Lots of interesting, funny, idiotic, and insightful things were said by the Mets—and about them—recently. Here are some of our favorites.
Can’t help but feel bad for Mookie…
"It's sad to admit this, but I have basically become a hood ornament for the Mets. I have no decision-making role at all in my job description. I would have liked an explanation as to why I was moved from first-base coach to the ambassadorship, but none was ever given." —Mookie Wilson [ESPN]
…laying it on a little thick but, yeah, I get it Mookie…
"I feel that I deserve to hear just some words to justify the actions of an organization that I have honored and promoted every day of my nearly 30-year existence in it." —Mookie Wilson [ESPN]
…wait, what are you talking about…
"It was a strange season coaching under that new [Alderson] regime. I felt like I was watching the deterioration of the Mets organization. They seemed to have no identity. My concern was that the character of the players they were looking for superseded the talent they brought to the table. Character on a team is important, but you've got to have the horses to win." —Mookie Wilson [ESPN]
…dude, seriously, what?
"The Mets have shied away from that iconic club because they don't want the current one exposed to that hard-partying culture which, while well-documented, has also been somewhat exaggerated at times. The guys from that championship team are older and more mature now and can warn the current Mets about some of the pitfalls of fame." —Mookie Wilson [ESPN]
To be fair to Harvey, after Frank Frank’s ‘collect you paycheck on the DL’ 2013 campaign, what’s he supposed to say.
"I’m always going to want to come back and play. I’m a competitor. If I can come back and play, that’s always going to be on my mind. Like I said, that’s four or five months away so who knows." —Matt Harvey [NJ.com]
Feels dirty to say this, but kudos to Boras to protect his, and the Mets, asset.
"[According to the information Harvey was given by Boras, 19 pitchers under the age of 25 who have come back from the surgery "early" -- what he says is in less than a year -- have had to go back for a second procedure.] I didn’t change what I was thinking, I was just being more aware of the research that (Boras has) come up with or people have come up with." —Matt Harvey [NJ.com]
Feels good man.
"It was good, man." —Bobby Abreu on his first major league start in over a year [New York Times]
I swear that the above quote headline was written as a draft on Friday, the quote below blew my mind.
''Feels good, man.'' —Bobby Abreu on hitting his first HR in over a year [sports.yahoo.com]
Well his sports clichés are still in their prime.
"It’s nice. I am happy to be back to the big leagues," said Abreu, who did not play in Monday’s 2-0 win over the Cardinals. "I just want to enjoy this moment again. I am happy to be back and just try to do my best to help the team." —Bobby Abreu [New York Daily News]
He’s literally paid to hit a baseball.
"He’s a professional hitter. We’re looking for somebody that can come off the bench and give us a professional at-bat." —Sandy Alderson [New York Times]
Poor reporting on the New York Times, I need to know which expletive Wally went with
"He’s still Bobby Abreu, ****" —Wally Backman [New York Times]
Take note Grandy and Murphy.
"[Bobby Abreu’s] a great role model because of the at-bats he takes. He’s not going to panic. A lot of guys when they get a strike, a lot of guys panic. They’ll swing at anything, if it’s even close. Bobby’s not going to panic. He’s going to try to get his pitch." —Dave Hudgens [NJ.com]
Well in that scenario, he would’ve dropped from like .290 to .260 so I think we might have noticed.
"It’s tough here because of the situation [Grandy’s] in. He’s a guy we need to go. I keep telling him we only have 140 games left. ‘We have a lot of games left, if you were hitting .260 and this happened in June, nobody would even notice.’" —Dave Hudgens [New York Post]
A True Cardinal could lay down a bunt in his sleep though.
"The guy’s a true veteran. [Bartolo Colon] been doing it for so many years — changing speeds on his fastball, sinking it, cutting it, keeping it straight sometimes and keeping you off balance the entire time." —Kolten Wong [New York Times]
Don’t know what I like more, the fact that Nieuwenhuis’ nickname is ‘Nieuwy’ or Ruben Tejada’s is ‘Tejada’.
"I knew that there needed to be two perfect throws. And Nieuwy and Tejada had two perfect throws to give that play any chance, so kudos to them." —Travis d’Arnaud [New York Post]
You might want to look elsewhere for advice
"[Ruben Tejada] is the one that calms me down out there. I am a high energy, kind of guy and I getting out there, I was probably a little jittery, but Ruben tells me to relax and we’ll be all right." —Daniel Murphy [New York Daily News]
How many questions are there if Dice-K can close?
"No question." —Collins [ESPN]
Well, he’s right, it literally doesn't help.
"We’re just grinding a little bit, just trying to square the ball up and things like that. Like getting home runs robbed, that doesn't help." —Chris Young [NJ.com]
Still, would've earned him a couple more bucks if he took Spring Training a little more ‘seriously’ then.
"Everybody has different ideas about spring training. Spring training is over and we’re in the season now. That’s when everything counts, at this moment." —Kyle Farnsworth on throwing his fastball, ahem, faster during ‘real’ games [New York Daily News]
Personally, I comfort myself with some adult beverages when Dice-K is coming in.
"I’m starting to get used to this, too, but I think I still have to throw more than other pitchers, just because I’m not sure if I’m quite ready or not. Just to comfort myself, I throw probably more than I have to." —Daisuke Matsuzaka [NJ.com]
Just like I tell my boss, just because I haven't gotten a whole lot of work done to this point, it doesn't mean I'm not a great worker.
''He's a great hitter,'' Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. ''Just because he hasn't gotten a whole lot of hits to this point doesn't mean he's not a great hitter.'' —Mike Redmond on Curtis Granderson after his game winning base hit [sports.yahoo.com]
SiteBot FacePalm of the Week
"What is it with the Mets and old, fat, latin men?" —allhailharvey
AA Quotes of the Week
"Abreu in right, Dice-K closing, just like we drew it up in March" Aidan Gibson