"I love the competition," Jason Isringhausen said. "There's a lot of the stuff that goes along with the game I don't enjoy, all the politics, the business part of it. But I enjoy the 1-on-1 competition with a hitter, and it's hard for me to find that anywhere else. I'm just trying to compete with [...]
"Collins, who is listed generously at 5-foot-9, conducted his press conference standing up after he was told the microphone stand was blocking his face for the TV camera. Collins joked that pitchers Chris Young, who is 6-foot-10, and 6-foot-7 Mike Pelfrey better not hold the ball above their heads and make the manager jump for [...]
“Murph may not be able to do things that other people can do, but what he can do is work on the skills that he does have and make them serviceable,” Teufel said. “I couldn’t turn double plays the way certain people could, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t play the position effectively. “I had [...]
"I think something as miniscule as that, I don't understand why that would be the reason," Carter said. "It got more blown out of proportion than it should have. It's unfortunate that one radio station asked me if I would be interested and I said "yes." That was the wrong thing politically to say, but [...]
"The culture has changed," Teufel said. "We have a new culture in this organization and I give a lot of credit to Terry for bringing that forward. The Mets really stepped up, went and looked for a leader and found one in Terry. They brought him in as field coordinator last year and the environment [...]
"He's a run producer, I think he needs to hit in the third spot," Collins said. "We did it in Houston with Jeff Bagwell. In 1994, we moved him from fourth to third and he won the MVP that shortened season. I want David to be himself, go hit and have some fun. I think [...]
"I really believe, personally, this is his time. I'd be very confident that if he continues on the path he finished last season, he'll have a nice year. He's incredibly diligent. His fundamental skills are an A. He's in phenomenal condition. He's had some injuries, but he's strong-minded and strong-willed. He's in a great place [...]
"Anecdotal evidence suggests the Mets will continue to be players in Latin America. They opted to keep on Ismael Cruz, the organization's international scouting director who had a hand in signing the top three prospects on this list, as well as Aderlin Rodriguez and Juan Urbina. Be sure to look for Ben Badler's feature on [...]
"We spent a lot of time analyzing Lastings Milledge as compared with the potential alternatives for the expected role and determined it was worth further exploration of the alternatives," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "We remain open to continuing dialogue with Lastings." Hey, the Mets could use some outfield depth, maybe they could bring [...]
"It’s nice to be liked. But no, I don’t care as long as they respect me, and understand what it took me to get here. Joe Maddon, myself, Jim Leyland, who didn’t play in the big leagues . . . a lot of times there’s certain guys who say, “Well we don’t understand” because we [...]
"My goals haven’t changed,” Backman said. “The fact that Sandy [Alderson] and Jeff [Wilpon] want to keep me in the organization speaks for itself. There are 30 organizations and people need managers. I hope people will think I deserve the opportunity at some point." Source: New York Post ***** If you prefer longer articles, that’s [...]
"It is well known that new Mets vice president of player development Paul DePodesta, as GM of the Los Angeles Dodgers, attempted to hire Collins as manager in 2005 before he himself was fired. That, and DePodesta's lingering respect for Collins, has led many to assume that DePodesta is strongly advocating for the former Anaheim [...]