Duaner before the cab

Here's our interview with New York Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez before he got a raw deal in a car accident and missed August - October.

Mets' Sanchez not getting a big head
with a big lead
By Jon Chattman, for thecheappop.com - July 2006

Almost everything has gone right and David Wright for the New York Mets this season, but perhaps the biggest bright spot has been the man who wears his sunglasses at night. Duaner Sanchez, who wears goggles not to make a fashion statement but to correct vision problems,has been as reliable as any reliever in the game this season.
The 26-year-old reliever, as of the All Star Break, had a 5-0 record with an ERA of 2.45 setting up for Billy Wagner. Sanchez actually started the season by throwing 18 scoreless innings. Not too shabby for a guy who was traded for a mere Jae Weong Seo in the offseason. We recently caught up with the Dominican Republic native at Shea Stadium and asked him about his Amazin' season so far.
JC: You're having a killer first half. What do you attribute to your success?
DS: I'm trying to work a little bit harder than what I did in the past. To me, the success [is related] to my teammates.
JC: Yeah. This team seems to have had chemistry from day one...
DS: The chemistry to me started out right away in spring training when no one knew each other. There were a lot of new people, especially me, and it's been great.
JC: Everyone says it's extreme pressure pitching in New York. You keep your composure, which to me, is insane considering you usually come in having to preserve a close game for Wagner.
DS: I'm not thinking about it. If I think about it then I'm going to get screwed. I don't really think about pressure of New York [or] the media. I just do my job at the end of the day.
JC: There are a lot of veterans on the team. Has anyone stepped up and helped you hone your craft?
DS: You always learn things from everybody. If you pay attention, you're going to learn from everybody. Pedro helped me a lot... Glavine, Wagner. Everybody. It's just good to have veteran people who can help you out. They always give [information] away and let you know what you're supposed to do [and when] you're supposed to do it. That's a good thing.
JC: The Mets have a huge lead in the NL East, but you guys seem to be taking the same approach to each game. Can you explain that?
DS: We have to go out there and do our job. That's what we're doing. We play baseball and we play hard. We're not getting cocky. That won't happen here.

Photo/Rich Tarantino