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)

PATHETIC: METS WIN THEIR FIRST N.L ROAD SERIES OF THE SEASON

After Manager Jerry Manuel called the Mets’ offensive production “pathetic” in Houston, the hitting instructor Howard Johnson called a meeting before Friday’s game in Pittsburgh and challenged the hitters. That night the Mets collected 15 hits and picked up seven runs, the first time they had scored that many since July 28. Saturday night, in a rain-shortened, five-inning game, they scored five runs on seven hits to beat the Pirates, 5-1, at PNC Park. The game was called with no outs in the top of the sixth inning after a delay of 1 hour 6 minutes. With the victory, the second straight in this three-game set, the Mets won their first road series against a National League team this season. Jon Niese allowed only one run for the fourth straight start and improved to 8-5. David Wright had the big blow, blasting a three-run homer over the center-field fence in the fifth inning. It was his 18th home run of the season and his second in five games. Before his home run Tuesday in Houston, Wright had not hit one in 14 games. When Manuel labeled the Mets’ offense pathetic, it certainly did not reflect well on Johnson, who felt the need to take action. Johnson’s timing for the meeting was impeccable. It not only came after Manuel called out the players in public, but also prior to a series against the worst team in baseball. The Pirates pitching staff has an earned run average of 5.06, which ranks 28th among the 30 teams in baseball. The Mets went into Saturday’s game ranked 14th in the 16-team N.L. with a .248 batting average and 13th in runs scored, ahead of only the Pirates, the Nationals and the Astros. They were averaging 4.06 runs per game going into Friday’s contest. (NY Times)

AFTER 14 INNINGS, METS WIN
Ike Davis was 0-for-19 heading into his at-bat in the 13th inning last night, the longest streak of his young career. So the bullet single to center did the rookie some good, even if he didn't score. "I actually hit it on the barrel," Davis said after he came up in the 14th inning and delivered a sacrifice fly that drove in the winning run of the Mets' 3-2 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park. "I hadn't hit it on the barrel in a long time and it gave me confidence going into the last at-bat." Confidence is something Davis and the rest of the Mets offense could certainly use more of, since they squandered numerous chances throughout last night's win. Prior to Davis' RBI, the only other runs the Mets generated came in the seventh, when Ruben Tejada -- who hadn't had a hit for the Mets since July -- and R.A. Dickey finally started a rally. Tejada's double was followed by another from Dickey and then Dickey scored on a fielder's choice groundout by Angel Pagan. Dickey was unable to make the 2-0 lead standup, as he surrendered a run in the eighth and after manager Jerry Manuel allowed him to try to finish the game in the ninth, when Dickey gave up a tying home run to Geoff Blum with one out. "That was a punch in the gut," Dickey said of the homer. "I felt it was his game," Manuel said of Dickey, who gave up just two runs in 8 1/3innings before being removed for Hisanori Takahashi, now the presumptive closer with Francisco Rodriguez out for the season. "If he had allowed a runner in that inning, I wouldn't have let him lose the game." After Blum's homer, Takahashi came in to get through the ninth and 10th, starting a run of 5 2/3 innings of scoreless pitching from the bullpen, including two from Bobby Parnell, one from winner Elmer Dessens and one from Manny Acosta, who earned his first save of the year -- thanks to Rodriguez's absence. But the bullpen's work would have been for naught if the offense hadn't eventually scored. Davis had grounded out with the bases loaded in the 10th and then Jeff Francoeur flied out to end that threat. In the 14th, Reyes started things with a walk, and after being sacrificed to second, he stole third for the second time of the game. Mike Hessman, in for David Wright -- who left the game in the 12th inning because of nausea -- walked and then Carlos Beltran was walked intentionally to get to Davis against the lefty Gustavo Chacin. "Sometimes I'd rather lefties than righties," said Davis, who has been benched against lefty starters recently. "You try to ride it out, but you don't want to keep riding it out. You're waiting for that one time when your swing clicks again." That finally happened on in the 13th -- and helped the Mets win an inning later. "I was definitely trying to get the ball to the outfielders," Davis said of the final at-bat "When I was walking up [against the lefty Chacin] I thought, 'I haven't seen one of these in a while.' " And in a crucial spot, toward the end of a 4:18 game, Davis showed that his slump may be over. And the Mets got a victory that wasn't close to being assured until Acosta got the final out. (NY Post)

