SAN FRANCISCO -- With Steve Trachsel pitching effectively and Victor Zambrano pitching unreliably, Mets manager Willie Randolph decided Wednesday to revise the starting pitching rotation for the weekend series in Atlanta. Zambrano has been excluded, while Trachsel has been included.

Randolph said before the game Wednesday he wanted "to sleep on" the possible change that would have Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine and Trachsel face the Braves and push back Zambrano so that he would face the Nationals at Shea Stadium on Monday night. But by game's end, the manager had put the plan in motion.

The off-day Thursday allows the Mets to fiddle with the rotation, move up Trachsel's start and not have anyone pitching on short rest. Zambrano will make his start with seven days off.

The Mets already had altered the rotation. Initially, Glavine was to have started Sunday, one day after Zambrano. In that way, he could face the Braves this weekend in Atlanta and next weekend at Shea Stadium. He was fine with that, even though his Sunday start would have come with five days' rest, rather that the preferred four.

Now, by starting Saturday, his subsequent turn will come May 4 against the Pirates, and not the following night, against the Braves. Staying on a four-day program was preferable, the lefty said.

Glavine also noted that the revisions will allow him to make 19 rather than 17 starts before the All-Star break -- if postponements don't interfere. That is no small consideration. Also, with the rotation at it is now, he and Pedro Martinez will be in line to face the Yankees in three weeks -- also no small consideration.

Changes forthcoming: If the hamstring strain Brian Bannister suffered Wednesday causes the rookie pitcher to be assigned to the disabled list, and if Carlos Beltran still feels unable to play Friday when the Mets open their series in Atlanta, the Mets probably will promote a position player from the Minor Leagues for at least four games.

That player will not be Lastings Milledge, general manager Omar Minaya said Wednesday. It could be Victor Diaz, who has not been hitting productively in Triple-A since he was demoted April 17.

The player promoted probably would be returned to the Minor Leagues on Tuesday if the club needs to promote a pitcher -- John Maine, Jose Lima or Jeremi Gonzalez -- to replace Bannister. Maine is the only one of the three on the 40-man roster.

The Mets won't know enough to make a decision about Bannister until Thursday, if then. He is to be re-evaluated in Atlanta. He said he never had a hamstring injury, so he has nothing to judge this one against.

"It might just be a real bad cramp," he said.

"The best thing is that's it's not in the worst place -- high or low. It's in the middle of the muscle."

Tucker signs: The Mets signed outfielder Michael Tucker to a Minor League contract on Wednesday. Tucker, 34, will report to Port St. Lucie to work with the club's extended Spring Training teams. He batted .158 (6-for-38) with three runs, one triple and six RBIs with four walks and 15 strikeouts in 19 Spring Training games with the Nationals, who released him March 30.

Tucker split the 2005 season between the Giants and Phillies, batting.240 (60-for-250) with 32 runs, 16 doubles, one triple, five home runs and 33 RBIs with 28 walks and 48 strikeouts in 104 games with the Giants. He batted .222 (4-for-18) with three RBIs in 22 games with the Phillies.

The making of the '86 Mets: The Mets were too susceptible to left-handed pitching, general manager Frank Cashen thought after the final week shortfall in 1985. The right-handed production of Gary Carter and Ray Knight didn't provide sufficient balance for a team that had Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry, and whose switch-hitters did more damage batting left-handed.

So the Mets' winter agenda included adding right-handed punch as well as one more left-handed starter who might hold Whitey's Whabbits. Kevin Mitchell was promoted from the Minor Leagues, Tim Teufel was imported from the Twins and Bobby Ojeda was stolen from the Red Sox.

Cashen was confident he and his staff had made the proper renovations. The proof came in the fourth game of the Mets' late April series in St. Louis.

The Cardinals starter, John Tudor, was, like Ojeda, a left-handed Red Sox refugee. He had bedeviled the Mets in 1985, beating them three times in five starts and pitching 10 shutout innings in his no-decision.

He had retired his first nine batters when he faced Mitchell to open the fourth inning. Mitchell had shown promise. In the fourth, he showed Tudor a long home run, the first home run of Mitchell's career. An inning later, he singled and Teufel hit his first Mets home run. The Mets scored five times in seven innings against their nemesis, all in support of -- who else -- Ojeda.

"I'd say our plan worked," Davey Johnson said after the game, after the Mets' victory had emphatically completed a four-game sweep that underscored their superiority.

And after the game, Wally Backman was on an elevator outside a side door of the Cardinals clubhouse. As the elevator door began to close, Backman saw Cardinals pitcher Ricky Horten step through the clubhouse door. He extended his hand to stop the door from closing and, in a sing-song way kids use when teasing, he issued a warning: "Don't let us get too far ahead."

On this date: The Mets scored twice in the third inning on an error and wild pitch and beat Steve Carlton and the Cardinals in St. Louis in 1971. Jerry Koosman (eight innings) and Danny Frisella pitched for the Mets. Joe Torre, in the midst of his 230-hit MVP season, had three hits and extended his season-long hitting streak to 21 games. It ended two games later against Nolan Ryan. ... Five years later, the Mets scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Braves, 7-6. The decisive hit was a double by Bruce Boisclair. ... In 1990, Astros outfielder Eric Yelding had three singles, the only hits Frank Viola allowed in a 1-0 shutout. Mark Carreon's home run off Mark Portugal was the difference.

The Mets struck out 27 times -- half of their outs -- while being swept at Shea Stadium, 6-1 and 7-3, by the Diamondbacks in 2003.

Coming up: Having left behind AT&T Park, the Mets move to their other nemesis site, Turner Field. You may recall Martinez outpitching John Smoltz at The Ted on April 10 of last season to produce New York's first victory under Randolph. What you may not recall is that the Mets won no other game in Atlanta last season.

Their record at Turner Field: 20-51.