Chapter 1: What recent changes have the Mets made to their roster?
We got Keith back in the fold on TV, so we don't have to worry about that. We got Howie back in the fold on radio. We don't have to worry about that. We got an offseason where this team is right up at the top of the list, the most wins in the league. They're over under numbers 90 and a half. And it's different. It's really different.
Chapter 2: How do the Mets compare to other teams in terms of wins?
Yeah, but it's funny. I mentioned this with Jerry. It's like you have the Dodgers that are over 100. I think it's 101.5 wins or maybe even 102.5 wins over-under total. And then two and three are the Yankees and Mets. But yet we've sat here and talked about these off-seasons like it's been a butcher job for both general managers.
Yeah, but I think we've also said, and we said this all the way back in December when things weren't happening. Everybody thought things were going to happen real quickly, and they weren't happening. I said, eventually, we'll get to pitchers and catchers, and we'll be able to assess what the offseason looks like by the amount of players that they move, and they sign. That's all there is to it.
It just may not happen as quickly as you'd like it. Now we sit here, and basically both teams are done, and now we see what their rosters look like to start the season. And I think... Quite frankly, I think the Mets have done a pretty good job of kind of readjusting who they are as a team.
They got rid of three very popular players at one point in time, replaced them with three, at least three, what I would consider significant players veteran presence type players in the locker room, and then they bring in Peralta to be at the top of the staff. I mean, what is wrong with that?
When do you think our first phone call during the regular season will be that they shouldn't have let Pete Alonzo go? Does it happen in the first week? That they're not hitting enough home runs? Does it happen in the first series?
I think a lot of that has to do with what Pete's doing in Baltimore. Yeah, that's true. If Pete in Baltimore gets off to 20 home runs in the first 60 games, I think people are going to be freaking out.
I also do think, though, that there will be Mets fans that won't even look to see what Pete's doing in Baltimore. They'll just look at what the Mets are doing and then remember that Pete was a power hitter and then call up and yell about it.
The one thing, the other part of that equation will be where are your Mets in the standings and where are the Orioles in the standings?
If the Orioles happen to get off to a really hot start and he's a big part of that, and let's just say they're in first place for, I don't know, let's say a month, month and a half or whatever, and the Mets are floundering and they're not hitting home runs and they're behind the Phillies, they're behind the Braves, I mean, the next thing you know, it's going to be like, oh, the sky is falling again.
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Chapter 3: What are the expectations for the Mets' offseason moves?
You know what I mean? High-ceiling guys. Yeah, yeah. And Luis Robert Jr. is one of those high-ceiling guys.
Definitely a high-ceiling guy.
And Nolan McClain's a high-ceiling guy.
Oh, the highest of ceilings.
Carson Benj, I feel like, is a high-ceiling guy, too.
And we both like Benj right now.
Yeah, we're liking Benj.
I haven't seen Benj at all, but I just like Benj.
Yeah, I mean, from what we've heard, and, you know, we make calls to scouts after the show. I don't know if people know that, but we have a whole scouting web of people that we know. And almost every single one of those scouts tell us they like Benj. Yeah, we have ourāit actually happens once every two weeks. We have our scout conference call, and we say, what do you think? And they love Benj.
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Chapter 4: When will fans start questioning the decision to let Pete Alonso go?
You know, when he chose the Dodgers. It's not like he hasn't made these offers. And they got Juan Soto for $765 million. And he went out and front-loaded that Bichette contract. So all that stuff should be out the window now about them trying to run this like a small market team. And I just want all that. I can't believe they got rid of Pete. I can't believe David Stearns. Oh, no.
David Stearns hates the Mets even though he grew up a Mets fan.
Pfft.
I want them to go out and prove everybody wrong. That's what I want. Because I hate that mentality. I do.
Unfortunately, it's not only that mentality attached to them. It's attached to the Jets as well.
Same mentality.
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Chapter 5: How will Pete Alonso's performance affect Mets fans' opinions?
Yeah, but the Jets haven't been in the playoffs in a very, very long time. They've got the longest drought in pro sports. Yeah, I know. It's a little different.
But still, you have a negativity that is attached to both franchises for different reasons. And, you know, maybe it was the Wilpons before, but even now with one of the owners ā well, one of the more wealthier owners in baseball, even though it's not a consortium like running the Dodgers. Sure. You know, the guy has spent money. The guy is trying to win.
He's brought in a general manager that everybody thought was, you know, the end-all, be-all. I mean, he's done pretty much everything you could have asked him to do. I mean ā And then it was up to that to make some really, really hard decisions is to get rid of those players that you know are popular, but you know those players just haven't come through at the right time.
Yeah. My sports talk nightmare for the baseball season is that the Mets aren't good and all these Pete Alonzo had to stay, David Stearns is cheap, and Steve Cohen only cares about the casino. People call up and go, I told you so.
By the way, if you've been over there, man, I can't wait till that stuff gets built because it is a crap hole over there.
Oh, yeah.
No, of course.
Oh, my God.
It's always been. I mean, it's, you know, underneath those bridges over there and everything else.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of the Mets' current roster decisions?
You would think you would know how to shut the valve off.
I mean, that's something you need to know. It's got to be in the manual, you know? It's got to be in the manual.
There's a valve over there. Shut it off. Pile of poop. That's right. Joe in Saddlebrook. Joe, what's happening?
Yeah, good morning, guys. Just real quick points. One is that the owner of the Mets last year, when he was asked about the future of Pete Alonzo, he said exactly. He said, I wish Pete would force me to pay him. Well, guess what? He took a chance on himself and bit on himself, and he proved himself. And he didn't even make him an offer.
Now, the point I was trying to make today is if we had the same team last year, the same exact team as last year, and we had Barolta and we had McLean, would we have made the playoffs?
Uh, yeah, I mean, probably, if you're talking about starting from the beginning of the year, I think absolutely, because the biggest thing was the pitching went right down the drain, and Peralta pitched a ton last year, had one of his best regular seasons, and if you add McLean for the entire year, we're projecting and assuming that he would have been great the entire year, so yeah, I mean, maybe.
You know what, so there's... So if you're the general manager, president of baseball operations, whatever you are, and you're dealing with your manager, you're dealing with the coaching staff, and you're getting rid of some of your coaches, and you're getting rid of a number of the players, you are always looking. You're always watching. You're watching the interactions.
You're watching what the dugout's like. You're watching what the ā do the guys hang out when they go on the road? Do they go out to dinner together? Is it a close team? Is it not a close team? And, you know, I'm just telling you, I just saw, you know, I would think that David Stern saw something that he did not like that was going on on this team internally.
And he felt the need that he had to change it out. And it had really nothing to do about money because they're the second highest paid team in the league. Oh, yeah, of course. I mean, so he's trying to figure out how to spend that money on the right guys to bring the right guys into the locker room. into the dugout and make sure that they're all playing together as a close operating team.
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Chapter 7: Why do fans feel negatively about the Mets' management?
Blue Jays, 88. Red Sox, 87. Astros, 86. Yep, there you go. Anything tickling you fancy? No, not really. Those are long bets. I had one of the great over-under bets. I had the 2010 San Diego Padres. That was a great over-under. It was something like 72. They ended up going to the playoffs. It was all over that Adrian Gonzalez.
And by the way, the Padres spending spree is over with. Oh, yeah. With the death of their owner a few years back. Yep. Thought they were going to shed more payroll, to be honest with you.