Red Sox-Yankees series preview + A Mets’d Up Season w/James Schiano

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Half corner time. Let's tittle Yankee Stadium Tuesday, Wednesday and maybe Thursday. Red Sox Yankees first round. That's good.

00:00:11
Speaker 2: Love it. This is what it's all about. People are like, oh, I hate they expanded playoffs. When you get matchups like this, bring it all people, because you know what, it's great for baseball and the whole world was gonna be tuned to everyone's so oh, Yankees and Red Sox are on TV too much. You know why because people tune in to watch.

00:00:26
Speaker 1: It's gonna be fun and there's a lot of star power here. Garrett Crochet against Max Freed Game one.

00:00:32
Speaker 3: That's good.

00:00:32
Speaker 1: Yankees playing sizzling hot right now, Kratz Red Sox get in obviously the narrative, you know, they trade devers. I was critical of it, as were many others. They don't have Rome and Anthony, but they're gonna step in with I think, well, I guess it's close, but no, Crochet is a better. Cruche is better than Freed, right if you have to rent power rank those two?

00:00:53
Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, okay, so.

00:00:55
Speaker 1: They've got the best starter going here. BeO is gonna go in game two for them, and Boone made some announcements. I'm just scrolling back up here. Cam Schlitteritter would start game three if there is once you got Freed and rodin for games one and two, Austin Wells behind the plate for game one that needs Ben Rice probably on the bench, Goaldie at first, and then you can bring in Rice at some point, and then Amed Rosario might get a little light second instead of Jazz for sure, because it's because of his numbers against Crochet.

00:01:24
Speaker 2: He was like six for eight against Crochet finding a way into a playoff game, and guess was the hottest right now? Playoff Gean, Carlos Stanton, Mike Stanton, whatever you want to call him. This dude is scorching right now. I get it. He was hitting fingers against the Orioles, but he is he shows up in the playoffs. I don't think there's a bigger hitter in either lineup of this series, and I get it. Alex Bregman has been one of the best postseason players in this this pool of generation of players because he's always been in it and his numbers. He has a ridiculous amount of numbers in the postseason. But g can single handedly take over a series where you look at a Crochet Freed matchup, three runs might win the game, and g has been that guy in the playoffs. But more importantly, this last week of the.

00:02:21
Speaker 1: Season, where do you think the edges are for me? I think starting pitching is close. Red Sox bullpen advantage, Yankees' lineup.

00:02:28
Speaker 2: Advantage, yeah, yeah, And they're playing a Yankee stadium, which will help. No squirre will come up with something that will help them try to win. Yeah. I think the fact they're playing in Yankee Stadium is gonna be huge. The Red Sox have to win Game one that they just Crochet owns Judge. He's got like one hit offf of him in his career. I think as much as we think that the Tigers have to win Game one against the Guardians, I firmly believe the Red Sox have to win. When Crochet bitches, did you say dinger? Krats, that was the one hit he's got?

00:03:03
Speaker 1: Oh one dinger?

00:03:04
Speaker 2: Yeah? I think he hit two dingers against him. We had the one in eight innings.

00:03:10
Speaker 1: But anyway, that's just so Judge had another ridiculous season. Krats, your former teammate is up for an MVP. He's gonna get first or second, ridiculous historic season again, but last year in the playoffs he had some really rough moments. Do you think that we get more of the regular season judge or the October judge here?

00:03:34
Speaker 2: I think regular season judge. I think if you go back to some of his numbers that he's amassed in the postseason, they're not as bad as they are recently. So does that mean you don't care? To me? I don't think he he's unaware of how bad he's done recently in the playoffs. But I think you have a shorter memory. You have a longer memory in like, dude, I should win the MVP. My ops plus is over two ten if I know what that was. As a player, he is not. He's feeling the same pressure as anybody else on this roster. No, not true, he feels more pressure. He might not say it, but he absolutely has to. He's the guy. He's the guy that in New York stars need to shine, and he hasn't shined in the big moments. He hasn't. I'm sorry. I love Aaron Judge. I think he's unbelievable. He's an unbelievable player, but in the big, bright moments, he has not shined the way that they need him to Game five of the World Series last year, he dropped the fla ball that led to all hell breaking this first air of the season at the worst time possible. What do they remember in New York? Ask anybody that played there. They remember how you did in the postseason. They don't give a crap about how you do in the radio season. I would agreeing what.

