Reaction to Mets recent hot streak with Pat McCarthy and Danny Abriano | Mets Off Day Live | SNY

On Mets Off Day Live presented by Planet Fitness, SNY host Chelsea Sherrod alongside SNY Mets writer Danny Abriano and Mets radio broadcaster for WCBS 880 Pat McCarthy discuss the team’s recent winning streak and what’s ahead for New York.

Today’s Show
0:00 Welcome to the show
1:55: Recap of Mets winning streak
3:40 Biggest takeaways from Grimace era
5:15 A look at last off day
7:09 Favorite moments of Grimace
9:51 Can the Mets keep winning?
12:35 Francisco Alvarez’s return & his impact
15:08 Lindor’s power in leadoff spot
18:50 Mets reuniting with deGrom & Scherzer
20:31: Reflecting on Scherzer trade
21:37: How Verlander going on IL could help Mets
23:00: A look at the NL Wild Card standings & biggest threats to Mets
26:07: Mets Upcoming Schedule breakdown
27:45: What is wrong with the National League?
29:00: The impact of J.D Martinez’s bat
31:42: Will the Mets change how they operate at DH moving forward?
32:27: McNeil’s struggles
34:45: Alonso finding his footing
37:00: What will Mets do at deadline: Buy, Sell or Both?
39:07: Looking ahead to next series vs. Cubs
43:06: Impression of Carlos Mendoza
45:31 How will you spend your off day?

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e e [Applause] [Music] what’s up everybody Welcome to Mets off Day live presented by Planet Fitness join Planet Fitness for $1 down $24.99 a month the deal ends June 27th I’m your host Chelsea shro and joining me our SNY Mets writer Danny abriano and Mets radio broadcaster for WC CBS 880 Pat McCarthy guys welcome to the show how you doing all good thanks for having me yeah doing great thanks so much yeah it’s a lot more fun to do these shows when the Mets are winning it’s like that gray cloud isn’t over our heads right now it’s just a lot of sunshine and heat in New York City right now um okay let’s start with around the diamond the Mets caught fire after coming back from London losing one to the Marlins before McDonald’s mascot Grimace throughout the first pitch and the club found it’s gr going on a seven game winning streak that was broken last night let’s take a look get even in the series as they beat the Marlins 10 to four and JD Rockets one out to Right Center back in the Gap goes Chism looking up and it’s out of here JD Martinez wins it with a two run opposite field home run he struck him out the ball game is over Edwin Diaz for the first time in 39 days locks down a save the Mets win their fourth straight as they beat the Padres 5 to one the Mets sweep the Padres and they’ve went five in a row a season High 22 hits as everybody gets into the Act and the Mets match their season best with a six-game winning streak as they bludge in the Rangers 14-2 one two coming from Diaz popped it up Shallow left field Nimo coming on he’s there and the ball game is over the MZ win there’s seventh in a row as they come from four runs down two two from the eights hit back to the mound knocked down by Yates has plenty of time and the Rangers snap the at seven game winning [Applause] streak did you guys see that Grimace sweatshirt I feel like I need that in my art I need to find that somewhere uh amazing piece of attire it’s so good Denny what stood out uh to you the most during this run they just look like a legitimately good well-rounded sound baseball team um which is obviously different from how they looked uh in May and there really hasn’t been anything lucky about what they’re doing um beyond that it’s the aggression the intensity they’re playing with uh and the fun they’re seeming to have uh along the way um and that they’re doing this during a still pretty difficult portion of their schedule that’s that’s also pretty huge yeah Pat how about you yeah I I think just to Echo that I think they’re playing a really well-rounded balanced brand of baseball right now they’ve gotten timely hitting when they’ve needed it the top of the orders getting things done which I think is huge and also some of the younger guys are stepping up Mark Vientos went through a little bit of a slide but he starts to figure things out obviously Francisco Alvarez has made an amazing impact since he came back from the injured list and the bull Penman better as well I know Drew Smith gave up the home run last night but it’s starting to finally look like the bullpen that David Sterns and Carlos Mendoza expected to have now they’re without Brooks REI for the year but there’s been different guys that have stepped up and filled roles that they didn’t necessarily expect to have early on uh it’s very similar to the winning streak that we saw early this season when the Mets bounced back from the first five games of the year and they’re playing a really fun brand of baseball right now and it seems like they’re all really jelling yeah it seems like the pieces are really just coming together at a good time for them uh let’s talk about the last off day for the Mets though so the Mets flew home from London and caught the internet up with their trip posting all their pictures from the international series across Instagram Danny you just came back from overseas how was it uh it was awesome uh went to Paris uh hit the French Open finals uh I’ve been wanting to do that forever uh mixed a good amount of golf beverages in and amazing food uh including best burger I’ve ever had uh outside of NC and plenty of steak frats um so amazing trip um fit a lot in but uh had a great time yeah Paris is still on my list I need to get out there uh Pat have you ever been to London or what’s your favorite vacation yeah um I was with the team in the London Series so it was awesome it was it was an amazing it was an amazing experience and all the photos that you see from from the guys posted I think we all kind of experienced that in our own right uh it was a it was a really unique experience um I love the travel so for me and my wife it was a it was a great way to go out there and explore in season which we don’t normally get a chance to do it was my second trip