Darryl Strawberry believes the Mets need some attitude, according to David Lennon of Newsday.
To see video of Strawberry talking to reporters, check out this video on MetsBlog.com.
…he’s not alone… i feel the same way, and i’m willing to be every person reading this blog agrees…
“I mean, they haven’t quite found that yet,” Strawberry is quoted as saying.
“I know a lot of times the players probably get tired of hearing about the ’86 team, but that’s what the fans adore – our confidence, our swagger. We didn’t take anything for granted. But at the same time, we wouldn’t let teams push us over either. I think playing in New York you have to have that. You can’t be pushed over. Teams come in here and drill hitters, stuff like that, and you don’t retaliate. We didn’t allow that to happen.”
…the thing is, i think that is easier said than done… on one hand, i feel a team must play together for a bit, fail, rebound, and bond before having that confidence, before believing in themselves… the problem is, too much failure can break a team and it all starts to deteriorate… i feel this current group of Mets are at that pivotal point… they’ve either been through so much together – the 2006 curve ball, the back-to-back collapses and last season’s injury-fest – that they’re primed to pull together, or, if they get off to a slow start, it could be the end of them…
To read more from Strawberry, who also talked to Lennon about the team’s off season moves, or lacktherof, the importance of teamwork, and Mark McGwire’s admission of steroid use, click here.
This team needs more than just attitude. That only goes but so far. How about talent and common sense? This goes from the front office, down to the players. Of course Darryl would never say that, but I’m sure he agrees.
Common sense and Darryl Strawberry, words not often used in the same book, let alone paragraph.
Clearly darryl we need attitude, but to get there we need to be winning. 70 win team doeant result in “swager”. Hopefully we can get some this year.
THE METS HAVE A LOT OF THE 86 METS PLAYERS AROUND-DARRYL, DOC, HOJO, KEITH, RONNY, TIM T AND WALLY YET NONE OF THIS ATTITUDE HAS RUBBED OFF ON THE CURRENT GROUP. I THINK IT STARTS WITH THE MANAGER AND JERRY IS NO DAVEY JOHNSON. THE METS ALREADY HAVE A BULLSEYE ON THEIR BACKS JUST FOR BEING IN NY. SO, WHY NOT HAVE THE SWAGGER AND ATTITUDE LIKE 86. LETS GO METS!
I’ll take Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Bob Ojeda and Sid Fernandez over swagger any day of the week.
At the end of the day that team won on talent, its swagger only turned to hubris after 1986.
et tu Brute
I think if the mets can have a solid April and be either in first place or close to it then when beltran gets back the team will have confidence and maybe some swagger…imagine being in first place and all of a sudden adding a stud like beltran to the team..that will bring confidence……the phils usually have a slow start so maybe te mets can take advantage of that…being in first by the time beltran is healthy is definetly a possibility
Attitude is NOT the problem.
Talent is NOT the problem.
HEALTH is the problem.
When this team is healthy it wins games — lots of them. If Daryl and co. could have kept their collective attitude together (andn individual demons at bay) after 1986, that team could have dominated for years. They didn’t, Strawberry’s problems were one of the reasons why, and at this stage of the game, he is the LAST person we shouldd look to for advice.
This team needs far more than staying healthy.
In the two collapse years, some attitude would have helped. Instead,they had the “yawn, these things happen in baseball” attitude which was from Willie and a total embarassment.
As for talent, this team is hardly loaded down with it. They have 3 hitters (Reyes, Wright and Bay) and one starter (Santana) and one reliever (K-Rod) and that’s about it. Everything else is below average or suspect and loaded with ?
Attitude is the problem. They have none of it.
Talent is the problem. They have a little but not enough.
Health is an excuse from people who refuse to see the truth.
Talent is most definitely a problem… especially pitching talent. Attitude comes from the management and from success. Since these players have experienced very little success as a team it’s hard to swagger and it just isn’t their manager’s style to be arrogant and confrontational. Winning 90 regular season games and choking in the last 2 weeks of the season is not a successful season. The goal should be to win a world series, not to play meaningful games in September. They have to get the whole team to buy into anything short of a world series ring is a failed season.
That argument is such a great one to present, because it is the most straw straw man argument. Nothing can ever be done to disprove it because reality is not a video game. We have zero way of knowing if some, any or intense attitude would have made any difference in 2007. All that can be presented is that the actual demeanor of the team was perceived to have lead to losing. 2008 did not lack attitude it was the worst bullpen I have ever seen in my baseball watching life. No attitude could possibly overcome the hideousness of Wagner (pre-injury) Heilman, Schoenwiess, Ayala (my GOD he became the METS CLOSER) etal…
‘As in heaven… as on earth.’
