With the regular season set to begin Monday, Steve Serby tracked down SNY’s Mets broadcast team of Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling for some Q&A.
Q: Biggest surprises of spring?
Darling: The biggest surprise maybe for me, because I just didn’t know what kind of player he was, because I’d seen him earlier in his career — Chris Young. When I look at him now, I feel like he could get to the level he was before. I don’t know if he’s gonna do it, but the bat speed and the athleticism is there.
Cohen: You go back to the work that he did this winter with Rod Carew, and you can really see it paying off. He’s been a guy who has just looked to hit home runs in the course of his career, and he’ll still turn on balls, but he is using more of the ballpark than I think we’ve ever seen him before. This might have been a turning point in his career. The other thing I would mention is Curtis Granderson. I had never been around him before … the positive energy that exudes from this guy is really contagious, and he’s got a lot to prove. He signed for pretty big money, and had a lost year last year, and he looks like the same guy that he was in his best years, and the Mets can only hope that that translates into the regular season.
Q: Describe Noah Syndegaard.
Darling: I’ve watched him throw not only in a game, but also on the side. He’s a bear, and he’s got all the makings of one of those special guys. I think that there’s definitely some more polish that he needs. I thought that Rafael Montero was the most polished young pitcher of all the guys that were in camp. But Syndegaard has the numbers that don’t lie. He’s got the 95-plus, he’s got the power curve ball. He reminds me a little bit of — and I’m not saying personality at all — but he reminds me of Mat Latos from Cincinnati, that kind of big-bodied, power pitcher with great stuff. He seems like the real deal.
Q: Expectations for Zack Wheeler?
Cohen: I think Zack has flown under the radar this spring, which I think is pretty cool for a guy who had so much hype last year. Syndegaard was the flavor of the month this year, much as Wheeler was last year. I think there’s an evolving maturity in Zack. With Harvey out, he really understands what his place is on this team, but he does it so much differently than Matt does. He’s like a time bomb ticking in the corner ready to explode. Ronnie talked about polish, I think we’re seeing that day by day with Zack. In some ways, it kinda ticks him off that he didn’t get the call for Opening Day, and in a good way. I think he’s ready to have a tremendous year.
Darling: Gary hit on something that’s really interesting. He’s got an inner fire that smolders. He’s not in your face, he’s always gonna give you a smile and a wave, I don’t think we’ve even been able to talk about and tap into. Where he was last spring training to where he is this year, the way he walks around the clubhouse and on the field. … He doesn’t get rattled. … I like to view pitchers when they give up a few runs, and he did this last start, and there was no change in expression. That’s maturity right there, as opposed to hanging your head, and woe-is-me, or the wind’s blowing out, whatever it is. The other thing with Zack, and I don’t know how to quantify this yet, but he comes from a baseball house, an athletic house, and these guys have been competing against each other forever, at a high level, and I just think that he’s that younger brother that’s been probably messed with (chuckle) for a long time, and so payback is coming. I’m really impressed by how he’s changed in just one year.
Hernandez: If he ever finds that consistency with his secondary pitches, he’s gonna be very, very difficult.
Q: Matt Harvey’s rehab?
Hernandez: I agree with letting him be with the team when they’re home and then sending him back down to Florida when they’re on the road. You can get down here [Port St. Lucie] in the summer, and it’s humid, hot, and you’re out there in Port St. Lucie and there’s nothing to do, and you can die on the vine. Let him be a part of the team, do his rehab at Citi Field, let him be home in his apartment, and then when the team goes on the road, he’s got to go back down and put the time in and do it down there to get himself back in shape. It’s a very reasonable solution to a problem that really shouldn’t have been a problem.
Cohen: Who cares where he rehabs? It’s a total non-story, who cares?
Darling: These rehab things are long and tedious. It’s become a story because baseball players, athletes in general, are usually told something, and they just do it. And Harvey decided that he wasn’t gonna do it (chuckle).
Q: Do you think there’s any chance he’ll be ready by the end of the year?
Darling: With all of the rash of Tommy John surgeries, I would personally err on spring training next year is when Matt Harvey starts throwing the ball with some purpose and meaning. Now, if you’d show me a Mets team that is 10 games over .500 entering September, well then maybe I might look back on it. I’d rather be late than early with this thing because of how important he can be to your team.