to London I had gone and worked an NFL game with my dad about eight or nine years ago so it was a very similar quick trip but it was a lot of fun and it was a pretty unique experience too because playing the Phillies my dad and my mom were there as well so uh we had a we had a really fun weekend um in terms of traveling as a whole though I mean I’m I like to do bunch of different things I’ve been been to Hawaii which was an amazing trip my wife and I went to Germany a few years back which was a lot of fun uh we got Ireland coming up at the end of the season so we’ve uh we got a lot of fun trips ahead of us I was just talking to a cooworker about Ireland the other day I hear it’s beautiful I really want to go there and visit I see all these pictures and it’s gorgeous so I feel like I need to get out there soon too yeah yeah I’m looking forward to it let’s head to our next segment it’s called we’re loving it and as I mentioned before Mets Twitter has latched on to Grimace as the figurehead for this recent winning streak the Mets historically have struggled in June only having a winning record once in the last Dozen Years during that month but Grim clearly has changed that uh Pat starting with you since the Mets lost and the Grimace story may be coming to its end do you have any favorite moments from the purple mascot’s time as the Met savior well I I I think number one it it did change the narrative a bit around the team it really did bring a a fun kind of easy vibe to the whole situation uh I don’t think we could have anticipated that a seven game winning streak would come on the heels of Grimace coming out and throwing the first pitch but I think that overall just the narrative around the team changing was a massive positive thing and at the same time they they came up with some pretty big wins during that stretch as well of course the JD Martinez walk-off home run really changed how we talked about that Marlin series versus coming back and and losing two of three all of a sudden you you’ve won two of three and you can kind of ride the momentum into the rest of the road trip that was upcoming uh and then the the come from behind victory in game two in Texas I think was a really important Victory from this team because I I talked to pet Alonzo about it after the game and I said listen you guys have blown teams out you’ve won some tight games but this was really the first challenge to come back and rally to win a game and of course all wins mean the same thing they all count towards the same but in terms of what this team is able to do to feel like they’re never out I think that win in Texas in game two was probably the most important one of the entire seven game winning streak yeah I think I’d have to agree Danny do does this moment with Grimace does it remind you of any other superstitious Sports moments in history uh with the Mets specifically there have been some interesting ones they had the rally parakeet um way back before any of us were born they had the black cat 1969 but I I really think there’s been you know it’s it’s a little ridiculous there’s there’s been nothing like the Grimace thing because it was just the most random thing in the world for grimace who has no shoulders to be throwing out the first pitch why Grimace um and then from there like if the Mets went into a spiral maybe they get made fun of for having Grimace throughout the first pitch it’s it’s what what is going on here but they seem to really latch on to it very quickly the fans really um picked up on it all over Twitter it’s Grimace this Grimace that Grimace memes after games Grimace gifts after games um I don’t know I don’t think he’s gonna die quite yet I think until the Mets lose a series Grimace won’t die and they haven’t lost one since the end of May um so if the Mets can keep it rolling against the Cubs I think Grimace is gonna come back to City Field with them probably uh Pat do you think this winning streak was just a lucky week for the Mets or do you think they can actually keep this up well I I think time will tell to that because this is a pretty important series against the Cubs because it’s a team that they’re chasing in the wild card now the reason that I think that they can keep it up is because if you look at the lineup right now it’s just not one or two guys that’s getting it done we talked to Carlos mza about that the other day he said you’re lucky if you get one or two guys that are clicking that can kind of carry your team and and that’s what we were talking about at the beginning of this winning streak it was JD Martinez and he was single-handedly winning games for the Mets against the Marlins with the walk-off home run and then the two-run double but right now it’s up and down this lineup and it seems like it’s a different guy every single night and Pete Alonzo is Catching Fire right now Brandon nmo is redh hot so I think if they can continue to have two three four guys clicking on all cylinders that the winning streak can continue because not all seven eight nine guys of the lineup are going to continue to hit at the same time but if they can have two or three four guys kind of hitting collectively I think that they yeah I think things can continue from here yeah Danny what do you think I mean they’re not going to play this insane clip obviously but I mean I see no reason to believe they won’t keep playing around 500 or a bit better and like Pat said I mean the offense has been very good they’ve been one of the best offenses in baseball over the last month and they’ve got a bunch of guys hitting at the same time as Starling Marte has started to slow down a bit Brandon nmo is picked it up um as Lindor has maybe cooled off just a tad you have Alvarez picking it up you have Vientos just hitting the tar out of the ball um they’ve got a bullpen that can be streaky um but has a really strong back end that includes uh a dominant Edmond Diaz once again Danielle Nunes has been great um rotation has been good enough um obviously the weakest point but should be getting summer infusions from