Lots of interesting, funny, idiotic, and insightful things were said by the Mets — and about them — over the past week. Here are some of our favorites.
I’m sure they "just asked" him
"You cannot wear anything on either hand, bracelet-type or anything like that. Tonight we saw it, this crew saw it, and we just asked [RA Dickey] to take it off." —Jim Joyce [New York Post]
Just say the word and I’ll hate Jim Joyce more than Angel Hernandez
"In the moment I was little bit angry. I had them on every day since January whatever it was until the moment we were in. Nobody had said anything about it and they were real small and on my glove hand. Nonetheless, I guess it is a rule and I had to follow it." —RA Dickey [ESPN]
Phillips great attitude and obvious love for the game is a determent to his team
"[Jordany Valdespin] got to the ball better than I expected. I like going first-to-third and was going to do that. For him to cut the ball off like that it was very impressive. I had to give him a thumbs-up. I had to clap and tell him good job. When a guy does something positive like that all you can do is give him a nod, tell him 'great job.' If someone steals a hit from me, instead of getting mad I give them props." —Brandon Phillips [ESPN]
I guess something got lost in translation
“I saw him looking at third base so I got the ball and cut him off. He told me 'great cut' and was smiling.” —Jordany Valdespin [ESPN]
Seat’s taken
“Hey, I’m Kelly Shoppach. What’s your name?” —Kelly Shoppach on being the new kid in school [ESPN]
I’m 27 but this quote makes me feel way older
“Mets -- the whole way. Piazza was my guy. I used to love watching him. I liked watching Jose [Reyes], too, when I was younger. When he was coming up, he was always exciting. David [Wright] came up around the same time as well. I remember ’99 and 2000 a lot. It was something they hadn’t done in a while, and it was exciting to watch.” —Hicksville’s own Cam Maron [ESPN]
He added, ‘if the sun comes up, great; if not, well I guess it’s gonna be a cold day.’
“If I deserve an extension, I think I’ll get one. If not, I won’t. That stuff, it hasn’t even crossed my mind, to be honest.” —Terry Collins [New York Post]
Just go to whoever offers you the most money, you deserve it
“You want to be able to win, and I’ve only experienced a little bit of that here. In a perfect world, we get this thing turned around and going in the right direction and ultimately I get to experience the bad, the ugly and the good here, which includes winning. ... We’ve taken a baby step in the right direction and I still think there’s a long way to go before you can say that we’ve kind of turned that corner where I think that we will. ... Coming up through the system, I have a tremendous amount of loyalty to this organization. I can’t tell you what the future holds, but I’m hoping -- optimistic -- that something will get done.” —David Wright [New York Post]
If this is the Mets playing “giving themselves every chance in the world,” I’m not looking forward to the last weeks of September
"He's a big part of this. Until you're mathematically eliminated, you give yourself every chance in the world." —Josh Thole on Johan Santana [Wall Street Journal]
Dan Warthen really has improved with what he says to the media about his players
"There were four or five starts where it just wasn't Johan. He generally lights up a room. He has enough energy to light up this whole city on game day. He was having the kind of energy that would light up a 20-watt bulb." —Dan Warthen [Wall Street Journal]
Sounds like a first kiss, you know sans fans and family
“You only have your debut once. Obviously I was really excited to be here in New York and pitch in front of the Mets fans, and my family especially. But there was no extra nerves or adrenaline. It was another game and I had to do my job and go out and try to win.” —Matt Harvey [ESPN]
It’s true because Ike might be out of baseball before that happens
“Trust me, it’s going to get better. I don’t think you’re going to see a season where I’m at .216 at this point too many times." —Ike Davis [New York Post]
It’s just a game, amirite?
"Losing is not fun. Losing makes it miserable to walk in the doors every morning, especially when you know you should be better. We know we should be better, and it's a frustrating experience. The guys are not happy about it. The mood in the clubhouse is not the same. Even though they try to make it the same, it's not.” —Terry Collins [ESPN]
Nice way of putting that Larry got beat by a fastball
“That particular at-bat, I was sitting change-up. and he didn’t execute the change-up.” —Larry Jones on striking out to Johan Santana [New York Post]