ATLANTA — Disappointment turned to astonishment for the New York Mets, who were spurned in their attempt to acquire Barry Larkin — then learned later that he signed a three-year contract extension with the Reds.

        Mets general manager Steve Phillips wouldn't go as far as say he felt used in the whole situation, but he did take a shot Sunday night at his Reds counterpart, Jim Bowden.

        “I would have expected the courtesy of a phone call to at least say, "Hey, this is what happened,”' said Phillips, who got details of the contract from Larkin's agent, Eric Goldschmidt.

        “I guess we helped Barry Larkin get a new contract,” Phillips said. “I need to call Goldschmidt back and see what kind of fee I get.”

        The injury-plagued Mets had worked out a trade for Larkin after Bowden said the Reds wouldn't meet the All-Star shortstop's contract demands. But Larkin rejected the trade late Saturday after New York balked at a three-year contract extension.

        By Sunday night, Larkin had agreed to a three-year, $27 million extension with the Reds.

        “I guess he got what he wanted,” said reliever John Franco, who played with Larkin in Cincinnati. “I'm disappointed, but you can understand his view. He wanted to stay home and finish his career.”

        Manager Bobby Valentine added, “That's what it was all about — money.”

        The player most affected by Larkin's decision was Melvin Mora, who took over as the Mets shortstop when Rey Ordonez was lost for the year with a broken arm.

        “People were saying, "Oh, who's going to be traded? Who are the guys who are going to leave?”' Mora said. “We didn't know. Maybe it was me who was going to Cincinnati.”

        Third baseman Lenny Harris, who played with Larkin in Cincinnati, said he hasn't had a chance to talk with his close friend about his reasons for turning down the Mets.

        “He'll probably say, "Hey, I was looking for security for my wife and kids. I wanted to be a Met, but not a temporary Met,”' Harris said.

        Phillips said he did everything he could to convince Larkin to at least spend the rest of this season with the Mets. The GM offered a 10-day window after the World Series in which he could discuss a contract extension with Larkin or pay him a bonus for agreeing to the trade.

        The Mets also wanted to take the extraordinary step of flying a group of players, coaches, officials and Valentine to Cincinnati to meet with Larkin. But the Reds player rejected that idea, saying he “didn't need that sort of attention or recognition,” Phillips said.

        “We pushed all the buttons we could push,” Phillips said. “We were not allowed to get close enough to exert any peer pressure.”

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