``It's really sad,'' he said.

New York's left fielder caught fly balls in each of the first two innings, moving gingerly each time. Then, in the bottom of the second of the Mets' 2-0 win over St. Louis, he hit a foul ball down the left-field line and ran hard, pulling up after rounding first base. He reached for his left foot, walked with a slight limp back toward the plate and was met by a trainer and manager Willie Randolph.

``It's going to be up to the doctors, what they say tomorrow and what the MRI shows,'' Floyd said, ``if it shows they can do something to alleviate the pain and discomfort, allow me to feel comfortable going out there, whether it be playing the game or helping my team late in the game.''

Floyd completed the at-bat, flying out to left, and was replaced by Endy Chavez when the third inning began.

``It was straight adrenaline,'' he said. ``When I hit the ball, I knew if it was in the gap, I was only going to get a single.''

Floyd was bothered by the injury for much of the season and re-injured it hustling home on a double last Saturday as the Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete a first-round sweep.

``It feels worse than Saturday because it popped twice,'' he said. ``The doctor says the sheath over the tendon sits there and is really, really irritated right now.''

Randolph acknowledged earlier this week that it was a risk to keep Floyd on the active roster.

``He must have tweaked it a bit,''' he said.

Floyd hit .444 (4-for-9) in the first round with one homer and two RBIs.

``The sad thing is, I'm feeling really good at the plate,'' he said.