NL DIVISION SERIES: METS v DIAMONDBACKS

October 6, 1999

Bobby Valentine

BOBBY VALENTINE: Well, Rickey definitely has personality, and he has a style that's all Rickey. I think that basically we have a bunch of guys who are workmen-like, who go about their business in a rather professional, but also without much flamboyancy. And Rickey has brought a balancing act to that, where he has -- you know, his picks and with the home runs and some of the things that he does that are unique to him and Rickey's flare are appreciated by our older guys on the team. They don't mind it. I think other teams would worry about it and let it be a distraction. But he's added a lot to our team.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't think there's one thing. He understands his swing better. He has -- obviously, success breeds confidence, and he's had success; so he's been more confident. But I think he's gotten away from the thought that he's going to be a guy who gets a single to right. He's a guy that can do a lot more than that. That's been kind of drummed into his head. And I think he has a brother who coaches in our organization who is a very good baseball man and they talk often, and I think his brother has been a great influence on his development.

BOBBY VALENTINE: He's not exactly the pitcher -- doesn't exactly throw the stuff I thought because I had remembered him throwing different stuff. He surprises me with his curveball, something I didn't know he had developed so well. He's a much better pitcher than I remembered. Other than that, I'm not very surprised, and he's almost what we're hoping for -- or what we expected. He's everything that we had hoped for.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I'm not sure if I had a special feeling. I was enjoying the moment. It really wasn't -- you know, pregame introduction is pregame introduction; and obviously, I've never done that before in this time of the year. But I've done it a lot of times before; so it was tough to really differentiate. But I was enjoying the moment. I liked the energy that the guys had when we were coming out of the dugout.

BOBBY VALENTINE: Those things are true, the flights have been different, and the schedule has been rigorous, but we have gotten sleep. It's not as though we're playing extra-inning doubleheaders. So there has been some bedtime, if you will, in between games. I think that as -- as everyone this time of the year experiences some fatigue and maybe our team has a little more of that than other teams because we didn't get a break at the end of the season. We're still professionals and guys know what it takes to take care of themselves enough to rebound the next day.

BOBBY VALENTINE: We'll make that determination tomorrow. Rick Reed is definitely pitching on Friday.

BOBBY VALENTINE: It wasn't a thought or it wasn't mentioned before yesterday's game. And I'm not sure now that we won the first game that necessarily has to be talked about before this game. You know, you never know what has to be said or what doesn't have to be said. With this group, I have found that less is more because they are intelligent; they are experienced professionals.

BOBBY VALENTINE: I don't know if it's me, but we've had two hitting coaches, and they have both stressed to him, as well has his brother, the importance of him having good posture in his swing, not bending over to hit to right field; being a good hitter at all times but also taking on situations where he could be an exceptional hitter. And, you know, I think there has been explicit comments made about how good a hitter he is, how if he could get a hit like he did in in New York on Sunday where he got a tough pitch and he did -- with two strikes, he hit a base hit to right field, but how he could also take on a 3-1 fastball and drive it out of the park. Some guys have to be one or the other. Eddie has the ability to be both -- Edgardo has the ability to do both.

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