|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
GAME DAY PREVIEW Game time: 8:00pm ET Arizona at NY Mets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular-season records
Outfielder Luis Gonzalez promises they won't. "We've got a bunch of veterans on this team," he said. "We're an expansion team, but by no means are we new players. The uniforms are two years old. The guys who wear them have been around a little bit. It's not like we've got guys with two or three years experience."
They showed resiliency, a sort of mental toughness teams need to succeed. "Especially in New York," Gonzalez said. "Over here, it goes pitch to pitch. You can be a hero today and a goat tomorrow." Manager Buck Showalter thinks his team has answered all the questions in its championship season. "We won 100 games, 101 now," he said. "Not much is going to happen to make me feel differently about this club." The Mets beat Arizona ace Randy Johnson in the division playoff opener, but Todd Stottlemyre got the Diamondbacks even before the series shifted to New York. Showalter is giving the ball to Omar Daal (16-9), for Game 3 against the Mets' Rick Reed (11-5). "Omar is a lot like Todd," the manager said. "If he gets banged around, it's not because he doesn't let it fly." Showalter said he would not bring Johnson back on three days' rest Saturday, even if Daal loses tonight. Brian Anderson will pitch Game 4 for Arizona, with Johnson set for Game 5 if the series goes back to Arizona. That would require at least one win in New York. Showalter thinks his team can manage that. "Anybody comes into the playoffs who doesn't think they've got to win on the road is just kidding themselves," he said. The Mets' last two wins have come on the road -- the wild-card clincher in Cincinnati and then the playoff opener the next night in Arizona. The team returned home a little travel weary after a grueling, pressure-filled week that started with three straight stay-alive wins against Pittsburgh. "A week like this, you can use a day off," Mets manager Bobby Valentine said Thursday. "I was dragging, but I feel good now. Not having to strap it on, come out and do it again, I definitely feel energized." After a week of big games, Valentine said the Game 3 will be no different. "No doubt in my mind, this is the most important game of the season, because it's the one we're playing," he said. Despite the mentally draining marathon week of six games in three cities, the Mets played aggressive baseball in the first two games against the Diamondbacks, squeezing home a run in the opener and pulling a double steal in Game 2. "I think we've been aggressive all year," Valentine said. "For a week (when they lost seven straight) we didn't have an opportunity to do much as far as movement plays." "You have to play aggressive," reliever John Franco said.
"You've got to create things, put pressure on. I think you should
do it. It creates havoc."
Arizona regulars*
Complete Arizona roster New York regulars*
Complete New York roster * - 1999 regular-season statistics Regulars Statistics source: STATS, Inc. Copyright 1999 STATS, Inc. Commercial distribution without the express written consent of STATS is prohibited. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard 
Batter vs. Pitcher Arizona Clubhouse NY Mets Clubhouse
Ailing Piazza not in Mets' lineup today
Klapisch: Mets Madness engulfs Shea
Arizona @
  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
