NL | Mets' Omar Minaya to get four-year extension

Even when this 2008 Mets season stood at its bleakest point, the June 17 firing of manager Willie Randolph, Omar Minaya's job security never became an issue inside team headquarters. And now, once the Mets' season concludes, whether it's Sunday or late next month, Minaya officially will have a great deal of job security.

Minaya and the Mets have agreed upon a four-year extension that will commit to each other through 2013, Newsday has confirmed. There was one year left on the original, five-year, $4-million deal that Minaya signed in September 2004, so this extension comes on top of the 2009 commitment.

Newsday's David Lennon reported on Aug. 15 that Minaya, 49, was set to receive an extension this coming offseason.

Though Minaya has received significant flack for his work of the past four seasons — much of it from fans, but some from industry insiders, as well — he enjoys an excellent relationship with his bosses, the Wilpons.

Houston: Astros owner Drayton McLane thinks the biggest problem for the Astros was they were forced to play one day after Hurricane Ike devastated Houston, not that their games against the Chicago Cubs were moved to Miller Park.

"The real distraction was not going to Milwaukee, the real distraction was the hurricane that hit town," he said Tuesday, when the Astros returned home from what turned into an eight-game trip.

"For every player whether they lived here full time or ... they had apartments or condominiums here, the impact was dramatic to everyone. I think that the real impact was none of them having experience in that and none of us knew what the total outcome would be."

There was such outrage from Astros fans Major League Baseball out took a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday in which commissioner Bud Selig explained the reasoning behind playing in Milwaukee. In the letter, Selig said: "all of us involved in the decision regret the frustration the Astros and their fans felt about playing two games in Milwaukee."

"It was complicated," McLane said. "There was really no other solution regardless of which team it was."

Pittsburgh: Testimony was called off as lawyers tried to complete a $6,355,000, four-year contract between third baseman Pedro Alvarez and the Pirates and a settlement of a grievance filed by the players' union. ... Pirates outfielder Brandon Moss will get a second opinion on his left knee and may need surgery to repair a cartilage problem in the joint.

San Diego: Wally Joyner quit as hitting coach with six games left in the season. His departure came with the Padres tied for last in the major leagues in runs and on-base percentage. Joyner was preparing to go to Los Angeles on Tuesday when general manager Kevin Towers called to say the team preferred he not be there, said Joyner's agent, Barry Axelrod.

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