00:05:00
Speaker 1: To do with him or how they pitch him with better pitching in the postseason, do you think that's a factor at all?

00:05:06
Speaker 2: Or now he hits he hits good pitching too. He's sitting two, he's hit got two of He's hitting two o five in the postseason in his career. What about the career in his career, do you have that on base and he's got sixteen homers, You have got two hundred and twenty at bats his first three seasons in the postseason he hit way better than that. Seventy eighteen nineteen twenty. He was not healthy. He came back after being hurt twenty one, was quick. His obp is three eighteen, his ops is seven sixty eight. He had He's had one great postseason. It was twenty eighteen in nineteen at bats four twenty one, fourteen hundred ops. Other than that, it's eight sixteen, seven forty three, six sixty two, five hundred four to ninety and last year was seven fifty two. So his ops is seven sixty eight with a two O five, which is solid.

00:06:10
Speaker 1: But not for him, not for him, not for him when he's yes guy, for his career exactly.

00:06:16
Speaker 2: No, I'm sorry, like that's that's I mean, I love Aaron Judge's death, but this is what people look at. Yeah, yescially again, Dodgers Dan Playton Kershall. They're not do they not? Do they not throw him in the postseason? They're not getting he's not in the wild card. I get it, he's not one of the three starters.

00:06:39
Speaker 1: What's your point?

00:06:40
Speaker 2: Now, what's the point here? They're both elite players, their numbers in the postseason may not may not match up. Kershall's got a four and a half ERA in one hundred and ninety four innings. Does that mean does that mean you don't think he's gonna perform? To me, I think Judge will perform in the playoffs? Has he not? Yes? To me? Je said he didn't think. We didn't think he's gonna be good to perform. No One said no one. I just said he needs to perform. Nobody said, we don't think he's not. I'm just given the numbers, he hasn't performed up to the level. Kirshy has two rings, Judge has zero. That's the way Yankee fans judge their their their players. Why do they love Derek Jeter? How many rings does Derek Jeter have? What? Five? Oh? Sorry, five? You're right? Nine two five? But also, that's why they love Derek Jeter. That's why they love the Core four. That's why they love were A Pisada. That's why the guys that win the ring. That's why I love Nick Swisher because he won the ring in two thousand and nine. That's why Yankee fans judge their stars on how many rings did you win? Yogi Barrow won? What? Ten? Nine or ten rings? That's what the Yankees judge are people on, it doesn't matter regular season's cool. How many rings do you have? And right now, Judge unfortunately has zero, even though he's been the best player in the game since he's got to the big leagues. Asked me if I thought he was gonna be regular season judge or postseason judge. In my opinion is he's going to be. He's gonna be regular season judge. I can't, I can't not. I I will put I will put my stake in the ground on that. I think he will be that guy. Do you I hope he is. I don't know. I'm just gonna I hope he is because I love Aaron Judge and I think he's so fun to watch.

00:08:26
Speaker 1: Right now, if we're going off track round, I'm saying, Stanton is the guy who lives up to those moments.

00:08:34
Speaker 2: He is the guy ellingers had big moments in the postseason. Volpi's had huge moments in the post. He looks like you can't throw it right now. The throw he made yesterday it was like three hops that his shoulders, his shoulders crushed. I mean, you can't play him. You can't have that. You have to in coffy ero. But I'm just saying I don't know, Listen, I'm just saying Judge needs to Judge needs to have that moment and it needs to happen against the Red Sox.

00:09:02
Speaker 1: Early big homer last year against Class A. I get it, but he had tons of opportunities. Last year, John Carlos Stanton was married the team in October.

00:09:11
Speaker 2: He was insane.

00:09:13
Speaker 1: He was so fun to watch.

00:09:15
Speaker 2: How do you know play? I know, I know Austin Walls is catching, but you can't find him play away. To get Ben Rice in the lineup somewhere they will later, right, I mean I him in there. I needed him in there as much as I can get him in there.

00:09:25
Speaker 1: He's gonna go in late against righties, yeah, I know, and then he'll play Game two.

