Quote: Players not Concerned with Negativity
The New York Times and New York Post each report on statements made by Willie Randolph prior to yesterday’s game against the Dodgers.
…from what i can gather, having watched his pre-game presser, randolph was asked if the team is more relaxed playing away from Shea Stadium, where his team’s fans have been rather negative of late…
Randolph told reporters that he and his players play hard and are trying to win every baseball game every night, regardless of what city they are in.
Regarding fan negativity specifically, which the reporter first mentioned in his question, Randolph said:
“When we start to play well, then you’ll start to see a change in all that. As far as my players, we don’t talk about it. We don’t concern ourselves with it…Obviously the fans are having a tough time moving past (last season). So we just hope that they eventually get behind this team, because we’re going to make them real proud before the year is over…We live in an environment where they want it when they want it. Believe me, our team is really solid. We look at ourselves. I don’t think we define who we are by the reaction we get. We have some veteran guys. We have some young guys. We’re a real close-knit group. We know we’re not going to be good all the time, but we know mentally where we want to go, where we want to be…We’re going to go through ups and downs, go through the scuttlebutt, but we understand that in this town, that’s how it’s going to be.”
Similarly, according to Joe Torre, who talked with reporters before yesterday’s game, the only way Mets fans will put ‘the collapse’ behind them is when the Mets win, adding, “It’s just a matter of making that a distant memory and give them something to enjoy.”
…my guess is that fans who already do not like willie will take this quote and use it to drive a wedge between him and the fans, and those who do like him will cut him some slack and try to understand what he is saying…
…my feeling is that he is right, and so are we…we should be frustrated and worried and we have every right to be negative…at the same time, for now, willie is probably smart to build a wall around his players…and, in time, like torre says, if the Mets start to win and we all calm down, and get comfortable and confident, fans and players will join back up on the same page like it was in 2006…but, last season was tough, man, for every one…it was never going to be a quick and easy flip of the page, willie…and, some how, i bet you knew that…