Q: What impresses you most about Bartolo Colon?
Darling: I watched two games that he pitched, and he swears to me he doesn’t throw a changeup. Every pitch is a fastball, just about. He’ll occasionally mix in a breaking ball. But what he does is that he sinks it, he rises it, he cuts it, he takes a little off. Almost every time I saw him in a 2-1 count, which is not very often, he’d just take a little off to the left-hander, he’d get a ground ball to second base. He’s highly evolved as far as what he’s doing on the mound. The only guy I can remember like him a little bit, I used to watch Jerry Reuss pitch on the weekends on the “Game of the Week,” and he would throw primarily all fastballs, but they were cutting, they were sinking, they were doing all kind of different things. That’s what Colon does. Through six innings in his start prior to the minor league start [Thursday], he threw 70 pitches, 58 strikes, and I had, with what he told me, 60 of the 70 threw fastballs. That, to me, is just remarkable, and I think that the younger pitchers on the Mets can only be helped by watching him all season long.
Hernandez: If they get him some run support, he’ll win. He knows what he’s doing.
Q: Describe Travis d’Arnaud.
Cohen: I think the maturity was there from the time he came to spring camp last year. The defensive skills as far as framing pitches are off the chart. I think it would have been nice to have seen him hit a little bit better this spring. I think that he needed to have some success under his belt, because otherwise the self-doubt is gonna start to creep in, and I think that’s already been there to a certain extent. But he’s an intense kid, really intense. That could be a double-edged sword. So I think he needs to get off to a good start offensively, because right now, there’s no Plan B.
Darling: I think that all the Met hitters, if you look at them, other than the veterans like Wright or Murphy, they kinda have their own style. There’s definitely a kind of a way of hitting, an approach to hitting, that is trying to be taught to a lot of young hitters to the Mets, and you can have the argument whether you think it’s a good thing or bad thing. The one thing I would like to see though, is that through all the work that you have to do, video work or whatever, but once the game starts, let the talent flow. And I think sometimes I find watching Travis, that he’s in-between, that he’s not sure if he’s gonna let it fly here. … I would just like to see once the game starts him being really aggressive. I think he’s just a natural kinda hitter. I don’t think he fits into any kind of mold. The more he just let’s his talent flow, the better hitter he’s going to be. There’s a lot put on young catchers nowadays more than ever as far as micromanaging, game plan, watching video, that sometimes he gets lost for them the offensive part of the game, and I hope that doesn’t happen to him. Gary said it right: There’s no Plan B, so this kid has *got* to be good.
Hernandez: I like his skills behind the plate very much, like the way he throws. I like his enthusiasm, his hustle. I’ve seen guys have miserable springs, and then they have an April of their lifetime. So, we’ll see.
Q: Where is Ike Davis’ frame of mind right now, and how will the first base situation will unfold?
Cohen: I think Ike’s frame of mind is as positive as it’s been in a couple of years. But I think that the first base situation is day-to-day. I think Ike will get the first crack at it. I think Josh Satin will play against all the lefties, and I think that there will be no patience this year. If Ike has a bad first week to 10 days, then [Lucas] Duda’s gonna get a chance. I think that they’re gonna keep their ears open as far as the trade market is concerned. I can’t imagine that both guys will be around all year.
Darling: Watching [Davis] the last week of camp when he played, his approach is as good as I’ve seen it. He had a base hit against the shift I think in [Thursday’s] ballgame to left field. He also drove a ball pretty well to left field for an out, got another base hit later. But he had other great springs too. I think everybody who watches the Mets — I know I do — wants Ike to succeed. I think there’s a real upside there. But I think Gary’s right: That will go away if he’s 3-for-his-first-30.
Hernandez: No one stepped up and had the spring necessary to be the starting guy, so it’s pretty much a tie, and Terry [Collins] will make the decision.
Q: Expectations for Ruben Tejada?