METS MAKE BIG DEAL & BEAT ASTROS

On a day when the Mets grappled with the loss of closer Francisco Rodriguez to injury, the team’s management also had an eye on the future, agreeing to terms with their first-round pick just before the deadline expired at midnight Monday. The Mets had signed 10 of their top 12 draft picks. But negotiations with Matt Harvey, the pitcher from North Carolina drafted seventh over all, went down to the wire, as did the Mets’ 3-1 victory against the Houston Astros on Monday night. Despite their woes this season, the Mets managed a rare win in a first game of a trip, thanks to fine pitching by Jon Niese and Hisanori Takahashi, who stepped into the closer’s role vacated by Rodriguez and earned his first save of the season. They also got key hits from David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur, who have all slumped mightily since the All-Star break. “We haven’t scored many times against other teams’ closers tied on the road,” said Francouer, who tripled in Beltran in the ninth inning. “This is the kind of the game we’ve usually lost on the road, and to win the way we did was nice.” The game was a respite from the gloom that has enveloped the club the past two months. The team’s chances of making the playoffs are slim, but they have assembled a promising core of young players, including Niese, first baseman Ike Davis and catcher Josh Thole. They can now add Harvey to the list after signing him to a deal reportedly worth more than $2 million. Failing to reach an agreement with their highest draft pick would have embarrassed the Mets, who have been reluctant to sign big-name free agents or engineer significant trades, and have instead promoted their young (and less expensive) prospects as the future of the franchise. The Mets’ roster is saddled with several unproductive players, including Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, who are owed tens of millions of dollars in the coming years and have made it hard for Mets management to find new talent. Unfortunately, the team’s biggest stars like Jason Bay and Beltran have floundered. Since July 1, the Mets have been last in the majors in batting average and on-base percentage, and next to last in slugging percentage. They have scored three or fewer runs in 11 of their 14 games this month. Their seven-game trip that began Monday to Houston and Pittsburgh, two stops with more hitter-friendly ballparks, seemed just what the Mets’ offense needed. Yet the game felt much like so many others in recent weeks. The Mets again received sturdy starting pitching from Niese, who gave up one run and seven hits in seven innings. But again, the Mets struggled to string together hits for much of the game. Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez gave up a solo home run to Beltran in the fourth inning, but erased other runners by inducing double-play ground balls. After escaping a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets finally responded in the top of the ninth. Wright and Beltran singled, and with Jeff Francoeur at bat, Wright scored on a wild pitch. Francoeur drove in Beltran. With Rodriguez suddenly gone, Manager Jerry Manuel turned to Takahashi to close the game. Unlike the histrionics around Rodriguez, though, Takahashi quietly pitched an unblemished ninth inning. (NY Times)

POLL RESULTS: FIRE OMAR

Mets fans, tired of trade-less summers and pathetic off-seasons, have spoken loud and clear in the recent 'Those Mets' poll. They want nothing more to do with General Manager Omar Minaya.

BOO'D METS LOSE IN EVERY WAY POSSIBLE TO PHILLY

David Wright and the Mets gave fans little to cheer about Saturday night against the Phillies, so the Citi Field faithful took to booing instead. They booed Wright when he struck out in the fourth inning with Jose Reyes on third base and one out. They booed Wright louder when he played a routine ground ball into two unearned runs in sixth inning, and they let him have it one last time after he hit a comebacker in the bottom half of the inning. And to cap a night's worth of unhappy howling, Mets fans booed closer Francisco Rodriguez -- who made his return from a two-game suspension after being arrested for third-degree assault Wednesday night -- when he trotted out of the bullpen in the ninth inning. The Mets loaded up the bases in their final at-bat, but were unable to mount a comeback as they fell, 4-0, to the Phillies and Roy Halladay, who allowed four hits and no walks while striking out seven over eight innings of work. "I don't think you're going to win too many games making three errors, no matter who you're facing," Wright said. Second baseman Ruben Tejada, who is hitless in his last 26 at-bats, allowed the Phillies' first unearned run to score in the fifth, when he botched a double play, throwing the ball into left field. The fielding mistakes and struggling offense squandered a solid outing from Pat Misch, who made his first start of the season after being called up from Triple-A Buffalo. Misch scattered eight hits over six innings and allowed only one earned run. "We got ground balls when we needed them and didn't execute," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "In order for us to do well against that type of a pitcher, we have to catch everything. We have to execute." Manuel said he felt Misch pitched well enough to merit another start, meaning the left-hander could fill the fifth spot in the rotation for the rest of the season, with Hisanori Takahashi making a permanent move to the bullpen. "I kind of got rid of pressure a few years ago. You're going to have some good games and you're going to have some bad games, and hopefully you have more good games than bad games," Misch said. "I try not to think about all that kind of stuff, where we are -- that kind of stuff. I just want to go out there, grab the ball and get as many outs as I can." The Mets' mistakes were most glaring in the field, but they were equally unimpressive at the plate. Their best chance to score came after Reyes led off the fourth inning with a triple, but Halladay got Angel Pagan to ground out to third, and struck out Wright -- who is now 4-for-41 in August -- and Carlos Beltran to end the inning. "We have to do a better job of executing there; our situational hitting has been poor," Manuel said. "We got to do a better job. I feel like we got the right guys up, and we're not getting it done at the plate." The Mets were held to one or zero runs for the sixth time in 12 games this month, and are now seven games behind the second-place Phillies, who scored their first runs at Citi Field this season after being blanked for 38 innings. "It took us 38 innings, but we put one across," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "It's pretty easy to count. Four games plus two innings. Even I can count that far." The Mets still have a chance to win the series with a win on Sunday, but trading wins and losses isn't going to get them back in the NL Wild Card race at this point of the season. New York's best hitter is slugging .122 this month, its closer is due back in court on Sept. 14, and its starting rotation still isn't set for the stretch run. "That's something that I can't control," Rodriguez said of being booed. "It's out of my hands, and I still have to go out and do my job." And when Rodriguez and other members of the Mets are unable to do their job, the fans will be sure to let them know it.

