For the past few days, Cliff Floyd has
been on more planes than most would be in a lifetime, playing for two of the Mets Single-A affiliates, the St. Lucie Mets
and the Brooklyn Cyclones over a three-day span, as part of a rehab assignment from a sprained ankle he suffered on June 6,
against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While Floyd would admit it was a treat
to play in front of the Coney
Island faithful, he remained focused in his main objective: getting back to the big club.
“I’m looking forward to putting
this thing behind me and getting back with the big boys. It’s always frustrating when you get hurt because you throw
everything off,” said Floyd. “For me, it’s a part of my life and I have to get past it and hope everything
holds up so I can help my boys win some games.”
In his three games with St. Lucie and Brooklyn,
Floyd hit a homer and was on base every night, giving him enough confidence to think he should be ready this weekend against
the Yankees. However, while acknowledging that the assignment was essential in his rehabilitation, Floyd wasn’t in a
rush to stay there for any extended period of time.
“I keep telling these guys, it’s
easy to get out of here if you work hard, because this is one of those situations where you don’t want to be here. Not
that the minor leagues are bad,” said Floyd. “But this is not where you want to be and the environment isn’t
great. Minimum wage is tough and trying to live here and being on the road all the time is tough.”
Despite his experiences in the minors,
Floyd took care of the boys from Brooklyn after his only game with them, treating them to some good
food after the game. Floyd believes that as a 13-year major league veteran, it’s his job to give back to younger players
every time he has a chance to.
“I remember these days [when he played
in the minors] like it was yesterday,” said Floyd. “It’s a learning process. As long as I’m here,
we’re going to eat good; I can tell you that.”
