CHICAGO -- Joe Torre asked for no special accommodations for Thursday night, no interview room or press conference to handle the media crush.

He's just another visiting manager whose team is playing a baseball game in New York.

Yeah, right.

Torre returns to his hometown, where he probably could have been elected mayor, if he wanted that headache after the grief he took the past three years managing the Yankees.

He brings with him a Dodgers team that was just swept out of Chicago, scoring three runs in three games. The Mets are going about as badly, and their manager is on the hot seat.

Torre has tried to downplay his return to New York as an opposing manager after leaving the Yankees over the winter and getting snapped up by the Dodgers. But downplay within reason, as two New York newspapers already sent writers to Chicago to produce advance stories.

"It's going to be crazy," said Torre. "It's not Yankee Stadium, so it's not as significant as it would have been there. But going back to New York, you know there will be plenty of media that want to know things, I guess."

With Mets manager Willie Randolph, Torre has already expressed relief that he's not available to be included in rumors for Randolph's successor, should the Mets make a change.

"I certainly feel for Willie," Torre said. "Anybody who's managed in New York has been exposed to what he's being exposed to. What they went through last year [late-season collapse], the fans have been angry about last year. We [the Yankees] got a little taste of that in '04, when we lost to the Red Sox. That all takes its toll. He's a New Yorker, but I don't think anybody can ignore it.

"I talked to him. It [last year] was a tough time, no question it was a tough time. Again, he knows who his friends are. He still has a job to do. One thing about it, managing in New York, you've got to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time. The highs are very high, so you know what the lows are. You have to fight that stuff."

Torre's ability to fight those battles earned him rock-star status. But, he points out, that was in the Bronx. In Queensboro, he was, and still is, the enemy.

"I'm in the opposite dugout," he said. "Mets fans are different than Yankees fans, that's for sure. I don't anticipate anything will be different than when I came there with the Yankees. I don't think that will change. If you like one [team], you don't like the other. Like the Cubs and White Sox. It's a matter of who they hate. Mets fans hate the Yankees to the point they root for the Red Sox."

Pitching matchup
LAD: RHP Brad Penny (5-5, 5.32 ERA)
Penny showed improvement after three really rocky starts, but he still didn't get a win his last time out. This time it was one bad inning, which included back-to-back walks. Penny has had some shoulder stiffness to deal with, but he said after his last start he felt better than he had in five years. His velocity topped at 97 mph, which eased concerns about anything serious physically. But he's still allowing too many hits.

NYM: RHP Claudio Vargas (1-2, 3.93 ERA)
Vargas came up big for the Mets at Coors Field on Saturday, earning his first win in three starts since his May 13th callup. Pitching on three days' rest a day after the Mets 'pen was extended in a 13-inning loss to the Rockies, Vargas went seven strong innings, holding Colorado to two runs on four hits. He struck out three and walked only one, inducing eight ground-ball outs with a sinker that played well in the offensively oriented ballpark. He improved to 5-1 against the Rockies, and will try to remain undefeated against the Dodgers, who he has faced once -- a complete-game victory in 2005, when he allowed one run on six hits while striking out seven.

Tidbits
Shortstop Rafael Furcal, disabled with an inflammed lower back but reportedly improving, will be examined by back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins on Friday. ... Jason Schmidt, who made his third rehab start Monday, rebounded quickly enough to have a bullpen session on Wednesday, a significant sign of progress in his recovery from shoulder surgery 11 months ago. If he comes out of the bullpen session without a problem, the desire is to have him make another rehab start on a five-day cycle, which would be Saturday. ... Catcher A.J. Ellis drove in eight runs Tuesday night in Las Vegas' 23-2 win over Tucson. Andy LaRoche and Sergio Garcia had five RBIs each. ... In a uniform number switch, Clayton Kershaw will give up No. 54 and get Mark Sweeney's No. 22. Sweeney will pick up No. 21, previously worn by Esteban Loaiza.

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Up next
• Friday: Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 0-0, 3.00) at Mets (John Maine, 5-4, 3.41), 4:10 p.m. PT
• Saturday: Dodgers (Chad Billingsley, 4-6, 3.68) at Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 2-6, 5.33), 12:55 p.m. PT
• Sunday: Dodgers (Hiroki Kuroda, 2-4, 3.29) at Mets (Johan Santana, 6-3, 3.41), 5:05 p.m. PT