The mystical pitching coach

It began harmlessly enough, with Willie Randolph praising the work of pitching coach Rick Peterson. But when he was asked to explain exactly how Peterson was different from other pitching coaches, the interview today took a sharp turn.

"Rick’s style is totally different," Randolph said. "You’d have to talk to him about that to get all that. He just is very much prepared. He knows mechanics and he knows how to prepare his team to go out there and pitch.

"He’s into those biomechanaics," he added, then making a sound like a ghost on Halloween -- "Oooo. He's one of those real deep cats. He’s into all that spiritual stuff. You’ve got to talk to him about that because he’s too deep for me. And when he talks I can’t hear him anyway. He whispers."

Asked if Peterson puts his hand on Randolph's shoulder when they talk like he does when calming one of his pitchers, Randolph said, "No, I don’t let him touch me. I might turn into a leprechaun or something."