This Month In Mets Quotes, Part 2

No surprise that Wally seems to take things personally

"I look at it as trying to work it out here, because then I feel like I failed him to some extent. But is that a possibility? It probably is a possibility. You can only take so many lumps before a guy loses total focus, so that's something that could be discussed. But I look at it as failure upon myself and my coaches not being able to get somebody right, especially when we know what kind of stuff he has." —Wally Backman on Jeurys Familia's possibility of being sent to Double-A Binghamton [ESPN]

Maybe he should evaluate his self worth by extra base hits instead

"For a long time, if I got hits, I was happy; if I didn't get hits, I was unhappy. That's how I evaluated my self-worth." —Daniel Murphy [New York Times]

More convincing than Shawn Estes post-game at least

"I knew that question was probably going to come, and I'm not going to take the bait. I'm going to tell you that I tried to throw a fastball in and it slipped out of my hand a little bit." —R.A. Dickey regarding his retaliatory hit of Dee Gordon [ESPN]

Give that man an extension already

"I've just got to keep doing what I've been doing. I've had good success with that. I try not to overthrow. I'm just trying to throw strikes in the bottom of the zone and flip a couple of curveballs up there and get them off balance." —Bobby Parnell regarding his lower average velocity this year [ESPN]

"Hell, I can tell you right now I can throw 99 all day long if I want to. But I just don't feel like it, all right?" —Tim Byrdak in his best southern twang [ESPN]

Nice try trying to give canned apology

"I made a simple comment because, you know, [the Yankees] complain a lot -- for every call, for everything. I thought it was funny. But I didn't expect to make a big deal. Whatever. Now I've got to apologize to everybody. I mean the whole Yankee team. ... No, I'm kidding. I said what I said, and I'm not sorry. That's what I think. I think they complain too much for everything. You guys haven't watched the games? You guys don't see it? Every game." —Frank Francisco [NJ.com]

But let David Wright show you how it's done

"I have the utmost respect for [the Yankees.] I think their winning and their tradition speaks for itself. I think that Frankie -- and I haven't talked to him about it -- but he was probably just having some fun. Obviously it was blown way out of proportion. I'm sure Frankie's got a lot of respect for these guys. I know I do. I think it's that mutual respect." —David Wright [ESPN]

How to rib by Strawberry

"I would've loved to get a piece of [Tom Seaver's offering] with my Louisville Slugger." —Darryl Strawberry to good natured cheers from the fans [Newsday]

How not to rib by Seaver

"You don't have any handcuffs on your hands, wrists there, do you?" —Tom Seaver's retort resulting in awkward silence [Newsday]

F-Yeah Howie

"If you don't like it, why are you listening to the Mets' broadcast? Go listen to your own broadcast." —Howie Rose regarding Yanks fans opposition to him calling some Yank shots "cheapies" at their bandbox [New York Daily News]

And with the pent-up stress of New York Mets bullpens, just imagine how much Mets fans would pay if you could get an adult beverage after the 7th inning

"Some of the prices for some of those items surprise even me, but maybe we shouldn't be surprised, because there's a 50-year-plus pent-up demand for the Mets' first no-hitter." —Dave Howard, the Mets' executive vice president for business operations, regarding the prices for no hitter memorable [Wall Street Journal]

It's a big deal to me

"The only reason I laugh about it is because I think it's funny people make the hat such a big deal. I don't know -- it's hard to explain. I have a special affinity for the Mets fans, because that's where I spent a bulk of my time, and if I were to go in as a Met I don't think it would be something that people would have any disagreement with. I will always appreciate my years with the Dodgers coming up in that organization. Getting traded to the Mets, going to the World Series and having some amazing moments like the one you mentioned after 9/11, the Hall would probably relate those things, and I don't think that would be much of a surprise. How is that for a non-answer?" —Mike Piazza showing he's still got it regarding talking to the media [ESPN]

A good retort for those fans that insist Dickey should start on short rest more

"It's a mental grind [starting on short rest.] Not that I don't love the challenge of that. It's just all of it [together]. You feel it in your feet, your knees, your joints, your hips. I know I move around out there like an 18-year-old, but I'm not one." —R.A. Dickey [Wall Street Journal]