Leocadia blog

Hershiser, Valentine reunite on Sunday night games

or, perhaps, broadcasting.

Hershiser would ask why the Mets were playing the infield in at a particular time. Or why they weren't holding the runner on first. Or why they weren't playing a "no doubles" defense.

"The great thing about baseball is there are so many different ways to skin a cat," Hershiser said.

ESPN hopes those old dugout debates translate well to the air, a former pitcher and an ex-manager offering different perspectives while dissecting the intricacies of strategy.

"We can even disagree when it's time to disagree and know it's not personal," Valentine said.

The former Mets and Rangers manager became a studio analyst for ESPN last year. He managed the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Pacific League from 2004-09.

Shulman, perhaps best known for calling college basketball with Dick Vitale, has served as a regular play-by-play voice for baseball games on ESPN since 2002.

The network is making another major alteration to its Sunday night coverage, moving "Baseball Tonight" to the site of the game. Drake insisted the changes didn't reflect any concern about the state of the franchises.

"The time to change is not when you're playing from behind," he said. "It's when you're in the lead."

Nobody leaves any doubt the Sunday night game — as a high-profile, nationally televised matchup with no other games on at the same time — is considered different from the contests aired on other days. Expect a bit more big-picture conversation about what's going on around the league.

"We'd like to tie a bow on the week that was and open up the box on the week that will be," Shulman said.