Jerry Manuel

A day after Chase Utley's slide at second base that caused a stir among the Mets, New York manager Jerry Manuel had a point of view far different from his players. Rather than criticize Utley's takeout slide, Manuel was hoping his team was taking notes. He spoke admiringly of Utley's attempt to take out second baseman Ruben Tejada in the fifth inning of Friday's 3-2 Phillies win. Utley was trying to break up a double play, but the Mets were able to turn the twin-killing. After the game, the Mets talked about retaliation and expressed how upset they were with Utley.

Jerry Manuel is getting another chance to right the New York Mets. After replacing Willie Randolph in June and falling just short of a playoff berth, Manuel was given a 2-year contract yesterday that includes a club option for 2011. "Jerry did a very good job taking over the club midseason, and we believe that he is the right person to manage our team and lead us to the postseason," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a statement. Manuel was promoted to manager on an interim basis June 17, when New York was 34-35.

Ken Griffey Jr. says his hamstring is healed and his outlook is better as he begins his second spring training with the Cincinnati Reds. Griffey was slowed last season by a pulled hamstring that sidelined him down the stretch. Things are much different this spring for Griffey, who went to his hometown team in a trade with Seattle on Feb. 10 last year and was the focus of spring training. He's out of the spotlight and has been much more at ease in his first few days of workouts in Sarasota, Fla. "My head's better," he said.

In a surprise, the Chicago White Sox introduced former All-Star shortstop Ozzie Guillen as manager of the team with which he spent 13 years of his 16-year career. Guillen, who signed a 2-year contract with an option for a third, spent the past two seasons as the Florida Marlins' third-base coach. When White Sox general manager Kenny Williams fired Jerry Manuel, he was certain he wanted a manager with experience. Cito Gaston was believed to be an early favorite, and Williams said he talked to Tom Kelly and Jim Leyland to see if either had interest in getting back into baseball.

7:10 p.m., Citi Field, New York. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish.   Tonight's pitchers   Phillies LHP Jamie Moyer (5-3, 4.30) vs. Mets RHP R.A. Dickey (0-0, 3.00).   Three matchups to watch   Phillies hitters vs. Dickey: The Phillies hadn't faced a knuckleballer in almost 4 years before Boston's Tim Wakefield shut them out for eight innings on Sunday. Now they'll face their second knuckleball pitcher in 3 days.

No matter how many All-Stars get injured, the New York Mets plan to stick around in the pennant race. Tim Redding pitched into the eighth inning for his first win with the Mets and substitute setup man Brian Stokes got Albert Pujols to ground into a crucial doubleplay, leading New York past the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, 6-4, last night. Daniel Murphy homered and Omir Santos went 4-for-4 in an uplifting victory for the Mets, hours after they received another dose of disheartening news.

Albert Pujols stroked line drives to all three fields. It was a bad omen for the New York Mets. Pujols homered twice and Kyle Lohse (3-0) lasted just long enough for another win after jamming his right knee as the St. Louis Cardinals completed a three-game sweep with a 12-8 victory over the visiting Mets yesterday. "If my swing is good, I'm going to hit the ball hard everywhere," Pujols said. "My job is to try to see a pitch I can hit, and drive it. " Rick Ankiel homered and doubled twice and Skip Schumaker hit a pair of RBI doubles as the Cardinals punished Livan Hernandez (1-1)

Jerry Manuel of the Chicago White Sox was a runaway winner yesterday in voting for the American League manager of the year after leading his team to the playoffs for the first time since 1993. In a race that was no cliff-hanger, Manuel received 25 first-place ballots and three second-place votes for 134 points in voting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Oakland's Art Howe, whose team won the American League's Western Division title, was second for the second consecutive season.

Stan Musial took a slow lap in a cart inside Busch Stadium as part of the St. Louis Cardinals' "Stand for Stan" campaign to have the Hall of Famer honored with the Presidential Freedom medal. The 89-year-old Musial rode with his wife, Lil, and other family members before the bottom of the sixth inning of Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Players from both teams stood outside the dugout during the tribute, many of them holding cardboard Musial cutouts. Ain't that a kick in the head.

