Matthew Cerrone

Opinion: Finish Strong, Each Game, Each Year
By Matthew Cerrone - Apr 24, 2008 1:04 pm

Willie Randolph, on the team’s hitting and scoring late in games, while talking to reporters after last night’s win over the Nationals:

“I think collectively we need to start swinging the bats a little bit better.  Ryan Church had a big hit in the end, even though we were up by three.  We need to continue to add on those extra runs at the end.  So, that was a big double by Ryan to give us a little more breathing room.”

yes, yes, yes…but, it’s not just about runs…this idea speaks to a much larger mindset that this team must get back to…

…if you think of last season as one nine-inning game, the Mets let up at the end…they were ahead early, then put it on cruise control, and then fell asleep at the wheel…that can never happen, not just over a 162 game season, but in a nine-inning game as well…

…i think we all agree that the Mets tend to coast…they don’t always play with a killer instinct…so many times during the last year or so, they have had a team on the ropes – or are in a position to sweep – and they fell short, by their own admission…

…this idea of keeping the pedal to the metal, pressing, pushing hard to score more runs, is not just about winning one one game…it’s about winning a pennant, as well

79 Responses to “Opinion: Finish Strong, Each Game, Each Year”

  1. K-Hern says:

    Sweep the leg!

    • giuseppe franco_procede says:

      Karate Kid rocked! lol

      • kowalski69 says:

        PUT EM IN A BODYBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG

      • K-Hern says:

        That’s the best name I’ve seen yet.

        “He ran his hand through my hair, and he’s like…. It works, It works”

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          I don’t own the company…All I can say is that it works! lol…

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          The procede commercials are hilarious. C’mon Gary Busey makes a cameo…How funny! LOL

        • K-Hern says:

          “You don’t notice the thinning spots”

          Increases Hair Shaft Diameter

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          Ironically he is selling the same product in his salon for $500 while anyone can buy for $20. LOL.

          “I’m not putting my name on the line if it didn’t work!”

        • K-Hern says:

          ” Once daily regiment…. twice daily regiment …. who has the time for that?”

          ” Listen guys, stop hiding the appearance of your thinning hair, and DO SOMETHIN ABOUT IT”

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          Such as the guy putting on his baseball cap while two attractive ladies pass him by! LOL…

        • bigchart333 says:

          oh…listen up, I’m Guiseppe Franco. I’m not gonna sit there and look like a mook and put my name on some “gah-bage” product, capice? So do the right thing…get this product. DOn’t make me say it again.

          that was teh original version of the commercial. then they told him to tone it down a bit

          (ps–im 100% italian myself, and my middle name is guiseppe..so dont gimme no lip, capice??)

        • K-Hern says:

          what is that guy in the park doing, running around with a hat in his back pocket?…… unreal

          How about the 20 year old kid with a buzz cut needing proceed….

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          A HA HA HA! This is too much!

        • stellar says:

          Who in their right mind thinks to themselves:

          “Eh… I don’t know… OOOHHH Gary Busey! I’m sold!”

        • K-Hern says:

          giuseppe has cornered the market on NY baseball advertising…. in Albany, NY the Mets and Yanks are on back-to-back channels, and giuseppe advertises on both channels during games….

          I see giuseppe at least 6 or 7 times a night….. and I laugh every time

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          I see that damn commercial on FSN, MSG, SNY and Yes! Dude…he must’ve made a fortune with a product that virtually does not work. $$$ CHA-CHING!

        • K-Hern says:

          It’s the only product I know of that works after using it JUST ONCE every 90 days

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          After viewing the commercial on youtube…I observed this statement by Franco…

          “I don’t own the company…I don’t know anything about the product!”

          Later in the commercial the announcer said something to the extent of…”The same product used at Franco’s salon goes for $450…this could be yours for $19.99″…or something like that.

          Smells fishy…don’t you think? LOL

        • K-Hern says:

          Yeah….. the only think he knows is that he is ripping off a bunch of rich morons in beverly hills

          The picture of Arnold pushing the tire in his front window is priceless

        • AlreadyMissShea says:

          By the way, some other You Tube searches for Guiseppe Franco turn up some… interesting… resutls. :)

        • K-Hern says:

          I’ll have to wait until after work to check out you tube….. I’ve spent the last hour and a half of work discussing the fine points of Guiseppe Franco

          man if I ever got the opportunity to meet this guy, I wouldn’t know whether to punch him in his face, or have a beer with him

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          K-Hern, Make sure you punch him for me, too! Damn, instead of talking Mets baseball…we are talking about his damn product…and hell…im using the name as user i.d. Talk about brand identity. LOL

        • K-Hern says:

          HAHAHAH….. fantastic

        • Ollie Ollie Oxen Free says:

          I don’t think that’s really Gary Busey, is it? If it is, breathe through your eyelids.

  2. part09 says:

    NO MERCY FOR THE WEAK!!!

