Former Met 1B Tells me his Opinion
The man with the mustache (I know you are thinking of Jose Valentin), Keith Hernandez, stopped for a few minutes to talk with me about various topics, such as the Mets team right now and when he was a younger player.
Hernandez made his major-league debut in 1974 with the St. Louis Cardinals, where he played for nine and a half seasons. He ha
d some problems getting along with the manager and some others in the organization, leading to his trade to the Mets. But before he was traded to the Mets, he said that one person who gave him the best advice was Lou Brock, who held the career stolen base record until Rickey Henderson broke it.
“He helped me as far as handling the game on a day out, day in basis basis, not getting too high, too low, not taking it on an even keel.”
Following the trade to the Mets, Hernandez patched up his reputation and worked hard each day. He won a World Series with the Mets in 1986, while eventually becoming captain of the team in 1987.
Keith: Mets are Best Team in NL East
As many people know, Keith Hernandez has been working in the SNY booth with Gary Cohen and Ron Darling for the past few years, so he has a great idea of how the team that he follows each and every day looks like. Keith likes the Mets’ chances this year much better than he did at the beginning of last year, but he explains their weaknesses.
“They’re better with Santana, but they’re still an old team, so injuries are going to be critical. They’ve already got their share of injuries, but I feel that they’re better this year. If they are able to stay healthy, they are better than they were last year.”
He even told me that the Mets are the best team in the NL East. Speaking of the NL East, I asked him about his opinion on the comments made earlier in Spring Training by Mets Outfielder Carlos Beltran.
“I don’t know if it was smart, but I don’t mind it. I liked it,” said Hernandez. “I like the fact that he said that, especially coming from him.”
Wright’s Words
David Wright does everything right. He hits home runs, he makes those diving stops, he donates a lot of money, and he is a great guy. So when the Mets fell apart at the end of 2007, what do you think he did? Do you think he went and did commercials and other advertisements? No, maybe a little, but not as much as others do. Why? Because he wants to win.
“My main focus of the off-season was to get into the best shape possible so that individually, I could go put my best effort into 2008,” said Wright. “A lot of that had to do with going away with some of the promotion and endorsement stuff, so I feel good about the shape that I come into camp in, and I want to make sure that what happened last year is a one-time thing, it doesn’t happen again.
“This year coming into Spring Training, we all have positive energy. Especially with what happened at the end of last year, we get a chance to focus on the additions to the team, Johan Santana, Brian Schneider, Ryan Church, these guys rather than the negatives of what happened last year.”
Wright also knows that the hard work will pay off. He worked hard in the off-season, and he was rewarded with a nice package around the time of Super Bowl XLII, when the Mets traded for Johan Santana without getting rid of too many talented prospects. Many thought that this trade was a steal.
“We did lose some good minor leaguers, but when you get in return a guy that is one of the best pitchers in baseball, who is still relatively young, I think it was a great trade for us,” 
explained Wright. “What he does on the field, the numbers speak for itself, but what he does in the clubhouse, he is a great leader and is going to be one of the great leaders on this team for years to come.”
I also had a chance to talk to Wright about kids and baseball. He told me his opinion for kids that play baseball:
“Just have fun, that is the most important advice that I could give any young player. Too many young players take the game too seriously. Just enjoy it. That is the way I try to go out there and approach every game. Learn teamwork. It’s a team game and they can learn valuable teamwork lessons. Getting a chance to play baseball for a living, I was very fortunate to be in that position. Just go out there, smile, have fun, and enjoy it.
David and Norfolk
David Wright grew up in Virginia near the Mets AAA affiliate, the Norfolk Tides. He was also able to play there in AAA, but one day he received the news that the Mets AAA affiliate was getting moved to New Orleans. I asked him whether he was sad that the Mets AAA moved away.
“Well, I got a chance to play in front of my family and my friends. But selfishly, I’m glad I got that opportunity, but it’s sad to see the team go.”
I also asked him about the first time he was called up to the big leagues, when he was with AAA Norfolk. I asked him who he called first and how it turned out
“My parents were obviously my first call. I was called up in Norfolk, where I lived. Getting a chance to call my parents was very exciting and it was like a dream come true, but when you think about it, I was just getting started. You spend all of your life getting to the big leagues, and once you get to the big leagues, it’s a whole ‘nother chapter. You’re just starting back from square one.”