ANOTHER COMPLETE GAME SHUTOUT, ANOTHER BIG WIN

The Mets had to play two games without their closer, Francisco Rodriguez, and did not need even need a relief pitcher, let alone a closer, in either one. On Thursday, the day Rodriguez was arraigned in court on an assault charge, Johan Santana pitched a four-hit shutout. He had told Manager Jerry Manuel before the game that he could pitch 10 innings if needed. Not to be surpassed in either resolve or results, R. A. Dickey did Santana even better. He threw a brilliant one-hit shutout to lead the Mets to a 1-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, and because he throws a knuckleball, he probably could have gone 11 innings. The victory was the major-league-leading 18th shutout of the season for the Mets, a surprising figure for a team only one game over .500 at 58-57. More important, it was the first time the Mets won consecutive games since June 22 and 23. With two outs in the ninth inning, the fans rose to their feet when Dickey, on his 105th pitch, got Placido Polanco to line out to right field. Dickey embraced catcher Henry Blanco after the final out. The performance, combined with Santana’s on Thursday afternoon, provided another happy moment for the Mets in the midst of the turmoil caused by Rodriguez’s arrest and his placement on the restricted list. Dickey improved to 8-5 and was the recipient of a shaving-cream pie from Angel Pagan during a postgame interview on the field. Coming into the game, Dickey, a 35-year-old journeyman, had registered only one victory in his last nine starts, despite pitching very well most of that time and allowing 18 earned runs in 51 innings for a respectable earned run average of 3.18. Four of those earned runs came in his previous start, Saturday against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Dickey lasted only three innings in his worst start of the season. On Friday, he did not allow a hit until Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels stroked a low knuckler for a shallow bloop into right field with one out in the sixth inning. Before that, Dickey had allowed only one base runner. After retiring the first seven batters he faced, Dickey walked Wilson Valdez with one out in the third, but then got Hamels and Jimmy Rollins on pop-ups to end the inning. He then set down the Phillies in order in the fourth and fifth to make the 35,440 in attendance start to think about the possibility that they might see the first no-hitter in Mets history. But Hamels dashed those hopes in the sixth. In the bottom of the inning, the Mets scored when the two struggling sluggers in the middle of the lineup produced a run with two outs. David Wright laced a double that sailed over the head of Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino to snap an 0-for-15 slump. Then Carlos Beltran whacked a double off the wall in left field to score Wright, who jogged home almost as if he thought Beltran’s ball had gone over the wall. The Mets squandered an opportunity to score in the fifth inning when an apparent home run was turned into a triple that did not yield a run. Leading off the inning, Mike Hessman drove a ball to deep left field for what at first looked like a home run off the railing above the wall. But left fielder Raul Ibanez argued that the ball was touched by a fan reaching over the railing. As Hessman stood in the dugout after circling the bases and a one went up on the scoreboard for the Mets, Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel emerged from the visitors’ dugout to argue the call. The umpires eventually went below the stands to review the play. After a 6-minute-35-second delay, the crew chief Tom Hallion came out, consulted with the home plate umpire Ed Rapuano, then pointed to Hessman in the dugout and then to third base as the fans booed. They booed even louder after Hessman was stranded. Jeff Francoeur and Henry Blanco struck out swinging and Hamels walked Ruben Tejada intentionally to pitch to Dickey, who grounded meekly back to the pitcher. The fans did not seem to take consolation from the fact that at least Hessman, whose 329 career minor league home runs are the most among active players, had his first career triple in 87 major league games. At the time it seemed as if the lost run would be costly, but Wright and Beltran made sure it did not undermine another brilliant performance from a Mets starter. (NY Times)

