K-Rod's teammates express support, concern

Jose Reyes' wife and daughter were in the Citi Field family lounge on Wednesday night. So was Jeff Francoeur's wife. And Jonathon Niese's fiancee.

Many Mets had relatives or loved ones waiting for them when Francisco Rodriguez was arrested for what police said was an assault on his fiancee's father.

The players expressed concern that the incident had taken place in and around the family area, but also said they stood behind their teammate and closer. "We support him 100 percent," Reyes said. "We are behind him. I hope he comes out clean from what happened because we need him here."

Said Francoeur: "Everybody in here will be behind him."

David Wright, the Mets' de facto captain, was one of the first players to arrive in the clubhouse for yesterday's 12:10 p.m. start. He set the tone early.

"He's a teammate, so we're going to support him, but at the same time, it's his family and he needs to take care of that," Wright said. "What happens with him and his family, he should be able to deal with that."

Carlos Beltran took the harshest tone, saying, "No one should act like that. He feels sorry about what happened, but it's too late . . . Family issues should be addressed at the house, not near the ballpark, nor at the place where you work."

Manager Jerry Manuel cautioned people not to rush to judgment. "No. 1, it's a law-enforcement matter," he said. "No. 2, it's non-baseball related. And No. 3, we just wait and see what they say about it at some point. But I'm not going to comment on what happened. I didn't see it. I just heard about it when I came out. And I'll wait until our people address it later and tell us what status of it is and where we are with it."