  3. gometzies_18 says:

    I liked last nights lineup - Church clearly has the “killer instinct” right now over Delgado

  4. HOFMets57 says:

    Great point. The very point you speak of is the responsibility of the manager, alone.

    I am not a ‘Fire Willie’ advocate, but if this is a consistent thing then I will join the ranks. Front and Center.

  5. Mexworshipper says:

    I agree, Matt. I’ve been saying that since last May/June.

    I like the graphic, by the way.

  6. NickA33 says:

    I have nothing to add to this conversation other than the fact that I love the picture displayed!

    There is NO fear in this dojo!!

    Finish him!!!!!

  7. bkdrew says:

    Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!

  8. Dirtysanchez says:

    yea gotta admit last nights line up got the job done. Slappy got a few hit last night, lets hope we can build on that and win the games we are supposed to win

  9. jedimynd says:

    Get him a body bag…yeah!

  10. xmulderx says:

    I agree with the killer instinct lacking 110%!

    Willie needs to tell his players sweep the leg!

  11. metsfan119 says:

    I want him out of commission!

  12. NY Cuban says:

    Put him in a body bag, Johnny!

  13. SheaVendor says:

    Does everyone forget what happened to the guy that swept the leg? He didn’t put his opponent out of commission and he eventually got “Crane” kicked right in the face!! Make sure that once you sweep that leg you finish the job.

    • metsfan119 says:

      The guy who swept his leg got disqualified. Johnny got kicked in the face.

    • NickA33 says:

      Go on to YouTube and search the video by “No More Kings” . The song is called, “Sweep the leg, Johnny!” It’s hillarious! And it has all the stars in the movie in it!

      • K-Hern says:

        I think that song is in MLB 08 The Show

        • NickA33 says:

          Oh it is my friend…it is. I was stoked when I heard it on there. I heard the song months ago and love the video, so when I found it it was on MLB 08, I was pleased…

        • K-Hern says:

          I couldn’t believe it when I played the game, it was the first time I heard it…… I was cracking up for hours

        • giuseppe franco_procede says:

          I just saw the video to this…HILARIOUS! Also…it was great to see an overweight Mr. Belding in the video! LOL A HA HA HA..

          Hey Matt…Thank you for giving us something to talk about! LOL J/K

  14. xmulderx says:

    yeah but we need Pat Morita managing to teach them the crane kick. Willie teaches them the passive trick.

  15. xmulderx says:

    You know it would be sweet.. Banzai reyes son! Banzai delgado son! louder! i can’t hear you! Banzaiiiiiiiiiiiii

  16. ho-go says:

    They may have scored 7 runs last night, but it was hardly because of a slugging lineup. The runs were scored on squibs, bleeders, and National miscues. The top of the lineup continues to look lame at the plate — and the middle of the lineup scarcely any better. Cause for concern? You bet!

    • K-Hern says:

      thanx for the reality check Debby Downer

    • NY Cuban says:

      The Nats are a little league team.

    • Gasface77 says:

      A win is a win, but it is true. I don’t think they scored on a ball hit out of the infield. The Nats were bumbling around out there and that helped. Aside from Church’s insurance…it was basically the same ol. Thank god Johan was on the mound.

      • Mr. Koo says:

        And then they could go out and hit 4 home runs tonight and score 12 runs. That’s just how baseball works. From one day to the next could be night and day.

    • Mr.Spock says:

      I agree 100% with ho-go. We’ll see how good the Mets are after the 3 games with the Braves…

  17. zen says:

    i think it’s time for willie to step it up and take away candy from the players like girardi did yesterday.

    • Gasface77 says:

      LMAO!!! I couldn’t believe when I heard that.

      ..and always remember Carlos Delgado….”Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything!”

  18. Chris Jelic says:

    I think this post, for the first time, sells me on the Milledge trade. Ryan Church brings some killer instinct to this team. He’s not DWright by any means, but Milledge could not be associated with any type of instinct. Granted, this is one more reason to rid our team of the overpaid bored guy daydreaming at first base (and doing nothing at the plate).

  19. Jim says:

    Funny you should say that about Delgado. I love when he does the fist pump after a DP. At first I thought he was showing real heart, now I am convinced he is just happy he caught the ball.

  20. Danny1986 says:

    This team hasn’t “swept the leg” since 2006.

    I know they have the ability to do it. It just seems that they don’t know how for clearly over a year now. They didn’t do it Sunday night in Philly with the opponent clearly on the ropes. Then they get completely roundhoused in Chicago and get carried out of town. And don’t give me the bad travel schedule crap. Philly had to travel 1000 miles further Sunday night and still scratched out a win against the NL Champs Monday evening.

    OK..So..now they are about to complete a 2 game sweep of a team that has lost 90% of it’s games the past 3 weeks. Don’t start playing the Karate Kid theme music now, kids…it’s way too premature. Folks…they SHOULD win tonight’s game not b/c of a killer instinct, but b/c they are simply better.