00:09:31
Speaker 2: Did he play third for McMahon, I'd be goldtimate played third for mcmon. I mean, you can't think about think about what they could have here. Crochet's gone seven and eight innings against the Red Sox. If he goes seven, you can't bring bent Ben Rice in because eventually they're gonna bring Eroaldis in and then he's got to go left, all left against Eroaldis Chapman, the best reliever in baseball this year, they gotta get Krushe as a That's it again. As much as we say Scooball needs to win HM Garrick Coche needs to win Game one though, those are the two big one Hunter Green. If the Reds are gonna have any chance Hunter Green's gotta win Game one.

00:10:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're talking about top ten starters in the sport. Those guys are top ten starters.

00:10:15
Speaker 2: Yes, we've talked about the like sexy part of this game. One thing we haven't brought up that both teams absolutely suck at fielding. Neither of these teams can field. Trevor's story has five airs in the last eight games, and it was like five of six games. Talking about maybe he's a little tired. Maybe they have their best second placement playing gold glove center field, and oh, don't forget their worst fielding the Red Sox away from Boston where you can kind of mitigate some things because you can play shallower or the wall comes into play, all that stuff. Like, are we gonna see like some balls kicked around here in this series that costs one of the teams to go home?

00:11:09
Speaker 3: Yes, more likely, Yes, really even.

00:11:12
Speaker 2: Hit on that, I think, which is gonna be an awesome series too. The Cubs and the we will we'll get to it. We'll get to it. Can That's a very another interesting one, especially with Kate Horton going down.

00:11:21
Speaker 1: We will we will last thing real quick on this Red Sox of went nine and four the season against the Yankees five and two at Yankee Stadium. When you look at previews, people always bring up season series.

00:11:32
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00:11:35
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00:11:50
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00:11:58
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00:12:20
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00:12:50
Speaker 3: I mean, your guys, guess this goes mind. You saw this happen. It wasn't really a collapse, was more just watching them bleed out for three months. The pitching wasn't good enough. There wasn't enough consistent and see in the top, middle or back of the rotation. Situational hitting was bad for a while, it got pretty good, and this weekend I would say it was poor again. The bullpen completely fell apart one that we thought it should have been one of the better bullpens in baseball after the trade deadline, was more like one of the worst bullpens in baseball. Every single thing went wrong. David Stearns, Carls Mendoza, all of the players, all forty seven pitchers that made an appearance this season, every single person involved with this deserves at least a portion of this blame. It's so hard to even fine tune and point to some specific thing because it was such an overarching disaster.

00:13:34
Speaker 2: You're the day after the season's over. There was a chance that they could have gotten in yesterday with just one victory. Yeah, Is it hard to imagine this team actually in the playoffs? Or was it, oh man, remember what we did last year that was so amazing. We tripped into the playoffs on the last day against the Braves too, We're going to go on an epic run. Or was there definitely the disbelief that this was just not a good team.

00:14:01
Speaker 3: I think that that belief of last year kind of worked against them because you listen to the way these guys spoke after all of their games, and those are the players. Even Brandon Nemo's availability after the season. It was kind of just like waiting for a switch to flip. You can't really wait for a switch to flip. You have to flip a switch. And I think that there was a bit of arresting on Laurels of a team that we know how much talents in this room, we know how good we are and can be. We know we just did this last year. What the Mets did last year was I don't even know. It's like a dream like sequence, over and over and over again, like herculean performances from star players out of sometimes the clear blue sky and you waiting for that. That's not sustainable process to win baseball games. I remember listening to you guys a lot last year being critical of the gimmicky Mets, being like, how can you sustain this kind of motivation mentality when it's all built on gimmicks. At the time, I was a little bit critical of that, didn't really understand what you meant. But now watching this season and seeing their lack of ability to find that internal motivation, I very much understand when you meant. Really did again work against them this season?

00:15:03
Speaker 2: All right, Well, where do we start with? What went wrong? I mean the pitching obviously, but the hitting didn't hit. They got shut out yesterday. They got shut out. Okay, and I know, you know some Perez is good and the Marlins are good, and it's a big ballpark. But they got shut out. Maybe they needed Grimace? Where was Grimace? Where was omg? Where was the pump? Where were all these things they had? They had none of them? This year, they just were like going through the motions. So I mean, I don't want to they weren't going through the motion because obviously they.

