PHILADELPHIA -- When the Mets invited Lastings Milledge to join the Major League team three weeks ago, they told the outfielder it would be an opportunity, one that would allow the top prospect to showcase his talents at the highest level.

It turns out, Milledge's time in the Major Leagues has also become quite the learning experience.

The 21-year-old's education continued Thursday as Milledge was taken aside by Mets coaches and veterans after reporting late for a game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Milledge missed a bus from the team's hotel and arrived at 11:55 a.m. ET, 70 minutes before the scheduled first pitch.

The incident followed a lapse in Wednesday's game, when Milledge was addressed in the dugout by manager Willie Randolph following a perceived lack of hustle. Milledge did not score from first base on a two-out, pinch-hit double by Julio Franco in the seventh inning, and Randolph said he believed Milledge had not run hard on contact.

Mets general manager Omar Minaya said he was not disappointed with Milledge's on-field performance on Wednesday or his tardy arrival on Thursday, saying that such actions are not uncommon among inexperienced players.

"He's here to learn," Minaya said. "The reason things are happening is because every young player goes through these things. There's not a young player who doesn't go through this.

"When we decided to bring him up here, it was because we wanted him to learn. We kept him in Spring Training because we wanted him to learn. All we're doing is speeding up the learning curve so he can be a complete player."

Milledge was not in Thursday's lineup, with Eli Marrero making his first start for the Mets in left field. Milledge said he "kind of had a feeling" he would not be playing Thursday, and said that the earlier start had served as a "lesson in preparation."

"Day games usually are the tougher days," Milledge said. "The same thing happens every day game. It doesn't take much to get going for a day game with it being hot or everything like that. It's not hard to get up and get physically ready for a game. Plus, you don't have much time anyway to go to the field and prepare like you have for a 7 o'clock game."

The team's message was delivered in part by coach Sandy Alomar, who said he spoke to Milledge after his late arrival; an entrance met with curious stares from some players.

There was no official report time listed for Thursday's game and the Mets did not take batting practice, though several players acknowledged the proper course of action is always to find timely transportation.

"As a young player, I guess the rule of thumb is to beat the bus here," David Wright said.

Randolph said he would allow Milledge the benefit of the doubt in this singular instance.

"I'm not going to call him on it because he didn't know," Randolph said. "No one read him the rules. He came up in the middle of the season. Maybe he didn't know when there's no BP, what time to get here."

Alomar said his conversation with Milledge went beyond simply catching the bus, or even catching the ball. The Mets have been happy to see Milledge show that he is capable of handling competition at the Major League level, but, as Alomar acknowledges, the game extends beyond the playing field.

"I just gave him a lot of advice about what this life is all about," Alomar said. "I didn't jump at him. I just gave him advice. ... I explained to him the difference between superstars and the guy who doesn't have knowledge. The superstars always try to get something out of the other team to take advantage of. That's the difference between the superstar and the average player.

"You don't want them to pin a label on anybody. When you pin a label on, you carry it for a long time."

Milledge said that adjusting to life in the spotlight has been a heady task.

"That's most of it," Milledge said. "Handling interviews and stuff I've been doing ever since I was 12 and in the [Little League] World Series. It's no different, but now it's more consistent. It's every day, every play, is crucial. You've got to answer to it every day. That's the difference, and I'm learning how to deal with it."

In the Mets' viewpoint, the extra attention is not unwarranted, nor has it been unexpected.

"He's a young kid who's a very talented kid," Minaya said, "and when you're young and talented, everything you do is going to be highlighted. Because he's talented, people are going to look at that. ... He understands that."

Before the Philadelphia series, Milledge had other situations that could be construed as learning experiences.

After his Major League debut on May 30, Randolph told Milledge he should do away with a large four-inch wooden cross that had hung around the outfielder's neck, and Milledge celebrated his first Major League home run on June 4 by slapping hands with fans as he trotted out to right field in an extra-inning game against the Giants.

"Oh boy," Cliff Floyd recalled, thinking that day. "He has a little growing up to do."

Floyd is one of the Mets veterans who, along with Randolph's staff, have tried to help Milledge along in his first few weeks at the Major League level. Milledge has been described as a receptive, eager learner by Randolph and coaches, but the experience remains new.

"I never had to deal with any teaching, really," Milledge said. "I pretty much played the game well enough where people would just leave me alone.

"But here, with everything being so crucial, [there are] certain things I've got to know and I'm going to have to work on."