Mets get extra rest, but is that a good thing?
NEW YORK — The way the New York Mets were playing, the last thing they needed was five days off.
No choice, though. That’s exactly what they got.
After completing a four-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series on Wednesday night, Daniel Murphy and the Mets must wait until next Tuesday to start the World Series. And recent history suggests such a long layoff in October can really be detrimental.
“I don’t know if every team’s the same. You know, we’re going to ride that pitching. And by the way, our pitching right now could use a blow because we’re pushing them pretty hard,” manager Terry Collins said Friday. “I’m glad our starters are going to get an extra day.”
Nonetheless, baseball is about repetition and timing. So it’s a fair question: Will the National League champs look rested or rusty in the upcoming Series?
The last four times a team coming off a sweep in the League Championship Series faced a team that went the distance to reach the Fall Classic, the club with the extended layoff got wiped out in the World Series.
In fact, the squads with all the extra time off went a combined 2-16 in those World Series games. The last two such Series were sweeps: Boston over Colorado in 2007, and San Francisco over Detroit in 2012.
Those Tigers were managed by Jim Leyland, a longtime mentor to Collins. Leyland also piloted the 2006 Tigers, who swept Oakland in the ALCS but lost the World Series 4-1 to a St. Louis team that went seven games with the Mets in the NLCS.
That performance was particularly sloppy, with Detroit pitchers struggling over and over to make accurate throws to the bases.
“I think he had the better team at that time, but the team that’s playing the best is the team that wins and we’ve got to get ourselves ready to play,” Collins said.
Beginning on Saturday, the intensity will increase.
Daniel Murphy, the NLCS MVP, must be eager to get back in the batter’s box. He’s homered in a record six straight post-season games and had seven overall in the playoffs.
But the time off could do Yoenis Cespedes some good. After exiting the NLCS finale, the slugger received a cortisone injection in his sore left shoulder Thursday and was told not to participate in baseball activities for 24 hours, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said.
Cespedes is expected to be ready for the World Series.
“We’re fortunate to have taken care of our business quick,” reserve infielder Kelly Johnson said. “To be honest with you, it helps guys who are banged up. It helps the rotation. I think we just take the positives and look at those.”