True health begins in the mind as a ‘visualization.’
As does ‘winning.’
Heaven = your mind
Earth = your body or ‘physical’ world
Health definitely is the problem. You get attitude and swagger when you win. And you can’t win if you’re not healthy.
Talent.. You’re kidding right Nolrog? Mets are loaded with ML talent. You forgot to mention Beltran. Frechy.. from what he did for us last year and when he first came up has enormous potential. Perez and Pelfrey can be aces if they get back to form. They’ve shown they can do it before. Maine is pretty solid too.. when HEALTHY. So talent is definitely not the issue… unless you want to predicate talent on health (you can’t play if you’re not healthy and therefore have no useful talent on the bench or DL).
Perez, Pelfrey aces? HA HA HA HA. That’s the most ludicrous thing I ever read. Your reply lost all credibility with that statement.
For the second half of 2008.. Pelfrey was filthy.. ground ball after ground ball. Didn’t Perez in 2008 dominate the Braves and Marlins? If they get back to that form.. they could be 15 game winners.. I don’t mean Santana ace.. but very very good. A guy that can have potential to do certain things like win 15 games.. has TALENT. I got like Piniero.. Washburn.. DO NOT!
that’s why I thought the goal this off season was to change up the roster;
get some winner’s on our club!
Cerrone, you’ve been saying the Mets are at a “critical point” for years now. Is it fair to just assume that you think every point is critical for the Mets? I think I’ll just take that approach going forward.
This may sound heartless but if the player’s egos are that fragile that they can’t afford mentally to get off to a slow start then they don’t deserve to be on this team. Period. I don’t care what happened last year, or the past 3 years. What’s done is done.
Every season is a brand new season. Teams that were in the basement can rise up. Teams that were on top can fall to the floor. But you’ve got to play with heart if you want to win. If you get down on your self, then don’t bother showing up for the game. Players have to have a pitchers mentality when it comes to winning. Win one game or lose one game, you’ve got to forget it and move on to the next.
If this team does get off to a slow start and they do get down on themselves then it’s time to drastically change the make up of this team. And that includes the “Core”.
New Motto: 2010, Put Up or Shut Up
I agree but not sure it’s going to happen. Remember this is the organization that gave Omar a 3 year extension AFTER they choked in 2007.
After they choked roally in 2007 and while they were choking again in 2008. I was stunned when they didn’t even wait to see how the season would finish up before extending him.
Let’s not forget than in 2007, many blamed the Mets’ collapse on the fact that they had TOO MUCH swagger. That they thought that they were better than everyone in the league and that every team hated them.
Good point.
That’s true, but they didn’t play like it. They played like they were a dead team on the green mile heading towards the chair.
Lead by Mr. “These things happen in baseball” (here’s a thought Willie, no they don’t) and Captain Boredom at first base.
Lots of really great comments on this post. Not the typical “fire Omar” stuff. Thanks for the intelligent chatter this morning!
As for attitude… Its not something that we would see on the field EVERY game. But there were some touch points in the past several years where I thought the Mets should’ve responded differently. When Wright got plunked in the head, there ABSOLUTELY should’ve been a retaliation. But there was none. You can go as far back as Clemens throwing a bat at Piazza, only words between the two… someone should’ve been punched or beaned.
I don’t mean to say that a brawl is always a good thing. I understand that suspensions follow, which could sideline some guys who are needed everyday. But a well timed retaliation can do some morale (both fan and team) some good.
There wasn’t retaliation when Wright got hit because Santana was pitching and he didn’t care enough about his teammate until later in the game, if it was Pelf or Ollie pitching that day, the first Giants hitter would have taken one in the back.
Translation: always too many aging vets (pro’s pros), not enough young fiery kids. The Coras, the Blancos, the Bays, these guys have seen it all, and the last thing they want to deal with is a brawl :)
Strawberry drank deeply from the Swinegrabber trough, celebrated with them and has appeared at Yankee functions as an ex-Yankee, Who gives a damn what he thinks about the Mets. Same for Gooden. Traitors.
