NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: METS v BRAVES

October 15, 1999

Bobby Valentine

BOBBY VALENTINE: I didn't realize until just now it's the first time all year we had two; that that's the case. That makes it even weirder, doesn't it? The one by Al, Al just caught it and kind of stepped to second and threw to first. Mike stepped on the plate when he threw his; it slipped. It was pretty amazing. I guess without that, we could still be playing. But we still didn't score any runs.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, he had what they thought was just one of those slight concussions there with the collision at home. We were on pins and needles the whole time, seeing if he could go. He kept saying he was okay to go, and then got hit with about four balls in the dirt that he blocked, and then Gerald Williams got him again with the backswing on his hand; got him pretty good on that. But he was okay, just missed that last one.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I didn't have anybody that could bunt Rocker, I didn't think. He's tough to hit; I think he's tougher to bunt.

BOBBY VALENTINE: We couldn't break it. He threw ace after ace, for called strikes. A couple of our guys hit pretty good at-bats off of him, but they weren't that real solid at-bats. But obviously, we put two hits together back-to-back once, and that was with two outs and Mora and Ordonez, and that was because Mora was running.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't think so, no. I don't see any reason to. Do you think that's why we didn't get any hits? Someone might be silly enough or dumb enough to think that, but not me.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I think there's a possibility. We'll have to see. He has a knot on his knuckle, right above his knuckle here that's pretty severe. Hopefully that swelling will leave him.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Yeah, but it was the thumb last week, and this was right above the knuckle, here (indicating).

BOBBY VALENTINE: Yes.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't think we have to wait for historians. Braves pitchers are as good as there is in any era, in any decade.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, he got the ball, and he felt he had a shot at second. And then for some reason, he decided not to throw to second, but he still kind of stepped that way, and then as he stepped toward second, he decided to throw to first.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I didn't hear anything about that. I think Rey had coverage. I don't know. I think so. It was Boone hitting, right? So I think Rey was covering on balls back to the mound.

BOBBY VALENTINE: When I mentioned the Braves pitching being as good as it is, he's included in that group. He's got a terrific arm. A lot of his pitches are close to unhittable.

BOBBY VALENTINE: That's a good one. I don't know. I have a tough time with my own decisions.

BOBBY VALENTINE: He was upset. He was angry after the first inning, but Dave talked to him a little and he got a lot of pats on the butt. Al Leiter pitched great. You can't pitch any better than that. He might have pitched as well as anybody has pitched this series. It's a darn shame.

BOBBY VALENTINE: No, I never thought that that run would cost the game. I thought we'd score today. I felt it in my bones. I'm going to have to get some new bones.

BOBBY VALENTINE: There's some hope. It's a long shot. No doubt about that, but we're going to show up tomorrow and try to play one game at a time and see how close we can get.