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…to me, the Mets look a lot more motivated, focused and relaxed since being embarrassed by the Pirates last Wednesday…according to people around the team, the players have been more upbeat and looking confident since getting off the plane in Arizona…
…who knows why…could be from being humiliated by the Pirates…could be Billy Wagner’s public comments towards the end of last week…could be finally getting to use their best starting lineup for the first time all season…could be the nice, dry weather…could be getting away from you and me and the tense environment at Shea Stadium of late…it could be none of the above, yet it could also be all of these things…or, it could just be coincidence or luck or just playing well…
…all i know is that it’s nice to see them winning again…
…and i hope it continues…
I actually thought about this subject this morning. My theory about their confidence is that they feel like a “whole” again. They finally got Alou back, Schneider is back from the staph infection, and Sanchez is in the bullpen again. The team is finally back together and I bet that makes an impact on their confidence and may even bring that swagger they used to have back.
Well, by taking 2 games against the best team in the majors this year, they proved that they can win. Also, winning these 2 games should gie them a big boost in confidence.
*sorry, I meant it sould GIVE them a big boost in confidence…..they really need to put an edit comment thing in here…
I think it’s good for the team to get away from Shea.
Many people believe that a negative atmosphere can
generate negative results.
If you were on the team, wouldn’t you look forward to
playing on the road? I would.
i feel that theyve gotten up for some of these big weekend series–in philadelphia and here in arizona…if you saw david and jose in the dugout yesterday after the connor jackson error you could see what i mean…they were pumped like this was a huge win they were gonna get
totally, it looked like D said something like “I knew we’d get a big play!” or something, then they ran out to the step to dap beltran. great to see.
I’m going to ho ahead and say that it has nothing to do with Wagner opening his big, fat mouth.
And a lot more to do with Alou coming back, Church going back to the 2-spot, and the Mets playing in AZ.
Big fat mouth??? What wagner said was 100000000% appropriate and i’d bet some would be whining if this team hadn’t had anyone who stepped up and said something…ANYTHING
Agreed… I thought Wagner was spot on both in message and tone. Maybe Willie should be taking notes, rather than sniping at Ollie after his better performances in the press conference.
It’s never appropriate for a teammate to call anohther teammate out. That should be Willie’s job.
Even though he’s not doing it, it doesn’t mean that Wagner should do it in his place. He’s not the manager.
So then Ollie should call Billy out when he blows a game in spectacular fashion? That’s healthy.
Now hold on.
Ollie can’t call out anyone b/c he doesn’t have anywhere near Wagner’s resume. And Billy hasn’t blown a game in spectacular fashion this season, he’s been absolutely lights out. That’s the point. Billy was in a position to speak up b/c he earned it over his career. If OP ever earns himself that position through consistent and focused play, and notices his team underachieving, than he can speak up. But he is light years from that stature. And Billy didn’t call out OP b/c of his results, he called him out for his lack of focus and determination. When can you EVER say that about Billy Wagner? His comments were all about winning and playing to win. If OP were to call out Billy for blowing a rare save tonight, he would look like a selfish, spiteful, immature moron.
Players have been calling out teammates since the game began. It’s not just the manager’s job. The other day was one of those certain times where it was appropriate for the player to speak up. Especially b/c the manager wouldn’t do it.
Now, maybe he sholdn’t had said it in the media. But that also reassures the fanbase that certain individual’s in the clubhouse are not tolerant of the lackluster play. That’s a positive as well. We weren’t getting that through all the laid back Randolph cliches being thrown at us all year.
Overall, I agree 100% with what Billy did, and how he did it. THe only negative effect it can possibly have is it would further hurt OP’s game. Which honestly, can’t be any worse right now. And we will know more tonight.
The more I think about this, the more I appreciate this as a calculated, low-risk / high reward, and long overdue statement. Good for Billy.
It’s not like Wagner completely threw Ollie under the bus either. He kept the negative comments very focused on the performance, but also praised OP in general.
