"We're walking on clouds right now," interim manager Jerry Manuel said, "and I'd be surprised if we aren't still walking on clouds tomorrow, as special a day as it's going to be."

Of course, Manuel was here last year on the last Sunday of the season, watching (and cringing) from the dugout. He saw how loud Shea was at 1:10, just as Tom Glavine wound up for his first pitch to Hanley Ramirez.

And how relentlessly funereal it became less than 20 minutes later, after the Marlins had slapped a 7-spot on the board, all but belly-bombing the Mets out of the playoffs.

"It's the greatest day of my career so far," Church said. "I've never played in a game that's this important. I can't wait to get to the ballpark. I can't wait for the game to start."

All around New York this morning hope rises with the sun, one more time, exactly one-year later. The people with tickets have waited for months to say goodbye. Now they can dream that it's only a building they'll be bidding farewell to, instead of a baseball season.

Atlanta Braves News News » Mets get to final game with something at stake
Mets get to final game with something at stake
Ryan Church hadn't often heard the sappy side of Shea Stadium's schizophrenia, the happy half that the old-timers recall with fond smiles. A year ago, as a National, he heard how ugly baseball terror sounds when it tumbles from the grandstand. For much of this year, for much of the past few weeks, he has heard the same harsh chorus, only this time it arrived as friendly fire, the inevitable doom descending when late leads vaporized or hopeful rallies died. MLB roundup --> Serby: Burress owes big apology WR Hixon to start for Giants Mets' Maine back from the DL More from The New York Post