Johan Santana No Hitter Quotes

Congratulations to Johan Santana for pitching the first no-hitter in Met history. No better way to celebrate (actually there are a lot of better ways) than with the top quotes about the no hitter. I also will provide my personal commentary about the no-hitter after the quotes. Way to go  Johan.

            "Finally, the first one. That is the greatest feeling ever."
             ---Johan Santana

"Being part of this organization, they deserve one---they deserve more than one. All the great pitchers that have come through here."
--Josh Thole, on the Santana no-hitter and a tribute to all the great pitchers from the past who wore the Met uniform like Seaver, Gooden, Ryan and Koos

"I never had in my mind that I would throw a no-hitter, here. They're the world champs."
--Johan Santana, on his no-hitter coming against the Cardinals

"I'm glad I had a chance to be part of it."
--Mike Baxter, on his great catch to save the no-hitter

"It was amazing. An outstanding play that saved the game."
--Johan Santana, on Baxter's catch

"I thought it was a fair ball. At the end of the day, one hit wasn't going to make a difference in the ball game."
--Carlos Beltran, on the ball he hit that was ruled foul

"I just couldn't take him out, just couldn't do it."
--Terry Collins, on keeping Santana in the game well after his pitch count

My Thoughts;

I have been a Met fan for my entire life (and I'm not a kid). It meant a lot to finally get the no-hitter especially coming from a pitcher the caliber of Santana.  In one of my awful predictions from the past, I thought that Oliver Perez would be the first Met to pitch a no-hitter (given his occasionally unbelievable stuff). I always thought during the 84 and 85 season that Gooden was the best pitcher I ever saw and was always amazed that he never had a no-hitter in every start.

Then there was Tom Seaver---the greatest Met pitcher of all-time...An icon. I remember watching the Mets play the Cubs in the 1969 season when Seaver was working not only on a  no-hitter but a perfect game. Top of the ninth, Cub manager, Leo Durocher had Randy Hundley trying to bunt for a base hit. He gets thrown out at first. Next batter up is pinch hitter Jimmy Qualls. Who the hell is Jimmy Qualls? Well, he will live in Met infamy when  he laced a base hit with one out ending Seaver's perfect game bid. Well, now the Jimmy Qualls curse is over. The Met have their first no-hitter and we have Johan Santana to thank for that. My next bold prediction---they will have another one this year and it will be from R.A. Dickey---you heard it hear first.

Karl Ehrhardt: The Mets Sign Man

It is appropriate on the Mets new Banner Day to pay tribute to the legendary Mets sign man, Karl Ehrhardt. What Met fan of a certain age does not remember the 1200 different signs that Ehrhardt created (he brought an average of sixty to every game). It was one of the great traditions of Shea Stadium to watch Ehrhardt do his magic during each Met game. Besides his wit, he didn't mind taking shots at the team as well. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 83.

As a tribute to him and because it is banner day at Citi Field, here are some of his all-time great signs:

"Look Ma, no Hands." (after Met Shortstop Frank Taveres would make an error)
Grant's Tomb (on the bad years of the Mets under M. Donald Grant)
Bye Bye Birdies (after Mets beat the Orioles in '69 World Series)
The King of Swings (on the Mets Dave Kingman)
Amazin
It's Alive, It's Alive (mimicking the Frankenstein monster, when a weak player got a hit)
There are no Words (after Game 5 of the 1969 World Series)
Nailed by the (picture of a Hammer)--This was a tribute to the Mets first baseman, John 'The  Hammer' Milner
Toothless Cubs Just A Little Lip (on the Cubs falling apart in 1969 under manager Leo 'The Lip' Durocher)

This is the only video I could find of The Sign Man. It features Tom Seaver's return to Shea as a Red (shows Ehrhardt holding a sign saying 'We Came to Bury Seaver').

Mets April 2012 MVP

It was incumbent on the Mets to get a good start in April and they did. It portends well for the rest of the season---Great starting pitching, some strong relief pitching at points, some clutch hits and for the most part decent defense. If the season ended tomorrow, their 13-10 record would put them in the first round of the playoffs. They are already up 4.5 games on the Marlins and 2 ahead of the Phillies.

With the excellent start, there could be a lot of possible April MVP candidates.