00:15:31
Speaker 3: Care, they're working hard. Yeah, but what what did they need?

00:15:35
Speaker 2: Did they need someone to come in from the outside and provide that spark, because I feel like Carlos Mendoza does a great job trying to lead them and put them He stays very even Keel. They tried Bucks show Walter, that didn't work, they went to Mendy. Where do they go next? Especially if Alonzo and Edwin Diaz are out the door.

00:15:52
Speaker 3: I mean maybe even Keel isn't what this team needed. Maybe they needed some kind of raw rale, like some kind of activity, some kind of energy. And also I think it's a difference of going from a team that last year had no expectations on them after the way they began the season, so this year entering with all the expectations on yourself. It's the try, the true difference in sports forever, going from being a hunter to the hunt it. And I think that when that target got put on the Mets backs, I don't think they knew how to really aptly respond to it. And even these must win games over the weekend. Friday night especially amazing looking back at this Marlin series. The Marlins only scored runs in two individual innings and won the series to the one. And if you can move one more game as the Mets, you will the playoffs. We're not having these conversations now. We might have these conversations in three days because the roster and the team were still flawed. You probably would have gotten just crushed by the Dodgers. But who knows, three game series, anything can happened in baseball. But the mental mistakes of Ryan Riso not covering a base on Friday, Carls Fondoza bringing Greg Russolo to face the flu of right handed bathers, then Sunday being a little bit maybe too jumpy with the bullpen taking a guy like Brooks Raley, who's been your second most trusted reliever out for the entire second half after ten pitches when one right these coming up with one guy in first base like it was just there wasn't a lot of consistency in the decision making by Carlos Mendoza, and there was even less consistency with all the pitchers he had at his disposal.

00:17:12
Speaker 2: Or wait, wait, wait, back in June fifteenth, they lost the game. Wait, no, we can't go over every single individual game, even though we're breaking down this weekend. So I want to go to Juan Soto. When I say Juan Soto, I need your initial honest reaction, I.

00:17:33
Speaker 3: Mean say, you're gonna blame any guy in this team for what happens. It's definitely not him. For as cold as he was to start the season, he lived up to the billing nine to fifty ops, forty home runs, like the runs of scoring position. Stuff was bad early, it got very good late Sunday. A couple of chances that didn't exactly go his way, but that's baseball. You're not getting hit every time you come up, no matter what the what the dollar science says next to your name. He's It definitely is a strange clubhouse thing that was dealt with this year, owing a guy that came into it. I can't remark on that. I wasn't in that room, but it didn't seem like that was something that was strongly working against him, And if it was, that's a poor reflection on everybody in there. Because he's so good that we should be able to get over any clubhouse things, not saying there was one, but it can't be a bad thing that you had one, so tho to your team, and if it was, then I think everyone else needs to look internally a little bit closer.

00:18:24
Speaker 1: I'm gonna say what I think should happen this offseason, but what would you do this offseason to switch things up and try and remedy a situation where this team spends a ton of money on their player personnel? Right, the Mets are actually the example that's going to be used when we have the annoying salary cap conversations in the offseason, because like half the teams in the top ten didn't even make it, and the Mets are the prime example, and this has happened two times in the last few years, where the Mets top three in payroll. You're like, no way, this team doesn't at least crack the playoffs, and they don't. My thought process is, how do you build a pitching staff like this to crumble in the last few months.

00:19:05
Speaker 2: This was a slow burn.

00:19:06
Speaker 1: This wasn't like, oh no, we got blitz at the buzzer like this was an incredible team for a couple months and then you know, you bring on guys that obviously either got hurt or couldn't last and didn't build the depth around it. That you're relying on three pitchers who did not expect to be up this season at all. So how do you fix this from a philosophy standpoint? Because I will say I don't think David Stearns believes in the big money Max Freed type signing, But look what Max Freed is about to do this week.

