"Francisco Rodriguez can definitively say his trade from the Mets to the Brewers worked out for the best.

"I'm winning, and [the Mets] needed pretty much to get rid of me," Rodriguez said yesterday after pitching a scoreless eighth inning in the Brewers' 9-6 victory over the Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Though Rodriguez is not closing with the Brewers, he expects he will be signed this offseason by a team in need of a closer. He says he holds no grudge toward the Mets, who traded him during the All-Star break rather than risk the possibility he would finish 55 games, triggering a $17.5 million option for 2012."