PORT STREET LUCIE — Mets team president David Stearns is not one to promote hype. He’s sorry for the French, but he’s not a BSer. He chooses his words accurately. In fact, the former Harvard Crimson scribe is said to be an excellent writer by his colleagues. He’s the first baseball executive I’ve ever doubted could write my article better than I can (provided he takes a pay cut, of course).
Stearns doesn’t seem prone to exaggeration. That’s why I wondered a few days ago when he said at his spring opening press conference that he expected “to see some exciting baseball at Citi Field in September and October.” Specifically, the October part fascinated me.
The Mets’ regular season home schedule concludes on September 22nd, so this statement is certainly true for the Mets, a team that won 75 games last year (and had two Hall of Famers leading their starting rotation). It sounded like they were predicting the playoffs. half of the season). They are also the team that did not sign a player with an annual salary of $15 million, which is barely in the middle of all major league free agents.
Was this Stearns’ first phrasing mistake? No one I know, at least not anyone I know, seems to think this is October’s team. But when I checked just to be sure, no, Stearns hadn’t slipped. He believes it wholeheartedly. He’s seriously thinking about the postseason.
“We’re a playoff-caliber team,” Stearns assured the Post.
Stearns is a candid guy, but he wouldn’t go into detail about what went wrong last year and why this year will be better. How a team that started the 2023 season with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and still had a terrible record can rise to baseball’s semi-elite status.
But he doesn’t back down either.
“I think it’s a talented group, and I think we had a talented group last year,” Stearns said. “And I think the players certainly feel that the results on the field last year were not indicative of the talent in the clubhouse.”
I had to remind him that he’s pretty much alone in this postseason prediction.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he answered. “I’m not going to go into the internal projection system. But let me tell you, I’m happy with our team.”
One thing for sure about Stearns is that you believe he means what he says. Some may wonder if he’s trying to excite the fan base at a time when the team is clearly having a regressive season, but that’s not his style. (And when I say setbacks, I mean it. “We never said that,” he said.)
One thing we do know is that Stearns certainly knows what a playoff team looks like. With quite a bit of trickery, he was able to make it to October for the fourth year in a row, winning five of six times in small-market Milwaukee.
So is he right?
The Mets have several key ingredients to being a champion. They have an ace (Kodai Chiga) and a star closer (Edwin Diaz). They have a classic leadoff man (Brandon Nimmo) and a true cleanup man (Pete Alonso, at least to start the season). They also have young talent on the rise (especially Francisco Alvarez).
I don’t know about Mets classified information. But the other great thing they’re hoping for in the National League Derby is knowing it’s a top-heavy league with just three teams (Dodgers, Braves, and Phillies) participating in the National League Derby. You don’t even need a genius IQ. Like a shoo-in for October. Almost everyone has a case.
The Mets had a whirlwind winter, but a failed courtship of 25-year-old Japanese pitching prodigy Yoshinobu Yamamoto left Cohen with just $325 million in his Mets account. It was a great initiative, but once Yamamoto received multiple similar offers for $100 million more than he originally expected, it wasn’t about the money. He likes the West Coast, so naturally he went to America’s super team, the Dodgers.
Stearns certainly made some visionary small moves to fill out the roster, adding much-needed depth to the roster, pen, and bench without coming close to breaking the big bank (the Mets are currently playing in Bank of America). banks such as ). The team at least appears to be “competitive,” which is what owner Steve Cohen hinted at when he traded Verlander and Scherzer at last year’s deadline.
I’m sure they have a mathematical process that justifies Mr. Stearns’ confidence. It’s unlikely he’s making bold claims just to inspire his players. However, if it has some positive effect on the military, then so be it.
Asked about Stearns’ declaration, Diaz said, “I agree with him.” “I think we’re a really good team. Not a lot of people think we’re good. But I think we are. I think we’ve got a great bullpen this year. We’ve improved defensively. And I think we’re going to be a hit. So I think we’re going to play some good baseball. And our goal is to make the playoffs this year and win a ring.”
Whoa, that would really be something. At this point, I think fans will accept the October baseball that the manager foresees.
