Luis Castillo

CLEARWATER, Fla. - By the end of the drip, drip day, it was hard to figure who seemed more badgered. The just-released second baseman whose already-damaged reputation took another hit with his late arrival yesterday. Or the manager who seemed to view his arrival as a cruel joke to his open prayer for help in the three and five holes. "If it was me?" Charlie Manuel said, finally. "I would have been here 2 days ago. But it's not me. " No, it most definitely is not. By reputation, Luis Castillo is everything Charlie never was: a well-paid, aging star showing signs of spoil in both his game and his attitude.

Run-scoring doubles by Chris Cliapinski and Luis Castillo keyed a three-run seventh as Portland came from behind to beat Reading, 10-8. TRENTON 12, BINGHAMTON 7 BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Walt McKeel had three RBIs and scored four runs and Lou Merloni added three more RBIs as the Thunder rallied past the Mets. WILMINGTON 4, FREDERICK 3

For eight innings, the story of Friday's game was a great pitchers' duel, with Joe Blanton holding the dangerous Red Sox to two runs on two solo homers, and Jon Lester flat-out dominating the Phillies. Until the bottom of the ninth, when Ryan Howard hit a titanic blast into the right-field seats, tying the game at 2-2 and sending the contest to extras. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, with two outs, Greg Dobbs hit what could have been a home run over the right-field foul pole.

Jason Bay homered twice off an ineffective CC Sabathia, and the New York Mets held off the slumping New York Yankees last night at Citi Field, 6-4, behind Johan Santana's stellar pitching. Shut down nearly all night by Santana, the Yankees rallied for three runs in the ninth inning before Francisco Rodriguez struck out Alex Rodriguez on a 3-2 breaking ball with runners at the corners to end it. Mets second baseman Alex Cora, a late addition to the lineup because Luis Castillo has a sore foot, got the offense started with a two-run single in a four-run second inning and the Mets took two of three at home for their first Subway Series victory since a rain-shortened, two-game sweep at old Yankee Stadium in May 2008.

A man was arrested on a homicide charge last night in the death of Cincinnati Reds outfielder Dernell Stenson, and police in Chandler, Ariz., said they were seeking a second suspect. Reginald Riddle also was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, Chandler police said. Early Wednesday, Stenson's body was found in a street in a residential neighborhood in the Phoenix suburb. He had been shot, then run over and apparently dragged some distance by his own SUV. Riddle, originally from Illinois, is the half brother of Kevin Riddle, 43, who was found driving Stenson's SUV about 2 hours after the body was found.

This wasn't a playoff game, or one that had a major effect on any division race. It didn't matter - to the New York Mets, it was a game they could not lose, not with a traumatized city desperate for something to cheer about. Rey Ordonez's RBI single started a three-run ninth inning, and the Mets returned from their trying and troubling week off to beat host Pittsburgh, 4-1, last night. Getting the win was John Franco (6-2), a native New Yorker and the Mets player probably most personally affected by last week's terrorist attacks.

Johan Santana pitched six shutout innings in Game 1 and David Wright had four RBI in the nightcap as the New York Mets swept the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers in a doubleheader yesterday. In the opener, Jason Bay homered and Luis Castillo hit a two-run single to back another stingy outing by Santana (3-1) as the Mets won, 4-0. In the nightcap, Ike Davis complemented Wright's performance with three RBI to lead the Mets to 10-5 win. In other news, Dodgers manager Joe Torre said righthander Vicente Padilla won't throw for at least a week to 10 days and there is no timetable for his return.

Billy Wagner barely got out of trouble in his previous outing. Not this time. Hanley Ramirez hit a go-ahead, two-run double off Wagner in the ninth inning last night and visiting Florida rallied past the New York Mets, 4-3. "Just one of those nights where I didn't make the pitches," Wagner said. "I was trying to go up and in. It was probably more middle. I'm just not locating very well. " Carlos Beltran hit a three-run homer in his return from the disabled list, giving the Mets the 3-2 lead they handed to Wagner (1-1)

Adrian Gonzalez homered in the 10th inning and the visiting San Diego Padres outlasted the New York Mets, 9-8, last night in a wild game that included blown saves by Billy Wagner and Trevor Hoffman. The Padres took two of three from the NL East leaders and increased their wild-card lead to two games over the Phillies. Wagner and Hoffman, two of baseball's best closers, both struggled all series. Wagner blew one save chance and gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth inning Tuesday before New York rallied to win. Hoffman blew two saves, sandwiched around a successful conversion Wednesday night.

