Last week’s Mets-Nationals series included seven hit batters, six by the Mets, and a bench clearing incident centering around Mets RHP Pedro Martinez and Nats OF Jose Guillen. 

As a results, Nats RHP Felix Rodriguez was given a three-game suspension, manager Frank Robinson took his one game suspension last night, and Guillen was fined an undisclosed amount.  No members of the Mets were fined or suspended… 

According to ESPN.com, Major League Baseball has told the two teams to be on their best behavior when they meet for the first game of a three-game series in Washington this afternoon…

Mets OF Cliff Floyd, as quoted the Star-Ledger, New York Post, Daily News and Newsday…

“I’m expecting good, clean baseball…I think if Pedro hits him, though, we’re gonna fight…I think if anybody on their team gets hit, chances are something’s gonna happen, which is crazy…All this talk about retaliation, it needs to stop. That stuff isn’t good for the game, it’s not what we’re here for. But things happen, and they’ve got to look out for themselves.”…

“The fans love it.  Players hate it because it is too cold for that stuff right now.  You like the added stuff that goes on, but you don’t want it to the point where guys start to get hurt. You have retaliation.  It doesn’t mean when they say they are going to hit you that they are going to hit you in the arm or the leg.  What if they hit you in the head? I’ve got family.”…

…so, does this mean cliffie would be all for a brawl as long as it was warmer outside…hahah…funny quote…

Mets 3B David Wright, as quoted by ESPN.com…

“Hopefully, that’s behind us. You don’t want to get into a bean-ball contest with anybody…That doesn’t do you any good. They have to understand, Pedro has to pitch inside to be effective. There shouldn’t be any bad blood. You can’t worry about those kinds of things. I’m not concerned about it.”…

…throwing inside is the name-of-the-game for all pitchers not named Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux…soriano wags his elbow so far over the plate, it is a wonder he isn’t hit by every pitch he is thrown…in fact, one of my favorite pedro moments goes back to his days on the red sox, when he clinked both soriano and Derek Jeter to start the game…priceless…and totally justifiable…get off the plate, gentlemen…or risk injury…it’s that simple…

Mets 1B Julio Franco, as quoted by the Associated Press…

“We won’t allow ourselves to be distracted. We’re going to keep our focus on winning ballgames.  We don’t want anybody on this ballclub to get in a brawl or get suspended or get hurt…That won’t help our ballclub.”…

…help me, julio konebi, you’re my only hope…

Nats OF Jose Guillen, following last week’s game…

“I know how to take care of it.  Trust me.  Don’t worry about it.  I will face him again, and I know how to take care of it…

“He said he’s not afraid to hit no one.  We’ll see when we get back home.  We walk [into the stadium] the same way.”…

…zip it, punk…

Nats OF Jose Guillen, as quoted by the Washington Post…

“You think he can intimidate me?  I’m not afraid of no one when I cross those white lines. And let me tell you something: We’ll see on Wednesday how tough he is. I want him to come in there. And we’ll see if he’s that tough like he thinks he is.You know what?  If I get hit again, it’s going to get real ugly if he’s pitching…He thinks I was going out there with the bat? Why would I need a bat for a 150-pound guy when I’m 230?”…

Mets C Paul Lo Duca, regarding Guillen’s post-game comments, as recently quoted by ESPN.com…

“I think a lot of people say a lot of stuff when people are not in their face, so we’ll see what happens when we’re out on the field.”…

…the sense i get, is that if the mets get popped by a pitch, they’ll simply take their base, as they should…however, if a player on the nationals gets hit, especially early in the game then all hell is gonna break loose, because i’m not sure washington will take it sitting down…