00:19:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, but Freeze also the cherry pick. He's the one guy that did work out with the big contract. And it is funny like talking about getting blissed at the end of the season, Like it's not like the Mets got chased down. Like in twenty twenty two, when the Braves played six fifty baseball for three straight months, the Reds were just forty and forty over the last eighty games. You got caught by a five hundred team. That's how bad you were. You were one of the worst teams in baseball for three straight months. And I feel like we talked a lot about the differences on rosters between like the Stars and then the scrubs, But then you always have to kind of look at the middle class of the team's roster in terms of payroll, Like you look at the Mets Stars, so though Lindor Alonzo, you can't really say much about the performans of those guys this season. And then you look towards the bottom of the roster and you have to be impressed by what Brett Baidy did this season or Francisco Alvas did this season. But then the problem is that this middle class of the roster, the guys making between like twenty and ten million dollars, the guys you're going out, you're giving money to, and they need to perform for you. Starling Marte twenty million dollars to be a part time DH who has lost all his athleticism. We can't play defense. That's terrible. Brett and themout twenty million dollars. Good season. Counting the numbers wise, defense took a step back. Arm is a complete liability in the outfield and his high leverage stats were abysmally bad. Joum and I another twenty million dollar guy. He was the offseason acquisition to steady the rotation. He did the exact opposite that. He took a lot of accountability after the game yesterday being like, if I'm even half as good as I know I can be, we make the playoffs. To not even discussion he was a total failure of this season. Edward Ds twenty million dollars, had a great season, No, nothing wrong with in DS. Would like to bring him back, Your guy's favorite pitcher in the league. Frankie seventeen million dollars. Don't have to rehash that. Jeff McNeil sixteen million dollars called they sang a sixteen million dollars.

00:21:05
Speaker 1: A J.

00:21:05
Speaker 3: Mintry signed him for eleven he got hurt in April, and Clay Holmes for thirteen, who was really useful, and Jesse Winker for another eight. Like that, entire meat and potatoes of the roster was almost complete failure. And the funny thing is, like, as we've gone through so many iterations of this Mets franchise under Steve Cohen, I just named guys who were brought in and signed by three, possibly four different executives along the way. So there's still a lot of just garbage and trash in the middle of this roster that needs to be sifted through and siphoned off. And at the same time, none of those guys almost performed up to their standards. If one of those guys performed to their standards, you probably find one more win and we probably get in the playoffs. But it's just a colossal failure from that chunk of the roster, through and through.

00:21:45
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't even know where to start. I mean, David Serage, this was supposed to be his specialty though, cleaning it up. I know it's only his first year, but you know, he did. He did bring in Montos, he did. He brought him Frankie Montos and I hate to go always go back to him, but he has a track record of being hurt and guess what, and when he hasn't been hurt, he hadn't been that great except for like for a little bit. So that is just that's what it is. It is what it is when it comes to that. And some of the other guys, I mean, they're they're signed, yes, I know that, but hey, you're the Mets. You're supposed to be able to cover this kind of stuff with their roster. And when you bring in Awan Soto and you bring in Francisco Indoor and you have a Pee Alonso and you bring all these guys in code, I singa's in triple A.

00:22:25
Speaker 3: He didn't pitch.

00:22:25
Speaker 2: I mean he could have. So there's a million things. But what I want to dig into is your announcers. You guys love Gary and Ron and Keith, and I get it, YadA YadA. They are the Homers and that they will criticize. But yesterday, come on, the Marlins took a picture at the end of the game and they're like, this is their world series? What are they doing? Well, guess what, it was the Mets World Series too, and they got shut out for Maybe the met should have said if we win, we'll take a team photo and they wouldn't have got shut out. Like I don't know. I mean, listen, I do these games. I get it. I get that you're supposed to be a Homer, but criticizing another team for celebrating because you're mad you lost seems like kind of a weak way to go about this.

