The Mets are in the most important stretch of the season, but some people watching the team think many of the players are lacking intensity and focus. But the Mets haven't won or clinched anything yet, and if they keep playing like they have been -- just five wins in their last 14 games -- there's still a chance they could get squeezed out of the playoffs. That lack of focus annoys
Paul Lo Duca. From the
Times-Herald Record:
"I think because we have so much talent that we walk around thinking we just need to show up and we're going to win," he said.
"That complacency really upsets me, like we're going to coast (into the playoffs). It's almost like we have to have our backs to the wall to make us perform."
Lo Duca will say "we," but during September, he has certainly kept up his end, hitting nearly .320 with 21 RBI. "I've had a banged-up year," he said, referring to a major hamstring pull, among other assorted bumps and bruises, "but I'm going to give you what I've got."
How will this be received in the Mets clubhouse? Hopefully players will take offense and step up their play, though I guess it's just as likely players responsible will shrug and laugh it off. The Mets need a win tonight to avoid getting swept by the lowly Nationals before closing the year out with a make-up game against the Cardinals and a three-game set against the Marlins.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-26-2007 @ 5:41PM
vin hug said...
look at his batting avg. he thinks he's big time. bet they get rid of him next yr.
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9-26-2007 @ 5:55PM
Mike Rath said...
Leadership does not always have the highest batting average or most number of wins......
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9-26-2007 @ 7:38PM
jtcordoba said...
Paul Lo Duca is a true leader of this team. With the talent that the Mets have, they should be 20 games in first place. I'm surprised Willie Randolph hasn't kicked some butt on this team!
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9-26-2007 @ 7:43PM
quique said...
Paul is right, he's only trying to fire up his team mates, which it seems they need, he's only doing what willie should be doing.
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9-26-2007 @ 9:46PM
claytor said...
No...hes only doing what Carlos Beltran and his gazillion (or is it batrillion?) dollar contract should be doing.
Or David Wright should be doing instead of settling for a meager whole 100 rbi! and being the centerfold for Seventeen magazine. For gods sake, Pat Burrell can drive in 100 runs., colour ME impressed.
I wouldnt compare Varitek to David Ortiz statistically, but theres no denying who the "captain" in beantown is, is there.
Fire em up Lo Duca, this is how Octobers are won.
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9-26-2007 @ 10:54PM
Bobby M. Reyes said...
Paul Lo Duca is absolutely right. If the Mets fail to land in the playoffs, perhaps the owners should just promote their good players from their Minor-League teams next season and dump the indifferent highly-paid players who do not exert their best. What a pity for a team that has so many talented players. But I guess that talent is not enough. Players have to have the heart to gut it out. Amen to Quique and Claytor.
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9-26-2007 @ 11:15PM
pup said...
jose reyes should be taking note,he's running the bases like he rob a bank. only to have the red dye explode in his face. he's in scoring position with a batter up who have driven in over 100 rbi's and get caught stealing to end the inning. lets not forget carlos gomez. hey willie get a grip. bye bye rick petersen.
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9-26-2007 @ 11:20PM
charlie said...
WTG Paul
you make a good leader and captain. How can willie keep Delgato in games? Give me Green Remember how games were lost in Apr- May n even Jun
willie said it early yet
wish you had some of them back now>
The garu hmm some coach oh A closer? What is that? He is not a good pitcher back problem came on right time huh Phillies knew he was not a good team mate.
If not broke then don't fix it Willie
Delgato hurt the Mets most Get Backman up here. Still time to get in play offs
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9-26-2007 @ 11:36PM
Dreamspinner said...
Lo Duca is absolutely right. I'm a long-time Mets fan and the team's play has absolutely made me cringe for quite a stretch now. They don't deserve to be in the playoffs. They are a team without a heart. Disgusting.
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9-26-2007 @ 11:43PM
JSquercia said...
Looks like it didn't work . Jumped out to another
lead only to BLOW it . The problem is NOT the hitters but the Pitching . The Bullpen has been awful . Wagner had another bad outing and the middle relief is awful . Even the starters have lousey lately with the exception of Pedro . All we heard about was Pelfry and Humber being top notch prospects : WRONG . BTW what the hell was with giving Lawrence those starts it was like conceding the game everytime he went out there .
Meanwhile in the Bronx the Yankee staff has come up
with Hughes , Kennedy and Joba .