Watch the WHOLE NL East
“Last year we learned a hard lesson that we can’t take anyone for granted. The Nationals and Marlins the last two weeks of the season beat up on us pretty good, so I don’t think there is necessarily one team that I would say concerns me more than others. You have Philadelphia, who won the division last year, Atlanta, who is always a perennial powerhouse, so there’s not one team that I’m scared of, there’s not one team I would say I’m nervous about because I’m nervous about all of them. You have to take the game very seriously.”
COMING UP: DAVID WRIGHT INTERVIEW
Coming up is my interview with David Wright yesterday in Port st. Lucie, FL. Here is a quick preview:
Moises Alou is Ready for 2008
I 
was able to catch up with Moises Alou during a Mets batting practice session on a back field yesterday in Port St Lucie, and he sounds excited. I took this photo seconds before the first pitch of the Spring Training game against the Braves, as Alou warmed up. The pictures of the interview are on a different camera, and I’ll have them up once I get back to New York.
After setting a record for the longest hitting streak of a person over 40 years of age, which set a franchise record and also was the longest streak in MLB since 2006, Mets LF Moises Alou scratches his head thinking of what else he could have done to help a team that couldn’t win in September. Of course you could say woulda, shoulda, coulda all day long, but it’s much simpler to just focus on the task at hand.
“That happened last year and you just have to be positive about it,” said the 41-year-old 0utfielder. “You just have to work harder to have a better season.”
Moises Alou is one of Horse-Racing’s biggest fans. He even has his own collection of horses back at home, several of whom were named after MLB players. Other than working hard to prepare for the next season, working with his horses is probably something he did during a tough off-season to get the collapse off his mind and instead look forward to the future… until of course a huge move was made by the Mets Front Office. They were able to acquire arguably baseball’s best pitcher, Johan Santana, for only a few talented prospects, while at the same time were able to keep other prospects that were rumored to be shipped away, like Mike Pelfrey.
“When you have a pitcher of Santana’s caliber, it really gives you a lot of confidence into the season.”
The confidence is huge. Even though had the Mets finished to their potential last September, they would have won the division, the players were not only shocked at what happened, but worried that they were not a powerhouse anymore. And besides, just look at the Phillies, not a powerhouse by any means, but the confidence they have now after winning the NL East last season looks pretty high.
“I think before the Santana trade, we felt like we had a very good team. We just have to stay stronger throughout the season, we have to stay injury-free, hopefully catch some breaks, and with the talent that we have, we should go all the way.”
The deal for the lefty Santana looked real nice when it happened, and it has only looked better ever since. He reported to camp early, there are no problems, and schedule-wise, he is right on track.
Every team in the NL East is excited. The Phillies just won the division, the Braves have a great rotation, and the Nationals and Marlins were able to prove their potential against the Mets in the last week of 2007. Alou says the Phillies and Braves look to the be Mets’ biggest worry, but if the Mets focus on their own work, they should be fine.
“The Philles are the defending champions,” said Alou. “They have a good closer in Brad Lidge. Atlanta is always a good team. They know how to win, and they play well. I think with the team that we have, we shouldn’t worry about it, we should just worry about ourselves.”
Like Moises said, as long as this team stays healthy, they should be fine. They had some serious bumps and bruises last year that kept the team apart at times, especially in the starting rotation, but this year everything seems fine, although it is only spring training.
The Second Half of the Day
Alright, I’m back. I already told everyone about the first part of the day, now to the second half. I saw Carlos Delgado doing fielding drills off the wall with a bouncy ball, somehow to get him back into the swing of things after hurting his hip a few days ago before flying to Manhattan for a day to get his hip looked at. I asked him for an interview and he said he had to hit but maybe later. That means the interview won’t happen because the chances of finding him are not high.
Following the game, I chased SNY’s Keith Hernandez out of the elevator at Tradition Field to the parking lot, where I was able to do a short 5 or 6 question interview.
When we figured we might as well walk back into the stadium to try and see if any players were remaining (this is probably an hour or so after the game was over), and we saw someone sitting at a bench with some organization that was doing a quick video and autograph thing before leaving. Nobody else was there except for them David Wright, and us. We approached him, and I asked him if he would do an interview and he said “Sure, no problem.”
David Wright is the nicest person ever. Even when we hadn’t talked to him yet, he said hi to us and asked how we were doing just when we were walking by him. I was able to do a 5 minute interview with him, and it concluded a crazy, but GREAT day.
I’ll have the David Wright transcript tomorrow.