"Here we go again. Despite suffering from what the Mets initially described as a cramp in his right hamstring, Gary Sheffield wasn't in the starting lineup here last night and doesn't have a firm target date to return.

Manager Jerry Manuel said tomorrow night in Washington against Nationals left-hander John Lannan is a good possibility for Sheffield to be in the lineup, but the manager wasn't making any promises.

"He's sore," Manuel said of the 40-year-old Sheffield, who exited early from Friday's game after suffering the injury.

When a reporter remarked how unusual it is for a player to still be sore if the injury was just a cramp, Manuel became circumspect -- still mindful, it seemed, of the heat he got for joking about the team's medical staff.

"Don't get me started," Manuel said. "I don't have the answer for that. I don't have the answer for that.""