Mets Talking Big As Subway Series Continues
The Yankees certainly didn’t intimidate the Mets by sweeping them in the 1st round of the Subway Series. Both Mets closer Frank Francisco and Mets manager Terry Collins had very bold things to say from a team that got steamrolled by the Yankees just two weeks ago.
“I can’t wait to face those chickens,” Francisco told The New York Post when asked about playing the Yankees in this weekend’s Subway Series at Citi Field. “I want to strike out the side against them. I’ve done it before.”
Yes, Francisco struck out the side against the Yankees once on May 21, 2004. Maybe that is Francisco’s career highlight considering he is most known for throwing a chair into the stands rather than his pitching. It is really tough talk coming from a guy with a sparkling 5.14 ERA this year. He might want to worry about improving his pitching rather than what the Yankees are. Maybe this kind of talk can be respected if it came from guys like David Wright, Johan Santana or R.A. Dickey. Of course those professionals are smart enough to know that when you got swept the last series you are in no position to egg on your opponent. Terry Collins was not as brash as Francisco, but he also took a shot at the Yankees when talking about the two teams’ ballparks.
“Our ballpark plays a little bit differently than theirs,” Collins said.
Collins backtracked a little by saying the Yankees can hit HR’s in Citi Field to, but his point was that they will not hit no cheapies in this series. I always find it funny when other teams whine about the dimensions of Yankee Stadium. The Yankees don’t push the fences back when their opponents are batting. Some Braves players were calling it a joke during batting practice, but they actually took advantage of it and won the series against the Yankees. The Mets are only 24th in MLB in HR’s, so since they could not take advantage they had resort to blaming the stadium. Even Mets radio announcer Howie Rose had sour grapes calling Russell Martin’s homeruns in the series finale “pop up’s”. Maybe the Mets would have a point in whining about the dimensions of Yankee Stadium if the Yankees didn’t have any success on the road. This year the Yankees are 21-13 on the road and have hit the 3rd most HR’s in MLB on the road. They are only 1 HR behind the Blue Jays and the Mariners believe it or not for 1st. Meanwhile, Citi Field is not the reason the Mets don’t hit HR’s because they are only 25th in MLB in road HR’s.
Perhaps the Yankees can use this to fuel them to sweep the Mets again. The Mets obviously still feel like they are the little stepchild and their words prove that. The Yankees have no need to engage in this kind of talk because they have a 52-35 record against the Mets and 4 championships since interleague play began in 1997. The Mets deserve a lot of credit for their season so far this year. They have greatly overachieved and are only 3.5 games behind the Nationals for 1st in the NL East. However, despite their success this year, they feel they have a lot to prove in the battle for NYC. Let’s see if they can back up their talk and actually prove it on the field against the Yankees.
Posted on June 22, 2012, in Personal Opinion. Bookmark the permalink. 13 Comments.
Brian D.
fishjam25
jimmytoucan
Matthew B
Delia E.
Dan H.
Matthew S.
Michael P.
Mike D.
Unreal how he calls them chickens. First his team needs to hold a lead into the 9th inning for him to pitch.
Stupid people make stupid statements, I know the other players on both teams could care less about what he said. Talk is cheap, and the season is a marathon. A 3 game series in June will never get players to respond to such a stupid comment.
I hear ya Doug. But the media does love crap like that. It has been all over ESPN.com all day. And mentioned a million times on ESPN TV. It is annoying
By the way I love the way Davy Johnson syched out the Guru Maddon with the pine tar incident, took him right out of his game. Reminds me of another pine tar incident.
Got to be a Phillies fan this weekend hoping they sweep or take 2 out of 3 against the Rays.
Matt, I wouldn’t count on it, the NL best record in the last ten games is 6-4, while the AL has the Yanks, Sox, Tigers, Royals, Texas, Angels, and A’s that are better than that.
yup as I have said before NL is JV compared to the AL
Matt B – here is the professional baseball hierarchy from low to high:
A Ball
Double A
Triple A
Quadruple A (NL)
AL
nice one Twasp.
Yanks sign their third round pick, Nathan Mikolas, a lefty high school outfielder. Looks like another good prospect, he plays firstbase. The Yanks only have 2 unsigned players in the first 10 rounds. Hensley their #1 and Reysnyder their #3 and outfielder/ 2b for Arizona. He has looked good in the college world series. He is Arizona’s best hitter. I thinks this might be the best draft for the Yanks in years.
Great outlook Doug. Our best prospects are in Charleston. You figure most of them will get a call up to move up soon. So next year the best players could be in Trenton and then the new guys will be spread through Gulf Coast and or Staten Island. So alot of talent in the lower part of the system.
It’s going to be interesting to see the lists next year of the Top ten Yankee Prospects. Tyler Austin was not anywhere on those lists and you figure he might be in the top 5 next year. Also how far down will the Killer B’s go. If they continue to not live up to the hype.
Matt, I agree it will be interesting to see where these new prospects fit into the system. Prospects like Austin normally don’t pan out. A prospect that is drafted high tend to progress at a faster rate. The Killer B’s are a tipical point in fact, none of them seem to be progressing at a good rate. At this point their value is way down compared to last year. This will hurt the Yanks farm system rating. Sanchez and Austin seem to be their best in the minors, with Sanchez having much more upside. I think the Yanks top 5 picks have a chance to blow by some of the top prospects the Yanks have now. Hensley has a chance to be an ace which the Yanks don’t have right now in the minors. Austin Aune and Nathan Mikolas look to be better prospects than Heathcott in the outfield. Reysnyder is a good hitter who can play infield and outfield, something Nunez can’t do at this point. O’ Brien is going to jump right to the Eastern league, he is a catcher who can hit with power. If he impresses the Yanks in the minors he could be fast tracked to the majors as early as next year. Goody and Black are relief pitchers that should move up the system by 2014, both have above average velocity.
Slade always gets hit with the injury bug. It’s sad cause he has all the tools he just can’t seem to stay healthy.