Darling: I think the expectations have gone down. I’m a Ruben Tejada fan. He played like a player who was trying to not make a mistake in spring training, and if you play like that, you are apt to make a lot of mistakes, which he did. Hopefully the offense will get off to a really great start, so that not too much pressure’s out on a lot of the young players. Ruben, to me, even though he’s young, he’s got a lot of experience. This is really his time to shine. And I know there’s been a lot said about him, I know that he’s lost a little bit of confidence. But you know what? That’s happened to a lot of players. And if he wants to have the kind of career he would like to have and be an everyday shortstop, then this is the time for him to take off.
Hernandez: All the Mets need from him is to play the shortstop that he can play. Be reliable at shortstop, and whatever he hits is a bonus. Citi Field’s a big ballpark, and you’ve gotta have people that can go out there and catch the ball. Otherwise you’re in big trouble.
Cohen: Part of the reason he had such a bad year last year is because he is one of those guys who does not enjoy playing in cold weather, I don’t think many players do, but he allowed that to beat him mentally last year. He has got to mentally fight through that and get off to a good start, otherwise the downward spiral is gonna continue.
Q: What impact will Curtis Granderson hitting behind David Wright have?
Cohen: I think it will certainly help in the batting order, but I think it will help even more in the clubhouse. For the last number of years, David has been the go-to guy for every media person every day the entire season. And I think that no matter how mentally strong you are and how good a person you are, it’s gotta beat you down over the course of a long year. And I think that having another guy in the clubhouse who can be the go-to guy for the media, be a spokesman for the team, can help with the leadership that David has displayed, and does it naturally like Curtis does, I think that takes a lot of pressure off David in ways that might ultimately translate to an easiness for David on the field.
Hernandez: Their offense was really anemic last year and needed help, and Granderson will provide that. He’s a left-handed hitter also, so that’ll help David. I think that left-handers are probably going, late in the game in close situations, probably pitch around David if there’s an open base and pitch to Granderson. But David’s a big enough pro to talk a walk and not swing at bad pitches and try to force it.
Q: How is the outfield defense?
Hernandez: [Juan] Lagares is just off the charts. I haven’t seen anybody cover ground like him, and have a strong arm that’s accurate. Emphasis on accurate. He’s got the cannon for an arm, and he doesn’t miss cutoff men, and he’s accurate. He can play the hell out of center field.
Cohen: I don’t think it matters who plays out there, but I don’t see how you can keep Juan Lagares out of the lineup. He’s just too great a weapon defensively to even think about not playing him.
Darling: I think that their outfield defense is so superior to last year. If you think your strength is gonna be your starting pitching, the defense is so important, and I just feel that Juan Lagares every single day he plays does something to help your team. I just can’t envision him not in the lineup every day, he makes a catch that saves two runs. … I don’t know what they’re going to do, they do have concern about who’s gonna lead off, but boy, with Chris Young, Granderson and Lagares all center fielders at one time, you’re gonna see a lot of rallies killed by just the types of play. I hope they decide to play Lagares the majority of the time.
Q: Describe Eric Young.
Darling: They don’t have a leadoff hitter, so one of the reasons that he’s being considered to play a lot is because he’s a leadoff kind of guy. His on-base percentage, I think career, is around 33 percent, and that certainly has to get better. If he improves that, then his role will be to do that. He played a lot of second base in spring training. There’s gonna be a lot of interchangeable parts.
Cohen: Maybe you sit Murphy against a left-hand pitcher and play Eric Young at second. If you sit Lagares and he has a tough right-hand pitcher and play Eric Young in left field and move Chris Young in center, I think you can put together [300-400] at-bats for Eric Young without him being a full time player, but I think then the issue becomes who leads off, and I guess that would be Chris Young, it could be Ruben Tejada, but I think that that’s one piece of the batting order that really hasn’t been resolved.
Q: What’s the state of the bullpen?
Darling: The last time I saw [Bobby] Parnell throw in a game, he threw a pitch at 95 miles an hour, I believe, so he’s working himself back. I wouldn’t say he’s 100 percent though by any means. Let’s say he’s 85 percent. And then, I think the thing that really shocked Terry Collins maybe and the staff is, I think they really thought Vic Black was really going to be that eighth-inning guy, be that special pitcher that could bridge the gap, and he had a tough spring training and has to be sent down to work on some things. That’s being replaced now by an older veteran guy who had a lot of success in Detroit [Jose Valverde], but it’ll be interesting to see if it works as a seventh or eighth-inning guy. … I would say that if I look at all the parts of the Mets team, that their bullpen is the most suspect.