It was far more in line with the idea of constructive criticism than Willie’s sniping in press conferences about Ollie not going deep enough into games and not being consistent enough… after being unscored upon in either outing.
Other things Wagner’s said suggested that it’s not like he ran straight to the press, either.
What he said was right, but — and I’m of course not a pro athlete — I think it was appropriate for Willie to tell him to keep his complaints within the locker room.
The accuracy of his statements is irrelevant IMO. It’s the appropriateness of his statements that I have a problem with.
Agreed, but it may have had a positive effect, even if it wasn’t advisible at the time.
I disagree that it had any effect. He called out Oliver Perez who hasn’t even touched the ball since he made his comments.
Do you really think that Wagner calling out Ollie made Reyes or Wright or Church play harder?
And if Ollie goes 7 strong tonight, are you going to chalk it up as irrelavnt to Wagner’s comments as well?
I don’t think Wagner’s words are as golden as you do. I think he just pops off at the mouth. He’s not that smart.
If Ollie goes 7 strong it’s because he’s really talented (and enigmatic) and has the ability to do so.
We all know OP has the talent and ability. That is not the issue. It’s whether or not he has the focus and the nads. That was Billy’s point.
I guess I just wish it was the manager that shook up the team.
Willie’s inadequacy might make it necessary for Billy to pop off every once in a while, I will allow that.
You understand where I am coming from, I hope?
I agree. I wish Willie would do these things. It’s just not his style. If it was, than Billy likely woudn’t have done it. I recognize that Billy does pop off on occassion, but I honestly found his recent comments to be quite interesting, calculated, and not just based on emotion. I think he had enough of the underachieving, and realized he had to do something about it in an otherwise complacent clubhouse.
Willie should have. WIllie didn’t. So Billy did.
As long as you allow it.
I think you are way off base… As danny’86 said, players have been calling each other out for a long time and whether it’s the star closer or the manager, it needed to be said…and it was said by both. Should it have been public? I dont know….hindsight and all….but it remains to be seen how OP reacts.
You’re a very opinionated guy, but i just think your bias against billy wagner is showing here and you’re not doing yourself any favors by calling him dumb (which he is not at all).
Are you one of the people who call him a redneck hick from time to time???
I love Billy. But facts are facts….he is a red neck.
Ok….fine, i admit it…he is. Then again, anyone without a NY accent is :-)
I dont think he’s stupid at all though
I never called Wagner dumb. I said he’s not that smart. With the context being that he doesn’t have a filter and pops off and says things all the time. I don’t feel like his comments are measured, but rather emotional.
Danny1986 thinks this was a thoughtful diatribe with a very intentional meaning. I respect that opinion and think it’s a reasonable one.
I still think Wags wags his tongue a little too much.
How is his “redneck” status a “fact”?
“Not that smart”…”dumb”…SEMANTICS
I can’t recall Wagner being a consistently controversial quote source while on the team.
Agreed that Wags is not the sharpest knife in the drawer (or spoon for that matter), but I also believe this was calculated. As a pitcher, he can’t call out position players and he didn’t for the most part although he recognized that as a team they are playing poorly.
And the way I took it initially is that he had less of an issue with ollie’s crappy performance than he did with him not gutting it out and taking one on the chin for the bullpen. I have suspected that when ollie struggles he looks for willie to bail him out, more and more I think this is the case. Wags may feel he is the elder statesman in a bullpen that gets alot of criticism primarily because they are exposed by performances like last wednesday. If ollie goes 5 innings but gets roughed up for 5 or 6 runs I don’t think wags says anything. But he was looking for help after 1+ in a day game following an extra inning game. gutless.
How is his redneck status a fact?
Maybe b/c he has a beat up couch parked in front of his locker?
I don’t know man…it was a joke!!! Roach2….you’re right, Semantics is the focus today for some reason.
Not that smart and dumb are two completely different depictions.