Cliff Floyd's injured left foot will be the focus when the New York Mets work out Tuesday ahead of the NL championship series opener against St. Louis, and general manager Omar Minaya acknowledged it would be a risk to keep the outfielder on the roster.
Floyd reinjured his foot during Saturday's first-round clincher at Los Angeles when he ran hard to score from first on a double. While the Mets described the injury then as a strained left Achilles, Minaya said the team's medical staff treated Floyd's ankle on Monday.
Right after the injury, Floyd was unsure whether he'd be able to play in the NLCS, which opens Wednesday night at Shea Stadium.
``He's feeling better,'' Minaya said Monday during a telephone conference call. ``We won't know about Cliff until he goes out there tomorrow in the workout and we get a feel for where's he at.''
Floyd, bothered by the foot for much of the season, batted .444 (4-for-9) with a home run and two RBIs in the three games against the Dodgers. If Floyd is dropped, Endy Chavez appears to be the most likely replacement in the starting lineup, and Ricky Ledee or rookie Lastings Milledge would fill his roster spot. New York must finalize its 25 players for the second round by Wednesday morning.
With the Mets missing injured starting pitchers Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, Tom Glavine is likely to pitch the opener _ Minaya wouldn't confirm that, but the Mets said Glavine would be one of their players in the interview room Tuesday.
John Maine, acquired from Baltimore in the Kris Benson trade last January, started Game 1 against the Dodgers and Steve Trachsel Game 3. Oliver Perez, sent to the Mets by Pittsburgh on July 31 along with Roberto Hernandez for Xavier Nady, was in line to pitch a fourth game, which wasn't needed.
Dave Williams, who hasn't pitched in a game since Sept. 11, could be added to the roster. Minaya said Williams, who beat the Cardinals on Aug. 24, threw five or six innings in a simulated game in Florida.
Williams was acquired from Cincinnati in May.
``Did I expect these guys to be kind of possibly be key guys in the playoffs?'' Minaya said. ``That wasn't my hope. But they are. But one thing about them _ they're not afraid to take the ball.''
Perez, 3-13 during the regular season, had a 1-2 record and 4.82 ERA in three starts against the Cardinals, while Williams was 1-1 with a 5.63 ERA, also making three starts.
``We have to take into account also how guys performed against the Cardinals during the regular season,'' Minaya said.
Minaya praised manager Willie Randolph for his decisions against the Dodgers, saying ``he took some bold chances.''
``I was like, OK?'' Minaya said, sounding surprised by the moves, which he didn't elaborate on.
Hired by the Mets before the 2005 season, Randolph won two World Series titles as a player with the Yankees and four more as a coach.
``When we hired Willie, the one thing that stood out in the back of my mind was this guy understands winning,'' Minaya said. ``Here's a guy that's been through it and understands playoff baseball as good or better than anybody that I know of.''
While the Mets won the NL East and matched the Yankees for the best record in the major leagues at 97-65, St. Louis was just 83-78. The Mets took four of six from the Cardinals during the regular season.
``It's going to be a tough series,'' Minaya said. ``When you play Tony La Russa's teams, you better come ready to play.''
Notes: Former Met Darryl Strawberry will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the opener. ... Minaya wasn't concerned about OF Carlos Beltran, who sustained an abdominal injury during Saturday's game. ``Right now it's a minor thing,'' Minaya said. ``Like anything else, a lot of guys are banged up and stuff like that.''
