Quotes: Jerry Manuel – About Last Night
Mets manager Jerry Manuel talked with reporters after last night’s win against the Marlins, and had the following to say about:
On being surprised by Omir Santos play this season:
“He is a Major League hitter, which has been surprising. We all thought he could receive and call the game. The surprising thing is that he has hit and hit well in the clutch. That’s big for us.”
If he thinks Santos wants to be in clutch situations:
“It looks as if there is no panic or anxiety when he is in those situation. I think that is half the key to being a good player in those situations is not to panic and to know that the pressure is not really on you, but on the pitcher. He seems to understand that and grasp that.”
On the team’s odds with bullpen pitching in extra innings:
“Those guys did an excellent job. We took some chances and probably pitched to some guys that we could have probably gone a different way. We feel that is a big part of the foundation of this team is the bullpen. When we get to that part of the game we feel pretty confident.”
On Mike Pelfrey‘s performance:
“I thought what he did in the first couple innings with basically all fastballs and an occasional slider or off-speed pitch. As the game went on it looked like he threw those things early for strikes, which is very impressive. Dan Warthen has encouraged him to use his off-speed pitches because he knows they are going to be needed. The more he uses them the more effective his sinker is. I was very impressed. He is always a guy that seems to keep his pitch count down and pitch a quick game. We also usually play pretty good defense behind him.”
If he was surprised the Marlins paid a lot of attention to Gary Sheffield at first base during the final inning, given his age and lack of speed:
“Not really because once it gets around the league that everyone runs on the team you have to pay somewhat attention to it. Gary has always been a good baserunner and got a bag here and there. It’s very impressive to see him with that much attention being paid to him and still being able to get a good jump and steal that base.”
