Overview

Yeah. Without getting well too political here I'll just say her politics apparently differed a lot from McNeil and Nimmo. Which some people think to as the real reason the clubhouse got gutted last year. Some fans think Lindor and his wife are clubhouse cancers.

What's the Lindor wife rumors? I know she's had involvement in NYC politics and assume it's related to that.

At the moment Cohen and Stearns. They assembled the team. I mean sure the Wilpons were cheap but I think they would have made more an effort to re-sign Alonso and Diaz. The thing though I find most infuriating about them both is this they were supposedly big Mets fans growing yet offer like not one bit of disclosure as to why they made the moves they did in the offseason. Just Stearns recently saying he still supports Mendoza. Heck I put all these rumors about the distraction that is supposedly Lindor's wife on them as well. Because as I said they offered like no transparency to their decisions, so fans are going to speculate. But yeah the ire is solely on Cohen and Stearns for me a the moment.

@Another Fan @Gugny @ExWNYer It's gotta get better, right? Who's your whipping boy? A player or players, the manager, GM or owner? The players: it's getting tiresome to constantly wonder how much longer we have to live with player X until the contract runs out. Lindor's perennial early season struggles at the plate never affected the other parts of his game, it's not a stretch to assume there's something going on with him - either a team or personal issue. Is there a position player other than Alvarez who is off to a good start? The manager: I still don't have a big issue with him, it'll be interesting to see if he can weather another abysmal early season start like he did his rookie season. I feel like he's a puppet. I doubt he decided his coaching staff needed to be gutted which brings me to.... The GM: What has he ever done to actually improve this team? The mantra was run protection, right? Corner infield has been a problem and Baty is not an outfielder. And every time I see Polanco take the field it reminds me that Pete is gone. The owner: I'm not about to wish him away but getting concerned that he's more interested in his casino/gaming complex. I saw a headline recently that he was complaining about attendance. Get a grip Steve. Folks will show up if the team wins or has players the fans like. This looks like a team of mercenaries who don't gaf. Why should I? I'll leave off by paraphrasing Bobby V: a team is never as good as they look when they're playing well or as bad as they look when they're playing poorly. I'll (hesitantly) look forward to better times ahead.

I agree on Lindor..... he always seems to start slow so I'm not going to panic. The mental stuff is a bit concerning though

All of these players playing out of position - especially Bichette, who is HORRIBLE at 3B - is going to bite us in the ass. And Beltran is a bum. Retiring his number is nothing short of ridiculous and asinine. Peterson concerns me. Senga looked really good until yesterday. Hopefully it was just one of those starts. They finally DFAd Lovelady. God, does he suck. Let’s see what Kimbrel can do. I am not optimistic. Lindor has had at least three mental lapses in this young season. He has to be frustrated with the offseason moves. Hopefully he can be the leader we know and love. I’m not throwing my hands up yet, as it’s way too early to panic. But I’m certainly not feeling any warm and fuzzies. #LFGM

Agreed on the Beltran number retirement. Last year the Mets roped me into being an Amazing Adviser. Basically they ask me my opinion on different topics once a month or so. Just last week they asked me who should be next and my answer was nobody. This year they're putting Lee Mazzilli in their Hall of Fame. Nothing against him - but as I recall his crowning moments as a Met were two big PH singles in the WS (or maybe payoffs) in 1986 and his All Star game opposite field HR. I think it's kind of embarrassing to put him in their HOF.

@ExWNYer @Gugny @SinceThe70s Not the best streak of late but as I said I'm gonna lay low on nay strong opinions on the team for a bit. Any opinions though on Carlos Beltran having his number retired? To me it's very sort of uggh. The team for years I thought was too strict about it and now it seems like the barometer dropped off a bit. From memory he was there no more than 7 seasons which he had stints on the DL too. I mean I didn't hold it against him the strikeout in 2006, he was very strong the rest of that year and should have been the MVP that year. To me it's a little like getting on Dan Murphy's case for that error against the Royals.... I mean the guy tore it up the whole post season prior. I remember too Carlos was fairly solid at the end of 2007 & 2008 when the rest of the team tanked out. But nothing more than that. The guy wasn't much of a leader. I'm still annoyed when he played for the Yankees a few years later and trashed the Mets at his opening press conference. So yeah in short to me a solid Met but not number retire worthy. Personally I'd rather see them retire Johnny Franco's #

Your Italian restaurant fans were right - but even after July things can change drastically - for better or worse. BTW, did you and your Italian friends take the cannoli?

