Archive for the ‘Willie Randolph’ Category
The Mets, speaking from a position of power, take a different approach to the Braves series.
Julio Franco…
“After all that winning they believe in themselves. … I think we believe in ourselves too, though.”
“Every game counts, but the ones against the teams in your division
have a way of feeling different or more important, Maybe it has to do with how well the teams know each other. … I
think we all know plenty about the Braves.”
Willie Randolph…
“Those are the guys we have to go through to be where we want to be, We're looking forward to that challenge.”
“I know the struggles we've had with the Braves in the past, but this
is a whole new team. We have a lot of new faces, We don't have too many guys who were around for the struggles. We're
going into this with a fresh outlook.”
“We've gotten off to the start we wanted. Now it gets down to this: We
have an understanding that the NL East championship is going to have to
go through Atlanta. To be the best, you have to beat the best. They've
been on top for a while. We have all the right tools. If we play good
baseball, we're going to win.”
Sounds like we've got a real battle on our hands, and the Mets seem ready to take on the challenge. Should be an interesting couple of days to say the least.
three first-inning homers against Livan Hernandez. “We have a lot of
confidence. We just have an attitude about us right now that we don't
think we're going to lose.”
“Last year we had guys on the ropes and let them hang in the ballgame,”
Wright said. “This year we smell blood, we go for the kill.”
said Delgado, who went 3 for 5 with a home run and also scored three
times. “That's nice for us. It doesn't happen too often, but it's nice
when you have this.”
Cliff Floyd…
“The one thing that has probably kept me sane is the team is winning,” Floyd said. As for his reaction to homering, he offered: “I felt like the biggest
idiot in the world. You go up there and you swing so nice and easy and
compact and then you get good results, whereas the first week every
swing I was taking was trying to hit the ball out of the stadium.”
On their hot start…
“Hype goes a long way,” Floyd said. “But when you actually show it,you tend to shut people up. There ain't nothing about this phony.
That's pretty good for a team that everybody talks about not having
enough pitching, or not enough this or not enough that. But we're not
going to read into all that stuff. We're just going to keep playing.”
Willie Randolph…
Wednesday on WFAN, Willie Randolph said, “[Steve]
Trachsel is my fifth guy basically,” but yesterday the manager
explained himself.
“I just threw a number out,” he said. “I just basically said
that when you have your first two guys, Pedro and [Tom] Glavine,
everybody else is 3, 4 and 5, whatever you want to do. I might have
said that, but all I meant by that is that when you go around one time,
everyone just falls into place.”
On Anderson Hernandez…”The bottom line is winning, and if he's making a contribution to us
winning, then he'll continue to play,” manager Willie Randolph said of
Hernandez. “That's what it's all about. You don't want to mess up that
rhythm. I'm not just going to throw Matsui in there when he gets back.
If we're playing well, and [Hernandez] is doing certain things, then
he's going to play. That could be all year as far as I'm concerned. I'm
not going to fool around with a situation that's working.”
Steve Trachsel...
the longest tenure with the club of any active Met — five seasons and
eight games.
Paul “The Duke” Lo Duca…
Paul Lo Duca doesn't recall that same sense elsewhere.
“Not
really,” he said. “But here, we have so much talent. I've been on
talented teams before, but it doesn't seem like anything's missing
here.”
“The best team in baseball?”
After an extended exhale, he continued.
“That's the way we feel,” he said without qualification.
For those of you squawking about Willie putting Wagner into a game the Mets have a 6 run lead in, look beneath the surface. Wagner is still behind in his game experience this season, missing several chances in spring due to a finger issue. I'm not surprised I have to address this as people seem to always want to dissect every little move Willie makes. He's not flawless, by far, but this is just silly. Think before you speak, thats the lesson of the day.
Sphere: Related ContentI don't normally like to talk about the Yankees here but I thought it was worth mentioning that the New York papers are finally taking notice of the potential of the Mets to have a special season. The type of season that puts them in the forefront of the city's consciousness. The type of season that turns the tide to a time when the Mets were the biggest, baddest team in New York. Kevin Kernan of The New York Post envisions the Mets becoming the talk of the two team town….
