Feb. 19, 1963 - Pushing 73 as he prepares to lead his ragtail New York Mets into their second year in the National League, Casey Stengel has a bounce in his step. Asked today in St. Petersburg, Fla., whether the forthcoming campaign holds any terrors for him, he looked at the questioner as if he had lost his senses. “Why should it?” When reminded that his team set a record for losses in a season with 120, Casey says this: “A lot of things go into winning games, a lot of which we didn’t have last year. Players we thought had it, lost it somewhere. Then there are days when the manager outslickers himself, like the day we play the Dodgers and Koufax is pitching. Now, Sandy is great; I know he is great. But I also know there are days when Sandy’s control ain’t what it ought to be, and I think this is one of them. So, I tell my players to lay off them first pitches and wait him out. Well, along about the third or fourth inning, he sticks over 11 straight strikes. But I still don’t get the message. ‘Wait him out,’ I tell my players. Well, when they’re all through waiting, Sandy’s slapped us down with a no-hitter.”
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