truth,” the Met manager said yesterday. “But the fact that we have to play ’em . . . might as well have fun with it. Might as well win it, and then move on.”

Randolph said he’s not in favor of the Subway Series “because they’re not in our league.”

He added that “I prefer to play teams in my league and teams that we’re going to see. And for me, interleague play has been good for a while, but it’s just run its course for me, that’s all.”

In the six games that the Mets and Yankees played last season, Randolph went 3-3 in his first season as Met manager. The Mets won two out of three at Yankee Stadium, while the Yanks took two of three at Shea.

Randolph, though, did say yesterday that, “I’m really looking forward to it this year. It’s always nice when both teams are doing well. I think that’s really what makes a rivalry anyway, so it should be a lot of fun.”

Randolph played 13 seasons for the Yankees, then spent a year in their front office as assistant GM and 11 years as a coach in The Bronx.

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Brian Bannister is set to make his first rehab start for Norfolk today. Bannister has been on the DL since April 28 with a strained right hamstring.

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Cliff Floyd started again last night, even with lefty Mark Mulder on the mound for the Cardinals. Floyd entered last night’s game hitting .095 (2-for-21) against southpaws this season. Then again, he was only batting .228 against righties.

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The Mets entered last night with more pitching strikeouts (316) than any team in baseball.