00:23:05
Speaker 3: Garrett Cohen through and through is a Mets fan, Like that's how he's fine. Yeah, that's kind of I think he identifies himself, and you're right about that. I thought that his comments after the game where a tad bit whiny, But I think it was windy. Just like when Mark and I came on our podcast this morning, I think we were a little bit whiny. I think if you had to watch this team go through what they went through over the last few months, there were some raw emotions that you felt as someone that loved and supported and were there for this team day in and day out this season. I think also at the same time, during that last broadcast, those last couple of games, Gary Keith and Rom Weroll pretty critical of the players on the field. Carls Mendoza especially, Ron took some shots. I thought maybe tongue in cheek a bit, just the team building in a way. At the same time too, looking at the Marlins, they were team that was alive for the playoffs on Thursday when they lost the game to the Phillies, they had a chance to sweep the Mets this weekend if the Reds would have been swept by the Brewers and actually stuck into the playoffs. Even with that possibility, they pushed back their a Sandy al Contraday for eight days rest so he could pitch the Friday night home game against the Mets rather than when he pitched the Thursday before. Push him up on regular rest to pitch the Tuesday and then keep them available for Sunday and what your absolute goals and opportunity could have been a must win game, and the Marlins seems to have forewent that possibility because there's a good chances with Sandy's last start, and I think they wanted a Friday night home game for their kind of premier player over the last half decade, and I think that's totally fair. But it is interesting when you look at this team like the Marlins, who were like, we're going to give and again this baseball, that's what we're supposed to do, give everything we have, just to ruin these guys season. I tip my cap to them. I wish the Mets would have given everything they could to save their own season, but it is funny how that happened, especially with the way they organized their pitching matchups for a series that to them meant nothing besides pride, and again I'm happy they had that pride. The Marlins were a better team the Mets over the last two months by a lot. Connor Norby spoke after the game on Friday, said we believe were better than them, and he was right. The last seven games the Mets and the Marlins played. The Marlins won five of them. Like that, you want to look at why you miss the playoffs for the Mets. That's a big for it.

00:25:01
Speaker 2: Listen, I wanted to make this caller. I have no problem with the announcer being a homer. I'm all four of the local announcer being a homer because they should be a homer. Right. You don't need to take a shot at the other team. He should have said, Man, look at the Marlins away they're celebrating. That should be the Mets right now, or something like you don't need to take that was more. My thing is like, you don't need to take a shot at the other team, Like call out your own team, which they do a good job of, but don't take a shot at the other team, right, Don't take a shot at guys on other teams. Take a shot at your own team if you want to, you know. But that's it. And listen, I love Gary Ron and Keith. I think they're one of the most entertaining home team do or trios or teams in baseball. But I just thought it was kind of weird that they took a shot at the other team for no reason.

00:25:37
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, for sure, just wanted to like paint the picture that they were taking plenty of shot to us, and then they went to the shots to them, they were they were fair across the board first and then they had to get, you know, especially Gary, just get that frustration out.

00:25:46
Speaker 2: I think Steve Cohen when he bought the team said how many years he was gonna break? He actually said three to five if we go to the exact But as a Mets fan, you're like, okay, I'll take I'll take the I'll take the longer route. How are Mets fans sitting here today going, is it another five year plan that we're ahead of?

00:26:10
Speaker 3: It's hard to tell at this point. I mean, we know how weird baseball is. We know the looming labor negotiations that are going to happen after next year. And again you look at the bottom and middle class to this roster and you're like, how how much better are these guys actually going to be next season? Again, like full faith and confidence in Francisco and Door and one, so though, really banking and hoping that Pelonso is a guy that is back next season. Will hold myself to that. And then you're pretty confident going into next season with both Francisco al for As Brett bay The as starting players. Besides that, like this entire pitching staff is under contract and every single guy's a question mark. You're really happy you saw from Nolan McLain lots of confidence in the future. Well, it wasn't great in the president from Brandon Brot and jonah Toong built one of the best farm systems in baseball. Not one relief pitcher under contract heading into next year. It's going to take a lot of work to think that this team could be a World Series team next year. And you're probably going to need some again, some really good signings in the middle class and kind of have to pull some more rabbits out of your hats for David Searns who did it really well two years ago and did not do it this year. So it's a lot. I think a lot's going to change. I think there's gonna be a lot of turnover on this roster. Honestly, I think some guys have played their last games as Mets who are under contract. A guy like Jeff McNeil just kind of probably needing to change the culture a little bit I'm curious about how your organization feels over Ronnie Marissio and Mark Ciento's, over the way they're playing time when and the specific warriors Carls Mendoza had for each of them over these last few weeks. It's a it's a really strange looking roster right now and one that looking back, you're like, I can see how this team, I guess missed the playoffs but still still hurt.

00:27:39
Speaker 2: To the moment.

