NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v CARDINALS

October 13, 2000

Bobby Valentine

BOBBY VALENTINE: We'll try to play as well as we always play, and I don't fear overconfidence, that's for sure. We respect this team immensely. We know they can score and we'll do the best we can.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Our team plays well all over, and I think we just got a lot of hops when we were playing at home to make our record a little uneven. But we've played the same brand of baseball, whether we're here or whether we're on the road. We don't get any signals from the scoreboard or any of that good stuff that some home field advantages supposedly have. We just play the game of baseball.

BOBBY VALENTINE: They hit right-handers really well, and our right-handers have pitched really well. So we know we'll be in for a day. We had a right-hander close out the game last night, so that's good impetus to go into tomorrow.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, he's a young guy with a tremendous future, so I think it's a learning experience for him, I think we're gonna see Rick Ankiel as a frontliner for many years to come.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Because there's some initials in front of the game, I don't think the game changes. I think the guys come out and they play the game, the baseball is the same regardless of what prefix is there in front of the game, they play.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Teams are boosted by good players, and Timo is a good player. The catch he made in the seventh was a fabulous catch, and as a young guy without any hits going into that last at-bat and took the at-bat the way he should have and drove the ball leftfield, he plays good defense, he has speed, he can hit, guys like that boost the team. No doubt about it.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm confident, and it's not distracting except for when I have to answer questions about it.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Really no different. There's different individuals, and we have a great group of individuals; there's no doubt about that. A lot of them have been guys that have managed in the past, and I think it's just the cycle of baseball. There's -- few weeks ago, people were saying we couldn't hit in the clutch. Now that we're on the upswing, we can hit in the clutch. That's a weird thing that baseball does to the minds of those who are watching it and the minds of the people who are playing it. It's very cyclical.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I think they feel like that all the time. It's just that sometimes linedrives get caught; sometimes they don't.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't see any different mental approach at all. I think he's evolved and developed as a better hitter as the season has gone on. Being a better hitter breeds confidence, in tough situations you need confidence. But Jay has never, never really been without confidence; he's just, I think earlier in the season, it was a little -- some of the pitches were a little less familiar to him because of his lack of playing time over the years. Now that he's seen pitches more, in his 500 at-bats, I think he's just more -- it's more easy for him to recognize them and hit them. (Phone ringing.) If that's my wife, I'm not here.

BOBBY VALENTINE: No. I mean I can't put it into words. (Laughter.) He... He's just -- he's a special baseball player. He's a special team member. He's a special teammate. He carries the load. He's not -- he's a guy who understands responsibility, and embraces it.

BOBBY VALENTINE: You mean a lot of guys in Japan?

BOBBY VALENTINE: Absolutely, there are guys who fall through the cracks. That wasn't Timo's situation. Timo was discovered early on and cultivated by the carp. He was kind of stolen away and put into their system. It wasn't a situation that he was discarded and no one wanted him; they recognized his talents, got him at a very young age, put him in their academy down in the Dominican Republic, had him signed and kept there as he developed his talents, got to the Big Leagues at a very early age, very unique for him to get to the Japanese Major Leagues at his early age. And then, got out of his contract, which was a little different. I think that they made a big mistake in allowing that to happen.

BOBBY VALENTINE: (Speaking Spanish.) Timo Perez, I would not do justice speaking about him in Spanish. He is a very good player who has really helped us win a lot of games.

BOBBY VALENTINE: It's a very distant fragrance. (Laughter.)

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't know about surprised, because it's such an unknown on how he's going to be used. So for me to be surprised, I would have to have a plan on how he's going to be used. I think we've dodged a bullet away from those situations a few times. It's been one step away when he'd be at the plate and who knows what would happen once he was at the plate. But we'll see him before it's over, no doubt about that.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Going back to Timo and falling through the cracks, I didn't answer that directly. Yes, players do fall through the cracks. Yes, there is talent out there that, with the extensive scouting world-wide and nationally, that all the Major League teams do it still can't cover all the bases. So the answer for that one is yes. As far as the world-wide bidding, it doesn't seem like the Japanese baseball -- Major League Baseball situation has wanted to progress and compete. I thought that they were there a few years ago, maybe six years ago they were at the crest, but what they've done, is rather than expand their thoughts on all of that, I think they've pulled back the reigns a little bit, allowing their very good players to leave. And so it doesn't seem like their league is being built up to be competitive.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't -- depending on how comfortable I am with Abbott.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm very comfort with Abbott, but Mike should be ready to go. We basically rested it yesterday and stayed away from any further injury, and two days should be just what the doctor ordered.

BOBBY VALENTINE: He was let out of his contract.

BOBBY VALENTINE: No, no.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, everyone says that success breeds confidence, but another thing that breeds confidence is talent, and Jay Payton and Timo Perez have a great deal of talent and I think that because of my acknowledgment of their talents, I'm not surprised by their confidence.