This Week in Mets Quotes: Collins wants to re-sign Murphy, Cubs player anoints Murphy God of New York

This might be the understatement of the year…

"We're playing pretty good baseball." -Terry Collins [Newsday]

…or maybe this.

"I’ve been fortunate enough to swing the bat pretty well lately." -Daniel Murphy [ESPN]

Oh.

"Jake [Arreita] got me on that [pitch.] Undressed me. I gave a little squeal." -Daniel Murphy [ESPN]

Hopefully he continues to become the Devil of Chicago too.

"[Daniel Murphy’s] probably the God of New York right now. I totally respect that. He’s earned it." -Miguel Montero [New York Times]

Yeah, about that…

"This is a big scene for [Daniel Murphy]. I hope that we re-sign him and he’s a free agent, but let me tell you something: You can make yourself a lot of money by stepping up on this stage. We saw it with [Carlos] Beltran, we saw it with a lot of guys and here’s Dan Murphy. He’s saying, ‘I’ll show the world I’m a pretty good player,’ and he’s doing that." –Terry Collins [New York Post]

I mean it could change the Mets potentially getting a draft pick.

"[Daniel Murphy’s] been great, really great, but it changes nothing [regarding the Mets letting Murphy sign elsewhere]." -Anonymous Source [New York Daily News]

I get it, but locking up arbitration players is exactly how you keep your payroll under control.

"If they are keeping their payroll in the same neighborhood, they can't afford to keep him. He's making $8 million now, will probably get a bump on that and he's going to want some years. They already have all that money invested in Juan Lagares (4 years, $22.5 million) and Michael Cuddyer (1 year, $10 million) who are both backups now. You can't keep your payroll under control like that." –Rival GM [New York Daily News]

Alderson continued, ‘the type of hitter that’s totally worth giving up a draft pick for.’

"I think Daniel Murphy is a different hitter today than he was two, three months ago. He's looking to do damage. He's looking sort of middle of the field and pull as opposed to kind of going the other way. More selective at the plate. I think that has a lot to do with Dan applying what [hitting coaches] Kevin Long and Pat Roessler have been advocating. So I don't think this is a phase for him. I think that in some ways he's a fundamentally different hitter than he was, as recently as three, four months ago. And the intensity that he has in the playoff situation certainly is evident, as well. He's really focused, and he's always been sound mechanically. But I think his approach is a little bit different, which has made him a more dangerous hitter." –Sandy Alderson [ESPN]

Nah, let’s talk more about innings limits and impending free agents.

"We've worked so hard to get here, so why not enjoy it while we're here?" -Daniel Murphy [Newsday]

Wait, there’s players besides Murphy in this series.

"It's great, especially considering that was the first ball I got this whole series. To have to catch one like that, which was a meaningful one like that to keep a run off board, definitely was a big thing for us." -Curtis Granderson [ESPN]

As the Frost Giants of Jotunheim before them, the Cubs of Chicago were slain by Thor on the icy plane.

"I feel like I battled the elements pretty well out there. I wish I would have gotten ahead of hitters a little bit more, but I was able to get out of some jams with my secondary pitches as well." -Noah Syndergaard [New York Post]

Wright continued, ‘Everything's perfectly all right now. I’m fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?’

"I spent 20 minutes with [David Wright] [Saturday] night when the game was over. I said, 'How you doing?' He said, 'OK.' I said, 'Are you stiff?' He said, 'Terry, it was 35 out there. We're all stiff.' I said, 'No, how are you?' He said, 'I'm fine.' He said, 'Now I suck but I'm fine.'" –Terry Collins [Newsday]

Rizzo with a nice tribute to Yogi.

"When they’re hitting their spots, it’s not easy to do what we want to do when they’re doing what they want to do." -Anthony Rizzo [New York Times]

But does Terry?

"Our bullpen, we know what we’re capable of. We have all the confidence in the world in each other." -Addison Reed [New York Daily News]

Looks like Niese has been accepted by his new bullpen family.

"Oh, that was awesome, man. I was watching in the bullpen and I felt like he pitched him brilliantly. It obviously got the crowd into it, Niese I’m sure was pumped and it set the tone for the rest of the game." -Taylor Clippard [New York Daily News]

As long as you win, what’s the issue?

"There's a bunch of ways you can win a baseball game and by no means do you want to be a baseball team that only knows how to win a certain way." -Michael Cuddyer [Newsday]

Scary to think of Familia being even more confident.

"I don't have a word to say how special it feels, how fun, how I enjoy every moment being out there and just thank God for it. Like I say always: Every time I have the opportunity to be in the game, my confidence is growing. I trust my stuff and just going out there and throwing strikes and believing in my pitches: my slider, my sinker, my splitter." -Jeurys Familia [Newsday]

The result, 6 innings of two-run ball.

"I think that's probably the hardest I've had to work. I knew from inning one it was going to be a battle. I knew then I didn't have my best stuff. And that's a good lineup over there. It's not fun when you don't have your best stuff against them. The fastball was the toughest pitch I had locating, which is not normal for me. I had pretty good control of my curveball, so I went to that quite a bit. I was trying to get first-pitch strikes with that. With two strikes I was using it a lot, too." -Jacob deGrom [ESPN]

Glad the Mets stayed classy through all this.

"The greatest retaliation is winning the game." -Michael Cuddyer [ESPN]

So how much is this experience worth to you?

"I don't think I've ever played at home with this many fans in the stands. It didn't happen in Oakland. It didn't happen in Detroit. It didn't happen in Boston. I think it's something that really added to how well we played." -Yoenis Cespedes [ESPN]

Our thoughts and prayers go out the Niese family.

"I'm going to go home tomorrow morning. I'm going to fly to Ohio. My grandmother's showing is tomorrow, and then her funeral is Tuesday at 1:30. I'm going to drive from the funeral to Chicago. It's probably a four-hour drive. Hopefully whenever I'm going to get there, I'll go to the bullpen and join the team." -Jon Niese [ESPN]

SiteBot FacePalm of the Week

"Wright For NLCS. It’s no disgrace to platoon, especially when you are going as bad as David is. How about he and Kelly Johnson split time there and keep the load off his back a bit. When he came off the DL, he looked 100%, but not now. This is not just a slump and the result of facing Kershaw and Greinke. He’s looked awful against their other pitchers too. I know he’s been their main guy for 10 years, but remember for a lot of that time he’s been the best of a very bad lot. He’s not Mike Schmidt after all. It’s no disgrace to platoon and keep him fresher against the lefties when he is obviously not 100% physically." -Mike Shea Endzone

AA Qoute of the Week

"Last night was colder than Saturday but worth every frozen extremity! LGM!" -2014orbust