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A message from Willie Randolph

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  • A message from Willie Randolph

    Received this in an e-mail from mets.com:
    Our team is ready to go. That's the message I want to send to you Mets fans as we prepare for today's opener in South Florida. The goal this year is to make our final season at Shea something special and I think we can.

    We've had a great spring. Our batting order certainly can produce runs. Jose Reyes has been spectacular in the field and on the bases. Carlos Beltran has recovered from his off-season knee surgeries and has been diving for balls in the outfield, while Luis Castillo is back to normal after his knee operation. I look for David Wright to once again play at his All-Star pace and we expect Carlos Delgado to have a bounce-back year. Brian Schneider adds a good defensive presence for us behind the plate, while I look for Ryan Church to play a solid rightfield.

    Our line-up is intact except for Moses Alou, who should be back in late April or early May. Guys like Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Angel Pagan can fill in for Moises until he returns. You need to have a solid bench to win and we certainly do.

    Our pitching has been great all spring. The addition of Johan Santana makes our staff better from top to bottom. Pedro Martinez is healthy and hasn't missed a beat, while John Maine and Oliver Perez, who each won 15 games for us a year ago, are perhaps two of the young star pitchers in the major leagues.

    The bullpen will once again be anchored by Billy Wagner, one of the best closers in the game. Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Matt Wise and Jorge Sosa all can perform in a variety of roles for us.

    Orlando Hernandez, Duaner Sanchez and Ramon Castro will start the season on the Disabled List, but should be ready to go not too far into the season.

    With Orlando Hernandez on the Disabled List, Mike Pelfrey will pitch this Saturday against Atlanta. He deserves the chance.

    In closing I want to say one more thing. We all hated the way last year ended for us. For 98 percent of the season we were the best team in our division, but we let it slip away. When I spoke to the team this spring I didn't look backwards that much, I tried to look forward so we can all learn from what happened. The lesson is simple: don't take anything for granted and don't expect things to happen just because you think they will.

    The season is here. It's time to make it happen.

    Hope to see you back at Shea in April.
    *signed WIllie Randolph*
    Click here to see my autographed 8x10 collection

  • #2
    How about a message to the team?

    OK boys, don't blow it this time, alright?
    :cap:

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Silver Blaze View Post
      How about a message to the team?

      OK boys, don't blow it this time, alright?
      You had to didn't you?
      Click here to see my autographed 8x10 collection

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      • #4
        interesting

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        • #5
          Message to Willie:

          Get the team ready to play the Braves and Phillies. Enough of this "It's just another game" crap. That's the mentality of a submissive loser.
          "I'm happy for [Edwin Encarnacion] because this guy bleeds internally, big-time" -Dusty Baker

          "If on-base percentage is so important, then why don't they put it on the scoreboard?" -Jeff Francoeur

          "At the end of the day, the sun comes up and I still have a job" -Joba Chamberlain

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          • #6
            Originally posted by NYMets523 View Post
            Message to Willie:

            Get the team ready to play the Braves and Phillies. Enough of this "It's just another game" crap.
            This part of your statement I'm in complete agreement with. Yes, the season is young, too early to worry and yet ... do they have a swagger ? Do they have this 'quiet confidence' that was tossed around this spring ? I have never been a believer in the "just another game" monotonous drone players and managers love to dish out. You have to hope it's nothing more than classroom taught 'how to deal with the media' fluff. For if Randolph and the players sincerely believe it, we're facing a long season of bland, mediocre, going through the motions, baseball.

            This short Atlanta series was not "just another game". There's no such thing as a 'must win' series or game in April ? Boulder dash. This team needs to make a statement early, for reasons we know all too well. Management already made theirs, and he performed like a champ yesterday. This team didn't need to just arrive in Atlanta to play a couple of games. They needed to invade Atlanta like marauders, pillaging and taking no prisoners, waving a banner that said "duck and cover NL, the Mets are here".

            Did this weekend have an impact ? Sure did. For Atlanta. No doupt these guys looked at each other after the game, and thought, with quiet confidence, "man, we're good", and they are. Looks like they're in it to win it.

            What are we going to see this week with the Phillies ? Is it an important series ? Yes. After what happened last year, this is one of the most important series the '08 team will play.

            As a fan, I don't need to hear anymore about how they've put last year behind them, how unhappy they were about it, bla, bla, bla. As a fan, I need to see they are determined, from day 1, to make the world forget. As a fan, I need to see them kick the crap out of Atlanta & Philly, and I need to see them dominate Florida & DC, and I need to see some swagger.

            "Just another game"? Not after last year. It's 2008, this year April matters !

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