Cohen: You could see a scenario where [Jeurys] Familia moves up in the pecking order very quickly this year, depending on how Valverde does. I don’t think anybody has any idea how much Valverde has left, and he’ll get the first crack at being the eighth-inning guy.
Hernandez: A lot of question marks. Parnell is not one of them, definitely not. And I don’t think Valverde will be one of them. Familia has a great upside, I think, but he has command issues.
Q: Describe Dillon Gee.
Darling: They never know what he’s gonna throw, on any count, and that’s a real gift to have when you get to that place as a pitcher.
Hernandez: When there’s a man on base, and it’s a tight game, he doesn’t knuckle under, he gets better and you have to beat him, that’s what I’ve always liked about him.
Q: How is Jonathan Niese physically?
Darling: They have him penciled in [to start April 6], I honestly doubt that’s going to happen. I expected the kind of guy that would be 200 innings, 12-15 wins, and just rattle ’em off every year. And that hasn’t been the case for him. This year’s gonna be a very telling year, they spent a lot of money, put a lot of time into Jonathan Niese being a consistent performer. I don’t think he has always been that.
Hernandez:Jon needs to step it up. He’s got the stuff to win 15 every year.
Q: Describe Terry Collins’ fire.
Cohen: He’s the oldest manager in baseball now, and he might have more energy than the other (chuckle) 29 combined. He’s up at 4:30 every morning, he’s at the ballpark before everybody else. He talks to every player every day, he bounces around the field. … The guy last year was hung out there without a contract extension, he was a lame duck, and you could never tell by the way he acted. And now, with the new contract, the pressure, you would imagine, is lifted a little bit, and yet the demeanor is exactly the same. He’s a remarkable person, he really is.
Hernandez: I like red-ass managers. He’s not gonna be outmanaged on the field, he’s not gonna lose you ballgames. He is on point every pitch from the first inning to the final out.
Q: What do you think of Sandy Alderson’s 90-win goal?
Darling: Well, that wasn’t supposed to be for public consumption, but I guess everything is public consumption now. … I look at it as if you play .500 baseball until Sept. 1, you’re gonna play meaningful games in September. I mean, really that’s all you have to do with this two wild-card system. My thing i,s I don’t really put a number on it, ’cause I think that can be restrictive or tough to match. But I do know that it’s time to get over that hump. … I don’t know if that’s wins or losses, I think it has more to do with what you’re watching on the field. By watching young pitchers who are just gonna be lights-out in a few seasons, and by looking at Ruben Tejada reclaiming the shortstop position, by looking at Ike Davis turning into the player we always thought he could be — those are the things I want to see. … Is Travis d’Arnaud the real deal? If those start to get answered, then it doesn’t really matter to me how many wins they get.
Cohen: There’s every possibility that there might be two teams in the National League win 100 games. The Nationals and the Dodgers are that good, which really lowers the number of wins that might be necessary to get one of those wild cards. I think the 90-win thing has become a bit of a sideshow, but I think what’s most important to this team is that after five straight losing seasons, that they put themselves in a position where they’re not irrelevant in the middle of August.
Hernandez: When Davey Johnson said, “We’re gonna win the World Series or win the National League in ’86 and we’re not only gonna win it, we’re gonna dominate it,” in spring training, I was stunned that he said that. But it’s just putting the challenge out there for his players. What do you want him to say, “Oh, we won 74 games last year, we’re gonna win 78 this year?” Or “We’re gonna be happy to be a .500 team?” Of course you’re not gonna say that. It’s a motivational thing in my mind for the players. The general manager fees that they can win 90 games, and he’s throwing the challenge out to them.
Q: Do you sense the Mets are building up to an ’86 crescendo?
Hernandez: Rome was not built in a day. The Mets are a better team than they were last year and the year before. I expect them to win more than 74, 75, 76 games. If they don’t, it’ll be a disappointing year. I think they’re an above-. 500 team. I don’t know how much above .500, but anything less to me would be a disappointing year.