ATLANTA - The New York Mets haven't been this bad in a very, very long time. Not under Jerry Manuel. Not under Willie Randolph. Not even during the dark days of Art Howe. But on Saturday, the Mets were swept in a doubleheader for the second time in three days to extend their losing streak to seven games, their longest since dropping 11 straight in 2004. Colorado swept the Mets in New York on Thursday. In Saturday's first game at Turner Field, the Braves hit four solo homers - including two by Alex Gonzalez - to roll to a 4-2 victory.

NEW YORK - Few teams in baseball will feel more relieved than the New York Mets when the first pitch is thrown this season. After making headlines all winter for all the wrong reasons - the Bernard Madoff scandal, serious injuries, sagging ticket sales - the familiar cry of "Play Ball!" will probably sound pretty good to owner Fred Wilpon, new general manager Sandy Alderson, and the rest of the scrambling Mets. Problem is, there are just as many issues on the field as in the board room.

Stan Musial took a slow lap in a cart inside Busch Stadium as part of the St. Louis Cardinals' "Stand for Stan" campaign to have the Hall of Famer honored with the Presidential Freedom medal. The 89-year-old Musial rode with his wife, Lil, and other family members before the bottom of the sixth inning of Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Players from both teams stood outside the dugout during the tribute, many of them holding cardboard Musial cutouts. Ain't that a kick in the head.

It had to come to this We don't mean to pass judgment, but what kind of country are we living in when the owner of a ball club is dunned for lighting up a cigar to celebrate his team making it to the playoffs after a 15-years drought? The dunning happened in America's heartland, Cincinnati to be precise. Not long after the Reds slammed the Astros Tuesday night to win their first division title in 15 years, owner Bob Castellini passed out cigars to players and coaches whooping it up inside the clubhouse.

A day after Chase Utley's slide at second base that caused a stir among the Mets, New York manager Jerry Manuel had a point of view far different from his players. Rather than criticize Utley's takeout slide, Manuel was hoping his team was taking notes. He spoke admiringly of Utley's attempt to take out second baseman Ruben Tejada in the fifth inning of Friday's 3-2 Phillies win. Utley was trying to break up a double play, but the Mets were able to turn the twin-killing. After the game, the Mets talked about retaliation and expressed how upset they were with Utley.

The Phillies shuffled their rotation, Rich Dubee said, mainly because it made too much sense not to. "We thought it'd be better to give these guys an extra day of rest this time instead of next time," the pitching coach said Friday. "They were going to get one somewhere. We just thought it would be beneficial now. " Beneficial for Cole Hamels , who is coming off two outings of 127 and 117 pitches, respectively. Roy Halladay has a 4.32 ERA in his last six starts.

ONE OF THE TEAMS that took the field last night is now two games away from clinching its fourth straight division title, and the other is getting ready for an offseason that will likely include a regime change. But it was still the Phillies and the Mets, and, despite their disparate circumstances, the rivals left little doubt that the bad blood between them still boils. By the end of the Phillies' 3-2 victory, which kept alive their hope of clinching the National League East today, both managers found plenty of reason to be hot and bothered by something besides the final score.

  Nats reach deal with Harper The Nationals reported early Tuesday that they had settled on a $9.9 million, five-year contract with Bryce Harper, the No. 1 overall draft pick. The deadline was midnight. If teams had no contracts by then, the players they chose in June's amateur draft went back into next year's selections. Earlier, the Nats reached terms with second-round choice Sammy Solis, a lefty from the University of San Diego. Harper, a catcher the Nats want to convert into an outfielder, hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBIs in his first season at the College of Southern Nevada.

If these were good times for the Mets, they would have looked at the Phillies' depleted lineup and licked their chops at the chance to take them on when they appear vulnerable. But the Mets arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Friday to begin a three-game series with problems of their own, lots of problems. So they took small comfort in facing a Phillies lineup without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino. "It doesn't matter who they have out there, we've got to find a way to win," the Mets' all-star third baseman, David Wright, said before the New York bullpen unraveled in the Phillies' 7-5 win. "Obviously, they're missing some of their key guys, and, hopefully, we can take advantage of that.