After the previous Monday Willie Randolph had, which included a marathon meeting with ownership when his job hung in the balance and a 7-3 loss to the Marlins, a cross-country flight may not seem that bad.
Still, the schedule makers at Major League Baseball and ESPN did the Mets no favors by giving them a Sunday night game at Shea, a 6-1 win over the Dodgers, followed by a game tonight in San Francisco (10:15, SNY, WFAN).
The saving grace is that the Mets (28-27) are playing their best baseball of the year, having won five of six since the meetng and loss to the Marlins a week ago.
“They need to look at that, really look at the way TV is taking over, when you play at certain times, changing time zones rapidly,” Randolph said. “You’d get better baseball and a healthier product and probably a better game.”
The short rest will force Randolph to bench Ryan Church, who returned to the lineup yesterday after not starting for two weeks with a concussion. He went 3-for-4 with a home run in his first game back. Randolph said catcher Brian Schneider also likely will get the night off.
“I’ve always been an advocate of more off days and shortening the season, if possible. It’s a grind, man,” Randolph said. “And that’s why you see a lot of injuries and why you see subpar performances at times.”
Greeting the Mets on the West Coast will be the Giants (24-33), who are waiting for the Amazin’s after a weekend series at AT&T Park against the Padres. The Giants, expected to be one of the worst teams in baseball, have played feistily, winning four of six coming into tonight.
It’s a game which David Wright has no qualms about playing, despite the short rest.
“We have to do it,” Wright said. “We aren’t the only team in baseball that has to stay up late play some baseball.”
Tonight’s Pitching Matchup:
Mets LHP Oliver Perez (4-3, 4.83 ERA) In innings 1-3, batters are hitting .205 against Perez; in innings 4-6 they are hitting .273. In his prior start, Perez was protecting a 4-2 lead in the sixth inning when Cody Ross hit a three-run homer in a game the Mets eventually won 7-6 in 12 innings. Perez flew out before the rest of the team to get acclimated to the time change.
Giants LHP Jonathan Sanchez (3-3, 4.26 ERA) Sanchez will look for his second straight win after going without one for five starts. He gave up two runs over six innings in the Giants’ 11-3 win over the first-place Diamondbacks on May 28.
With Mets.com