Cheater? Not him

St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan both told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in yesterday's editions that the stain on the bill of Arroyo's cap was pine tar that helped him better grip the ball during a 6-1 Reds victory Wednesday.

"It [the stain] is from playing in every other park where there's so much mud on the balls that black stuff comes off on your fingers every time," Arroyo said. "I guess [Duncan] said I went to my hat every time. Yeah, I do 8,000 other twitches. What do you want me to do about it? That's how I pitch."

Quotable

"Yeah - I'm not going to invite everybody over to my house."

Mets misery

Justin Maxwell's two-out homer capped a five-run ninth inning off the all-star closer and gave Washington a 7-4 victory Wednesday night - ending the Nationals' 150-game streak of losses when trailing after eight innings. On Aug. 7 at San Diego, Everth Cabrera finished a five-run ninth inning with a grand slam against K-Rod in the Padres' 6-2 win.

"Really, really frustrating," Rodriguez said Wednesday night. "All the work you put in all year, you throw away pretty much on one pitch."

I left my heart . . .

"He loves the city. He loves the guys, and loves being in the clubhouse."

Teammate Randy Johnson, however, said he would take his time deciding whether to pitch next year. The 303-game winner said there was no rush, but health and his ability to start again could play a role.