I had one too after talking to some guys in an Italian restaurant about the Mets...... My threshold was usually around Memorial Day to gather an opinion on the team but this season I will wait until July 4th. Their reasoning made sense Memorial Day is still kinda early. 2 years ago I had the team dead at the end of May and they had that great run.... last year I thought they would just coast into the playoffs the rest of the year after 2 months and obviously that didn't happen. I'll be in wait to see mode

@Gugny @ExWNYer @Another Fan A random early season Mets thought. I enjoyed Starling Marte's time as a Met. Obviously we had him at the tail end of his career and he missed a lot of time, but when he was healthy the Mets were a better team.

@ExWNYer Great post, always appreciate your perspective. After another sketchy outing today Luis Garcia is drawing the wrong kind of attention to himself. Let's hope we aren't talking about Bichette's throws to first past this week. I thought we were toast when Baty's laser went from a game winner (in my mind) to a DP in the blink of an eye. It's going to take me a while to wrap my head around this team. Potential wrt the lineup is sky high and Luis Robert has my two favorite at bats of the year so far, i just don't know what to make collectively about the new guys in the lineup and the guys riding the pine (especially Vientos)

@SinceThe70s @Gugny @Another Fan I knocked off an hour early from work to watch the game. To be honest, going in I didn't think they were going to beat Skenes but I was hoping that Peralta could keep it close until Skenes would eventual exit. After Brandon Lowe hit that two run HR in the top of the first, I thought the Mets were in for a long day. Between facing the reigning NL Cy Young winner and never having seen this remodeled version of the Mets, I was skeptical but hopeful. Little did I know that Skenes would have the worst first inning of his career. The Mets ran him after 2/3 inning, 37 pitches, and 5 earned runs. My younger son & I were high-fiving. His total runs allowed in the first inning for his entire career up to that point was...3! To their credit the Mets were disciplined at the plate, didn't chase, and worked some long counts. I underestimated how well Stearns put together this lineup. The defense is visibly improved and the Pirates were shooting themselves in the foot on defense. It's so nice to have a team that is sound defensively, can make contact in RBI situations, and can run. Peralta wasn't great but he gritted out 5 innings to qualify for the win with 7 Ks & 0 BBs allowed. Tobias Myers, "the other player" in the Peralta trade, was solid in long relief, allowing a solo HR. Luis Garcia came in for mop-up duty in the ninth inning and was mostly ineffective allowing two runs. I had honestly forgotten they acquired him and was less than impressed with what I saw in his first outing. The final was 11-7 but, honestly, I never felt like the Mets were going to lose it after knocking out Skenes, up 5-2, and even after the Pirates had cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the 5th. I will say that Pittsburgh might have better hitting than I thought they would. Going in, I thought they would have some of the better pitching in the league but struggle to score runs. Brandon Lowe might have been a sneaky good pickup for them. He tagged Peralta for two HRs. Loved what I saw from Baty & Alvarez as well as newcomers Polanco & Robert Jr. (offensively & defensively). Bichette didn't have a great hitting day but had a big sac fly which the Mets never seemed to get in RBI situations and less than two outs in the past. His contact is what they paid for and he delivered right out of the gate. Carson Benge was impressive, too, getting his first MLB hit on a solo HR to RF and also garnering a walk and his first stolen base. The kid looks like the real deal. 🤞 I wasn't sure how to feel about this year but after seeing them in real action, I am excited for what could be. It's been a long time since we've had a good fundamental baseball team. The great unknown is the starting pitching but I'm hopeful. All indications are that Senga looks like an ace, if..big if...he can stay healthy. Peterson is on the bump today. I have been a huge Peterson supporter since he came into the league but I need to see a huge improvement out of him and Manaea this year or I am done with them both. Anyway, sorry for the long post. If you made it this far, I thank you. lol I sincerely appreciate our little group here. Here's to hoping it's finally our year. Hard to believe that it's the 40th anniversary of the '86 WS winning team. I was the same age my younger son is now when they last won it. Where do the years go?? LGM!!! (and F the Dodgers)

The Roberts 10 pitch walk in the first may have been the at bat of the day.

