Lots of interesting, funny, idiotic, and insightful things were said by the Mets—and about them—recently. Here are some of our favorites.
Puma disproves the idiom that it takes ‘a big man to say he’s sorry.’ Oh, no intent to offend with Puma comment, was meant to be a joke.
"No intent to offend with Colon comment last week, was meant to be a joke. For the record, I keep hot fudge on my neck for long games." —Mike Puma [Twitter]
Should’ve just tried to do the opposite of what he wanted.
"Certainly [Bartolo Colon] did not have the usual command that he has. He'd want to come in, he'd throw the ball away. He'd want to go away, he'd throw the ball up and in. The release point, the command wasn't there tonight." —Terry Collins [ESPN]
If that’s the definition of ‘pretty good,’ what would you call the Mets?
"This is a park, you've got to make pitches, or you're going to get hurt here. [The Rockies] can put a lot of hits together. You look on that board, there's a lot of pretty good hitters in their lineup." —Terry Collins [ESPN]
Forever Young.
"That doesn’t happen [regarding a father and son playing the same spring training game.] I mean, the Griffeys were able to do that in the regular season, but even still those two moments right there for us, I know for me, emotions were swirling. I can’t even imagine for him, being on defense, and hearing my name called up to the plate." —Eric Young Junior [ESPN]
Being an MTA conductor, my father is actually happy we can’t talk about the same thing but I get the sentiment.
"I think every dad would love for their kid to do the same thing that they do and be able to talk about the same thing." —Eric Young Senior [ESPN]
I’m not a doctor, but might I suggest maybe seeking out advice.
"I never hurt my hamstring before. I don’t know how I’m going to be. I just want to try to go out there and try to do what I do -- try to run." —Juan Lagares [ESPN]
Nice try Rubin, but LaTroy also isn’t going to be surprised that a reporter tries a hack move of trying to bait him to trash his old team.
"[Asked if it was surprising the Mets would not go to that salary figure, Hawkins replied] I don't know what to say about that. I have much respect for Sandy [Alderson] and the Wilpons. I can't answer that question. ... I told them what [the Rockies' offer] was and the numbers just didn't work out. I've been playing a long time. Nothing surprises me. I'm not surprised by anything. But everybody has decisions to make. They've got business decisions. It's just one of those things where it didn't work out." —LaTroy Hawkins [ESPN]
Bring it home LaTroy.
"I wish the Mets the best, Sandy the best, the Wilpons the best. They were nothing but great to me. That's for damn sure. So I can't complain. Not at all. Everything happens for a reason. The Mets were the only team that offered me [a contract. So I have nothing but great things to say about Sandy and the Wilpons. They were the only offer I had. The only offer. It's cool. It's part of the process. When people tell you you're about done, it doesn't mean that you're done. There was a point where I wasn't going to take a minor-league deal. ... I'm glad I didn't [retire], but I was very close." —LaTroy Hawkins [ESPN]
So, this is like going to be like all year with this. #90wins #lolmets
"We challenged ourselves to think realistically about what each player could do. It’s not like we believe everybody has to have a career year in order to achieve this. That’s not the case. So when we laid out our goal, it wasn’t so daunting. But it did force us to think: How do we do this? It’s something that informs your approach on a daily basis. … The fact that we have the record we have, and the month we’ve had, without the offensive contributions, gives me optimism as opposed to pessimism." —Sandy Alderson [New York Times]
He added ‘but yeah definitely one or two.’
"I’m confident we will not have three or four players under .200 for the bulk of the season." —Sandy Alderson [New York Times]
Good attitude but if Lagares isn’t playing everyday and is healthy, they don’t know what they’re doing
"For me I don’t think about that. I just want to keep working hard and be there for the team. Anywhere they need me I want to be ready for it. Any decision they make, they know what they’re doing. I just want to go work hard and work every day. If I don’t play, then I’ll be ready." —Juan Lagares [Daily News]
I can barely function at work if I deviate from my morning routine of a cup of coffee and AA’s Mets Daily Farm Report and my job doesn’t involve me throwing hard objects as fast as possible, dangerously close to other human beings.