The obvious ones are:

David Wright---.397, 14 rbi's, 3 home runs and only 11 K's. Intangibles include coming back after only a few days from what could have been an injury in which he could have easily ended up on the DL. That was an early turnaround point for the Mets

Kirk Nieuwenhuis--- .311, 6 rbi's, 2 home runs. Intangible include coming in after the Day 1 Torres injury and owning center field.  He has brought energy, enthusiasm and great defensive play. Even though he only has 6 rbi's--he seems to get clutch hit after clutch hit (including last night).

Josh Thole---.322, 5 rbi's, 1 home run, .412 on base percentage. Intangibles include getting on base about twice a game every game. He has proven to be a consistent strong hitter and his defense has improved

Daniel Murphy--.311 and 7 rbi's. Intangible are that he is a hitting machine. The man can flat out hit as he proved last year as well. Always want him at bat in big situations.

Lucas Duda---.256, 13 rbi's and 4 home runs. Intangibles are his potential power numbers. Sure four home runs in a month does not conjure up images of Babe Ruth, but anyone who has consistently watched Met games can tell you is that he can be intimidating at the plate. He has also shown to be clutch. As Ike starts hitting, the power combination (including Wright) will be among the best in baseball.

Jon Niese---Four Game--- 2-0, 2.81 ERA. Intangibles are that he has been consistently good with strong control. He gives great hope for the future.

R.A. Dickey---Four Game--3-1, 4.44 ERA--Intangibles are that he has been a great leader and outside of one bad start explaining the 4.44 ERA, he has been terrific. Good sign that April is usually his worst month.

Jon Rauch-- 10.2 innings--3-0, 2.53 ERA---Intangibles are that he has been clutch game after game when they have needed him--just look at his record.

Bobby Parnell---3.48 in 10,1 innings---Intangibles are the most incredible stat of the month---15 k's in 10.1 innings. I think the maturation of Bobby Parnell has finally occurred. He could be a potential great future Met closer (though I still have faith in Francisco)

My Co-MVPS;

All these player could  make a case for being the April Met MVP. Here are my two choices.

1) Johan Santana---Sure he has not won a game yet but his ERA is 2.25. Anyone who has seen him pitch this year knows he has one awful start, but other then that he has been dominant. Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he can still pitch a great game (see Rockies last Sunday). He set the tone for the season on Day One. Who knows what will happen the rest of the way, but in April he proved again why he has been one of baseball's most dominant pitchers over the last decade.

2) Terry Collins---You got a love a manager who is about the players first--no bravado, no controversy, just playing the role of professional manager. This year he has played the role well---even keeled (for the most part), defends his teams, seems to handle the young guys well, good strategist. What's not to like.

Hopefully the Mets will continue their great play in May. I said before the season started that they would be a playoff team--I'm certainly not changing my tune after a good April.

Thanks to Ultimate Mets Database for proving to be a great resource for this article http://ultimatemets.com/profile.php?PlayerCode=0845

Mets Beat Marlin in Reyes Return: Game Quotes

Post Game Quotes: Mets Beat Marlins in Jose Reyes' Return

As Jose Reyes returns to New York in front of an enthusiastic crowd of seventeen people (at least it seemed that way even to us loyal Met fans), the Mets continued to show why 2012 will be different. Coming off an awful doubleheader sweep and Bay and Pelfrey heading to DL, Mets needed a win in the worst way. Facing nemesis Josh Johnson and the return of Reyes would have spelled disaster in the past. Instead, Mets won on great pitching from Johan, Rausch and Francisco. On top of that they had some good defense and a clutch hit from Duda. All good stuff that I have not seen in recent years. You have to remain hopeful and enthusiastic about the 2012 New York Mets

Here are some post game Mets/Marlins quotes:

"I play for another team now. As I said, no hard feelings to no one."
--Jose Reyes, on coming back to Citi Field

"I've never seen anyone in the game bring that enthusiasm to the game. If I had to pay to watch someone play, I'd pay to watch this kid."
--Ozzie Guillen, on Jose Reyes

"That's what your big pitcher does. They stop stuff. They stop losing streaks."
--Terry Collins, on the great pitching of Johan Santana

"I think we had the right plan. It didn't work. They just couldn't throw strikes."
--Ozzie Guillen, on four Marlins pitchers walking four consecutive Met batters

