Six of ESPN's first eight "Sunday Night Baseball" games will feature the Yankees or Mets, including three weeks in a row for the Mets.

Why more Mets games than Yankees games?

Partly because ESPN is limited to five appearances per team and is saving its Yankees bullets for later in the season. (The opener doesn't count because it is not a national exclusive.)

Senior VP of programming Len DeLuca said this about that:

"The secret is the opponents. In the first two months, the Mets play the Yankees, Phillies, Cardinals and Braves on Sunday night. They are in the No. 1 market, so it's simple calculus to figure how we chose the Mets four times."

Jon Miller and Joe Morgan are expected back in the booth, but ESPN has not announced whether or with whom it will replace Steve Phillips.

Helpful WatchDog suggestion: Bobby V!

The early schedule:

April 4: Yankees at Red Sox

April 11: Cardinals at Brewers

April 18: Mets at Cardinals

April 25: Braves at Mets

May 2: Mets at Phillies

May 9: Yankees at Red Sox

May 16: Phillies at Brewers

May 23: Yankees at Mets

May 30: Rangers at Twins

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