"That kind of business I leave to Seth and Sam (Levinson, his agents). They can handle it. But I'm going to steer clear. I'm trying to play baseball. Worrying about my contract is too much. It's hard to prepare for Barry Zito as it is. It's damn near impossible if I'm thinking about business.''' -David [...]
“It was great. We got to know each other a little bit better, played a little golf. He can hit a golf ball a long way. I know that.” - Phil Niekro on R.A. Dickey as reported by Adam Rubin on ESPNNewYork.com “You can’t look back and say, ‘Only if we had David,’ or ‘Only [...]
"The main focus is positioning. We both feel I’m athletic enough to play the position. Part of my struggles have been due to poor positioning, especially on the double play. I’m not good enough yet, and we both know this, to get to the bag late and still turn the double play. What we’ve decided [...]
"I had a good year in 2010 (when he was 15-9 with a 3.66 ERA) and I wanted to take that next step in 2011 and obviously I wasn’t able to do that, by any means. “So this year becomes even more important. I’m a firm believer that you get out of it what you [...]
Anthony McCarron interviewed Daniel Murphy, who gave updates on his knee injury, Christmas plans and hopes for the 2012 Mets. "I feel great,” Murphy says. “I kind of polished off my rehab about a month ago, moved into more of a strengthening phase. I’ve had a real good offseason and I feel really good. I’ll [...]
"I don't want to be what's called a defensive liability," Josh Thole said before the Mets' 1-0 loss to the Braves at Turner Field. "You lead the league in passed balls, and I'm sure that is raising questions. I don't want those questions anymore. I don't want to hear the negativity that I can't catch [...]
"Some of us were a little bit jumpy, not just from the lack of feeling secure, but just because we didn't know if it was the right thing to do or the right place to be," Mike Piazza said. "But to see the way people reacted to it, it was a good feeling to know [...]
On Capuano, you seen him that good before? “Oh, yeah. If you look at my numbers against him, he’s that good all the time. No, but that’s the first time I’ve seen him like that since he’s come back. His fastball was better and he was moving it in and out along with his changeup. [...]
Note: The following exchange took place during Tuesday's game against the Rockies, starting with David Wright's strikeout in the top of the third inning and going on into the bottom of the third. Hernandez: "Fastball away, he can’t reach it. David has a hard time covering that outside corner. Ralph (Kiner, who was in the [...]
"I knew I wasn't going to strike out looking," Francisco Rodriguez said of his plate appearance. "He had some good swings," Ike Davis said. "You could tell he was inexperienced at the plate, but he wasn't scared." Saturday Rodriguez had his first at-bat in his 10-year major league career. He struck out swinging. Source: New [...]
"I was nervous as heck,” Willie Harris said. “I’m nervous at times when I take balls in the outfield. But when you’re nervous, that means you care. I got my confidence back as soon as we turned the double play. The confidence was there all of a sudden. Once you get that first one out [...]
"Right now, the life on the ball feels better than it did at the same point last year and maybe the year before, and I'm excited about that," said the 31-year-old Chris Young, who made just 18 starts (including four last season) for the Padres over the previous two years due to shoulder injuries. "Mechanically, [...]