Injury Means Martinez Will Skip the Postseason

New York Mets ace Pedro Martinez is out for the postseason after an exam Thursday showed he has a torn tendon in his left calf muscle.

The Mets, who won their first National League East title since 1988 with Martinez battling injuries most of the season, won’t have the three-time Cy Young Award winner at all in the playoffs.

Martinez returned to New York after getting knocked around badly in his last start of the regular season Wednesday night, a 13-1 loss to Atlanta. An MRI exam showed a tear in the left calf -- different from the right calf injury that recently put him on the disabled list for a month.

“He did mention [Wednesday] that he felt some pain in the other leg,” General Manager Omar Minaya said. “The bottom line is he’s not going to be available.”

Martinez will need four to six weeks to recover from the final setback of an injury-plagued season. Surgery will not be required.

Orlando Hernandez will start Game 1 next week in the best-of-five division series, the slot that was supposed to go to Martinez. Tom Glavine will go in Game 2.

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If Frank Robinson’s words didn’t explicitly reveal that he’ll be done as the Washington Nationals’ manager at the end of this season, the tears filling his eyes sure seemed to get the message across.

“If management wanted me to come back, I’d love to come back,” Robinson said after discussing his future with Nationals President Stan Kasten and General Manager Jim Bowden. MLB.com reported Robinson won’t return next season, saying an announcement will not be made until Sunday or Monday.

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A surgically removed growth behind Kansas City Royals Manager Buddy Bell’s left tonsil was cancerous, his doctor said. The biopsy revealed that tissue surrounding the growth, however, was free of cancer cells. Bell, who is resting at home and won’t manage again this season, will meet with doctors soon to determine any possible further treatment.