"In one way, Gary Sheffield looked exactly the same way on Friday night as he did in 1997, when the most prolific slugger ever to wear a Florida Marlins uniform closed down October puffing on a World Series victory cigar.

It was the haircut that was so familiar, cropped close, just the way Sheff likes it and just the way he got it after taking a break during Friday's pre-game workout to hunt down his old Marlins barber, Hugo Tandron, in a room over by the Florida clubhouse.

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"I've been on the go ever since coming over (from Detroit to the New York Mets)," said Sheffield, who shockingly was cut at the end of spring training and spent four days as a free agent. "I haven't really had time to stop. I knew I was gonna get it done as soon as I got here."

Same old Sheff, a creature of habit, with two hours logged on Friday afternoon lifting weights and chasing fly balls before most of the other Mets showed up at Dolphin Stadium for what turned out to be a dramatic 5-4 Florida victory.

There are some other habits, however, that will take a lot of getting used to for a player with 499 home runs and nine All-Star appearances.

Sheffield wasn't in New York's starting lineup Friday for the first of three weekend games against the Marlins. He sat on opening day, too, ending a streak of 20 seasons that was the longest among active players.

"I know I'm not the marquee guy any more," said Sheffield, who is 40 and playing on his eighth major-league team. "I just have to play my role and do the best I can."

In Detroit, that role was to take his trademark tornado cuts as a designated hitter. Last season, though, his production dropped to 19 homers, 57 RBI and a .225 batting average.

Those are Jeremy Hermida numbers, but the Marlins aren't on the hook for $14 million with Hermida, the way the Tigers still are with Sheffield, even after cutting him loose with the stated purpose of "creating more versatility" in the lineup.

The Mets got Sheffield for a song and were smart to do so, providing he keeps his cool about playing on a limited basis. New York manager Jerry Manuel hasn't used him in right field yet and probably won't, he said, until Wednesday's home game with San Diego, the eighth game of the season."