MMO Mets Quotables: Philadelphia Freedom Edition

“Lee is a great pitcher, and it’s not that I want them to be overly aggressive. Part of the whole plan is to be disciplined and get something good to hit. The other part of that is, it could be the second pitch of the at-bat. You don’t have to go up there and just take pitches. You might be able to get a good ball to hit on the first or second pitch of the at-bat.” ~ Terry Collins

“It’s moving in the right direction, but it’s a fractured bone, so it takes a little time. I wish it would go a little quicker. It’s better than it was yesterday and a lot better than it was after the first day. It’s frustrating, because it is a pinkie finger, but it’s very, very irritating and painful and swollen now.” ~ David Wright

“The Mets could have a bigger-than-expected impact on the playoff race. Nobody expects New York to contend. But that expectation, or lack thereof, could impact contending clubs as the Mets continue their quest to shed payroll and rebuild. In that light, it is important to note that the early returns on Johan Santana have been extremely positive. The 33-year-old lefthander missed all of 2011 with shoulder surgery, but he started on Opening Day and, through two starts, has allowed only one extra-base hit with 13 strikeouts and five walks in 10 innings.” ~ Philadelphia Daily News

“Obviously I’m not where I want to be. I have to turn the double play, but each time I drop one of those things I realize how far I’ve got to go. Turner is a better second baseman defensively right now than I am. We all have eyeballs. He’s more skilled there than I am. I feel comfortable at third base. I haven’t taken ground balls there recently, but I definitely feel comfortable there.” ~ Daniel Murphy

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I was coming into second, and Jimmy put his hands up, like, ‘Come in easy. You can come in easy.’ And I knew the ball was fair. I even looked down. You go watch the video. I checked it. The ball was on the floor. And I just took off running back to first. I’ve got no other explanation. Good thing it didn’t affect anything.” ~ Josh Thole

“When Lindsey, Bob and I would come into our hotels on the road, we would peek around the corner to see whether Casey was at the bar. If he was, we didn’t go anywhere near the bar because you couldn’t get away from him.” ~ Ralph Kiner

Promised my 5 year old I’d make pancakes today. He got out of bed and said “c’mon Dad, these pancakes aren’t gonna make themselves!” ~ Kevin Burkhardt

“We’ve got to start raising the spirits of our fan base and the people associated with our club — because … what’s happened in recent years has created a huge negative atmosphere around here we’re trying to change. We’ve changed it in the clubhouse, and now we’ve got to do it on the field.” ~ Terry Collins

THIS DATE IN METS HISTORY: In 1970, the Mets received their World Series rings and raised the 1969 World Championship banner. ~ New York Mets