Sadly if we make the playoffs we won't go far with
this staff .
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9-27-2007 @ 12:00AM
grady o'flannon said...
who would have thought at the beginning of september that with 4 games to play the yankees would be the ones drinking champagne and the Mets who are panicking. Its a funny game.
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9-27-2007 @ 12:04AM
ray shields said...
A Met fan since 1962, and no season is more disappointing than this one . . . we are toast.
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9-27-2007 @ 1:16AM
George B Vieto said...
Paul Lo Duca is the true leader of the Mets with his play on the field as well as his talk. He wants to win another World Series ring.
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9-27-2007 @ 4:16AM
Lisa said...
Love Lo Duca! Hopefully this will get the rest of the team going so they can make it into the playoffs and beyond...
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9-27-2007 @ 5:03AM
Dave said...
Wow, all this love for a lowlife like Lo Duca just because he said something to the media that he should have said in-house only. Interesting who folks choose to martyr, but then, the poor life choices most make tend to speak for themselves in the end. As for the guy in post #12, give me freakin' break, talk about hyperbole. The Mets didn't even sniff the playoffs in 31 out of their previous 45 seasons and you call 2007 the most disappointing? Idiot, you should never comment on anything on a public message board ever again if you're really that spoiled, sensitive and dumb.
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9-27-2007 @ 5:20AM
Mark said...
The Mets have playing in a trance since they lost to the Cardinals last year.
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9-27-2007 @ 6:35AM
steve rudnick said...
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THEIR HITTING THEY ARE SCORING ENOUGH RUNS TO WIN . THE PITCHING HAS BEEN TERRIBLE DUE TO THE STARTING PITCHERS NOT BEING ABLE TO PITCH DEEP IN THE GAME . THE BULLPEN IS NOT DOING GOOD DUE TO BEING OVERWORKED
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9-27-2007 @ 10:46AM
nyc said...
Dear Mets Fans,
HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!!!
Way to go chirping and teasing and taunting the wole season, just in time for a monumental collapse. OH this is BEAUTIFUL!! Where are all those people dissin the Yanks and mocking them all year saying how they're gonna cruise to another NL East title. HA! If the phillies were better than an 88 win team, the Mets would be out by 5 games. Oh well, 4 more games to suck it out.
Love, NYY
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9-27-2007 @ 10:53AM
lefty said...
remember people there is only one new york team in new york and that is the new york yankees.
even while the yankees were 14.5 games behind with a losing record, they, the new york yankees came together as a team and played themselves into a playoff berth.
they yankees did what they had to do,play hard and stick together and as we all witnessed last night, showed us THE NEW YORK YANKEES ARE THE ONLY TEAM IN IN THE CITY. give the yankees their proper respect.
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9-27-2007 @ 11:32AM
Michelle said...
I am astonished that the mets have been playing so poorly the whole last half after the all star game. With the amazing beginning of the year they had they seemed like a shoe in for winning the series this year, but now things have seemingly fallen off, and not because as some of you commenter's suggest the players are "over payed", and "lack heart", but because we have a lot of veteran ( and by that I mean old) players whom are very prone to injury. El duque, glavine, delgado, and alou, major pieces in our game plan all keep getting injured, and with the lack of decent bullpen pitching, it is a surprise they are doing as well as they are. Now dont get me wrong I am a huge Mets fan, but the fact of the matter is we need younger more consistent starting pitching, and at least one or two more closers. Another good idea would seemingly be to get rid of rick peterson as someone else commented, he has been letting guys throw away huge leads with no consequence. Oh, and as for the commenter who suggested that La Duca would most likely be gotten rid of before next year ::HAHAHA!!! what kind of silly prattle is that? La Duca is an awesome catcher, knows what he is doing and is pretty productive up at bat not to mention that he is amazing defensively, and really does seem to be keeping his team somewhat together ((no thanks to Willie's hands off style of management)) Truthfully there are a lot of changes to be made to the organization to make it what it could be, but the fact of the matter is that You gotta believe! The Mets can still pull this off, they just need us, the fans behind them. So keep your heads up Met fans, and just remember, even though the Yankees clinched, it really doesn't mean too much, I mean if the mets threw around 15 million plus dollars to just about everyone on the team they would probably win more too. Even with them losing the mets are still more fun to watch then those stuffed up over payed yankee losers......
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