A rough start and finish to Game 5 of the NLCS could not keep David Eckstein, nursing a sprained shoulder and two bruised fingers on his right hand, out of the St. Louis Cardinals' lineup for Game 6 on Wednesday night.

Eckstein slightly sprained his left shoulder making a diving stop at shortstop on Jose Reyes' infield hit on the first pitch of Tuesday night's game. After getting some medical attention on the field, he remained in the game.

The same was true after he fouled a bunt attempt off the fingers on his left hand in the eighth.

And though manager Tony La Russa kept the top of his lineup card blank for a few hours Wednesday, ready to insert Aaron Miles if needed, he wasn't surprised that the 5-foot-7 Eckstein was out there again.

``He gets blasted with foul balls, hit by pitches, sliding into second base, diving _ he's fearless,'' La Russa said. ``Toughest guy I've ever been around.''

General manager Walt Jocketty called Eckstein ``the pulse of the club,'' whose value transcends his numbers.

``When he gets on he kind of generates excitement,'' Jocketty said. ``A lot happens when he's out there playing his game.''

Mets manager Willie Randolph is also an admirer.

``His talent does not jump at you but he's a winner,'' Randolph said. ``He gets the most out of his ability.''

Eckstein said the bruised fingers were not an issue at all. He said the shoulder only hurt when he swung and missed, as he did in his second at-bat in Game 5 when Tom Glavine fooled him with a changeup.

``It feels good, there's no more pain than there was yesterday,'' Eckstein said. ``The hand is nothing. They're (the fingers) not broke.

``Just don't swing and miss.''

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IF NECESSARY: While the Cardinals were set up to start Jeff Suppan in a potential Game 7 on Thursday, the Mets were still unsure which member of their patchwork pitching staff would get the ball.

``We're going to see how things play out today,'' New York manager Willie Randolph said before Game 6. ``Everyone is just about available except maybe Tom Glavine and we'll see what happens at the end of the game here and we'll make a choice tonight or tomorrow. Tonight probably.''

Scrambling for starters throughout the post-season because of injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez, New York had several choices for Game 7, including Steve Trachsel, Oliver Perez and long reliever Darren Oliver.

Trachsel left Game 3 in the second inning with a bruised thigh after getting hit by Preston Wilson's hard comebacker. If he's healthy enough to pitch _ and wasn't used Wednesday night _ Trachsel would be on turn Thursday.

The right-hander went 15-8 with a 4.97 ERA during the regular season, but he was roughed up by St. Louis for five runs, five hits and five walks in one-plus inning last Saturday. He threw 43 pitches.

Trachsel is 0-1 with a 14.54 ERA in two playoff starts covering only 4 1-3 innings.

Oliver replaced Trachsel in Game 3 and threw six scoreless innings of three-hit ball. But the left-hander hasn't made a start all season.

Perez, the erratic lefty acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline, won Game 4 against St. Louis, giving up five runs in 5 2-3 innings in a 12-5 victory. He was 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA this season.

``This series has kind of gone back and forth,'' Mets outfielder Shawn Green said. ``The rotation obviously has had a lot of injuries and guys have stepped forward and got us to this point. We feel like we can find a way to win these last two and get to the World Series. It's obviously not going to be easy.''

Suppan, a 12-game winner during the regular season, allowed only three hits over eight shutout innings in a Game 3 victory. He had a 2.34 ERA after the all-star break.

Throughout the season, Suppan's favourite catchword was ``focus,'' and he leaned on it again in a pregame interview session Wednesday.

``My confidence comes from our team and I focus on what we have to do as a team to win,'' Suppan said. ``So, obviously our focus is on today. I don't really concern myself a whole lot on what the Mets have to do right now.''

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COUNTING ON THE KIDS: Jose Reyes and David Wright, the Mets' 23-year-old all-stars, have struggled during their first post-season.

Reyes entered Game 6 of the NLCS batting .229 with only one steal and a .289 on-base percentage from the leadoff spot. He did have four RBIs and five runs and didn't make an error at shortstop.

``Nothing's held him back. I said earlier that sometimes you have to give credit to the pitchers for changing their rhythm and their cadence and holding the ball and quick pitching, stepping off, all those things upset your rhythm of any base stealer,'' manager Willie Randolph said. ``In the playoffs you can't just run wild and crazy, either. It's a little bit different than the regular season.''

Wright was hitting .207 with a homer, five RBIs and five walks in the playoffs. But he was really slumping in the NLCS against St. Louis, going 2-for-17 (.118) with one RBI.

``David is obviously trying a little too hard, I think. That's what I see, and that's natural. We were talking earlier about being in a situation for the first time. Until you go through the process, you need to learn how to channel some of that energy,'' Randolph said. ``He seems like at times he's a little bit overanxious.''

Regardless of the outcome of the series, Randolph thinks playing in October has been valuable for both young stars.

``I think it's been a great experience for them. I'm glad they are here to experience it obviously, our whole team in general,'' he said. ``Anytime you're a young player like that, you're starting your career and get a chance to taste what winning feels like, this is an unbelievable and valuable experience. So you go through your growing pains and you learn how to deal with the atmosphere and the anxieties of it sometimes. But this is what sets up champions and gives you the feel of what it means to be a champion.''

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BIG RED: Cardinals utilityman Scott Spiezio has the most distinctive look of the post-season, a soul-patch beard that gets a daily fresh coat of red dye.

Countless fans have adopted the team-colors look especially after his heroics earlier in the post-season, with the use of magic markers. Spiezio, a free spirit who used to sing in a garage band called SandFrog, came to spring training with a minor league contract and the red beard for his fresh start.

Spiezio was a World Series hero in 2002 with the Angels but got only 47 at-bats last year with the Mariners. He was back in the lineup for Game 6, entering with six RBIs on only four hits, including a two-run triple that tied Game 2 in the seventh and a two-run triple in the first inning of Game 3.

``I'm not a role model,'' Spiezio said. ``It's like a Cardinal spirit thing. The neat thing is they're getting involved in the hype of the team winning.

``We had that bad stretch at the end of the season and now they realize we have a pretty dang good team.''