 |
 |
 |
|
IF pitching Johan Santana on normal rest Thursday afternoon against the much-traveled TBD of the Nationals would put a win in the books, then sign up the person who signs the Mets' lineup card.
"Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with him pitching in Yankee Stadium [on Friday], but we're not going to get all flip-floppy and everything because of that," Willie Randolph said yesterday.
"If he wins on Thursday, it's a win. Good for us."
A win last night at frigid Shea would have been good for the Mets, too, but Nelson Figueroa, feel-good story going bad, threw away a force at the plate and got tagged for a two-run double by Jesus Flores in a three-run fifth leading to a 10-4 loss to Washington. The Mets, at 19-17, remain less than the team most us think they should be because their starting pitching remains less than was expected.
Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez are a few weeks away, and then potentially a few weeks away from disappearing again. Oliver Perez has been all over the place and Mike Pelfrey is a work in halting progress. The Phillies have a better lineup than the Mets, behooving them to have greater starting pitching, not just against the Yankees six times a year, but also in four games with Washington leading up to a Subway Series.
So Willie's bird-in-hand theory made sense until he started beating around the bush, albeit for a reason likely out of his control.
Successful managers, believing that if they take care of their pitching, their pitching will take care of them, roll five starters in turn regardless of opponent. That said, ignoring the temptation to deviate is easier than ignoring the wishes of a person authorizing your paycheck.
"If it plays out [Santana] pitches Friday, great," said Randolph. And if so, it would primarily be due to somebody other than Randolph wanting Santana pitching Friday, not because an ace who threw 117 pitches beating the Reds Saturday could use an extra day's rest by mid-May.
That's not such a terrible idea, it just doesn't sound like the manager's idea.
"If I could be guaranteed a win on Thursday with Washington, I would take that win and forget about the Yankees," said Randolph. "We could bring up [Adam] Bostick and he might throw a gem against the Yankees."
Bostick is being called up from New Orleans to pitch tomorrow. Santana, despite the Mets' insistence that a decision still is pending, apparently will go Friday, the right plan if the primary plan is to go to Yankee Stadium showing "we got Santana and you didn't."
True, it can't hurt to give Santana an extra day. It was, however, slightly painful to watch Randolph getting all flip-floppy rationalizing it after saying he was against manipulating a rotation for a specific opponent.
