Daily Archives: May 2, 2008
Billy Wagner, speaking about Oliver Perez, while talking with Michael Kay, during his weekly interview on ESPN 1050:
“It’s not a question of effort, it’s a question of focus. You have to focus, and know that, yeah, I don’t have my best stuff today, but some how you’ve got to compete…Oliver Perez is an unbelievable athlete and an unbelievable talent…but, it’s a situation where, I know you’re playing the Pirates, but it’s a situation at this point in the year where that you wanna be going on the road with something positive. If you lose to them 5–3 or 8–4, yes, a loss is a loss, but it’s how you’re losing the game, ‘So I had a bad game, so be it.’ Well, you can’t look at it that way. You’ve got to be able to look at yourself and say, ‘Is that the best I could do.’”
Wagner, on whether the team is playing sloppy:
“I can never question how our team goes down and competes. We compete. Every guy that comes in there is about winning. That’s our whole goal. It’s not about being an individual…It’s about winning. The errors and stuff like that, that’s gonna happen. But, as a pitcher, you want to be able to pick those guys up. You’ve got to find a way to pick those guys up. A pitcher prides himself on going out there, a guy makes that error, and the pitcher picks him up and we’re able to go back out there and win. I can tell you right now, there’s many of times I go out there and pitched and they make the greatest plays ever yet every one comes up to me telling me how great I am. I know I’m not that good. If these guys behind me aren’t playing and making plays for me we’re not gonna win and I’m not gonna look good.”
Asked why he went through the media to address this situation, and not directly to Perez and his teammates, Wagner said:
“Well, we have. There are a lot of us who have gone to Oliver and said, ‘Hey, we need you to pick it up, we really need you to come out here and have a strong showing, we just used seven guys in our bullpen and we need you right here, we can’t really afford a two-inning stint here.’…Look, I love the kid. I think the kid is fantastic. But, he’s got to understand, I’m not saying Billy Wagner is any better than any one else, because I definitely don’t think that. But, I also believe that when we show up to the ball park we have got to put a better effort coming out there. I know he wants to win, no doubt about that, but we have to figure out how we’re gonna stay focused. If he gets mad at Billy Wagner for saying this, but he goes out there and wins ball games, great. I’m all for it…We’re not sitting here going, ‘I don’’t like Oliver Perez.’ That’s what a lot of people want to sit there and stir the pot at. Look, we care for this guy, and we can’t go nowhere, we’re not going to the playoffs, we can’t be a dominating team if we do not have an Oliver Perez who can come out there and find ways to win. You know what, if he goes out there and he battles and he’s coming up short, we’re not gonna have a problem with that. But, you’ve got to battle. You’ve got to go out and find a way…I want to win and I know everyone in that clubhouse wants to win, but sometimes you’ve got to say something. You might have to stir the pot.”
…wagner is using oliver as a scapegoat for a much larger idea here, which is Team Unity, Picking Each Other Up and Fight, three things this team had in 2006, but lost last summer and has never really gotten back…this is clearly wagner trying to shake the team’s cage…i hope it works…
To listen to Wagner’s entire interview, go to ESPN 1050.
According to the Associated Press, RHP 
Derrick Turnbow has been designated for assignment by the Brewers.
Turnbow, an All-Star closer in 2006, is 0-1 with a 15.63 ERA in eight games this season.
According to Johnette Howard in Newsday, the time has come for David Wright to step up and become the vocal leader in the team’s clubhouse.
Also in Newsday, David Lennon explains why Willie Randolph should return Ryan Church to batting second in the lineup.
Kristin from We’ve Got Heart provides a Q&A with Nationals C Paul Lo Duca, who says he was disappointed that he missed playing against the Mets at Shea Stadium in April.
Lastly, in his Rumblings & Grumblings column for ESPN.com, Jayson Stark suggests that if a team were to trade for Barry Zito, the Giants will have to eat at least $80 million of his contract.
According to Stark, citing a scout, Zito’s only hope may be to reunite with Rick Peterson.
…i had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Darryl Strawberry earlier this week while at the SNY studios…i wanted to talk to darryl, because who, more than he, knows about booing and the relationship between fans and players… To watch Part 1 and 2 of my talk with Strawberry, use the video players below, or scroll down to read a written transcript of the discussion:
Matthew Cerrone: I am interested in getting your response to this topic about Mets fans and booing, and how ‘out of control’ it is. I’m wondering from your days, how does it compare?
Darryl Strawberry: Well, I don’t really think it is that out of control. I think it compares with having a good team, and wanting the team to do well and be successful. I think that’s pretty much what happened in the days when we developed and became a good team, if we didn’t play well then of course the fans would be and let us know. So, it’s part of it, because you know that when you play in New York the expectations are high – and you look at this team the last couple of years, they’ve been very close and when you get close you start spoiling your fans and they want to see you get over to the other side. (The fans) haven’t seen that in a while, so, sometimes they get restless, their emotions come out. I never took it personally. I took it as them wanting us to win and we need to do a better job.
Matthew Cerrone: Did it take you a while to realize that? Or, did you know that then. I mean, you were a young guy then, did you know it then or was it after the fact?
Darryl Strawberry: Well, I think we realized it when we became the kind of ball club we did. You know, we were starting to be successful and we needed to get to the next level and excel. And when you start understanding that the fans are coming out to support you every night and they appreciate the good, but there is bad that comes along with it and they’re gonna let you know when it’s bad and ugly. I really did appreciate the fans, because they make you realize you’re better and you can do a better job and in other cities it’s not like that. You have to respect that because it’s New York.
