NL DIVISION SERIES: METS v DIAMONDBACKS

October 5, 1999

Bobby Valentine

BOBBY VALENTINE: It means we have one game under our belt. He's a very good pitcher, and without a doubt, if it goes five, we'll see him again. But we wanted to get this one. We had an opportunity to win the first game of a playoff before. So guys came out swinging and had great -- I thought they were just great at-bats tonight; John Olerud chiming in with Alfonzo were big. And Robin got a couple hits off Randy -- I think four hits left-handed. And that's determination. That's what that is. That's reaching down and wanting it.

BOBBY VALENTINE: No. No. He got back into his pitch count. We had him over his pitch count there in the 3rd, 4th and 5th, but we hit some first pitches, and he got back into a situation where he was in what I'm sure their limit is for him. So he was mowing them down there at the end, and they had momentum, and he's a guy that captures momentum, usually.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, last couple nights he's hit really big home runs, but over the last few years, I think Alfonzo has been a fabulous baseball player who is one of the guys in this league who has kind of a star quality, but he's improving. He's learning about himself every day that he goes out there and gaining confidence, and with confidence comes performances like you saw tonight.

End of FastScripts….