Archive for the ‘Willie Randolph’ Category
Is it just me, or did your heart skip a beat when Reyes hit the deck at home? I know mine did. I actually feel like Reyes should have gone in a bit stronger, looks like he went in half hearted. Willie said after the game he just got the wind knocked out of him. I'm thanking all that is sacred that he's ok. Reyes returned and finished the game, but went hitless, ending his streak.
Tough loss tonight, which is funny to say when you're up 12 games, but you want to beat the good teams to prove you can win in the postseason and the Red Sox are one of them. Mets will have their two aces up next and will have a chance to win this series, but will face a tough task against Schilling and Beckett.
Soler looked overwhelmed all night. He got in trouble as he usually does in the first and it unraveled from there. The bats never got going, aside from Delgado and Marrero's solo homers. Wright got badly fooled on a nasty curve by Lester. Milledge made some nice plays off the wall but the one he missed scored two and honestly thats a tough task for a guy who just came up to the big leagues.
Get back on the horse and bring Pedro, who loves to step up in the spotlight and he will have a major stage to show his stuff on tomorrow. I hope he does his best to show the Boston faithful what they gave away.
The Journal News reports, Willie had mentioned when Reyes sustained a sore wrist that it might
actually help Reyes. Willie remarked that he did some of his best
hitting with some discomfort in his wrists because it helps you wait a
bit on the ball, and not go after bad pitches as frequently.
“I hope that's what it is,” Randolph said. “It's
a great lesson for him. Sometimes you're forced to do things and make
adjustments.
Willie also gave Rick Down his hitting coach credit and Reyes credit for putting the time in…
“I have to give him credit. He's been working really hard with (hitting coach) Rick Down.”
Down's hitting philosophy is to wait for one pitch, and with a player of Reyes' speed, to swing down when he gets it.
“He's an inferno right now,” Down said
matter-of-factly. “The reason for this? He's got talent. His pitch
selection has gotten better, and he's taken a shorter approach.”
Despite the change in approach, Reyes still has the ability to drive a ball if given the opportunity.
Reyes
can still turn on a pitch, which he did on Josh Towers' third delivery
for his fifth career homer to start a game, and third this season.
Chavez, Part Time Player with Full Time Arm
Posted by Anthony De RosaJune 26, 2006 at 2:43 pm
26 Jun
Endy Chavez is usually used as a fill in outfielder by Willie Randolph, but with the injury to Cliff Floyd and the desire by Willie to get Endy some work in between days while resting his other outfielders, Chavez has put up impressive numbers both behind the plate and in the field. Perhaps the most impressive number is his amount of outfield assists. When he nailed Reed Johnson at second trying
to stretch a single yesterday, it was his eighth assist of the season, trailing
only Alfonso Soriano and Brad Hawpe (10 each), both starting outfielders for their respective teams.
The Toronto Blue Jays are generally thought of as one of the better teams in baseball, ranked 6th by ESPN's Power Rankings. Its a good measuring stick for the Mets who play in one of the weaker divisions in baseball. In an article on the Daily News, the Jay's Frank Catalanotto heaped praise..
“That's the best lineup we've faced all year,” Blue Jays outfielder Frank Catalanotto said.
In the same article, Jose Reyes cited Willie Randolph and hitting coach Rick Down's assistance for his improved approach at the plate…
Said Reyes: “Willie Randolph talked to me in L.A. He said, 'Jose, with
your speed, you have to put the ball in play as much as you can.' Rick
Down told me, 'Hey, you have to see the ball longer.' I started to try
to hit the ball the other way. … The last couple of weeks I made a
little change in my swing. A lot of times the pitcher threw me an
offspeed pitch outside and I tried to pull the ball. Now I stay with
it.”
Willie had mentioned when Reyes sustained a sore wrist that it might actually help Reyes. Willie remarked that he did some of his best hitting with some discomfort in his wrists because it helps you wait a bit on the ball, and not go after bad pitches as frequently.
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.”
Aaron Heilman…
“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.”
Tom Glavine…
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.
David Wright…
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.”
Carlos Delgado…
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.”
Carlos Beltran…
“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.
I 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.
In 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.
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