"The way he plays the game, the decision is simple because he plays the game hard, but I don't have that decision. You have to take it up with the owner of the New York Mets."
--Jose Reyes, asked if the Mets should sign David Wright to a long term contract

Johan's Worst Career Start: Mets Post Game Quotes

Only solace for me in yesterday's loss to Atlanta was that I was unable to see the game. Apparently, there was little to be excited about---bad defense combined with the worst start of Johan's career is never a good mix. This is one of those games where you tip your cap to the Braves and move on. It's not one of 16, it's one of 162. I've run out of cliches.. Here are some post game quotes from Game 11 of the New York Mets season (one we hope to forget quickly)

Post Game Quotes of Mets/Braves Game

1) "Nobody goes through the whole year without having a rough outing some time."
--Terry Collins, on Johan's Santana start

2) "The offense in the first and second inning was a bunch of get-him-over; get him-in's--with a huge at bat by Freddie mixed in."
--Matt Diaz, on the six runs scored by Braves in first two innings including Freddie Freeman's eleven pitch double

3) "He fell behind in the count. That's not him; probably something he hasn't experience before."
--Terry Collins, on Santana

4) "I would say we were probably a little more anxious on opening day then we were today and we chased."
--Matt Diaz, comparing how the Braves were shut down by Santana on Opening Day versus yesterday's game

5) "They made me throw a lot of pitches and even though I felt good, that's one of those days things didn't work out the way I wanted."
--Johan Santana

Mets Beat Braves 6-1: Post Game Quotes

The Mets did it again with an all-around great effort. I missed the game, but it sounds like they won it in the same way they've been winning all their games. Great starting pitching--this time from Dillon Gee. A timely home run--this time from Ike Davis (and Jason Bay hit one out as well) and a clutch defensive play---in this case it was Jason Bay robbing Jack Wilson of extra bases.

To celebrate the Mets 7th victory of the season--here are some quotes about the game..

1) "They're starting to realize what it takes to win at the major league level. That's always a scary thing when you're the opponent."
--Chipper Jones, on the emergence of the Mets

2) "I know it was the right decision. He just left a breaking ball over the plate and he hit it out. That was the name of the ball game."
--Fredi Gonzalez, on the decision to intentionally walk David Wright to face Ike Davis who hit a three run home run off Tommy Hansen

3) "Early in the year can be deceptive. When you start playing them for the second time, you really find out where you stand."
--Terry Collins, on not trying to get to excited about the Mets early season record

4) I never once thought that they'd be a pushover or anything like that and they haven't been."
--Dan Uggla, on the Mets early season record

5) "You've got five teams that can go out and beat anybody else's starter on any given night."
--Chipper Jones, on the NL East

Cleon Jones Trivia Quiz Answers

Earlier this week, we had a Cleon Jones Trivia Quiz. Tonight we have the trivia quiz answers for Cleon Jones.  How well do you know this Met all-time great?

Ten Cleon Jones Trivia Quiz Answers

1) Cleon made the final catch of the 1969 World Series  off of future Met World Series winning manager, Davey Johnson

2) In 1966, Cleon Jones finished fourth in the voting for National League rookie of the year. The winner was Reds Second Baseman, Tommy Helms

3) In 1969, Cleon was third in the National League in batting.

4) The all-time non-Hall of Famer great who won the batting title in 1969 was Pete Rose. Roberto Clemente was second.

5) In the famous shoe polish incident involving Cleon in Game 5 of the 1969 World Series, the Oriole pitcher was Dave McNally.

6) Cleon played all but thirteen games of his career with the Mets. He was released in 1975 and he was briefly picked up by the Chicago White Sox

7) Cleon's .340 average in 1969 was the highest in Mets history until broken in 1998 by John Olerud who hit an incredible .354 (that guy never gets enough credit for his career)

8) Cleon finished seventh in the National League voting for MVP that year. The two Mets who finished ahead of him were Tom Seaver who finished second and Tommie Agee who finished sixth.

9)  The slugger who was the National League MVP in 1969 with a .320 batting average, 120 rbi's and 45 home runs was Willie McCovey

10) In 1969 Cleon's twelve home runs tied him with Donn Clendenon for third on the team. Art Shamsky was second with fourteen and the top home run hitter on the Mets that year was Tommie Agee with 26.

Hope you enjoyed the Cleon Jones Trivia Quiz Challenge.