"I think if I really wanted to, if I tried to do what guys like [Scott] Rice, [Carlos] Torres do, which is pretty much start throwing when the phone call comes, I probably could do that and be ready in time. But I think a lot of it is I would worry myself. Since I’ve been taking so long in the past, I’m just not ready to do that, go into that, so I feel more comfortable by taking my time and just doing things to be ready for an extended amount of time instead of going out there and throwing." —Daisuke Matsuzaka [NJ.com]
Sounds like Dice-K needs to remember to just have fun out there.
"Right now, I don’t think ‘enjoying’ [relieving] would be the right word. I don’t know if ‘pressure’ is the right word. But I think for me right now it just feels tough. It’s tough. It’s something that’s tough to do rather than something I’m enjoying right now. I’m still trying to get used to it. I’m just trying to get into a rhythm." —Daisuke Matsuzaka [NJ.com]
Wait, throwing it like a grenade somehow made more sense than learning to throw a baseball like a baseball?
"For me, it’s all about deception, hiding the ball as long as I can," Thornton said. "It’s low three-quarters and ‘sling’ it. It’s funny, when I was younger, I couldn’t figure out how to throw it, so my dad taught me to throw it like a grenade. So I have kind of that long, ‘slingy’ arm. My arm slot just got lower and lower to where it is now." —Zack Thornton [ESPN]
Add another chapter to the ‘If your job was akin to a basbeball players, the world would be so weird.’
"I was thinking to myself, ‘Did I do something wrong?’" Thornton said. "They called me and then assistant GM was in town and told me I got traded and to keep it quiet for a little bit, until everything got out. Then it got out and my phone was blowing up."— Zack Thornton [ESPN]
Hey, at least we have the best celeb fans.
"[Speaking to Mookie Wilson] Who would have thought that that would be the last championship the Mets ever won?" —Jon Stewart [The Daily Show]
Shout out to my boy Vic Black.
"I needed a team to sign me, believe in me. hey let me go out there and play my game. They gave me a chance to make a team. When I made the team, and they needed me to run out there every single day starting right around June, I did and I put my game together. Hopefully I helped them out a little bit, me and Bucky bringing Vic Black back [in the trade] -- a strong arm, a closer for the future. Hopefully we helped each other out." —Marlon Byrd [ESPN]
Also, they happened to offer the most money.
"This was a good fit for me," Byrd said. "This is where my roots are. I have friends over here that my family considers family. But they were very aggressive. They wanted me. They showed they wanted me. So it was an easy decision for me to make." —Marlon Byrd [ESPN]
Oh good, I always thought Duda wanted to hit less home runs.
"[Lucas Duda] one of those guys, I love his work ethic. He wants to get better. He doesn’t want to hit 15 home runs. He wants to hit 30. He knows he has that power. It doesn’t matter what field he’s playing on. He knows he can play the game. He wasn’t happy the way he played left field last year. He worked on it and tried to get better. But now he’s back to the position he knows and he’s very good at." —Marlon Byrd [ESPN]
So, would you say it was the pitching staff?
"The best thing for me, personally, has been the pitching staff. They’re the reason we are where we are. It’s not offense right now. I mean, it’s the pitching staff. It’s the pitching staff throwing up zeroes over and over and over again." —Chris Young [ESPN]
This might be the most Lucas Duda thing to happen
"The slugger was missing a checkbook a knock-off Breitling watch, two jackets and a bracelet, the sources said, noting the total value of the items was about $1,600." —Source on what was stolen when a moving company hired by the Mets moved Duda’s possessions to his new apartment [Daily News]
SiteBot FacePalm of the Week
"we have so many young guns in the organization. yes this season we are giving important innings to guys with one foot in the baseball grave….DiceK, Valverde, Farnsworth ENOUGH WITH THE BULLSHIT. Get the young guns into the bullpen and let ’em have at it!" —Chocolate Thunder 21
AA Quote of the Week
"ENOUGH WITH THE BULLSHIT" —staticoverdub