Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick is livid with MLB over the scheduling snafu that contributed to his team being on the outside looking in at the playoffs.
Kendrick joined “Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo” and ranted about the logistics of how the Braves and Mets played a doubleheader on Monday in which the winner of the first game would clinch a playoff spot and thus be disincentivized to put forth their full effort in the second leg of the slate.
“I predicted a week ago, when this debacle — at multiple levels — was occurring to have the season end with two games yet to be played on a Monday before the playoffs start, it was ill-advised,” Kendrick said Monday.
“I’m disappointed that MLB didn’t take a more aggressive posture to insist on those games being played earlier.
“Those teams didn’t have a game scheduled last Monday. They played one game on Tuesday; they could’ve played two games last Monday or two games last Tuesday, and then not been involved in the middle of getting canceled and scheduling games to be played after the season.”
The Diamondbacks needed one of the teams to sweep the doubleheader to qualify for the playoffs.
Monday’s doubleheader between the Mets and Braves featured games that were canceled last week due to Hurricane Helene, a weather event that was hardly a surprise given that forecasts predicted severe rainfall several days in advance.
The teams played Tuesday, with Atlanta winning 5-1 before the next two games were postponed with the hectic storm incoming.
As Kendrick pointed out, both teams had an off day last Monday, which the teams could have played on with proper foresight and approval.
From an intrigue perspective, MLB got a barn-burner, especially in the seesaw battle in Game 1
However, the Mets were predictably sluggish in the second game and were shut out 3-0.
The Mets advanced to play the Brewers in the wild-card round while the Braves will be facing the Padres.
The Diamondbacks, who reached the World Series last season, finished 89-73 after losing five of their last seven games, which included blowing an 8-0 lead to the Brewers in a 10-9 loss on Sept. 22.