Matthew Cerrone: What kind of advice would you give to a player on the current team, because maybe the booing gets in their head?
Darryl Strawberry: Well, I think the most important thing is not to take it personal. I think if you get too personal with it, you kind of lose a sense of what your real purpose is. You’re real purpose is to play baseball, and what you do and what you love. It becomes a distraction if you’re overly concerned with it…You have to remember that they’re there to support you and they’re there to let you know, too, at the same time, if you’re not going well.
Matthew Cerrone: It seems to me that one of the big difference is – and I’m new to this, I guess – but I don’t ever remember guys getting so heavily booed before they come in to a game, and…
Darryl Strawberry: (Laughing) No? That may seem much to you, but, back in our days when certain guys before they came in and were announced, oh, believe me, there was a big boo.
Matthew Cerrone: I think one of the other concerns among Mets fans is that it’s probably a minority of fans who are booing, but that’s who gets heard, and there’s a fear that this could kill any home field advantage, or discourage free-agents from signing here. Is that real?
Darryl Strawberry: Well, it’s always been like that. It’s not gonna change just because a player decides he doesn’t want to play here…It doesn’t really ever lose that home-field advantage with the fans, because they can be great too…If you’re out there performing and doing great things, believe me, these fans are 100 percent behind you. At the same time, if you’re sucking up the place, they’re gonna let you know.
Matthew Cerrone: I think I remember hearing you talk once about how when you went out to Los Angeles you missed the energy from New York’s fans.
Darryl Strawberry: Oh, no question about it. I missed it…I was used to the fans yelling when you play like crap. It was kind of motivating. I went to LA and it was different. There it is more laid back and fans didn’t yell as much…They live and die with you (in New York), and that’s a great sign when you have fans like that.
Matthew Cerrone: Have you ever talked with the current players about that? I know you were down in spring training. Do you talk about this with them?
Darryl Strawberry: No…I think it’s a learning process for them to understand that New York is great. You know, there’s nothing greater than winning here. If you ever get in that winning circle, and they get a taste of it, they’ll truly understand what type of fans they have, because they really come out when you win.
…i’ll be honest, there was a point during his first answer when it hit me, ‘I can’t believe I am sitting here eye-to-eye talking with Darryl Strawberry,’ and so i am not sure i heard a single word he said…instead, i was inundated with flashbacks of chasing him down for autographs after a game when i was a kid, or pinning his poster on my wall, etc…once the first question was complete, though, i got it together and was able to focus on the interview…thankfully…
Tagged SNY |
On May 3rd, there will be a charity event to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings at the Village Pourhouse in downtown Manhattan.
This will be sponsored in part by the David Wright Foundation.
For more information, visit MaroonEffect.org.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |Through 104 at-bats this season, Jose Reyes is on pace to hit just .250 with 12 HR and 62 RBI while stealing just 35 bases.
Reyes is batting .251 in his last 427 at-bats, dating back to last season’s All-Star break, during which he has a .311 on base percentage.
In addition, Reyes has made five errors through just 24 games – he made 12 all of last year.
During eight games in the middle of April, however, Reyes hit .333 with nine runs scored, during which the Mets were 8–0.
Otherwise, he is hitting .205, during which the Mets are 6–12.
In the New York Post, Bart Hubbuch quotes Reyes as saying, “Everything is going to be good…The season is still young.”
[Poll=83]
In the Bergen Record, Steve Popper takes time to assess what has gone wrong for the 14–12 Mets, so far this season.
According to Popper, five factors can be blamed for the team playing over .500 baseball: 1) age, 2) the bullpen, 3) poor defense, 4) quiet bats and 5) a manager on the hot seat.
…he’s right on all accounts, but i shudder to think what this article would like if the team was 12–14, not 14–12 and essentially tied for first in a fight-to-the-finish division…
…to me, age and injuries are part of the game…the bullpen has been bad, but the starting pitchers are not helping the cause…the other three, in my opinion, are the result of what i feel is most troublesome, which is a) a lack of focus and confidence, and b) a lack of team unity, or team direction, i.e., playing with a common goal, mission, mindset, etc…and that does fall squarely on the manager, which is probably why he is on the hot seat…
…the word from shea suggests that Mets OF Moises Alou will 
travel to Arizona in hopes of playing for the Mets this weekend…the key to his return may be the state of Brian Schneider, who missed the last few games after being hospitalized with an infected thumb…
…if schneider is unable to play, the Mets will likely keep Gustavo Molina on the 25–man roster, and replace alou with schneider on the disabled list retro’d back to last week – meaning schneider will not return to action for another seven days or so…or, they can just replace molina with alou now, assuming schneider is ready…
Tagged Moises Alou |In a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish writes about the future of Fernando Martinez, while discussing the team’s recent acquisition of minor-league 1B-OF Valentino Pascucci.
Speaking of Pascucci, at SNY, Ted Berg pats himself on the back for having been on Pascucci-bandwagon since late January.
Meanwhile, at Mets Fever, Ed Ryan wonders if it is a time to consider trading Oliver Perez.
Lastly, according to Joe D at Mets Merized Online, “The Mets need Scott Hatteberg like they need a hole in the head.”
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