No cold shoulder for Ollie; he'll make his start

PHILADELPHIA - Blame it on the cold. That was how pitching coach Dan Warthen explained Wednesday's meltdown by Oliver Perez, who held on to his rotation spot long enough to take his scheduled turn Monday night in Cincinnati.

Perez had his worst outing of the season in Game 2 of the doubleheader, but Hisanori Takahashi bailed him out. On a windy night, with a first-pitch temperature of 50 degrees, Perez allowed three runs and walked four before Jerry Manuel pulled him with two outs in the fourth.

Afterward, the ugly performance raised questions about Perez's job security, but Manuel chose to stick with him. Warthen also was confident Sunday that Perez would improve Monday night. The forecast calls for a balmy 80 degrees at Great American Ball Park.

"The cold weather messed him up badly," Warthen said. "He's a warm-weather guy. When it's cold like that, he has no chance with his grip on the pitches. Coming out of the bullpen that night, the ball was squirting out of his hand like a watermelon seed."

Perez admitted he's not a big fan of the cold. On Wednesday, he ducked into the clubhouse between innings to put on heating pads and keep his hands warm. He also had to wear long sleeves, which he also is not comfortable with.

Warthen insisted that Perez is fine from a mechanical standpoint and the two watched video this week from 2008 to confirm the analysis. "We're happy with it," Warthen said.

Extra bases

The Mets announced that a limited number of tickets for the Subway Series matchup against the Yankees at Citi Field (May 21-23) go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. at Mets.com, LosMets.com and by phone at 718-507-TIXX.