    Save the Karate Kid nostalgia when they are going for 5 in a row at home this week against a better ATL squad. That’s what ’sweeping the leg” is. Tonight is sparing with a punching bag. And if they build up tonight way too much than it deserves, then they go into this weekend flat as hell. We’ve seen this time and time again for over a year now. And frankly, I’m tired of it.

    Get a winning streak together!!

  21. Gasface77 says:

    I would like to see every post accompanied by some reference to an awesome 80’s movie. (Iron Eagle, Over the Top, Cobra… just to name a few)

    • K-Hern says:

      You just named 3 of my favorite movies….. the first 20min of Cobra may very well be the best opening to a movie ever.

  22. casey s. says:

    to the sweep point:

    how many times has willie gone into the third game of a series with the first two games in the bag and sent out a b or even c lineup?

    now, i’m not a fire willie guy, because frankly i think he’s a good manager and firing him would only make sense during the off-season if, and only if, there was an extremely attractive replacement.

    i’m just pointing out that when willie gets the chance to step on a team’s neck, he throws out the andersons, easleys, and clarks of the world.

    now, you want to make the argument that willie is trading a better chance at a win in order to rest players so they can be a better position to win 2 of 3? i can’t really argue to vigorously against that.

    • Jim says:

      I think you are right, he does that all the time.

    • Mr. Koo says:

      I don’t believe in that. I would think you need to just go for the sweep, and stop worrying about players getting their rest for the long haul. Heck, when there is a laugher (down by 10 or up by 10), that’s when you can pull players out and get them their rest. But when you have a chance for the sweep, just play for that day and go for it.

  23. Magooley says:

    But what’s the alternative? These guys have to play sometime, right? I mean if you want productive at bats from Marlon and Endy and Castro and the rest of the bench, you have to play them once in a while.

    When’s the best time? When we have a three game losing streak going? On Sunday, when we’re one and one in the rubber game? To me, the only good time is when we’ve got some wins already in the bank.

    Sweeps are a wonderful thing, and I’d love to see more of them.
    But you’ve to to give our regulars a day off now and again to stay fresh as well as keep your bench players sharp.

    You average 2 out of 3 all season long, that’s 108 wins.

    • Jim says:

      I agree we need to rest our regulars and give these guys their swings. We just don’t have to play them all at the same time. when you replace a third of your line up it hurts.

      • casey s. says:

        great point! that’s the big issue. willie plays three subs at a time, which renders the bottom of the lineup impotent.

    • NYMBosco says:

      But just look at last year’s debacle. We could not win games that last week and if willie had not put his b and c lineups in during numerous series where we took the first two games, we would have won the division. After last year, i don’t want to hear about giving your bench guys at bats….our starters need to produce. If a guy gets hurt then put your bench guys in, or for pinch hitting or late game defensive purposes. Willie’s wimp style for the third games of series is going to cost us again this year. He needs to develop a pair of cahunes and put the hammer down on series sweeps. And please stop praising the other teams as to how good they are. Yes we know the cubs are good but we should be better and we should want to kick the good team’s butts…The mets always give credit to the other team and act like it’s ok to have gotten your butt kicked to a better team. Maybe the nats can think this way but not the highest payroll in the league…

      • Magooley says:

        Okay, so your solution to keeping the regulars fresh is to never give them a day off? And the bench players will stay sharp by never playing them?

        You’ve got to understand, to have the bench guys produce in those late inning situation, they’ve got to play once in a while. BP just isn’t the same.

        This isn’t a new idea. Baseball’s been played this way since the beginning. Just because of the way last year ended, doesn’t mean we should reinvent the wheel.

  24. Ceetar says:

    I said this before the season. the Mets need to play like the Phillies punched their mother, and the Braves knocked up their sister.

    Take that extra base when up 9-1, do all those things you’re not supposed to do when up by a zillion. and win.

  25. Magooley says:

    I agree with you. But I also think fans will never be happy whenever a manager (not just Willie) sits an important regular. If he gives Beltran a day off and we lose, he’s an idiot. If he plays Easley at short to rest Reyes, he’s clueless.

    I still remember how much venom was directed at Bobby V or Art Howe when they would rest Piazza on Sundays.

    You’ve got to try to pick your spots and it sounds a lot easier than it is. Someone’s always going to be upset.

  26. thechime says:

    you’re getting your metaphors a little tangled. are we thinking of last season as a nine inning game or as a long road trip?

  27. wonderboy says:

    Completely unrelated… but I was doing some surfing this morning, and at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune there are at least 4 to 5 mentions of Carlos Gomez’s struggles on their Twins homepage… including a poll asking if he should be sent down to the minors. At this point, not only did the Mets get the best pitcher in the deal in Santana - they also got the best hitter in the deal, in Santana.

    By the way, they do have a fairly clever nickname for Carlos already… and that is, Gogomez. Unfortunately for them, the “go” looks like it’s currently referring to the minors, not his ability to run.