Monday, May 09, 2005

Crystal ball: The Starting Rotation

If the current rotation holds true, then Pedro Martinez would pitch against the Cincinnati Reds on May 18th, and miss the Yankee series. So the question is: Does Willie Randolph hold him for the Yankee series and use his rotation depth (Jae Seo) to get Pedro that extra rest and have him pitch the opener against the Yanks? Or do they stick with the rotation as it is currently constituted?

The Prophecy: If Randolph sticks to the rotation as is, then Pedro misses the Yankee series (May 20-22 at Shea), but he gets one start against the Braves (May 24th) and one start against the Marlins (May 29th). If he pushes Pedro back to face the Yankees, then Martinez misses the Marlins altogether. The scribes will probably have a problem with it, but I say Martinez misses the Yankees and remains on his regular turn. Art Howe wasn't right very often in his Met tenure, but he was right when he put more emphasis on the divisional games than the Yankee series, which is why he switched Tom Glavine around so that he would face the Phillies instead of the Yankees in 2004. Of course Glavine lost against the Phillies and made Howe look like an idiot (not that Art Howe needed the help in that regard), so there is a danger in over-managing, which is why Randolph should stick with the current order and give Pedro the extra start against the N.L. East rival. In any event, expect Willie Randolph to have his first mini-controversy of his Met managerial career.

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