00:27:41
Speaker 1: At the time, I thought it was a little bit annoying, but I also get it. Pete playing his potential last home game with the Mets, and I think Pete's really nice and Quirky was like, really, we're talking about this right now, and it's the job of a reporter. You're getting in an ovation. So I'm okay with the question now though, is he opts he's opting out? Do you think we do another song and dance all off season? Because it's to me, it's not as much about the Mets and their interest in Pete. I think it's the rest of baseball and their lack of interest in a first basement with that profile, I think the Mets understand the importance of what he means there, and there were other teams that I thought would get involved.

00:28:24
Speaker 2: I will say, for.

00:28:24
Speaker 1: Example, the Washington Nationals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, those were teams that clearly could use a Pete Alonzo. They're just not going to spend like that, so it does start to shrink his market. What do you think about Pete for twenty twenty six?

00:28:37
Speaker 3: I really want Pete back on this team. I can't really imagine a Mets world at this point without him. But it's also it's clear as day, and it has been again last year this year, that he isn't a player without flaws, Like I think his defense this year, for one, that was bad. Heading in took another dramatic step back. His ability to throw the ball a strange and while he got off to that just rollicking hot start, he did have like a mid season and swoon and fade like a lot of these other guys did. And I don't know how much different his market is this year compared to last year. Like you said, first base his position that's idly been devalued in baseball. Bye the fact that Peter Alonzo you can pencil him in for thirty five home ors, a hundred and twenty RBIs. I don't think that's exactly what's being bought and sold on the free agent market, So I think you're gonna have to probably grind out another few months of waiting for this pe Alonzo thing. I'm assuming mid January again, similar to last season and the silence of the night, and I hope it's the Messa there at the end of the day. I wonder if a team out there is actually willing to give him a fourth or even a fifth year after last year and then coming back into this year, I kind of doubt it. And just like you said, like a lot of those teams who need first basement kind of had their first base. You guys were talking about the Giants before we got on their team. We expect to spend money this year. They can always use a power hitter. I don't think they signed a ped Alonso the block of Bryce Aldrich, like the Yankees are going to be a team that could need the first basement. I don't know if they signed p Alonso when they have all that money on their books still and the emergence of Ben Rice, Like, I just don't know which of the teams that you think will spend money. Actually like spending this money on this guy. Maybe it's the Red Sox. I don't know. We'll see how everything works out with them in Tristan. Costas know it's a strange situation there, but it feels like the market is oddly similar to last year. If the market similar to last year, I think the Mets and David Serns just played the same waiting game and hope they get their guy at their number again.

00:30:18
Speaker 2: James, you have to make a choice two good starting pitchers or Pete Alonzo Big. I'm not saying that Cohen has to make that choice.

00:30:29
Speaker 3: It all depends who those starting pitchers are. The free agent class for the season is a little bit lacking at the moment, so I'm really curious about again, how aggressive a team like the Mets are. I hope they dive deeper into the trade market. I know guys like Sandi at Contra, like we said before, and Joe Ryan are likely going to be available. Like that's right, I prefer to go We know how bad some of these pitching contracts have been, But if you give me that choice, I think I still would rather take Pete because I still believe in a lot of these young pitchers on this roster, Like I think next year you could walk in and say, Nolan mcclaims no day star there brands broke and start the year as a five to six and Jonah Tongkson triple A refining his game ready to go, and then the guys behind them like Jack Wender Joashan Santucci, like the Mets have some of the best pitching prospects in baseball. We'll Watson a big breakout this year, and I think that, similar to this year, will be kind of banking on them to come in like last year Christian Scott's coming back off injury. But depends if they're ready, depends on the summer months ago. I still just think that we got to get Pee Alonzo then try to figure out the pitching a different way, whether it be trades or the young guys.

00:31:28
Speaker 2: Again, all right, what would make Mets fans happy? Because nothing makes them happy obviously except for what but you mentioned trades. You're mentioning free agency. What would make Met fans happy trading McNeil and some of these other guys that are possibly have these contracts and using young guys Manaiyah or whoever. The Senga, whoever they could possibly get value for and using the young guys, or spending again in the free agent market and trying to go for the big fish. What would make Met fans more happy? Because they spent a lot, they didn't make it. Now they're like, oh, we have David Stearns, the master of finding scrap heaps. You just said, right, guys off the scrap even filling in spots. When they tried that with some of their guys, those didn't work. So what makes Met fans happy?