Strawberry and Gooden may have learned a little more about what it takes to win championships when they were on the Yankees. At that point in their careers neither was the focal point anymore. They got to view the team from a whole new perspective. Personally given that the Mets are going on 25 years without a championship I think they should listen to whatever “proven winners” have to say.
I’m sorry, I love Straw, but he’s starting to sound like a broken record.
That’s because he is a broken record.
The Mets definitely need attitude, but they continue to sit back and let other teams sign players with attitude. The Mets like players with complacent attitudes. They need more grit and fire. They are too lethargic. They keep signing players that won’t rock the boat and they need someone to shake things up. Orlando Hudson would do this for them. But, they will not make a move to sign him. He is now rumored to be ready to sign with the Nats for $3 million a year. How sad. The Mets gave Alex Cora $2 million to sit on the bench. They gave Tatis nearly $2 million to sit on the bench. You mean to say they cannot come up with $3 million for a rainmaker like the O-Dog. He and Reyes would be an explosive 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup and would provide Gold Glove caliber defense up the middle. But, the Mets have achieved their #1 offseason objective. Come in significantly under their projected budget. You know the budget I mean – it’s the one they claim they don’t have. Come on, Coupons, there is still time to pull the O-Dog deal off. It could help salvage a disappointing offseason. What do you say? The food and parking prices alone at Citifield could offset the move.
The Nats offered Hudson $3 million and he rejected it. Why would he take $3 million from the Mets and not the Nats? He wouldn’t….
Because he wants to turn doubleplays with Jose Reyes.
Last year I would have agreed with you. This year, I think he’s over his infatuation with the Mets.
Hudson wants to be a Met because the Yankees have Cano, the Dodgers don’t want him, the Angels have Kendrick. That leaves one team that has a big budget.
All I know is that Rollins should have been plunked for their comments at their victory parade. I was embarrassed that they didn’t hit him.
What you do on the field (within reason) is part of the game.. What you do off the field is assault. It’s like hoping someone gets run over by a car.
I will always love Darryl, but he is hardly an expert on team motivation.
he also said if steroids were available he would have done them so leyts get real he should be quiet.
Steroids were available in the mid 1980s. Football players had been using them for at least a decade at that point.
This team has some toughness with guys like Bay, F-core, Cora, Santana, Murphy, and Santos. Those are gritty guys that play hard everytime they are on field… Other than Bay and Santana, they aren’t superstars, but those are the type of guys we need. Add that to success from our other superstars (Wright, Reyes, K-rod, Beltran) and success of the team, then they will have that attitude. There are guys with playoff experience, that know how to win on this team… If healthy, this team will be ok
you can argue that wright, Reyes, k-rod, and beltran are tough too
with success comes attitude
Hudson has attitude…
…
and is still on the market
I agree!!!! keep your fingers crossed!!!!
yeah, what does he want, the players to be like Rollins? Milton Bradley? no thanks!
seriously, i know, like Dykstra & Backman. Byrnes might have been a nice signing for that kinda attitude. And Hudson. we need guys who hustle their rear-ends off.
But you know what… reading about Reyes, it sounds like he’s matured a lot and is fired up to be healthy. he might spark the whole team and be a better leader then Wright. Without grandpa Delgado, Reyes might really take over the team…
I wholeheartedly agree, Reyes (if 100% healthy) will be a force this year. He has certainly matured over the course of this year.
I think he will be a force if he is healthy, sparkplug definitely, team leader, i’m not convinced. I’ve never heard him express desire to be a leader, i think he and Wright are a good tandem but as far as Reyes taking the full team by the reins other than speed and energy I don’t see it, but i could be proved wrong.
I agree its difficult to view Reyes right now as a leader, but you have to also acknowledge the fact that he is an anxious player who was out for almost a whole season, and he is comming back to a team that has neither Carlos; in a sense he may be forced to step up now. Even more so, this SHOULD be the time where Reyes says “hey, this is my opportunity to have my voice heard”. I’ve also heard from Jose he wants to improve his PR, i.e. do more interviews, be more interactive with fans etc. Out of everything, I’m most excited about the return of Jose.
Yes definitely, i think the absence of both Delgado and Beltran will force him to step up and be the “core” guy who will help lead this team. Honestly, until i see how his leg holds up in game situations, its hard to judge what kind of leader he will be this season. So far so good, and its great that he wants to get more involved with PR stuff, his voice should be heard.
I’ll take a few players like Rollins who go out and win the MVP. But that’s just me.
Attitude – well, count out Ollie Perez on that one.