Christian Scott when he comes back from the miners where they’re managing his Innings um and kodai senga at some point maybe in July um The Players seem to be buying in um they’re playing hard uh they’re playing emotional um they’re they’re playing just a fiery brand of baseball right now and the manager is pushing all the right buttons um I can think of maybe two or three times this season and it doesn’t matter what I think but two or three times this season where I disagreed with an in-game move Carlos Mendoza has made he’s been fantastic he’s been great with the media he’s been great with the players um and the NL just isn’t that good so the Mets are really competing against the water down version um of a playoff race here and and there’s no reason why they can’t stick in this yeah we’re going to get more into the playoff race in just a little bit but last week one guy that they were missing so much in all of this was Francisco Alvarez and last week he returned to the team after being out since April 19th with a thumb injury which proved to be just what the Mets needed quite frankly the team is 18- two in games this season where Alvarez plays which is just absurd when you really think about it so Pat did you noticed a shift in the clubhouse when Alvarez returned 100% and you could feel it when he went on that rehab assignment that they felt like the reinforcements that they were looking for were beginning to come frankly you can’t teach what Francisco Alvarez has I mean he has unbelievable physical talents they’re just off the charts but his intangibles are different for a kid that’s in his early 20s and his now second full season in the big leagues the way that he steps in and impacts a lineup and impacts a pitching staff it’s different you you can’t just create that it’s something that you naturally have and the way that he just exud dude’s confidence and energy it makes him such an impactful player even if he wasn’t necessarily hitting that first week that he came back now he is obviously with the back-to-back three hit games against Texas and I just think that he deepens the lineup so much now Tomas Neo really did a solid job filling in and then you know it’s a whole new catching tandem uh for the Mets but Francisco Alvarez is just a different player and he is just going to continue to get better he is so positive brings so much energy and I think guys just feed off that because when you have a player that just wants to win nonstop it forces the players around him to also kind of latch on to that positive energy that that he has yeah his impact is undeniable Danny what do you think the Mets missed more do you think it’s his Bat or his presence behind the plate I think they missed everything equally um none of the guys who were filling in had the power potential of Alvarez um none of them scared of posing pitchers and like Pat said even when he’s not going well he has a chance to just really really hurt you every time he’s up the plate uh he’s got a confidence that really is is unmatched um none of the backups who we’re filling in had the Rapport Alvarez has with the pitching staff um and this is something that’s been you know one of his biggest assets since last year um he’s got a great great rapport with the pitching staff and we’ve heard them singing his Praises since he returned um and the guys who were filling in for him didn’t have his personality and his Swagger so you know I think alv is a very special kind of guy special hitter special player special Personality yeah Special is the perfect word to describe him uh now on to the other Francisco on the roster Francisco Lindor he’s really found his stride since moving into the leadoff spot hitting a 297 with an 879 Ops since that switch Danny you wrote an article recently about Lindor saying the shortstop is really damn good whether you like it or not please explain all right so I think there’s a segment of the fan base um that has an irrational dislike for Lindor uh can’t be backed up by stats uh can’t be backed up by reality um and they seem to have an issue with how much he’s getting paid um they claim he’s not worth the money they claim he’s not the player of the M off they were getting when they traded for him and extended him but if you look at lindor’s numbers offensively throughout his career he’s been nearly identical offensively to the player he was in Cleveland um so just have to look at it that cannot be disproved um he’s not a 40 Homer guy he’s not sh Otani he’s not Aaron judge he doesn’t have to be and no one is uh he’s one of the most valuable players uh in baseball um and people totally disregard the value he brings defensively which is just insane uh this is one of the very best defensive players in the game um the value he brings at Short Stop is immense and Beyond the offense beyond the defense this is a team leader this is a guy who plays basically every day he played last year through an injury he plays through injuries all the time so I just think that the lack of respect he gets um is mindboggling yeah some of his defensive plays are absolutely incredible Pat Lindor let off in Cleveland but didn’t find himself in that spot with the Mets until now why do you think it took so long for them to try this out well I think a lot of it had to do with Brandon nmo being their prototypical leadoff hitter and they wanted to leave nmo in the leadoff spot for as long as they could and Lindor does have great run he’s run producing abilities so he’s able to drive in runs when guys are getting on ahead of him so I think that had a lot to do with it but I tell you what he’s got he’s got a flare for The Dramatics and and for him to be able to step in and set the table in the leadoff spot I think is it’s really important if you look to the last couple of games yesterday he didn’t get on to start the game and I had a flip back just to check how many consecutive games he had let off with either a walk or a base hit and the Mets have talked so much about putting traffic on for the big guys in the middle of the lineup