Those Mets

AND THE METS WIN IT

CASTILLO PLAYS HERO IN NINTH

Luis Castillo got a momentary jolt of joy Tuesday night when he delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Mets' 6-5 comeback victory over the Marlins. But that feeling was fleeting because Castillo is stuck in a job he doesn't want - reserve.Castillo, the Mets' deposed second baseman, is still dealing with the sting of losing his starting role earlier this month to 20-year-old Ruben Tejada and aches for the chance to get back in the lineup."I'm in a hard situation here," Castillo said.The Mets are eager to find out what they have in Tejada and are overlooking Tejada's weak offense - he's 1-for-32 (.031) since being made the primary second baseman - to evaluate him. At the same time, they harbor wild hopes that their playoff dreams aren't completely dashed, though if they seriously thought they could make up ground in the wildcard race - they were eight back of Philadelphia entering play Tuesday night - Castillo might still be starting. The Mets could use better offense.Asked before the game how things were going, Castillo replied, "Not good, man. I don't play so much. I like to play. It's hard sometimes when you've played every day for 14 years and things change so quick. I hope I can play more and try to do better."But that's not my decision. They make that decision and I have to respect the decision. But I don't say that I agree with it. I don't know what happens next year. I don't know if I'll be here next year. Maybe I'm not here, man."I don't know what they'll do. I'm trying to do the best I can in the month and a half we have left. I don't know what they want me to do."After this season, Castillo still has one more year remaining on the four-year, $25-million deal he signed before the '08 season. Some critics point to his contract as one of the failures of the Met front office, but, as Castillo points out, he played well last year, batting .302 with a .387 on-base percentage. He's only hitting .238 this year with a .336 on-base percentage."Sometimes you have a bad year, but last year, I didn't have a bad year," he said. "But this year, I only have like 200 at-bats (actually 210). I think I can play more. I've prepared this year, physically, better and I thought I'd have a good year."Castillo has "handled it very well," Jerry Manuel said of the demotion. "He's been mentoring Tejada a little bit.""I think Ruben is having some good at-bats," the manager added. "I also think that Ruben is playing very well defensively and I think that's important in what we're trying to accomplish. I think he's going to be a good hitter. I know it's a difficult decision that we have there, but we feel that's what's in the best interests of the team at this point."Castillo's hit capped a nifty night at the plate for the Mets, who got big offensive contributions from Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran. Pagan matched a career-best with four hits and used his legs and intimate knowledge of Citi Field's outfield to stretch a hit up the middle into a double in the eighth, putting him in position to score the tying run.Beltran, who knocked in Pagan in the eighth with a single, reached base four times in five trips and knocked in two runs, the first time in the 36 games he's played this season he's driven in multiple runs.The ninth started with Ike Davis' single and one out later Josh Thole got him to second with another. After Mike Hessman struck out, Castillo hit a soft liner to right, giving the Mets their fifth walk-off win of the season and lifting them to 2-47 when trailing after seven innings. R.A. Dickey blew a 4-2 lead in the seventh by giving up a three-run homer to Met nemesis Gaby Sanchez.When Manuel told Castillo of his new role earlier this month in Philadelphia, Castillo said he replied, "I don't agree with this." The two have not talked about Castillo's role since, but Castillo would like to talk to Manuel or perhaps GM Omar Minaya."I have to do it," Castillo said. "Maybe I'll have my agent do it. I want to know what I'm doing for next year. I don't know if I'll be here or they'll let me go, if there'll be more time with another team." (NY Daily News)