NEW YORK -- Unheard by all but one man at Shea Stadium on Saturday was a sound of danger -- a simple pop. Damion Easley heard his right quadriceps talking to him. It said, "No mas," words that translated to "pop." And now the Mets go forward, for at least a few games probably, without the player who had become their all-but-regular second baseman.

The injury, initially diagnosed as a strained quad, happened in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader as Easley strained to beat a double-play relay. Easley's leg was examined via MRI on Sunday morning. Results were pending.

Easley didn't play in the second game of the doubleheader and was not in Sunday's lineup when the Mets played the final game of their three-game series against the Braves. In each case, he was replaced by Luis Castillo.

Easley believes -- hopes -- the injury isn't serious. But manager Jerry Manuel is concerned because the injury is likely to inhibit Easley's right-handed swing. The rear leg, the manager said, is critical to driving the ball. And the primary reasons Manuel had turned to Easley and away from Castillo and Argenis Reyes was Easley's ability to drive pitches, produce runs and provide protection in the bottom of the batting order.

Easley said he had experienced soreness in the leg early last week. He suspects he has put unnatural stress on the right leg trying to compensate for a less serious strain of the left quad that had bothered him for months.

"I've got to be smart about [the injury]," he said. But he also knows the Mets have reached the final push "and we have to make it happen."

Morever, he wants to experience the postseason. He never has in his 15 big league seasons. So there is a balance to be struck. But exactly where to draw the line is unclear.

"You need to be careful, and you want to play," Easley said. "It's that simple and that complex."