This Week in Mets Quotes: Collins says pitching has been decimated, Thor doesn’t think Hot Dog is a sandwich

Your 2017 New York Mets: We came out of spring training with a very good team.

"We came out of spring training with a very good team but we were going to ride our pitching, and our pitching has been decimated. That is where it's at. If we had our pitchers, we could maybe get through some games without [Cespedes]. But he showed you today that he is a difference-maker." –Terry Collins [MLB]

Matt Harvey was diagnosed with a stress injury to the scapula bone the next day and will be out several weeks.

“He felt “fatigue” and “discomfort” in his arm, but not pain.” [Newsday]

I would love video of Dick Scott somberly shaking his head at a panicked Terry.

“We got the guys on and I turned to (bench coach) Dickie Scott and I said, ‘Please tell me Cespedes is ready.’ And he wasn’t. So we just said, ‘Well, we’ll go with Steven Matz.’ He saved the manager tonight . . . I’ll tell you, when Steven walked up to home plate and beat the play out, there was a sense in the dugout, ‘Hey, look, we’re back in this thing.’” –Terry Collins [Newsday]

He continued, ‘but not all the time, then they’ll never learn.’

"I was staying in attack-mode and making pitches like I did before. I was trying to pick up [Asdrubal Cabrera who made an error] and as a teammate I got to pick them up sometimes.” –Robert Gsellman after his start on 6/10 [MLB]

The Mets would be without Cespedes on the field for the majority of the following week.

"That was big and it was great to have [Cespedes] in the lineup. We need that bat and it's always great to have him out on the field." –Robert Gsellman after his start on 6/10 [Mets]

Seth Lugo is just having fun out there.

"It was fun, and all I was hoping for to go out there to execute some pitches and have fun. –Seth Lugo [MLB]

Good News Everyone! A Mets player is confident in his health.

“I haven’t had any symptoms or pain in over a month, so why think about it?” –Seth Lugo [Newsday]

Following this comment, the Mets SPs went 9, 1 2/3, 4, and 5 innings in their starts.

“Losing [Noah] Syndergaard was a big hit. Now we’ve got two of the guys back and we’ve got our rotation strong again, giving us a chance to go deep in the game [so] we don’t overuse the bullpen.” –Rene Rivera [Newsday]

deGrom just wants it more than Harvey. Also, having a 95+ MPH FB average and no stress injuries doesn’t hurt.

“The two starts before, I got my teeth kicked in, so I definitely wanted to have a good one. Fortunately, I did.” –Jacob deGrom [New York Times]

‘That’s not an excuse, but here’s my excuse again.’

“I just didn’t feel right. That’s no excuse. I really didn’t feel it from the first inning. After that first inning, getting those three [strikeouts], I thought maybe that would sort of reset me, but it didn’t.” –Zack Wheeler [New York Post]

Wait, is Jay Bruce a poet?

“We’ve been playing really good baseball and we can’t let one night ruin what we’ve had going. It’s a long season and we’ve been playing much better … and [Wheeler] has been kind of the cog that keeps the wheel going. Tonight was a bump in the road.” –Jay Bruce [New York Post]

This might be the most scathing quote you’ll ever see out of Granderson.

“Obviously, you don’t want to see Harvey go out of the game for the reason that he did. Even though we were down 4-1, the sense was that we were down more than that with all the Cubs fans here cheering as loud as they were. But we continued to keep guys realizing that ‘Hey, this thing is far from over.’ Got a lot of opportunities left and Matz, our good hitter, had to come in there and beat out that hit. It was obviously a big thing for us, a big boost.” –Curtis Granderson [Newsday]

Nepotism didn’t help me get drafted by the MTA.

"We've seen [Daniel Alfonzo] quite a bit. He's a really, really talented kid. He plays third base, can hit, can do a little bit of everything. He's a great kid. Obviously, the bloodlines are there. And he's a heck of a baseball player." –Tommy Tanous [MLB]

‘He puts the team first, willing to throw as many pitches over 120 as I tell him too.’

"[David Peterson] is a great teammate, great leader and very mature young man. He puts the team first which is a coach's dream. This couldn’t happen to a better young man." –George Horton, Manager of the Oregon Ducks [NorthJersey]

SB Nation Reporter Charlotte Wilder is asking Syndergaard the tough questions.

“I ask [Syndergaard] if a hot dog is a sandwich.” –Charlotte Wilder

“No.” he says.

“OK, thank you,” I say.

“A hot dog is a hot dog,” he says.

“Right,” I say. “Like, it’s absurd that this is even a question. We can agree on that?”

“Yeah,” he says. “I was not expecting that question, though. A hot dog is its own category. It’s like a gyro.”

“Yes!” I say, too loudly, and the PR guy looks up from his phone. I’m excited, thrilled to discover that Syndergaard is on the right side of history. “You wouldn’t go to a barbecue and be like, ‘Hey can I have that sandwich?’ as you pointed at a hot dog.”

“No,” Syndergaard says. “They’d be like, ‘That’s a hot dog.’” –Charlotte Wilder [SBNation]

SiteBot FacePalm of the Week

“[Every Comment by WCC_ZooYork]” –WCC_ZooYork

AA Quote of the Week

“There must be some sort of talent cap being imposed on the Mets. That forces us to have to keep a certain number of useless players in the lineup and roster.” -Reflect