Cliff Floyd was listed in the starting lineup for the New York Mets in Game 1 of the NL championship series Wednesday night against St. Louis despite a strained left Achilles' tendon.
``They asked me if I could hit, and I feel pretty good hitting right now,'' Floyd said.
The Mets kept Floyd on their active roster Wednesday morning but did make one change from the first round, dropping left-handed reliever Royce Ring and adding infielder Anderson Hernandez. That left them with 11 pitchers for the NLCS.
Floyd was set to bat sixth and play left field in the opener against the Cardinals, despite a soggy field at Shea Stadium following a steady afternoon rain.
``The weather? Like I said, it's playoff time, man. There's no time to rest and worry about things like that. You've got to win ballgames,'' Mets manager Willie Randolph said. ``Hopefully, he can stay under control and hit all the dry spots and make a couple catches for us.''
The oft-injured Floyd was on the disabled list twice this season. He batted .244 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 332 at-bats.
But he found his stroke during a first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, going 4-for-9 (.444) with a home run, two RBIs and three runs. Floyd left Game 3 in pain after scoring from first on Shawn Green's third-inning double, hobbling from third base to home plate.
Floyd limped into New York's clubhouse on Tuesday, then laboured through a workout in left field. But the Mets said they liked the way he swung during batting practice, and they think he can be useful.
``The guy wants to play, man. He said he felt pretty good. And I was happy to hear that,'' Randolph said Wednesday. ``It's really just a matter of dealing with some of the discomfort, and Cliff feeling like he can go out there and not hurt the ballclub.
``He's one of my big boys and I'd like him to be out there with us so we can get this first win under our belt.''
The 33-year-old Floyd, who can become a free agent after this season, said it was important to him to remain on the roster.
``I had a couple of questions for the doctor. They reassured me about a couple things, and here we are,'' Floyd said. ``I told them how I felt. I told them I would love to be on the roster and help this team. I feel pretty good. I don't feel great.
``It might be my last season playing for the Mets, so I don't want to go out that way,'' he added.
Ring did not pitch in the three-game sweep of the Dodgers. Hernandez hit .152 with one homer and three RBIs in 66 at-bats this season.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