which is something that they weren’t doing early on so I think the fact that Lindor is able to do that means that he’s going to be in the leadoff spot for the time to come just because he’s been so impactful out of that spot and you know I think they wanted him in the middle of the lineup for as long as they could because he can drive in so many runs but for the time being he’s thriving in that spot and since then his numbers have been fantastic and it’s kind of like what Danny said that he is he posts up up every single day he he’s constantly answering questions from the media he he never shies away from the spotlight and and he’s such an impactful player for this team and he does he brings so much off the field as well talking about Francisco Alvarez we talked about the intangibles lindor’s the same way I he is a leader for this club guys listen to him and and he called that team meeting a couple of weeks ago and he’s backed it up and the entire Club has backed it up so you know the numbers aren’t great overall for Lindor but it’s going to take a really long time to out of that hole that he was in with that one for 36 start but with the way the short stop position is lining up right now in the National League we could be talking about Francisco Lindor making an All-Star team in July that’s how good he’s been yeah I agree and he is the ultimate leader it’s exactly what they need uh okay let’s move along and talk about the Mets x’s in Texas I love our producers coming up with the titles of these segments that’s so good uh the Mets just finished up their first series ever in Globe Life Stadium where they were briefly reunited with longtime Ace Jacob deg Grom and Max Scherer Pat Jake said he hasn’t thought yet about pitching at City Field as an opponent but was very complimentary of the Mets fan base a year and a half removed from the Mets perspective how do you view de Gram’s decision to leave New York and head down south yeah I think for the Mets organization obviously keeping Jacob degam in a Met’s uniform would have been really important because he’s so impactful and you know in the recent generation he’s arguably the best pitcher that the Mets have had in the 2000s so I think they would have loved to have signed him but you really can’t fault Jake for for getting a contract that he did and and going down to Texas for a chance to win a World Series and you know he got the ring obviously didn’t come on the field because he was hurt but you can’t fault him for taking a deal that was good for him and his family and he was incredibly complimentary of the fans complimentary of Steve GBS as well by letting him know yes he did make him no matter what people may think so I it was it was good to see Jake obviously I didn’t get a chance to know him when I was working with the team he was gone by the time I I started on the radio side but you know watching him from afar he was such a special talent and I hope that when the time comes that he retires Mets fans are going to appreciate just how much he did for this organization and how he impacted the club uh while he was in a Mets uniform yeah Dan talking about Max Scherer now who was traded last season by Steve Cohen and Billy Epler for lisan hunia as one of the first moves in a major selloff looking back at that how do you view that move now I mean I think it was smart then um it was a little shocking considering where the Mets started the season they were coming off in 101 win year World Series hopes but you know they they took account of where they were and they decided that this is the best thing to do and it looks even better in hindsight uh the Mets were going nowhere last year sherzer became aunia um who got off a little bit of a slow start this year in Triple A but he’s coming on lately he’s close to the majors so obviously might see an impact soon um and obviously sherzer hasn’t even pitched this year for Texas so you know had the Mets kept him and made a run last year um and he suffered the same injury they’d be in a real mess right now so I think it worked out well for both sides um sherzer obviously at the time said that the Mets had relayed to him that they weren’t really going for it in 2025 um he’s nearing the end of his career whether it ends this year or the year after um so I think it worked out really really well for both sides yeah another met in Texas is Justin Verlander who was recently placed on the I Danny you recently wrote an article about how Verlander season can impact the Mets future can you go into more detail Yeah so basically uh if he reaches 140 regular season Innings this year it has nothing to do with the postseason regular season Innings his option for 2025 will vest uh the Mets will be on the hook for 17 .5 million which is half of his salary which was agreed upon uh during the trade last year so he’s 83 Innings shy um but just landed on the I due to a neck issue um before he hit the I they were hoping he might just miss one start or get pushed back so whatever it is it’s somewhat serious uh looks like could come down to the wire in terms of whether he hits that 140 inning Mark um this matters because the Mets despite Steve Cohen’s billions they’re not going to remain above the top luxury tax tier forever no team operates that way it’s bad business um so if it works out the Mets don’t have that 17.5 million on the books for 2025 um it would help them this coming off season um again being above the top tier is the reason the Mets lost uh their draft pick got docked 10 spots this year um it’s not just the money it’s not just the tax you get docked when it comes to where your draft pick is international bonus pool money um so this could be something that obviously unfortunate the Verlander is hurt but the Mets could be off the hook for a significant sum of money yeah this is definitely something to pay attention to uh all right let’s talk playoff picture in this wild wild card as we bring in our social media king Mr Matt spenley uh spenley take it away thank you Chelsea hi guys I made myself a little cowboy