St. Louis – Monday’s cold, steady rain might have washed away the curse hanging over the Mets’ pitching corps.
The nasty weather postponed Game 5 of the National League Championship Series until 6:15 tonight at Busch Stadium, giving Mets starter Tom Glavine and the Cardinals’ Jeff Weaver a break. Both had been slated to start Monday’s game on three days’ rest; now they’ll get the usual four days between starts.
The series is tied 2-2 and for the second time the teams must travel without a day off.
They’ll play Game 6 on Wednesday night at New York’s Shea Stadium, as originally scheduled.
Monday’s postponement is a blessing for the 40-year-old Glavine, forced to become the Mets’ go-to playoff pitcher when staff stalwarts Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez were injured prior to the postseason. Glavine – who pitched seven shutout innings in Game 1 using just 89 pitches – dismissed the notion that pitching on just three days’ rest would hinder him.
“I think this time of year, your adrenaline is so high, you’re so fired up about getting out there, that it takes away from a lot of the feelings on the negative side,” he said. “And most of it revolves around being a little bit tired. You don’t have that extra day that you’re accustomed to, so maybe you don’t have as much zip on your pitches as you’re accustomed to or maybe you’re physically just not feeling the way you’re accustomed to. But 99 percent of it depends on how you feel, and I feel good.”
History, however, says that Glavine is a better pitcher with four days between starts. He is 8-6 with a 3.53 ERA in 25 career starts on three days’ rest during the regular season. But in seven starts on three days’ rest in the postseason, Glavine is 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said Monday’s postponement was the right move, and not just because it will help Glavine and Weaver.
“I think the position players would have had to deal with the elements,” La Russa said. “It would be dangerous and a lot to ask.”
Pujols’ power outage
Though Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, a leading candidate for National League MVP, is hitting .310 (9-for-29) in the playoffs, he has just one homer and three RBIs. La Russa blamed a hamstring injury that plagued Pujols during the regular season.
“You’ve probably noticed that he’s laboring when he runs,” La Russa said. “His right hamstring is a real problem – his push-off, drive leg. He can hit some home runs if he catches it right, but he’s not going to be generating as much power. He can still generate base hits, he’s just got to be careful running.”
Series-ready El Duque?
After throwing a bullpen session Sunday, Hernandez said he feels strong enough to pitch in the World Series should the Mets get past the Cardinals.
“If the team has a chance to be in the next round, I’ll be in,” Hernandez told reporters.
The veteran pitcher tore his right calf while running in the outfield before the Mets’ divisional series against the Dodgers.
Managerial carousel
Ken Macha’s surprise ouster in Oakland is causing repercussions around baseball. With Macha gone, Oakland has expressed interest in former Marlins manager Joe Girardi. Girardi is considered the favorite for the Washington Nationals’ job but is likely to interview for the San Francisco Giants’ vacancy before making any decisions.
Girardi, for a first-year manager with a losing record, has a lot of options. He has been courted to return to the Yankees as a broadcaster for the YES network, with speculation he would stick around and wait until his good friend Joe Torre retires.
With Macha unemployed, he’s a sleeper candidate in Washington. He has long- standing relationships with several members of the Nationals’ restructured front office.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck contributed to this report.
Staff writer Patrick Saunderscan be reached at 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