Carlos Beltran came through with the big hit that had eluded the New York Mets all night. Beltran hit a grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning off Kevin Gregg, and New York rallied to beat host Florida last night, 5-4. The Mets now lead the Phillies by two games in the NL East. Before Beltran's homer, the Mets were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Trailing, 2-1, they left the bases loaded in the seventh and stranded two in the eighth. Gregg (6-8) retired the first two batters in the ninth, and New York was down to its final strike when Luis Castillo singled on a 1-2 pitch.

  Millwood headed to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Former Phillies righthander Kevin Millwood - who threw a no-hitter against the Giants at the Vet in 2003, a gem in which Barry Bonds struck out looking - could be starting his season in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Millwood agreed Friday to a minor-league contract with the New York Yankees that has him pitch spring training in Florida then joining triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. If the 36-year-old is added to the 40-man roster, he would get a $1.5 million one-year contract that's loaded with performance bonuses: $500,000 each for five, 10, 15, 20, and 25 starts.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - He was a stranger in a strange land, standing on the wrong coast of Florida, and wearing a jersey that had turned from blue to red. But there are certain aspects of the game that never change: the 90 feet of chalk between home and first, the brown dirt, the yellow poles that flank the outfield, and the AC/DC anthem that pours through the stadium speakers at some random interlude. Early yesterday afternoon, Luis Castillo stood in front of his new teammates and prepared for the first at-bat of his latest chapter, chatting with Jimmy Rollins and bopping his head to the thumping bass of "Thunderstruck.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - By the end of the drip, drip day, it was hard to figure who seemed more badgered. The just-released second baseman whose already-damaged reputation took another hit with his late arrival yesterday. Or the manager who seemed to view his arrival as a cruel joke to his open prayer for help in the three and five holes. "If it was me?" Charlie Manuel said, finally. "I would have been here 2 days ago. But it's not me. " No, it most definitely is not. By reputation, Luis Castillo is everything Charlie never was: a well-paid, aging star showing signs of spoil in both his game and his attitude.

Excerpts from the weekly Ask Gonzo chat on Philly.com with columnist John Gonzalez: Big, breaking news coming from the Phils: With Chase Utley on the mend, the Fightin's have altered their (food) roster and brought in Tastykakes. This season at Citizen's Bank Park, you'll be able to buy Butterscotch Krimpets, chocolate cupcakes, sugar-free snacks and, my favorite, Kandy Kakes. It's a mind-blowing move. I think we can all agree that if Utley were healthy, this wouldn't have happened.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - As the Phillies waited to greet the newst member of their competition to fill the void left by Chase Utley's balky knee, two members of the organization pained the signing of Luis Castillo as a low-risk move with big potential upside. Castillo, a former three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner at second base, cleared waviers after being released on Friday, meaning the Mets will pay the vast majority of the $6 million owed to him during the 2011. In fact, because the Phillies signed Castillo to a non-guaranteed minor league deal, at this point the Mets are on the hook for the whole tab. If the Phillies decide in the next 10 days that Castillo deserves a spot on their active roster, they will purchase his contract and pay him the veteran minimum of $414,000.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Wearing a baseball cap and T-shirt, diminuitive country star Kenny Chesney dropped by Charlie Manuel's office yesterday to talk some baseball before his concert at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Phillies manager told the singer he had wanted to let him take an at-bat in the Phillies' Grapefruit League game against the Pirates but league rules no longer allowed such celebrity appearances. Which is probably a good thing. Because Manuel has more important things to worry about right now. Yesterday brought more of the same at Bright House Field: More sun, more packed seats, and more uncertainty about how long the Phillies expect to be without their star second baseman.

Sometimes sports is like one of those 3-D paintings that were so popular in the '90s. The closer you get, the fuzzier it looks. This past week, amid the Chicken Little coverage of winter weather, these three sports-related developments raised plenty of questions: 1. Bernie Madoff influenced the Mets' financial decisions.   There's always plenty of puzzlement surrounding the Mets. Who does Jose Reyes' hair? How'd they end up with a triple-A rotation? And will new manager Terry Collins have to stand on a box at news conferences?

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.