hat with uh the Texas and the wild wild card in the theme I wish I had one at my house but uh you know in Queens I don’t know if they sell cowboy hats anywhere around here so all right let’s talk about the wild card and also bear with me because I haven’t thought about anything except Grimace content for about a week here being on the social side so um there are I saw today 13 of 15 teams in the National League are all within a game and a half the most uh of the teams that are there did you guys lose me for a second can you hear me now no we got you yeah we can hear you got you man okay um so which wild Pat let’s go to you first which wild card team of all the ones in the picture um scares you the most as a Potential Threat besides the Braves because I feel like they’re going to be up there yeah because that’s the obvious answer is the Braves just because of what they’ve done their track record uh and and they’re I mean they are decimated by injuries right now but they’re still the Braves and they’re still going to have a really good year because guys are going to pick things up the Cardinals are starting to play better I I I think that again you’re going based on track record but they’re an aging team they’re starting to get healthy they spent so much money on starting pitching over the offseason that you have to think that St Louis is going to be there until the end Pittsburgh’s a scary team I they have some amazing topend young arms that depending on how they manage their Innings they could be impactful but time’s going to tell we saw when when the Pirates were at City Field a couple of weeks ago Jared Jones was dominant and they pulled him after five innings now they haven’t really done that as often we’ll see what they do with Paul skin but I mean the national league is so wide open right now that one or two teams getting in a not stretch like we saw from the Mets over the last week they could all of a sudden pull away you think about the fact that the Padre’s who were able to salvage that final game against Philadelphia are in the second spot or at least they were heading into the weekend and and they’re barely a 500 team you have to look at the wild card right now almost as if we look at the final playoff spot in the NFL 500 or better is going to get you potentially in the playoffs or at least in a race until that last week of the season so I mean there are a handful of teams that we could could talk about you know you look at the the Nationals and the Cardinals being a game under 500 the Padres have you know we talked about that five-game losing streak dropped to two games under but I mean there’s a handful of teams in there you know that’s why the series against the Cubs is so important especially with imanaga throwing on Friday because he’s just been so dominant yeah Danny I know this is something we talked about too when we’ve been in the office just about the teams in the race how the Mets should probably just be more concerned about themselves than anyone else at this point just win games and the Wild Card pick will kind of make itself clear but with the Mets schedule moving ahead we’ve kind of talked about how their July schedule also lightens up a little bit so how do you see the Mets being able to take advantage of their schedule now with the series against the Cubs coming up and then an easier July calendar yeah I mean after they face the Cubs uh they come home does not get easier uh they get the Yankees uh they get the struggling Astros who are still kind of in it um but after that um looks like their easiest 18 game stretch of the season it’s not incredibly easy but it really does open up uh they’re going to face the Marlins they’re going to face the Rockies uh the gats and the Pirates now the knats are obviously still very much in this um I don’t really buy that they have staying power the Mets swept them the last time they played so I think they should be able to fatten up against the Nets um and then as Pat mentioned the Pirates are on pushover um they have Jones they have skin um but not a whole lot else beyond that so that 18 game stretch is a chance for the Mets to really kind of pick it up here um Marlins and Rockies are straight up bad um they really should roll over those teams we’ve seen in the past uh the Mets don’t always uh take advantage of stretches like this this year they kind of have to um and you know you mention the fact that there’s so many teams in this but again it doesn’t matter where you are right now all that matters is that you win enough games to make it in everything else will take care of itself so you look at the standings today maybe there’s four or five teams ahead of the Mets and preventing them from being in one of those Wild Card spots but it’s so tight and it won’t take that many wins that all they have to do is take care of business and the rest will work itself out Pat just quickly before I toss it back to Chelsea what do you think going on in the National League this year why why is there 13 of 15 teams just it’s it’s as jumbled as we’ve seen it the picture will become clearer but do you have any inkling as to why this is happening yeah I think injuries play a part in it I think teams just haven’t there’s a there’s a massive difference between the top end teams and the bottom end teams right now and I think we’re seeing some of the smaller Market clubs focus on younger players so because of that they’re not spending a t of ton of money in the off season to to add on I I think the top end of the national league is just that good that they’re just beating up on the middle to lower tier teams so I don’t have a great answer for it because we haven’t seen anything like it and it’s a little bit different and I think we’re paying closer attention to it because of the fact of the expanded playoffs because if if this is pre- wildcard game era where it was just the top to four teams getting in and we talk about that it’s just four really good teams in the National League and the rest of the teams are just trailing behind but