ST. LOUIS – In a despondent Mets clubhouse Saturday night, Cliff Floyd was one of the final Mets to get dressed and leave. The normally affable Floyd looked frustrated and saddened.
The Mets crew of walking wounded consists of Floyd, Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. Only Martinez is not with the team here. The trio is clearly upset that they can’t contribute on the field but they have tried to pick the team up in other ways.
Martinez danced in the dugout before Game 1, Floyd has given teammates pep talks and El Duque has counseled the Mets young pitchers.
“He’s been great,” pitching coach Rick Peterson said of Hernandez. “All of our guys – Duque, Pedro – have been great.” Martinez is the only player the Mets definitely will not have the services of for the rest of the playoffs. Floyd has said he can pinch hit and Mets manager Willie Randolph said he is improving.
“I think he’s feeling a little bit better today,” Randolph said. “But it’s up to him [when he plays]. When he comes in, gives me a thumbs up, I’ll put him in the lineup after conversing with him on how he feels. But that’s totally his call. Basically to me, it’s what he feels as far as comfort and what he can deal with when he’s on the field.” The Mets are still unsure if Hernandez will be able to play in the World Series if they make it. The veteran right-hander had a bullpen session yesterday with Peterson watching. Duque has worked with John Maine and Oliver Perez to better prepare them for their starts in the playoffs.
“Actually, the day of my first start, he came up to me and just said, ‘This is the playoffs, yeah, there’s pressure, but stay inside yourself. Do what you’ve been doing,’ ” Maine said.
“There’s no one better to get that kind of advice from than El Duque. He just said, you know, ‘Just do what you do.
Nothing changes. It’s the same as when you first got up here. The only thing different is just a little more people are watching.’ And it was great to have him come up to me and give me some advice.”