THE SIDELINES : Gooden Given Time to Recover

The New York Mets postponed Dwight Gooden’s next scheduled start for a minimum of two days to afford him additional time to overcome the pain, stiffness and muscle imbalance in his right shoulder.

Neither the club nor Gooden would say for certain that Gooden would start Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals. “We’ll know more as we get closer,” Manager Bud Harrelson said. But, at the same time, neither he nor Gooden expressed concern about the right-hander’s condition.

Gooden said, “I’m not where I’d like to be.” He added that his condition has improved gradually each day since Monday, when his ailment was diagnosed as a partial dislocation of the shoulder.

Gooden, who last started Sunday in the rain against the Atlanta Braves, did not do his normal between-starts throwing Wednesday. Harrelson said that starting Gooden Friday night might have constituted “pressing the issue.”