because you have this ability to have 500 clubs get into the playoffs I think we’re just paying a lot closer attention to it right now and I do think that there are some aging players that are underperforming so I think that has a lot to do with it as well and you know teams are focused on prospects right now and getting some younger players up especially some of the smaller Market clubs and I think that has a lot to with it all right Matt thanks so much for joining us taking the time out of your day we appreciate your hat and near face buy you a cowboy hat you got it all right guys time now for quick hitters uh Jen Martinez is the DH the Mets have needed for three years I mean just this week Daniel bleach was DFA JD Davis was DFA Darren Ruff isn’t even on a team this year Danny how has his Bat imp impacted this ball club uh it’s given them someone consistent who’s also really good uh it’s it’s that simple they kind of patched it together the first few years of the DH um it was easy to First guess that and it’s also easy to second guess it with the way it worked out um the vogle back rough situation was untenable because they were platoon guys um and even if they had succeeded they had to be pinch hit for pretty much every game uh Martinez can fit right in the middle of the lineup um he’s been great for 10 years he can match both lefties and righties um he’s a great sounding board for the rest of the offense um I think they should have done this two or three years ago but at least they’ve gotten it right this time pat JD Martinez was very vocal in the players only meeting that occurred just before this hot stretch how has his presence alone helped this team well it’s like Danny said I mean he’s been doing it for 10 years and he’s been doing it at an All-Star level I equate what JD Martinez does to watching like an artist or a musician I it is unbelievable to watch him go about his work it is truly a craft whereas some guys just go up they take batting practice sometimes they don’t even take batting practice and they just go out there and hit the amount of preparation and work that JD Martinez does pregame is rubbing off on so many guys because they see the way that he’s been able to do it for 10 years now and they’re probably thinking wow that’s what it takes I can’t just get a get it done on Talent alone because this is a semi aging roster so some of the younger guys that were probably able to get things done just purely on their their natural Talent they might not be able to do that now so watching a guy like JD Martinez who’s in his mid to late 30s be able to impact the baseball the way he has it rubs off on guys and players are creatures of habits so once they create these habits and they and they see success out of it hopefully that means that they’re going to continue to use that in their process throughout the entire season so he’s done it on the field but I think the impact that he’s had on the Clubhouse and the overall culture of the team is far beyond anything that he could have done on the field which has been fantastic yeah absolutely fantastic Danny do you think this will change how the Mets operate at the DH position moving forward Ian I think it was always going to change under David Sterns um you know I can see a scenario where the Met spring Martinez back next year uh can also see a scenario where they hand the job to Mark ventos and that’ll be contingent on how they handle Third Base how they maybe handle first base um but you know it’s it’s the returns are good early for Vientos um he really started to hit his stride at the end of the last season when he finally got um an actual chance to play regularly um and we’ve seen him really Excel this year um so we’re not going to compare him to JD Martinez but if he can be a guy who hits both righties and lefties hits for power he can be kind of like a JD Martinez light um and so I could see it being him next year yeah JD Martinez has been phenomenal but guys Switching gears a little bit here what is going on with Jeff mcneel after losing some playing time to Jose glacius Carlos Mendoza has gone back to Jeff mcneel who just can’t seem to get things going Pat what have you seen from Jeff this season that’s different from years past yeah it’s interesting I I think the shift has impacted Jeff mcneel in a little bit of a negative way because he’s not able to spray the ball the way that he was maybe in 2022 when he won the batting title but I do think we are starting to see a positive shift from Jeff mcneel over the last week now it hasn’t necessarily resulted in base hits but Carlos Mendoza has told us that he loves the way Jeff is going about his business right now and that he probably took that week off to heart and realized that he needed to make a change to be the player that the Mets know and hope he can be uh for them here in 2024 so I think the biggest thing for Jeff right now is if you watch the way he’s playing defensively he’s playing a really solid second base which means that he’s not taking his struggles at the plate out with him to the field and I think that is going to keep him in the lineup uh for the time being because the Mets need him the Mets need Jeff mcneel to be the player that he was do they need him to hit 330 in winning batting title no not necessarily but if he can hit 290 hit 300 and impact the baseball the way that he was I I think that’s going to be a massive lift to this lineup because it creates so much versatility because he can hit quite frankly one through nine he haded cleanup earlier this season he’s primarily been hitting seventh or eighth recently but he can really hit anywhere in the lineup so the Mets need Jeff mcneel to beat Jeff mcneel and hopefully that this little reset that he had over the last week will start to result in some base hits he did he had a hit in Texas the other day where he had a hard ground ball right through the hole on the right side and Keith rat and I said on the air like that’s prototypical Jeff mcneel that’s what you’re looking at of him not to lift and