I was working, so listened to most of the game on the radio (which I love). My biggest takeaway was patience at the plate. Skenes was kind of wild, but the Mets made him pitch and took advantage of mistakes. And Pittsburgh made a few defensive mistakes (not all scored as errors), but good wherewithal/base-running yielded runs. We gave up a few home runs and, overall, pitching wasn’t great. But it was a convincing win and a great way to start the season. #LFGM

@SinceThe70s @ExWNYer @Gugny I caught some highlights of the opener. Always feels good opening day especially with a win. While I'm not one of the most knowledgable at all of other teams and different players, Skenes is supposed to be one of the best pitchers in the game and the Mets knocked him out early. Perhaps a good sign of things to come. 1 down, 161 more games in the regular season. 😁

Incorrect @Gugny - the Dodgers do not need multiple E. Coli breakouts, just one - a week or so before we face them in the NLCS . Around this time last year a local radio host said this about the Dodgers and it stuck with me. Doesn't matter how much the Dodgers dominate regular season - they will - just comes down to winning 4 of 7 when it matters. As far as the roster goes, I'm still not over losing Alonso and Diaz - p!sses me off that they are gone. On the plus side, I'm thrilled we brought in a high end starter in Peralta. But overall, it feels like a team of mercenaries. If they play well they'll win me over. Until then, meh. @Another Fan- thanks for starting the thread - and stay safe on the snowy roads as you're driving to your married friends girlfriends place discussing eccentric Bills

@SinceThe70s Well, people much smarter than us currently have the Mets as the fourth best odds for the World Series so there's that. I'm not sure how I feel about this team right now but I think I'm excited about the potential of this starting staff, if (and that's a big if) they stay healthy. Peralta & McLean should be a fun & exciting one/two punch. We'll find out soon enough. Win or lose, I'm just glad that baseball is back. LGM!

I can’t say I’m thrilled about any of the moves, but at least we’re not putting the same product on the field as last year. Two things will need to happen if the Mets have a chance at a WS run: 1. We will need to stay healthy. 2. The Dodgers will need to suffer multiple E. Coli breakouts. Let’s Play Ball!!! #LFGM

@Gugny @SinceThe70s @ExWNYer Figure good as any time to start this. 6-18 more inches of snow this weekend unto Monday has me very eagerly looking forward to Spring. But pitchers and catchers and what not I think are reporting. Overall not a fan of the past offseason but it is what it is now and we'll see what 2026 brings.

For the record I could have substituted Peralta for Skubal and my sentiment would have been the same. Happy that the cost for Peralta is not as debilitating as it would have been for Skubal - and I didn't realize until I looked it up just now that Skubal is a Bor-@ass client. Trading for Skubal and giving up a ransome of prospects would have been beyond stupid. My bad. It's crazy how quickly the outlook changed in less than a week. We filled a lot of holes and kept enough chips/prospects. I also think they'll give Benge every chance to win the LF position or at the least a roster spot with early season ABs. WRT Stearns I guess I have to come to terms with fielding a team of mercenaries. Unless Pete goes into the sh!tter as Stearns expects I'm going to have a hard time accepting moving on from our guy. Good luck to your Sabres - just not today as they square off against my Islanders!

