Quote: Feliciano and Smith for the Save
Last night, Joe Smith and Pedro Feliciano combined to 
pitch two scoreless innings in relief, while striking out four of the seven batters they faced, to lock down a win for the Mets and Johan Santana.
Prior to the game, Jerry Manuel told reporters that he might turn to Eddie Kunz in a save situation, but instead he stuck with Feliciano in the ninth inning – while Kunz continued to warm up in the bullpen.
Manuel, on why he stuck with Feliciano instead of using Kunz, while speaking to reporters after last night’s win:
“Willie Harris is a patient hitter and he was leading off the inning. Feliciano has been very good for us. He hasn’t had a lot of glitches in his appearances…I felt very comfortable with him. He then goes to another right-handed hitter, and once you get the one guy, I feel very confident that you’ll get the other guy. I felt (their) strength was from the left-side on the bench. I did not want to start Eddie with (Harris), who I didn’t think was a swing-early guy. You know, had that lineup started out in the ninth with, say, Ryan Zimmerman and that group, then Kunz would have been the guy.”
…seriously, i appreciate the honest, logical, rational thought and explanation to reporters…i really do…
Smith, regarding the bullpen, told reporters after the game:
“With the way our bullpen has been pitching, you’ve got to come ready to pitch every day. So, you can’t really let yesterday bother today. When we come in (Wednesday), it’s going to be, ‘Can the bullpen do it again.’ So, it’s a new day no matter what we did today.”
Manuel, specifically on Smith, who let the first batter he faced to reach base, who advanced to second on a stolen base, but then retired the following three batters he faced to end the inning:
“I think Joe checked some of his films out. He came up before, in the dugout, right before the National Anthem and said, ‘Hey, I’m ready to go.’ So, I just wanted to send a little challenge out there, he’s had success against some of these hitters and he was very successful tonight.”
…frankly, the best part about last night’s performance is that the rest of bullpen, kunz included, should be fresh and ready to go for the rest of the series…actually, both smith and feliciano were so economical in their pitches, they’ll probably be available tonight as well, though hopefully they will not be needed…
…all this said, the Mets were facing the worst offense in baseball…of course, a win is a win, and if ‘baseball is 90 percent half mental,’ just getting through the bullpen to be successful could be a victory on its own…
