Let’s play 20 again! Two weeks after Fox analyst Tim McCarver was on hand for the Mets-Cardinals marathon he will be back in the booth when the Amazin’s take on the rival Phillies this week. He talked with The Post’s Justin Terranova about the Mets turnaround, David Wright setting himself up for failure and everything that didn’t happen two weeks ago.
Q: Was that the longest game you’ve ever done as a broadcaster?
A: Yes, but in 1985 I did a 19-inning game in Atlanta when the Mets scored five in the top 19th and Rick Camp, who tied the game with his only major league home run in the 18th was on deck with the bases loaded when that game ended. I’ll never forget that game. It ended at 3:58 a.m. and Ted Turner went ahead and shot off the fireworks on July 5th just like he would have if the game had ended four hours earlier.
Q: What will you remember about this game?
A: Baseball games are usually remembered for what did happen; this one will be remembered for what didn’t. And what didn’t happen was hitting. It was awful. I can remember seeing games with position players pitching, but I can’t remember two position players pitching and pitching thee innings. It was just one quirky, weird thing after another.
Q: The Mets are 9-2 since you last saw them. Why have they been able to turn it around?
A: Jerry Manuel deserves a lot of credit. Here’s a guy that New York was just waiting to lower the boom on when the season started. I kind of understand that because of the futile things the Mets have gone through over the past three years.
Q: What has to happen for the Mets to stick in the race?
A: They are trying to get work out of Oliver Perez and John Maine. It seems to me that these are the guys that are the key. You can bring up Ike Davis, but you are not going to be able to replace the whole team. Perez has to get straightened out and so does Maine for them to be successful.
Q: Any concerns about David Wright’s early- season struggles?
A: He might be a victim of early success. Early in his career, everyone was saying Wright and Jose Reyes were going to be the poster boys of this team for years to come. But this past year-plus, it has not continued. It’s amazing how fans, announcers overreact. . . . But he’s still a great ballplayer and I think that’s the feeling around baseball.