@Gugny @Another Fan Well, you can take Sproat (Peralta trade) and Acuna (Robert, Jr trade) out of the equation. I don't think Tucker is anything like Jason Bay and would have been happy with him but I wasn't crestfallen that they didn't get him. I wasn't thrilled to be tying up that much money in two corner outfielders. I like the pivot to Bo Bichette and think that's a better allocation of resources anyway. He is a great contact hitter and has a career batting average near .300. He will be on base a lot. Their three at the top of the lineup in Lindor, Soto, & Bichette is arguably the best or one of the best in the majors outside of the new 'Evil Empire' (aka, the Dodgers). I'm not a huge fan of Luis Robert, Jr but he is a great defensive CFer when healthy. Maybe a change of scenery to a contender...or at least a playoff team...will rekindle his hitting prowess. Time will tell. I would have liked to have kept Acuna but he was blocked with the logjam of young players the Mets have and he may never amount to anything more than a utility player. Again, time will tell. I will be interested in seeing him develop from afar. He should have every opportunity to flourish on a bad White Sox team. Looks like the outfield will be Soto in RF, Robert Jr in CF, & Tyrone Taylor in LF. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Brett Baty gets in LF, if any. He and Mark Vientos may be battling for time at 1B and DH with Jorge Polanco unless one of them is dealt. I like how Baty was playing at the end of last season and would prefer to keep him. He can spot at 2B & 3B. I wouldn't mind moving Vientos if they can get anything decent for him. He needs to rake in Spring Training and is running out of chances, IMO. I love the Freddy Peralta acquisition...if they re-sign him. Trading away the #3 and #5 prospects in Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams for the equivalent of a one year rental makes me a little queasy but, admittedly, I am a "prospect hugger". Given Stearns' history with Peralta (he traded for him before and brought him to Milwaukee), I'm hoping they ink an extension before Spring Training is done. I won't think twice about those two prospects should Peralta sign and stay. Getting righty RP Tobias Myers in the deal helps the bullpen, as well. The Brewers used him as both a starter and a reliever so he's got some versatility and he also has one minor-league option left which gives the team a little flexibility. I don't want to trade a thing for Tarik Skubal. They have worked diligently to restock the farm system and make it one of the tops in the majors. What I do want is for them to go hard for him in the offseason and outbid the stinkin' Dodgers for him. Use Uncle Steve's greenbacks, not the team's prospects. He is my #1 want next year, bar none. Stearns & Cohen said they had a vision and it seems to be coming to fruition so I am higher on Stearns at the moment that you are. With the trade for Peralta, the rotation now looks like this from top to bottom: Freddy Peralta, Nolan McLean, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, & Kodai Senga. That's really solid provided they are all healthy. The defense is much better on paper and they've shored up the bullpen. I believe they did botch the Diaz deal but there were rumblings that he did not like the staff changes, Jeremy Hefner in particular, which likely played a factor in his decision to leave for the Dodgers. I loved Pete's time as a Met and will wish him well but I was not upset when they let him walk. Maybe he'll age well and the Mets will have blundered...or maybe he won't and he'll start declining. Either way, they couldn't just run it back again with the core they had so changes were made. I was actually glad to see McNeil go. There is just something about him that always put me off. Addition by subtraction, IMO. In any event, after the Bills' brutal exit from the playoffs, I'm enjoying the long overdue resurgence of the Sabres and I'm eager for pitchers and catchers to report. It should be a fun and entertaining Spring Training this year as we watch all the new additions mesh and become a cohesive unit. Hope springs eternal... LGM!!!

@Gugny @ExWNYer @Another Fan Well the hot stove finally heated up. Went to bed the other night with the knowledge that we lost out on Tucker only to learn that we landed Bichette before I left work the following day. I wasn't enthusiastic about signing Tucker. I'm not as in tune with players as I was in the past but my sense was he wasn't worth a huge/long contract. Right or wrong it felt like a Jason Bay type signing. I'm OK with the pivot to Bichette. I like that he's a right handed bat and unless I'm mistaken he was a below average SS and I have no concerns about a SS switching to 3B. He may only be here for a year, but with the lockout looming maybe not. Still a big hole to fill in LF - I pray they don't go with something like Baty/Vientos. Feels like a trade is next up. I'm holding out hope for Sproat/Tong + a combination of Baty, Vientos, Acuna, Mauricio for Skubal, but maybe the play is for an OF and hold onto the pitching. In the end I am still not happy with Stearns. Pete should still be a Met. Diaz too.

@Gugny @ExWNYer @SinceThe70s I've recently subscribed to the NY Mets on YouTube channel and they have all these cool games/moments they've been posting. I say one of the most underrated/forgotten about epic Met moments

@Gugny @ExWNYer So I just got my Christmas gift from my Mom... she didn't know what to get me so she knows I like the Mets and I wound up getting a 2026 Mets Calendar. Haha, Nimmo, Diaz, and McNeil were featured in it. Aaah, it is definitely the thought that counts and actually it warmed me up a little more to the Mets offseason. I was disgusted at the tear down at first. But then at the same time I remember reading an article about work places and employees. It pretty much said to get rid of employees that are considered toxic or are bad influences to others even if they are real good performers. Like the toxic top performer brings down others kind of thing. So to me these are both fair takes when the dust is settling: The Mets core/clubhouse was broken and shattered and needed to be broken up. If someone argues that I mean I can't deny that. I mean it's not like I'm there kind of thing. At the same time if Cohen/Stearns were both big/passionate Mets fans they should understand the fans frustration at the lack of them providing transparency to their decisions. Well shall see! Happy New Years guys