Willie Randolph was asked if teammates get juiced when they see an injured guy make a spectacular catch, as Carlos Beltran did in Florida yesterday (a play that aggravated the tendinitis in his knee and caused him to be removed from the game). The manager, a pretty tough audience, said that as a player he never was stirred by that kind of thing because guys are used to playing hurt, especially down the stretch.
“If I was on the Knicks that one year I would have been pretty inspired by Willis Reed,” Randolph said. “That’s inspiring, OK? But baseball is a different game. You know he’s out there, you know he’s going to play.”
Beltran is in the lineup tonight, having iced his left knee a lot last night and this morning. “I want to be out there, playing,” he said.
Here’s the full Mets lineup tonight:
Reyes SS
Castillo 2B
Wright 3B
Beltran CF
Alou LF
Delgado 1B
LoDuca C
Gomez RF
Pelfrey P