SANTANA, AT HIS BEST, GIVES METS SERIES WIN

Johan Santana pitched his second shutout of the season Thursday afternoon in a 4-0 victory over the Rockies. Striking out the side in the first inning, Santana fanned 10 Rockies and allowed just four hits. He extended his scoreless-innings streak to 16 1/3. The Rockies put only one runner in scoring position all afternoon, doing so with two outs in the second. As they did Wednesday, the Mets took an early lead on two quick runs in the first. After Jose Reyes singled and stole second base, Angel Pagan hit an RBI single, Ike Davis doubled and Carlos Beltran hit a sacrifice fly off Rockies starter Jason Hammel. This time, though, the Mets padded their lead with an RBI single from Jose Reyes and a sacrifice fly from Fernando Martinez in the seventh. Earlier Thursday, several Mets responded to the news that closer Francisco Rodriguez was being held in police custody following an alleged assault of his father-in-law in the family room at Citi Field, many of them defending their closer. The Mets vowed not to let Rodriguez's legal troubles become a distraction. "That has nothing to do with the baseball side of it," third baseman David Wright, who received a routine day off Thursday, said before the game. "What's happened off the field has nothing to do with us not being able to score runs or get out of a jam. That has nothing to do with it. We're going to go out there and continue to do what we think is going to help us win." (MLB.com)

K-ROD IN POLICE CUSTODY

The Mets reliever Francisco Rodriguez will be arraigned Thursday morning on third-degree assault charges after an altercation with his father-in-law at Citi Field on Wednesday, the police said. Mr. Rodriguez was in custody and held at CitiField overnight after the altercation, which occurred after the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies. His father-in-law, whose name was not disclosed, was taken to an area hospital with a bump on his head and an abrasion to his face. The Mets are putting Mr. Rodriguez on the restricted list for two games, according to a statement from the team, and they and Major League Baseball are considering whether he should be required to attend anger management classes, according to a person in baseball with knowledge of the discussions. “Ownership and the organization are very disappointed in Francisco’s inappropriate behavior and we take this matter very seriously,” Jeff Wilpon, the Mets’ chief operating officer, said in a statement. The police provided no clues Thursday about what might have spurred the conflict. They said they were summoned to Citi Field shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday and found a 53-year-old man with bruises to the head who said he had been “punched to the face” by Mr. Rodriguez. The Mets’ own television network, SNY, reported before Thursday afternoon’s game at Citi Field that Rodriguez had an argument with his wife that preceded the altercation with his father-in-law.After the police arrived, they took Mr. Rodriguez into custody, and his father-in-law was taken to Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens, where he was treated and released, the police said. Jay Horwitz, the Mets’ vice president for media relations, said: “There was an incident at the ballpark between Francisco Rodriguez and his family. He was questioned by police. All other questions should be directed to the police.” A uniformed police officer walked into the clubhouse shortly after Mr. Rodriguez had walked out of it through a pair of double doors. Numerous security guards lingered in and around the clubhouse hours after the final pitch. Before the altercation was disclosed, Mr. Rodriguez reacted angrily when approached by reporters after the game — a tough loss for a reeling team — using obscenities as he told them that he did not play and therefore did not want to speak to them. With the Mets ahead, 2-1, with two outs in the eighth inning, Manager Jerry Manuel did not bring in Mr. Rodriguez, a closer, to get the final four outs of the game. It was not known whether that decision played any role in the conflict. Mr. Manuel said he did not call on Mr. Rodriguez because he pitched Tuesday, although Mr. Rodriguez has often had a heavy workload this season and has never complained. Mr. Rodriguez has shown a hot-tempered side, but the Mets have relied heavily on him this season. He has been something of a high-wire act on the mound, often getting himself into trouble and then bailing himself out. He has converted 25 of 30 save opportunities and has pitched very well recently. The arrest could hasten Mr. Rodriguez’s exit from the Mets. He was involved in a shoving match with the bullpen coach Randy Niemann earlier this season, and his volatility had made the Mets wary of their long-term commitment to him. Mr. Rodriguez has a $17.5 million option on his contract for 2012, and the Mets owner Fred Wilpon has shown a willingness to sever ties with players who have gotten into trouble. The arrest coincides with a season that seems to be imploding. After an unexpectedly promising start, the Mets have gone 8-18 since the All-Star break and have fallen below .500. On Wednesday night, the Mets endured another tough-to-take defeat. A day after Hisanori Takahashi appeared to secure the setup role, he failed to get through the eighth inning. Then Mr. Manuel inserted Manny Acosta to get the final out of the eighth, but the decision backfired. After getting two outs, Mr. Takahashi allowed a single and a walk before being removed. Mr. Rodriguez has been used frequently this season, and he has pitched more than one inning eight times. After Acosta intentionally walked Troy Tulowitzki to load the bases, Melvin Mora blasted a grand slam to left field to highlight a five-run inning that gave the Rockies the victory. After the game, the focus temporarily shifted to the Mets’ questions about a setup man who looked secure only hours earlier, and a manager who was booed after a curious decision in another loss that sent the team below the .500 mark. But in light of the revelation about Mr. Rodriguez, there now appears to be a more troubling uncertainty. (NY Times)