Baseball - NL Championship Series Rotation Undecide

The New York Mets, heading at the NL Championship Series opener against St. Louis and finalizing its 25 players, have to deal with the left foot’s injury of Cliff Floyd. General manager Omar Minaya announced that it would be a risk to keep the outfielder on line-up.

Floyd injured again his foot during Saturday's opener at Los Angeles when he ran too hard to score from first on a double. Originally, the Mets announced that the player had a strained left Achilles wound, but in fact Floyd has been treated by the team's medical staff for an ankle injury on Monday. Just after the injury, Floyd was uncertain about his ability to play in the NLCS, which will open on Wednesday night at Shea Stadium.

This season Floyd batted .444 (4-for-9) with a home run and two RBI in the three games against the Dodgers. If Minaya decide not to keep Floyd, Endy Chavez appears to be the most likely replacement in the starting lineup. Two other players, Ricky Ledee or rookie Lastings Milledge would then fill in his roster spot. The Mets must above all finalize its 25 player’s rotation for the second round by Wednesday morning.

The Mets have also to fill in the spot of two other injured players, starting pitchers Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. Tom Glavine will likely replace them at the opener. Dave Williams, who has not pitched in a game since Sept. 11th, could be also added to the line-up. Williams was acquired from Cincinnati in May.