Elevate the baseball but hit something hard on the ground uh and create traffic and get base hits so uh hopefully Jeff’s able to figure things out heading into the into this little stretch before the All-Star break and then carrying it into the second half yeah and speaking of figuring things out uh the polar bear finally finding his footing pet Alonzo has shown signs of breaking out of his early season slump batting 300 in his last seven games with an 830 Ops Danny do you think that Pete can continue to keep this up and how important is he to this team right now he’s incredibly important and you know he’s he’s too good of a hitter uh to struggle for long and we’ve seen that throughout his career he’ll have some bad streaks but snap out of it pretty quickly um so the hot streak he’s on right now should be expected um he’s still on Pace for around 30 comers 40 doubles um tap a little bit early on the contract year was getting to him um but he looks locked in now uh he’s pacing just fine so uh I think I think he’s gonna keep this up Pat what do you need to see from Pete to want him in a Mets uniform next year well frankly I don’t think I need to see anything for Pete to want him in a next uniform Met’s uniform next year because as Danny said he is so impactful for this club that Pete Alonzo is going to mistakenly hit 35 home runs every single year he’s not even gonna have to try it’s just gonna happen so all you need for to see from Pete Alonzo to want him in a Met’s uniform is to continue to see what you’ve seen from Pete over his entire career it’s good for the New York Mets if Pete’s in the Mets uniform it’s good for Pete if Pete’s in a Mets uniform because the two love each other it’s just going to come down to whether the price is right and the opportunity is right for Pete but I for me in terms of performance on the field there’s nothing else that I need to see from him because he just continues to do what Pete Alonzo does Brandon nmo told me the other day after a game he said we go as Pete goes that’s how important he is for this entire Club so uh Pete’s an instant impact type of player we talked about what Francisco Alvarez can do to scare opposing pitchers Pete Alonzo scares an opposing pitcher every time he steps into the Batters box so there’s not really much more that you need to see from Pete to want him in a Mets uniform it just comes down to if the price and the opportunity is right yeah I think Mets fans only want to see him in a Mets uniform so we’ll see how that goes uh time now for buy sell or both uh with the Mets hovering over a wild around a wild card spot for the first time for the time being uh and the July 30th trade deadline Contin to engine engineer let’s do a little check in here guys Pat at this point do you think David Sterns will buy sell or do you think he’ll do a little bit of both I think where we stand right now with the Mets being very much in the thick of the wild card I think it’ll be a little bit of both I think he’s going to have to listen to potential opportunities to move some of these older players for a chance to to impact the future but at the same time I don’t see the bets punting on this season I I I don’t think it’s the right way to handle things now do I expect them to go out and make a mega deal and and sell some of the prospects that they acquired last year no I don’t I I just don’t think that’s I don’t think that’s the way that Steve and David are gonna operate because Danny said it you can’t continue to live above the luxury tax threshold it’s just it’s not sustainable so I do think that yes if there’s an opportunity there where they see a way to improve this club for a cheap lower tier Prospect yeah absolutely I think that could potentially do that and at the same time I think if they get an offer where they feel like they can’t refuse it and it’s going to set this club up for the next five years I think they’d have to listen yeah Danny what do you think that Sterns will do uh I think the front office is still in weit and C mode right now um and there’s really no reason not to be they’ve got about a month before they have to make any decisions start having any serious conversations but if they’re right around this spot in the middle of July um I’d be absolutely floored if they had a selloff like they did last year um they’d probably look to add around the margins um I think some people are confusing what this season was supposed to be uh the stated goal of Sterns Mendoza the front office at large was to be a playoff Contender um which is what they are right now um they’ve got to keep it up but if they do they’re going to be in the playoff race probably all year have a good chance to reach the postseason um it’s not a World Series or bust year um they’re not going to have a great shot to win it all if they sneak into the playoffs but that’s not the point of this season the point of this year is to take a step forward um after last year which was obviously disastrous um and it looks like they’re in good position to do that so there’s no logical reason to tear this club apart if they keep playing like this yeah let’s see if they do keep playing like this as we look ahead the Mets head to the capital of the cup snake Chicago to face the clubs who have had a tough year thus far but are on a two game winning streak before we talk Cubs though I have to ask do either of you like deep dish pizza more than a New York slice Danny um I like deep dish uh I cannot classify it as Pizza um because you have to wait about 45 minutes for it sometimes an hour uh you can’t pick up a slice it’s a totally different food group um if you haven’t been in Chicago I do recommend getting deep dish but it’s not actual Pizza does not hold the candle to what you get in New York what do you think Pat couldn’t agree more I think it’s delicious I think it’s very good uh I don’t get it every time I come because I feel like you have to fall asleep and take a 2-hour nap after you eat it but uh New York Pizza is far superior and we have the best pizza in the Northeast