Mets reflect on meaning of playing hard
New York Mets catcher Josh Thole, right, and pitcher Hisanori Takahashi celebrate after beating the Phillies, 5-2. (Sept. 25, 2010) Credit: AP
PHILADELPHIA - The day after Chase Utley angered the Mets with a dangerous takeout slide into second base, manager Jerry Manuel wished his own team were capable of the same behavior. Manuel was among the most vocal of the Mets in calling for retaliation Friday night, but he seemed to change his tune before yesterday's game at Citizens Bank Park.
"It might take a while to get the response because all you want to do is do the same thing," Manuel said. "You want to basically play the same way. That's how we did it back in the day. But that was normal when we played. Here, anytime a guy slides hard, everybody gets a little ruffled or whatever. But that's how you have to play."
For one night, at least, the Mets listened. Carlos Beltran took his best shot at two Phillies - Utley and Wilson Valdez - with one slide in the seventh inning. Beltran may have failed to floor either player, but the Mets followed his lead that inning with five runs, including a bases-clearing double by Lucas Duda, to beat the Phillies, 5-2.
With all the next-day talk of takeout slides, it was Valdez - the former Met - that drew the most attention for kicking Jose Reyes to disrupt a double-play attempt in the fifth inning. That appeared to be a more questionable slide than Utley's.
But the Mets, who snapped a five-game losing skid, probably figured the best revenge was to end the Phillies' 11-game winning streak and keep their rival's magic number at 2 for winning the National League East. In the process, Manuel earned the 700th win of his managerial career and No. 200 with the Mets.
On Friday, Reyes described Utley's slide as "a little dirty" and believed that the Phillies' second baseman "crossed the line a little bit." David Wright suggested that the Mets would now have to "re-evaluate" how they slide into second base.
Utley, a five-time All-Star at second base, was unapologetic. "I have never, ever attempted to break up a double play with the intent to injure someone," Utley told MLB.com. "I understand what it's like to be taken out. I've been kicked, kneed, elbowed, spiked and even flipped upside down. And as much as I might not have liked it at the time, I understand that it's all part of being a major league second baseman. Second basemen have had to deal with this for over 100 years. And with that said, we as a team play the game hard and play it to win. That is not going to change."
Mike Pelfrey - the only one singled out by the Phillies for yelling from the bench - felt that the slide deserved a response and promised to "store it away" for a future meeting.
The only Met to soften his stance was Manuel, who played during a different era, one where takeout slides were more frequent - and violent. Despite that experience, Manuel apparently has been unable to spark that competitive fire in these Mets. "For us to witness it, I think that's all good because that tells [the] Beltrans, Wrights, Reyeses - the older guys - this is how they're going to play," Manuel said. "This is how we have to do it. Those are the guys that if anything needs to get taken care of, those are the guys that go in there and do it. That's just baseball."