00:32:13
Speaker 3: I mean, just wearing something right here? I think would make Mets fans happy. The only thing the Mets fans want is to win the World Series. That's literally it. However we get there, whatever it takes. I do think a lot of Mets fans are ready for an all in moment. I think similar to a Garrett Crochet trade that the Red Sox made last year. If I had to take the temperature of Mets fans what they want the most, I'm assuming it's that we're at the same time. I just don't think that guy's available. Garrett Crochets don't come around every year, and the Red Sox have way better prospects even last year, and I think the Mets might even have now definitely better in the Mets had available to them to trade last season. I think if Mets fans don't go into next season with a front line starting pitcher, however they perceive that guy to be, I think there will be some disappointment. We're at the same time, I do think that again, the greatest failure of so far David Stearns and this Mets roster was kinds of shopping too much in the middle class. Like David Stearns, I think is still trying to learn how to be a big market executive. And two moves he made last year that were big market moves where Sean and I and Frankie Mantas for forty million dollars combined. You don't make those moves. You're the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. You make those moves when you're like, I can spend these forty dollars, go over the luxury tags, don't care. Let me try and get some innings that I think are reliable that might have some upside. If you don't make those moves, you probably keep shopping for Jose Kintan and Matthew Boyd a few weeks later, guys, who are you know with that ten million dollar range? I think it's it's still him trying to learn what it is. But at the same time, like you definitely talk to guys like Dylan See's, Freddie Peralta, fran Bravaldez, this Offseas's not saying I particularly want those guys, especially my instant reaction of what I'm thinking about any of them. But you have to find a way to get at least some kind of stabilizing picture in herewever hold holda.

00:33:51
Speaker 2: You can't criticize them an I a sign mean, he was their best picture the whole second half last month last year, and in the playoffs he was like a bona fide a see, so you can't see that that was good. But here's the thing about what you're saying about David Stearns though, right, this is what big market teams are supposed to do. They're supposed to be able to get those guys right and fill the spots, which but that didn't happen. The guys are already there. Didn't happen. So that's why I wonder what makes met fan taby So you'd rather go all young guys, and as far as they're all in moment, they signed a guy for seven hundred and sixty five million, that's their all in moment. That's the way we're all in guys. I mean, you can't get any more all in than signing one Soto for what you signed them for.

00:34:32
Speaker 3: There still medium all in because again we went to the season with very questionable pitching and again, like the Shaumanai contract last year, he had an amazing half season, but a lot of the Shamani success last year, and we've all talked about this, the facts they changed our mangled dramatically. So you had two months of a guy that changed the way he pitched in season. And then he's someone that has DEBLT injuries in the past. He someone that has deble consistency issues in the past, and you just saw both of those things come truition this whole season. Again, shaumana I is the guy's a team leaders guy love having this clubhouse. He was some who was very accountable yesterday talking about his own struggles this year, as he felt with the primary recent this team didn't get to where they were. It takes a lot for a player to say that you could kind of feel minigh this year playing with the weight of that contract he signed. He understood how important that money was and how important he was to this team. It was probably a situation where between him and Kodai Sanga, they might have brushed those guys back from their injuries, knowing how important it was to get them back in July when that pitching was really starting to fall apart. Through June, after they had a lot of injuries to the depth guys and mess of the weird thing too with each of them where they brought them back just before the All Star break rather than just after like a lot of teams will do with injured players. Korda, Sanga, Maz return that Friday, Shaman and I and Mays return that Sunday. Each of those guys pitched again in the following weekends. They can kind of jam and give those guys as many appearances as possible. I think it's the right thing if they're healthy, but it seems like they might not have been healthy, and maybe that rushing back is a thing that kind of took all of them off their roles for the second half. But it's still it's just a weird pitching staff and a weird roster, and I think that without again a super bona FI days on the market, unless you make that Joe, Ryan or Sandy trade, you're probably going to be shopping closer to the bargain bin than the top line of these creations.

00:36:07
Speaker 1: Once again, great analysis, James, really good stuff. Crazy season to cover this seam and get to this point. We'll be talking again soon. Appreciate you man, good catching up.

00:36:18
Speaker 3: Thanks, guys, appreciate it.