it’s not even it’s not even close but uh I I do enjoy it and I do think it’s part of the experience when you come to Chicago um I don’t know if I’ll be partaking in it over the next four days but either way it is worth it if you come if you come for the first time because it is good but I just don’t think it’s pizza two quick things I’m going to Chicago for the first time later this summer so I definitely have to try it but I know it’s not going to be better and we all know Connecticut has the best pizza in the Northeast and the country we’ll just leave it at that um Craig Council manager of the Cubs was David Stern’s manager in Milwaukee and a target for the team before he decided to go to Chicago uh Pat are you happy with how the manager search played out I couldn’t be happier because Carlos Mendoza has been amazing to work with every single day and I the way that he has grown as a manager even just in the first three or four months of the season season is amazing the way he handles the media is topnotch he’s prepared he has a great personality and I think that he has made some tremendous decisions on the field as well I love the style in which he manages because he’s a throwback style manager that he plays the numbers but at the same time he’s not afraid to empty his bench when he thinks he needs to he’s not afraid to win a game in the seventh inning and by using one of his high leverage guys I think he’s only going to get better I do think I think the Mets hit a home run with Carlos Mendoza he is so impressive I think he has a great rapport with the uh entire Clubhouse I think the Mets have surrounded him with some amazing coaches you see John Gibbons there I think having him as the bench coach has been such an asset for Carlos and you know Jeremy Hefner’s done a really good job with these pitchers he’s been here for a long time I’ve been so impressed by Carlos Mendoza I think he has blown my expectations out of the water frankly because I just didn’t really know what to expect from him when the Mets hired him but when you hire a bench coach with the pedigree that he has had and the experience that he has had working under Aaron Boone he has earned this right and he has taken this opportunity and he has ran with it now yes it’s his first time as a manager in the major leagues but it’s not his first time managing he’s managed in winterball for a long time and if anybody has followed winterball those games are intense and fans are in on every single pitch so there’s no doubt in my mind that that has prepared him for this opportunity and he has thrived I agree with you Danny looking at this next series coming up what are the keys that you’re looking for from the Mets in this weekend series uh the first thing I think it would be huge to kind of steal the first game uh given its show to imaga against Jose canana um if they could get that game I think it’ll really take the pressure off um so that that would be that would be a big key um I’d like the starting pitchers to limit the walks it’s still been a bit of an issue even during the hot streak um wind has been blowing out uh at Wrigley so if it is I’d like the offense take advantage of that uh mesh some homers um beyond that they just got to keep doing what they’ve been doing um playing sound baseball uh working the count for the most part uh putting good swings on it and having a plan yeah just got to stack these wins as we wrap up this episode of Mets off Day live uh guys how do you both plan on spending the rest of your off day Pat you’re in Chicago yeah I’m going to go explore the city a little bit probably go for a run around the lake and take in some of the sites because for June in Chicago it’s actually pretty mild Here Right Now High of 75 so it’s going to be a beautiful day so I’ll go walk around the city a little bit take a walk down the river go have some dinner a little bit and we’re so fortunate we’ve got two day games here at Wrigley when we were here last year we played all night games and I think we were kind of robbed of an opportunity to experience Wrigley during the day um so I’m looking forward to that but yeah going to spend the day walking around the city a little bit have some dinner later and uh just taking the city taking the sits love that Danny how about you I am in the New York City area so I I will not get to explore Chicago it is a it is a lovely city and I will second that day games at Wrigley are second to none incredible incredible experience um my day is simpler I’m going to eat a Cinnabon um in a little while here um I’ve been uh debating I got it last night my wife picked it up for me last night picked one up for herself and I’ve been debating whether to eat it um for lunch or later I’m going to eat it very very soon I can’t leave it sitting there much longer um after that I’m gonna finish up work and I’m gonna avoid going outside because we’re in the middle of this this heat wave maybe watch some of the Olympic trials and uh kind of just veg out and chill love that I haven’t had Cinnabon in forever I’m kind of jealous this elite elite food incredible stuff it is hot take I don’t like cinnamon rolls even Cinnabon no because Cinnabon is a is a is a classic what wow Pat yeah I don’t love cinnamon and no cinnamon at all wow back to the end it’s a good thing not to like though because I feel like if I start liking them it’s just you know just gonna eat them constantly so I’ve just decided I don’t like them and I’m gonna stay away from them it’s fair good for your health a health decision I see I see what you’re doing there um all right guys thank you for being here and thank you all so much for watching Mets off Day live presented by Planet Fitness join Planet Fitness for $1 down $24.99 a month the deal ends June 27th and if you want to watch some baseball tonight you can catch the Syracuse Mets take on Rochester at 6:35 on SNY we will be back Monday June 24th for our next episode for Danny abriano and Pat McCarthy I’m Chelsea shro thank you so much again for watching and enjoy your off day [Music]