“Look at the history of it. [Wagner] had the song
before Mariano [Rivera] had it and to me, Yankee history is Yankee
history. It has nothing to do with the song, that's for sure. It's
really laughable to me.” - Willie Randolph
That comment shows how far the Mets have come. They have not
allowed themselves to be drawn into an idiotic fight over “Enter
Wagner.”
The season is only five games old, but the Mets have set a team tone.
Read the entire article here.
David Wright has the right idea, from the NY Post, by way of Metsblog.com….
“We expect to beat everybody every night…It doesn't matter who's on the hill…
“I
think that kind of swagger, that kind of attitude, is necessary. We
understand that it's going to be really tough to go 161-1 over the
course of the year, but we expect to do it.”
Wrights comments resonate with those of Davey Johnson, on the morning of February 26, 1986, the first day of mandatory spring training workouts. Davey gathered his troops and made the following declaration…
Davey's call to arms was more direct and had a hint of ego, calling out his main rival. Wright is beginning to exert his leadership in his own way. The common thread is that they both believe this is their year, and nothing will stop them from taking what is rightfully theirs.
Sphere: Related ContentIn a great article by Marty Noble of MLB.com, Floyd recounts a moment with Willie Randolph that forever changed his perception of his role on the Mets, and changed the course of his career…
before,” Floyd said. “That was awesome. It made me feel important — to
me. He told me he wanted me on the field. He got me to play when I
didn't feel well. He made me a better player.”
Read the full story here.
Sphere: Related Content
Mike Jacobs was shipped to Florida as part of the Carlos Delgado trade this past winter. He was a shot in the arm to the Mets, and showed flashes of brillance that had Met fans thinking they had another young superstar in the making on their hands to add to the other two on the left side of the infield.
There is a great article about Jacobs in the Miami Herald which includes the following…
Jacobs' father died of cancer when Mike was 6 years old, but he will carry the memory of his dad into this season, too.
''He was a real good high school athlete,'' said Jacobs, who has a
tattoo on his back that reads ''JAKE'' in Gothic print. It serves as a
tribute to his father. ''Everyone called him Jake, and that's what they
call me,'' he said with a slight smile of pride.
Jacobs is one of those feel-good stories, the one about the kid
nobody wanted who somehow made it to the majors. He was a catcher in
high school in San Diego.
From time to time, he worked out with other Hilltop High grads Jose
Silva, Todd Pratt and Bob Natal, major leaguers who went home in the
winter.
But Jacobs was an afterthought. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays picked him
in the 43rd round of the draft. He didn't sign with Tampa Bay and tried
to gain attention playing for Grossmont (Calif.) Junior College. The
Mets then drafted him in the 38th round.
You won't find Jacobs, a converted first baseman, reading the long
lists of can't-miss prospects in Baseball America. It's fine reading,
but it doesn't mean much to Jacobs, who ignored all the hype given to
so many other players, and just went to work to prove everyone wrong.
''There are so many guys who weren't drafted high who made it,'' he said. “I never thought that way.
“I just believed if I worked hard I would get a chance to prove myself.''
Jacobs, who was the Mets' organizational player of the year in 2005,
got more than a chance. He got a helping hand from Pedro Martinez.
The Mets called him up last August. Four days later, Jacobs hit a
pinch-hit, three-run home run in his first big-league at-bat. After the
game, the Mets were preparing to leave for a road trip, and they told
Jacobs he was being sent back to the minors.
Martinez heard they were sending Jacobs down, and had a tirade in
the clubhouse over the decision, telling Mets manager Willie Randolph
that Jacobs deserved to stay.
''It's just not right,'' Martinez told reporters at the time. “It
could frustrate a kid when he hits a three-run homer that puts us back
in the game, and you send him back down.''
Martinez's words made a difference, and the Mets kept Jacobs. He
made Martinez look like a genius. He hit a home run in each of his
first four games. Jacobs finished the season with 11 homers in 100
at-bats. If you extrapolate the numbers to an entire season it comes
out to 55 home runs for the year.
''I thanked Pedro for standing up for me,'' Jacobs said. “What he
did was awesome. He said he remembered what it was like coming up. For
a guy like Pedro Martinez to stand up for you was something I'll never
forget.''
Recent Comments